Ranking the Shining Armor/Cadence Episodes (From Worst to Best) · 4:32pm Mar 9th, 2019
Shining Armor and Cadence's introduction was but the first of many fandom drama inducing moments, to this day there are still those who hate them or insist they have no character (which I absolutely detest, they do in fact have character and in Cadence's case the attempts at "fixing" this problem ended up aliennating me from her). Even so they've had quite a few episodes (though Cadence has gotten two episodes devoted solely to herself, which we talked about on the princesses list), a total of 9, though over half of them come from two parters.
But which ones are the best? Which are the ones that best do these two underappreciated characters justice? Well, that's what we're going to find out. Same disclaimers as before apply, and we will not be counting "Best Gift Ever" since while Shining Armor and Cadence definitely got their time to shine they were not the focus (though in a lot of ways it felt like their missing Season 8 episode that we could've gotten instead of any of the big duds).
9. Once Upon a Zeppelin (Season 7, Episode 21 in production order/22 in airdate)
Why it's on the bottom: This episode is focused primarily on Twilight and her family, so Shining Armor and Cadence are in sort of a background role here. In Shining Armor's case that means he is the butt of a very repetitive and unfunny joke about him being airsick (the first time around it's fine, but when they keep repeating it it gets old really fast). And Cadence's role, while initially good, at the end should've gone to either Luna or Celestia. Again though it's more the fault of the expanded material for trying to add onto Cadence's character, and in fact detracting from it as a result.
8. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows (Season 5, Episode 21 in production order/19 in airdate)
Why it's not on the bottom: While Shining Armor and Cadence don't arrive until a ways into the episode, they have enough of an implied presence before then to help make this their episode. They still strike me as unaware of the burden Pinkie Pie was going through, though I still don't know if it was really the best idea to break such important news through a scavenger hunt without at least asking Twilight if she wanted to wait. I think that was done because G. M. Berrow realized she couldn't quite stretch out the plot of Pinkie not telling the secret, unless she added something new to justify prolonging the reveal. In this case it kind of worked, but maybe not in the best way.
7. and 6. The Crystal Empire Parts 1 and 2 (Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're in the bottom half: Shining Armor gets taken out early into the two parter with a sacrifice that gets no build up and seems to just be brushed off like it's no big deal, and the logic for Cadence feels like a little bit of a stretch. But the bigger issue is that while they manage to remind us of their personalities, Shining Armor and Cadence don't really do much throughout the two parter. They're mostly there to try and stall for time. It isn't until the climax that they really do something, which is basically a last ditch effort to secure the Crystal Heart before Sombra can get it. It's a memorable moment, but Shining Armor and Cadence could've tried to take a bit more active of a role in helping to defend their empire.
5. A Flurry of Emotions (Season 7, Episode 3)
Why it's in the middle: Ironically, it's Flurry Heart's parents who carry the episode that's focused on her and Twilight. It's always easy to say you'll never get married or have kids, but you never know the future may bring. And while parenting can be a headache, there are always those precious little moments you'd give anything to relive for just a little bit longer. Even the best of parents need a break, but there'll always be a part of them that misses their child no matter what. Also, Shining has a great Flurry imitation voice, though if "Best Gift Ever" is anything to go on they seem to let Flurry get away with too much.
4. and 3. The Crystalling Parts 1 and 2 (Season 6, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're not on the top: Flurry Heart definitely commands attention (for better or for worse) throughout this two parter, alongside reformed Starlight Glimmer. Throughout most of the first part, Shining Armor is just the butt of jokes about how he's an ill prepared father, and Cadence doesn't do much outside of a brief interaction with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The second part does pick up a little for them early on, as they try to help Twilight find a spell to fix the Crystal Heart while keeping Flurry Heart under control. But it isn't until the decision to evacuate the Crystal Empire is made that the parents really begin to come into their own. It's a nice little detail, but it isn't dwelled upon for very long before Sunburst comes in to save the day.
2. and 1. A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2 (Season 2, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they're on the top: Shocker of all shockers, the episodes that saw these two characters debut is their best outing. Yes, they could've and should've been introduced and established before this season finale, but I think they did a good enough job establishing them anyway. Shining Armor in particular being in the royal guard explains why Twilight probably didn't talk about him much, even if she had a close bond with him. Cadence gets her chance to shine in the second part, showing that she's just as powerful as her aunts. And while Shining Armor and Cadence ultimately save the day it's not at the expense of the mane six, who still get their chance to shine. These two episodes, at least to me, showed that Shining Armor and Cadence did have character and weren't complete throwaways. So for all those reasons, I'm putting these two episodes in the top spot.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll rank the Sunburst episodes.
I kind of agree with this one as well.