Overall Thoughts on Season 8 · 5:22am Jul 24th, 2019
Shoot, I made one of these posts for seasons 6 and 7, but no 8. Welp... better late than never, I guess.
I'll summing up my thoughts on each episode from season 8 in one or two sentences, meaning it's very general and I won't go in-depth. This also includes a grade out of ten for each episode. My opinion on the other two seasons before this one are as follows: season 6 was bad, really bad, worst season in the whole show so far; season 7 was surprisingly good, much better than I expected. I'd give season 6 a 4/10 and season 7 an 8/10. Now let's get to season 8.
1) School Daze Parts 1&2: This premiere wasn't too bad, but I'm really against the idea of the Main Six opening up a school. The villain made some legit points, but of course he has to be wrong; that's the moral for you, I guess. 6/10
2) The Maud Couple: I like Maud, but was fairly unimpressed with her boyfriend. I get what they were going for but it didn't work, and watching Pinkie be treated unfairly like that didn't help. 5/10
3) Fake It Til' You Make It: I rarely enjoy Fluttershy episodes, but when I do it's because she stays true to her character while making real, observable progress. This was just plain weird masked up in some lukewarm comedy. 5/10
4) Grannies Gone Wild: This was really entertaining. I liked Grammy Smith's shenanigans and Rainbow's reactions (most of the time). 8/10
5) Surf and/or Turf: There was potential here for a great moral dilemma, but they copped out at the end. It was still a fun episode. 7/10
6) Horse Play: I liked this one, if only for that talk between Celestia and Twilight while they were flying. Celestia's solo theatrics were cringe, however, and not the good kind of cringe. 8/10
7) The Parent Map: Some of the writing felt forced, but overall this was a fun episode. Still don't like Starlight. 7/10
8) Non-Compete Clause: Wow, this was bad. Like Fall Weather Friends, but worse; much, much worse. 3/10
9) The Break Up Break Down: Everything character was well written and the conflict felt genuine. I really liked every scene, especially Discord. 10/10
10) Molt Down: A very important episode, clearly, in which Spike grows a pair of wings. This episode was okay, but given the premise, it could have been better. 6/10
11) Marks for Effort: The conflict was dumb as hell, but I liked Cozy Glow. 5/10
12) The Mean 6: There were great moments here, but they were few are far between. Most of it dragged on, and the third act was just... not good. 5/10
13) A Matter of Principals: I liked Discord. I did not like Starlight. 7/10
14) The Hearth's Warming Club: This episode was unexpectedly good. I really liked the little reveal at the end with who was behind the sabotaging. 9/10
15) Friendship University: I found this episode to be thoroughly entertaining, and Star Swirl is a great character. But the conclusion, with Flim and Flam being sent away, was contrived as all hell, so much so that it seriously annoyed me. 8/10
16) The End in Friend: Goddamn was this episode lazily written. I didn't care at all for Rarity and Rainbow's relationship, and that little scavenger hunt was sheer nonsense. 4/10
17) Yakity-Sax: This wasn't bad... but it wasn't good either. Very middle-of-the-road episode. 5/10
18) Road to Friendship: Some of the dialogue was good, and the new scenery was nice, but overall I found it pretty boring. Also, ponies walking on two legs is a disgrace. 6/10
19) The Washouts: I enjoyed this episode, and Lightning Dust is one of my favourite side characters. How this episode treated her, however, is unforgivable; dropped two points because of it. Normally 8/10, but 6/10.
20) A Rockhoof and a Hard Place: I'm not sure how to rate this episode. The premise is interesting and I liked the ending, but the execution felt... lacking, like they were playing it too safe. 6/10
21) What Lies Beneath: Good episode, good interactions, good dialogue. Ghost Twilight was weird, though. 9/10
22) Sounds of Silence: I liked the new characters, but God was Fluttershy a bitch. Pretty decent overall. 7/10
23) Father Knows Best: I literally can't think of a single good thing about this episode, other than maybe that touching scene with Spike and Twilight. Broke my heart seeing Twilight's heart break. 2/10
24) School Raze Parts 1&2: Cozy Glow is a great villain, definitely one of the better aspects of season 8. The ending, however, is pure deus ex machina, and I hated how it robbed Cozy of her victory for a cheaply earned moral lesson. 7/10
So how would I rate this season? Definitely better than season 6, but worse than seasons 5 and 7, and much worse than seasons 1–4. I'd give it a... 5/10? Maybe 5.5/10. Some great episodes, but too many duds.
I may make posts like these for all the seasons, if I'm feeling up for it. We'll see.
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Er, I assume you mean season 8 and not 7, right?
I actually liked Cozy Glow because she wasn't some try-hard villain who went against common sense, like underestimating the heroes. She should have won, but then again, this isn't Infinity War where they can get away with letting the villain win. Other than that, yeah, the school is dumb, the character frequently act dumb for the sake of creating conflict, and the new students are just... meh. They're not the worst thing ever, but definitely not needed.
I haven't watched much of season 9, but if that premiere is any indication of what's to come... oh boy.