Ranking the Season Finales (From Worst to Best) · 3:59pm Mar 15th, 2019

From Season Premieres to Season Finales, just as it's important to start off on a good note it's equally important to end on a good note. You've heard people complain all the time about how bad endings can ruin a movie or a video game, and the same can hold true for shows. Sometimes all it can take is one bad finale to irreversably damage your following and aliennate fans. But of the 8 finales to consider, which ones stood out the most for better or for worse, and why? How did the finales function not just as individual episodes but also as conclusions to their respective seasons?

Well, that's what this list is going to find out. The same disclaimers as always apply.

8. School Raze Parts 1 and 2 (Part 2 is worse than Part 1) (Season 8, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's on the bottom: While it's not completely uncommon in other shows for two parters or multi parters to have different writers, in a show like this the very idea that a season finale could be done by two different writers with no one else collabing with them was unthinkable. I still believe that Nicole Dubac was either forced to leave or did so willingly and Josh Haber had to take over and hastily finish up the finale and hand over the rest of Nicole's works to others, because it's the only reason why I can think this two parter would've been written the way it was. Maybe Nicole's original draft was going to explain everything in Part 2 and it would all make sense, maybe she was planning some kind of twist about Cozy Glow that Josh Haber discarded. Of course, it's not like the first part is magically better because of that, it consists entirely of ideas all just thrown together with no rhyme or reason. There's really no need at all for the mane six to leave for Tartarus besides the fact that the plot says so. There's really no reason at all why Neighsay should think a filly would be running a school, or why he would lock up Sandbar with the rest of the student six despite Sandbar being a pony (it's like they forgot he existed). And in Part 2, just because we got sick and tired of villains constantly being reformed doesn't mean we wanted a poorly written un-reformed villain to justify prior reformations, that is lazy writing at its worst.

7. The Cutie Re-Mark Parts 1 and 2 (Part 2 is worse than Part 1) (Season 5, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's not on the bottom: Yes, I know that going into this two parter it was obvious to the DHX staff that Starlight was joining the main cast and had to be reformed, and poor Josh Haber was the one who got stuck holding the bag with that almost unwinable concept. But if their goal was to show that Starlight could be reformed and that Twilight was right to seek her out and make her her student, they didn't do a very good job of it. Starlight is completely unrepentant despite numerous observations indicating that her revenge will doom Equestria to any number of bad futures, and at the time for all we knew she was faking her backstory to elicit sympathy. Yet on a whim she just magically repents because Twilight finds the words that Starlight didn't wanna listen to before. If not for the creative alternative timelines (for what time we do get to see them anyway) there really wouldn't be much to go on for this two parter. It's not even really focused on the showdown between Twilight and Starlight, which could've and should've been more of the focus (or have them come to blows much earlier and then they have to work together to get back home).

6. The Best Night Ever (Season 1, Episode 26)
Why it's in the bottom three: Again, this is more the fault of what came before it than anything else. When "Party of One" was such a surprise hit and went in directions no one expected, anything that came after it was going to look weaker by comparison. But even then it feels like this finale isn't trying, things just happen without much build-up and it's all aimed in favor of a deconstruction of the "Happily Ever After" trope. Heck, they had to give Twilight some kind of motivation and goal because they realized they didn't establish a reason for her to go to the Gala originally beyond just Princess Celestia inviting her. I also find it hard to believe Princess Celestia knew all those events would happen at the Gala the way they did when she invited the mane six, especially since there was no guarantee Spike was going to just be left behind and forgotten (interestingly, he did appear in the next gala but even then he was seen only in a few crowd shots and if not for his cameo earlier in "Make New Friends, But Keep Discord" he wouldn't have spoken at all).

5. To Where and Back Again Parts 1 and 2 (Season 6, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's in the bottom half: It still irks me that Starlight of all characters got a season finale all to herself after being reformed, yet Spike and the CMC who have both been around longer never have and most likely never will (heck, the CMC seem likely to be forgotten in the upcoming final season, a sad fate considering they were once so popular their planned spin-off was dropped in favor of having them appear in the show more). And unfortunately she had no prior episodes with Discord so her teaming up with him here felt kind of abrupt. I do like the idea of having former villains and other side characters be the focus for a change and at the time the concept of another mane six hadn't yet worn out its welcome. It's just that the set-up throughout Part 1 was very clunky and the last few minutes of Part 2 felt rushed and underwhelming. For a season finale it's adequeate, the mane six were given chances to shine prior to this, but I would've liked them to have gotten a little more attention prior to their capture. And I don't see why they needed to have the princesses be captured again, why not have it be just Flurry Heart?

4. Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's in the top half: This two parter has an exciting DBZ-esque fight between Twilight and Tirek, and there are a few good moments prior to that. But it's obvious that this two parter is aimed completely at building up to that fight, so everyone else has to be either sidelined or removed without any thought as to whether or not it makes sense. The biggest problem is that we spend the first part going back and forth between Discord hunting down Tirek to prove his redemption, and Twilight trying to unlock the chest with the keys. When we finally shift the focus to Twilight for good, Discord's betrayal is originally treated like a big deal but then it just kind of gets ignored and abruptly resolved. Executive meddling is to blame for the destruction of the Golden Oak Library, and in the end it mostly is Twilight who ends up carrying the two parter, which serves as the tail end to an arc that was mostly implied despite the initial hints of something more reoccurring and frequent.

3. A Canterlot Wedding Parts 1 and 2 (Season 2, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's in the top three: Shining Armor and Cadence definitely got top billing in this finale and two parter that introduced them, but the mane six still got their moments to shine here and there. Original synopsis' and trailers left very much to be desired, they hinted at nothing that we ultimately got. And what we got was a finale that was unexpected and mind blowing, but also not without its fair share of controversy. Yes, Part 1 is mostly spent on Twilight's perspective and the infamous scene towards the end was Meghan McCarthy ignoring what made a similar scene work in "Lesson Zero" but not here. Shining Armor is forgivable, as a husband to be his first loyalty is to his wife and he may or may not have been under Chrysalis' influence when he snapped at Twilight. Princess Celestia strikes me as more disappointed that her student would accuse Cadence without proof, then outright upset (she feels that Twilight didn't trust her enough to come to her for help). But her friends have no excuse for ditching her in favor of a princess they just met. At the time, Princess Celestia actually being defeated on-screen was a surprise, it's just that as time went on this sadly happened more and more often and reduced her to more of an implied presence. Still, after Season 2 got off to a rocky start and when the wounds of "Dragon Quest" still kind of stung, it was nice to get a finale that felt like a proper send off.

2. Magical Mystery Cure (Season 3, Episode 13)
Why it's not on the top: It definitely feels more like a series finale than just the ending to a season, especially since it only gets one part and is jam packed with songs to help the pacing. It's still strong in spite of that, the emotions are strong here and everyone is allowed a chance to prove themselves. In regards to a season finale, while the focus is definitely on Twilight she doesn't completely outshine the others. Could it have been expanded, probably. Should it have been expanded, that depends. The emotions and the songs are definitely what carries this season finale so high. It had a lot to prove for what could've very well been the last hurrah for the show. Fortunately it wasn't, but we'll soon see whether it would've been better if the show had stopped here instead of the finale we're going to get in a few months.

1. Shadow Play Parts 1 and 2 (Season 7, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's on the top: What makes this finale feel like a good season finale while also serving as a potential series finale, is that it builds on the minimal fanfare and theme Season 7 premiered with. It manages to tie the conflict and the story back to Princess Celestia, while giving our established cast of characters a chance to shine alongside some new ones. It helps to fill in some of the last few gaps in the lore, particularly about the Tree of Harmony and the Elements of Harmony. Even pillars who hadn't spoken before get a chance to do so, and each of them feels unique enough to be their own character instead of just a rehash of their mane six counterparts. Seeing Starswirl the Bearded was a real treat, but the show knew that it couldn't just tease us with him they had to actually show him and give him a big role. It even feels like a proper book end to "Celestial Advice" in that Starlight has now graduated from being a student and has become a teacher in her own right. So for all those reasons, I'm putting this two parter in the top spot.

And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll rank the mid season finales.

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