Official Discussion Thread - S04E25&6 Twilight's Kingdom

[brianblackberry]

It is that time of the week again when we all huddle around our computers and televisions and watch adorable ponies do adorable pony things. Well, this is it! The two part final for season 4! Will Twilight Sparkle finally learn her destiny as a princess of Equestria? What horror has been unleashed from Tartarus? How many songs will we get this time? How much controversy shall there be? Find out and discuss here! Episode airs Saturday 10:30 AM EST on May 10th.

Thou shall worship no other gods before us!

[CaptainMcDerp]

Eeeeee so excited! That freaking epic picture isn't helping much either.

[YourLittleBrony]

Actually the 1st part of the episode starts at 10am, the 2nd at 10:30. Might want to edit that lest some people get miss the exciting 1st half!

[SteelEagle]

10/10. Awesome. Awesome.

The other Mane Five are now TS's ministers/council. Such roles!

[Bellosh]

RIP Library Tree: Sorry, but you're not as marketable as a shiny new princess castle.

[YourLittleBrony]

OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH SEASON WRAPPED UP AMAZINGLY SEASON 5 NOW PLZ 100/10

OMIGOSH Luna sings! Alicorn song! Baddest villain of all villians! Mane 6 transformations! Discord officially a true friend! Epic fight scene! Twilight cant hold all these magics! Twilight Castle and everyone has a throne! SO MUCH AMAZING! SIGHTS HIGH FOR SEASON 5! And...omg. Commercials for Rainbow kingdom dolls? A major spoiler has been on tv the entire time and we didnt notice! *GASP*

[RarityDash]

Excellent episode. Stands up proud with the other great season finales at the very least.

And despite that I say that, I'm kind of left stunned about what to say about it. A few things to comment on...

• The villain - Tirek was effective. From his first introduction, this demonic centaur set the mood as very dark. He's a different sort of villain. He's menacing, but feels real. What I get from him is the sense that he is the sort of villain they attempted with Sombra but didn't quite get. He was effective and also pretty cool. he wasn't fun though. Discord and Chrysalis probably beat him out because of that, but he's nevertheless effective. I was pleasantly surprised.
  
• The songs - Both were really pretty and melodic. The first was more stand out because, yay, princesses! I so missed Celestia this season. having her here, singing with Luna and Cadance just was such an immense amount of awesome in one song. One of the standout songs of the season, I think. I love the way it builds up in Cadance's verse and then when they all sing together. Beautiful. Second song is pretty too. short, but nice.
  
• Rainbow Power - so it's basically just the new elements of Harmony, seems like. unbeatable trump card. It seems to give them really cool powers though. The designs are kind of weird. I like some of them okay.Rarity, Twi and Dash seemed decent. Some of them just looked ridiculous though.
  
• New lore - Maretonia, huh? I wonder where that is and what it's like. Whatever the case, it answers the question of who those two were in the last episode. Also got more information on Tartarus. Then there's the changes to Ponyville. No more library. new castle, huh? wonder what that will mean for the series in general. I'm interested to see what becomes of this.
  
• The battle - wow. the show probably will never be that awesome again. That fight sequence seriously was impressive. Thoroughly thrilling sequence. Makes the playful changeling fight look tame now. Also makes me think of how the show has evolved since its start. I'd love to see some rainbowy fights like that in the future if I can maybe.
  

And that's about all I can think to comment on specifically. In general though, I was really just flat impressed here. I'm not sure I could have hoped for a better finale to this excellent fourth season. I know the long wait will be hard for us to bear, but this only serves to get me excited for what season five holds. I really didn't think going in it would be this exciting.

[QuickLime]

Um so I nearly cried yeah, that's a thing

[Harv0kz]

Now that that's over...

8/10 Mahou Shojou Towairito Supakaru

And they said this show was for kids. Honestly, anyone in my opinion who has seen stuff from the 90s would've recognised where this was going. The classic battle scene we know and love, accompanied with villain helpless at new power. How well they executed the final box opening, and the transformations. And finally, a villain not afraid to just turn on their own words for the sake of power. I can sense the songs becoming remixed hits too.

My only worry was making Twilight ruler of Ponyville, and how that might change the direction of things. Plus, the speed at which Discord swapped alliegences was unreal, but that's my thinking.

What will happen now that Twilight has become a full Princess, and her friends her advisers/ministers/aides? Will My Little Pony become a civilization sim? Will we only watch Twilight stay inside her castle? Or will we see rise to a new generation of Mane 6? (Not likely, but it sounds tantalizing).

[Lux]

I loved this season finale. It was probably the best of all the season endings so far!

So, let's look what i loved about these two episodes...

• Twilight's purpose. I admit after Twilight became an Alicorn and after the Elements of Harmony were removed from the picture, there really wasn't much going on with her. She was a Princess but struggled with her place in Equestria. Well this episode clearly shows that she does have a purpose now and that while still not overpowered we can expect great things in the future from her.
  
• Tirek. Honestly I didn't see much of the older incarnations of My Little Pony, but the storybook explanation provided a great quick storyline. We got to see a very powerful enemy with almost limitless power who came very very close to destroying Equestria.
  
• Discord. I had a feeling that Discord would betray the Mane Six because while he has power himself he lacks understanding of other pony's feelings and has a mindset of his own gain. It was this lapse in remembering his bond between the six that caused him to turn his back on them and eventually lose his own power.
  
• The Princesses sacrificing their power. This was a good move. Why? Because it destroys the whole "Princesses are Mary Sues" junk that I hear. They are capible of being hurt and defeated just like all the other ponies and they knew their limits which is why they gave their power. So by taking them out of the picture we are left with Twilight to stand and fight.
  
• Goodbye Golden Oaks Library, hello castle! Admittedly I loved the library, especially having a degree in Library and Informational Sciences. It may me tear up seeing the place destroyed. But that castle is beautiful and will serve as a nice location for future episodes.
  

(In a related note to my one OC, Lore Weaver has a bookstore near the Golden Oaks Library, so would this mean his would be caught in the blast? And does this mean that he would get it back after Twilight and company restored the world after using their magic? I'd probably say yes otherwise it would render him unusable.)

• The Box. I said in my predictions that the Box would reveal a path to a new world, but I didn't suspect it to be a new power given to the six. While leery about another super power, this one seems different as it could be just a one shot thing or rarely used.
  
• The Transformation scenes. I like the interesting style of the Mane Six in their rainbow power form and their power is awesome!
  
• The songs. Only two this time compared to the five from the Season 3 Finale, but they served the purpose of being a great opening and closing of the finale.

So congratulations to Hasbro with their writers, voice actors, animators, musicians, and artists. You made a great finale and opened the door for more to come!

10/10

[FrankT]

It was actually quite riveting! Good show! And now, I slink back into the shadows for another summer....

[kunio18]

INCREDIBLE ! was on the edge of my screen all for the last 44 mins ! perfect 10/10

[Mojo]

Absolutely AMAZING! This finale is by far THE best episodes of S4! Loved it from start to finish, I even tried to figure out the ending but the big twist at the end was OFF THE CHARTS great! These episodes are clearly a 10 out of 10! The only thing that concerns me is that this finale was SO wonderful that I have to wonder how they can possibly top it next season. Oh well, we can worry about that issue another day. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!

[ShadowWalking18]

Isn't Tyrek or whatever his name from the first version of My little Pony? Like the very first Generation 1 or at least his character model? Or am I thinking of something else, I just feel like I've seen that minotaur body somewhere before.

By the way. The villain in this episode was a REAL villain! Totally epic. Cunning. Cruel. Manipulative and powerful! Absolutely awesome!

Did the Tree of Harmony make them embodiments of their elements with the chest thing in the end?

[MetalBronyATL]

I'm at a loss for words. There is nothing I could say that could possibly do justice to how great this finale was. 10/10 best finale ever.

[kunio18]

i shed a tear of manliness at the end, the feels were high

[brianblackberry]

Isn't Tyrek or whatever his name from the first version of My little Pony? Like the very first Generation 1 or at least his character model? Or am I thinking of something else, I just feel like I've seen that minotaur body somewhere before.

Because Tirek was originally in Rescue to Midnight Castle, the very first My Little Pony animated feature (before G1 even had a TV series). In that series he was also defeated by a rainbow (The Rainbow of Light).

[rjrgmc28]

"*siren sounds* That's it! It is all over! #MLPSeason4 has come to a close with a thriller! What a moment in #MyLittlePony history!"

So I may have gotten a little too carried away with that tweet when the episode ended, but after many a late night stint watching season four unfold before the eyes of the world live through various time zone changes, I can say that this season finale really brought out the best that the My Little Pony franchise had to offer.

Now normally I would pick out a few sections to write about, there were so many moments that the finale produced that actually, I can't pick out a particular part of the finale to write about here due to the amount of content involved.

But if you want to know, I have written my full thoughts on the finale on my blog if anyone is interested:

http://www.fromtheexec.net/2014/05/the-grand-final-twilights-kingdom.html

[Rosewind]

Yeah, this finale was awesome. I don't know how else to really describe it. The build up throughout the season made it totally worth it. Blown away 10/10.

Also for those freaking out about the tree: just be glad we got a new tree instead of another new alicorn.

[ShadowWalking18]

Because Tirek was originally in Rescue to Midnight Castle, the very first My Little Pony animated feature (before G1 even had a TV series). In that series he was also defeated by a rainbow (The Rainbow of Light).

I knew he looked familiar! Oh god I hope this doesn't make any connections between the two gens -_-. Probably not so I won't worry about it.

I wonder, what sort of land did Tirek come from. Cause any land that spawns a villain like that has got to make another appearance some time in the future. Also his brother, rather curious.

I loved how they brought up an event that was WAY in the past. Though I had to admit, I sort of thought it was a possibility. Goodness who knows what else got out with Cerebus off on his own.

The first song with Twilight wondering about her role in life really touched me. Currently I don't even know what I want to do with my life, but I know I want to do something. The song really touched me on a personal level and thus I give the episode an 11/10

[CaptainMcDerp]

Oh my freaking gosh I still haven't recovered from the sheer epicness that graced my lowly eyeballs. Especially that fight scene, good lord! No complaints here, everything was epictastic perfection. I got pretty teary eyed on multiple scenes and adored the songs. Sooo yeah, Twilight officially has the best key episodes (Such understatement!)

And now, like everyone else, I'm gonna have a tough time waiting for season 5. What a beautiful finale that was!

[tacobob]

I really enjoyed the episode.

A few things that made me go...eh...

Why in the wide, wide world of Equestria couldn’t they get Victor Caroli, the original VA for Tirek to reprise the character? The guy's voice is incredible, and he's still around. He was in 'Bravest Warriors'. Mark Acheson did a good job, but Victor is just awesome.

Twilight's new home. Eh. It's so cold and sterile looking. Hopefully they'll be able to make it a bit more homey by next season.

The main six's Rainbow-powers-look. Ugh. Good thing Rarity didn't catch herself in a mirror, or she would have keeled over in horror. I breathed a sigh of relief when they turned back to their good ol' selves.

What made me a happy camper.

Tirek! When I first joined Canterlot.com, that was one of my wishes as in 'Who should be in the show'. He was one of the really good aspects of the original MLP movie. (And thankfully he wasn't beaten by silly hippo-things, and he wasn't flying away on his wagon like a baby when this happened.)

We also get a peek of another GEN1 character Scorpan, who ends up being helpful, even if he only showed up in a flashback. Hmmm. Maybe next season we'll see Grogar?

That fight! Reminded me of something from Dragonball. Or that really really good battle in one of the Justice League toons..The Superman vs Darkseid one...And unlike ' Rescue at Midnight Castle', Tirek had a worthy foe to do battle with..

This picture of Discord and Fluttershy. For some reason I find it hilarious. I hope it was supposed to be a drawing..And not a photo, since Flutters is HUGE. And her eyes.

I do like the Justice League/Avengers type chairs they all get.

And a side note..If you're not reading the comic. Please do so. The current storyline is epic. It needs to be made into a movie.

[warmen111]

The episode... T'was amazing. The fight, the song, everything was just amazing. The only thing I was a bit put off by was this entire transformation thing. Some of the designs were fine, others were a bit iffy.

A few things to point out though:

1. So, the black spots on Luna her butt aren't part of her cutiemark?

2. Discord acting serious is surprisingly intimidating.

3. Luna finally singing

4 Now we have to wait an eternity for the next season again....

Oh well, this is probably one of my favorite two parters and the S5 two parters will certainly have a hard time actually topping this. Then again, the writers have never really disappointed us, now have they?

[MetalBronyATL]

Can I also mention that LUNA AND CADENCE SANG?!?!?! Luna's singing voice sounds like the same person who does Rarity's, which makes sense since Tabitha St. Germain does both Rarity and Luna's speaking voices. As for Cadence........she's officially best singing voice. I want to say her VA, Britt McKillip, did the singing as well since she is a singer outside of VA work.

[Keyframe]

Oh sweet Celestia. I was floored.

Tirek was, perhaps, the most effective villain in the series thus far. I actually couldn't piece together how they were going to defeat him up until the last minute where I had a déjà vu moment. Duh, the chest!

Nevertheless, he was menacing, and posed the greatest threat to Equestria since Discord's bid for power in season 2. Tirek's reveal was incredibly strong, and I loved the montage of his rise to power. There was that one scene where you see the shadow of a unicorn having its power forcibly ripped from it and I was just jaw dropped. Seriously, it was pretty intense compared to some of the villains in the past. Especially when you consider that these ponies are losing their entire identity and way of life.

I wasn't too wild about the music, however. The intro song was a little stilted, and easily forgettable. I don't know if they changed songwriters, but it just wasn't as memorable as songs in earlier episodes. That seems to be a consistent and disappointing problem. It didn't ruin the episode for me, but I was thinking about it in the back of my mind while it was happening. It seemed like more of an afterthought than a song actually put in to move the plot forward.

I had a good chuckle at the rainbow power though. I have some of those toys in my collection, and it never dawned on me that they were going to utilize that concept in the show...