Friendship is Magic's Wall of Shame, Version 5 (Season 8) · 4:44pm Oct 27th, 2018
No new episodes from Seasons 1-7 to add to the list, but a whole lot of Season 8 episodes to add. Here's Version 4, in case you want to see some of the episodes already included from seasons prior. Like always, this list is the result of my personal opinion, and I mean no offense to anyone at Hasbro or DHX.
Fake It 'Til You Make It, Written by Josh Hamilton (Season 8, Episode 4)
The first but certainly not the last dud of Season 8, this episode basically tried to disguise the fact that it was another "Fluttershy Learns to Stand Up for Herself" plot by changing the window curtains a little and adding in a few tiny details. Then it tries to go for a poor man's "Putting Your Hoof Down" when it has Fluttershy just suddenly snap out of nowhere and become mean. And yet by the end she claims it was all just an act. If not for Rarity firing the three Fluttershys and the three Fluttershys themselves, this episode would have nothing going for it.
Grannies Gone Wild, Written by G. M. Berrow (Season 8, Episode 5)
I've put episodes on the list for lack of trying before, so this is no different. Maybe this episode could've been something, maybe it could've actually gone somewhere. But any and all potential plot points kept getting shut down by Rainbow Dash being a wet blanket because of Applejack. Though I should be grateful they at least managed to keep her likeable, it wouldn't surprise me if an early draft had her intentionally ignoring Applejack's advice and letting the Golden Horseshoe Gals do as they please just so she could ride the roller coaster.
Non-Compete Clause, Written by Kim Beyer-Johnson (Season 8, Episode 9)
If not for the student six this episode would've been the absolute worst episode of the entire show. As it is, they were mostly just along for the ride while we watched a very unfunny plot of Rainbow Dash and Applejack competing selfishly against each other while they're supposed to be teaching about teamwork. And what's even worse is that they unintentional prove Neighsay right, the mane six in this episode (or at least two of them) are shown to be utterly incapable of being effective teachers. They even almost allow for one of the students to drown! Who in their right mind would think any of that was supposed to be funny?!
The Break Up Break Down, Written by Nick Confalone (Season 8, Episode 10)
Some people say this was trying to be "Slice of Life" but for secondary characters, except secondary characters is a catch all term that the show itself has never properly defined. It's included the likes of Starlight Glimmer and Trixie, who don't appear at all in this episode, and Spike who often gets stuck with the label of sidekick. All of that might be acceptable if the plot was any good, but it really isn't. It's the cliche "misunderstanding brought about due to poor communication and out of context statements" that we've seen over and over again in romantic comedies and even non romantic movies. Really the only lasting contribution this episode has, is allowing Sugar Belle to move to Ponyville to be with Big Mac. Here's hoping that if they have another episode together, it won't be riddled with such tiresome romance cliches.
Marks for Effort, Written by Nicole Dubac (Season 8, Episode 12)
If not for the climax of this episode, it probably wouldn't have been anything but a blip on the radar. Because prior to that climax the episode just drifts about aimlessly with no real direction, we spend an entire act watching the CMC try to get into Twilight's school in very selfish ways, and then an entire act with them teaching Cozy Glow that is only really there to establish her prior to the finale (which we could've gotten at any point, like say the episode right after the premiere). But the climax is yet another one that feels the need to ruin Twilight's character and make Starlight the only one with common sense. And because of this climax it ends up destroying any chance Cozy Glow could've had at being Queen Chrysalis in disguise. And the CMC being friendship tutors went absolutely nowhere, like so many other promising plot points this season.
The Mean 6, Written by Michael Vogel (Season 8, Episode 13)
This is one of those episodes that feels like an afterthought, done solely because the writers realized they forgot about this plot they'd established in seasons prior and then hastily decided to reintroduce them to pad out Season 8. The clone six are just the mane six when Discorded, and speaking as someone who finds "The Return of Harmony" overrated and rushed I don't see what good it does to reuse an idea like that. Reusing ideas and concepts doesn't make you look clever, it makes you look lazy. And the entire episode is the cliche story you see with evil clones and body doubles. Except none of the mane six notice the blatantly obvious or find it at all weird their friends are acting so out of character all of a sudden. And Queen Chrysalis hits villain decay so badly she doesn't even need the mane six or Starlight to defeat her.
A Matter of Principals, Written by Nicole Dubac (Season 8, Episode 14)
I'm getting sick and tired of Discord constantly acting like a selfish jerk who likes to mess with others for no reason, while claiming it's because he wants to teach them a lesson or something along those lines. It's not even on the level of trickster mentor, he's just doing it because he's that petty and selfish. What's even more insulting is that he's doing this to Starlight, who the episode admits he was on good terms with. And the whole episode's conflict turns out to be one he engineered just so he could take over, and he ends getting off with no consequences for anything he does. Of course, Starlight isn't without blame in this episode either, she ends up snapping and blasting Discord away in front of the students. Even considering what Discord did, doing something like that to him where everyone could see was uncalled for. The students probably thought she'd killed him for a moment there, which thankfully the episode knew would never fly.
Friendship University, Written by Chris "Doc" Wyatt and Kevin Burke (Season 8, Episode 16)
A by the numbers Flim and Flam con artist episode. Flim and Flam claim to be reformed while acting sketchy, do a song and dance routine that everyone except the designated mane six member buys, they somehow manage to dupe said mane six member into not blowing the whistle on their scheme, they end up being exposed for their actions, and end up having to flee. The only difference is that this time the two have done something borderline illegal (stealing Twilight's lesson plan and passing it off as their own is plagerism). As for Starswirl, he's only there to be used by Flim and Flam and nothing more. And Rarity and Twilight often seem to hold the idiot ball for the conflict, Rarity assuming that giving Twilight an eyepatch is all that's needed to disguise her, and Twilight thinking it's totally okay to just sneak into Flim and Flam's office without any attempt to stay hidden.
Yakity-Sax, Written by Michael P. Fox and Will Fox (Season 8, Episode 18)
A line or two must've gotten lost somewhere down the line, because at no point do we ever learn why Pinkie was so darn attached to that yuvidaphone and why not being able to play it drove her into such a state of depression. When the episode decided to stop the original plot of Pinkie being a bad player, it gave us an even worse plot where Pinkie becomes selfish to an unbelievable degree. Because she can't do one thing anymore she decides to give up on everything else and leave Ponyville, which is only done to try and ramp up the stakes for the climax. There are also scenes that clearly sounded funnier on paper than they did in execution (like say Gummy being sent to the party or Maud being literal in her questioning).
A Rockhoof and a Hard Place, Written by Kaita Mpambara (Season 8, Episode 21)
This is what happens when shows try to tackle concepts outside their comfort zones without putting the effort into understanding the whole issue. In a show about friendship and how it can solve anything, it's the last show on Earth that should be talking about struggling to find your place in a changing society, especially in today's day and age when society is so divided on the concept of change. Heck, Rockhoof makes no real effort to fit in, and neither does anyone actually try to help them. They all just keep unloading him onto others and expect him to magically learn all by himself what not to do. Then the climax ends up raising a whole lot of questions and unfortunate implications that were clearly not thought of. And it all ends by essentially not addressing the issue and just kicking it down the road by having Rockhoof become a story teller. Even seeing what the other pillars are up to feels like an afterthought done solely to show that they didn't forget the pillars exist.
Father Knows Beast, Written by Josh Haber (Season 8, Episode 24)
This episode tries to trick you into thinking it's going to be different from "Dragon Quest" when in fact it ends up repeating a lot of the same motions as it. Heck, it even shows us Twilight's heart breaking and then they don't really address it and end the episode on a joke. Sludge is bar none the worst character the show has ever created, there's not a single thing to like about him and even the episode admits that among dragons he'd be an outcast. Even more annoying is that everyone swallows his blatantly obvious lies just because Spike is dumb enough to believe him and not notice what he's really doing. I sincerely hope that this isn't the last we're ever going to hear of Spike's origins, because he deserves way better than just having a tease about it that turned out to be a dead end.
School Raze Parts 1 and 2, Written by Nicole Dubac (Part 1) and Josh Haber (Part 2) (Season 8, Episodes 25 and 26)
The more you think hard about this episode, the less it makes sense. There are so many holes it looks like swiss cheese. Cozy Glow is an antagonist who makes absolutely no sense at all and ends up being a very bland villain sue. Neighsay is just a bigoted idiot who only gets redeemed at the very end with the very bare minimum of an effort. The mane six and Starlight are practically not a factor at all in this finale, though the mane six at least have the excuse of being tricked into going into Tartarus (why they all went though is mind boggling, heck why did any of them need to go check on Tirek when a royal guard or a princess could've easily done the same?). Starlight is just there to be a damsel in distress and the CMC, who we were told were going to be the focus of the finale alongside the student six, just get shoved into a broom closet and forgotten about. And yet the student six, although they have the intelligence to see through Cozy's b.s. (though making them the only ones to do so doesn't make them look better, it just makes everyone else look worse) end up easily defeated by her and only saved through a Tree of Harmony dues ex machnia. On top of all of that, the title of the finale is misleading because the school never gets demolished. A disappointing end to a disappointing season.
Season 8 Episodes Failed 13/26
Total Episodes Failed 74/195
Whew, and there you have it. Now, expect a review of "The Best Gift Ever" in the near future, and then tomorrow we'll look at the Top Fifteen Worst Opening Sequences.
While I can't bring myself to call ANY episode from this season outright bad (as always, I feel that every episode has at least something to make it worth watching once), there are 3 that I definitely won't rewatch that often:
Break Up Breakdown and Grannies Gone Wild, which both have amusing moments, but have moments that I have to skip anytime I see them.
And Friendship University, which is dull, irritating (though not as much as it was first viewing), and has Flim and Flam at their least enjoyable.
My overall "Wall of Okay" count (since "Okay" is the weakest i can call any episode of any season):
6 for Season 1
7 for Season 2
5 for Season 3
5 for Season 4
4 for Season 5
3 for season 6
3 for season 7
3 for season 8
For a total of 36/195
I personally count 2 parters as single episodes, but I split them up for the sake of a comparison to your numbers. (though that only really came up twice)
I don't buy that due to Cozy using words and phrases that Chrysalis would never say.
Oh, no, but his defenders say that's his whole character. They say there was even an episode where he was starting to disappear because he wasn't being an asshole.
Honestly, that was my favorite part of the entire episode. I hate Discord.
I disagree with some of the list. The first half was bad but the second half was better because I think that the staff finally realizes how close they are to getting MLPFIM to be in the rare category of long lasting shows. Ten seasons. If they do bring back old viewers they will have the ball in their court. If they can get hasbro to push G5 farther off there is a good chance that MLPFIM could be in the records with Pound Puppies and Transformers as a long lasting kid show. They could even do both. Because I know a lot of fans won’t even bother checking G5