MLP Season 7 Rewatch Thoughts

Season 7. The season where things finally started to go downhill for MLP after 5 seasons of pure gold. But despite this season having more mishaps than any before, it still had plenty of soaring highs to still make it a super enjoyable experience overall.

Celestia Advice - Some of the writing is a bit awkward and it sucks that there was a bunch of suspense built up about Starlight leaving then it was just dismissed, but it was cool to learn more about Celestia. 7/10

All Bottled Up - The humour and lesson are incredible, and Startrix is always an entertaining combo. 9/10

A Flurry of Emotions - Flurry’s an absolute joy to watch, Shining and Cadance are really fun, and I love the lesson about knowing your limits and not expecting children to be able to sit still for hours. 9/10

Rock Solid Friendship - Such chemistry, much wow. Also appreciate how Pinkie learned a lesson about her overbearingness unlike most episodes. 9/10

Fluttershy Leans In - YOU GO FLUTTERSHY! Fluttershy was obviously epic in this episode, and despite what some people might say, this episode isn’t about how you shouldn’t listen to experts. In this situation, Fluttershy was the expert, and sure her vision wasn’t very clear, but the “experts” should’ve asked for clarification instead of just going against her wishes. And the episode clearly tells us that the problem isn’t experts themselves, as Fluttershy herself invites Big Daddy McColt, an expert who cares about the animal, will listen to her, and help make her idea into a reality, or in other words, an expert that’s suited for the job. Also the episode’s super cute. 9.5/10

Forever Filly - Sweetie Belle in her edgy phase! 9/10

Parental Glideance - Yikes. Coulda been an amazing episode if the resolution was handled well, but placing the blame on Rainbow when her parents were the ones in the wrong is a huge flaw, and the whole “My family situation is worse than yours so you should appreciate yours” is pretty awful. 2.5/10

Hard To Say Anything - 8.5/10

Honest Apple - Guitar Rarity is great and I love Applejack learning about tactful honesty, and the fact that simply stating that something is your opinion doesn’t make it valid. 9/10

A Royal Problem - I may not love this episode quite as much as most people, but it’s still really really fun seeing more of Celestia and Luna, and Daybreaker’s epic. 9.5/10

Not Asking For Trouble - 9/10

Discordant Harmony - The Discord humour is top tier, Fluttershy trying to be chaotic is simultaneously the funniest and cutest thing ever, and the whole episode is sooooo charming and wholesome with a beautiful lesson about friends accepting you for who you are. The jazzy music is such a vibe too, it’s honestly one of my favourite leitmotifs in the series, and adds a surprising amount to the lovely atmosphere of the episode. 10/10

The Perfect Pear - You all know what this episode’s getting. Though I acknowledge that Pear Butter and Bright Mac’s relationship is pretty underdeveloped, gosh darn it this episode still hits me in the feels like a truck! One of the few episodes to fully make me cry, in the scene where the Apple family talks to Grand Pear. Just something about the tragedy of how his last conversation with his daughter ended on bad terms and he’ll never see her again got to me. And that song is amazing. 10/10

Dance Magic - Rarity x Sour Sweet is lowkey a good ship, and that song is gooood. 8/10

Movie Magic - 7/10

Mirror Magic - Sunset and Starlight’s interactions are incredible, Juniper’s reformation not so much. 8/10

Fame And Misfortune - Ehhhh I don’t think this episode is as bad as some people say, but the message of ignoring criticism is pretty dookie. 4/10

Triple Threat - I love Ember and Thorax. 8/10

Campfire Tales - Mistmane’s tale is by far the best. 7.5/10

To Change a Changeling - 7/10 

Daring Done? - Pretty interesting conflict for a Daring Do ep. I think the episode would’ve been stronger if the conflict wasn’t instigated by Caballeron, but a lot of the things he said were true, which lessens the blow. 8/10

It Isn’t The Mane Thing About You - This episode is super funny and punk Rarity is awesome. 9/10

A Health of Information - Incredibly engaging story with excellent characterization and one of the best lessons in the show about the importance of self care. 10/10

Marks and Recreations - 8/10

Once Upon A Zeppelin - Twilight’s family is such a W. And that scene with Cadance comforting Twilight is so good. 9/10

Secrets And Pies - One of the most classic mlp vibe episodes in a while. And absolutely hysterical. 9/10

Uncommon Bond - Really love the lesson about not needing the same interests to be friends with someone. 8.5/10

Shadow Play - This is a bit of a weird episode. It has such an epic and grand feel. This is due in large part by the masterful score (seriously, this episode has some of the best BGM in the whole series), outstanding visuals, and Stygian having incredible presence in the few scenes he’s in. The moral is also excellent in concept, in that it’s essential to have open communication with your friends so you don’t have misunderstandings that weaken or break your friendship. The side lesson about not letting adoration for someone cloud your judgment is also good. Twilight nerding out is great, and Star Swirl being a dick is pretty fun. But there’s also a fair share of issues with the episode. The pacing is a little slow in part 1, especially with the whole retrieval of the items, which while enjoyable scenes on their own, don’t REALLY need to exist for the story (or at least they didn’t need to take up 1/6th of the episode). While I loved the scenes with Stygian (especially his entrance in the present where he immediately destroyed the thing that could trap him, his VA had an absolute blast, and he went like BOOM into the sky), there’s not enough of him on screen, and he doesn’t accomplish anything major in the whole episode despite being hyped as the ultimate evil (like I literally don’t think anyone other than the heroes even knew he was around). But by far the biggest issue is the handling of Stygian’s reformation. He stole powerful artifacts from his friends behind their backs and didn’t try to tell them why, yet THEY were somehow the ones in the wrong. Like I get that they could’ve asked him why he did what he did before casting him out, but it’s definitely not mainly their fault. If the episode treated it as a two sided thing then that would’ve worked a lot better, but as is, it’s painting the guilty party as purely the victim. Sure, the darkness probably corrupted him, but that whole thing is left far too vague. There really should’ve been more scenes spent on that. But ultimately, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the heck out of Shadow Play despite the issues. Objectively it might be lower, but personally it’s one of the more enjoyable two-parters. 9.5/10

My Little Pony The Movie - The animation is gorgeous, the new celebrity characters are really cool, especially Capper, Tempest is a very imposing villain for most of the movie, the Storm King is fun, there are some really great tense scenes (some of the action scenes of course, but also Twilight and Pinkie’s argument), and the songs are really good (I’m The Friend You Need is the highlight, Capper’s just a goat). Though I have a similar issue with Tempest as I do with Stygian. Her turning evil is not justified well enough at all. I’ve heard that the comics make her more sympathetic, but you shouldn’t have to consume supplementary material to appreciate a character. 8.5/10

Forgotten Friendship - Really cool concept, Sunset reuniting with Celestia is amazing, Sunset and Trixie are pretty much as good a duo as Starlight and Trixie, but agaiiiiiiiiiin, why is Wallflower mad at people not remembering her when she’s the one that erased their memories? Why is she specifically so angry at Sunset when there’s no mention of Wallflower being targeted by her or anything? The whole thing about how you should be nice to everyone and we’re all important is nice and all, but the delivery needed work. 8.5/10

So yeah, I definitely had more issues with this season than any other and it’s somewhat inconsistent in quality. So despite the incredible highs, this is definitely one of the worst seasons up to this point, only surpassing Season 1 and rivaling Season 3. But despite that, there aren’t nearly enough negatives to hold me back from loving this season a lot. My favourite episode is The Perfect Pear for making me cry like a baby, and my least favourite is Parental Glideance for having one of the worst morals in the show. As a whole, Season 7 is a 9-9.5/10, probably leaning more towards the former. So it’s still a phenomenal season of television, just lacking compared to the rest of this outstanding show. Don’t think I can say the same about the next season unfortunately.