MLP Seasons 1-3 Rewatch Thoughts

As some of you may remember, I used to do reviews of every MLP episode, and stopped midway through Season 3. I still kind of wanna continue those in depth reviews eventually, but at this point I don't have the motivation. But since I've been rewatching the whole show, I decided I could at least muster up the energy to give my general thoughts on each season, though I'm grouping the first 3 into one 'review' since I already made full reviews of most of these episodes.

Season 1
My thoughts are relatively the same as they were back when I reviewed these episodes, but probably improved a little bit overall. It's really cute, charming, and funny, just like I thought when I reviewed it, but I just felt more of those qualities than I did a few years ago. Might be nostalgia, but I don't really think that's most of it. More specifically, there were a few episodes for which my thoughts have changed pretty significantly. I'll go through them in order (not gonna talk about EVERY episode where my rating has gone up or down, just the ones that I think are noteworthy).

Dragonshy - This episode made me laugh waaaaaaay more than it used to, and has honestly became one of my favourites of the season. Fluttershy making a goat noise and falling onto her back, Rarity being the sorest loser ever, Pinkie doing whatever it was she did, there are so many classic moments here. My thoughts have changed from it being an 8/10 to it being 9/10 (I mean I did technically give it a 9/10 back then, but that's because my scale was weird so whatever)

Bridle Gossip - While most of my thoughts on the episode have stayed the same, I do have to say that Flutterguy hasn't aged the best. A girl having a deep voice treated as a joke? Yeaaaaaaah, the implications of that are pretty problematic. I still think it's an 8/10, but less enthusiastically.

Feeling Pinkie Keen - I understand the unfortunate implications you can get from this episode, but I just can't help but love it anyways. The Looney Tunes humour is so on point here, and to be honest the message can be good in some cases. You don't always have to understand something to accept it. Yes, if taken to the extreme, that's a terrible message, but if your friend has a weird hobby or something, or you're losing sleep over how the universe could possibly exist, I think this lesson is applicable in a positive way. 8/10

Green Isn't Your Color - I really loved the interactions in this episode, and the conflict is also really well done. I did point this out when I reviewed the episode, but my analytical thoughts didn't resonate with my personal feelings as much as they do now. Also the comedy from Pinkie is top notch here. I'd give this a 9/10, and it's probably in my top 3 favourite episodes of the season.

Over A Barrel - It's kind of hard to describe why I enjoyed this episode more than before, but I guess I just appreciated the vibe and the conflict a lot. Speaking of which, I know people take offense to the parallels to real life that can be drawn from this episode. And while I agree that that's unfortunate and this episode is sort of European propaganda, I'm not so sure that actually makes the episode worse on its own. Because from an in universe perspective, the Buffalos did get what they wanted in the end, a path to stampede through, and the settler ponies kinda did have a good reason to use the land. They need to live, while the buffalos from what they said just need the land for their stampeding. I don't know about you, but the former sounds more necessary, and again, the buffalos WERE able to do that by the end of the episode, so it's really not like what happened in real life. Also the episode's hilarious. 8-8.5/10

The Cutie Mark Chronicles - The last one might have been sort of difficult to explain, but this one I'm REALLY not sure how to. Basically everything I said before about this episode applies now, just to a slightly greater degree for some reason. Maybe I just appreciate the classic and grand vibe of the episode more, or how well it all connects in the end. All I know is that it's a 9/10 now.

The Best Night Ever - To be honest, the above description basically applies to this episode as well. I'll also add that the ending is really sweet and cozy. 9/10

Another thought I had that's less about any specific episode and more about the season as a whole is that even though I liked it more than I used to, there are parts that haven't held up as well. While it is definitely very charming, there are some things that make it less charming, like some crude jokes and gags. And this is a really weird detail I noticed, but Fluttershy seemed to be less...graceful in this season, if that makes any sense? I could probably find specific examples if I went back and looked through the episodes, but she's just not painted as angelically as she is in Season 2/3 (not that she's perfect there, but closer to it). And Twilight's dry wit is as great as ever here. My favourite episode of the season is still A Dog And Pony Show. Just such a funny, over-the-top episode with a great lesson. Meanwhile, my least favourite episode is probably still Swarm of the Century, though it's more enjoyable for me than it used to be. Overall I thought the season was an 8-8.5/10. Great start, and things only got better. Much better.

Season 2
To be honest, my opinion on this Season was much closer to my review thoughts than they were for Season 1. In other words, I absolutely adored it.

Lesson Zero - I definitely had heaps of praise for this episode before, but I love it even more now, mostly because of how much I enjoyed the core conflict/lesson, which my younger self didn't as much, and I mainly enjoyed the comedy back then. I think this is probably a 10/10 now.

Sisterhooves Social - Basically the same story. It's just so sweet and earnest. 10/10

Sweet and Elite - Probably the episode (along with Sisterhooves Social) that solidified Rarity as 2nd best pony (at least until Season 5). 9/10

A Friend in Deed - Sadly, my opinion has actually lessened on this episode. Pinkie not letting Cranky be and being praised in the end for that is just so bad, even if the comedy and song are still great. 3.5/10

Hurricane Fluttershy - It's hard to believe I'm saying this, but I loved Hurricane Fluttershy so much this time that I'm actually considering whether or not A Canterlot Wedding is my favourite episode. Still a 10/10 either way.

MMMystery on the Friendship Express - I still love this episode, but I kinda felt the lackluster mystery more than I did before. Doesn't change the rating from 9/10, but it does make the episode slightly less enjoyable.

As I said, I don't have nearly as much to talk about because my thoughts have stayed pretty similar to what they were before. My favourite episode is either A Canterlot Wedding or Hurricane Fluttershy (likely still the former though), and my least favourite is obviously A Friend in Deed. I probably liked Season 2 a little more than last time, even if some of the episodes have become worse. Easy 9.5-10/10 regardless.

Season 3

Finally onto new stuff (well, as new as Season 3 can be considered anyways, given that it's 10 years old). Which to be honest, was significantly better than I thought it'd be. For this season I'm gonna be rating every episode, giving short thoughts only for the episodes where I have something to talk about.

The Crystal Empire - Still the best premier, and one of the best two-parters in the show. 10/10

Too Many Pinkie Pies - 9/10

One Bad Apple - 3/10

Magic Duel - Suuuuper fun and atmospheric. 9/10, and honestly close to a 9.5.

Sleepless in Ponyville - My objective thoughts are basically identical to my personal thoughts now. 9.5-10/10

Wonderbolts Academy - 9/10

Apple Family Reunion - 8/10

Spike At Your Service - 8/10

Keep Calm and Flutter On - I absolutely love Discord, so I knew from the start that this episode was gonna be a treat, but I didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as I did. It's honestly one of the funniest episodes I've watched so far, and Discord's arc of realizing he appreciates Fluttershy is very sweet, if a little rushed at the climax. 9.5/10

Just For Sidekicks - Gummy making facial expressions is weird, but also cute. 8/10

Games Ponies Play - This episode is surprisingly enjoyable, and Cadance teaching Twilight her trick about how to calm down is great. Plus Cadance in general. She's honestly really underrated. And "Put the pudding out to thaw before you eat it or you'll crack a tooth?" Is amazing. 9/10

Magical Mystery Cure - The songs hold up quite well, and do a great job of making the technically rushed story feel well paced. The second half of the episode (in addition to Twilight's glowing epiphany after her brooding solo, which kinda gave me vague destiny Avatar vibes) is really something special, and has all the vibes I'd expect from what was supposed to be the series finale. Celestia's Ballad almost made me cry, summarizing Twilight's growth throughout the past 3 Seasons masterfully, and Twilight flying out of Canterlot with the gorgeous lighting in the background put such a huge smile on my face. It's only really held back from a 9.5 by some pacing issues (and the lyrics of A True, True Friend being TRULY (ha) lazy for a majority of it, hard carried by the exceptional visuals and vocals). 9/10

Equestria Girls - Veeeeeeery overhated. It's not the best thing ever, but it's still quite a strong movie. Seeing Twilight try to adjust to her wings then to being a human is never gonna not be funny. The Humane 5 are similar to their pony counterparts, but have enough differences due to being teenagers and humans that they feel distinct. Sunset's quite cliché, but she's threatening and enjoyable enough to not really weigh the movie down for me. Flash is a very nothing character, but nowhere near as awful as people make him out to be. Just a little uninteresting. And some of his awkwardness is actually charming. The climax is also pretty great. The Sailor Moon esque transformation sequence and speech is pretty amazing. Sunset's reformation is weird though. I'm not sure if the Element blast forcefully made her good, or made her see the error of her ways while not literally warping her mind, or if it was just defeat and Twilight's speech that changed Sunset. I wish something was said about that, but oh well. Also the songs are pretty nice, especially the Cafeteria Song. 8/10

All around, Season 3 is extremely good, and actually has more amazing episodes than non-amazing ones, which was barely the case even in Season 2. That one bad episode (or One Bad Apple ) is quite a con though, considering there's only 13 episodes in the season. My favourite episode's The Crystal Empire, and my least favourite's One Bad Apple. It's either a 9 or 9.5/10, and I'm probably leaning towards the latter, just low in that tier cause of that one major weak point.

Join me next time when I talk about the amazing Season 4, which I've already almost finished half of. Thanks for reading!