Faith in show's writers: 0%

I've never tried to keep the fact that I think FiM has some serious problems a secret. Nor have I hidden what my problems with it are. As the show has progressed, and new problems are added and old ones go unresolved at best, compounded at worst, it's become increasingly evident to me that things weren't going to improve. Yet despite this, what little optimism remains in my cynical heart has been hoping that some day, the problems would finally be addressed and resolved.

The latest episode just killed that hope.

Before I elaborate, I should mention that this entry will contain spoilers for season 7, episode 14, Fame and Misfortune, and not much is going to make sense without the context of having actually seen the episode. So if you haven't seen it yet, stop reading this until you have. You have been warned.

If looked at from a certain angle, the episode Stranger than Fan Fiction can appear to be a slight against the portion of show's fan base that doesn't blindly praise it. If that was the writers' intent, then apparently they thought they were being to subtle there, because this episode is a blatant and deliberate middle finger to every single member of the fan base that has any issue with any episode ever - and there are many other problems besides. So many, in fact, that one or two paragraphs aren't sufficient to fully spell out my problems with it. So instead, I'm going to go over the problems point by point, giving each one as much (or - as is the case with some points - as little) space as I need. And, partially for the catharsis of finally airing certain opinions, partially to spite the writers, and partly because, contrary to this episode's message, problems should be addressed, I'm going to get a bit nitpick-y with this. If you have an issue with this, back out now.

First issue is relatively minor. How did the journal end up in such terrible shape? They were still using it back in season four. That was, what, a couple in-universe years ago at most? And wouldn't Twilight take much better care of any book in general, let alone one that should be incredibly important to her?

"The purpose of the journal isn't supposed to be marketing."
Here's our first problem, and it's a meta problem. The journal is clearly supposed to represent FiM here. But the thing is, FiM's purpose is marketing - it was meant from the beginning to sell toys. Should have been your first clue that, even if you had a point, this message wasn't going to fit they way you wanted it to, writers.

Next up, the initial cutting remarks against Rarity - most likely due to there being at least a sizable part of the fandom that considers Rarity one of the, if not the absolute, worst of the Mane 6. Have you ever considered there might be a reason that she's looked down upon, writers? For example, have you ever thought that maybe people are exasperated by drama queens like her? Or that maybe not everyone shares her obsession with appearances - especially her own appearances? What about how manipulative she is, especially towards males? Don't you think that might cause some issues with viewers who value honesty, or those who aren't misandric? Especially with how she strings Spike along? And speaking of honesty, would it really be unreasonable if maybe, just maybe, some viewers might have a problem with Rarity getting away with trying to lie her way out of attending Twilight's birthday so she could hobnob with ponies she barely even knows - and some who even have a negative opinion of her - just for the sake of her own social standing?

Now we get to a rather interesting problem - the portrayal of the fandom essentially worshiping Dash. I don't know where that view comes from - maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but from what I see, most of the fandom has bought into the writers' character assassination of Dash, seeing it as character development. What's that? What do I mean by "character assassination"? Well, it's quite simple really. In virtually every Dash-centered episode since The Mysterious Mare Do Well (the only exception that's coming to mind is Wonderbolts Academy), the writers have either hyper-exaggerated Dash's flaws to the point that it leads her to contradict her own character in episodes past, or added flaws with the same result, in the name of teaching Dash lessons that her previous self wouldn't have ever had to learn, should the writers stayed true to her previous character. Yet the fandom acts like Dash has always been some sort of monster, and that she badly needs to learn the lessons she's given (or, in some instances, are forced down her throat).

Now we get to where things really go downhill - the mob at the castle. With the abandoning of all pretense that this episode is anything other than distilled hatred for critics of the show, things really start to fall apart in the meta sense. Consider how the members of the mob complaining about the show as if it were a piece of fiction. This only makes sense when you recognize that the mob is just a strawman of the fandom; in-universe, it makes no sense. But viewing the mob as a strawman makes Twilight's counter-argument that the Mane 6 are real people fall apart at the seams, because from a meta perspective, FiM is a work of fiction. It could make sense if Twilight is being used as a mouthpiece for the writers, but in that case they're treating criticisms of the show as personal attacks, and if that's the case then no improvement can ever be hoped for, since criticism is necessary for improvement.

And for the record, the problem with Twilight's ascension isn't that she was "better before she got wings". The problem is that the episode opened a huge number of plot holes, and filling those holes either creates more of them or results in massively unfortunate implications and fridge horror, and that it elevates Twilight above her "friends", now making her their master and superior rather than their peer and equal. The whole problem with the dynamic can be summed up by one instant in that episode - all of Twilight's supposed friends bowing to her. And this particular problem, and the many plot holes, have yet to be fixed.

Now we get to the meat of the Mane 6's counter-argument. First, the argument that the Mane 6 never claimed to be perfect, but are trying to improve. If this is meant to defend the actual characters, then there are a couple of problems. First, regarding Rarity, she has yet to learn that it's wrong to manipulate others (indeed, she's actually praised for it on a couple of occasions). Second, I don't see anyone complaining about Fluttershy's development, so I don't know why the mob's singling her out. If anyone in the Mane 6 is ignoring the lessons they're supposedly learning, it's Pinkie. However, if the Mane 6 are being used as a mouthpiece here, then I have to ask - where, exactly, are you writers trying to improve? Where are you trying to undo past travesties? Because all I see is doubling down on past mistakes and insults towards critics.

This next one made my blood boil when I first heard it, and is the moment where I knew that there would never be improvement in this show.

"Without our flaws, there wouldn't be any friendship lessons to learn. Without our flaws... there probably wouldn't be any friendships at all."

No, there wouldn't be any lessons to learn if you didn't have flaws. You know why? Because if you didn't have flaws, then you wouldn't need the lessons in the first place! And you're actually trying to claim that flaws are necessary for people to get along? Really!? Are your morals really that utterly warped? And do you not see that, if what you're saying is true, then your argument actually damns friendship, since something that requires sin to exist doesn't deserve to exist?

And then we get to the end - where the Mane 6 resolve to stop listening to critics, deciding that the only thing that matters is that some people agree with them - thus killing any chance of the improvement they claim they're trying to make.

Finally, to address a problem strung throughout the episode instead of being in one spot - the complaining about people missing the lesson and focusing on the problems. There are three problems with this argument. The first is that the moral isn't the only thing that teaches in a story - the whole story does. So even if the moral is good, if it's attached to a bad story, people will walk away with the wrong lesson. Second, not every moral of the story is good. In fact, several are downright toxic, and are better having never existed at all. Third, as I keep harping on, problems need to be addressed before they can be fixed. You claim you want to learn and improve? Well the first step is to acknowledge you need to improve, and what you need to improve in. That's not going to happen if you throw out all voices of dissent.

There are many episodes in FiM that I find terrible. Some, such as The Mysterious Mare Do Well or One Bad Apple, have toxic messages. Others, such as The Cutie Map and virtually anything with Luna since Sleepless in Ponyville, inject heavy doses of fridge horror and unfortunate implications into canon. Still others, such as Crusaders of the Lost Mark, wreck established canon. And a select few, such as Magical Mystery Cure, manage to do all three. But none of these can ever come close to how absolutely horrible this episode is, as this episode marks the final death of any hope of FiM ever improving. It's all downhill from here.