40 things Season 6 of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic taught me in 2016

2016 is already agonizing and there's no better way to end this year than reviewing the 40 things that the sixth season of My Little Pony taught me this year, season that despite having a pair of jewels and another few recordable tapes, in general terms it can be qualified as DISAPPOINTING, with capital letters. In fact if one starts to dig and reconsider, one can appreciate that the series has again given reasons to enjoy and rejoice, to entertain and make think, to cry and to tear the clothing, to criticize and permanently forget. This will not only cover all the chapters of the season, but also take a look at some pony-related topics occurred this year.

Disclaimer: if you happened to like an episode I consider bad or vice versa, or you think I'm being harsh with the show, fair enough. But don’t make a fuss if people like or dislike them because they can. I get your frustration if that’s the case, but there are people out there with genuine concerns regarding this year. Remember that there are differences in how people interpret their beliefs on an episode if they like or dislike it. I'm concious I'm going to get a lot of hate because of this, but I'm already used to it. Without further ado, let's begin.

Josh Haber doesn’t know what he’s doing

I have no idea how the process of selecting job positions works in Hasbro, but if Meghan McCarthy wasn’t going to be back as the story editor in season 6, there were other choices to replace her. G.M. Berrow, Dave Polsky, even M.A. Larson, as hit-or-miss he is, was a better choice, or if they really wanted a newbie as chief, both Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco were better options. But no, they had to choose a guy whose episodes have problems in pacing, comedy and even morals. And to make things worse, almost all the writing staff were newcomers who (for the most part) didn’t know what to do with the characters and its universe. Look, I liked Simple Ways, Bloom and Gloom and even some of the episodes of this season written by him, but when the best writer of the season is a guy who’s not even a former storyteller (Michael Vogel) you know something went wrong. If the rumors of him leaving the show are true, then the staff have a big mess to clean up.

The pony mythology collapsed

For a while, I thought The Crystal Empire and Princess Twilight Sparkle were the worst season openers of the series. Well, now we have a new champion. The Crystalling not only has an unoriginal plot, it’s also extremely cliché and boring at times and Flurry Heart, one of the reasons the writers guaranteed us this was going to be the best season of the show, feels more like a plot device rather than a real character, no matter how adorable she is. Even with some good moments with Spike and the introduction of Sunburst to the show (since he originally felt like one of those characters whom, once mentioned, never appears again... I’m looking at you, Scorpan), this falls flat in the end. But the biggest offender was Celestia and Luna mentioning they were not born alicorns... I don’t understand how the fandom didn’t explode in rage by hearing this since that meant a lot of the Equestrian mythology has died. 1/5.

The writers favor the haters once more

What did they do to you, Starlight Glimmer? You went from being the best villain in the series (title that now belongs to Chrysalis and, to a lesser extent, Discord) to the most controversial character added in the entire show. And now, all the people who criticized her reformation the last season got the favorable vote in this one, all Starlight episodes has mixed reception at best and the comparisons between her, pre-alicorn Twilight and Sunset Shimmer doesn’t favor her at all. And the saddest part is that Starlight is NOT a bad character, but she is NOT a good character either. Don’t get me wrong, I like Starlight, in both evil and reform phases, but I can't deny the truth. In order for her to be a good character she needs her own individual character, some to make her stand out from the others. She’s stuck in a road to nowhere and there’s nothing the writers or the community can do.

The fandom is still going to help each other

From The Lost Narrator’s operation to Joey O’s cancer operation and Jenn Blake’s cancer treatment, this fandom has never lost hope and love when everyone needs them. Patreon easily became the tool for helping other in precarious situations like these.

Maud Pie is officially the best Pie sister

The Gift of the Maud Pie is a very good adaptation of The Gift of the Magi. With a good story and a good moral, it’s not strange being familiarized with Pinkie Pie’s dilemma. This episode not only does it show how much Maud loves her little sister, she also had good moments with Rarity and the story tries new things to make this adaptation stand out. It’s also one of those stories where the “Status Quo is God” trope makes sense. Finally, this episode proves that Maud is officially the best member of the Pie family thanks to the charm she has towards her little sister and how much she cares about her (also because both Limestone and Marble don’t have that much of a personality but that’s another story). 4.5/5.

Apple Bloom is more important than Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo

Don’t get me wrong, On Your Marks is a pretty good episode. Apple Bloom is so sympathetic that I can’t help but love it. When you’re with friends, you will almost always feel like you belong, but there are days when you feel you don’t, and I can relate to it. It may not be as humorous or action-packed as many other episodes, but it’s got heart, not to mention this was the first big step for the CMC’s new adventures. But I can’t help but notice that Apple Bloom has been given more screen time than her friends when, honestly, she’s not as interesting as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Both fillies haven’t had an episode dedicated exclusively to them since season 4, while Apple Bloom has been the main focus or has appeared in more episodes (Bloom and Gloom, Appleosa’s Most Wanted, Brotherhooves Social, Heartbreakers, The Mane Attraction, On Your Marks). If we add to all this the fact that Tender Taps, while a good addition to balance the CMC’s shipping (since we already have Button Mash for Sweetie Belle and Rumble for Scootaloo), is not that interesting (he’s literally the gender swapped version of Scootaloo, both in design and personality), then we have some food for thought. 4.5/5.

Spike had to wait five long years to finally earn the public’s respect

Secret of my Excess was Spike’s best episode for five years and since then every attempt to reach glory has failed in capturing Spike as a whole. Yes, Equestria Games was good but not enough to compensate atrocities such as Spike at your Service, Power Ponies and Princess Spike. And then Joanna and Kristine did it: they took Dragon Quest (arguably one of the worst episodes of the entire series) and fixed all the errors, they made the dragon culture more interesting, they gave Spike respect, they even made Garble, a heavily panned character, a love to hate character (or at least, more tolerable). Extra points for Princess Ember, easily the best newcomer of the season. Also as a bonus, here’s an interesting fact: usually, when it comes to episodes, there’s at least one or two people who oppose the general opinion. But with Gauntlet of Fire, pretty much everyone I’ve known is in agreement that it’s a great episode. 5/5.

Mrs. Censorship is still latent, even when we are against her

Foreigners with Foreign Language was, without a doubt, the most controversial fanfic I have ever written. Not because I intended to, but because of the entire initial backlash I received from users, labeling me and my story “racist ass-shit.” I’m not going to go deep into this (here’s the blog if you want to know more about) but let me say that everything related to this made me upset. Not even the comments from the ones who liked my story or defended me were enough to save it and make me sick and tired of this project. This went from a project I loved written to help people remember the Them’s Fightin’ Herds universe, to one I almost forgot about thanks to all of this. I thought for a while I was the only one who this kind of stuff had happened to, until twilightsparkle3562 had the same problem with his fanfic “Flurry Heart’s Baptism” for similar reasons. In conclusion, if this technological society is here to stay, we need to treat us with respect. Do we already forget about what happened to Zamii070?

Internet became a battlefield

Since the incident that involved the Fine Bros. in February, Internet has exploded. Leaks and copyright infringements are only the tip of the iceberg, iceberg that crashed into itself when the Fair Use proposal arrived to the world. Ponies were not immune to this incident: Hasbro started to censor the fans themselves for only watching the episodes by streaming or by reactions on YouTube. I already talked about Internet and society before but if this technologic society is here to stay, it will be better for everyone to starting using it correctly (and I mean everyone). And just in the last minute, we have Youtube algorithm changes that affect users and is, in some way, related to the next point. It seems that this war is far from being finished.

The artists got tired of restrictions

This is probably the year where most people have left the fandom since 2013. Either because of copyright infringements, lack of activity, private issues or simply because they wanted, many people have left us. From the artists Beavernator and Jaquelindreamz to the reactor Alex Side and the writers Flint Sparks, Princess Rarity and Twidashforever, their works will always be proof of what they could achieve.

Twilight is hypocrite and Trixie is unbearable

I still can’t grasp why people view No Second Prances as good. It’s essentially a retreading of What About Discord?, except here, nopony is in the right. The comedy fails, the timing fails, the character development fails, everything. I’ve heard for some that Twilight passed from being a smart, helpful, kind alicorn princess to a neglectful, biased, hypocritical idiot simply because she’s rude to Trixie, a pony who a pony who simply bragged and showed off, and yet is fine with Starlight, who tried to destroy the world. And... I can understand them, but here’s the thing: Do anypony in Ponyville knows about what Starlight tried to do (the Mane 6 don’t count)? Aside from that, it’s the kind of episode that makes you upset for how your favorite character has been treated by the writers, and it can hurt your views on that character significantly. It’s also the type of episode that displays double standards, both within the episode and the reactions. But for me the biggest offender was the ending: Confalone tried to do something similar to Hey Arnold’s “Pigeon Man”, but when you make Trixie (without intention to offending anyone) the biggest bitch in the whole wide world, why am I supposed to sympathize with her in the first place? Oh, and this:

Why is this funny or cute? Please, explain it to me! 0.

To be careful for what you wish for

What do Batman v Superman, Mighty No. 9 and Down to the Fiery Finish!, from the Pokémon anime, have in common? They were the biggest deceptions of the year and this can apply to Newbie Dash. This was the most important episode for Rainbow Dash since the beginning, the expectations were high. And how it turned out? I think this is one of the saddest entries in the entire series... but for the wrong reasons and I mean sad in the exact same meaning of the word: the comedy, the setting, the character development, the moral, the entire plot feels tiring, old and forgettable. It’s not like Trade Ya!, Scare Master or What About Discord?, which are bad because of how poorly done they are, Newbie Dash is bad because it feels like something has died in the series. Aside from JoshScorcher and DaWillStanator, I guess everyone can agree this is one of the biggest disappointments in the entire series. 1/5.

Even Charles Dickens is tired of his own story

A Hearth’s Warming Tail is a decent adaptation of the old Christmas classic story we already know that adapts very well to the Equestrian universe. With good songs, characters in the appropriate roles and even Starlight behaving as her old self for a brief moment, this musical became one of the most interest experiments of the season. However, when it comes to adaptations, this is one of the weaker, superior to the Muppets and Looney Tunes but inferior to Disney (both Mickey and Jim Carrey). I don’t get why some people consider this as one of the best entries of the season, don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent episode but that’s the key word: decent. 3.5/5.

The line between tertiary and background characters has been erased

One of the reasons Beavernator left the fandom was due to the large amount of characters. At first I laughed, I thought it was a joke. Then, after the season ended, my eyes opened wide... he was right... Beavernator was right! Season 6 became the one with the biggest amount of newcomers, by far. And although we all know why are they doing this (buy our toys!), this is affecting the quality of the show. Most of the newbies are destined to be one-shot characters with no appearance besides their debut and most of them are not that memorable (there are exceptions, but we’ll get to them later). The background characters weren’t safe either, they were also affected by this with new entries like Copper Top, Pacific Glow and Cleopatra Jazz, who I’m sure have fans, but they didn’t capture the audiences like the Background 6 back in their days. To make things worse this new wave of new characters affect the veterans, whose episodes appearances become limited and, therefore, make us forget they exist. Every tertiary character was affected by this, but by far the biggest losers were Zecora and Diamond Tiara. Not even a single dialogue was spoken in the entire season, to the point they are almost background characters. What a pity!

Rarity is starting to become a good friend

During season 5 preproduction, someone in the writing staff had to have noticed that Rarity barely spend time with her friends. I mean, think about it: in almost all her episodes she’s all by herself, or if she shares the episode with other pony it’s always Applejack the chosen one. Therefore, the rest of the staff decided to enroll her with the rest of her friends. It all began in season 5 with Rarity Investigates!, and now in season 6 with Saddle Row Review. Having this episode as a continuation from The Gift of the Maud Pie was actually a nice idea, but, to be honest, I wish it had been a direct sequel, and it may have redeemed Nick Confalone as a writer somewhat. It contains plot points from Rarity Takes Manehattan and Canterlot Boutique, which unfortunately makes it less original. To be honest, I didn’t like this episode at first but as time went by, the likability grew on me. The cult following to this episode can be understandable thanks to two things: the “Rarity spends time with her friends” formula, which I already covered, and the Tarantino-style narrative. But, at least for me, this is not enough for a top 10 material. Of course, if there is anything most of us can agree on, Plaid Stripes is just awful. Nick Confalone’s best episode... by far. 4/5.

Depression can lead you to isolation

I won’t expand on this theme since I already talked about it before, but many people we know and love passed from an episode of this mental illness. The most notorious cases were Scribbler, due to the death of her beloved pet dog Suki, and Vanilla Mocha, due to the psychological damage she had been getting in the site over the years, to the point she’s now leaving, for good or bad. I don’t know you, but things like these makes me feel the world is more and more hopeless.

Hasbro has a very poor marketing team

Coco Pommel has had her name officially changed to Miss Pommel. A tweet response from Big Jim confirmed it was due to legal issues. I’m guessing someone in the labyrinth that is copyright and trademark law got rubbed the wrong way. She’s an homage to a famous designer, she needed to be named that way, legal issues for a name is ridiculous. Even MythrilMoth did a parody about this issue in one of his stories. If I learnt anything about this, were two things: nobody can take a parody or an homage seriously and if your name is John, Michael or Mary (the most common English names), do a royalty payment! You’ll be rich!

The one who you always least suspect always come back

Watching Spoiled Rich’s return in this episode was honestly all I can remember about Applejack’s “Day” Off, demonstrating that even a good moral can be forgot if the execution is clunky. I mean, is there anything else I can say about an episode that is dull and forgettable? 1.5/5.

We finally know who the fuck is Fluttershy and her family

When it comes to family, Fluttershy had been the blandest by far. We didn’t know anything about hers since season 1. Season 1! Then this episode was teased last year but we still didn’t have any clues and when it finally airs, it happens that Dave Rapp, the guy who wrote Newbie Dash, did this one as well. But against all odds, the episode was excellent. Not only all her family gets enough screen time to get familiarized with them, but Fluttershy herself has a ton of character development, making us forgiving her decayed trajectory in season 5. This episode even went far and made me emphatize with Zephyr due to the circumstances I was going through at that moment. Suddenly, he went from being a character I hated to one I earned respect. In the end, Flutter Brutter became a metaphor for growing up. Yes, it’s scary, but it’s natural and we must learn to cope with changes, something we had to learn, and I appreciate this episode for telling us that growing up is a part of life, especially when if you want to be a success. Now, only time will tell if we get and episode with Rainbow Dash and her father (who’s not her father anymore because Kora Kosicka debunked it). 4.5/5.

If it’s not broken, do not fix it

Spice Up Your Life was the chapter that confirmed us the Cutie Map was back, and its return was received with open arms. This episode can be taken as a metaphor for people having different tastes (and not in terms of food, of course!), and I can see that. However, I also take it as one for the show itself and its decline in quality (whether you like this season or not, it’s evident). Someone else pointed out that we, the fans, might be the cause of it; the writers may have taken the older fans seriously as an audience, and lost sight of what made the show actually good. Honestly, there’s certainly merit to that statement. As for the episode itself, it’s still pretty good, and I like the utilization of foreign music. More like that is needed. I’d like to say that Saffron Masala is another welcomed addition to the series, but I said the same about Sassy Saddles last year and we all know how she ended. 4/5.

Death was despicable

2016 has been one of the toughest years for the entire world since many people we loved passed away. Muhammad Ali, Prince, Anton Yelchin, Carrie Fisher, these are only a few of them whom we were interested in and, in one way or another, were part of our lives. And the brony community was no exception: from the musicians MelodicPony and SoaringFight to Equestria Daily moderator Beebarb and even the voice actor Jesús Barrero (who voiced Fancy Pants in the Latin American version), all of them will be remember by their works, their contributions to the world and the most important: the impact they had in our lives. We miss them... I miss them.

DisneyFanatic2364 is, officially, one of the best writers of the fandom

I think she explains this better, but by looking at her situation, I can say she has finally make it.

Daring Do attacked the fandom directly to the core

This was an episode I never expected, an episode that satirized the fandom and did so in a relatively humorous way. The chemistry between Rainbow Dash and Quibble Pants was done so well that I found myself laughing at points. Their contrasting personalities work so effectively, but I don’t think it may have been as memorable if not for Patton Oswalt; every line he delivers as Quibble Pants is so well done I cannot love it, especially the improvised ramble over the end credits. Stranger than Fan Fiction is, without a doubt, one of the highlights of season 6 and one of the most important episodes of the series since it has the message of love and tolerate the fandom has always have since the beginning. 5/5.

The series has officially jumped the shark

Sometimes, the pacing doesn’t do an episode favors, and this is a prime example of it. So much is spent on Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash thinking it’s their carts when in actuality, they belong to the Crusaders, that we don't get enough time explaining how the rules work. It’s also one of those episodes where the moral is constantly shoved down your throat, and writing an episode based on the moral is usually bound to screw up. Finally, this is the moment where the show has officially jumped the shark, at least for me. Forget alicorn Twilight, Starlight's reformation or Flurry Heart. Modern-like carts are the real deal! And before you even ask or think I’ve become nuts, yes, I know there are modern-like artifacts in the show and Manehattan is basically modern New York. But here’s the thing: despite these differences they adapted these topics to the pony world, so they don’t feel out of place unlike these carts, which the only way I can relate them to Equestrian society is that they’re carved in wood. The Cart Before the Ponies is definitely a ride to avoid. 1.5/5.

We have a new strike involving animators and special effects specialists

Remember the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America Strike? Well, now we have a new case. It seems that the famous youtuber is not who she seems. Artists, voice actors and editors who have worked for KP in the past came out with their experiences of extortion. Among them, were punishes for not being able to reach deadlines or attend meetings for her projects (even when work or school are a legitimate excuse), roping her staff to end up doing far more work than she initially promised and using her fame to pressure lesser known artists into unrealistic expectations, who were tricked into thinking that working with her will lead to more exposure, when in reality they were largely ignored when it came to credit for her projects. Even some artists such as Minty Root and Wubcake told the audience their experiences with KP. Stuff like this reminds me of the Stamper Brothers and their almost proslavery form of labor at Rareware (you know, when we actually gave a chance to the company). At least she apologized near the end of year, gave recognition to artists and animators and everything went back on track, right? ...Right?

The zombies are officially dated

28 Days Later was the beginning of the zombie fad. Other movies such as Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland and the acclaimed TV series The Walking Dead have given a new breath of fresh air to a decayed topic. However, everything that goes up must go down. The release of World War Z in 2013 was the peak of the zombie fandom and since then we haven’t got another important event. 28 Pranks Later proved me this by looking at its execution and the result. As much as I love some of the lore behind it, this episode makes Rainbow Dash look like a jerk, and I hate that! It’s the kind of episode that makes you want to punch a certain character in the teeth, regardless if they’re good or not, and it’s really disheartening that Rainbow Dash should know better than to act the way she did. Unfunny and mean-spirited, this is one of the worst of the season and worst of the show in general. 1/5.

Ponies are the most racist and bigoted species of the world

The Times They Are a Changeling is probably the most controversial episode of this season, by far, and both lovers and haters have the same valid points to do so. Despite Starlight’s presence, the story itself is actually intriguing, and the characters’ reactions to a changeling are perfectly understandable. It is decent material... and then the song is performed. We can all agree that the ending was rushed, but this ending was what divided the community, some say it destroys the episode as a whole and others say the rest was so good they can forgive the ending and moral. I’m on the second group, but I can comprehend the first one and like Doug Walker said “it depends on perspective on how you think an ending can ruin a film” and that’s how I want to watch it. 4/5.

Discord was too afraid of his fans that he vanished from our dimension

The reception of What About Discord? made me wonder if the writer staff was so afraid of using him again, since they didn’t used him in the first half. After a long hiatus he finally comes back in an episode where the leading cast is male dominant (A Banner Day doesn’t counted as it’s an Equestria Girls short), he falls flat. The pacing is a bit wonky, the humor doesn’t always hit and at times it’s pretty dull. Yeah, the message it’s pretty good and, as I said before, having the guys as the leading cast it’s a great idea, but I feel this could’ve been better. Not to mention, Dungeons and Discords has one of the most anticlimactic endings in the entire series. The worst part? Gravity Falls did an episode similar to this with much, much better results. As a side note, the artist Edowaado predicted this episode with his Guys Night Out comic series. 2.5/5.

Buckball was more entertaining than the Olympics this year

Sometimes, one is all you need to make an impression, and Jennifer Skelly succeeded in spades with Buckball Season. An episode straight out of the 2011 rulebook and probably its biggest effort was making Snails likeable. 4/5.

Ponies fix the errors of others

The writers understood that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are growing up, and that’s good; it’s the way of life. And The Fault in Our Cutie Marks was the episode that demonstrated it. The continuity is tight, the flashback to showcase a different point of view on The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone was nicely handled, as were the callbacks to Call of the Cutie and On Your Marks. Gabby herself was brilliant, she has a genuine excuse for her shtick because she sticks out of the crowd of rough and tough griffons and wants something else to make her unique, especially when she resorts to desperate measures. In a strange way, this episode is similar to the controversial “Horn, Sweet Horn” from The Powerpuff Girls remake/reboot/who cares?, but better in every single aspect. In the end, she understands that you don’t need a cutie mark just to figure out your talent, and that is something to be appreciated. 4.5/5.

We still don’t know Equestria at its full potential

Out of the three episodes featuring Flim and Flam, Viva Las Pegasus is possibly the best of them. Pretty much everything in this episode works, from the story to the pacing to the characters, from a great villain like Gladmane to blending Applejack and Fluttershy together, it certainly deserves the praise people give it. Despite this, I think the episode is proof of false publicity, let’s remember how the writers said to us the theme of this season was going to be explore Equestria (the real theme of this season was family, if you’re wondering it). And they did the same for the last season as well! Stop teasing us and give us this theme for the next one! 4/5.

Brainwashing your friends is bad, but satisfying

Honestly, that’s all what I can say about this Every Little Thing She Does. The pacing is one of the episode’s strongest points, Spike’s comment about Twilight’s freak-outs in the past was rather funny. Plus, the characters are actually in character for the most part, it’s lucky that the other characters are well-written and there’s a few good moments like Pinkie getting mad over a ruined cake. But the gags of “chillaxing” and “missing the point” weren’t as they got stale very quickly, and what holds this episode backwards is that is a half-baked rehash of Lesson Zero! ...When something is horrible, I totally agree with doing a remake (Dragon Quest-Gauntlet of Fire). But, what is the desire to destroy beauty? 2/5.

The Rashomon-style should have been use in another, more interesting story

I wasn’t much for P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View). It was pretty boring at points, and the plot twist at the end, whilst interesting, just provided more questions than answers; where does a tri-horned bunyip come from anyway, and why the love for cucumber sandwiches? There were a few funny moments in this episode like Spike making a comment about polishing his scales (sounds like a bit of innuendo, don’t you think?) and it was interesting to see Winona, Opalescence and Gummy being given something to do other than being just pets. But other than that, there’s nothing more redeemable here. Seriously, this feels more like a rejected season 1 script most of the time. But the last straw was Twilight mentioning Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy going to their flight camp reunion. This should have been the chosen story, what a waste of time! 1/5.

Sunset Shimmer became the second-in-command in her own adventure

Legends of Everfree became the blandest entry of the Equestria Girls Universe, recycling the script of Rainbow Rocks, for the most part, and Sunset Shimmer has been relegated to a semi-supporting role. With a story so clichéd and predictable, unsatisfying character dynamics and unfortunate implications abound, Legends of Everfree is creatively bankrupt on every level. Yeah, the animation looks great, and the voice acting and music are also spot on, but they’re pretty much standard for anything MLP-related stuff. Good storytelling is what matters, something forgotten in this film.

Being British has its benefits

You know, sometimes I envy you, Britain. You have Kenneth Brannagh, Keira Knightley, The Beatles, J.K. Rowling, two of my favorite film directors of all time (Christopher Nolan and Danny Boyle), your own private island and now the Brexit (we all know why you really did it, but let’s not go deep into it). And just when you thought they couldn’t been more lucky, the last episodes of the season aired there first before the rest of the world could get them. Congratulations!

Applejack was victim of fake advertising

Considering the initial synopsis, I guess fans are a little thrown off as it feels more like misunderstanding of what it meant rather than “failing to deliver”. For the episode as is, I still think it is handled quite nicely, and it gives Applejack and Big Macintosh some development. That said, it is a bit odd that Apple Bloom was nowhere to be seen, but there is the chance that she was a baby at the time and the reason Diamond Tiara bullied her was because the rich filly got her cutie mark at a younger age, whereas Apple Bloom... still hadn’t at the time. Of course, like most other people, I’m disappointed that we don’t see Applejack’s parents anywhere, but I came to the conclusion that the expectations from the fandom are so high that, no matter how hard the writers try, they will never have lived up to the high. Where the Apple Lies is still a good watch though. 4/5.

The Cutie Map still works and works so well

Although Twilight was hit or miss throughout this season, Top Bolt is certainly her best starring role in it. Not only have Joanna and Kristine got her down to a tee, everyone else around her also worked brilliantly. From Rainbow Dash to Spitfire, everything works perfectly. But what hold it from being one of the best episodes of the season is one thing: the characters. And no, it’s not Starlight’s cameo (like some people seem to believe), it’s both Sky Stinger and Vapor Trail. I think I’m the only person I know who doesn’t like these new characters: one is exactly what I thought Zephyr Breeze was going to be, only raised to the tenth degree, and the other one is another uninteresting clone of Fluttershy (Can we pretty please stop with Fluttershy’s clones?!). Aside from them, this is an excellent entry. 4/5.

Being different is today’s trend

Every season has a character who becomes so popular and loved among the fans that the writers use it for future installments. It all began with Trixie in Season 1 and since then everything changed: Season 2 gave us Discord, Season 3 had Lightning Dust, Season 4 brought us Maud Pie and Season 5 was a tie between Moon Dancer and Rara. Thorax has this position right now, however, I can’t help but notice who were the characters that accompany him: Ember and Gabby. None of the more popular characters of this season were ponies and all of them were the exception to the rule in their respective groups (a good changeling, a dragon as smart as strong and a happy gryphon). Is the fandom tired of equines or they just wanted more variety?

To get out of the frying pan and into the fire

A finale focused solely on supporting characters, the return of Chrysalis, Starlight’s time to shine by herself, the introduction of the changeling kingdom. This had everything to become the best season finale of the show. But a rushed pacing, poor comedy, torture (Discord in the chamber of Fluttershy), some lack of logic within its own universe, the most controversial redesign of all time and trying to pull a Rainbow Rocks-type plot for Starlight made this episode bombed. I don’t know what it is with Josh Haber, but it feels as though longer stories just don’t fit his style. Everything about this episode was just a mess as a whole (I still can remember how many people disliked me just by saying this). Despite a few good moments with Discord and Trixie and not reforming Chrysalis (which ultimately fails anyway, since this also favors the people who hated Starlight’s reformation), this finale fails miserably. In the end, To Where and Back Again is literally the MLP version of Suicide Squad: in concept, story, development, climax and sadly, even reception (casuals spectators like it, critics not so much). Even though I know Hasbro isn’t going to kill its “Goose that laid golden eggs” so easily, after watching it, it’s inevitable to question if MLP has still something to offer or if it’s better to say good bye for goods and all. 1/5.

Every single person on the planet is connected

The voice actress Pinkie Rose had one of the most controversial cases at the beginning of the year, saying that she was going to leave the fandom thanks to a person who damaged her psychologically. I did an investigation about her around those days after watching a video about cowardice on Internet. Months later, after publishing Animal Cottage, she uploaded a somehow-related video one day after said story was out. Look, I’m not saying this is a love proof or something like that (I haven’t met her personally and she doesn’t even know I exist), I’m saying this is related to the Six degrees of separation theory, which I believed in.

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Top:
10. Spice Up Your Life
9. Buckball Season
8. Where the Apple Lies
7. Viva Las Pegasus
6. The Gift of the Maud Pie
5. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
4. On Your Marks
3. Flutter Brutter
2. Stranger Than Fan Fiction
Honorable Mention: The Times They Are A Changeling, Top Bolt
1. Gauntlet of Fire

Season Average Score: 3/5.

I know this season left on a low note and most of you are probably saying that I'm wrong, MLP will be good forever and are demanding my head right now. However, I want to end this blog by taking a look at two series that concluded this year: Gravity Falls and Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. The creators of both series decided to finished them at the peak of their popularity, making us understand the phrase "If you love something, you have to let it go." Just some food for thought.

So, which were the best episodes of the season for you? What does 2016 taught you? Leave it in the comments.

Comments

[Silver Malice]

"If you love something, you have to let it go."

Yeah unfortunately that doesn't count with a corporate backer whose out to sell toys...

This season didn't really interest me too much...

1.The Crystalling:

First episode of the season opening was terrible:

I don't mind the fact that neither Luna or Celestia were born alicorns, if anything that makes me like the series more, becasue it lends credence to the idea that only those who prove themselves worthy and or dedicated can become alicorns... this way it is one's individual achievements and personal triumphs that give them success, not simply cause they're "born" into it...One reason why i can't stand Flurry Heart, and why the show even when it establishes a new background lore also cripples it instantly by having a "born" alicorn character.

I didn't mind the baby aspect but what bugs me most is they went with the most cliche and boring plot... oh it's a "magical" baby and let me guess where the "conflict" will come from huh?

They had to make her an alicorn? i guess to "buy more toys girls, buy more toys" when they could have had her as a unicorn, and rather than have her cries crack the crystal heart, have her be too overpowered given her mother is an alicorn and her father a unicorn, both of great power...and that is what cracks the crystal heart, and in the end, fixing the Crystal heart with the chrystaling balances her power or something like that, rather than...oh baby gags.

2. "The Gift of the Maud Pie"

This is actually one of the few good episodes throughout in the whole season. It sums up the real spirit of the holidays and of true family. I also find it ironic and poetic as hell that a company like Hasbro whose entire marketing and business model is all about merchandising, has an episode where the main moral is gifts made from love and care mean more than the most expensive gift. It also has some amazing and funny scenes with pinkie, rarity and Maud in the city, as well as a hussler pony who reminds me of Joe pesci from home alone.

3."On Your Marks"

I like this episode, it's not great but i like it. it's nice to see the CMC after they;ve gotten their cutie marks and seeing what they're trying to do now. It is also great to see that now that they have their cutie marks, they aren't always together and branch off in their own diverse interests all except Apple Bloom. As you said apple Bloom seems to be the most focused on crusader/young character, and through all this time it seems that she hasn't done anything except look for her cutie mark, whereas sweetie belle and Scootaloo have diverse interests/hobbies. You could actually realte with apple Bloom feeling left out and or forgotten by her friends, however, to have her do a dance hobby which of course will never be shown again and is a one off as well as tender taps being a one shot character(so far), it kind of seemed they could have made her do something a bit more interesting and something that would stick.

5. "Gauntlet of Fire""

This episode is the episode that finally redeemed Spike... turning him from a blundering comedic effect or plot point /source of cheap conflict, to a witty, reliable, and actually effective character again.

This also gave us some great back lore on dragons, introduced us to Princess Amber one of the few new characters i like and can tolerate as a real character with aspirations and goals and personality...and once again introduced us to spike's, "nemesis" garble (Vincent tong) who still sounds/acts like the kid who tried to bully you in high school and then got their ass kicked...hard.

Overall a brilliant episode and one that seemed to know how to use spike and twilight/rarity, give us exposition on dragon lore and new dragon characters and as well be entertaining and serving a purpose.

" "Newbie Dash""

Boooo booooo boooo oh god boooooo

So this is the episode everyone's been waiting for the episode where Dash finally is seen and or participates in the Wonderbolts, which is her dream and the goal, she spent five season and half trying to make... and bam they screw it up so bad...

The whole premise of this episode is built upon contrivance... ad it's moral is so stupid an ridiculous it is insulting.

first off the name the rest of the wonder-bolts give dash is the same one she was taunted with by bullies for most of her fillyhood, one reason why she flunked out of school... however, rather than inform the team of this and provide context why such a nickname would hurt her on a deep level, she instead decides to try and get them to give her a new nick-name without talking to them at all.

in the end the Wodnerblts tell her (little too late) that they give each other nick-names and josh each other as a form of team building/friendship... something that they should have told her earlier and in any real conversation would have... not too mention the fact that, such things still would not change the emotional effect that name would have on her from her childhood.

i do like the fact they actually acknowledge that dash has saved equestira numerous times with her friends, what bugs me is the moral...it's terrible.

wouldn't it have been better had the moral be, "beware meeting your heroes cause you'll be disappointed"...and have the episode about dash meeting her heroes only to have them not live up to expectations or hype and or in some cases be ordinary, and Dash having to deal with the shock that heroes are just regualr people too?

""A Hearth's Warming Tail"

I may just be bitching here but this one bugged me.

First off while i do like starlight glimmer in the main role the whole adaptation of charles dickens story loses point.

The ghosts do not visit Starlight to save her and or change her, but to stop her from ruining the holiday and or equestria...it's not about helping someone to focus on their inner light and see the true meaning of hearth warming, but more, "if they go ahead with this plan we're all screwed, so let's change their minds for self preservation."

I mean starlight's character abandons the spirit of the holidays for studying? what is she twilight now? oh wait...

in Charles dickens story Scrooge learns to hate the holidays becasue he was always left alone during them and he never had a true family, then as his bitterness grew he came to see the joy and celebration to be frivolous and painful to see/enjoy what he never had...

the ghost of christmas present shows Scrooge his own family to show how his nephew despite his miserly attitude still loves him, to show he has someone, and then bob cratchits family to show tinny tim and give scrooge the glimpse of a real family which makes him open his hear to bob and tims plight... I don't know what pinkie was doing but it seemed kind of forced and tacked on in comparison.

in-dickens, the ghost of Christmas future is there to give scrooge the final scare needed to set him straight, to show him what all his greed and hatred would lead too... in this luna tells starlight that her actions would allow the Windigo to take over equestira in ice...except there was no equestria until after the windigo were defeated and it was started by the three races...in fact hearths warming is the holiday that was created to celebrate the day the three races came together and stopped the windigo, meaning for there to be a hearths warming the windgio would already be destroyed.

"Spice Up Your Life"
"Viva Las Pegasus"
"Top Bolt"

These episodes deal with the gang splitting up into their respective duo's who seem to be decided by a flip of a coin, and then them going off and solving friendship issues... which also kind of bugged me and always has... but i guess it serves a good plot point so i tolerate it. However, most of the friendship issues are really stupid, overrated and the characters having them are cliche, underdeveloped, complete one-shots and or under-inspired.

I would say Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala were actually very interesting characters who I liked, but when it's rarity and pinkie who literally are the ones causing the friendship problem they're supposed to save, the episode seems kind of pointless... we're they sent there to help the restaurant win the critics approval or because of a friendship issue? the two are not really the same thing, and since it's pinkie and rarity who cause the rift in the first place.

Gladmane's plan never made sense to me, by starting fights between your employee's you weaken them and or hinder your own Establishment especially if they are duos who work perfectly together. He's trying to make sure they stay and serve in the establishment...so maybe not breaking them up or making them unhappy and not liking who they work with might help that.

Vapour trail and sky stinger aren't too bad but once again Vapour trail's plan makes no sense... eventually she would not be able to cover/cheat for Sky stinger, and her own fear and hesitancy of flying suddenly being whisked away because of training with rainbow dash etc. was kind of out of left field.

"No Second Prances"
"Every Little Thing She Does"
To Where and Back Again"

I cannot stand Starlight Glimmer as a hero, not only becasue her character arc and story basically mirror Sunset Shimmers, but becasue they decided to just simply flip the Celestia and twilight role for the two... now twilight is Celestia and starlight is twilight, except twilight despite being the princess of friendship, and learning how to be a friend and having done so for at least half a decade, is bad at her job?

First off i did like that Trixie and starlight become friends, it was great to have Trixie back, even if you wanted it to be more as a "villain role"

However, then to have Twilight who apparently was nice enough to forgive/befriend sunset shimmer, starlight glimmer, Discord etc. three former villains who actually tried to actively destroy, annihilate and or subjugate/own her her friends and or all of their home and world, she cannot seem to forgive or trust Trixie whose only crimes were boasting, ego, and being possessed by an evil amulet to which even she didn't fully understand...

Trixie being so upset at losing her first friend that she openly decides to commit suicide on stage was actually funny if not overly dramatic, and the yet the whole episode felt forced.

""Every Little Thing She Does""

okay in this starlight actually hypnotizes and controls ponies to do her bidding and help her without their consent...twilight returns stops the spell and let's Starlight apologize which everyone accepts...umm yeah didn't the whole problem with her needing to be reformed was because she tried this exact kind of thing?

Lastly the final episode is such a failure it is beyond boggling but I'll deal with that later.

"28 Pranks Later"

It kind of seems that the characters fall back into old habits and or character traits that should have been fixed and or worked upon by now whenever they want for plot, comedy, and or character development.

By the way 28 pranks later is horrendous...not only becasue it seems to be a remake of mare Do well, which of itself was stupid and flawed, but it also falls flat when you realize that Rainbow will not learn her lesson (how can she when the lesson was exactly like that in mare do well, which she clearly hasn't learned yet?)

Rather than have the whole plot be the towns-ponies trying to once again for the umpteenth time to teach Dash a lesson, how about rainbow dash actually making a real zombie apocalypse, a bad spell, or wrong ingredients and bam a real zombie spell, that way the consequences are actually real and Rainbow might actually be jolted into understanding that pranks, and arrogant attitudes can have brash consequences, rather than the cliche "taste of her own medicine" moral.