The Second Half of Season 6 v.s. The Second Half of Seasons 1-5 (Episodes Only) · 7:43pm Oct 23rd, 2016
With the remaining 14 episodes of the season having come out, let's see how they compare to the episodes of other seasons and see if Season 6 takes away Season 5's title of "Best Season" and if so by how much? First, however, let's see how the episodes stack up, and remember this is by no means official.
Episode Rankings:
14. The Cart Before The Ponies
13. P.P.O.V (Pony Point Of View)
12. Where The Apple Lies
11. 28 Pranks Later
10. Buckball Season
9. Top Bolt
8. The Fault In Our Cutie Marks
7. Every Little Thing She Does
6. Viva Las Pegasus
5. The Times They Are A Changeling
4. To Where And Back Again Part 1
3. To Where And Back Again Part 2
2. Dungeons and Discord
1. Stranger Than Fanfiction
And now for the episode compares, starting with the delayed ninth episode.
Episode 9: Bridle Gossip v.s. Sweet and Elite v.s. Spike At Your Service v.s. Pinkie Apple Pie v.s. Slice of Life v.s. The Fault In Our Cutie Marks
The winner is: Slice of Life. While "The Fault In Our Cutie Marks" was good, and felt like a more natural progression in story arc for the Cutie Marked CMC, it easily pails in comparsion to "Slice of Life" which may have been fan pandering but it was fan pandering done so well, and it would be nice if we could see some of the background ponies featured here interacting with the mane eight occasionally in future episodes.
Episode 14: Suited For Success v.s. The Last Roundup v.s. Filli Vanilli v.s. Canterlot Boutique v.s. Stranger Than Fanfiction
The winner is (in a close contest): Stranger Than Fanfiction. It might be due to Patton's outstanding voice acting as Quibble Pants, but this episode was insanely enjoyable and even provided an outstandingly mature message about criticism that is so much better than that insulting anti-critic message in "Spice Up Your Life". Sure, "Suited For Success" was a tough competitor and it could've easily beaten "Stranger Than Fanfiction" as it's where the show and Rarity truly started to get going, that just further shows how powerful "Stranger Than Fanfiction" is when it can top one of the most beloved and outstanding episodes of the entire show from all the way back in its early days.
Episode 15: Feeling Pinkie Keen v.s. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 v.s. Twilight Time v.s. Scare Master v.s. The Cart Before The Ponies
The winner is: Twilight Time. Not one of these episodes is solid, all of them have their fair share of problems (some more than others). "Twilight Time"'s biggest problem is that the story is contrived so that the CMC will fail at the worst possible moment, and it's noticeable in several scenes where Twilight could easily correct the misunderstanding but doesn't for whatever reason. But at least this episode was somewhat enjoyable and unpredictable, and it showed that while the CMC are getting older they're still going to make mistakes (after all you're never too old to have a bad idea). Hopefully next season we'll finally get something above the level of "meh" for the fifteenth episode.
Episode 16: Sonic Rainboom v.s. Read It And Weep v.s. It Ain't Easy Being Breezies v.s. Rarity Investigates v.s. 28 Pranks Later
The winner is (no contest): Sonic Rainboom. Even six seasons later this remains the best Rainbow Dash episode to date and perhaps the undisputed fan favorite episode, not even "Rarity Investigates" can come close to topping this and it's gonna be hard for this episode to ever be decrowned.
Episode 17: Stare Master v.s. Hearts And Hooves Day v.s. Somepony To Watch Over Me v.s. Made In Manehattan v.s. The Times They Are A Changeling
The winner is: The Times They Are A Changeling. This episode largely comes out on top because of its moral more than anything else, because the plot does get off to a clunky start with all that exposition dumping (there's got to be a better way of conveying that stuff or catching viewers up on what they might have missed) and the climax being rushed as a result. Still, even in comparison to "Gauntlet of Fire" this is still a good Spike episode and it could've been a lot worse if Mike Vogel hadn't intervened to help out.
Episode 18: The Show Stoppers v.s. A Friend In Deed v.s. Maud Pie v.s. Brotherhooves Social v.s. Dungeons and Discord
The winner is (in a close contest): Dungeons and Discord. Although "Maud Pie" and "Brotherhooves Social" have a lot going for them, the fact of the matter still stands that "Dungeons and Discord" was the first episode of the show to focus solely on guy characters and it did not disappoint. Heck, it was great to see that Discord was finally getting some respect from all of the mane six and not once did it seem like they were pretending to tolerate him. Sure, maybe the setup was a little too long and the major selling point should've been given greater priority, but for our first guys only episode it was outstanding and here's to hoping we can get another one next season.
Episode 19: A Dog and Pony Show v.s. Putting Your Hoof Down v.s. Trade Ya! v.s. Crusaders Of The Lost Mark v.s. Buckball Season
The winner is: Crusaders Of The Lost Mark. It's still my all time favorite episode, and there's just so much it did right even if the revelation about Spoiled Rich came out of nowhere (a little foreshadowing to this would've been nice). It's kind of a shame that the potential this episode's changes to the status quo brought about haven't been used more often by the writers (how's about less Spoiled Rich and more Diamond Tiara next season, eh writers?).
Episode 20: Green Isn't Your Color v.s. It's About Time v.s. For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils v.s. Hearthbreakers v.s. Viva Las Pegasus
The winner is: For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils: Of the CMCxLuna episodes over the course of three seasons, this was one the best and the only one to not be put into questionable moral territory after the events of "Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep?" (though it's possible Luna just didn't want Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to end up on the same path she was on and regarded the tantibus as her burden alone), plus while both of Sweetie Belle's focus episodes have been really good, this one did more for her character whereas "Sisterhooves Social" kind of made her a bit of a ditz at times.
Episode 21: Over A Barrel v.s. Dragon Quest v.s. Leap Of Faith v.s. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows v.s. Every Little Thing She Does
The winner is (reluctantly): Every Little Thing She Does. While it may have been kind of a step backwards for reformed Starlight (it should've come much earlier in the season, like say before "No Second Prances" and they could've retooled or cut out the Trixie bit to do so) it did provide an interesting contrast for her compared to Twilight in "Lesson Zero" about the morality of their actions in both situations and who was more wrong, plus the brainwashed mane five (with the exception of maybe Applejack who was just used to throw in pop culture references) were hilarious to watch. "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" ended too soon, there were some questions it still needed to address, and I still can't wrap my head around Shining Armor and Cadence's decision to keep Twilight in the dark.
Episode 22: A Bird In The Hoof v.s. Hurricane Fluttershy v.s. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 v.s. What About Discord? v.s. P.P.O.V (Pony Point Of View)
The winner is (no contest): Hurricane Fluttershy. It really took until Season 6 for this episode to follow on Fluttershy's growth from here, and it still remains her best outing and Cindy Morrow's undisputed masterpiece. This is the kind of Fluttershy we want and need to see more of, the kind that works to overcome her flaws and become a better character. Season 6 showed that you can write assertive Fluttershy and still have conflicts, so please keep that in mind for Season 7, writers.
Episode 23: Cutie Mark Chronicles v.s. Ponyville Confidential v.s. Inspiration Manifestation v.s. The Hooffelds and McColts v.s. Where The Apple Lies
The winner is: Cutie Mark Chronicles. Most of these episodes are pretty good (with the exception of "Where The Apple Lies" which just didn't justify it having to be an Applejack flashback episode) but of them all "Cutie Mark Chronicles" easily remains the best and the one with the least amount of flaws, as well as a way of how to properly use Rainbow Dash to hype up your story without going too far with her.
Episode 24: Owl's Well That Ends Well v.s. MMMystery On The Friendship Express v.s. Equestria Games v.s. The Mane Attraction v.s. Top Bolt
The winner is (in a close contest): The Mane Attraction. Amy Keating Rogers' swan song, this episode may be the last time Applejack being in the spotlight on her own will work, at least as long as she continues to remain defined solely by her current traits. Even if Amy were still here with us on the show now, I don't know if she could possibly top this and "Crusaders Of The Lost Mark", but she couldn't have asked for a better send off. Even "Equestria Games" was hurt by that cringe worthy part of Spike trying to sing the Cloudsdale anthem (cringe comedy seems to be a weak point for the show for some reason).
Episodes 25 and 26: Party of One and Best Night Ever v.s. A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2 v.s. Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2 v.s. The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1 and 2 v.s. To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2
The winner is: To Where And Back Again. It's a battle of the two parters, and the question quickly becomes which of these is the best. All of them do have their problems, whether it be meanspiritedness and questionable behavior, struggling to decide who's supposed to be the hero (Discord or Twilight), dropping the ball on Starlight's backstory and justification, or the setup being clunky and the dialogue towards the end being heavy handed and forced. But of them all, "To Where And Back Again" wins just on the fact that it's the first time secondary characters and reformed villains are taking point in the narrative for a two parter. Is there room for improvement though, you bet there is and time will tell if Season 7 can deliver a truly solid season finale.
And now for the point tallies. Overall (including my blog post on the first half) the tallies are: Season 1 - 2 Points, Season 2 - 2 points, Season 3 - 2 Points, Season 4 - 6 Points, Season 5 - 5 Points, Season 6 - 8 Points. So it looks like Season 6 takes first place, Season 4 surprisingly ranks second over Season 5 by one point, and Seasons 1-3 all tie for last with 2 points a piece.
Here's my rankings of just the second half:
13. Cart Before the Ponies
12. Dungeons and Discords
11. Buckball Season
10. Viva Las Pegasus
9. Top Bolt
8. P.P.O.V (Pony Point of View
7. The Times They Are a Changeling
6. 28 Pranks Later
5. Where the Apple Lies
4. Stranger than Fanfiction
3. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
2. Every Little Thing She Does
1. To Where and Back Again
As for the winners:
Bridle Gossip v.s. Sweet and Elite v.s. Spike At Your Service v.s. Pinkie Apple Pie v.s. Slice of Life v.s. The Fault In Our Cutie Marks
Winner: Slice of Life
Suited For Success v.s. The Last Roundup v.s. Filli Vanilli v.s. Canterlot Boutique v.s. Stranger Than Fanfiction
Winner: Stranger Than Fanfiction, by a landslide
Feeling Pinkie Keen v.s. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 v.s. Twilight Time v.s. Scare Master v.s. The Cart Before The Ponies
Winner: Twilight Time
Sonic Rainboom v.s. Read It And Weep v.s. It Ain't Easy Being Breezies v.s. Rarity Investigates v.s. 28 Pranks Later
Winner (no contest): 28 Pranks Later
Stare Master v.s. Hearts And Hooves Day v.s. Somepony To Watch Over Me v.s. Made In Manehattan v.s. The Times They Are A Changeling
Winner: The Times They Are A Changeling.
The Show Stoppers v.s. A Friend In Deed v.s. Maud Pie v.s. Brotherhooves Social v.s. Dungeons and Discord
Winner: Brotherhooves Social
A Dog and Pony Show v.s. Putting Your Hoof Down v.s. Trade Ya! v.s. Crusaders Of The Lost Mark v.s. Buckball Season
Winner (no contest): Crusaders of the Lost Mark
Green Isn't Your Color v.s. It's About Time v.s. For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils v.s. Hearthbreakers v.s. Viva Las Pegasus
Winner: For Whom the Bell Toils
Over A Barrel v.s. Dragon Quest v.s. Leap Of Faith v.s. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows v.s. Every Little Thing She Does
Winner (No contest): Every Little Thing She Does
A Bird In The Hoof v.s. Hurricane Fluttershy v.s. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 v.s. What About Discord? v.s. P.P.O.V (Pony Point Of View)
Winner: Hurricane Fluttershy
Cutie Mark Chronicles v.s. Ponyville Confidential v.s. Inspiration Manifestation v.s. The Hooffelds and McColts v.s. Where The Apple Lies
Winner: Where the Apple Lies
Owl's Well That Ends Well v.s. MMMystery On The Friendship Express v.s. Equestria Games v.s. The Mane Attraction v.s. Top Bolt
Winner: Mane Attraction
Party of One and Best Night Ever v.s. A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2 v.s. Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2 v.s. The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1 and 2 v.s. To Where And Back Again Parts 1 and 2
Winner (no contest): To Where And Back Again.
We have a surprising amount of similar picks for winners for this half (we only disagree on 3/13).
For my points across both halves
Season 6 is the clear winner, with 11 points.
Season 5 is in second with 6 points.
Season 4 is third with 5 points.
Season 2 is fourth with 2 points.
And season 1 and 3 tie for fifth with 0.
Even without doing this comparison, though, season 6 is the best. 5 out of the top ten episodes of the series are from season 6, with 2 from season 5, and 1 each from seasons 1,2, and 4.