Ranking the Trixie Episodes (From Worst to Best) · 4:27pm Mar 6th, 2019
Alongside Derpy and Lyra, Trixie was one of the first fan favorite characters and ultimately turned out to be the first of many Twilight Sparkle expys (showing what Twilight would be like under a variety of different circumstances, for Trixie it's what Twilight would be if she took pride in her magical ability to an unhealthy degree). There's no denying that her popularity is probably what has not only brought her back but also made her a reoccurring character as of the last few seasons. But when it comes to focus episodes, Trixie's track record is... mixed to say the least.
There's only 9 episodes that have focused directly on Trixie, including a two parter. Aside from "Celestial Advice" there's no episode she appears in where she's not a major character. Like with all my lists this one is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.
9. To Change a Changeling (Season 7, Episode 19 in production order/17 in airdate)
Why it's on the bottom: Right from the get go, Trixie proves to be very unlikeable and unsympathetic. She starts out whining about how Starlight can teleport and then tries to do the same after a very predictable joke about her not being scared. Throughout the whole episode Trixie makes it all about her, to the point where she thinks she can play good cop to Starlight's bad cop and then throws Starlight under the bus when it doesn't work. It really makes you wonder why Starlight bothers to stay friends with Trixie when it's unintentionally becoming clear Trixie doesn't seem to value Starlight's friendship and just uses her for the sake of her own ego.
8. All Bottled Up (Season 7, Episode 2)
Why it's not on the bottom: Prior to this episode, even though I'm not really a StarTrix shipper I believed that Trixie would ultimately put Starlight's well being ahead of her own if she absolutely had to. But after this episode I couldn't even be sure of that fact. Trixie causes the table map to disappear and treats it like it's no big deal, and then treats the entire search as an excuse to stuff her face and see the sights. All the while she is completely unaware of how much she's making things worse for Starlight, and acts surprised when Starlight's anger escapes. Yet she never really apologizes and at the end of the episode admits that she's learned nothing. At the least though, the idea of Starlight teaching Trixie magic feels like something that could've made for a good episode.
7. No Second Prances (Season 6, Episode 6)
Why it's in the bottom three: There are times when Trixie is actually really likeable and you legitimately believe she's turned over a new leaf. Her bond with Starlight, when they do decide to focus on it, feels genuine. We can understand why Twilight is skeptical of Trixie given their past, but it really seems like a case where everyone is partially in the right and partially in the wrong. But when the climax comes and Twilight angrily confronts Starlight and Trixie, Trixie openly admits she was just using Starlight to one up Twilight. Yes, she makes it seem like she was genuinely hurt but considering she just admitted to having used Starlight there's always the possibility she's faking it. And while what she does has been stated by the writers to not be suicide, it does draw a lot of uncomfortable parallels to such an attempt.
6. Magic Duel (Season 3, Episode 5)
Why it's not in the top five: Fun fact about this episode for those who still don't know, M. A. Larson confirmed in interviews that he originally planned to make this a Season 2 episode but ultimately those plans fell through and he had to push it back to Season 3. It's not known what (if anything) really changed as a result of that, let alone if Trixie would've returned the way she does here. The biggest issue with this episode is that there's no clear change to Trixie's behavior when wearing the Alicorn Amulet. We can assume that it's probably driving her to take over Ponyville and kick out Twilight, but aside from the glowing red eyes and a throwaway line about not trusting wheels it doesn't seem like she's any different than she would be normally. Her apology at the end is also very sudden and abrupt, considering she did things that were probably illegal (at the least deposing Mayor Mare could result in legal trouble).
5. and 4. To Where and Back Again Parts 1 and 2 (Season 6, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they're in the top half: Much like with Discord, Trixie ends up doing a selfless act in this two parter. Springing the trap and sacrificing herself so that Starlight and Thorax can escape (though there's no explanation given as to why someone had to spring the trap, if they know it's one then what's stopping them from all going down the other cave?). She also collaborates with Thorax for a pretty good illusion, and it's great to see her butting heads with Discord (I'm still bummed we're probably never going to get an episode or comic of the two of them having to put aside their differences and work together). But she spends most of the first part in her default personality, rubbing Starlight's decision in Twilight's face, offering questionable advice to Starlight, and refusing to admit to something she willingly admitted to earlier. It takes a while for her to overcome all of that, and even then at the very end she insults Discord even after he payed her a compliment.
3. Uncommon Bond (Season 7, Episode 24)
Why it's in the top three: It's not just a Trixie episode, but she appears for a considerable enough length of time for this to qualify as one of her episodes. Perhaps because of that she's not very much of a bragger here, she puts on a magic show and does get into her stage persona, but aside from that she's surprisingly humble. This episode also more or less confirmed that Trixie lives in Ponyville, an interesting touch considering her previous free roaming nature, but I can't complain. What will I complain about is her comment on being judged for her past misdeeds. Maybe if not for what had come before for Trixie in Season 7 and Season 6 that line would've made sense. But after what we'd seen of Trixie she was the last pony to complain about being judged when she herself had refused to admit to her own problems.
2. Boast Busters (Season 1, Episode 6)
Why it's not on the top: In her debut appearance Trixie is supposed to be the antagonist, but especially compared to three of our so called protagonists she looks like a saint. As a magician and a performer it's her job to lure in a crowd by any means necessary, at no point does she claim the story of the Ursa Major is one hundred percent true. In fact, I'm sure most audience members didn't believe it. And it's not Trixie's fault if Snips and Snails were dumb enough to believe so or get the idea to bring a real Ursa Major for her to vanquish. Yes, maybe Trixie's confrontational, but Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all provoke her first by remarking and commenting on her performance even though they're not obligated to attend and aren't being held against their will. Even after all of that, despite owing Ponyville nothing after the way it treated her, Trixie still tries to fight what she believes is an Ursa Major and willingly confesses she made up the story. Because of that she gets her wagon, her very way of life, destroyed. Yet when she has a chance to explain everything (and Twilight would've vouched for her) she instead runs off. And Twilight lets her do so without bothering to set the record straight. Only then is Trixie anywhere close to an antagonist, and it's at the very end of the episode.
1. Road to Friendship (Season 8, Episode 19)
Why it's on the top: Trixie really has come a long way with this episode, she willingly apologizes for yelling at Starlight and she's actually mastered teleportation. Some might wonder how she's able to sleep in such a cramped wagon, but keep in mind that Trixie has lived by herself in the wagon for a long time. It probably wasn't intended to support two ponies and an entire set of magic props she's been collecting. The wagon is basically her home, even now that she seems to be living in Ponyville. So when Starlight trades it away we the audience can understand why Trixie is so torn up about it and wants to get it back. She also sings pretty well, I'm surprised she hasn't done so before being a performer and all. But not once does Trixie take Starlight's friendship for granted, she only breaks it off when Starlight trades away her wagon without her permission and even then she's willing to accept Starlight's apology and embarrass herself to try and convince Hoofar. So for all those reasons, I'm putting this episode in the top spot.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll rank the Daring Do episodes.
Major problem with these statements: Trixie stopped being performer and started being a BULLY.
There are two types of braggers, those who talk the talk and those who walk the walk. AJ, RD, Rarity & Twi can at least walk, and while Trixie being all talk is technically part of her job, she took it too far at several points.
When confronted on her supposed "greatness "Trixie defended herself against Rainbow’s heckling was telling her lie about the Ursa Major, then started calling ponies on stage to humiliate when her audience, ”her entire audience”, didn’t give her a standing ovation after she claimed to be the "best in Ponyville", with only Snips and Snails praising her.
Yes, they could’ve just walked away… wait, scratch that since Trixie knowingly goaded them onto the challenge, heck she issued the challenge and tried to pick Twilight out of the crowd first by technically harassing her first of an attempt to pressure her onstage, and then Applejack stepped up instead.
Trixie said "anything you can do I can do better" she was expected to do just that, but she didn’t:
1. She challenged ponies to show off their talents
2. Didn’t actually attempt to out-do them in anything they do, but instead, attempt to publicly humiliate them.
AJ shows off roping prowess and ropes apple.
Trixie ties her up, stuffs apple in mouth.
Not doing AJ’s trick better
Dash shows off flying, creating a rainbow.
Trixie attacks her with the rainbow.
Again, not actually doing it better
Rarity clothes herself.
Trixie turns her mane into a sewer rat’s nest.
Once again, that’s not actually doing it better. If she really wanted to turn their own talents against then she’d:
Lasso more apples than AJ.
Actually use RD’s rainbow and have it mimic her stunts while adding a little flair to them via fireworks or something.
Simply use a spell on her own cape to give it more flair or simply made her dress prettier than it already was.
But instead she just cheated by embarrassing them off the stage and back out of her own challenge.
While I understand the whole "traveler spreading tall tales" thing being part of her act, she loses sympathy points because of her "anything you can do I can do better" challenge. Not mention that they called her out since she gloating about something she didn’t do, plus she didn’t really do anything that spectacular aside from basic magic, which really isn’t a big deal in a world where it’s a part of everyday life, it’s not like she was pulling off Starlight Glimmer level spells or anything.
Let’s compare Trixie’s boasting with RD’s, since they’re both have big egos:
The difference is that when RD brags she’ll immediately BACK UP her boasting and actually do what she claims she can do. Yes, RD can be a loudmouth bragger, but if she brags about something, she brags within her own talent range. Trixie however brags outside of it and never owns up to it. Trixie said "anything you can do I can do better", so she was expected to do just that, but she didn’t.
RD can actually back up her boasts on the spot, and she doesn’t issue any challenges as she knows she’s not capable of owning up to. Sure she’s a bragger, but she’s a bragger that can actually act on any of her boasts. Trixie does not do that, and Rainbow isn’t stupid enough to simply take credit for something she didn’t do. Bragging outside of your skill range will only get you so far until you’re backed into a corner and forced to actually act on those claims, Trixie couldn’t act on them so she cheated her way out and instead just attacked them directly.
Bottom Line: When you boast, it’s better to boast about things you can actually accomplish, and when you challenge someone, you don’t back out of it by embarrassing said challenger, that doesn’t make you better it just makes you look like a pathetic, cowardly, cheater. Trixie’s actions were uncalled for, she simply cheated and attacked her hecklers instead of owning up to her own challenge. If she can’t do that then she’s technically more in the wrong than the Mane three. I’m not saying Trixie deserved to get her home and rep destroyed, but she did need a nice big slice of humble pie herself.
For me it goes:
Road to Friendship
Uncommon Bond
To Change a Changeling
All Bottled Up
No Second Prances
Boast Busters
Magic Duel