The first part of the two part Season 3 opener was for me good but not great. So many great things, like the music and mostly great characterisation and writing, but with a more consistent pace, less of an over-plotted feel and a much stronger villain it would have been the great episode it could easily have been considering the potential. 'My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic' mostly does a very good job with its two parters, with some though better than others.
Here is the second part of "The Crystal Empire" and it maintains the solid but a little disappointing quality that the first part had. For all the same reasons, in terms of strengths and flaws. There are far better episodes of Season 3, but certainly a lot worse as well. Both parts of "The Crystal Empire" are somewhere in between around high middle, but there are better two parters of the show. With these two parters, the second parts can either be even better than, slightly inferior to or about the same as the firsts. "The Crystal Empire" for me fits in the third category.
Once again, and for the same reasons as before, "The Crystal Empire: Part 2" has an awful lot of good, even great things. The animation continues to be beautifully coloured, richly detailed in the backgrounds and clearly drawn with a lot of care and love, even looking more polished and atmospheric than the previous two seasons (and the animation was great in them too). Especially the gorgeously designed Crystal Empire itself. The music is always dynamic with the action and beautifully varied in mood. Loved the songs just as much and they are quite infectious and don't screach the episode to a halt, the success song is a sheer delight and one of the season's best songs. "The Crystal Empire: Part 2" does again a wonderful job with the world building, where one is fully immersed.
Also loved the moral of the whole two parter and it resonates more in Part 2. It is such a relevant and easy to relate to moral, this is something that the show was very good at on the most part, and it is handled with force yet also sincerity. The dialogue is amusing and poignant often and the story compels enough with a good deal of emotional impact. Lifted by the character writing and interaction, which is even stronger here than in Part 1. Really related to Twilight, who is a character of many shades (found this to be the case for much of Season 3 and the show in general) and is one of the main source of the episode's past. Pinkie Pie is often hilarious and Rarity is funny yet benevolent. Spike serves a purpose and is helpful and quite likeable. Cannot fault the voice acting, very rarely did.
For all those great things, the drawbacks that brought Part 1 are still there in "The Crystal Empire: Part 2", found them even more flawed here actually. Like Part 1", Sombra is a missed opportunity for a villain, underdeveloped and very forgettable with no threat posed and his character design takes getting used to. Jim Miller voices him beautifully though, will admit that.
Did still feel generally that there was too much going on, more so than in the first part actually, and the story felt even more over-plotted and rushed. Found the ending too rushed and Sombra defeated far too easily, still a little over-agression from Rainbow Dash and not all of the jokes land.
On the whole, could have been better in terms of story but sets the tone of Season 3 well and has a lot to recommend. 7/10
