Present Perfect vs. Season 6 · 7:10pm Feb 11th, 2017
(Quick reminder about this.) I guess he's okay now. :B
I think I'm going to take my own advice from last year's blog and go into this one with the "positives only" approach (plus snark in curly braces) like I did with season 4, because I did not enjoy season 6, and I am not looking forward to season 7. :| I guess I'll go in airing order and then give my personal order at the end, too. I will of course use my silly episode names. :V
Also, it's worth noting that last year, I started the review three days before the new season aired. This year, with the April announcement, I've got a two-month head start. :D Yay me! Here we go!
And I'm sorry this is super-long. D: that's what she s
"They're Tiny, So Who Cares?" (The Crystalling)
+ "Where did they put the library?"
+ Twilight is still best alpha nerd.
+ Nopony knowing shit about the Crystal Empire.
+ Rarity snickering at Spike.
+ URN OF EXPLICATION
+ Finding out that she's gonna get to see Sunburst. Ever since he was revealed in S5, I wanted to know more about him.
+ Starlight's social anxiety. {Literally her only redeeming quality.}
+ The fucking snowflake invitation.
+ Shining Armor's entire first scene. Actually, just him, he's the best part of the episode. XD
+ It's always nice to see Celestia and Luna. {Yes, their role was once again pretty disappointing. I can't find it in my heart to be angry about it, but from not knowing that alicorns can be born to not being able to repair the Crystal Heart, to the whole fighting the weather thing, it's just… I think it was meant to make things look far more dire than they otherwise might, but it comes at the cost of making the Princesses look weak and dumb. It makes me sad. :( And it seems to be a symptom of the slapdash world-building this episode is doused in.}
+ Starlight encouraging Spike to ham things up.
+ Sunburst. :D I love everything about him! {Sadly, I only really give a damn about Starlight in regards to her relationships with others. I mean, I like having her as a friend/love interest for Sunburst, because I care more about him, despite having only just met him. Well, until we get Starxie later…}
+ I may spend a lot of time shitting on Starlight Glimmer in this blog, but she is really cute, see also that blushy grin when she knocks on the door a second time.
+ Them being super-awkward with each other.
+ Sunburst knowing more about magic than he can actually do. They did a good job showing that before it's confirmed. :D
+ Spike being a Good Friend.
+ The frozen watering can is some good shit.
+ That dude's moustache.+ JUST KISS ALREADY
+ Oh shit, I never noticed it before, but Sunburst finds a spell called Somnambula's Weather Abjuration, and that's a fucking G1 reference! :D Somnambula was the witch in the episode about the Big Brother Ponies!
+ SPARKLE PARENTS, AND THEY ARE TALKING. :D
+ Ha ha, and then the changeling reveal right at the end. XD {You might note I never once mentioned Flurry Heart! This episode wants you to believe that she and the Crystal Heart are the A-plot, but as far as I'm concerned, it's Starlight and Sunburst. When they aren't on screen, I had zero reaction to anything going on. This is down around Princess Twilight as worst season opener, just as aimless and empty, and with a soft conflict to boot. Even The Crystal Empire was better, because Sombra had threat, even if he wasn't exactly a great character.}
At Least There Were No Castles (The Gift of the Maud Pie)
+ Rarity getting a second boutique!
+ Crayon in the soup. It's the best part of the episode, I mean that pony is just so sad. Every other time Pinkie does something crazy in this episode, ponies are upset or aghast, but he's just, "This is my life now."
+ BIG reference.
+ Pinkie's party cannon having street value.
+ "Play nice."
+ Maud not taking any shit from Rarity and generally being a great sister.
+ Pinkie being willing to ride real swans. {Well, that's a short list! What a snorefest. Part of it comes from me being able to handle Maud only in small doses (see also Make Friends but Keep Discord, but really, pretty much nothing that happens in this episode got any kind of reaction out of me. Well, except the wink at the end, that is terrifying. D: But even Rarity's goofy-ass impression of Pinkie was cringeworthy the first time I saw it, and it still would be if I didn't know what was coming. And let's not forget "hand-stitched".}
Troublebutts (On Your Marks)
+ Flank-gazing is the pony equivalent of navel-gazing. :V
+ Apple Bloom being too used to trying to get her cutie mark to realize she's got it.
+ The Cake Twins still exist.
+ The Mayor! :D And her special talent is signing documents, apparently.
+ Minty Bubblegum may have a terrible name, but she is a fantastic pony. :3
+ Barber Groomsby!
+ Bulk Biceps actually talking.
+ Okay, but Bulk falling through the floor is actually pretty hilarious.
+ Hi, Zecora.
+ >tfw Apple Bloom realizes she's the most boring CMC :V
+ All those art ponies.
+ That dance instructor's accent, I can't.
+ "Horrible!"
+ Dirty Dancing ponies. :D
+ That green bungee pony with the dreads. This one's just full of great pony designs. {Too bad all the best stuff is small background details. This isn't exactly boring, and it's got an important lesson for the CMCs to learn, but it just kind of meanders from one idea to the next, resolves its main drama with an "oh", and then switches to a B-story that hardly seemed important when it was introduced. This is one of those episodes I have a hard time remembering was in the season. At least I can say I've grown fonder of the song, given time.}
Spike Kills Dumbledore (Gauntlet of Fire)
+ More Celestia and Luna, and they don't even fuck shit up this time! :D
+ Twilight nerdgasming over dragons. (And Celestia and Luna's tacit disapproval.)
+ Dragon Lord Torch. Dude's fucking impressive.
+ Gauntlet of Fire, Bloodstone Scepter, Flamecano: dragons are fucking metal.
+ Princess Ember. I didn't waifu her quite as hard as others (and she's far down my list after this season), but it's hard not to like her.
+ I love that Torch listens to reason and lets Spike go. I also love the conflict between him and Ember.
+ Spike risking himself to compete in the Gauntlet proves he's noble far better than any "code".
+ Spike just gets so excited about spreading friendship among dragons. :D
+ Twilight and Rarity just blithely, inexplicably getting through all the obstacles while in costume.
+ "Please don't make me talk about my feelings."
+ That time when Spike was Dragon Lord for a hot minute.
+ Garble's punishment. XD
+ That feel when there's finally a good episode in this season. I had my doubts about this when I first saw it, but I can safely say, it's one of the good ones. And as world-building episodes go, it's probably number one. :D
Lesbian Love Triangles (No Second Prances)
+ Trollight Glimmer. (Or is she?)
+ I realize the first act is actually giving Starlight some personality: someone who's quick to use to magic to solve all her problems. It both sets up Every Little Thing She Does and gives her a commonality with Trixie (Mrs. Cake's dismay made me realize this). {That said, holy shit, what she does to Big Mac. @_@ That isn't funny, guys.}
+ He says "Eeyup" instead of "Hello", echoing the one time he said it in place of "Goodbye". My god.
+ "And I'm so articulate!" (Okay, it's a little funny.)
+ The way Rarity says "clearance bin".
+ Angel falls in love with Starlight because they're both evil to the core. :V
+ >tfw Trixie :3 This matchup was fucking genius.
+ Twilight geeking out over silverware.
+ And they just hit it right the fuck off so many bedroom eyes god I love this.
+ Trixie just being a little shit. :D
+ Starlight not putting up with any of Twilight's shit.
+ Sudden Derpy and also Cranky. {Points off for unnecessary Vinyl Scratch cameo tho.}
+ Hoofdini. I mean, any excuse for old timey pony film footage. And I'm pretty sure young Granny Smith was in that crowd, though I could be wrong.
+ Really layin' it on thick there, Trixie. :V
+ Celestia just not buying this in the least.
+ "It's a working title!" Great running gag.
+ Trixie being bad at friend.
+ "I am not sad at all!" God, she's so hammy, you can spread the drama on crackers, I love it.
+ "Way to go, dumb-dumb, you really messed it up this time." XD
+ No chewing, just a long, low burp. XD
+ "Best friend." Yeah, we know what that means. ;)
+ Cranky's zinger at the end. XD Ah, it may just be that I'm shipping trash, but this is one of my all-time faves. It's Starlight at her post-villain finest, with Trixie as a perfect complement. (Seriously, the pairing is genius.) Twilight's just-reasonable-enough suspicions plays off Starlight and Trixie's self-doubts and casts her as antagonist in ways I never would have thought would work. I still don't like Starlight, and this is her one good episode in a sea of crap, but I need this ship like you wouldn't believe. God, I just love this episode.
More Like Rainbow Trash (Newbie Dash)
+ Spitfire's superhero landing.
+ Scootaloo being happy for her big sister. :D
+ Rainbow Dash finally in the Wonderbolts for realsies!
+ Even Spitfire geeking out a little about Wonderbolt stuff there.
+ Okay, but filly Rainbow ending up in the trash can is hilarious.
+ Also Tinyshy is there. :D
+ Fleetfoot actually being supportive for once and not just a huge bitch.
+ Dat Twishy tho.
+ Actual recognition for saving Equestria.
+ For all its flaws, this episode does dig down deep into Rainbow's insecurities and self-doubts, something we don't often get to see these days. Like, she's sensitive! {And then everything takes a nose-dive into Cringetown because she's also really, really fucking stupid. This is the single most painful episode of the show to watch. Ever. I cannot stand it. It's amazing in that it's able to follow up one completely cringey scene with a second that somehow even worse. And if you think it's because I don't understand the way things are in the "military", you're not fucking listening. They had a chance to give Rainbow Dash her own triumphant Lost Mark-level episode, and instead we got this. I hope I never have to watch this episode again.}
Spike Shits a Candy Cane (A Hearth's Warming Tail)
+ When an episode opens with a song, you know it's gon b gud.
+ Derpy on the tree. XD
+ "Why would you deny yourself presents and candy? That's crazy talk!" Spike literally has the best argument in the entire episode.
+ That feel when you realize A) they're doing A Christmas Carol and B) it involves the show characters dressing up in old-timey clothes. :D
+ Okay, but I think there's literally a Scrooge pony in that first scene.
+ It's so great getting to see Starlight be smug and smarmy once again.
+ Snow Dash.
+ I very much like that Snowfall wants to better Equestria. She's not going about it the right way, necessarily, but it makes her a good villain.
+ Is that a villain song? That's a villain song! :D
+ Not only is there a Sherlock Holmes pony, his cutie mark is a bee, and only Holmes fans will get why. :D
+ I have no idea how you could use magic to erase a day, but I like that everyone seems to think it'll work.
+ Snowfall getting massive heebie-jeebies from old-timey AJ walking through her.
+ Her goddamn Willy Wonka hat. XD
+ The tree shrinking is a fantastic visual cue to denote traveling backward in time
+ Filly Starlight is always good.
+ Professor Flintheart. :D As soon as he shows up, you know exactly why Snowfall is the way she is.
+ The Present/Presents thing was clever.
+ "That means a song is comin' on!"
+ Fucking Dixieland jazz song for Pinkie, oh god, it's so perfect.
+ Featherweight as Tiny Tim. XD
+ OLD TIMEY VINYL SCRATCH I just I can't, I'm only human, oh god, help
+ Goddammit, Twilight, stop being so fucking cute.
+ When you realize the story enactment is filled with main characters because Twilight's reading it that way.
+ Okay but Snow Dash's Snowfall Frost impression.
+ Holy shit it's Luna.
+ HOLY SHIT LUNA SONG
+ HOLY SHIT IT'S THE BEST FUCKING SONG IN THE ENTIRE SHOW
+ Seriously, every line in this song is fucking perfect, Luna's delivery is menacing as fuck (apparently, she's got a new, one-time singing VA, and this is the only role she's had!), and I just, I can't, it's so good, help
+ "Now the future is a cold nightmare!" It kills me.
+ Record skip. XD
+ Twilight being ever so slightly passive-aggressive about the moral.
+ Notice Octavia's singing and Vinyl's just bobbing her head.
+ So many background characters! Like, even Twist!
+ That's the good shit, right there. This episode gives me that awe-filled sensation of pure joy like few episodes do this season. It's not even a page out of the past, so much, just a really solid episode, and I would say one of the most technically perfect. Ooh, god, I love it so much.
I'm Gonna Row & Rec It (The Saddle Row Review)
+ Good in medias res opening.
+ "NO SPOILERS! D:<"
+ There's so many references in the diner. XD
+ The whole story-in-a-story-in-a-story-being-told-by-multiple-people framing device. {Too bad it wasn't used to better effect, like having the stories contradict each other or characters' embellishments showing up in what we see. See PPOV for what I'm talking about.}
+ "Plum-puckered" is a fantastic epithet.
+ "Wait, are you writing this down?"
+ Twilight's hummingbird impression.
+ PLAID STRIPES, AKA BEST PONY
+ This landlord is fucking amazing.
+ Okay but the raccoons eating with Fluttershy in the diner.
+ Rarity sounding like an old mare.
+ AppleDash high-hoof. {But seriously, they say it themselves: The sweep thing is one of the dumbest gags they've ever put into an episode. That is not a "remix"!}
+ Ohai Coco.
+ Callback to the Mirror Pool episode. {I don't like the clone gag, though, it makes me feel bad. D:}
+ "I'm talking about myself. Oh please let me organize it!"
+ Rarity devil and angel that are zero help.
+ Blue Bobbin
+ Applejack's appreciation for spoon clothes.
+ Locking Rarity in the window display. {Okay, but no, this whole thing is stupid. They ran out of things to do because they couldn't be bothered to use the narrative framing technique to its full potential, so instead they fell back on the old standby: have the mane six act like idiots. They all get assigned tasks perfectly suited to their abilities (well, except maybe Applejack), and fuck them up completely, because.}
+ Stately prancing.
+ But really, Twilight's organizing frenzy was a good running gag.
+ Pinkie passing the check. :D
+ "Oh, heavens, I think he means you." {On reflection, this episode may be somewhat better than I initially gave it credit for, but it's still another story about the mane six acting dumb for no reason. And if not for Plaid Stripes, it would be high on the forgettability index.}
#horseworldproblems (Applejack's "Day" Off)
+ Listening to any of the spa twins talk. {God, that pruny Rarity is horrifying. D: And since when does Applejack spend time at the spa with Rarity, or care about spending any quality time with her at all? I mean, I want to believe it, but I don't, and every time it's brought up, I just shake my head.}
+ I appreciate that Twilight's not using magic while helping with AJ's chores.
+ Suddenly extra spa ponies. {Okay, but the Rainbow Dash joke… I just… Who thought that was a good idea? To say nothing of the fact that it just halts the episode for a few minutes.}
+ Appleyack. {Why in the fuck is Applejack so hellbent on steaming? Nothing in this episode makes any goddamn sense.}
+ Goddammit, this guy just sounds so depressed. XD
+ Okay, but Aloe (or is that Lotus?) is just fucking adorable.
+ Well, at least there's lots of Rarijack bait. {God, this episode. On the one hand, it's the most nothing episode since What About Discord. On the other, it's excruciatingly boring. And on the third, it's really, really bad. I mean, the characters' motivations are completely fucked, as I've said, but moreover, the writing for most of it is the kind of thing you'd expect from one of the cartoons that make girls' programming look like garbage. I realized it while watching the "putting on tool belt" sequence: this is a poo episode for poo babies. And once the "Spa Steam Mystery" plot is resolved, it just keeps chugging along, spitting out the moral at every opportunity, and taking forever to do anything, just to fill 22 minutes.}
Shutter Gutter Mutter Stutter Nutter Butter (Flutter Brutter)
+ FLUTTER PARENTS {Okay, but "Mr. and Mrs. Shy"? Really? And did they have to be exactly like her? More effort could have been put in, is what I'm saying.}
+ Cloud furniture. {Okay, I had to say something so I could start snarking. Zehpyr Breeze, Zephyr Breeze, what a terrible fucking idea. In some ways, I like just how loathsome an individual he is, I mean that's not inherently bad. You've got Rainbow to be aghast at his every action, helping the audience take sides when it comes to dealing with him. (Confounded by Fluttershy caring for him, which is a weaker reaction if we're being honest.) Except that we're eventually supposed to root for him. :| I mean, say what you will about the misaimed jabs at Millennials, the big problem with this episode is that by the end, I do not give one hot shit about whether or not "Zeph" becomes a hair stylist. I just want him to leave. And that definitely holds back selling a moral.}
+ Fluttershy being the bold one in her family.
+ Rainbow just not taking one smidgen of Zeph's shit. {Ugh, god, I hate this episode because it hits too close to home. I've been him once upon a time, let's not lie, but I can say with confidence that the only (personality) trait I share with Zephyr Breeze is the old fear of failure. Okay, it's a little bit more than that. :( I just don't want anything to with him, and furthermore, I don't want the show making me look at myself and challenge myself like this, it hurts. D:}
+ "Peeved" is such a great joke.
+ Okay, but "bossy" fits Fluttershy so well and she gets a tons of character workout and great faces in this episode.
+ "Turns out the animal communication thing isn't genetic."
+ ...Link?
+ The storm cloud zap joke is perfect. XD What a transition.
+ Randomly a song! And it's honestly pretty good. {But yeah, what I said about audience leading… I can't believe Rainbow's helping him out. I just get stuck somewhere in the middle on "Zephyr is the worst pony ever" and wishing he'd die in the woods. :| This is the most misaimed episode since Brotherhooves Social, just tripping over its own implications and never sticking any kind of a landing.}
+ I'm pretty sure pegasi just eat jello. >.>
A Kitchen Nightmare (Spice Up Your Life)
+ Twilight getting tired of everyone constantly recapping last season. {Seriously, this is worse than what they do to Sunset Shimmer. >.> Also, if there's anything wrong with this episode, it's the weak opening. But hey, at least the plot dispenser's back, right?}
+ I always appreciate episodes taking shots at high culture, and fine dining is no exception.
+ Pinkie eats by facial osmosis.
+ I love how the waiter just swaps pallette with each scene wipe.
+ Saffron "Instant Top Waifu" Masala
+ I adore Pinkie's enthusiasm, from sampling each of the daily specials to declaring the restaurant worth visiting because it's unrated.
+ I love that the "friendship" problem is actually a father/daughter disagreement.
+ Fucking Bollywood-style musical number. :D {Missing two things: Bollywood-style dance number, and better lyrics. >.> I still like it.}
+ >Whinnyapolitans XD
+ Coriander Cumin's obviously depressed. He's such a tragic case, and I can't help but feel for him.
+ Zesty Gourmand is truly horrifying to behold, but then I just think of DWK's description of her as the love child of Tilda Swinton and Lord Voldemort, and I can't stop laughing. {Seriously, DWK is the best thing to come out of this season.}
+ That is insane. Pinkie is literally the rightest she has ever been.
+ "You are adequate." Like, if there's no indication before that Zesty is not someone whose opinions should be followed, this is it. This is where she crosses the line into true villainy. HOW DARE SHE
+ Okay but I kind of get teary at how strongly Coriander and Saffron's bond comes to light when she starts talking about how they used to cook together. (It certainly doesn't hurt that the flat-noodle soup is the first time he actually smiles all episode.)
+ Rarity does not crumple the paper, she folds it into a rose.
+ FUCKING GORDON RAMSAY PONY
+ Sweet Biscuit. God, there's so many good pony designs in that last scene.
+ While maybe not as mind-blowing as I thought it was the first time I saw it, this is a really strong, memorable episode that showcases what made the season 5 Cutie Map gimmick work.
Stranger Danger Fanwank (Stranger Than Fan Fiction)
+ Daring Do Convention? {Seriously, this episode has no business being as good as it is. Especially with that title! XD}
+ Oh god, geeking out about the minutiae of unimportant details in cosplay. {We never should have let show staff into our conventions, they could have just gotten everything wrong instead of so very, very right! XD}
+ Yeah, no, Rainbow making a friend at a Daring Do convention is the unlikeliest thing ever, but it kinda feels great. {Quibble Pants is not a super great character though, almost as cringey as Zephyr Breeze.}
+ There's a purple pegasus with crazy awesome hair in the background in a few shots. She's great.
= I'm not sure I can place the body pillow as a "positive", but I can't not mention it. We all know it's there.
+ That carrot dog roller fills me with inexplicable joy.
+ Grumpy carrot dog pony enjoys the drama. :V {I kind of love Quibble about-face and "There are no books after the original trilogy", but it's so true to life, it just hurts. How does Rainbow Dash constantly attract this caliber of "stallion"?}
+ Yeah, it's always nice seeing Daring Do again. :B
+ Okay, but blending in with people cosplaying you is kind of an amazing plan.
+ That giant Ahuizotl costume is amazing.
+ Caballeron and everything he and his minions do in this episode. Period.
+ Let us not forget Box-Head Caballeron.
+ "His accent is all over the place." {Quibble's depth of disbelief kind of stretches my disbelief, but then again, nerds can justify anything if it means they're right. And it helps promote a lot of the comedy throughout the episode. Because seriously, Caballeron. He just wasn't ready for that.}
+ Quibble's recap of the action sequence.
+ The Supervillain's School of Bad Accents. {"I'm talking" is a little much, though.}
+ Rainbow's "dat's muh waifu" face.
+ "There's more than one way to be a fan" is actually a really good moral, and for its flaws, this episode lays it out well. {If there's anything that makes me not like Quibble much, though, it's his use of genre-awareness to figure out the door puzzle ahead of Daring. I mean, they did that thing where everyone's dumber so your OC can smart things out.}
+ Quibble's monologue at the end may be the single greatest joke of the entire season. This is a flawed episode, but its flaws don't outshine its fun.
Carts as Strong as Horses (The Carts Before the Ponies)
+ This actually has one of the cleverest titles ever. Like, good show.
+ Actual, for-real Twist.
+ Snails getting lines! Snips getting lines!
+ The CMCs trying to change things up.
+ I like how the Cloudsdale derb is basically bobsledding.
+ Babby Derpy. {It's about the most contrived reason for Rarity to have a stake in the race, but any derp in a storm, right?}
+ The older sisters trying to recapture their glory days through the younger. {Not that they did it, I mean that it was shown well.}
+ That not being how paint works, yet the reverse working just the same.
+ The racing kid and his mom, Diamond with her butler, Derpy Kid, and Snips Dad.
+ Yeah, yeah, Cheerileeder. >.> I bet you like ponies in socks, too, ya deviant.
+ Giddy up, dirt erasers! {Fun song, boring race sequence.}
+ Pony wave.
+ Rarity's pit crew outfit. {Guhh. This episode is one part boring and two parts infuriating. On the one hand, it's another episode about ponies being dumb, specifically the older ponies flat not listening to their sisters and doing whatever the hell, even though it was against the spirit if not the rule of the race. Second, I can't help but take it as veiled criticism of the adult portion of the fandom. Granted, I take everything as a veiled criticism of the adult portion of the fandom, so it could just be me. Regardless, what the hell is with that non-ending? This has a very S1/S2 feel to it, and maybe it would have even fit in those seasons better, but that's still no excuse.}
30 Pranks of Night (28 Pranks Later)
+ Scaredy-bear. (Also bear of disapproval.) {I know that first scene upset a lot of people, but look at it this way: Way back in Griffon the Brush-Off, it was Pinkie who said you should never prank Fluttershy. Rainbow just kind of went along with it because she was concerned with hanging out with Pinkie for the day. So it's totally within her to scare Fluttershy like that and not give a damn. If you are concerned that doing so makes Dash a bad friend, all I can ask is where have you been for the last four seasons? :V}
+ Council of Shame. :V
+ TWILIGHT'S TREMENDOUS DEATH FART XD I don't even care, that shit's hilarious.
+ Pinkie trying and failing to hide how much she's enjoying it.
+ Sweetie Belle just immediately eats cake. Doesn't question why it's there, who it's from or what it's made of. Just, bam, cake, gonna eat it.
+ The sewing machine cake is fantastic. I did not see that coming.
+ The prank on Spike (and, conversely, Celestia) is pretty funny. {Why prank Cranky though? And the brick's not cool.}
+ The closet prank is great. And I love that Pinkie is the go-to "stop Rainbow from pranking" pony.
+ Harry's "I'm watching you" at Rainbow. XD
+ That short montage of just Rainbow Dash chortling.
+ The sound of Rainbow's hooves scraping together. Like, it's the tiniest thing ever, you wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it, but it's there, and it reminds you they have hooves, which are hard. That's crazy.
+ The moment when you realize this is a zombie episode. :D And they managed to translate "zombies" into something kid friendly but not completely un-scary.
+ So, especially in the early going, it's hard to believe Pinkie could pull together a prank this elaborate. Okay, maybe Pinkie could, that's kind of the point. But making sure ponies have cookies scattered around where Rainbow will find them? Daisy slowly shuffling through her house in sight over Rainbow's shoulder just in case she looks in? Kinda crazy. And then you realize she got the babies in on it somehow and that's when you know, Pinkie is the prank master, and Dash was a fool to taunt her in any way, shape or form.
+ "And I have plenty of sewing machine cake left over." I'm so glad they carried through on that. XD
+ HOLY SHIT ZOMBIE CRANKY IS TERRIFYING XD
+ The barn scene is fucking perfect. Just a pitch-perfect sendup of zombie movie tropes, I love it.
+ Rarity's voice slowly lowering as she says "We've already eaten them" is one of Tabitha's finest performances. (And Andrea Libman meanwhile sells the hell out of zombie Pinkie.)
+ Another episode that's not amazing, but lots of fun and totally memorable. {And yeah, it's a tad Mare-Do-Well in that they end up doing exactly what Twilight told her not to do, but really, do you think they could have effectively gotten the message across any other way? Rainbow Dash is kind of dense, especially when it comes to things like thinking about others' feelings.}
"There's One Brony, There Could Be Others" (The Times They Are a Changeling)
+ Starlight just refusing to play along with anything.
+ The disguise was working.
+ Crystal ponies are no less panicky than any other kind.
+ Hi, Sunburst!
+ That's the most somber Sunshine, Sunshine ever. {Ugh, I can't believe they still do it, though, it's so embarrassing. D:}
+ That ice slide sequence has some goooood animation!
+ Four years of changeling headcanons undone in about two seconds. (And more later on, when he turns into a rock!) {And four years of headcanons about changelings being misunderstood snowflakes confirmed. :| Steve is such a sad sack, ugh.}
+ OKAY BUT BABY CHANGELING GRUBS
+ Anyone being marginally nice to Thorax brings out his monster side. (Which I assume is just 'cuz he's starving.)
+ "Defeating two changelings?" "Defeating all the changelings?" They're so hopeful. :D
+ Shining having a serious stick up his butt about changelings. Like, that's perfectly true to what he's experienced and I'm glad they did that.
+ Goddammit, Twilight, stop adorably nerding out already.
+ So much nervous laughter.
+ Pitiable changeling squeak. {Once AGAIN, Spike gets an episode and fucks everything up. They could have done so much more if he'd done the right thing. That wouldn't have ended the episode.}
+ Spike gets a song of his own! And it isn't a joke! {Unfortunately, it's this song in this episode. It's just so sappy and dumb. D: Mwugh, this is such an ambitious episode, but they aim for a high note and come out with a tremendous death fart. This was a really good way to explore the concept of privilege in a manner that's fairly subtle, but the whole thing just smacks of an after-school special. And I mean, it's not the first time we've seen minds changed with a single song, but that's hardly ever been believable, and with Shining Armor's extremely good reasons not to trust changelings, it just doesn't sell the story. At least this does give us some good changeling canon, like what Gauntlet did for dragons. I just wish it had accomplished what it set out to do.}
Satan's Game (Dungeons and Discords)
+ Even Discord knows sidekicks get the worst episodes.
+ Seriously, how is it that the combination of a Spike episode (usually bad) with a Discord episode (always bad) came out as something this good? @_@
+ Opposite Fluttershy. "Guess what, sassafras!" XD
+ Oh my god Fluttershy, the passive aggression. (You know that's about the only way she can deal with Discord.)
+ The track going into the volcano.
+ Flutterbrow.
+ Unattractive but functional hiking boots. Also whatever Rarity's wearing.
+ Discord Fashion.
+ I love that Discord's idea of "reckless revelry" includes zoot suits. I love that they stick with that for the episode.
+ Cay-Cay
+ Discord's spiral-into-himself exit. The visual gags never fail with him.
+ The tiny Discord messenger is fucking hysterical. It's so funny I laugh even before it shows up. XD
+ Earl of Turmoil
+ The NBA entrance is also funny.
+ "It's… rather short."
+ Dislestia :V
+ That not only are they playing ponified D&D, it's Ogres and Oubliettes from the fucking comics I'm so proud ;_;
+ The Squizzard has that 90's S for a beak.
+ Spiketopia and Shmarity XD
+ Okay but Big Mac's character backstory is actually pretty deece.
+ CAPTAIN WUZZ
+ That "Are you prepared to enter the world" line… There's little possibility that it's actually what I'm thinking, but it reminds me of nothing so much as the horrible (and amazing) video that comes with the board game Dragonstrike. Please tell me someone else knows what I'm talking about. D:
+ And as D&D parodies go, this episode is actually pretty damned good at it. The whole concept is simplified (you can't fit a gaming session into 22 minutes of TV), but at its core, the things they actually do ring true. (I'm looking at you, Stranger Than Fan Fiction. This is the kind of fanwank I want. <.<)
+ Oh god, Spike's "imagination" hand-waving.
+ Transform Into Root Vegetables
+ "Parsnips" Big Mac's finest hour.
+ Man, I don't even know what it is, but Discord's tantrum hits really hard the bad gaming sessions I've had… and yet I don't cringe seeing it. Maybe just because he's actually using magic and that divorces the situation from actual memories.
+ The jazz club. God, I love it.
+ Big Mac is totally into banana mare.
+ Playing poker with dogs, my god.
+ Finally, a cartoon does the "game comes to life" thing and it actually fucking works.
+ He's using his "scary voice". XD
+ The pony skeleton things have bone ears.
+ (Okay, but I want John DeLancie to narrate my D&D games forever now.)
+ "I mean… Shmarity."
+ Discord just can't fathom people feeling sorry for him. This is actually a good character moment for him.
+ Okay, but who actually plays RPGs with two people. <.<
+ And it's great because the solution is for them to really incorporate Discord into their game. Like, more than just inviting him to participate.
+ Parsnip claw.
+ Awkward intrusions. And then Rainbow and Pinkie want in.
+ PINKIE ASTERIX
+ I'm sorry, it's the best fuckin' episode. :D {>tfw no episode about the goodwill tour of Yakyakistan :B}
I'm Not Making a Moonbase Alpha Joke (Buckball Season)
+ HEY APPLEJACK XD God, what a moment!
+ Rainbow down to play without knowing what the game is.
+ "They know we're not unicorns, right?"
+ If there's one thing I like about buckball, for all that it was probably made up on the spot by some drunk Apple yokel, it's that it exemplifies Equestrian society, namely the three tribes working together. Buckball taught me that unicorns can be replaced by buckets on poles.
+ Pinkie's pom-pom hair.
+ The unicorn montage is fun. Cookie pony probably could have made it if she hadn't made herself sick. :V Also, I like makeup pony, she's got like permanent bedroom eyes.
+ And Snails wins the award for most unexpected cameo.
+ Fluttershy apologizing for flying rings around Rainbow. Rainbow admitting Fluttershy flew rings around her.
+ Super-zen Snails.
+ "What in the apple?"
+ Those fans.
+ Fluttershy ultimate meme face machine.
+ Goddammit, I love those super-thin CGI seat dividers sliding by as they walk. It's such a tiny thing, but it's such good animation.
+ "Maybe you need to look again."
+ "Looks like you two really do need practice." Holy shit, Fluttershy, unfrass your sass!
+ "Seriously. I don't think about anything. EVER."
+ Bulk Momceps and Appleloosa's unicorn. Who I think is a McColt?
+ This hits a sweet spot right between "trying too hard" and "not enough going on". It's low-key, low-stakes, and would have fit perfectly into seasons one or two. (As it is, it feels slightly out of place in the last half of season six, because, like 28 Pranks Later, it's a Rainbow-heavy episode where she doesn't mention being in the Wonderbolts once.) But it's fun and carries its message through with aplomb. Maybe not super-memorable, but an episode I'll always enjoy watching.
Manic Breezie Dream Griffon (The Fault in Our Cutie Marks)
+ The CMCs actually being called "experts" at cutie marks.
+ Spiny-backed Ponasaurus XD
+ Crazed parental laughter. {Seriously, worst parents ever. Fucking yuppies.}
+ That dude's cutie mark has a 90's cup background.
+ Ohhh. Bulk's teaching other ponies to lift things, just like they suggested he do. :D Hah!
+ Holy shit this griffon
+ Holy shit, Gabby
+ Holy shit
+ Aaaand we have an impossible quandary! :D
+ >tfw griffony sunshine
+ She has zero idea what a cutie mark even is.
+ Gabby is sad for like one and a half seconds.
+ "What the apples"
+ "She's still going!"
+ Scootaloo disability angst moment.
+ That little in-place march before the song.+ >tfw griffons are hardcore and ponies suck at everything {Okay, Gabby doesn't really deserve it, because she is cute and her boundless optimism is infectious, but stick her in the list of bad season 6 OCs. She presents an interesting challenge for the CMCs, but then they find out she's just unilaterally good at everything? Why? Why was that necessary? And then they literally sit around and talk about how good she is at everything, because she's a Mary Sue, there, I said it.}
+ That hot moment when you believe that's a real cutie mark.
+ "You know what this calls for?" A part— wait, this isn't Pinkie Pie.
+ Okay, but the ending is really adorable. Like Gabby herself, this episode isn't the greatest, but it's incredibly hard to hate. And if nothing else, it gives us a taste of what the post-cutie mark CMC episodes can be like.
Heartbreak Hotel (Viva Las Pegasus)
+ Finally getting to see Las Pegasus! :D And knowing it's Vegas, rather than LA.
+ Penn and Teller ponies.
+ Pony Cirque du Soleil.
+ Gladmane. :D Just, Gladmane.
+ AJ and Flutters being recognized as Twilight's friends. There's actually been a lot of recognition for the mane six this season, and this might be the sweetest validation any of them get.
+ Oh god, he said "Thank ya very much" XD
+ Fluttershy fluttering at animals.
+ PONY SIEGFRIED AND ROY
+ >tfw Flim and Flam
+ >tfw when they're fighting like in the comics :D
+ Applejack's steadfast resistance to the idea of helping them.
+ But I seriously love every word that comes out of Gladmane's mouth. Jim Byrnes is amazing.
+ PONY DDR
+ The setup of this episode is so fantastic: having to help former enemies, multiple friendship problems in the same place… It's, again, a real workout for the tried-and-true season five formula.
+ You can see Svengallop in the background of the cafeteria scene! :O
+ God, there's so much fantastic stuff in the background you'll never see it all. XD
+ And yeah, using Flim and Flam to help solve a bigger problem? Inspired. (Also Fluttershy being all smug about being right. X3)
+ Flim and Flam recognizing Applejack's pure honesty.
+ Hunter S. Thompson pony.
+ All the names they have for scams.
+ The whole whispering gambit is amazing.
+ You have to wonder if Impossibly Rich is a real pony.
+ Gladmane seeing through the disguise and knowing the scam by name.
+ That double-cross. :D
+ "Gladmane has left the building!"
+ Flim and Flam being steadfastly against reforming. :D
+ Scamming tickets. XD
+ This episode is a pure joy from start to finish, the kind I'll enjoy watching again and again. :D
Princess of Pain (Every Little Thing She Does)
+ Mock magic duel.
+ "Twenty moons from now?"
+ Starlight's room is pretty neat.
+ "Good talk."
+ Rarity says "fo-yay" and Starlight says "foy-err".
+ I'm honestly not sure if that really counts as a LazyTown reference, but I always appreciate songs that get cut short. XD
+ This.
+ Rarity needing to stomp the drawing.
+ Once one thing starts going wrong, you can think back and see how everything else is going to go wrong.
+ FLUTTERBUGS {That's seriously about the only thing I like in this episode.}
+ Applejack's lame literary quotes.
+ Fire improves everything. {Except this episode.}
+ The closest thing to a hangover scene we'll ever see in the show.
+ Yeah, but Rarity owns this scene.
+ That water loop thingy is pretty neat. {Ugh, but FUCK this episode. Number one: the "chillaxing" joke is your quintessential old person "we don't understand the lingo of kids ten years ago" joke. I hope I never hear that word again. Number two: Starlight Glimmer is a selfish, stupid pony and I hate her. Yes, forgiveness is quick in this show, but think, just think how amazing it could have been if they didn't forgive her for what she did until the season finale, after she risks herself to save everyone, finally redeeming herself. That would have thrown a serious wrench into the MLP:FiM formula, and might have made this amazing. Instead, we get a shitass episode that doesn't revolve around her being in lesbians with Trixie. Fuck her. Number third: Fucking boring. Ending drags out forever. Number four: an episode built about a string of "comedic" mishaps that aren't funny at all. And last but not least, this story teaches children that mind rape is okay and can be easily apologized for. And that is a sin of the utmost caliber. >:|}
Pony Out Of Place (P.P.O.V. [Pony Point of View])
+ Goddammit, why are they making Twilight be so adorable this season? I can't take it!
+ Lots of pets. Haven't seen the pets very much lately.
+ Gummy being not just the messenger but the message.
+ Winona on the spinny chair. XD
+ Spike stuffing his mouth. (You gotta wonder what's in those cookies if the dog didn't eat them, though…)
+ "My mane wasn't made to support marine life." Just… what a line! Who says that? Also, the crab is cute.
+ That dude's happy whale cutie mark.
+ PIRATEJACK XD {One of the best character gags they've ever come up with, but it kind of makes Rarity's story overshadow the other two. Just an issue of placement.}
+ Even this early, you get that sense of seeing things through Rarity's eyes, with her embellishments, the kind of thing I wanted out of Saddle Row. But yes, she sees Pinkie as a childish fool, herself as perfectly reasonable, and Applejack as… whatever that is. XD
+ Rarity's yacht captain outfit.
+ THE HAPPY WHALE IS NO LONGER HAPPY
+ Pinkie sees Applejack as a corny simpleton, Rarity as uppity and controlling, and herself as just trying to be jovial and help everyone have a good time, yo!
+ Rarity just throws the entire thing over the side. XD
+ I adore the tragedy of the waves sweeping up solely to wash all of Pinkie's games into the sea.
+ Spike's fixation on how they made it back.
+ LA LA LAAA~ (If not for all of Piratejack, this would be the best moment of the whole episode.)
+ Also, whatever she's wearing.
+ "I brought a stick."
+ What amazes me is that Applejack paints Rarity as even more uppity than Pinkie does. And, now that I think of it, Pinkie as more of an idiot than Rarity does.
+ ALL THE DARLINGS
+ Pinkie's tongue flapping in the breeze.
+ Bunyip. What the fuck. {Yeah, if there's a low point to this episode, it's the bunyip. There's no way for the audience to figure out the mystery, like, say MMMystery on the Friendship Express. Although MOFE was a complete shitshow, so at least this comes out better. Points for non-Greek mythology!}
+ Bunyip boat hug.
+ Another episode that doesn't fail to please despite its low stakes. :) {That said, yes, it kind of flubs the landing, but I still like it on the whole.}
I Wish the Apple Dies (Where the Apple Lies)
+ I am always happy to see Filthy Rich.
+ I like this idea that Granny doesn't like selling cider outside the farm, and Filthy knows this and is terrified of invoking her wrath.
+ And Big Mac just starts laughing.
+ Teen Applejack and slightly-less-old Granny Smith. {Okay, but the "Big Mac used to talk all the time" thing is really dumb. I can't explain it; it's just the tip of the hate iceberg with this one.}
+ Young Filthy Rich and slightly-less-pointy Spoiled Rich.
+ AND HER NAME WAS SPOILED MILK XD That's probably the best part of this.
+ 80's Cheerilee
+ Young Mrs. Cake
+ Okay, that's a pair of scenes of Big Mac backstory they tease us with. Bad show writers, bad! :V {It's a funny joke. The rest of this ain't.}
+ Inflamed butt pony.
+ The Shining twins.
+ Derpy obviously just got her eyes done.
+ Yeah, but Filthy getting the fear of Granny put into him. (Also Stinking Rich was still alive!) {Guhh. My reaction to this entire episode is just one giant APPLEJACK JUST STOP. Just, every time her lie gets bigger, I slap myself in the forehead. I can't stand it, it's one of the most painful episodes to watch, and I question why a "lying is bad" moral was necessary to write an episode around. And it's yet another episode in this godforsaken season that ends on an "everyone laughs" note after something that isn't a joke. >:|}
Tremble With a Sigh, Glitter in Your Eye (Top Bolt)
+ "Yeah, I do." SPITFIRE HAS NEVER BEEN THIS ADORABLE BEFORE HOW DID THIS HAPPEN
+ >TwiDash
+ "I was just there!"
+ Angel Wings
+ Vapor Trail
+ "That has only happened once."
+ Okay no, but I love Angel Wings, and knowing she's another Make a Wish pony only makes her better. :)
+ Ponies recognizing and being excited about Rainbow Dash. The recognition has been a Thing all season, and it never gets any less amazing.
+ "Classroom portion?" Yeah, I've said it before, but Twilight being extra adorkable has also been a Thing. And it's a Thing I swear they're doing just to make the bronies happy, but it makes me happy, so fuck.
+ "This is so exciting!" No but seriously Twilight, stop, you're gonna kill me.
+ T-Sparxx and the Dashinator. Yes, I'm going with the spelling for the first one. It's their street names. :V
+ The air horn thing is pretty funny.
+ That moment when Sky Stinger admits he's worried about Vapor is really good. Because before then, he seems like another Zephyr Breeze or Quibble Pants; and even though he continues being self-absorbed and not a very good friend, he is still being a friend, and that counts for a lot.
+ "Somepony paid attention in class." GODDAMMIT TWILIGHT
+ The conflict between Twilight and Rainbow is actually an even better application of the idea than what we got in Spice Up Your Life.
+ "I love my job." THIS EPISODE IS PACKED FULL OF ADORABLEST PONIES
+ Stratusburg
+ Best sneeze.
+ "Aw, sugarcubes." goddammit
+ I really like this backstory.
+ Okay, but Sky's older sister >.>;
+ "I just want to be with my best friend." And that's how we know this is not a platonic relationship. At least for one side.
+ "I love being right!" Even Dash gets to be cute.
+ The training montage is honestly great, and Vapor is super-cute in the Wonderbolts Academy uniform.
+ Backflip landing.
+ I'm laughing so hard.
+ That real, palpable heartbreak when Sky learns the truth.
+ Rainbow being really attuned to others' self-confidence. She notes the first time Vapor has something nice to say about herself, and she picks up on Sky's balloon-ness rather quickly.
+ Princess of Flying.
+ Vapor not really caring about being a Wonderbolt until she started getting better at flying.
+ Now kiss. {And then they never do}
+ Sky and Vapor helping each other. I was kind of expecting this segment to be more him getting the help, but no, they impressed me.
+ I am so happy neither of them set new academy records.
+ Tacklehug
+ Angel Wings as a bellwether of good taste.
+ The season that gave us Newbie Dash had no business producing the best Wonderbolts-themed episode ever, but here we are. Top Bolt is a treasure from start to finish: best horse girlfriends, tons of outlandish OCs who turn out to be good characters, a friendship problem that's more or less caused by trying to solve it, and a great new ship. And on second blush, I think the solid character work might actually put this at the top of the season for me, and not Hearth's Warming Tail like I originally said! :O {>tfw this isn't the Cloudsdale flight school reunion episode teased in PPOV D:}
It Ain't Over Till It's Over (To Where and Back Again)
+ Hi, Derpy :V
+ Some closure for Our Town. I like how they have a festival for best pony
+ Party Favor does the thing.
+ HI LUNA
+ Luna just cloudwalks on up the fuck outta there.
+ Pinkie doesn't know what not going to a party is like.
+ The Cute and Dorbaful Trixie
+ Trixie needling Twilight.
+ No but seriously, Trixie gets not two, but (technically) three episodes this season, fantastic.
+ More emotionally traumatic. {Okay, but I am well and truly done with the constant recaps of everything Starlight did, even if I don't like her.}
+ "I've got your flank." I hope that's a promise! :3
+ Unnecessary smoke bomb.
+ I'm honestly glad that Double Diamond and the others are really happy to see her. It says a lot about what they've been through.
+ Starlight being afraid of being in charge.
+ Trixie absolutely helped her out of there, though.
+ Trixie's almost-good advice.
+ And if Pinkie's behavior wasn't an indicator, Rarity and Applejack prove everyone's changelings, and we had no real reason to think they would be ahead of time. :V
+ Sudden emergency dream message from Luna.
+ Peanut butter crackers dream XD I DON'T CARE, IT'S FUNNY
+ The Great and Sassyful Trixie
+ Trixie doing the nervous dance and insisting on getting Twilight. XD
+ Changeling tech
+ HI CHRYSSY :D
+ God, she's so evil, I love her.
+ Trixie hyperventilating.
+ Say what you will about her, Trixie understands her place in the world.
+ Hi Steve, and your bizarrely sparkly wings.
+ Oh my god, she's really freaking out in that bubble. XD
+ Proving it's him is a really good use of changeling magic.
+ Discord being on top of the meta-awareness.
+ Discord getting really mad about them taking Fluttershy. Say what you will about him...
+ Finally getting to see the hive! :D
+ "Why are you here again?" Say what you will about this episode, Discord and Trixie's non-stop snipefest is a highlight.
+ Discord can't handle walking.
+ The fact that the hive's layout is constantly changing is awesome.
+ Steve's shivering shows that the white highlights in changeling eyes are actually pupils. Small detail, but worth noting.
+ "It is absolutely ridiculous that that worked."
+ Flutterspartacus :V
+ The Noble and Self-Sacrificing Trixie ;_; That is her greatest moment ever.
+ ...I just starting singing "Steve and Starlight, running through a hive! They-will-not-get-out-a-live!" kill me
+ Y'know, the first time Chrysalis was revealed back in season two, it was one of the most genuinely frightening moments of the show's entire run. They somehow topped it here.
+ Even Chryssy thinks Starlight is worst pony. :V
+ Ohhh, she figured out it was him because his eyes shimmered, how interesting.
+ Chrysalis is just super-fucking intense in this scene and I love her so much.
+ Much as I didn't want an episode where Starlight gets to save the day, the parallels she draws between herself and Chrysalis are really good.
+ I'm pretty sure Fluttershy squeaked when she was picked up.
+ Starlight rattles off the list of things she just accomplished, and Luna just gives her an attaboy. XD
+ Starlight offering the hoof of friendship to Chrysalis and CHRYSALIS NOT TAKING IT THANK GOD :D
+ Discord and Trixie making up.
All right, so this is the first chance I've had to sit down, rewatch and really unpack the season finale. And I come away with… a big shrug. Trixie was the best part; Chrysalis's throne somehow being able to stop Discord's magic is the worst. (Seriously, I think we've all overestimated the power levels in this show, but I wish they'd let us have our illusions. D:) Everything else was not super-bad, not super-great, just kind of okay.
I mean, they've given us a new status quo, and I know enough to know that there's no real way to evaluate it before season 7 gives us more. But if you think about it, changelings have appeared in two (three if you count two-parters as separate) episodes before this one. It's a big change, but it's not an important one, framed in the scope of the series.
My main problem, then, is Starlight Glimmer. I don't like her. I don't care about her. And this is an episode about her learning to get the fuck over herself, which, while nice, is just something I don't care about. I don't much care about Steve, either; I kind of wish they'd brought in more characters introduced this season to be part of the team-up, but whatever. So the episode falls flat for me. As season enders go, it's the most 'meh' since the very first one, and that one's pretty 'meh' in comparison to everything that came after it.
As for the season in general, it comes out better the second time than I gave it credit for, definitely a solid hit more than season 4, but with lower lows and highs than last season. (Admittedly, comparing anything to Amending Fences is a lesson in futility.) But like its own finale, it's just okay, solidly in the middle as seasons go.
Here, let me rate them:
5, 1, 2, 6, 4, 3
Wasn't that fun? :D I know you all like lists, so have some more:
Top Episodes of the Season (with color-coded tiers!):
Top Bolt
A Hearth's Warming Tail
Viva Las Pegasus
Dungeons and Discords
No Second Prances
Gauntlet of Fire
Stranger Than Fan Fiction
Spice Up Your Life
To Where and Back Again
28 Pranks Later
Buckball Season
The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)
The Saddle Row Review
The Crystalling
On Your Marks
The Times They Are a Changeling
Flutter Brutter
The Carts Before the Ponies
The Gift of the Maud Pie
Applejack's "Day" Off
Every Little Thing She Does
Where the Apple Lies
Newbie Dash
Top Songs of the Season:
Luna's Future
Say Goodbye to the Holiday
Pinkie's Present
It's Gonna Work
Hearth's Warming Eve Is Here Once Again
The Seeds of the Past
Find the Purpose in Your Life
Derby Racers
A Changeling Can Change
Out on My Own
Can I Do It on My Own
Top Fifteen Episodes (It's been long enough, I think I can expand):
1) Amending Fences
2) Party of One
3) Hurricane Fluttershy
4) The Last Roundup
5) Cutie Mark Chronicles
6) The Cutie Re-Mark
7) Top Bolt
8) A Hearth's Warming Tail
9) Crusaders of the Lost Mark
10) Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
11) Viva Las Pegasus
12) Twilight's Kingdom
13) A Friend in Deed
14) Pinkie Pride
15) Sleepless in Ponyville
Bottom Ten (I am definitely expanding this):
10) Every Little Thing She Does
9) Owl's Well That Ends Well
8) Party Pooped
7) Where the Apple Lies
6) Over a Barrel
5) Wonderbolts Academy
4) Lesson Zero
3) The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well
2) Newbie Dash
1) Bats!
Top Ten Songs:
1) Luna's Future
2) I've Got to Find a Way
3) Art of the Dress
4) The Flim Flam Brothers Song
5) Say Goodbye to the Holiday
6) The Goof-Off
7) The Magic Inside
8) Becoming Popular
9) Celestia's Ballad
10) Pinkie's Present
If you've seen my review journals before, yes, I've switched a few things around! (I've come to despise Wonderbolts Academy a lot more than I ever thought I did in the past few years.) But there we go, another season down! As said previously, I'm not really looking forward to season 7 all that much -- I expect more of the same, by which I mean lower lows and more Starlight Glimmer -- but hey, there's always that movie. Stay tuned for one more thing...
Yeah, I will admit that despite how much of a garbage-eating shitshow 28 Pranks Later was and how it makes Mare Do Well look like Citizen Kane in comparison, Tabitha St Germain and Andrea Libman really did embrace the role there...
Dude, bro, DWK is, like, totally legit.
Also, I was pretty pleased with this season overall. Some clunkers here and there and I only remember a few of the songs, but I LOVE all the Trixie bits. Yeah, I'm biased. Whatcha gonna do?
As for Starlight, I've kinda just fallen into apathy about her. I don't hate her but I also find her rather boring. Your statement about the characters that support her being more interesting rings true.
I do. Saw Spoony's review of it years ago.
When I did an episode ranking survey a little while back, I was surprised to find that Season 6 actually averaged out to being my least favorite season. I thought it was middle-of-the-road at worst, and at least better than Season 3.
But now that I've read through this post and carefully thought about each episode in turn, I'm no longer surprised. Man, this season just has nothing going for it. I almost wonder to what extent my goodwill toward the season is purely because Top Bolt was the final episode I watched, acting as my personal S6 finale.
I guess as long as you stick the landing you can forgive a lot of things up to that point (with probably the best example of this being Split, which I thought was a pretty mediocre movie until the last few seconds).
Sigh. Yeah. For all of the intriguing magibabble they stuffed in Sunburst's head, the magic in this episode boils down to "ponies firing lasers at things." At least they showed how well non-alicorns could deal with the weather by freezing Rainbow Dash stiff within seconds of trying to help.
Third. Remember how Sassy Saddles and Canterlot Carousel are things that exist?
Exactly.
No, though we did get remixes of it only a few hours after the episode aired.
Uh, Rainbow Dash got assigned to hire someone to work at a designer boutique. Not sure how that's in her skillset.
What else are they supposed to do with the connective tissues of their enemies?
I may have to agree with you there.
I think it may be. This one felt directed more at parents watching with their kids to me.
I don't know why you crossed this out; it's clearly true. The right arrangement of baskets on poles probably could've automated the sun and moon back in the Three Tribes era.
I'll be honest, the syllable discrepancy still bothers me.
Agreed. It actually broke my usual pattern of worst episodes. (Odd seasons is Spike, even is Dash... and this one.)
On top of Pinkie's behavior, listen closely to her pronking. The bouncing sound is different.
In all... yeah, this one felt a little tired.
Here's hoping it's a local minimum and not part of a downward slope.
I need a fic where all unicorns in the series are replaced by buckets on poles. And the twist is, life is vastly improved.
This should include alicorns.
4418275
Okay, a second new boutique. One she doesn't live in. :B
All the ones I heard were terrible joke songs. <.<
Point!
Which is really fucking stupid. D: Take potshots at the lonely fandom losers, sure, that's one thing, but these are the adults you should be encouraging to watch the show. :|
Wow, shit, that's cool. o.O Why were there so many fantastic but tiny audio touches?
Darn, now I feel a bit self-conscious about my tastes, because I disagree with a few rankings here.
Can't comment about the rest, either because I largely agree with the scores or because I haven't watched 'em yet.
That was fun to read. But yeah, I'm not going to go through all the (relatively few, but occasionally major) things we disagree on, nor the (many, many) things we're on the same page about. I did want to say one thing, though: I carefully read every entry, looking for even a single mention of Carrot Top, and found there none. WTF, man? You got something against vitamin A?
I mean, you didn't even bring up the objective, for-an-inarguable-fact high point of the season, and possibly the show: when, in the hearth's warming episode, she shows up wearing this:
derpicdn.net/img/2016/5/14/1154118/large.png
Sadly, I am forced to give your recap collection a score of zero Carrot Tops out of Adorable. Do try to do better next time.
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Don't worry, this is definitely not an unpopular opinion. It was my personal favorite episode of S6, and the My Little Pony subreddit ranked it the 7th best episode of all time (!) in their episode ranking survey a couple months back.
4418626
What? Carrot Top's in this season? That's news to me. :V
God it's sad that half the time the best you can say about the Princesses Classic (R) is that they don't mess anything up.
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Trixie: making Starlight interesting. Also, though, killing yourself in public isn't the best way to get someone's attention. At least, that's not what we should be telling the kids. :V
Need to make "best friend" a verb. After the show, they were best friends for hours in Trixie's wagon. Etc.
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Newbie Dash was that thing I never knew I needed, but the opposite. Interesting that she pulls in some of the worst, most cringey, most misguided episodes: MMDW, this, and at least for me, the Equestria Games tryout one. Some of them strike me as reflective of writing characters they don't like.
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HWT does highlight one of the downsides of the reform-everyone-all-the-time thing that was going until Chrysalis (or else they just never come back): some characters work better as villains, or at least antagonists and foils. Seriously, great ep tho.
+ HOLY SHIT IT'S THE BEST FUCKING SONG IN THE ENTIRE SHOW
Yeeeeeeepp. Except maybe "Say Goodbye to the Holiday" :V
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PPOV used the framing device better, to tell a potentially more interesting story. And then the resolution happened.
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And think about how the episode looks to people who dislike Rarijack. :P
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Zephyr Breeze is what happens when you forget you're supposed to give someone redeeming qualities so the audience has something to latch on to. Unless you want the audience to want him to die in the woods. Or get beat up by Rainbow. Or other things.
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{Seriously, DWK is the best thing to come out of this season.}
So, so true. Even if I disagree with his love for the Glim-Glam.
I feel like I don't remember the specifics of this one too well. But looking back it may be implying that Rarity's big thing is promotion and her social connections, which I don't really care for since there's so much more to her work than that.
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See, I think Quibble is in a way Zephyr done right, or at least better. He's annoying, but also more charismatic, has something going on, and is actually pretty good at the stuff he's into--even if that goes along with the "dumber than your OC" thing.
+ Sweetie Belle just immediately eats cake. Doesn't question why it's there, who it's from or what it's made of. Just, bam, cake, gonna eat it.
You mean there are people who don't handle cake that way?
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Embarassing, and how can it be a good security measure! D:< Everyone on the planet's seen them do it!
Yeah, aim high, and go nowhere. :( Spike episodes can be good, but this wasn't one of them. (Also I miss Descy.)
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The biggest downside of D&D is that getting (even very rare) good Discord episodes makes it harder to hold onto my cherished, pure distaste for bringing him back and reforming him. Let me keep my bitter hatred for the show's decisions, dammit!
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Buckball was on the whole something I liked a lot, and it would have fit S1/S2 really well. Only big downside I had was the feeling like Fluttershy's sudden inexplicable talent didn't feel plausible.
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It's true, Gabby is OP as hell. And there's no building up to that realization like with Twilight over forever, or the implicit doing so by making her a Twilight foil. It's just... there, all right away.
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See, I didn't really care for F&F fighting, probably because they've been doing that a lot in the comics. I'm played out on that for a while. (OT: But I finally got around to reading the last chapter of Quiet Equestrian--and the hotel thing--and them working together [to help solve a bigger problem!] is super, super fun.)
This is one I think I'm likely to enjoy more on a rewatch, because I quickly got my mind set with Gladmane being something a bit different than he was, which poisoned it a bit. Going back with him not being that in mind could help a lot.
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And of course the cut off song led to one of the great DWK moments of the season. Even if it was just knocking a lobbed pitch out of the park.
Teaching children bad lessons should only happen in episodes with Trixie shipping. Also, yes on basically everything related to Starlight.
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Rarity's really was the best story. Too bad it was first. And I think she had the closest assessment of the characters to mine. Except maybe of AJ, but then, I don't think of AJ that much. :V Either Pinkie/AJ/Rarity or Pinkie/Rarity/AJ might have been better ordering.
Good, fun, but also very *stupid ponies*, and I think the bad ending affected my feelings more than yours.
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Liarjack was... exhausting. It kept going, and not only does it make AJ look bad, it undermines part of the point with Mac's backstory because (if I may apply AJ's line to an even more appropriate case) he was right all along! God this was frustrating.
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Top Bolt doesn't land quite as high for me, in part because I just got hung up on them succeeding so fast. Also, I found Vapor harder to like than Quibble. Wouldn't put it at the top of my season, but it was pretty good, and the structure of the friendship problem was really well done. Also incorporating Twi and RD into Wonderbolts stuff.
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See, this is why keeping people who are good at being evil evil is useful. You don't need to do it all the time! But don't forget that it's an avenue available to you.
+ Starlight offering the hoof of friendship to Chrysalis and CHRYSALIS NOT TAKING IT THANK GOD :D
One of the best parts of the episode. Evil Queen, fucking off with middle fingers held high!
But... god I hate the plot of this episode. The naked, unvarnished offscreen ganking of not just the OG princesses, but the entire main cast. Completely arbitrary nerfing. Improbable immediate heel face turn by every changeling but Chrysalis which it turns out could have happened at any point almost on accident.
All this. I really liked the S1 finale, but the stakes were not high compared to any of the rest. And the focus being on SG hurt. A lot. We needed more from Steve before this. Sunburst making an appearance probably wouldn't have hurt. Don't know about the CMC, but doesn't it seem a bit weird that they weren't involved? (Or were they replaced too?) Eh.
Agree a mostly middle season, I'd probably rank 2,1,5,6,4,3 right now (and that could be nostalgia talking with 1&2 > 5), possibly splitting (3 first half), 4, (so, so much space here), (3 second half). Preferred Hearth's Warming Tale to Amending Fences, but both were really high tier eps. Episode order, I'd put Spice Up Your Life lower than you, and 28 Pranks later a bit lower, with notably Buckball Season, PPOV, and maybe Saddle Row Review a bit higher. But a lot of agreement there.
Wait! There was a Hunter S. Thompson pony? I frikkin' single-framed that whole episode looking for a Fear and Loathing reference and didn't spot it!
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I don't remember where, exactly, but it's a good ways in, and he's in the top-right corner of the screen.
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Time to watch it again!
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QFT
PP, in between your middle-tiering of Season 2 and your leaving Luna Eclipsed entirely off the top 15 list, I think some corrective therapy may be called for. I recommend A Clockwork Orange-style rewatchings of the late Faust era.
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All told, Luna Eclipsed isn't that great. It was fantastic when it came out, but in hindsight, it's a better-written Magic Duel: mostly fanwank. I might actually like it more than Sleepless, and I think I include that episode instead because A) it's actually good, and B) I want to seem like I don't completely hate season 3.
Truth be told, I think I equate seasons 1 and 2. BUT AS SEASON FIVE TEACHES US, EQUALS SIGNS ARE NOT ALLOWED
Two quick things. First in the gabby episode those aren't real yuppies, based on the parrents cutie marks they are ex-pirates terrified the skull mark is piratey too instead of archeology, something normal and thus not at all likely to reveal their secret. It also makes the nervous laugh make much more sense.
Second based on what we've seen some ridiculously powerful artifact out there being able to stop Discord's powers in that way is really entirely reasonable. It isn't even the first time some really power rock (or a six rock set rather) has given him a bad day. It raises questions about why the changeling throne is such an artifact, but it existing seems reasonable enough considering the setting.
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This is the best headcanon I have ever seen. PLEASE WRITE THIS
I probably suk :v But I like the mind control episode. A LOT.
4424132 It's weird I don't even see that as a story, isn't it? I mean to me it's just, they have piraty cutie marks, are really nervous until the crusaders tell them it's normal then greatly relived. That's it, the former (or secretly current) pirates then get on with their life.
Besides I currently have and AU with the max six as supervillains and a TF crossover where the ponies are giant pony robots, and the transformers are ponies, and some madness that's really hard to explain sparked by the idea what if the main six still bare the elements, but different ones than in cannon. Plus a few other things I should probably try and finish, also video games, so even if I was inspired it would be way down the list.
And while you probably have ten times more stories in progress and even better ideas if you are inspired for some reason go ahead and use it if you want because I sure don't intend to.
I only have an elementary
knowledge of Sherlock Holmes, what is the significance of the bee cutie mark?
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After his adventures, he retires to Cornwall and takes up beekeeping. There's a very good novel about an elderly Holmes training an apprentice, and I wish I could remember its name.
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Got it, cool.