Sadly, I can't make it to see the finale as it airs. In fact, I've missed every airing since episode three and had to catch it all after-the-fact. I wanted to be able to keep up with the fandom as the season went by... but I failed. I missed so much and contributed so little and now it's almost over (at least until next season).

C'est la vie, I suppose as it was of no fault other than my own. I guess I'll just have get the episode once it's gone up somewhere else and then play catch-up with everyone else. *sigh*

Maybe next season.

Yes, he has.

Welp, I've got the entire series thus far downloaded onto my PC, so if anything, there's always episodes past that can be re-watched for extra nostalgia-y goodness. And perhaps it's best I do anyway; I haven't even watched every episode more than once. Here's hoping this finale will make doing so feel worth it.

Though it will be rather depressing to see the season end and to have to sit through the loooong hiatus to come (if it really won't be until 2015 that we start seeing new episodes), at the very least, we can always take the time off to do something creative or to catch up on fandom activities. Draw a picture, compose a song, write a fanfic (or partake of all three from other talented people) or whatever--there's always pony to be had, even if unofficially.

...And, I mean, I suppose you could do non-pony-realted stuff too. If you're into that. I don't judge.

Not gonna watch the clip; I'm patient.

I'm also really nervous. I didn't watch many spoiler clips, but I will admit to watching enough to have the gist of what's going to happen come the finale. There's a lot of implications and possibilities and though I really, really don't want to jump to conclusions or anything, seeing the direction the show is going since last season, I can't help but feel like Hasbro is trying to sort of re-invent the wheel all over again and hope to get lucky with it like they did the first time. Like, they want big changes that will alter the cast and the world at large because, from the perspective of a toy company that just wants to make money, doing that means they can launch "MLP: FiM Series 2" or something, post season 4 with it's (possible) overhaul of... well, everything that the show has been up to this point with new toys all around--new characters, places (IE. new princess castle play-sets), new accessories, etcetera, as well as reinventions of all the old stuff, including characters, places, etcetera and removal of less-popular characters, places, blah, blah, blah. Cutting the fat, as it were.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just being overly-pessimistic. I'm just worried is all. I don't mind change, really, I don't. It's just when it's poorly done or unnecessary that I get uneasy about it because it can easily ruin a good thing (or at least taint it with mediocrity). I still attest that Twi's entire princessification of last season was both unwarranted and poorly executed regardless of how this particular season went and I can't help but fear this could be the true jump-the-shark moment for the show; changes that could wholly re-work the show at its core and leave it feeling nothing at all like it once was. It's one thing to alter one character, like Twi, but it's another to very possibly alter the entire core cast and the world itself (to what degree that will be, I have no clue).

It could be a grand and wonderful thing that adds oodles of cool things to the show and does great things with the characters and all that jazz, sure. But so too could it just as easily, if not even more easily, turn something genuine and creative into something mediocre and forced. Make relatable characters into mary-sues or over-blow its own concepts to farcical proportions. Take a genuinely intriguing world and turn it into a generic embarrassment thinly veiled in happiness and colour. All because Hasbro wants to keep meddling and try to milk this cash-cow well beyond the point where there's anything good to say about the show anymore.

...I just want to be able to say I genuinely still like the show after the season is over. That's all.

Personally, I think I'd like to take a bite out of Celly's more chromatic mane; that thing would probably taste like a Fruit Roll-Up (oh god, who remembers those things?).

I really hope this episode is good. I have no idea what it's even supposed to be about. I've been busy and haggard for over two weeks due to the holidays, missed Power Ponies entirely and still have yet to watch it and haven't been keeping up on EqD content for even longer.

Not being able to keep up with the show and the fandom has been genuinely depressing me. I need a good episode to lift my spirits.

I can understand that as they grow older, they may not want to remain restricted to their voice work for the show, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't mind the VA's deciding to leave. You make some very good points and in light of it all, I honestly can't see them being kicked off the team because of their adolescence creeping up on them. I can however see them wanting to leave of their own accord, even if they like the job because no one wants to be stuck in a rut. After all, there have been other members of the show staff that have left for their own reasons; when Lauren comes to mind for instance, we need to remember that she said this was one of her dream jobs, yet she still chose to leave after all was said and done and that was just do to her personal feelings. When it comes to these kids, they have their whole lives ahead of them and it would be completely expected that they'd want to pursue other things.

Personally, I would hope they decide to stay and the team just works it into the show as the trio growing up. My greatest fears would be to see either the VA's replaced--which would likely kill the characters for many of us (unless they found some damn good impersonators)--or, possibly even worse, writing the CMC out of the show entirely, which could have massive repercussions across all fronts, fandom or no. It's one thing to get rid of characters after one or two episodes, but to remove a developed set of characters that have been in the show for an exceptionally long while would undoubtedly cause a massive ripple-effect that I could easily see being worse than any silly drama that's happened thus far. Twilicorn wouldn't have peanuts on a retconed/written-off CMC; whereas that drama was admittedly pretty intense, none of it seems to really have had as far-reaching implications as something like a literal lobotomy of the main cast. I could see that actually killing the show.

And now to the musical number. BEST SONG OF THE SEASON. Also only song of the season. Also-also conversely the worst song of the season as a result. All jokes aside, I'm glad we finally have a song. I couldn't help but get an "I'll Make a Man Out of You" vibe when I heard the cadence of the song, let alone in those lyrics. They practically mirror each other in regards to symbolism. I quite liked it because I like that song and I like their surprisingly fitting analogous usage of horse puns. It was actually quite endearing. Only fault I would have with the song would probably have to be with the repetition of that one line however--"hearts as strong as horses"--both due to such repetition taking from the gravity of the statement and, frankly, repeating lyrics over and over outside of a proper chorus is... lazy. Lazy lyrical prose is certainly not something I hope becomes a thing for the foreseeable future, as I personally think the last truly well-made song we heard was This day Aria and nothing has come close since. This one didn't really either, but it was better than what we got out of the bulk of season 3 at least.

Also, on the topic of sound quality, does anyone else notice that the CMC's voices are... developing? Sweetie's was certainly the most obliquely different from previous seasons. I guess the VA's are going to be getting older, but I'm getting a tad anxious about what it could mean for the trio. They could spin it in the direction of the CMC starting to grow up and I'd be okay with that, so long as they did it smoothly over the course of the time their voices change, making minor tweaks to their appearances simulating physical growth. Celestia forbid they go for 'SUDDEN PUBERTY' because that never works in any show that's ever done it and it's stupid because that's not how puberty works. Of course, I'd also worry if they might just change the VA's to compensate, but to do that would be to effectively kill their characters, so I would prey that doesn't come to pass. Please don't do that DXH. Please, oh, PLEASE.

Animation quality was alright, especially in regards to Ms. Harshwhinny's expressions and movements; quite cartoony and animated, making for a nice sense of character. There were also a few moments (such as the cinema-style black bar effect used when Scoots goes off the ramp) that made me crack a smile, so that's got to mean something. Not as amazing as other episodes, but still alright and certainly better than others, even within the same season. I'm looking at you, Castle Mane-ia. Disappointed!

Not much else I can say really. I give this episode a rating of: "Endearing"
-Simple but effectively-conveyed moral
-Nice character development for both the CMC and Rainbow (but more-so the CMC, especially Scootaloo)
-Return of the Snobby Sisters ya just love to hate/return of the Blundering Buffoons ya just hate
-Bonding moment between Rainbow and Scoots (also noogies)
-First song of the season and it's not half-bad
-GRANNY SMITH HIGH FIVE ("High hoof"? Sounds weird)

And now we await the coming throwback episode for the more classic Saturday morning cartoonery and comic book superheroness. It's either going to be endearingly cheesy and ridiculous, or just cheesy and ridiculous. In a bad way. Cross your fingers. This one pretty much wraps up the most anticipated lot for the season-opening episodes and so it's anyone's game from here on out. After this, we're just gonna have to take them as they come. I await the coming episodes... patiently.

I missed last week's episode and wasn't able to review it in time, but I can still get to this one at least.

All-around fun episode. I'm glad they only lightly touched on the topic of Scoot's wings and her ability to fly whilst deliberately leaving it open to interpretation for possible future episodes. I would have actually been rather disappointed had they just made her fly at the drop of a hat or given them their cutie marks for this little success. If she flies, I personally think it should be an episode played much closer to the heart and willing to take the risk of touching on the more sensitive stuff; it should be a big moment filled with joy and happy tears, not just played off like it was any other day. Same goes for the CMC finally getting their cutie marks, if even more so considering how important those little butt tattoos are.

The moral was well-played, if only slightly hackneyed, but that could also simply be taken in the ideology of what it's like from the innocent perspective of a child: simple, but genuine. This is the kind of stuff kids go through and sometimes really struggle with, even later into their lives (teen angst, anyone?). And the idea that Rainbow would spit out such a gem of wisdom for impressionable young minds is actually really intriguing because Rainbow doesn't really seem like the kind of character to say such profound things. Not to say that it seems out-of-character for her; I actually think it fits her well. Almost makes me wonder if she's even aware of the importance of the things she said. An idiot savant she may be.

Now, the return of Ms. Harshwhinny was interesting. I wasn't privy to any spoilers, so I had no idea this episode was being themed around the Equestria Games and seeing her was an interesting turn of events. She was quite nicely expressive and cartoony, which works to nicely contrast her staunch behaviour and I like how she played off Rainbow's enthusiasm and impulsiveness. I also find it intriguing that Rainbow might actually be learning some restraint as a result of their encounter, kind of like how Twi learned to hold her composure from Cadance and subverted her anxiety (especially noticeable in the premier when she had to stand firm when Celestia and Luna disappeared). I'm now genuinely curious if we'll see this kind of reserved--if a tad strained--behaviour from Rainbow in the future. Might be an interesting character development.

Also, generally-speaking, the little bonding moment with Rainbow and Scoots was adorable. There were noogies, for god's sake. Heart-warming, mane-rustling, scalp-chaffing noogies. And soulful tears. I'm was practically dying to see them hug again.

As for other returning characters, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were just as repulsive as usual, which I wouldn't have any other way. I think I've found a new favourite quote with Silver Spoon stating "we've already called them 'blank flanks'" as though they've got nothing left in their arsenals, which I love because, really, that is what the typical schoolyard bully is like: shallow insults and jibes at weak points on those they target without anything much deeper than that. Seeing the egg all over their faces after the CMC show confidence and, of course, win was rather satisfying, though I would have liked to see the Terrible Twosome's act to get a better contrast of just how pathetically they floundered in comparison. Sure, it was an expected, idealistic ending where the naughty runts get their comeuppance in the face of our protagonists' victory, but it worked nicely regardless as a set piece, so I'm okay with it.

Also, Snips and Snails cameo. Still hate those guys. And not in the endearing way I hate Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara; I just hate Snips and Snails. They are an embarrassment to watch.

I believe he was quoting Ms. Harshwhinny.