Thoughts on Season 4 Episodes

While Magical Mystery Cure was initially meant to be the finale of the show, plans had changed so that a fourth season could come about and milk more money from parents and Bronies. It's pretty risky to extend a show's lifespan, you know; we all know what happened with SpongeBob (at least until the creator came back to show them how it's done until he passed away... may he rest in peace).

Thankfully, this season was well worth the risk, because the writers cared... for the most part. Let's take a look at my favorite season!

Princess Twilight Sparkle
~ Now, I will admit I did have issues, such as the moments when Applejack sent Twilight away from the adventure (because the Elements don't work when even one is missing, especially Magic!), and the exposition potion (I kept thinking "milk" when looking at that thing, unlike some dirty-minded sickos!) that showed convenient stuff!

However, after the mess that was Magical Mystery Cure, it was nice to have my doubts cleared up by this one. Although we weren't sure what Twilight's role as a princess entailed quite yet, we were at least assured that her friendship with the others was still solid and she still retained her personality. It was sad to see the Elements go, but the box was intriguing, setting up interesting things for the season.

Castle Mane-ia
~This thing is low on substance, but I had too much fun with the hijinks. Plus, after we phased out of the letters to Celestia, the journal's a nice replacement.

Daring Don't
~ Ugh... I know that without this episode, my second favorite episode, Stranger than Fan Fiction, wouldn't exist, but I still think that it's really tacky to make Daring Do a real pony. Plus, Rainbow was kind of dumb here. There was some fun stuff, but overall... eh, not terrible, but not hitting my top ten list either.

Flight to the Finish
~ It took a little too long to get to the meat of the episode (though Hearts as Strong as Horses is a good song), but when it did, dang, did it hit hard. But, it highlighted a hard truth that some people are disabled and have a much harder time doing things others would consider normal, but also gave the message that they still have their strengths and should celebrate those. I think making Scootaloo fly at any point in the show would undermine this message.

Power Ponies
~ Another episode of just stupid, cheesy fun that'd I'd enjoy more... if it wasn't for Spike's constant bellyaching. WE GET IT YOU THINK YOU'RE USELESS. Can we just enjoy the superhero hijinks without hearing that over and over?

Bats!
~ As cool as that song is, the atmosphere being just the right kind of spooky, and my liking for transformation episodes got me a little interested in Flutterbat...

...the narrative trying to put Fluttershy in the right left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sorry, but Applejack had the more compelling argument, with Granny's story of the last vampire fruit bat attack causing a major shortage to back her up. Fluttershy didn't even understand the bats, and yet she has the gall to throw the tired "but animal rights!" argument in our faces, and it completely glosses over the "long-term benefits" not actually being benefits at all, what where it completely messes up the planning and organizing that farmers do to make their trees healthier and their harvests easier. Not to mention, even with the solution at the end with fencing off their own part of the orchard, there's absolutely nothing stopping the bats from flying out of there and mucking up the rest (something I exploited early in Brotherly Bonding Time).

...so, yeah, this episode had problems.

Rarity Takes Manehattan
~ Okay, I'll just get this out of the way, I don't like the Generosity song. Way too on-the-nose and something about the tune just feels... off to me. I don't know why.

But, other than that, it's really cool to see Manehattan, Rarity had a compelling conflict, and it was nice to see how she solved it and earned her key. I honestly don't see what the big deal with Coco Pommel is though; yeah, she's cute and nice and all, but she's not that interesting. All that happened was she was abused (that did earn some sympathy from me, but that doesn't make her interesting), and then she stood up to her boss... offscreen. Yay?

Pinkie Apple Pie
~ NOOOOOOOO! That song is getting in my head again! Too catchy! Too good! Too wholesome!

Another fun one, this time with possible genealogical connections (which are always fun to find, especially when I read some of my pioneer ancestors' stories about trekking west or just life back then), a crazy road trip, and the most extreme of crazy cat ladies (you have to be really crazy to have one of those big cats as a pet).

Though I do wonder why Twilight was studying genealogy at the beginning.

Rainbow Falls
~ I'm just exasperated over how many dumb things there are here. Big shame that this is a Key episode.

Three's A Crowd
~ This episode was just okay. Sure, Discord's fun with some of the Blue Flu getting in a little chaos, but I'm not a huge fan of Glass of Water (the visuals are a wild ride, but I don't like how the song sounds). It seems to take a little too long to set things up, and I can't believe Pinkie's an idiot at the beginning. On the other hand, that fight with the Tatzlwurm was pretty cool, though my first thought was, "Oh, crap, it's a graboid!"

Before you ask, I had a friend who was obsessed with the Tremors series.

Pinkie Pride
~ Dude, have you seen my stories and my artwork? Who is the most frequent canon pony to grace my fanworks? What do the most visible of my crazy headcanons revolve around? What ship is my ultimate pony OTP?

This is my absolute favorite episode of the show, and while episodes like Stranger than Fan Fiction, The Perfect Pear, and The Cutie Map have come close, this episode still stands strong. Every minute and every aspect of this episode makes me smile, from Pinkie's portrayal and how relatable her conflict was to me, the songs being a lot of fun (I listened to a lot of polka growing up thanks to my mom, and those were always fun), the roller coaster of emotions throughout, just how wild and creative that party ponies could get, and CHEESE SANDWICH.

My goodness, I thought I was going to hate this guy because I didn't trust celebrity guest stars (there were... a lot of SpongeBob specials with celebrity guests), and my expectation was that he'd be a big jerk and had to be run out of town because Pinkie is the one true party pony, yadda yadda yadda... and then he surprised me by not only being a really nice guy, but when he sang his backstory, I immediately connected with being that shy kid on the playground and not having many friends, as well as trying to break out of my shell by trying to make others happy (I'm not as successful as he was, though).

Not to mention, I was immediately fascinated by his story and what else could be there, hence why I started rolling stories in my head, from wondering what would happen if there was no Pinkie to inspire him that fateful day (The Rock Farmer's Daughters), to coming up with ideas with what his family is like, especially what it'd be like for a possible sibling involved (Tomato Sandwich).

Don't even get me started on how much I ship CheesePie! Their synergy after Cheese's confession was just too cute.

Simple Ways
~ So after the amazingness that is Cheese Sandwich, Trenderhoof is just... okay. Rarity's desperation is hilarious though, and gets doubly so once Applejack gets all dolled up.

Filli Vanilli
~ Seeing Pinkie like this is kind of a slap to the face so soon after Pinkie Pride.

Oh, right, this episode's about Fluttershy. It's all right, nothing too wrong aside from Pinkie and how much I cringe at the reveal (I always cringe from dread whenever a masquerade is uncovered). Though, that "Find the Music" song got really annoying, really fast for me.

Twilight Time
~ Another episode that's all right. Finally, Sweetie Belle learns her telekinesis! And seeing Apple Bloom do potions and Scootaloo in mechanics is neat. And who knew that foals could be so creepy when they're obsessed with the local princess?

And that Hay Burger scene always makes me crave fries... or make a burger that's just fries and lettuce and maybe some ketchup.

It Ain't Easy Being Breezies
~ The Breezies design freaked me out at first, but I got used to it. I like how Fluttershy's conflict is about how sometimes, you need to be a little mean for long term kindness, and it's really easy to see here how one could fall into that trap--stinkin' freeloading bug-horse-fairy... things. And Seabreeze does show that being overly mean to accomplish a goal (even a sympathetic one, since he's a husband and father!) could only make things worse, since at some point, others might not care what you say anymore. All around, good episode.

I'm a little sad that we never saw the Breezies again.

Somepony to Watch Over Me
~ Before Yakity-Sax came along, this was my most hated episode. This thing started off decent... but went downhill fast the moment Applejack started thinking that Apple Bloom was too stupid to get a spoon out of the drawer. From then, AJ was just an overprotective moron that was so annoying that I wanted to scream.

I hated the song joke--it was so badly sung that I couldn't laugh at the interruption, just sigh in relief that it wasn't longer. The Chimera could've been cool if none of the heads talked, and it was just obnoxious, especially when it brought up a "sister over your shoulder" only to have nothing come of it. And the cherry on top, the twisted logic in how Apple Bloom earned Applejack's trust by running off to deliver pies on her own, getting lost in a fire swamp, almost getting eaten by a monster... but it's all okay because she kept the pies safe during the process. That's like my sister Marshy driving on the highway on a four-wheeler, where she could easily get killed by the faster and heavier cars there, but as long as she got milk from the store, it's all good!

Uh, no. Putting yourself in danger is not a good way to earn an adult's trust, and it'd take a long time to actually earn it back after you did something stupid. And considering how easy it is to miss the throwaway line about Apple Bloom being grounded if it's followed up with something like, "Oh, but I totally trust you!", this could be interpreted badly.

Maud Pie
~ Now, I will concede that this episode is solidly written, and all the events, character reactions and interactions, and stuff are believable. Not really any major problems with this episode, aside from how Maud was shoved into canon more awkwardly than Shining Armor (seriously, Pinkie already had two sisters, why couldn't the staff have used one of them?).

But, as I've said many, many times, I don't like Maud. She's overrated and her schtick of being the monotone rock girl got old for me fast.

For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
~ Heh, I still enjoy the Rarity-Sweetie Belle sister dynamic!

As awkward as the beginning act was, the dream sequence more than made up for it. I noticed the Christmas Carol thing as the episode progressed, and I thought it was a clever way to implement that structure, from seeing another point of view of an event in the past, and how what Sweetie did in the present could affect Rarity in the future. Good on her for setting off to fix it.

And I'm still getting a kick out of Sweetie Belle's magic.

Leap of Faith
~ We all knew that it was a placebo. Didn't stop me from getting invested in Applejack's dilemma between telling the truth or keeping Granny Smith happy, something that demands consideration for the long term. Talk about how slimy it is for Flim and Flam to peddle that "It's the noble thing to lie to your grandmother so that she can be happy, and are you willing to go that far for your family?" And it shows just how bad that mindset can get.

Anyway, while it could stand to have more scenes of how the dishonesty ends up leading the townsfolk to trouble and having Silver Shill's story of how he got mixed up with the Flim Flam brothers (my personal theory is a sick sister and a hospital bill he had to help pay, and he just joined the Flim Flams out of desperation, and lying about the effectiveness of a product was small potatoes compared to his sister possibly dying from colic), I'm fine with what we got.

Testing Testing 1, 2, 3
~ It's really cool to see different learning styles in one episode, and figuring out how Rainbow learns. Not to mention how sweet it is that the whole town got together to help Rainbow out at the end. Though, it is doubtful that she could have gotten 100% after one day of study. Oh, well.

Trade Ya!
~ Meh. Nothing much besides a cliche fetch quest. And a promotion of hoarding. And an almost case of indentured servitude. The Orthrus was neat, though; I had no idea that was a thing until this episode.

Inspiration Manifestation
~ Remember, kids, this is why you don't do drugs dark magic!

Bah, as much as I want that power to magically make my imaginings a reality (I could have been done with Brotherly Bonding Time earlier!), Rarity was going crazy. I was hoping for a bigger climax of Rarity's creative genius, but Spike had to tell the truth and set her free before it happened. I guess it's a good lesson for the kids, and at least the episode was full of crazy magic shenanigans that were entertaining.

Equestria Games
~ Seeing the actual games is a no. Bummer.

But, seeing Spike save an entire stadium from a spiky ice cloud through his fire breath? Okay, that's a plus. He especially needed that awesome moment after that big dilemma over choking or embarrassing himself (that Cloudsdale song is the epitome of cringe, I nearly died inside just watching it). But, hey, while it's not any of my favorites, I still consider this a good one.

Twilight's Kingdom
Favorite season finale because of Twilight's princess dilemma, epic villain, character development for Discord, the high stakes, and that freakin' epic battle that reminded me of the stupid awesomeness of Dragon Ball Z! Most of this episode is just really satisfying, and I do half-wish that this could have been the series finale. Also, Key Giver cameos at the end... especially CHEESE.

However, I do question the princesses' plan to hide their magic. How does Tirek not know that Twilight exists? Didn't he get out of Tartarus in Season 2? He couldn't have just read a newspaper announcing the new princess? And how do you know that Discord wouldn't just tell him at some point? It just seems a little weird to me.

Also, the Rainbow Power looks stupid. And there's really no need to complain about the castle, everyone's been doing it for years.

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So, why is this my favorite season? Well, it's just chock full of fun and memorable moments while also retaining the heart and charm that defines the series, and it was the real start to expanding the world, making it feel more dynamic and interesting. Plus, it was my springboard into full-on fandom participation, because just one episode breeded a lot of ideas in my brain, which I wish I could get to them all. And it holds my favorite episode in the entire show!

It's hardly perfect, as people have pointed out that sometimes that whole cast was there when it wasn't needed, or Spike getting abused, or Pinkie's character getting flanderized in some episodes. And one of my most hated episodes is here as well, not to mention the flaws of several individual episodes.

But, in hindsight, the whole picture of this season's story just left me feeling satisfied.

And thus, we close this chapter, and move on to Season 5...

Comments

[Dashie04]

Ah yes, Seasons 4 and 5, the two best seasons of the show.

I really don’ have much else to say, other than the fact I actually like Glass of Water.