A Look Back at Season Three · 11:07pm Feb 18th, 2013
Being the type of geek who likes to seek out others' views on things and compare them to his own, I've been browsing various pony-related blogs and sites and sort of soaking up the various opinions on both the season finale and the season in general. There seems to be a lot of agreement--not universal agreement, mind, just a significant amount of it--that season three was overall pretty weak. I don't know that I really agree, and I thought I'd do a little thinking-on-digital-paper exercise and run down the episodes, along with, briefly, my thoughts on them.
It's worth noting that while I've seen every episode of seasons one and two at least twice, I haven't really gone back to rewatch season three yet. This is due both to Hasbro's cracking down on YouTube uploads and to watching the whole season with friends, on their DVR. Repeated viewings might reveal things I forgot about or didn't notice the first time around; we'll see. Overall, though, I think I'm generally more positive about season three than most.
Without further ado!
The Crystal Empire, Parts 1 & 2
This one, I've actually watched... three times now? Maybe four. And dammit, I know I'm in the minority, but I really liked it. I thought Sombra worked as a villain; what little we knew about him painted him as a typical evil overlord type, but I liked what it implied about Equestria's history, and hell, I thought he was suitably menacing as a formless shadow vampire thing. Plus, the comedy was great (Rarity and her hat, floogle horns and the acquisition thereof), I thought there was a strong moral, and I liked the hints of an overarching seasonal storyline we got from Celly and Lulu.
Too Many Pinkie Pies
Okay, in hindsight, this episode was a little weak. There were some great bits, but despite the overabundance of Pinkies, it veered more towards personal tragedy than wacky comedy. Not terrible, just not very strong.
One Bad Apple
Strong moral, lots of comedy, cavity-inducing cuteness from Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo's swearing-in oath, Diamond Tiara being Best Villain, and the best song of the season, in my opinion. I loved this episode.
Magic Duel
I really need to watch this again; I've seen the last two minutes half a dozen times now (thanks, DVR + reruns), but don't have a crystal clear memory of the rest. I remember really enjoying everything about it, though, from the ominous opening, the worldbuilding via the existence of magic-boosting artifacts, Fluttershy's excursion, Twi's Jedi training, and the really-obvious-but-still-pretty-awesome way she beat Trixie. Definitely good times.
Sleepless in Ponyville
So. Freaking. Awesome. One of the best episodes of the season, easy. Everything from Rarity's casual abuse of her sister to Luna patrolling the dreamscape, just fantastic. Oh, and I guess Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash have a sisterly relationship now, if you care about that sort of thing.
Wonderbolts Academy
Yet another absolutely awesome episode. I'm not much of a Dashie fan, but this episode reminded me why she's awesome. Her being willing to abandon her lifelong dream in defense of her moral principles was a seriously powerful moment. Plus, the Wonderbolts really are a military organization! Once more, the fandom seems to have influenced canon. Good times, and great episode.
Apple Family Reunion
Seriously, AJ, just leave Apple Bloom and Babs alone. They don't care about this massive group of ponies that they don't really know and yet are apparently socially obligated to pretend to like. They just want to hang out together. Just because these other ponies are family doesn't mean that they're family, you know?
... I may be projecting my own discomfort with my extended family. But overall, meh song, meh episode, kind of made me angry at Applejack. Least favorite episode of the season.
Spike at Your Service
I seriously love Spike when he goes into wannabe-knight mode. It reminds me of my own misspent youth, reading The Once And Future King and trying to apply its moral lessons to my life. I also loved that giant timber wolves became canon, even if they're apparently held together by Scotch tape and old twine. Overall? Liked the episode, but I admit it's not the strongest ever.
Keep Calm and Flutter On
I... actually really, really liked this. I mean, Discord's sudden heel-face turn wasn't built up enough, but I loved that Fluttershy was trying to win him over with unflappable kindness while simultaneously being under no illusions that she wasn't dealing with a potentially dangerous and potentially unredeemable villain. It shows that iron core at the heart of her character, and it's refreshing to see a pony mixing idealism and realism in their approach to confronting a problem. Could it have been better? Sure, though I think making it a two-parter, as some suggested, would have been overkill. It needed more room to breathe, but really just another five or ten minutes. Plus, and best of all, it means that Discord can show up at any time from now on, and the more John De Lancie we all have in our lives, the better.
Just For Sidekicks
Best episode of the season. One of the best episodes of the whole show. The fact that the story broadened to include not just Spike and the pets, but all of the major side characters, was brilliant. Granted, I will never complain about the writers finding an excuse to inject the Cutie Mark Crusaders into a story, but they got frickin' Zecora in there, if only for a cameo! And, of course, we got one of my favorite running gags of all time:
"Angel!"
I sort of liked this episode, is what I'm saying.
Games Ponies Play
I liked it. The Mane Six Sans Best Pony seemed pretty dense for not realizing the "games inspector" was just a tourist, but it was cute and funny and whatnot. The gags with Rarity trying to prepare Cadance's mane were great as well. The resolution was pretty weird--the inspector had expressed disdain for the sorts of fakey tours she was normally subjected to, but apparently really likes hearing about the fakey tours other ponies are subjected to--but it was inoffensive enough. Plus, it was cool how it lined up with "Just For Sidekicks," which, as I mentioned above, was pretty okay in and of itself and helped elevate "Games Ponies Play" by proximity. So, another "just okay" episode, but nothing awful.
Magical Mystery Cure
And that brings us back to Do. I already said my piece yesterday, and won't bore you by repeating the same stuff. Suffice it to say, bad episode, not a bad setup for season four.
Well, let's tally this up. By my count, five really great episodes, four pretty good episodes (five if you count "Crystal Empire" as two episodes), two mostly inoffensive episodes, one disappointing episode, and one episode I feel some degree of animosity towards. Not exactly a bad score, if I do say so. And even "Apple Family Reunion," despite my hostility spurred by personal issues, still isn't nearly as bad as "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well."
Therefore, I feel confident saying that, in my studied and over-analyzed opinion, season three was overall pretty damn good. My only complaints are the lack of focus on the seasonal arc they set up (an episode somewhere in the middle about Twi learning more about Starswirl would have been both cool and helpful to the tone of the finale), and noticeable dearth of Rarity episodes. Season four's back up to full length, so the Best Pony better get the screentime she deserves. Grr.
Anyway. Your video for the day!
[youtube=vWIJPe912ic]
"Oh. What? Wait... what?!"
Nice to see someone who wasn't negative on most of the episodes.
Hope Rarity gets and episode or two in S4...
I'd be shocked if third best pony didn't get at least one if not more episodes in S4, the only reason she got left out in S3 was time most likely.
Also, I doubt that the Wonderbolts is a case of fandom affecting canon, I've been under the impression that they were patterned after the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds since before season two.
844166 I've always thought that myself, remember it was the wonderbolts that were sent to Ponyville when Spike went through his greed growth.
844099 Indeed, she is best pony after all.
Ooh, nice to see some positivity up in here!
As a whole, I liked season 3. I don't think it was as strong as the previous two, but I'm chalking that up to the fact that there are less episodes, which makes the disappointing ones stand out more.
Yes, we always need more best pony.
Season three was DAYUM good in my opinion, although of course far too short for my liking. I didn't care for Spike at your service or the Family renunion, but I liked all the rest, with some of them, like Sleepless in Ponyville and the finale becoming some of my favorite episodes overall.
I was disappointed with the lack of Rarity episodes, best pony deserves screentime to show off her fabulosity, but yeah, apart from that great season.
(Although I have to ask a serious question here, did ANYBODY like the Raise this Barn song in the Family Reunion? It was, in my opinion, awful beyond imagining. I mean, did she really have to pointlessly remind us that she has at least has education enough to count to four in every line?)
I think some of the Twilicorn haters are letting that color their opinions of the whole season, because I've been seeing a lot of people bashing the season as a whole. Which it doesn't deserve. Basic opinions, based on first impressions and subject to change once I rewatch them:
- Crystal Empire (the only one I have seen twice): Fantastic. My favorite of the season, and in the overall top ten. 5/5.
- TMPP: I was distracted and couldn't really sit down and enjoy this one, but what I saw didn't impress me much. Had its moments, though. 3/5.
- One Bad Apple: Pretty decent. My non-brony brother's commentary drowned the song out, but I liked everything I could pay attention to. 4/5.
- Magic Duel: Mostly magical eye-candy, and Trixie's apology felt forced. 3/5.
- Sleepless in Ponyville: Also fantastic. It took Scootaloo forever to get an episode, but this was worth the wait. Second favorite of the season. 5/5.
- Wonderbolts Academy: Felt like Merriwether Williams' apology for MDW. One of Dash's best episodes, annoying cliffhanger ending aside. 4/5.
- AFR: Didn't do anything outright wrong, but was very dull. 3/5.
- Spike At Your Service: Made no damn sense. 1/5.
- KCaFO: Discord was pure hilarity, and Fluttershy was awesome. The actual redemption was a bit rushed, but worked well enough. 4/5.
- Just For Sidekicks: Didn't leave much impression on me. It definitely had its moments, but was kinda 'meh' overall. 3/5.
- Games Ponies Play: Yawn. The tourist was annoying, the Mane Six were pathetically dense. Didn't like it at all. 2/5.
- MMC: Should've been a two-parter, but Larson did a good job with the time he had. I liked the songs, Twi's ascension was okay. 4/5. Will judge Twilicorn in general once we see what Season 4 does with her.