In a lot of ways, "Return of Harmony" works better as a finale for Season 1 than a premier for Season 2. It's the culmination of all the friendship lessons, using them to save the day, and it balances the Epic Two-Part Battle Against Ancient Evil from the beginning of the season. Meanwhile, "Lesson Zero" actually introduces the new premise of the show.
But I actually think it's better placed where it is, both because it leads well into "Lesson Zero" in ways we'll discuss in the next couple of weeks, and because it is a strong enough episode to be excellent wherever it goes. "Best Night Ever," on the other hand, would be badly overshadowed stuck between "Party of One" and "Return of Harmony." Also, "Best Night Ever" is a celebration and reminiscence of Season 1, while "Return of Harmony" is about closing off Season 1 so that Season 2 can begin.
In a way, it would have made a decent series finale, if not for the fact that the additions to the show's world-building raised an uncountable number of questions.
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty big "if not for," come to think of it.
I think what you're picking up on there is that it's a narrative collapse. Check back in 20 hours, there may be something about that... ;)
DeleteJust to make clear, I don't mean "narrative collapse" in the alarmist Rushkoff sense. I'm referring to a narrative technique made possible by an increasingly savvy and engaged audience, which does to plots and show premises what character collapses do to characters.
DeleteI seem to recall hearing that the writers had originally planned to have "Return of Harmony" be a between-season special, like G1 used to have, instead of the season 2 opener.
ReplyDeleteInnnteresting. It would certainly have worked well in that position!
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