Season 4 · 4:34pm Jul 22nd, 2014
So what do I think of Season 4 as a whole. Probably something along the mines of a really bad rollercoaster. It built my expectations up with he first three episodes, because not only were they good, played off of who our characters were and used Twilicorn and their season long plotline, they were just fun! However, then we start the dissapointing twists and turns of the rest of the season. So many episodes went by that were either just complete misses, and to take Antony C's thought, making me question why I was watching a kid's show that was so blatantly a kid's show, or episodes that had me care little to none about what I'd just watched that I didn't care about the ride.
To explain this further, so you can see where I might be coming from, I spent a month in agony. Rarity takes Manehatten, you've seen me rant about it in another blog post. But then came Pinkie Apple Pie which had a song that looked and sounded better in its animatic form with the crowd then on actual screen, and a lot of jokes that just had me rolling my eyes. I liked it okay, but it definitely wasn't what I'd needed after RTM. Rainbow Falls hit next and I could do a whole 'nother cinema sins attempt at everyone BUT Rainbow Dash in that episode and how poorly it was done. So yeah, another episode that just tore me apart. And finally, what made me question why I spent any time on this show, Three's a Crowd. Not only did it talk down to us, have a good bit of comedy that were complete misses or references, but also a Discord who thought a sledgehammer is a style of stealth. However, we finally hit the peak of the bad, and went down.
The rest of the season followed the way a lot of the other seasons have, with ups and downs, and like a good rollercoaster finishes strong and leaves you wanting more.. However there is one more thing that worries me to this day. The characters. Now, I will admit that they are our characters, however, they all seem to be leaning towards how Fluttershy is written. What I mean by this is that they cannot stay consistent between episodes. The characters not only felt out of character so many times, but had different traits of theirs pushed to the limits that it was hard to get a clear grasp on who they were still. It didn't help that in the ensemble episodes some would act completely idiotic just to get a part (Rainbow Falls, in so many ways), or act very different to serve the plot. (Someone would have kicked Flutters in the rear during Breezies for an example. She may have known the most, but the rest weren't braindead about them.)
So yeah, it was a ride, that albiet I enjoyed riding, felt very lackluster because the risks they took either didn't end up being risks or complete flops, and anything they built up (The keys, the Equestria Games, and the castle) were sidelined HARD! So yeah, I'm still excited about season 5, but I have a lot I could bitch about season 4, and I do believe it was the worst of the season.
If you disagree, as always, hit up the comments and tell me why. I love a good discussion, and this is one topic that I am ready to hear the arguments for and against and see if they sway me, because there were episodes I still love. (Pinkie Pride, Maud Pie, Castle Mania, all episodes I could watch over and over again)
Why u so negative, Jumble? D:
2306596 I consider myself an analysis, but I see why analysis have it so rough. Good episodes are hard to review because everyone knows why they're good and there usually isn't much to say. However, the bad is where you can find all of the little reasons why you found it bad. For something like MLP, I question myself on this a lot because I like it so much, which causes a lot of inner ranting about episodes, which then you all get to hear. Sorry.