Ranking the Twilight Sparkle Episodes (From Worst to Best) · 2:25am Feb 22nd, 2019
Well folks, it's official. Season 9 will be the last season of the show. Yes, it's sad that the day will soon be upon us when the show has no new episodes left, but all good things must come to an end eventually.
To celebrate the show's legacy, starting today we're going to be doing episode rankings for various characters and then we'll move on to episode types (season premieres, season finales, mid-season finales and premieres, Halloween episodes). To kick things off, we're going to look at all the episode starring the show's main (or should I say mane) character, Twilight Sparkle.
It's hard to believe she started off as just a unicorn and a student of Princess Celestia, and that her character has evolved into becoming a mentor in her own right. Fittingly, Twilight has the most focus episodes out of any of the main cast, with a whopping total of 48 episodes (mostly involving two parters), some of which she shares with other characters. The only criteria is that Twilight must have a significant role in the episode and contribute to its story in some way (thus episodes where she is but a supporting character such as "Secret of My Excess" and "Surf and/or Turf" will not qualify). And of course, episodes will be ranked not just on their overall quality but on how well they represent our favorite bookworm. Needless to say this list involves my personal opinion, so please respect it. Now strap yourselves in, folks. We've got a lot to cover!
48. Look Before You Sleep (Season 1, Episode 8)
Why it's on the bottom: Looking back on Season 1, it's easy to see "Early Installment Weirdness" in a lot of places. This is chief among them, Twilight wanting to host a sleepover and then acting completely oblivious to obvious tensions between two of her friends. If not for the fact that she's hosting the sleepover and thus Rarity and Applejack are forced to get along, she would have no presence at all in this episode and it wouldn't qualify as one for her. This is among those Season 1 episodes that would've benefited greatly from not needing to have Twilight shoe-horned into every episode, a problem that Season 2 would aim to correct.
47. Bridle Gossip (Season 1, Episode 9)
Why it's second to last: While Twilight definitely plays a big role in this episode the true star of focus is Apple Bloom. However, when the focus is on Twilight there's a very big problem. She goes from being skeptical of curses to just believing them in with no prior build-up, she just does because of one conversation she heard out of context. At least we get some good snarky Twilight bits out of it (something that would be dropped from her character as early as Season 2).
46. What About Discord? (Season 5, Episode 22)
Why it's in the bottom five: Twilight is at her most unsympathetic here. She voluntarily chose to seclude herself in her library for an entire weekend and acts distraught that her friends could ever have fun without her, despite the fact that they've done so multiple times. There's also her being skeptical of Discord for no good reason at all, just because he hung out with her friends and she didn't. And to top it all off, Twilight ends up being proven right about her jealousy when Discord admits he intentionally excluded her so as to teach her a lesson on jealousy (after the episode previously suggests that jealousy is totally okay so long as you admit it, which is a very poor moral to teach).
45. Owl's Well that Ends Well (Season 1, Episode 24)
Why it's so low: An episode so bad it has forever tainted all future Spike/Twilight centered episodes and made so many believe Spike is being abused or neglected by Twilight (something I'm sure the show never intended to potray as such). Of course the biggest problems in the episode are that we see things from Spike's perspective, and the mane six's affections look really shallow and petty. But there's also the fact that Twilight seems completely oblivious to how upset Spike is, she never once seems to consider talking to him or explaining to him what the owl is there for. And when she blows up on him for a mistake, she doesn't even give him a chance to defend or explain himself. She just scolds him and walks away. If not for the very end, I don't think there'd be anything even remotely redeemable about this episode.
44. Feeling Pinkie Keen (Season 1, Episode 15)
Why it's not lower: Bet you're surprised that an infamously bad episode like this with one of the most infamous mishaps of the entire show could be better than any of the prior examples for Twilight. Well the only thing that really puts it above them is quite frankly the humor. Twilight is subjected to good old cartoon slapstick you don't see very much of nowadays (stuff like pianos and anvils falling on characters) and of course there's the part where she literally bursts into flames in anger (which sparked millions of Pokemon and Dragon Ball memes). Even then it can only do so much to make up for the fact that Twilight just suddenly takes offense to the "Pinkie Sense" even though everyone else has been living with it and hasn't had a problem, and she makes no effort to understand it in a scientific way (a true scientist would devise a working hypothesis and set up an experiment to test it, and would then rework the hypothesis and test again as needed to come up with a passable theory).
43. Winter Wrap Up (Season 1, Episode 11)
Why it's in the bottom ten: Yeah yeah, Twilight wants to respect tradition and help clean up Ponyville the way every other pony does. But when it turns out that tradition prevents Ponyville from wrapping up winter on time, it really doesn't make any sense for Twilight not to do what she's good at. What good is tradition if it can't get the job done right or on time? What's even worse is that the one time Twilight does try to use magic, it's at Spike's suggestion and she gets demonized for it immediately afterward with no real apology. Not to mention the fact that Twilight really doesn't do anything to deserve the kind of bad things that happen to her (at least in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" we had a reason). At least Twilight finds a way to make things right for everyone in the end. And while we're on the subject of Twilight not using magic...
42. Boast Busters (Season 1, Episode 6)
Why it's low: Twilight has a reason not to use magic here, it's just not a very good one. First of all Trixie is a magician, so it's her job to reel in an audience by whatever means at her disposal. So she's a bragger, so what? Most ponies can tell fact from fantasy and that doesn't stop them from enjoying the show. But assuming Twilight had shown up Trixie, her friends would've applauded her for putting Trixie in her place. And when everyone keeps goading her into a contest, it gets really grating when Twilight keeps saying she won't. You'd think her friends would learn to take a hint. And what might be even worse is that when Trixie neglects the opportunity to tell the citizens of Ponyville what really happened, Twilight (who also knows the truth) stays silent.
41. and 40. The Return of Harmony Parts 1 and 2 (Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're in the bottom tier: If you know me then you know I find "The Return of Harmony" to be very overrated and it's an opinion I will defend to my dying breath. I don't hate it or consider it the worst episode of the show, but it's definitely nowhere near as enjoyable for me as it seems to be for so much of the fandom (though I do know some who don't like it either). In regards to the Twilight angle, the big problem here is that Twilight doesn't seem to suspect anything when her friends start acting like their complete opposites in personality. She makes no effort to try and counter Discord's sabotage and just on a whim she gives up and becomes depressed with no real build up. And she snaps out of it via a dues-ex-machina solution from Princess Celestia. Then it turns out that all it takes to undo Discord's sabotage is a simple memory spell that she could've performed at any time. Yet somehow, the writers thought it would be a good idea to return to the concepts used here several seasons later. I am so glad this wasn't the series finale it was originally written as, it would've been an anti-climatic conclusion. Hopefully, the show will have a proper conclusion and end on a high note.
39. and 38. The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1 and 2 (Season 5, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they're in the bottom half: Putting aside the fact that Starlight is plot armored to an extreme degree here, there's a very big problem in the fact that Twilight can't seem to realize things that should be painfully obvious. I could probably forgive her handling of filly Rainbow Dash and her decisions in the first timeline, she's still getting her bearings. But by the time of the second timeline she should be fully aware that things are different from how they are in her own timeline. I have a hard time believing that Twilight would just believe Chrysalis of all creatures could be trusted to keep her word, or that nighttime in the Everfree Forest isn't an indicator of something. And then, just on a whim, she believes Starlight's backstory and doesn't consider that Starlight could be faking it (obviously we now know she wasn't but at the time it was a very real possibility). And it's because of that that she takes Starlight on as a student. Also, this is the last season finale to directly focus on Twilight, and it's the only that doesn't include any of her friends (Spike is just along for the ride and the mane six we encounter in the different timelines are drastically different from their normal timeline versions).
37. A Bird in the Hoof (Season 1, Episode 22)
Why it's not as low as it could be: Fluttershy brings up a compelling point about whether Twilight believes Princess Celestia would actually punish somepony for birdnapping with punishments like banishment or imprisonment, but Twilight does bring up a good point about how Fluttershy stole Princess Celestia's pet without permission. Philomena being a phoenix does beg the question of how Twilight has never seen one before, but then again there's no indication Princess Celestia ever kept her pet by her side at all times and Twilight might have never seen it when it was on a molting day. But Twilight only really comes into play around the third act, after the episode has spent all its time on Fluttershy trying to take care of a sick bird.
36. Three's A Crowd (Season 4, Episode 11)
Why it's low: You'd think an episode about Twilight and Cadence interacting would be really good, but nope they had to make it a Discord episode and make Discord the center of attention. In fact, we spend far more time on a sick Discord solo than we ever do when he's in Twilight's care (which only comes into play at around the halfway mark). And it becomes clear at the end that Discord was not only faking it but did so just to mess with Twilight, even as he tries to pass it off as a friendship test that he didn't need to do and could've done at any point in time without messing with Twilight. What's even worse is that the implications make it seem like Twilight is only doing what she does to save face in front of Cadence, and couldn't care less if Discord was actually sick. Considering this was Twilight's first starring role since the Season 4 premiere and her focus episodes were starting to become less frequent, this was not a good way to start easing the transition.
35. It's About Time (Season 2, Episode 20)
Why it's higher than it should be: Really, all that hurts this episode is the ending. They try to go for a "self-fulfilling prophecy"/"time paradox" kind of ending but they end up making the whole journey and story pointless. Prior to that, we actually had some very good stuff going for it. Twilight freaking out and steadily getting more and more crazy as the days go by. There's also the fact that she doesn't make any effort to try and change how she appears, no bandages, no mane-styling, nothing.
34. A Flurry of Emotions (Season 7, Episode 3)
Why it's in the bottom half: Another unpopular opinion, I do not care much for this episode. Everything it does "Baby Cakes" already did, and what may have sounded like a good idea on paper or in fanfiction turned out to be a very bare bones and lackluster idea in execution. Considering "Baby Cakes" indicated Twilight knew what babies needed and considering she raised Spike, you wouldn't expect her to be this bad at caring for Flurry Heart. There's also the problem of the episode treating her as in the wrong for yelling at Flurry Heart when Flurry was endangering ponies with her magical temper tantrum. And did I mention that Twilight took Flurry to go see sick foals?! I can't imagine Twilight would ever do such a thing, she's not stupid!
33. Luna Eclipsed (Season 2, Episode 4)
Why it's actually higher than it should be: Twilight's actually in top form in this episode. It really does feel like a situation only she could help Luna with. What keeps dragging the episode down is everyone else. Even when Luna is making strides toward being a better pony, everypony else keeps picking on her and bringing up old wounds, and yet it takes Twilight until near the end of the episode to do anything about it. You'd think she would've gone after Pinkie Pie much sooner and told her off for having fun at Luna's expense. There's also the subplot of nopony recognizing Twilight's Starswirl the Bearded costume, but it's easy to ignore that one since the joke gets old really fast.
32. Castle, Sweet Castle (Season 5, Episode 3)
Why it's not in the top thirty: Meghan McCarthy is credited as story editor for this episode, so I'm willing to believe this was originally meant to be the intended two parter premiere for Season 5. But when Meghan left to work on the movie, her script fell by the wayside and was forgotten, and in the meantime M. A. Larson filled in while a replacement premiere was written (likely due to the change from The Hub to Discovery Family). Maybe if it had been a two parter this episode would've been better, as it is it's kind of lacking. They do bring up Twilight not feeling at home in her new castle, but it gets quickly tossed aside in favor of Twilight going to the spa and Spike being put through the wringer to cover up the rest of the mane six's poor decisions. This is another case of an idea that sounded better in fanfiction than it did in actual writing for the show.
31. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 (Season 4, Episode 22 in production order/21 in airing)
Why it's not in the top half: We've exhausted most of the really bad episodes for Twilight that she had a starring role in (much as I loathe her potrayal in "Marks for Effort" she was not the character of focus and outside of that infamous scene she contributed nothing to the overall plot besides exposition). This episode and the one immediately above it suffer from not properly utilizing the TwiDash dynamic, something that it would take "The Washouts"of all episodes to get right (and that one wasn't directly focused on it). Twilight deserves some credit for trying to be a teacher, but the episode doesn't play to her strengths and instead puts her on the receiving end of Rainbow Dash's behavior and accusations. Only at the end does she actually do what she should've done from the beginning, try to understand how Rainbow thinks and learns and adjust her lessons accordingly.
30. Top Bolt (Season 6, Episode 24)
Why it's not in the top twenty five: This episode suffers from unintentionally making Rainbow Dash's position look weak by making Sky Stinger look insufferable and making him seem oblivious to reality, so I end up siding with Twilight on the whole "tell him he sucks" angle rather than Rainbow Dash's subtle easing him into training (he's not gonna invest in it if he doesn't see a need for it). And Rainbow Dash is basically the butt monkey throughout the entire episode, which just makes Twilight look better by comparison. It's a shame because you'd think these two could play off each other really well, but the episode and its setting seems intended to constrain them.
29. P.P.O.V (Pony Point of View) (Season 6, Episode 22)
Why it's high: Twilight is actually depicted properly in this episode, even if she's kind of nosy for no good reason. Friends can and do fight sometimes, and usually they'll stay mad at each other for a while before making up their quarrel. There was nothing to indicate that the feud between the friends was exceptionally bad, all of their letters simply said they didn't want to see each other right now. Had Twilight left them alone for a while to cool off, things would've gone back to normal just fine. Of course, had she done that there wouldn't have been an episode. But considering what we got was a very flimsy, poorly constructed one that makes no sense, that would've been preferable. It's ironic that now we've got episodes where Twilight was the saving grace, whereas the bottom ones suffered because she was in them when she didn't need to be.
28. The Hooffields and McColts (Season 5, Episode 23)
Why it's outside the top half: Silverquill described this episode as a Twilight Sparkle episode that gives Fluttershy a big role at the end, and he's not wrong. Twilight and Fluttershy do have a dynamic, but it's very underplayed and not focused on as much because it's not as obvious some of the other mane six dynamics (largely because both tend to play the straight mare to the mane six they get paired up with, often Rainbow Dash). I don't fault Twilight for trying an idealistic approach, but she definitely spends more time than necessary with her friendship manual when it's clear that it doesn't have the answers.
27. Games Ponies Play (Season 3, Episode 12)
Why it's not in the top half: This episode does deserve credit for helping to "correct" a pretty big flaw for Twilight, even if she seems to have only occasionally applied it gradually. The problem is, it was designed to be as average as possible so as to ensure it wouldn't overshadow what was coming next. And because of that we've got a whole bunch of questionable decisions and a whole lot of time wasted on things that go nowhere.
26. Friendship University (Season 8, Episode 16)
Why it's in the middle: It's what Twilight chooses to do after Flim and Flam catch her in the act of spying that lifts this episode, especially considering how stupid Twilight has to be to think an eyepatch and nothing else constitutes a disguise (do you seriously expect me to believe no one will notice the wings and horn) or that Flim and Flam would just leave their lesson plan lying out in the open for anyone to get at. Her deciding that her reputation isn't worth anything if she's not willing to risk it for the sake of doing what's right is a development long overdue for her character. And it's a shame it's not focused on more and comes into play so late into the episode.
25. and 24. School Daze Parts 1 and 2 (Season 8, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're in the middle: Timing is the big issue plaguing these two episodes. While it was nice to see how far Twilight had come from her usual freak outs (if it was Season 1 or even Season 2 Twilight she would've been suffering a breakdown the moment things started going slightly wrong) these two episodes are supposed to come right after the events of the movie. That's not the problem, the problem is what the movie was trying to convey. We just spent an entire movie where Twilight not listening to or trusting her friends was a big deal and she was treated as in the wrong for it. Yet here, she seems to be making the exact same mistake of not listening and this time her friends' complaints seem much more valid. And instead she listens to Starlight simply because Starlight gives her tough love. Tara also kind of underperforms on Twilight's breakdown, and given how she delivered her line about Rarity's dress she sounded kind of like she had a cold. I have to wonder if maybe Tara Strong was a bit under the weather when recording and couldn't emote as much (we know at least one instance where she was ill, her scream in "Hearth's Warming Eve" was reused because Tara was sick and couldn't raise her voice, so they just reused a scream from "The Ticket Master"). Plus, the spotlight shifts back and forth to the student six, which can kind of undercut the tension.
23. No Second Prances (Season 6, Episode 6)
Why it's in the top half: It's hard to say where this episode truly falls in regards to it being a Twilight Sparkle episode, considering she is sharing the spotlight with Starlight and Trixie. But I think we see enough of Twilight and understand enough of her motivations for this one to count. What this episode tried to do was tell a story in which all were partially in the right and partially in the wrong, that way we could root for each party involved and not feel bad. However, Twilight ends up having her side as the one with the most justification because Starlight skips a dinner planned for her with no prior announcement, and we learn that Trixie was using Starlight just to get revenge against Twilight. So Twilight's warnings to Starlight end up looking like the right thing to have said, and Starlight's complaints about Twilight not trusting her don't feel warranted. Plus, this episode had to retcon the ending of the episode that is directly above this one.
22. Magic Duel (Season 3, Episode 5)
Why it's not higher: Fun fact about this episode for those who still don't know, it was originally meant to be a Season 2 episode (M. A. Larson foreshadowed it as early as "Luna Eclipsed" when one of the costumes includes the alicorn amulet). Anyway, this episode was intended to showcase Twilight's growth as a character before the big change that was coming her way at the end of the season. But in order to do so it had to take a few liberties with several characters, including Twilight herself. Outside of the two magic duels and training with Zecora, Twilight doesn't contribute much and can seem kind of weak. I do like the bit of role reversal she engages in with Trixie in the second duel, in which Trixie is using actual magic and Twilight is using smoke and mirrors. But her forgiving Trixie does feel a bit abrupt, even if you accept the theory that the alicorn amulet was affecting her and made Trixie do things she otherwise wouldn't have done.
21. and 20. A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2 (Season 2, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they're so high: It's been years but these episodes still remain among the most hotly contested episodes of the entire show, with some praising them to high heavens and others branding them some of the worst the show has to offer. I fall a little more into the first camp, though I'm not one of those who denies this episode has problems. The first half of the finale is spent on seeing things from Twilight's perspective, but it's not as easy to sympathize with her as it was in some of her prior outings (largely because she was either out of her element or we knew she was losing her grip on reality). So when she starts accusing Cadence of being evil, we're supposed to sympathize with her and we're supposed to understand why she would resort to such drastic measures. But it all feels so sudden, even moreso when even her friends and Princess Celestia up and abandon her for no reason other than because Cadence started crying. Things definitely pick up in the second half when Twilight works to free the real Cadence and foil the imposter's scheme, but even then the most she accomplishes is freeing the real Cadence and getting her out of the caverns beneath Canterlot.
19. MMMystery on the Friendship Express (Season 2, Episode 24)
Why it's not in the top fifteen: It takes a while for this episode to become a TwiPie episode and once it does Twilight sort of takes over completely. She never shows Pinkie any clues and has to explain everything, all the while she seems to look at Pinkie as if she thinks Pinkie did it (which I thought would be the case when I first viewed it but I'm glad it wasn't her since that would've made Pinkie look very selfish and irresponsible). When she lets Pinkie take over the investigation to find out who ate the other desserts, that's when we truly get a chance to see Twilight at her best. I'm still bummed they never made the Sherlock Holmes reference either time (who else would've loved to hear "Elementary, my dear Pinkie." or "Elementary, my dear Twilight."). It's not that Twilight is out of character, the episode is still fine. But with Twilight calling all the shots we the audience are left just as in the dark as Pinkie about the true nature of the mystery and the culprit.
18. The Ticket Master (Season 1, Episode 3)
Why it's so high: Now here's a shocker, a Season 1 Twilight episode that's not on the bottom and is actually among her better outings. Considering this episode functioned as a second pilot of sorts for the show, it actually did a pretty good job at both reminding us of Twilight's character while also establishing it for those who might have forgotten and showing how it would fit the more slice of life orientation of the show. Twilight herself is almost a saint considering how unlikeable and selfish some of her friends become, especially when they have pretty petty reasons for wanting to go (only Applejack has a truly compelling reason, the others are fantasies at best). Even so, Twilight isn't able to show bias and is clearly not comfortable with her friends doing favors to get the ticket. She's so selfless she even considers giving away her ticket so another friend could go. It's kind of easy to overlook that considering what goes on with her friends though.
17. and 16. Friendship is Magic Parts 1 and 2 (Season 1, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're so high: Despite some moments of Twilight definitely being a bit pretentious and snobbish, the pilot does a very good job of defining Twilight and keeping her relateable. We get some very good moments from her and some instant classics (early fans went nuts over her having a pudgy belly after eating too much pie, one meme even went "Dear Princess Celestia, always use protection"). What was probably most surprising is that Twilight was proven right, and even Princess Celestia knew this. But she also knew that Twilight lacked the means to defeat Nightmare Moon if she remained in Canterlot and didn't make friends. And surprisingly, the show would call back to this pilot years down the road and touch on things most fans had just brushed aside.
15. and 14. The Crystal Empire Parts 1 and 2 (Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're in the top fifteen: Twilight ironically ends up overshadowing most of the other plots, which struggle from going back and forth with the more emotionally investing story Twilight is involved in. In a two parter that struggled to fit all the mane six's personalities into the story, Twilight was the one they had no trouble doing justice. And considering the usual trend of Spike in her focus episodes, it was nice to see a change and show that Twilight actually does cares about Spike. The added twist of Twilight not being the one to save the day, even indirectly, was unexpected and quite clever. Considering later two parters have seen fit to just write her out and/or have her being captured whenever it's conveinent for other characters to shine, it's nice to have an occasion where Twilight still contributes to the victory even though it's others who end up saving the day.
13. and 12. Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they're not in the top ten: These episodes ultimately decided they wanted to address the criticism of the fact that Twilight's role as a princess hadn't amounted to anything yet, but in doing so they had to make quite a few adjustments and scrap some of their original plans. It wouldn't surprise me if the early drafts of this planned to originally be about Discord's big act of redemption now that he was reformed, and Twilight's hunt for the keys would be a side plot. But when the decision was made to focus on Twilight, Discord and the princesses got shafted. Discord is easily manipulated into betraying the ponies and Princess Celestia apparently never planned for the possibility that Discord would go rouge (it was a mistake not to have a back-up plan, it's why Batman created the Doomdsay Containment Protocals for the Justice League. Something so powerful is too dangerous to be left unchecked). There's also speculation that Twilight was meant to move into the Castle of the Two Sisters given the hints that had been dropped throughout Season 4, but Hasbro mandated a new toy to sell and as a result the Golden Oaks Library was destroyed. I really don't see why they couldn't have just fixed up the Castle of the Two Sisters and then made it into the castle Twilight gets. On a more positive note, they originally planned to have Twilight face The Pony of Shadows, but since this finale coincided with the 30th anniversary of the MLP franchise they changed it to Tirek (who had been the villain of the G1 T.V. special "Rescue at Castle Midnight") though we don't know if The Pony of Shadows that appeared in Season 7's finale is the same one they had originally planned for this finale.
11. Twilight Time (Season 4, Episode 15)
Why it's not in the top ten: Even if this episode is contrived to set the CMC up for failure at the worst possible moment, there's no denying that it did Twilight justice at a time when her character had mostly been in the background or on the sidelines. Heck, this was the first time since the very beginning of Season 4 that her princess status actually amounted to something. And it did a lot to not only foreshadow her as a teacher but also establish her as more of a mentor to the CMC. Much like Princess Celestia, she won't hold her student's hoof the whole time and understands the importance of letting the student learn on their own. Plus, she seems to have no trouble resisting the cute face Scootaloo makes (try saying no to a face like that, I dare you).
10. A Health of Information (Season 7, Episode 18 in production order/20 in airdate)
Why it's in the top ten: Truth be told, it's the stakes that hold this episode back. Twilight and Fluttershy definitely play off each other much better here compared to their last couple of outings. And Twilight gets a very good one-liner in about "Non-stick pans". However, Twilight doesn't seem to be as concerned as she should be that Zecora has been afflicted with a disease that inflicts a fate worse than death upon its victims. The three day period during which Fluttershy was unconscious stretches the suspension of disbelief, because if things were that serious why wouldn't Twilight have though to call in help? She does bring up a very good point to Fluttershy about not pushing yourself when you're not feeling good. We even get a return of snarky Twilight, and boy can she throw shade.
9. Celestial Advice (Season 7, Episode 1)
Why it's not in the top five: Trust me, from here on out aside from the top three it was really hard to decide which episodes should fall where. I knew this episode wasn't top three material, but I could've easily made it top five material if I'd really wanted to. The big thing that holds this episode is back that it only really becomes the Celestia episode we wanted in the last few minutes and prior to that we mostly spend the episode on Twilight wondering where she's gonna send Starlight now that she's graduated. Yeah, it's nice to get that confirmation of Momlestia we always wanted, but it's really saying something when that only unfolds towards the very end of the episode. It really feels like this episode was meant to be more, and I still firmly believe it was meant to be the big two part season premiere, but for whatever reason Hasbro shot it down. So Lewis and Songco salvaged what they could of their concept and then hastily wrote "All Bottled Up" to meet the deadline.
8. Magical Mystery Cure (Season 3, Episode 13)
Why it's so high up: This one was probably the toughest to decide, there are lots of arguments I could make one way or another regarding where it ended up. In the end, I think this is about as good a placement as it deserves. In the top ten Twilight episodes, but not the best and not the worst. Yes, this is the episode where Twilight became an alicorn and forever split the fandom. And yes, this episode is a musical and another case of Twilight messing up a spell. But this episode did a lot with its time frame and the song numbers just don't seem distracting to me. It feels like a celebration of Twilight's character, wrapping up her arc nicely while still giving the character room to grow if necessary.
7. The Hearth's Warming Club (Season 8, Episode 15)
Why it's not higher: Twilight shares the spotlight with the student six and Rainbow Dash in this episode. Some have complained about Twilight's punishment, especially since there was nothing to indicate one of the students had done it. But after several episodes in Season 8 had messed up Twilight's character to the point of turning her into a bad parody of herself, it was nice to see one that showed her character was compassionate and had a heart. She could be strict but also understanding. If we'd gotten to see more of this Twilight and more of this kind of stuff from the School of Friendship, Season 8 probably would've turned out alright.
6. Amending Fences (Season 5, Episode 12)
Why it just misses the top five: Ultimately, this episode is aimed at showing how much Twilight has evolved since the pilot as well as showing what she might have been like had she never embraced the magic of friendship. It was nice to see a call back to the pilot and explore it from an angle no one had ever considered, it's something I wish we could've gotten to see more of (exploring the mane six's actions from the standpoint of someone directly impacted by them but not in the circle of friends). I will say that Moondancer comes across as a bit selfish, considering she had to have known Twilight was Princess Celestia's student not to mention the fact that if Twilight had gone to Moondancer's party Equestria would've been plunged into unending night. It's kind of like Liu Kang in the new Mortal Kombat timeline still hating Raiden just because he died, even though he has to know by now that Raiden saved Earthrealm and regrets having killed Liu Kang by accident (same goes for Kung Lao, especially since he volunteered to defeat Shao Khan despite knowing the risks).
5. Once Upon a Zeppelin (Season 7, Episode 21 in production order/22 in airdate)
Why it's in the top five: Coming out right after the big movie in 2017, and weeks after the controversial "Fame and Misfortune" this episode could've easily kicked back and taken it easy. But instead it decided to showcase just how far Twilight had come in the span of three seasons (the movie was clearly written with a post Season 4 world in mind, not a post Season 7 one) as well as show the writers understood how to take jabs at the fandom while also acknowledging their presence. It's a bit of show venting, but it's not unfairly blaming the fans and critics for ever daring to be critical of the show. Plus, we finally got to see more of Twilight's parents and they did not disappoint. Twilight Velvet in particular really stood out, not just as a thrill seeker but also as the only one who could see Twilight was upset and the one who tried to tend to Star Tracker's injured hoof.
4. Horse Play (Season 8, Episode 7)
Why it's just outside the top three: Despite this being a Princess Celestia episode (a darn good one at that) Twilight still has a very big role to play here. And it's a very important one too. This episode finally addressed her idol worship of Princess Celestia and the dangers that could come from placing the princess on such a huge pedestal. It created a dilemma where there was no right answer or easy solution, even telling Princess Celestia the truth from the start would've carried it with consequences and emotional baggage. Plus, it's always great to see Twilight take a personal commitment to something that she herself was involved in. The only complaint I have for her behavior here is when she tries to apologize for her outburst by saying she got so stressed. It should've been obvious to her by that point that Celestia was more offended by Twilight concealing the truth than anything to do with her acting abilities.
3. and 2. Princess Twilight Sparkle Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're not number one: Coming out after over half a year of speculation and with only the first "Equestria Girls" to tide fans over, these two episodes had a lot to address and a lot to do to reassure fans that the show could work with the new changes. From the very first scene, they made it clear they were willing to work with the new changes to Twilight but they weren't going to suddenly make her more important than the other characters. And her being a princess wasn't going to magically change who she'd been before. Yet in a way, she still inadvertently put herself before others in a way she thought was selfless but in actual fact was selfish (and if you think about it from Discord's perspective he's being selfless. He has no obligation to tell Twilight what to do and in fact it benefits him if she's not with her friends to rescue the Tree of Harmony from the plunder vines, him telling her this means he's sabotaging himself). This actual led to a bit of a problem throughout Season 4 and into Seasons 5 and 6, where the writers tried to compensate for Twilight's change by making her title seem pointless. I think it wasn't really until late into Season 6 that this truly started to change and that was around the time Twilight started to get fewer focus episodes overall. So, what tops a two parter as impactful as this one? Well, you're about to find out.
1. Lesson Zero (Season 2, Episode 3)
Why it's on the top: Yeah, I'm probably a bit biased towards this episode since it was the very first episode of the show that I saw. But I still think it works as a Twilight Sparkle episode regardless. This episode was aimed at correcting what could've been a crippling flaw for the show, Twilight Sparkle needing to be in every episode so as to deliver the friendship lesson to Princess Celestia. So this episode lifted that burden from her and started the growing of the beard that eventually ended with friendship lessons not needing to be repeated through a letter or journal entry. And it did so by poking fun at your expectations, producing some very iconic moments that still stick with me to this day. At the same time though, even as we see Twilight steadily losing her grip on reality, we see that her friends aren't completely unconcerned. They do want to help Twilight but their advice comes too late for a pony who is almost too far gone. Plus, there's something really unsettling about watching the previously rational minded Twilight slowly lose her grip on reality and descend into madness. Yet we see how easy it is for her to realize her mistake, seeing that there are some lines she still won't cross no matter what. On top of all that, this was the first episode to feature Twilight's magic in its reddish-violet glow as opposed to its light purple glow that it had throughout Season 1 and into "The Return of Harmony" (as well as "Luna Eclipsed"). So for all those reasons, I'm putting this one at the very top.
Whew, and there you have it. Come back tomorrow for a ranking of the Pinkie Pie episodes.
Here's my list (I don't think I'd be able to definitively rank more than 26, so I restricted mine to ones that focus mostly on Twilight and not one of the others):
Twilight’s Kingdom
Lesson Zero
A Canterlot Wedding
Amending Fences
Celestial Advice
Once Upon a Zeppelin
Magical Mystery Cure
Magic Duel
Boast Busters
Horse Play
A Flurry of Emotions
Princess Twilight Sparkle
Luna Eclipsed
It's About Time
Feeling Pinkie Keen
Winter Wrap Up
The Crystal Empire
Friendship University
Personally, I would have placed No Second Prances at the bottom, since I hated it so much (it almost discouraged me from the watching the show entirely)
Why exactly do you do these sort of things, really?
5017976 I just do. In this case I want to do it since the show is wrapping up for good.
I very much disagree with many choices, but I don't know if you're just ranking them as episodes or as Twilight Sparkle episodes.
5018014 More so as Twilight Sparkle episodes than actual episodes. Because if I was ranking them based on overall quality, episodes like "Winter Wrap Up" and "Friendship University" would be more towards the middle while episodes like "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "Boast Busters" would be at the absolute bottom.
5018033
And, of course, A Canterlot Wedding, The Crystal Empire, and Twilight's Kingdom should be much higher...
I think the worst Twilight episode would probably be Marks for Efforts because Twilight just “assumed” the CMC sabatoged Cozy’s learning just because they didn’t get to attend the school of friendship. The best Twilight episode for me would be Magic Duel because we got to see Twilight outsmart Trixie. I mean, I enjoy Twilight as a princess and if I had to think of the best episode with her as a princess, it would be Trade Ya because we got to see her as an authority figure for the first time.
5018783 "Trade Ya" and "Marks for Effort" weren't really focused on her, in the form she was sharing the spotlight with the rest of the mane six as one of three subplots and in the latter she was only there for exposition and that one scene.
5018841
Well, they were good and bad episodes involving Twilight.
You’re so mean when you talk about Twilight, I swear.