Mane Eight Ranking, Version 2 · 4:09am Jun 13th, 2016
Maybe it's a bit too soon, since we still have over half a season to go and a lot could change since then. But some things have happened since then, so I think it's to reevaluate where our eight main characters stand. Here's the original list, pushed out just after Season 5 wrapped up. Chances are this list will update again once Season 6 ends, but we'll have to wait and see. In the mean time, let's find out who moved up, who moved down, and who stayed the same.
8. Applejack
Why she dropped to the bottom: Poor Applejack, you had so much potential when the show began. But as Tommy Oliver pointed out, after the first two focus episodes, your character completely dried up. Since then, it's been pretty much the same. Sure, Applejack has been a great supporting character in episodes like "Sisterhooves Social" and "Pinkie Apple Pie", but as we've seen painfully in "Made in Manehattan" and "Applejack's 'Day' Off" when it comes time for her to be in the spotlight on her on, she's just not compelling enough to hold the scene together. It doesn't help that her only focus episode this season is yet another one that has to exaggerate one of her flaws to make up for the fact that the writers can't seem to do much of anything with her. I've said once, and I'm gonna say it again, in order for Applejack to become a more compelling character, she's got to get off of the farm. Give her some sort of long term goal or motivation, just trying to tack on new flaws (such as trying to make her a control freak) can only do so much.
7. Rainbow Dash
Why she moved down: I hate to do this to you, Rainbow Dash, I really do. You were amazing in Season 5, and it seemed like the writers finally pinned down how to bring you back to your likeable Season 1 self. And then came "Newbie Dash" and the horrible cringe fest of Mane 5 impersonations. The writers seem to love using Rainbow Dash to teach the harshest of real life lessons, but I think it's appeal is starting to wear off here. Rainbow Dash really needs another episode like "Flight to The Finish" or "Sleepless in Ponyville". We need to see more of her at her best, and that surprisingly seems to be when she's helping motivate others, or when she's standing up for what she knows is right even if it costs her personally. Now that we've seen the mare behind the mask, I think it's time we stopped having episodes where Rainbow Dash hides behind it and acts like a jerk. "Flutter Brutter" is a good start, but Rainbow Dash should be getting this kind of potrayal in focus episodes as well.
6. Starlight Glimmer
Why she moved up: Though it seems like her redemption has been hastily rushed through, and she might as well be a different character all together now, the writers have managed to convince me that Starlight deserves a chance. I just wish we had the chance to see her outside of her focus episodes, sort of like her cameo in "Spice Up Your Life" but bigger. Starlight's absence was a particularly harsh stain on "Newbie Dash" and "Applejack's 'Day' Off", and I think she could've been worked in well in "Gauntlet of Fire" and "The Saddle Row Review". She's got her moments of cuteness, and it's great that she's changed her mane so as to reflect her new outlook on life. But I'm still not entirely sure it was in the show's best interest to redeem her, at least not in the way they've gone about it. I'm hoping that the season finale is being written specifically to correct this, because we need see proof that Starlight has changed for the better and deserves her second chance, and the only way that's going to work is if she's presented with a chance to join the dark side, a sort of "What are you in the dark?" type of struggle.
5. Spike
Why he moved up: I'm not sure if it's because Josh Haber's in the director's seat now, but Season 6 has been a wonderful season for Spike so far. "The Crystalling" gave him a bigger role than in any other two parter to date, and he was handled very well (not to mention he played off of Starlight just as well as he has played off of Twilight and Rarity). "Gauntlet of Fire" is the focus episode Spike needed and the one we deserved, one that treated him with respect and had him at his finest. Since then, the show seems to have done a decent job of keeping that character growth intact, he doesn't seem to be a punching bag or the butt of jokes as often and I appreciate this change. The fact that Big Jim Miller has promised us more awesome Spike episodes in the future sounds almost too good to be true, but I hope Jim's telling the truth. Up to now, even the best of Spike outings had problems ("Secret of My Excess" had some clunky worldbuilding that made it seem like Spike would never grow naturally, "Inspiration Manifestation" had the constant friendzoning and a bit of a rehashed climax, and "Equsteria Games" had that cringey part where he tried to sing the Cloudsdale anthem), bu "Gauntlet of Fire" did everything right and seems to have opened the doors to a bright future for Spike. Based on what happens later on in this season, he might even be able to claw his into the top three.
4. Twilight
Why she stayed the same: Twilight's only episodes of focus this season have also included Starlight Glimmer, and gone for the route of "The student teaches the master a lesson". While it's not a bad thing (Twilight is inevitably going to make mistakes as she settles into her new role), it has led to problems as we saw in "No Second Prances" where she suddenly became possesive of her student and almost hypocritical, even though she thankfully learned her lesson (and it may have a bit understandable why she acted the way she did towards Trixie). Hopefully, Twilight will get a chance to shine on her own and truly shake off the ghost of "What About Discord?" from last season. I don't know if we can get another "Amending Fences" or "Lesson Zero" from her, but it can't hurt to hope for such material, right?
3. Rarity
Why she moved down: Funny how we went from practically no Rarity at all in Season 3 and much of Season 5's first half, to an abundance of Rarity in the past year. She had three focus episodes in a row in terms of airdate in Season 5's second half, and has appeared in every episode of Season 6 so far (with the exception of "On Your Marks" and even then she was the only mane eight member to get mentioned), despite only really getting the focus in "Spice Up Your Life". I think she could've easily been cut from "No Second Prances" and "Applejack's 'Day' Off" (heck that whole episode could've been cut to make "A Hearth's Warming Tail" a two parter) without scarificing anything. And unfortunately, her presence in "Gift of The Maud Pie" led to a huge plot hole that ultimately ruins the story (Pinkie Pie could've easily asked Rarity to design the pouch for Maud without having to trade away her party cannon, but then there wouldn't have been an episode). I'm glad we got to see her interact with Pinkie Pie though, even if her potrayal in "Spice Up Your Life" hurt her even more than her hogging of the screen time so far did. We need to see more of Rarity with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, heck she even needs to interact with Fluttershy for an episode again, and while we're at it we still need a RariLight episode it's one of the only mane six pairings that still hasn't been explored yet.
2. Fluttershy
Why she moved up: "Flutter Brutter" was the Fluttershy focus episode she needed after "Scare Master" reset her growth for the umpteenth time. I've mentioned several times that Fluttershy works when she remembers her growth, not when she backpedals from it. I just hope the back half of Season 6 will be as kind to Fluttershy as the first half has been, because last time Fluttershy got hurt pretty badly in the second half as "Scare Master" will attest. And considering the second half of Season 4 gave us "Filli Vanilli" and "Trade Ya!", I sure hope this isn't a trend and that Season 6's second half will give Fluttershy the focus episodes she deserves and not the ones that the writers think are easier to write. It's also interesting to see that she is surprisingly an older sibling and not a younger sibling for a change, something that only Rarity and Applejack have in common.
1. Pinkie Pie
Why she stayed the same: Well, so far it seems that "Newbie Dash"'s potrayal of Pinkie Pie was an isolated incident, because in every other episode she's appeared in this season she's pretty much been on a role. "The Crystalling" made a good callback to "Baby Cakes" Pinkie Pie and used her really well during the second part trying to control Flurry Heart, "Gift of The Maud Pie" despite needing to tone down Pinkie's behavior a little still showed her heart and selfless nature (to those wondering why she suddenly got so attached to her party cannon, LillyPeet proposed the idea of it being a P.S.S.D gift from Maud), "No Second Prances" treated her well for the little amount of screen time she had, "A Hearth's Warming Tail" perfectly cast her as The Spirit of Hearth's Warming Present, "The Saddle Row Review" had Pinkie Pie being her usual random self in a slice of life story without being over the top about it (and gave us that wonderful scene involving a shoulder angel and devil Rarity), her cameo in "Flutter Brutter" was alright (though the highlight was definitely her collection of photos of random ponies and nonponies), and "Spice Up Your Life" showed us that Pinkie Pie might know more about baking and how to run a restaurant than we might think. Time will tell if she'll be as good in the second half of Season 6 (she still hasn't gotten a solo focus episode yet this season, not that I'm complaining). For now though, Pinkie Pie is once again in the top spot quite comfortably. Let's at least hope it stays that way.
And there you have it.
Yeah, I think you should have waited until the season was over to publish this list, as we still don't know what's to come.
For me, I rank them like this:
8. Applejack: Not because of season 6, but because of season 5.
7. Rarity: Her tendency for the melodramatics is still kind of a detriment to her character, and the overabundance of her in seasons 5 and 6 are also hurting her, but she's still a good character otherwise.
6. Fluttershy: While Flutter Brutter was great at showing off her development, we'll have to wait and see if it sticks.
5. Spike: Gauntlet of Fire pushed him ahead of Fluttershy, but we'll have to wait and see if his other episodes are as good.
4. Pinkie PIe
3. Twilight
2. Starlight Glimmer: She's the best character the show's introduced since Cheese Sandwich. And she seems to be a bit of a lucky charm, seeing as No Second Prances and A Hearth's Warming Tail are my picks for best episode of the season.
1. Rainbow Dash: Each season just makes me love her more and more. And Newbie Dash pretty much cemented her as my favorite character for the rest of the season (I personally found her imitation of her friends to be HILARIOUS).
Let's just hope that we do get to see the development that's badly needed for some of the mane 8 in the back half of the season, and next season, too. Namely, two of my favorites: Applejack and Spike.
Applejack will always be my #1!
Am I the only one who enjoyed that? I thought it was funny and showcased Ashleigh Ball's voice acting talent.
Agreed that Starlight does feel like a completely different character, but her voice actress pulls off both roles very well, though, like Discord, I feel like Starlight worked better as a villain, but I like her as a good guy too. Like Twilight, she has her moments where she can be adorable.
"Spice Up Your Life" actually provided an explanation as to why she's been absent this whole season: she's been working on finding a spell to fix the cutie map.
The "what are you in the dark" struggle?
I've never heard of that type of struggle before. While I do hope she does play a big role in the finale like she did in tje premiere, I hope it's not a rehash of "Twilight's Kingdom."
I wouldn't have a problem with this if she didn't learn the exact same lesson in both of her focus episodes.
This is exactly why I hated the episode.
Honestly, I dpn't know what else they could do with Twilight. She's pretty much used up her purpose in the show, which is why she hasn't been the major focus of the show since season three.
I really like Rarity, so I like that she's gotten so much focus. I really wish she'd get more episodes with Sweetie Belle, though. It makes sense that dhe'd appear in most of the episodes rhis season since she's part of the group. He'd only focus episodes this season so far have been "The Saddle Row Review" and "Spice Up Your Life."
Hmm, that's true.
Now that I think about it, RariLight hasn't been thoroughly explored in the show yet.
My only problem with this is thr fact that Zephyr is taller than Fkuttershy, which doesn't make sense considering that he's her younger brother. If you didj't tell me that Zephyr was younger, I'd be led to assume that he was Fluttershy's older brother. And I'd love to see more episodes involving Rarity and Applejack bonding with each other and their sisters.
She lives to make others happy. I like to think that she's one of the reasons why Sugarcube Corner is so successful, because she knows everypony so well and knows what will make them happy.
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We may be getting that in "The Cart Before The Ponies" when the CMC are excited to enter the Applewood Derby, but their big sisters take over the competition. I just hope it's not another one of those "Too many cooks spoils the soup" plot because we've already done that twice and neither time has worked out very well.
4069811 As, yeah, getting three CMC episodes this season: "On Your Marks," "The Cart Before the Ponies," and finally the episode featuring Babs.
4069858 Hopefully, one of the two will have Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in it. Even though I thought "Spice Up Your Life" was good, I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if the father/daughter pair had been Silver Spoon and her father.
4069967 They're in most of the CMC episodes, so chances are that they'll be in "The Cart Before the Ponies", either as competition or helping the CMC with their cart. I'm hoping the writers take the concept behind "On Your Marks" to its it's logical conclusion and we'll get more Sweetie Belle episodes. I'm still waiting on that weight gain/diaper episode.
4069985 I don't think either's going to happen. Heck, the Cake Twins seem to have finally grown up enough to not need diapers anymore.
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4070064 Well, there's always fanfiction.
4070076 True, but they've done weight gain for Pinkie and the other ponies before. Why not the CMC, Diamond Tiara, or Silver Spoon?
4070093 I highly doubt what they did with Pinkie Pie was weight gain, and even then it was only for a few seconds.
4070228 They've actually done it three times: once in "Swarm of the Century", again in "MMMystery on the Friendship Express," and again in "The Cutie Map, Part 1." And that scene in "A Friend in Deed" where Pinkie are that batter could count as four. And Spike has plumped up at least twice (once in "Owl's Well That Ends Well" and again in "Princess Spike"). And let's not forget the opening to "Maud Pie" where the Mane Six got fat from all that rock candy.
4070232 Well, in "Baby Cakes" Pinkie somehow managed to get a diaper stuck on her head and another on her hind quarters while changing The Cake Twins.
4070251 And Twilight doesn't even question it. It helps that Pinkie Pie looks even more adorable in diapers.
4070253 Most of them do, though that does surprise me that Twilight wasn't the least bit surprised at such a sight. Don't know about you, but I think I'd at least be a bit surprised if I stumbled across one of my friends wearing a diaper on their head. There's also Rarity's supposed lack of surprise when she sees Pinkie sucking on a pacifier in "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows".
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It's Pinkie Pie. By now they've come to expect this kind of behavior from her. I mean, in "Castle Sweet Castle" where Pinkie eats the pancake from Twilight's horn Jaws-style, Twilight and Rarity don't even react.