So let's talk ponies!

Believe it or not, I have in fact been keeping an eye on the newest season, and now that the final episode of S5 is upon us, I think I need to reveal my thoughts on at least a few of these episodes. Please keep in mind, these ARE opinions. And because they're mine, they're absolutely correct and I can't help it if you're wrong.

Read on past the page beak. Er, the peg break. The pig brake! The, the line! Read past the line!!

Let's start with the season opening. I'll be honest with you guys: I really, really dislike Meghan McCarthy's writing. I wasn't impressed with the S2 finale, nor was I impressed with the S4 finale. (Yes, the one with Tirek. Just couldn't get behind the idea much.) And it's no secret that I hated both the first EqG movie AND Power Ponies.

The biggest reason as to why I hated those is that Meghan simply can't write decent villains.

Or decent romance. Or decent drama. Or decent anything.

I understand there's limits to what you can do in a cartoon like this, considering you only get 22 minutes to tell a story, and there's quite a bit of censorship to watch out for... but nearly every aspect of nearly of her work on this series just ended up a ground-up mess.

"But I blame the story editors... wait."

So when Rainbow Rocks came around, despite its rushed feel, there was a lot Meghan got right. The songs kicked ass, the third act was hella tight, the this was that, and the Dazzlings were the most interesting villains we've seen in this show for a while. In fact, the villains were so well-designed that I suspect Meghan had absolutely nothing to do with their creation.

So okay, I cut her a little slack with that one.

But then we got... this.

She is officially my most favorite villain in the series. I'll be honest, this "friendly next-door neighbor" villain just works for this series. Even after she's discovered for the fraud she is and freaks out, she's never over the top like Discord or Tirek were. She's so much more... methodical, subdued in nature. I think her pseudo-cheerful veneer makes her a much more appropriate villain.

The entire S5 opening, start to finish, is easily Meghan McCarthy's biggest contribution to this series. The songs are catchy, the situation starts out creepy but clips along at a comfortable pace into a frenzy, the new characters they introduce are awesome, the climax is both a great payoff AND a fantastic foreshadowing.

About the only mistake I can think of is Applejack's hilarious chainsmoking tranny voice. Can't believe that let that one slide. (I also can't find a Youtube video of it. That makes me sad. )

So I have pretty high hopes for the finale, since it involves Starlight Glimmer's return, alongside time travel.

...I don't know whether to feel happy or sad. Maybe I should be prepared for both this Saturday.

So now that we've talked about both the opening and finale of this fifth season, we'll talk more about the episodes that aired in between...

...tomorrow.

Ehhh, don't be like that. This sandwich ain't gonna eat itself, and yes it'll take me till tomorrow to finish eating it.

Tremendous heartburn, here I come!

Comments

[BenMitchell90]

And here I thought I was the only person who didn't go crazy over "A Canterlot Wedding" (the whole plot hinges on pretty much everyone being a complete moron) or "Twilight's Kingdom" (ANOTHER two-parter where the non-Twi main six are pushed to the sidelines and need her to save their asses. Whoopee.), and thought "Power Ponies" was about as exciting and memorable as an evening in the coma ward (I don't even think I finished it lol).

Also completely agree with you on "The Cutie Map" and Starlight Glimmer. It's my favorite two-parter, and Starlight's my favorite villain too. Really interested to see what they do with her; I've heard some interesting things.

As for the rest of the season: I enjoyed it. It had some weakass episodes, but it had a LOT of good and great ones as well. "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" is easily my favorite episode of the whole show so far (it still makes me tear up). Another standout to me was "Hearthbreakers". It's mainly because I fucking LOVE Limestone Pie (that character is my spirit animal; she's behind only Scootaloo as my favorite pony period), but it's also a great episode all around, and way better than the last Hearth's Warming episode we got.

Really eager to read more of your thoughts, they're always golden :D