Well, this is it. The big season finale that I already saw over a week ago so the effect is kind of diminished but still.

One of MLP's strongest points has always been its season finales. This show seriously knows how to end off a season with a fitting bang, and nearly every finale so far has been a highlight of the series and the best of their respective seasons.

...OK, so they haven't all been perfect, but still.

And this one was no exception. While this episode didn't quite reach the immense highs of, say, Magical Mystery Cure or Twilight's Kingdom or hell, even A Canterlot Wedding, it was an incredibly solid and very enjoyable two-parter that capped off the past two seasons really well.

Granted, I did have my issues with the episode, or more specifically one big issue, but we'll save that for later.

I'm actually gonna do something a bit different and divide my thoughts between the two parts, because there's a lot to unpack in both. Let's begin.

PART 1

The first thing that really stuck out to me was the dream sequences.

The first one was a really smart way of setting up Starlight's internal conflict. It showed us Starlight's fears without any sort of spelled-out exposition, and it didn't let on straight-up that it was a dream, just as she didn't know at first, which made Starlight's reaction to her supposed friends saying these things to her, and therefore her resulting turmoil, feel all the more real and visceral.

Then we add Luna into the equation, which was an absolutely brilliant move. Luna knows what Starlight's been through with her own tortured past, and serves as a source of wisdom and comfort, which is something Luna has always symbolized to me. It was a brilliant way to tie the two characters together and bring Starlight's conflict revolving around the village forgiving her to the forefront. I also really liked the little "it gets better" message they slipped in there.

Then Trixie makes her triumphant return in what was one of the funnier moments in the episode and the two's chemistry is as great as ever. These two just might be one of the best pairings in the whole show. They're both immensely flawed as ponies and they know that for both themselves and each other, but they'll always have each other's backs no matter what. That's really cool and the village return scene showed that well, of course along with Starlight's own insecurities revolving around leadership given her past actions, which is a great conflict for her.

It was a little obvious that the "Mane 6" Starlight saw when she returned were really Changelings, but it was pretty obvious from the synopsis and previous episodes as well that they would be the antagonist, so I can forgive that.

Then we get the second dream sequence, where shit gets real. Luna contacting Starlight through dream to warn her of the impending danger was a great device, and the whole scene was incredibly intense. Luna getting pulled back into the moon as the dream crumbled around Starlight at the end was a very strong way to end the act, and I probably would have preferred if it cut to commercial there instead of having the "they're back" thing which was kind of unnecessary, but the scene was still great regardless. The suspence, the tension, the epicness, it was great.

And then we get the assembly of our little squad, and yes, the team-up of antiheroes and reformed former villains was a glorious one to see indeed and such a cool change-up from the usual super-heroic Mane 6 taking on the adventures. Which leads directly into...

PART 2

The adventure in the Changeling hive was the highlight of this two-parter. The four had an incredible chemistry that I would expect from this kind of team. They pushed each other around a bit, they made up cunning plans, their interactions were really funny, they were all flawed, they all contributed, and they were just overall a delight to watch and a great departure from the Mane 6.

The adventure itself was very strong as well, with action, stealth, comedy, suspense, creepiness, everything you could ever want. Captivating all the way through, partially because the Changeling hive was a really cool setting, and the animation did it justice. From the kind of surreal shape-shifting walls to the glowing greens against murky black and dark blue in the deeper chambers to the throne, it was all so alien and cool and I loved it.

Most of the Changeling's deceptive tricks were pretty cool, but by far the best of them was the way they manipulated Discord with Fluttershy. Of course Discord saw through their ruse at first with the one Changeling pretending to be her, but pushing it further and surrounding Discord with crying, desperate pleas from the pony he cares most about, actually making him believe that one of the could be the real deal, completely got to him. That scene was intense, genuinely creepy, and very well-played.

Another genuinely creepy moment was when Chrysalis first emerged in the throne room scene. The way her body twisted and contorted, her spinning head, her tiny pupils... that was borderline nightmarish imagery right there, and I loved it.

Through a pretty cool fake-out between Thorax and Starlight (where we see Starlight trying to break the throne with a rock which was hilarious by the way), we get to the climax. It's OK. And it ends with Thorax gaining a new form and the throne room crumbling, freeing the prisoners in the process.

And now the part of the episode that didn't sit too well with me; the design of the "changed-lings".

Thorax becoming the new leader of the Changelings was actually something I liked, given that he was the one who both "discovered" friendship for the Changeling's and defeated Chrysalis. It was logical, it made sense. As such, if they wanted to give him a fancy, regal new design, OK, fair enough.

Then all the other Changelings took on their new forms.

And... no. Nonononononononono.

The new "good" Changeling design as absolutely awful. They look like they were ripped right out of one of the earlier generations. All the pastels and pretty smiles and pinks... it's so bad.

But it's not the design itself that gets to me, it's the fact that they were changed at all. And all of that has to do with one of the episode that is directly tied this one, The Times They Are a-Changeling. The moral of that episode was that any being can be good regardless of appearance and you shouldn't judge someone's character based on it, even something like a Changeling. Yeah, except we're going to completely backtrack over that moral because actually in order to be good you have to be a pretty pink pastel pony that we can sell to little girls as brushable toys. It's not just hypocritical, it's outright insulting. It claims that you have to be conventionally pretty or be a certain way to truly be "good", which I find despicable, especially coming from this show.

Furthermore, why couldn't you turn the Changelings good and still keep their awesome original designs? I honestly see no reason. Yeah, toys, but Hasbro has gotten a lot more gender- and age- neutral with its marketing largely, especially with the introduction of Guardians Of Harmony. Plus, the original Changelings were already insanely popular. This was such a stupid move in so many ways and killed the ending of the episode for me.

But there was one major saving grace for the ending, and that was that they didn't redeem Chrysalis. Hallelujah! Fun story, I was actually actively putting off watching the scene where Starlight extended her hand to Chrysalis towards the end back when I first watched the episode when it leaked, and when she slapped it away I may have felt a little rush of joy. I love the idea that Chrysalis is an insane monster, plain and simple, far beyond redemption. She's absolutely horrifying and I love that. I just want to see how far they go in showing how twisted and wretched she can truly be.

All in all, despite my big issue, I loved the hell out of this finale. From the overall great writing to the excellent buildup of Part 1 to the squad themselves to the adventure to the hive to Chrysalis not being redeemed, this was just about everything I could have hoped for. A good ending to a good season.

8.5/10