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Personally, I thought the season opener was OK.
Though it was made good enough, I personally thought it had a lot more potential than what was shown.
The episodes for me suffered due to a mostly slow story and an anti-climatic ending. Sombra was also a bit underplayed. However, I did get vibes of Galactus of the Marvel Universe from Sombra.

So, A-/B+ in my opinion. Great, but not amazing.

Just watched the season 3 premiere with Deadparrot. MFW

I liked it a lot but…so much wut. I've got a lot to say on this, but I need to think about it first. For now, let me just mention that I really don't have much of a problem with the villain. Ya, he wasn't a terribly fascinating character, but he was functional. He served the purpose of a threat which adds the conflict necessary for conflict. Quit your bitching.

Also, Twilight Sparkle has unlocked dark magic…fuck yeah.

Wow, that episode(s) was shit. The pacing was wack, the songs weren't good, the villain was a one dimensional bad OC with no motive, and also the episode smelled. The rest of S3 better get it together.

Of that is something left over from when he exploded.

Alright, that 4chan quote. Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?

>The other villains were NOT annoying, that's just weirdo anon's opinion.
>The dialogue of prior villains did NOT water down their villainous tone. Where did he even come up with that?
>>>INSULT FLUTTERSHY'S FIGHTING SKILLS, WILL YOU
>Celestia being defeated wasn't that big a deal. Why are people still going on about that?
>Dark magic--so? You can be powerful and still really boring.
>He does NOT know your greatest fears, his awesome door does.
>No comment.

That's not even qualified to be a review, more like a troll-post.

Edit to response below: Yeah, but still.

@Fifths

I'll complain if I want, mutha dawg.

Now, there were some things I liked. I was hoping for some Shining Armor bawsity, and I was not disappointed. I expected that Cadance's alicorn status to be at least partially vindicated, and it was. The scene with that door, as previously mentioned, was awesome. Twilight's new dark magic powers and to laugh in the face of gravity are both pretty sweet. Finally, Luna, and that mysterious book… well that got my attention.

I thought Twilight and Spike's song was actually unnecessary, and used up valuable time that could have been used to better develop who exactly Sombra was, but I thought the Crystal Pony History song was used to decent effect. I also liked the fact that these Crystal ponies were genuinely afraid of Sombra, whereas in the past the populace has been mostly oblivious to the existence of such foes.

Also, am I the only one who thinks it would be pretty cool if Sombra was actually eradicated in that conflict, rather than merely "defeated"?

Anyway, final word; Sombra had a couple of points I liked, but he was kind of dull and OC-like. The rest of the episodes met with my satisfaction, particularly the fact that SPIKE! basically saved the day.

I think that the premiere was great, why? The story mainly focus on the reclamation of the crystal kingdom, not the main villain, Sombra, which people seem to focus on, which was handled nicely. When Sombra was 'defeated' his horn clearly survived the blast which will lead to future conflicts.

I do understand Sombra did not have that much plot development but his is a new villain which they intend to use throughout season 3 so I am not surprised that they saved his background story for later. He was not a bad villain for his archetype which is a strong dictator; it is hard to top a villain like Discord with his style. So overall, I think the episode was great if you mainly focused on the reclaiming of the kingdom rather than the villain because they clearly intend to expand on his story so this was merely his introduction.

4chans's reaction to the premiere:

@Tim: Where did you hear they want to use him throughout Season 3? Though that thing with Trixie would indicate it if true.

Millenial Dan wrote

Alright, that 4chan quote. Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?

>The other villains were NOT annoying, that’s just weirdo anon’s opinion.
>The dialogue of prior villains did NOT water down their villainous tone. Where did he even come up with that?
>>>INSULT FLUTTERSHY’S FIGHTING SKILLS, WILL YOU
>Celestia being defeated wasn’t that big a deal. Why are people still going on about that?
>Dark magic--so? You can be powerful and still really boring.
>He does NOT know your greatest fears, his awesome door does.
>No comment.

That’s not even qualified to be a review, more like a troll-post.

I believe you missed my statement "this post sums up my views in an obnoxious way" I was in no way taking this seriously

Okay so I watched the premier. Courtesy of the MLP page comments.

We told Twilight about stairs. We told her, dog.

But it just keeps happening.

Also the best part was the face Twilight makes at the start of the episode while collecting her quills. I froze the video just on that moment to laugh immaturely at it. [edit] Found it. I knew it would be in the image gallery somewhere

I think I know why I found it so funny, it reminded me of this

Moving on…
I take it that crystal ponies are supposed to explain those glittery semi-transparent toy models. But I like the concept. This is good material the fandom could use.

I hear there is a bit of complaining going on about the villain. Yes, he was pretty standard issue as far as evil villains go. Cookie cutter draconian ruler, if I ever saw one. But this is a kids show, what do you expect? Besides how can you top Discord for villainy? The writers already reached the ceiling in terms of kids show antagonists so I don't fault the writers for resorting to defaults here.

I spent most of the episode just freeze framing scenes and thinking "this would make a good image macro". Did anyone else do that?

I won't say where my conclusion came from because it will spoil a future episode, and no one likes spoilers.

@BSoD: He wasn't bad, yeah, you're never going to top Discord and such over the villainy, and I still like that face, especally when they used it for those contact lens commercial deals.

Well, most everything that has been said about Sombra has been said. I wish that he just had something more notable going for him. I did like the idea that he was more a Lovecraftian entity, but (as I said before) I like the way he looked in the first part more (basically a liquidy shadow cloud with eyes) than the second part where they made his features more defined. However, the fact they specifically showed his horn surviving the blast, and that he had regenerative abilities does pose for a possible return/ or at least back story (maybe in the comics series, though possibly the episodes) Hopefully they will work him right.

My entire arguement is this…

Too bad I made it into TL;DR

Created a room
GET YO FLANK IN HERE

FREEEEEEEE! FREEDOM!
I just finished watching the premier, and shall now take my rightful place in this thread and partake in my first episode discussion!

No spoiler tag can contain me.

Anyways, drama aside, I have read the aforeposted, and will now give my analysis:

-Existence of "villain ceiling", agreed.

-King Sombra's existence as a lovecraftian force/presence and the potential for future developments to plot/backstory, accepted headcanon, much anticipated.

-I give the episode an A minus. The thing I really liked was the lesson the show tried to impart, that self sacrifice be placed in higher regard than personal success, and how the whole test acted as a single-blind test of Twilight's character. I thought the failure/success/preparedness songs at the beginning and end were a bit meh, but I liked Ballad of the Crystal Ponies. 'A' for the episode in general and the potential for a persistent, orchestrating "man behind the curtain" type villain, and "minus" for the "meh" songs.

-Also, Twilight dabbling in the dark arts. So awesome.

SU-PREME HEAD-CANON PRIMED! FIR-ING SE-QUENCE IM-MI-NENT! PREPARE! PREPARE!

Anypony else just LOVE crystal pony hair?
And the highlights on their eyes are septagons!

Well, even though Sombra's horn survived the attack, I still think someone like Trixie might attempt to resurrect Sombra.

A pony thread!

After crash-landing in here just in time to join in the discussion on Season 3, the wild and mysterious Avi wanders into the mysterious habitat of the sixth Pony General thread to chime in with his opinion.

Wait, hold it. SIXTH?

There were five megathreads before this?

Well, I’ve been missing out, haven’t I? Way to show up late to the party, Avi, you slowpoke.

(Grumble.)

So, yeah, Season 3! Captain Obvious (aka Avi) to rescue this thread! Huzzah! I’m amazed at how much fan-art it’s spawned already, after taking quick stops at a couple of art sites. Like, seriously amazed.

I was lucky enough to catch the premiere on a livestream before the room filled up, because I don’t get The Hub for some stupid reason. Well, I’ll have to remedy that soon enough.

I thought it was alright. Not exactly “Sparkleriffic,” but alright. I noticed that a lot of the bronies I’m aware of were setting pretty high standards for the end of the drought. So was I. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up as high as I did. I managed not to crack and to avoid spoiling everything for myself, which is more than I can say about Doctor Who episodes I haven’t seen, and Homestuck. So I’m sort of proud about that.

Yeah, the Gak commercial. I checked earlier today, and saw an entry. Whoever posted that Batman image earlier, kudos, because I agree.

The MLP Wikia page already has little synopses for the next couple of episodes. I still haven’t snapped and looked at them yet, and hopefully I won’t.

I liked Sombra. I can’t for the life of me explain why, though. I thought that his artistic scheme was nice, and thought that he was just a likeable villain in general, like Discord. I think the show does a good job of with developing their villains.

Nobody messes with Spike, though.

Uhhh…..first post in this thread, and I’ve already run out of things to say!

I’m a brand new member, I need to make a good impression, the stakes are high!

GAAAAAHHH!!! I CAN’T TAKE THE PRESSURE! HAVE A RANDOM PONY PICTURE!!!

GETS DOWNVOTED

POST HIDDEN DUE TO LOW KARMA

I could not stop gawking at the crystal ponies hair once it made an appearance on screen. Soooo pretty :3
I wonder what the crystal ponies will do now that they are safe and free to do whatever they want? (probably just stay in their empire and have the show forget about them)

Also, welcome to the party, Avi.

Quick point:

The problem with critisising Somber just yet… is we technically haven't "Met" him yet.

We've only seen him on the other side of a barier and what he left in his castle. Then, three lines when he breaks through.

Haven't… met.

Edit: in fact, he only really gets… what? 2 minites screen time?

@Avi

There were five megathreads before this?

Correct, there were 5 consecutive generations of Pony Generals on KYM before this one. You've missed a lot. It still surprises me how so many Bronies gather around the MLP page and comment there for months but never find out that this thread exists.

Also welcome

@Blue

I agree, this villain was mostly just an evil presence to be battled. Not a character like Moon, Discord or Chrysalis. Everything he did was straight out of the evil malevolence text book 101 with no real characterization. I'm guessing that most of the whining stems from that.

Someone will make a tumblr for him, but it will all be guesswork. We really have nothing to go on. Frankly I don't think the fandom took this dude seriously from the beginning. Remember the response we gave to the first leaked images of him? We weren't sure if he was a joke or not.

This could either mean that:

A: Plans to develop the character of the Lost Smoke Monster (I'm calling him that from now on) are reserved for another episode where he will appear again in more detail

B: The writers knew that he wouldn't appear again just like all other villains (the writers really don't do recurring villains) they also know that they aren't required to make strong villain characters in a show like MLP unless they have a moral to say about conflict, so they didn't bother.

I'm banking on B

>mfw the new episode was, unfortunately, crap

I can't say I didn't see it coming.

Am I the only one on this planet who liked the songs?

@Blue Screen (of death)
Well, they are making at least one of the comics about the return of Queen Chrysalis, so I would not be surprised if something like this happens with Sombra. Personally, if this does happen, I kinda want to see back story, but really any information about him other than he's evil would be nice.
@anghstyHoodie
Personally despite being disappointed at the lack of notability of Sombra, I still liked the episode. Not my favorite, but I still loved watching it. However, much of this was due to the newer animation style and not seeing new episodes for quite a few months.

I wonder if Somber's physical form was somewhat based off of an interpretation of the Kirin (or Qilin), similar to this one pictured below

He did have a similar horn and he did look like a dragon (in this shot especially)

@crystal pony hair

I liked Dash's and Rarity's.

@everyone who thought the episode was crap

But… but… but…

I happened to really like it. I even had practically the entire first part spoiled for me from previews and such and I still enjoyed it. I think everyone else must have had a higher bar than I did. The episode was funny, action-packed, suspenseful, and gave us some new canon to play with. That's all I ever wanted, at least.

And the songs were amazing.

I REGRET NOTHING.

FINALLY! SOMEONE WHO GETS IT!

It wasn't everyone, it was just two or three people.

I didn't think the new episodes were terrible, I just think they had strong points and weaknesses, the same as all the others.

@Millennial
I didn't say everyone thought it was terrible, I was just specifically addressing all who did.

@Stargazer

I think everyone else must have had a higher bar than I did

I suspect that is what's going on. People forget this is MLP; it's just a show about cute ponies doing cute things and looking cute. It's made by a small group of people with Adobe Flash so the bar should be set pretty low for it

I can't even take it seriously enough to criticize it. But some people seem to think it's being directed by Peter Jackson

Not going to lie, I thought it was pretty decent. Certainly didn't think it was awful, that's for sure.

Thank you for welcoming me, everypony. (I don’t really use that term, but in this case I think it’s acceptable.)

Yeah, I also liked the songs. I just didn't think they were very necessary. I thought that the episode could have done without Twilight and Spike’s number, but I still enjoyed it.

I hope we’ll be seeing more of Sombra in the future. I think the production team should build on the new canon they've established, and now I understand what the leaked pictures of him meant, which is nice.

None of you see Pinkie.
None of you will notice Pinkie..

PINKIE SEES ALL!!!

…..Pinkie meant to do that…
CURSE YOU SCP-409 CURSE YOU!!!!

The premiere was a kick between the legs to people such as myself who were anticipating an episode that lived to the standards of Season 2's ending. At least Daniel Ingram knew what he was doing…

I hate to sound like a broken record, but Sombra was definitely the weakest villian so far. All he was doing was sitting outside of a dome of magic and changing the color of the landscape to black when he finally broke through. I don't understand why Celestia was being the sitting duck again, either, returning to the excuse of "Twilight, you have to do this" once again after coming to terms with the fact that she can't overcome the power of any emotion. In the previous case it was love, but now it's sadness. They've given more steam to the fandom train now, but this is hardly a lasting impression compared to what I was looking for.

I guess I'll be rationing my remaining food supply here on "I-Want-More-Rarity Island", with the show's renewal of the phrase "Spikey-wikey" to keep my hopes up…

That was fun.
Eeyup, that was incredibly fun.

Some of ya gotta remember the MST3K Mantra. I thought of Sombra's presence as a refreshing way to depict a villain, plus it's obvious he might come back later on due to his severed horn and regeneration abilities. Also, I noticed something very familiar about Sombra…

And that lead to a messed up crossover:

AND THAT'S THE WAY WE WASH OUR HANDS! FALALALALA LALA LA LA!

OK, so let me rephrase my statement. I liked the episode, I really did. The plot was great, although somewhat contrived, as Insouciant said. We've got some new canon to build on, especially the crystal ponies. However, and this especially applies to your post, BSOD, they could have spent more time characterizing Sombra. I know they can make a character with little more than "evil" if they want to, but every single other character in the entire show has some characterization. Even ones with few appearances, even a single one, get personality within seconds. Take this bitch:

Within seconds of meeting her, we knew that Silver Spoon was rich, she was annoying and mean, and in minutes we also knew she was a follower, not a leader. She didn't really do much during Call of the Cutie, but the characterization was strong enough that her and Diamond Tiara became recurring CMC antagonists.

Or how about this guy?

He has three things he ever says:

• Eeyup
• Nnope
• You should be ashamed of yourself, humiliatin' your sister 'n' me like that. We don't wanna talk to any y'all right now so take your little gossip column and your embarrassing photographs and just go away!

(Okay, and a few more, but those three are the only three you're going to think of when you think Big Mac.)

Yet his overall personality doesn't need words to shine.

Then there's Sombra. He's just a flat character, vanilla evil. We could have even just gotten some motivation for why he took over the Crystal Empire; as it is, he just conquered it because of reasons. Just a bit of motivation would have helped his character. Another quibble – why reconquer the empire when it's Celestia and Luna he has a beef with? They're the ones who turned him to shadow. Taking the empire doesn't serve a huge purpose at this point, especially since it's being protected anyways. You could always take advantage of that as a distraction…

Phew. Sorry 'bout that. Got mad for a sec.

Anyways, this kind of sums up my feelings about Sombra:

The title was "Door is Best Villain". A door was more memorable than the actual pony.

I think everyone else must have had a higher bar than I did.

Bitches don't know about my awesome "don't get over-hyped" skills

Anyways, Twili makes a very good point about how well the show establishes character traits without the characters even saying a word.

Le suddenly realise… The Subtitle to this thread is now relevant…

The ponies… have returned!

Pony general VI: Return of the Poni!

/shrug

@Twilit

Could they have put more effort into characterizing Sombra? Probably.

But I don't find myself particularly caring. It's all a matter of expectation: whether you think the show should appeal to teen/adult standards or if it just needs to be good enough for the kids.

Actually Blue, I look at it a little differently. It's not so much about being over-hyped or expecting too much from the show, but rather it's about looking back and asking what worked for the show in the past, since those aspects are what caused many of us to become fans. The expectations of some can certainly carried away at times, but I think in this case, the argument is merely that the quality of the show should avoid being anything less than what it has been, especially in the handling of new characters and villains. That's all.

And all that stuff's a long way off from making me dislike it. The only thing that has ever shaken my feelings about continuing to watch and love the show is actually this looming possibility of Twilight becoming an alicorn or a princess or some other such weirdness. I'm adamantly against that, especially since it would feel like it was an attempt possibly even to end the show altogether.

@Dan.

As a matter of principle, I'm not against Twilight becoming an Alicorn. But I am… Mildly disturbed by the possibility it could go wrong.

I like risks, but if they are deciding to do this as a sort of impulse (As some of us would) or for money alone, it could be utterly shattering.

If it happens, and it works, I'll support it fully, but for now… all I can say is that they should think long and hard before they do it.

I've done a fair bit of thinking on it, and I've come to the conclusion of "Plausible". But I'll never be rid of those doubts unless they do it… and make it work.

Its a weird position, sure. Practically bordering on "Dual think".

I can't take a solid position on it. And I advise against a solid stance on it for others as well.

Just… keep one eyebrow raised untill we find out what's going on. Skeptisism is a better stance than distaste.

…My personal stance is "Cautious Optimism", I don't want them to jump into it and make a mess; but I'm hoping that IF they do go ahead with it, they will make it work.

If things ever at any point look like a Twilicorn would fail, I'll go straight for asking for the breaks; and tell them get their head in gear before doing something risky. But if things look fine, I'll let them proceed.

I'll still be nervous as hell. But I'll let them proceed.

Gah! I've got a real split opinion on that issue! Good? Bad? I don't know!

And all that stuff’s a long way off from making me dislike it. The only thing that has ever shaken my feelings about continuing to watch and love the show is actually this looming possibility of Twilight becoming an alicorn or a princess or some other such weirdness. I’m adamantly against that, especially since it would feel like it was an attempt possibly even to end the show altogether.

My thoughts are similar to this.

However, I don't mind the show ending after Season 4 or Season 5. I think that might be the ideal amount of episodes to explore and develop the Mane Six, Spike, the CMC, and the other main characters without making everything so explicit that it leaves no room for imagination for the kids (target demographic, MLP fans, and broneis alike.)

What I don't like is thinking that Twilight will become something where she is in a class over everyone else. I've always enjoyed the slice-of-life, character-focused format of FiM best, but in the last four episodes (and the set-up for many other episodes by this "test,") it seems like it's going to turn into a story less than a universe.

I guess I had always hoped that Twilight's studies would end at some point and that she would return to Canterlot as an advisor to the Sisters or something. Something more than a student, but not a Princess who would help rule (or rule by herself if DHX really wants to get fancy) over Equestria. I would prefer that day come and there be a tearful, bittersweet goodbye, but this sets up for a goodbye that wouldn't actually be as bittersweet.

>Ending the show
>Not bittersweet

…Oh, gosh. They're going to do it, aren't they? This would be a perfect way to end the series without it being too sad, because Twilight's a princess now. In theory, anyway. And perhaps in the eyes of the target demographic, that would be a "good end" that doesn't leave a bad taste in the young viewers' mouths. Doesn't make the children remember the feeling of hating MLP for being so sad at the end. Perhaps it wouldn't necessarily happen anytime soon. There can be many character development episodes that would basically serve as "filler" for as long as Hasbro wants (and the staff at DHX is willing) to continue, and then the story can progress as needed until "Princess Twilight" is canon.

It sets up too well. It's kinda hard for me to see it as ending as anything else.

All good things must come to an end and other clichés. I certainly don't want FiM to drag on for more than 8 seasons, I don't think. But I was not prepared for this…

With that in mind, Cadance, Lauren Faust's resignation, and other show-related events have happened that have worried me. As someone on Derpibooru said:

I trust the showrunners with whatever they want to do with the show. I think we’ll be in for an awesome season.

EDIT: Wait a second.

…but in the last four episodes (and the set-up for many other episodes by this "test,") it seems like it's going to turn into a story less than a universe.

>Begins with Twilight reading a book
>Story of the princess
>"turn into a story"
>Already a story

Stop it, brain! Stop it.

I thought continuity was a big thing bronies wanted to see more of… why are you guys disappointed? These guys don't do the whole "generic villain without any personality or motivation" thing. Do you think he's not coming back? Do you think King Sombra can be bested so easily? DO YOU INSOLENT FOALS REALLY THINK THIS IS THE LAST YOU WILL SEE OF YOUR DARK MASTER? Add to that, Twilight AND Celestia both know dark magic. There's a possible chance of alicorn Twilight in the future. Also, what was that book Luna magicked up at the end? This episode wasn't my favorite, but it has me super hyped for what has yet to come.

I agree, I was disappointed we didn't get to see Sombra more fleshed out in the season premiere, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again sometime later during the season. I don't know if Trixie will ally herself with him or anything, but that would be interesting. Personally, I still subscribe to the idea that he's somehow related to the Nightmare Moon incident. The mist around his eyes reminds me of Nightmare Moon's mane, and the way he's formed from shadow really reminds me of NMM when she changed into a purple mist, flitting about the Everfree to wreak havoc in episode 2.

My money is on the season finale consisting of Twilight's need to avoid making the same mistakes as Luna. King Sombra can't be bested without dark magic, as we've already seen. If the power of this dark magic can only be unlocked through the likes of sadness, anger, hatred, etc., it would make him the perfect catalyst to set these events in motion.

Back to chowzburgers theory on Trixie, I'd imagine him to be more likely to subtly influence Trixie than to be summoned by her. Here's another theory that I bumped into that sounded pretty cool, as well as plausible:

>Twilight sacrifices Alicorn powers in the end
I'm pretty sure most of us will optimistically accept this part as fanon until the season is over. :V

Tim the Enchnter wrote:

I won’t say where my conclusion came from because it will spoil a future episode, and no one likes spoilers.

Then put it behind a spoiler tag. You can't just say they're going to use him throughout the season like it's a fact without posting the sauce! I MUST KNOW

@Verbose.

Well. Considering the success of the series as a whole; I doubt they'll want to end it at all…But…There is a loophole.

Basically, they can't leave the characters behind; or the world. Its become too precious to us. But the fact is, they can continue the stories of the same characters under a different dynamic, and a different subtitle.

We see this happen often whenever a show makes a big change to the premise, but is still part of the same world and continuity. TMNT involved a perpetual fight between… well… you know… And then they went "Hey, lets throw them into the future!"… They re-title to avoid confusion over continuity. And then… yeah.

With MLP, it would go something like "Hey Twi', you've passed your biggest challenge so far and ascended; you've also done well enough to pass your studies. But there's a few things you're going to need to do for a few months." And after a "See you in 6 months" speech she goes off for a while, probably learning Alicorn stuff.

And then, a few months later, the show returns retitled, with the same characters. Twilight has returned to pony-ville, and she brings a dire message on some state of affairs. And the 6 join together again to defeat new evil, but find themselves in a place where hardship comes more often than in pony-ville. There they will teach the inhabitants the meaning of friendship, the remaining 5 will discover their destinies along the way, and (If we push it) discover an ancient conspiracy/prophecy that they may have to contend with on a daily basis.

That's one thought. And certainly not the most well thought out one, but it helps explain the hows and why of a continued show after the end of the original premise.

In fact…

Its possible they may already be doing this angle…

… And they may be doing this angle without doing a retitled.

But eh. That's kinda crazy.

If the whole Twilicorn thing is being introduced this season, I'd probably prefer the idea of mere revelation that it will happen eventually.

Think visions of the future. Ancient prophesies, or time-travel to a future where it happens.

I mean, it kinda seems a bit early a thing to spring on us. And at the very least, an early warning episode would probably diffuse the sting a bit. And then they can build up to it, have the characters make progress towards it. And generally have us all prepared to accept it.

That said: What do I know? My Screen-writing classes don't cover "Dramatic shifts in premise mid story." Because it generally deals with movies. So…

What's the deal with Gak, whatever that is.

Everyone watched it, but me… Feels batman…