Now I shall rate all of the LyraBon appearances in season eight

It’s time for my what-is-apparently-now-annual tradition where I judge the show on how well it portrayed Lyra and Bon Bon as a couple for the season!

Even with the School of Friendship taking up so many episodes, we still got to see these two together about as frequently as we saw them last season. More so, in fact, because if you want to be precise, we got to see them in every episode:

Lyra and Bon Bon have been added to the opening, where they rightfully belong.

As before, I’m only going to analyze when the two appear next to one another as ponies. Sorry, Equestria Girls shorts. Though I’ll briefly spotlight one of the endings in “Happily Ever Afterparty” in which Lyra playfully attaches a balloon to Bon Bon with static electricity. Second place goes to the scenes where they’re dancing together in “Pinkie Pie: Snack Psychic.”

Because I’m focusing only on their appearances as a presumed couple, that means that I can’t rank the one speaking appearance Bon Bon got this season, in “Marks for Effort.” Although if I had, I would have pointed out that Lyra thinks that photograph of Bon Bon is a cute one… but then again, she thinks pretty much every photograph of Bon Bon is cute. And I would have said that I was once again a little surprised when Bon Bon spoke – I always forget that her canon voice is so high. I couldn’t tell you exactly what pitch her voice is at inside my head when I write my stories, but it’s definitely lower than “cartoon squirrel.”

This year, I’m not going to bother analyzing how well each LyraBon appearance corresponds with past canon. Primarily because this season, there weren’t any appearances that saw the two acting out of character (for what limited definition of character they’ve been officially given). So already, season eight is doing well by Lyra and Bon Bon.

As always, I have only one real criterion for whether I enjoy a LyraBon appearance: Are the two being adorable together? It’s what they do best, after all, and they should get the opportunity to do it as often as possible.

As I did last time, I’ll present my completely subjective results in order from least adorable to most adorable. I’m not even going to pretend that there’s any suspense regarding which episode took the number-one spot this season, but let’s see how many other chances these two got to be the cutest couple in the series.

Episode 3: The Maud Couple

Maud tries out her latest material at the comedy club that the small town of Ponyville has always had. Lyra and Bon Bon’s enjoyment of the night is interrupted by an overenthusiastic Pinkie Pie (that is to say, Pinkie Pie).

Are they adorable?: Yeah, kinda, actually. For the second year in a row, Bon Bon is annoyed at Pinkie Pie being a little too Pinkie Pie around Lyra. Lyra shares Bon Bon’s irritation at Pinkie’s over-the-top reactions to Maud’s “jokes,” and it’s cute whenever they’re on the same page.

However, this appearance gets a slight demotion on the list for the sheer distance between the two. If they were eating dinner, then it makes sense that they would be at opposite ends of the table. But for a stand-up comedy showcase where, at best, they’d only have drinks or maybe share an appetizer? They should have been on the same side of the table, right next to one another. It also would have made for a funnier joke to have Pinkie pop up between them, pushing Bon Bon aside a little bit, while she convulsed in laughter.

Honestly, when I was compiling this list, I didn’t expect such a small demerit to send this episode to the very bottom. That just speaks to how strong this season’s LyraBon appearances are.

Episode 18: Yakity-Sax

Lyra and Bon Bon sure do love going to these Wonderbolt derbies. I wonder if they ever attend one where some weird thing doesn’t happen.

The two are just serving as crowd fillers here, but I’m obligated (don’t question me, I am obligated) to include this appearance in the list. But there’s nothing much for me to comment on.

Episode 20: The Washouts

Apparently Lyra and Bon Bon don’t just like to watch the Wonderbolts – they also like to watch Wonderbolts knockoffs. Rainbow Dash, desperate to prove this stunt show is inferior, straight up steals their snacks.

Are they adorable?: To the extent that they can be as crowd fillers, sure, I suppose. I like that the animators went to the trouble of having Bon Bon duck down in fear during one of the stunts. But seriously, Rainbow: Between this and “Grannies Gone Wild” (coming up), quit ruining Lyra and Bon Bon’s day.

(I also haven’t decided whether it’s “okay” that Lyra has purchased cotton candy for this event. I mean, surely she’d prefer Bon Bon’s creations to those of some random vendor. On the other hand, I can’t imagine Bon Bon finding too many opportunities to use her personal cotton candy machine, so maybe it wouldn’t offend her? After all, cotton candy doesn’t vary much from source to source, right?)

Best Gift Ever

I don’t know how the accounting works over at DHX Media, but I’m including this as part of season eight. It’s Hearth’s Warming time, and Lyra and Bon Bon are preparing together. Bon Bon’s winter outfit includes a beret, I guess because her name sounds French?

Are they adorable?: Well, I think it’s adorable seeing them side by side as they get ready for the holiday. Long lines at the post office are a lot more bearable when you have someone with you to help pass the time.

Episode 5: Grannies Gone Wild

Official episode summary: Lyra and Bon Bon try to enjoy a vacation together in Las Pegasus only to have their fun constantly interrupted by the antics of Rainbow Dash.

Are they adorable?: Well, I can’t really give a single answer to this. Props to the show for the sheer number of times we see Lyra and Bon Bon together – there are four completely different scenes where they’re present (the high volume of appearances is what prevents me from ranking this episode any lower). They’re doing their background pony thing during the magic show and it’s nice to see that they enjoyed the roller coaster.

But because this list exists for me to be picky, I’m going to call out some disappointingly neutral behavior in the photo booth. As you can see, Bon Bon only has her hoof on Lyra’s shoulder. But we all know that she should have her whole foreleg draped behind Lyra’s withers. And that gesture would still look platonic enough for relationship deniability. (Not that the people in charge of the show are making much effort on that front anymore, thank goodness.)

I am a little worried about the scene at the club. Why does Lyra look so grumpy? Did she eat some bad nachos? Or maybe those two aren’t our Lyra and Bon Bon – maybe those are two reformed changelings who are visiting Las Pegasus but don’t want to call attention to themselves.

Yeah, I know that it’s too easy, when I see Lyra and Bon Bon exhibiting behavior that doesn’t fit with my personal interpretation of them, to dismiss it as “changelings.” But look at the background two shots later.

They’re changelings!

Episode 17: The End in Friend

While Starlight tries in vain to conduct a book club, Lyra and Bon Bon enjoy each other’s company at a café that apparently specializes in topping patrons’ drinks with foam that matches the color of their coats.

Are they adorable?: You bet they are! This is one where watching the video is better than just a still image. They’re cute enough together in their first shot, when Bon Bon is speaking. But then, when we go back to the wide shot, we see that Lyra is really happy to be saying whatever she’s talking about back there. And rather than just the default open-eye look for Bon Bon, the artists gave her that half-lidded expression. It could have been interpreted as bored, but that little content smile on her face says to me that she loves seeing Lyra so animated (pun not intended).

The whole scene is so adorable, I’ll even overlook the fact that they put Lyra’s cutie mark on backward.

Episode 10: The Break Up Break Down

As if there was any doubt which episode would take top honors this year. It’s Hearts and Hooves Day, and Lyra and Bon Bon have their presents at the ready. Of course, the best gift of all is that they have each other.

Are they adorable?: Like you have to ask. Just look at that screen grab. Look at it! If that was an animated GIF of them nuzzling while they hugged, I would be incapacitated, unable to ever look away, until I ultimately succumbed to a lack of sleep and food.

I’ve studied their five seconds of screen time here like it was the Zapruder film. At this point, I think I may have devoted more attention to the scene than the person who actually animated it. I would like to share with you the following observations that further explain why this episode easily wins:

• The animator knew that this scene would be so adorable, he or she made the effort to put the colors of Bon Bon’s mane on the correct sides rather than taking the usual easy way out by simply horizontally flipping the drawing. (Incidentally, I haven’t checked all of the palette-swap ponies to be positive, but I think that this is a new “sitting position” tail for Bon Bon. Which made me happy, because I needed it for the cover art to Familiarity Feud.)
• When Lyra and Bon Bon offer their presents to each other, they’ve been given the biggest smiles in the mouth chart (excluding the one-time, really cartoony, overexaggerated poses).
• They never take their eyes off one another.
• It appears that they got each other the same present. Regardless of whether they did, sharing a hug is more important to them than opening gifts.

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So here’s to all of the adorable LyraBon appearances this past year. I look forward to seeing this trend continue in 2019, allowing the presumed final season to finish on an even higher note through Lyra and Bon Bon’s ever-present togetherness!