MLP Episode 912: The Last Crusade

Well, this is going to be interesting.

The Last Crusade

Written by Nicole Dubuc

I like the idea of one of the characters worrying about moving and leaving their friends behind. But I've watched the show long enough to understand that nothing is going to break the Crusaders' friendship. They try covering it up with a lot of tear-jerking and heartwarming moments, but they completely lose their shine due to how obvious the ending is.

That's not to say the episode is without its merits. For the first time ever, we finally get to see Scootaloo's parents. It's nice to see her hype them up as cool and being proven true when they defeat an escaped cragadile at the school. That's a nice establishing character moment right there. And even though I don't comment about character designs, the father's an earth pony and the mother a Pegasus, which might explain Scootaloo's poor flying abilities. She's half-Pegasus!

And there's even the implication that her aunts Lofty and Holiday are married, which is very progressive in a kid's show. As much as I cared very little about Trade Ya!, they showed a disabled pony which was a nice touch.

Unfortunately, that is where the praise ends. Despite Scootaloo's parents being nice characters and all, this episode just raises in-universe questions why Scootaloo never brought them up in a conversation up to this point. Does she really not care for them as much as the episode wants us to believe? On top of that, what's even the point of having her parents turn up if we never see them again in the last thirteen episodes?

You'll notice that earlier, I said the ending was obvious. The episode itself feels like an allegory for friends moving away and trying to cope with it during their final days together. This wouldn't be a problem if Scootaloo hadn't chose to stay in Ponyville after all, which means all the tension and drama leading up to this point was for nothing!

If I had to compare it to something else, look at Toy Story 3. The ending is one of the biggest tear-jerkers in cinema history, and yet you're still smiling knowing that Woody and his friends will have a new kid playing with them. Before all of that, they were afraid about being abandoned by Andy when he went to college and ended up at Sunnyside Daycare before realizing it was a sort of hellhole being run by a monster in the guise of a pink teddy bear.

And then, when they escape, they end up close to death before being saved at the lost moment and that was when Woody decided his friends deserved a better fate than being stuck in the attic. It all comes together towards the happy-yet-emotional ending, and a real masterclass in storytelling. Yes, this film had 90 minutes or so to work with, but you can still tell emotional stories in a shorter runtime.

As an example, there's Sleepless in Ponyville. Scootaloo looks up to Rainbow Dash like a big sister and wants to be as cool as her when she grows up, but she's afraid she'll abandon her for being afraid of scary stories. It's only when Luna speaks with the young filly that Scootaloo opened up to Rainbow Dash about how she really felt. It hits all the right notes, the ending is earned, and there's something to actually gain out of all of it.

Getting back to The Last Crusade, and that's the overall problem with the episode. It very much goes for the "Status Quo is God" trope, which is one of the worst when it comes to writing. It makes the overall conflict pointless and there's nothing to gain out of watching it.

Also, think about how many times the status quo has been broken in Equestria, some leaving impacts bigger than others, I'll admit: Twilight moving to Ponyville from Canterlot, Princess Luna returning, the Cake twins being born (why they're still babies after at least four years in-universe time, I don't know), the wedding between Shining Armor and Cadance, the return of the Crystal Empire, Discord's redemption, Twilight becoming an alicorn, Rainbow Dash become a Wonderbolt reserve before joining the team full time, the destruction of Golden Oaks Library, the growth of Twilight's new castle, Griffonstone rebuilding itself, Rarity starting up business outside of Ponyville (once in Canterlot, once in Manehattan), the Crusaders gaining their cutie marks, Starlight joining the main cast, the birth of Flurry Heart, Ember becoming the new Dragon Lord, Flim and Flam running their own business in Las Pegasus, Thorax taking over the Changeling kingdom, Fluttershy starting up an animal sanctuary, Big Mac and Sugar Belle starting a relationship, the Crusaders helping foals their age figure out their destinies, the Pillars of Equestria and Stygian coming back from limbo in the present day, Hippogriffia coming back, the School of Friendship being founded, Maud finding a new coltfriend, Sugar Belle getting an internship in Ponyville, Spike gaining wings, the Tree of Harmony being destroyed and then revived, and by the end of the season, we'll see Twilight take over for Celestia and Luna. (Wow, that's a lot of changes to the status quo, now that I think about it.)

And yet Scootaloo moving from Ponyville is where the writers draw the line? That's a total cop-out if I ever heard of one!

There's a very simple way to fix the episode without making the ending obvious or relying on the "Status Quo is God" trope. Have Scootaloo first talk to her parents about the situation, and so they show pictures of their planned new home, giving Scootaloo the chance to think about this decision with her friends. They're still sad about the idea, but they give her support because kids are resilient when it comes to a friend moving house. Scootaloo then thinks about all the adventures she had in Ponyville, and figures that she could still have new adventures in a new place and return to Ponyville whenever she has the chance. Even if she makes new friends there, she'll still have her old Ponyville friends to go back to, as if they were never apart to begin with. There's even the possibility of helping blank flanks beyond Ponyville discover their true destinies!

See, looking at what I propose, that is where The Last Crusade really slipped up. Yes, the ending is uplifting (or at least, it was intended to be), but if they went for what I propose instead, it would be even more so and beautiful with the Crusaders coming out the other end a lot stronger emotionally, developing their characters.

Final Thoughts

If you want this story done right, watch either Tanks for the Memories or A Shed for Edward from Thomas and Friends. The former does a great job in showcasing Rainbow Dash learning to accept the fact that Tank would be going into hibernation, and the latter's ending properly shows how to deal with a friend moving away.

The Last Crusade, as it stands, feels like it was designed to be watched once, and even when watching for the first time, the ending is obvious, making the entire conflict pointless. The only salvaging moments were getting to know more about Scootaloo's family, showing how much the Crusaders care for each other, and the plot is relatively fine for the most part. But other than that, the end result is really frustrating.

Rating: Terrible (-2/10)