This will be an endless night

So you're either a "self-contained" (I'm not sure that's the word you want) season and good, or
Well, I did try to mean that the premieres of it were self contained (NMM, Discord) so it didn't really lead to the entire season being affected by their impact. The problems come about when you try including a 'bigger' theme (even if you do hint at it a bit, some people will expect to see it) from the onset. Then you expect to see those more often (again, not ENTIRELY throughout the season but just more)
Keeping in mind we still haven't seen the payoff.
Tis why I keep saying: "So far"

And I forgot to mention that the payoff was already leaked thanks to the Toys. I mean, we don't know exactly what they do (well, the EqG2 trailer revealed a bit of it and... well, this magical power from a world of magic and ponies now being used to win a Battle of the Bands contest?... yeah...) but we already know what they look like and again, EqG2 has already hinted that they'll be used to win the contest.
Oh, thanks for reminding me of season 4's "teaching others what we've learned" arc.
I generally black out during the morals because like Bats!, that felt awfully put in there "because". However, I have said in the not so distant past that what was great about the earlier seasons is that the characters we follow are learning about the world and others around them. Kinda like how the audience too are learning with the characters (even if the morals are quite common). I'm not entirely against the characters getting older and passing down their knowledge to the next generation but... I'ts just me yet I wish the lessons would be more meaningful or at least better portrayed. I like the moral of FttF but it lacked that certain 'mentoring' from say Sisterhooves Social. I know they're not sisters but I think the scene in Sleepless in Ponyville was a great scene (even if some people will say it was forced at the very last second). Maybe it was but I thought it built up well, that characters CAN actually be written 'out of character' enough to be believable either to serve the plot or either because sometimes humans act out of the ordinary too.
I know the big elephant in the room is Twilight Sparkle and... yeah, I'm not feeling her too (minority, I guess). I think I'm one of those people who liked it when she was socially awkward and had to learn about those around her. It sorta went away in S2 though you could say that it was resolved in RtH (Twilight saving her friends ala reversal from FiM part 1-2) or even Lesson Zero but we did miss seeing her being that awkward somewhat shy character. So with S4, Twilight is now a princess and alicorn right? Is she going to teach us anything wise?
...
Eh... I dunno. I just find her boring now that she's all mature yet not that level of wise you'd see in characters like Obi Wan in the Clone Wars series (he actually had a few interesting things to say and teach). Maybe someone else said this already but the lack of any Princess-y stuff or big responsibility (unles you count the castle which even then is underplayed so far) also makes her less interesting I guess this is another argument but yeah, Twilight too hasn't been teaching any worthwhile lessons. At least for me.
But yeah, it is a theme I guess but for the most part that aspect hasn't been hitting right for me. Their words of wisdom aren't exactly profound and their attempts to portray a heavy scene with a good moral hasn't really worked. Granted, I haven't seen the recent AB episode and I have been dying for some Big Sister + Little Sister interaction so that may turn out well
So a flaw in season 1's arc?
There's a few episodes where I felt Twilight wasn't needed (i.e. Green isn't Your Color because we're talking about Honesty here

) but for the most part she felt at the very least helpful as being the eyes and fish out of water character for the audience to follow from. And she did learn things from them. Were there any callbacks to the earlier episodes? I can't really remember but even then you could argue that it's because it's the first season that you didn't need to remind the audience that Twilight thinks Pinkie Pie is alright now. And you could again argue that RtH did show how Twilight is willing to go all out for them.
I'm still curious about that actually. Lauren expressed regret over not using her again sooner.
I have no doubt she probably wanted to but maybe due to production problems (well, not really problems but more that they couldn't do many 'big' episodes back then cuz less experience, 26 episodes, budget, etc.) it never happened. I recall Lauren saying she wanted to visit Luna's palace which the Batponies would be guarding. Somewhere in the mountains.
But in the end the test in the Crystal Empire was enough to resolve Luna's doubts. The rest of this seems like your expectations and headcanon trumped your ability to enjoy what was given to you.
True, there's always going to be some of the blame deserved on the part of the audience but I, when watching it and even rewatching, feel like it all foreshadowed something in the following episodes. Just before Twilight arrives, the whole scene between the two seem quite tense, y'know. The shadows, talking about Twilight being ready and Luna thinking she should go. The scene really felt like: "Oh boy, Twilight's gonna be needing help soon (either now or later)". And hey, the book at the end was BLACK!
Princess of the Night + Black Book + Dark Magic that Twilight used in the CE??? Yeah, I think those things (and the scene I explained) really justified why I thought there'd be something larger in store in the season (even the dark magic and Princess Luna didn't play a role afterwards).
[Season 3 stuff and how seasons improve over time and premature]
Tis possible. I myself have been known to change my opinions on episodes frequently. I may like TLR, then dislike it, then like it okay, then like it. The same for TCE. Liked it okay, liked it, disliked it, hated it, okay with it, like it (enough). Maybe I'll stop hating the least liked episode in the series (Pinkie Apple Pie) which funnily made AFR (my previous hated ep of all time) look much better
(S5 will probably then make Pinkie Apple Pie look like a masterpiece because of episode S05Exx)
So yeah, i'm not going to say I'm not willing to change and I expect my thoughts to change over time as shown in my updated S4 episode ranking list which I refuse to post because I'll get death threats
Yeah, it sounds like you've danced too close to the fire for too long and gotten burned.
Well, I actually wasn't intending to look for the stuff about S4 overall. I was trying to find out what they had in store for AJ... so obviously I was going to hear that other 99% from the panels since she only gets mentioned like once or twice when the panels are about two hours long each

Regardless, I do enjoy Behind the Scenes stuff and I wish there was more of it from an actual properly produce BtS or Documentary and that I didn't have to watch hours upon hours of the same questions and same introductions and same shenanigans from the panels
And there are a lot of people who would resent any more than what we've had so far. I can understand why the crew is being cautious.
Fans. Amirite?

In the eternal words of TotalBiscuit which even he can't prevent: "Never be a fan. You'll set yourself up for disappointment"
It's a given since this show has been around for so long and things have happened in the show, behind, and the fandom around it. Unless you're a new comer like you said, you will probably notice the deep divisions.
And I respect that, but I can only partially understand it.
The same back to ya

(though I was at least hoping that it was more of a: "Dont agree but understand" instead of "Don't agree and don't really understand"

)