YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S9 E1 "The Beginning of the End – Part 1"

• Broken Base:
  • Sombra's new characterization and new voice. In "The Crystal Empire", Sombra was The Chessmaster who relied on traps and planning to break through, as well as having a very deep voice. In "The Beginning of the End", he's more of a Smug Snake who arrogantly believes he can conquer Equestria alone, uses all sorts of dark magic directly, and his voice is noticeably different (thanks to being played by a different actor). Which of Sombra's two characterizations is the better one was the subject of fan debate for some time.
  • The matter of Celestia and Luna retiring and Passing the Torch to Twilight and co. There are three camps for this.
    • 1) A long overdue replacement given Twilight and co. superior accomplishments in a fraction of the time compared to Celestia and Luna, who had a poor onscreen track record and were shown to be burned out by their responsibilities with the most charitable explanation being they were past their prime, and consistent with the Lauren Faust's original plan to have Twilight succeed them.
    • 2) A train wreck in the making forcing Twilight and co. into a position they were completely unsuitable for given their lack of political experience compared to Celestia and Luna's centuries, Twilight's then-unresolved neuroticism meaning she couldn't handle sudden curveballs like the retirement announcement, and having to do both Celestia and Luna's work when each alone pushed them to their limits.
    • 3) A good idea on paper marred by lackluster explanations ignoring better ones and poor execution (the haste at which they planned to do so, failing to explain how they were expected to handle all their new responsibilities or properly train them only giving them time to do so after being delayed due to an unrelated crisis).
• Epileptic Trees: Some unhappy with Sombra's new characterization, particularly for making his comics portrayal Canon Discontinuity, speculate new Sombra wasn't actually revived but was instead a replica or similarly separate enemy (which became more plausible after The Reveal in "The Ending of the End") hence their different personality. This wouldn't address the discontinuity as Rarity states Sombra was last seen destroyed despite witnessing his resurrection in the comics.
• Fan-Disliked Explanation:
  • The stated reason for Celestia and Luna retiring and Passing the Torch to Twilight is that "Equestria is currently enjoying its longest period of harmony in recent years." Many found this unbelievable given how often Equestria has been threatened throughout the series, and outright impossible Equestria would have survived this long much less be prosperous as it was if this was considered peaceful in comparison. If this was due to Twilight and friends being so much more effective at dealing with threats, there's no reason they wouldn't have stated this when explaining how they were worthy of succeeding them.
  • Luna explaining she's "looking forward to a little R&R", while seen as valid for Celestia, was disliked as she had only ruled for a fraction of the time and her whole character arc was defined by her desiring recognition and approval for it making it seem OOC she'd give it up on an apparent whim. Luna also had the job of Dream Walker and Dream Weaver, and the episode (and the rest of the series, for that matter) fails to explain how/who would take it over in her place, seemingly leaving Twilight with a 24/7 responsibility that Luna barely managed part-time even with greater experience.
  • They state "Everything you've gone through over the years has been a training program" explaining the long running question of why despite their power they left the Mane Six to deal with everything and why Twilight was ready to take over despite giving such short notice. While the former was a popular fan theory, by this point many found it discredited by the sheer number of times they proved inept even when they did act and how nearly all the threats were so unexpected and urgent they wouldn't have held back. And, as Twilight points out, the things they learned and accomplished over the years are different than the political experience this position would require.
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • When Sombra invaded the Crystal Empire, where were Sunburst and Mistmane?
  • What were the greatest fears of the other members of the Mane Six?
• Fan Wank: Many unhappy with the change in Sombra's character rationalize that it was due to being resurrected improperly or in a way that made them actually a separate entity.
• Genius Bonus: The runes that make up the circle that summons Sombra say "In one direction, horse."
• Hilarious in Hindsight: This picture from 2011 manages to be quite accurate as to what Grogar would look like in canon G4.
• I Knew It!:
  • As many people predicted, Twilight would eventually succeed Celestia and Luna, which this season confirms. To elaborate, the main reason Princess Celestia and Luna let the Mane Six handle most threats to Equestria^note not to mention Princess Celestia making Twilight Sparkle her star pupil, arranging for her to make friends in Ponyville, letting her confront Nightmare Moon, arranging for her to defeat King Somba, giving the test that made Twilight an alicorn, crowned her the Princess of Friendship, and even put the Mane Six in charge of the Friendship School, etc was because Celestia was secretly preparing Twilight to be her replacement. This episode more or less confirms it, with Celestia and Luna announcing their desire to retire and pass the torch on to Twilight and her friends, while pointing out how the Mane Six have been saving Equestria and running the School of Friendship without their help for so long as an argument for why they're perfect for the job.
  • Fans speculated that King Sombra would be revived after he was blasted to pieces in the Season 3 premiere, and that he would have a much larger role. Their predictions came true.
  • Likewise many guessed the remaining villains would end up teaming up since, being the final season, that's the only logical thing by this point.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The face Chrysalis makes when she giggles insanely while talking to wood carvings.
  • Equestria is currently enjoying its longest period of harmony in recent years.^note Luna's statement in the first part of the season premiere has not gone unnoticed by fans who were quick to disagree. This is because Equestria underwent a Sugar Apocalypse at least once per season and was invaded by a warlord in the 2017 movie. If anything, Equestria is anything but harmonic in recent years. Which makes you wonder what could have happened before the series premiere that would justify such a response...
  • #NotMyKingSombra^note A reference to #NotMyLukeSkywalker. Sometimes used by fans who dislike Sombra's new characterization, prefer his old characterization and/or how the comics portrayed him, etc. .
• Older Than They Think: Twilight succeeding Princess Celestia as ruler of Equestria is something that was planned as far back as Lauren Faust's days planning out the series. Not that it was required of the writers by this point in the series, given Faust’s departure from the team and Twilight’s own preexisting responsibilities and mission as Princess of Friendship.
• Spoiled by the Format: Because the Mane Six's first defeat of King Sombra at the Crystal Empire takes place towards the end of this first part of the two-parter season premiere, you know that the Mane Six aren't done just yet, and that another part of the conflict with even bigger stakes is about to transpire.
• Tainted by the Preview: Given King Sombra's well-received portrayal as a Darth Vader expy in FIENDship Is Magic and Siege of the Crystal Empire (even despite the latter's controversy), some fans are disappointed by the staff's decision to invoke Canon Discontinuity on it and revert him to a Generic Doomsday Villain.

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