Right, let's get this done, then it'll just be the holiday special before I can take a break from TRR for a bit! "School Raze" got a generally positive reaction with a few major dissenters, something that's pretty common for finales – the final episodes of seasons 5 and 6 also went a similar way. No Railfan Brony this time, as they've chosen to do a video review. That's balanced by TRR welcoming GuardianSoulMLP.
Cuddlepug
– very negative (graded D; "Quite frankly, “School Raze” is a disaster [...] quite baffling how poorly written, illogical and nonsensical it all is. ")
Derpy News – mixed (graded B+; "This finale unfortunately ends up on the lower end in comparison to
other season finales with only “To Where and Back Again” and “Best Night
Ever” being below it.")
The Dragon Warlock
– wildly positive (graded A+; "School Raze [...] manages to blow me away [...] Cozy may actually be the best villain the show has put out [...] I haven't felt this good about a finale in a long time")
DrakeyC
– very negative ("the good - Neighsay [...] The bad, unfortunately, is everything else. [Cozy Glow] makes no sense at any point [...] a leaky mess of a story held together by two strips of duct tape and a
lot of prayers")
GuardianSoulMLP – very positive ("HOLY CHEESECAKE ON A STICK!!! That was so epic!! :D")
JDPrime22 – positive (rated 9/10; "Cozy wants to take over [...] for no reason or real backstory at all. She's just
evil because… evil. [...] Other than that, really good finale!")
Lightening McQueen – positive ("Very good. The story was cool [...] Cozy Glow used to be one of my favourite characters, but not anymore [... b]ut Neighsay has grown on me now")
Louder Yay – positive (rated 4/5; "I suspect that it might not age
terribly well [but] I did like Cozy Glow as a villain [and Neighsay's] portrayal was interesting [...] It may not have been S8's best ep, but it was surely among its most watchable.")
Mega Sean 45 – positive ("I just love how manipulative Cozy turned out to be [...] We finally get to see Tartarus for the first time, and... it was pretty underwhelming. [...] So was this my favorite finale? I'm not sure, but it's up there")
MLEEP Reviews – extremely positive (rated 10/10; "the first season finale in a really long time to truly feel like a real season finale [...] intense and suspenseful story that keeps you engaged throughout")
ShutterflyEQD
– positive ("The student 6 played a role like no other in this big finale.")
Hello, Logan, I found your blog about a month back (?) after a discussion we had in the post for the US airing of... The Washouts, I believe (?), on past seasons and the like, led me to find your blog. I may not have mentioned it before, but I too am a Pony fan in... well technically Ireland, not the UK, but a lot of the same things apply. Anyway, I really like your blog, you've got a healthy mix of episode and fandom-centric stuff (already discovered a good few fics thanks to your fic roundups!). So keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious... is there any requirements to joining Text Review Roundup, other then having somewhere to post text reviews that's free to view, and doing so ASAP after episodes premiere, so they're available for you to use? If so, I suppose my fimfiction profile will do fine.
As you might recall, I joined the show and fandom after seeing the Movie, and spent most of Season 8 lurking while still watching new stuff as it came out. I want to try and get more involved round the fandom or the last season. And given I love analysing, this seems a good an addition to that as any!
Hello! Thank you for the kind words. I don't expect things on the blog to change much, and Ponyfic Roundup will certainly continue. I'd like to bring in a little more merch coverage, as I used to do that a bit more in the old days, but it's a case of finding the time...
DeleteI'm curious... is there any requirements to joining Text Review Roundup
Beyond what you mentioned, not many. All I really need is for them to be in English, out by the Thursday after an episode airs and... well, that's largely it. Fimfiction blog reviews are fine, so if you feel like dropping me your username there (either here or by Fimfiction PM to "Loganberry") then I'll gladly add you to the roster.
I want to try and get more involved round the fandom
Good stuff. :) The fandom isn't going to disappear after S9 -- I mean, I know a number of active G1 fans -- but it probably will get smaller and quieter. After I've posted my review of "Best Gift Ever" (hopefully on Tuesday) I'll be starting to look forward towards S9 myself.