Ranking the Map Mission Episodes (From Worst to Best) · 4:36pm Mar 20th, 2019
Introduced to us in Season 5 was a map, not just any map but a magical map that could send various mane six members on missions all across Equestria. As time went on that changed, the map started broadening the definition of "Friendship Problems" and other characters were added to the mix to varying results. We've even had two two parters that were map missions (though one only really became one in the second half).
As a result we have 13 total map missions to explore across Seasons 5-8. Which ones are the best examples of what this now likely to be forgotten object could do for the show and for characters, and which ones either cheapened the map's appeal or just proved to be a waste of time? The same disclaimers as always apply, and we're looking at how these episodes function as a map mission/assignment, not just their overall quality or enjoyment.
13. Triple Threat (Season 7, Episode 15)
Why it's on the bottom: It's clever that they found a way to call Spike since he doesn't have a cutie mark, but the problem is that the map calling him to solve a problem in Ponyville makes it painfully obvious to all what the friendship problem he's supposed to solve is. Yet for some reason Spike doesn't figure it out, and despite Twilight and Starlight both not watching Thorax and Ember the two don't meet. In a sense the map is just used to poorly disguise that this has become yet another "Spike screws up" episode that I thought we'd all gotten sick of.
12. Made in Manehattan (Season 5, Episode 17 in production order/16 in airdate)
Why it's not on the bottom: Boring is the best way to describe this whole episode from start to finish, not much really happens. The most Applejack does is get used for jokes about how she's out of her element in the big city, and Manehattan was a location that lacked any sort of investment after we'd already twice this season delved into it. The writers apparently originally wanted to focus on Fillydelphia, and a plot involving a mayor who bans cider, and I really wish they had gone more down that route. Oh well, at least this episode marked the last time Coco Pommel could actually be called by her actual given name before the copyright hounds forced the name change (it's stupid that they didn't have a problem with Coco until long after she'd been established as a character).
11. The Parent Map (Season 8, Episode 8)
Why it's in the bottom three: Sunburst being called by the map is a huge contrivence that is never explained, and all it does is take away any sort of appeal the map might have before. If the map can call Sunburst to solve a friendship problem, it can call anyone from anywhere to solve anything, and thus all future map missions are stuck trying to explain why that can't be the case (what's to stop Trixie or Discord from being called by the map now? What's to stop the student six from being called?). I know I keep bringing that up but it's something that quite frankly should've been considered before they wrote it. The fact that the actual friendship problem itself isn't actually revealed until the episode is almost done further makes this episode feel underwhelming as a map mission. It had absolutely no business being one and it was done solely because the writers wanted it to be one for reasons I don't know.
10. Sounds of Silence (Season 8, Episode 23)
Why it's so low: If not for what had come before it this map mission probably would've been passable to an extent. If it was kept to just the mane six, and Spike and Starlight, we wouldn't be scratching our heads and wondering why only Applejack and Fluttershy are being called and why it's a problem that only they can solve if anyone can be called. Of course, the bigger problem is that this episode retreads ground from a previous map mission and does so in a very poor way. Not to mention the fact that Autumn Blaze sucks away all the focus, she already knows the solution to the problem and if not for the plot saying so she would've already been able to convey it properly. I again have to believe that since the song was written by writers who didn't work on the episode at all, that this episode's script was originally much different and then at some point it was discarded and a new writer was brought in last minute, given just the song to work with, and told to make up an episode to fill the gap and meet the deadline.
9. Top Bolt (Season 6, Episode 24)
Why it's in the bottom five: TwiDash is a dynamic that should've been so much better than it actually was the first two times they focused on it. The problem is that it doesn't feel like a group effort, it feels like Rainbow Dash is just there to be the butt of jokes. That might not be so bad if not for what the friendship problem ends up being, Sky Stinger not knowing he sucks or that Vapor Trail has been helping him (despite doing it in broad daylight for all to see). So Rainbow decides not to tell him and let him keep thinking he's better than he actually is, and just hope he'll take the hint that he needs to practice more. I'm sorry, but I side with Twilight completely. If Sky Stinger's assumptions are based on a falsehood, telling him is the only way he's going to be able to improve. If he can't accept that he's not as good as he thinks he is, then that's his problem and he has no right to drag others down with him. Not every pegasus who tries out for the Wonderbolts makes it, and sometimes you have to accept that your dream is out of reach despite your best efforts.
8. Surf and/or Turf (Season 8, Episode 6)
Why it's in the bottom half: The CMC getting called by the map was definitely a stretch, but at least they had cutie marks and were tied to Ponyville so it didn't feel completely out of left field. I also like that Twilight was willing to let them figure out the problem and how to solve it on their own, stepping in only when it was necessary to get them back on the right track and even then she didn't solve the problem for them. In terms of world building this episode is pretty good, it explains a lot about the hippogriffs/seaponies and how they function, and an interesting fact to note is that Terramar has been confirmed to in fact be Silverstream's younger brother. I still don't quite see the divorce angle that others see, largely because the parents seem too comfortable around each other (I know not every divorced couple is hostile but you'd expect at least a little bit of uncomfortableness if they were separated like that and that doesn't seem to be the case). However, on the level of a map mission the CMC don't really do much beyond discover the initial problem (which is really something Terramar should be discussing with his parents) and make it worse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle's argument just suddenly crops up and in the span of a few minutes it is resolved without fanfare.
7. A Royal Problem (Season 7, Episode 10)
Why it's in the middle: I have a very love/hate relationship with this episode and what it tries to be. On the one hand it's great that we finally got a royal sisters episode after years of begging, and Daybreaker was a fantastic look at what an evil Celestia would be like. On the other hand, the royal sisters act more like petty teenagers fighting over trivial things rather than fully grown adults with important responsibilities. And Starlight's inclusion in this episode feels very iffy, while she did have prior chemistry with Princess Luna (albeit briefly) her interactions with Celestia and Luna both feel very contrived and forced. I don't see why they couldn't have simply used Twilight or Cadence or even Shining Armor, or why not use one of the palace staff if we absolutely must have some third party witnessing the swap? Plus, this being the first solo map mission and it being given to Starlight really makes it hard to ignore the criticism that she's a writer's pet. Between stuff like this and getting a two parter to herself before established characters from prior seasons, this kind of blatant throwing her in your face makes it hard not to think she's getting special treatment. I don't hate Starlight at all, but the more they keep trying to draw attention to her the more it feels like she's just getting handed stuff because the writers wanna focus on her more than other characters.
6. The Hooffields and McColts (Season 5, Episode 23)
Why it's in the top half: Even if this episode is more of a Twilight episode with Fluttershy being given a big role towards the end, it still feels like a team effort. While Twilight's obsession is a bit overdone it doesn't feel entirely out of character for her. It's a case of ideological v.s. practical. Ideologists believe you can boil a problem down to a basic theory or social science, and come up with a solution that can be tested and will work. Practicalists believe you need to see the reality of the situation before you can say hat works and want doesn't, and what may sound good in theory or on paper may not necessarily be true in the real world. Yes, the two feuding families is based on an actual feud that occurred over decades, but considering even Disney and Looney Tunes were poking fun at it while it was ongoing, I don't see why it's suddenly less funny now that it has long since stopped.
5. Shadow Play Parts 1 and 2 (Season 7, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why it's in the top five: The first time the map crops up it's mostly for contrivence's sake, directing each of the mane six to the artifact that they need to retrieve. It isn't until the map crops up again in the second half that it becomes a true map mission. It's understandable why both sides would think the way they did, because the map kind of worked both ways. It called the mane six to Starlight's village because she was obviously up to no good, but it didn't call them there to directly depose her so much as it did to expose her lies and restore the villagers to their original state. What's odd though is that even though Starlight has already been shown to be capeable of being called by the map, her cutie mark doesn't glow (kind of makes me think "A Royal Problem" being a map mission was a last minute decision). Plus, Sunburst and Spike I believe tag along even though they haven't been called by the map, and they're invited without any sort of fanfare.
4. Spice Up Your Life (Season 6, Episode 13 in production order/12 in airdate)
Why it's not in the top three: At least it made sense to go back to familiar ground for the first map mission since Starlight had joined the group, and this episode actually acknowledged that the map had stopped working since Starlight messed with it, offering up the closest explanation we got for Starlight's absences up to this point in the season. Pinkie Pie and Rarity do play off each other well, and I like the idea that they soon settle on the solution but end up going about it in the wrong way initially. Saffron Masala and Corriander Cumin' are fantastic supporting characters that have their own story we can get invested in, but they don't take away from the established characters. However, what holds this episode back a fair deal is Zesty Gourmand and her straw man ways, not to mention Rarity thinking it's totally okay to conform to such bad standards even though she has always been a trend setter and not a trend follower.
3. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone (Season 5, Episode 8)
Why it's in the top three: This is the map mission that more or less laid the foundation and established the formula that future map missions would follow to varying extents (at least until they started calling in other characters and expanded what constituted a friendship problem). I already talked a lot about this episode and why Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash think and act the way they do not long ago, when I covered the redemption episodes, so I won't repeat myself too much here. It makes sense in this case for Twilight to trust the map's judgement, she doesn't know what the situation is like in Griffonstone and sending more than the map recommends could provoke an international incident. Speaking of which, the shopkeeper abandoning Rainbow Dash when she runs out of bits is definitely a surefire way to get on Equestria's bad side. Leaving an ambassador on a good will tour to die because they won't bribe you isn't going to make your country look good in anyone's eyes.
2. The Cutie Map a.k.a Cutie Markless Parts 1 and 2 (Season 5, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why it's not on the top: This is more or less the first map mission, even though it has many of the hallmarks of the big two parter premieres and finales we'd come to expect over the years. It does a good job at blending the two together without one or the other taking top billing. Again it really feels like a group effort, each mane six member contributes something of importance (Twilight is the obvious leader, Pinkie Pie can sense that the smiles are fake, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are the skeptics of Starlight's propaganda, Fluttershy is needed to be the defector, and Rarity helps to keep the group strong willed and together). The mane six don't feel completely sidelined in favor of the newcomers, and Starlight still proves to be a credible threat even once her ruse is exposed. However, this map mission was more of an exception than the rule. And I find there's one episode that better captures what a map mission can be and can accomplish.
1. Viva Las Pegasus (Season 6, Episode 20)
Why it's on the top: What I like about this map mission is that we learn by the end that it had accounted for both ponies it chose, and only the two of them combined could've discovered the problem and solved it. It accounted for Applejack to not want to help the Flim Flam Brothers, and it accounted for Fluttershy willing to give them both a chance. Though I think it would've made more sense for the brothers themselves to be partially aware of Gladmane's lies (thus he'd have even more of a reason to keep them apart) Fluttershy learning through the animals about Gladmane's ruses makes sense. And since the performers are at each other's throats and loyal only to Gladmane, it makes sense that no one can get them to stop. Applejack isn't treated as in the wrong for not wanting to help Flim and Flam, and neither is Fluttershy treated as naive for doing so, it treats both view points properly and makes sure to give both the same amount of attention. Even then, the episode throws one last twist at you by revealing that the initial trick was in fact intended to lure Gladmane into a false sense of security, so that when the real trap was sprung he'd walk right into it. 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 Halloween/Nightmare Night episodes (not just episodes taking place on the holiday, but episodes that could be said to have a theme that goes along with it).
For me, Parent Map is the best
Lost Treasure of Griffonstone and Made in Manehatten are the two weakest
The rest just sort of float around depending on my mood
5030747 I'm kind of surprised "A Royal Problem" isn't the best for you as that is not only a Starlight map mission, but also a Starlight solo map mission. In "The Parent Map" she's sharing the spotlight with Sunburst for much of the episode, heck the episode even opens up on Sunburst and Starlight doesn't come into play until almost the opening credits.
5030749
Two big things give it the edge for me over Royal Problem (which definitely is my second favorite) :
1. It's a StarBurst episode, and that's easily my favorite ship in the series
2. Stellar Flare. I just love her so much