Ranking the CMC Episodes (From Worst to Best), Version 2

There's a reason why I waited until after "The Big Mac Question" aired in the U.S. to update this list, the CMC played a pretty big role in that episode. Plus, that means that retroactively I can include "Hard to Say Anything" alongside the CMC episodes we got this season (I don't count "The Break Up Break Down" as a CMC episode because their plot was tacked on and if not for what we saw earlier in the episode it would've had nothing tying it to the overall plot). Sadly, Sweetie Belle didn't get anymore solo focus episodes this season, so her section will have to be cut. That still means we have a total of 35 episodes centered around the CMC, more than any member of the mane six/seven (if you count Spike but not Starlight) except for Twilight. Like the first version we're going to first do the ones that fall into group focus (though some episodes can focus on the group and have a particular Crusader shine), then do the ones that are Apple Bloom and Scootaloo focus episodes, before we rank all 35 episodes from worst to best. Here's the first version, from February.

First up is the CMC group episodes, and with all the additions we have that gives us a total of 19 episodes focusing on the CMC as a group (more than half).

19. Stare Master (Season 1, Episode 17)
Why it stayed on the bottom: The CMC's first focus episode since their founding, and they did not look good at all. At the time it seemed like Hasbro had erred by scrapping their planned spin-off, because the CMC are obnoxious and completely unconcerned about their own safety. They don't listen to Fluttershy at any point, keep shouting over and over again, and only when Fluttershy threatens the stare on them do they cooperate at all, very late into the episode.

18. The Show Stoppers (Season 1, Episode 18)
Why it stayed just above the bottom: This episode ended up being contradicted on what the CMC's special talents were a few seasons down the line. I have to wonder if they ever did plan for the CMC to get their cutie marks in what they were implied to be good at here (singing for Sweetie Belle, dancing for Scootaloo, and wood working for Apple Bloom), we may never know. I get that they're children and don't always realize what adults realize, but they are NOT stupid! People write children characters as stupid when they don't know what actual children are like.

17. Growing Up is Hard To Do (Season 9, Episode 22)
Why it's in the bottom three: For the last focus episode the CMC have a starring role in, this one felt like a major step backward for them as characters. At this point in the series the CMC should be way beyond this cliche plot of thinking that growing up is fun and that as grown ups they can do whatever they want. Plus there are a huge bunch of contrivences that makes the episode feel like it's from a much earlier point in the show (like say Season 4 or Season 5). All we got out of this episode was what the CMC might look like as adults, and that wasted because they did nothing with them, it was treated like it was no big deal.

16. Appleloosa's Most Wanted (Season 5, Episode 6)
Why it moved up: It only moves up by virtue of not being in the bottom three anymore, that's really it. At least here the CMC do feel a bit more mature, though I still can't buy them regressing to the level of "Gotta find our cutie marks!" that had worn out its welcome several seasons ago, or them rehashing their lack of concern for their own safety we saw in "Stare Master". But at least them trying to vouch for Troubleshoes and helping him realize he's been looking at his cutie mark all wrong is nice.

15. Marks for Effort (Season 8, Episode 12)
Why it moved down: At first the CMC don't exactly elicit sympathy here. They want access to Twilight's school because... potatoes and when they're told flat out that they can't go they start doing very unsympathetic things: Shirking their chores, interrupting their sisters during work, and spilling secrets they promised to keep. Of course all of this could've been avoided had Twilight bothered to tell the CMC why they weren't allowed to attend her school, instead of it falling to Starlight to tell us that. But by the time Twilight accuses the CMC without proof, the CMC have for once in the episode done something selfless: Help another student (which you know Twilight or another teacher should've been doing. The more I think about Cozy Glow the less she makes sense).

14. Hard to Say Anything (Season 7, Episode 8)
Why it's low: This episode suffers from bad timing more than anything on the CMC's part. Just two episodes prior we had "Forever Filly" which was all about how Sweetie Belle (and by extension the CMC) was growing up and wasn't into the same stuff she used to like as a little kid. And then this episode has her (and thus the CMC by extension) thinking that love works like a fairy tale and encouraging Big Macintosh to do all the fairy tales cliches. It really feels like this was something that called for Rarity, but the line about Spike not being fearsome made her unsympathetic and they cut her out (like how "Spike at Your Service" was going to be Rarity's Season 3 episode before they felt Rarity came across as selfish and they reworked it into an Applejack episode). Of course that's all speculation, I don't know either way if that was ever the case. If it wasn't though, why did they need the CMC to think romance works like a fairy tale when they should be old enough to know better?

13. One Bad Apple (Season 3, Episode 4)
Why it moved up: Again it only really moves up because it's not in the bottom five like it was before, otherwise everything I've said about it before is true. Looking back, Babs Seed was pointless in the grand scheme of things, we had Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon already established as bully characters, so for the bullying aesop why not use either of them? My guess is that they never planned to do anything with DT and SS originally because they didn't think the show would last that long, so they decided to just introduce a new character to fit their intended message. And then when the show got renewed, Hasbro for whatever reason decided to just bump Babs Seed even though fans wanted to see her come back and her VA expressed interest in doing so (it's not like Twist where her VA moved away and they decided not to recast the role because she was friends with Chantel Strand and Shanon Chan-Kent). And this episode ticks off all the usual cliches for the bullying aesop, then it has the nerve to contradict its own message by having the grown-up do nothing when actual bullying occurs right in front of her.

12. On Your Marks (Season 6, Episode 4)
Why it moved down: The first episode to focus on the CMC after getting their cutie marks, and they spend most of it drifting about aimlessly with no real direction. In a way it feels kind of like the show itself not knowing what it wants to do now that the CMC have their cutie marks, but unlike when Rarity got her boutiques or Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt they didn't want to just discard the CMC and forget about their goal. It does pick up steam a little when we get to Tender Taps' problem, but by that point the episode has spent so much time on other things that it has to basically tell us that yes, this is the conflict that needs to be solved.

11. Surf and/or Turf (Season 8, Episode 6)
Why it moved down: This one is a CMC episode in the loosest sense of the word. Apple Bloom is almost completely irrelevant to the episode, aside from being completely unable to play peacemaker between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Speaking of which, the two of them basically make the whole situation worse because they only care about their own self interests and not what Terramar wants. I do like the initial challenge they're presented with, and how they realize the solution. But Terramar's problem was one that the CMC really shouldn't have been getting involved with, it's the sort of thing that the parents should've been sorting out

10. The Cart Before The Ponies (Season 6, Episode 15 in production order/14 in airdate)
Why it moved down: The CMC are probably this episode's saving grace (alongside cheerleader Cheerilee), it's really not their fault what happens and thankfully they aren't blamed for it. The only one who might be on the hook is Scootaloo since she never directly told Rainbow Dash she wanted to try and win Most Creative instead of Fastest Cart, but even then the CMC could've tried to pull their big sisters aside sooner and talk to them, rather than just make minor adjustments to their carts and hope their big sisters took the hint. I do like them branching out and trying new things, it feels more natural than when they did in "The Show Stoppers".

9. The Big Mac Question (Season 9, Episode 23)
Why it's in the top ten: While there is a really big contrivence with Apple Bloom making the CMC go all over town to look for Big Macintosh to deliver the pie to him, the rest of the episode does them a pretty good service. They feel sorry about having messed up last time and they want to try and make amends for initially hindering Big Mac's chances with Sugar Belle. And if anything they were the ones who screwed up the least (though we don't know how exactly the pie ended inside the apple monster). I don't quite approve of Sugar Belle saying they played such a big role in her and Big Mac getting together, if Big Macintosh hadn't taken the CMC's advice he probably would've won Sugar Belle over sooner when he was ready to work up the courage to tell her how he felt. Still, at least it means that unlike all of their big sisters the CMC get to go out on a high note for their last focus episode. Can you imagine if "Growing Up is Hard To Do" had been their last outing? How much of an insult would that have been?

8. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks (Season 6, Episode 9 in production order/19 in airdate)
Why it moved down: Even though Gabby returned for "Dragon Dropped" she was really more of a side character and plot device than a character of focus, especially since it was already a Spike and Rarity episode that tried to play things platonically despite it being painfully obvious there were romantic undertones. Plus, Gabby wasn't really a part of the CMC in that episode, they never even mentioned it and it seems like she hasn't made anymore of a dent in Griffonstone's culture than Gilda or Gallus have. As for this episode itself, Scootaloo does end up taking center stage after a while, but it's still a group effort with each Crusader contributing to the victory a little. Though them using a chart and having Gabby try different things until she finds the one she's good at is a bit of "Aesop Amnesia" on their part since trying things all the time without sticking to any one for a long period of time is exactly what originally hindered their quest for their cutie marks.

7. Marks and Recreation (Season 7, Episode 22 in production order/21 in airdate)
Why it moved down: As understandable as Rumble is here, he's being kind of a jerk to the CMC for no real reason. He gets on their case for willingly doing what they want to do, and when the CMC make a bad argument he takes it as vindication of his view point and takes over their day camp. Though the biggest thing that makes me scratch my head is how prior to Thunderlane's arrival no one is supervising any of the kids, and you can't possibly tell me that the CMC are old enough to run a camp all on their own. Putting all of that aside though, the CMC do a good job here, though Rumble wasn't really hiding his intentions so the CMC not noticing he was being bad on purpose makes them seem a bit dumb. Maybe if the episode was more subtle about Rumble being bad it would've been more believable that the CMC didn't notice what he was doing. It's not a major point against them but it does still stand.

6. Twilight Time (Season 4, Episode 15 in production order)
Why it moved down: This whole episode is contrived to set the CMC up for failure at the worst possible moment, and I kind of sense a bad pattern with Twilight's mentorship here: She decides to just assume one way or the other about what the CMC are up to and rather than give them a chance to explain she decides to "test" them. It's not as bad as it was in "Marks for Effort" and she does realize her mistake, but it still stands. Still, you're never too old to have a bad idea, and this episode was the first to have Sweetie Belle show any real interest in magic. We never do learn why the titular Twilight Time was founded though, the original synopsis mentioned it being so Twilight could help the CMC with their homework but if that was the plan it never made it into the script.

5. The Cutie Mark Chronicles (Season 1, Episode 23)
Why it's in the top five: It moves down just slightly to make room for a new episode, otherwise everything I've said before still stands. This really is a CMC episode since they're the ones who kick start the plot and keep it moving, the rest of the mane six just show up from time to time to tell their stories and lead the CMC to the next pony (aside from Rarity and Twilight who we have random jump cuts to and from). About the only thing that really hurts the episode is Scootaloo missing the obvious with the stories, they try to go for "dramatic irony" and hypocritical humor but it ends up making Scootaloo look unbelievably dense.

4. The Last Crusade (Season 9, Episode 12)
Why it's so high: Even though Scootaloo is unquestionably the character of focus here, not only with her parents but also her aunts, the other Crusaders still play a very big role here. It's understandable why they're included so heavily, they're not attached at the hip but the CMC won't be the same if Scootaloo leaves. Their motives are understandable and it's nice that they get such a big fanfare from the town, it really feels like a celebration of how far the CMC have come and would've been a great send off for their focus episodes. However, the episode does get bogged down in the middle by the typical Crusader antics when they try to keep Scootaloo's parents from taking Scootaloo with them, and we know that they're not going to work. It's not too distracting but long time fans can predict what's going to happen.

3. Ponyville Confidential (Season 2, Episode 23)
Why it stayed in the top three: The top three stay the same, so skip to the Apple Bloom episodes if you've seen the first version of this list. What really helps this episode stand out is that for once the CMC pick something and stick to it instead of immediately jumping into something else when they don't get their cutie marks. As I said before they could've easily made the CMC unsympathetic with what they do, make it so that they were out to slander ponies names just to get their cutie marks. But the episode took the high road by having them regret what they've been doing and realizing that they don't want to get their special talents in it even if they're good at it. It's a moral dilemma that we wouldn't see again until "Wonderbolts Academy" (abandoning your dream or what you like to do most if it means becoming something you're not or betraying your sense of morality).

2. Hearts and Hooves Day (Season 2, Episode 17)
Why it stayed the same: This was the first CMC episode where cutie marks didn't play a factor at all, at no point do they mention them even once. Their goal isn't to get their cutie marks in match making, their goal is to make Cheerilee happy by pairing her up with Big Macintosh (still kind of sore about how they teased us with CheeriMac for several seasons and then just dumped it without fanfare). As Scootaloo put it best "Our hearts and hooves were in the right place". Given what we now know of Scootaloo's family situation it's possible Cheerilee had the authority to punish Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle is still the one Crusader we know for sure Cheerilee didn't have authority over though they could've easily had Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo volunteer rather than make Apple Bloom do her brothers' chores alone.

1. Crusaders of the Lost Mark (Season 5, Episode 19 in production order/18 in airdate)
Why it stayed on the top: What else is there to say about this episode? It was a huge task to not only have the CMC help their sworn enemy, Diamond Tiara, but also make it believable. And adding in them finally getting their cutie marks was just the icing on the top. There really isn't much I can say that I haven't already said about this episode, so I won't repeat myself too much. I know I'm being vague, but I've gushed about this episode many times before and I don't want to keep repeating myself.

Now for the Apple Bloom episodes, she got one last episode of focus this season which brings her total up to 11 (meaning of the Crusaders she's the one with the most amount of episodes).

11. The Cutie Pox (Season 2, Episode 6)
Why it stayed on the bottom: The tacked on moral about patience really hurts this episode, but what hurts it even more is the insane amount of filler and Apple Bloom's out of nowhere depression. Nothing is ever explained, it just wastes so much time on montages instead of giving us time to understand why Apple Bloom feels the way she does. And Zecora is surprisingly okay with Apple Bloom just stealing potions ingreidents without asking (Apple Bloom's lucky she didn't whip up something more harmful to her).

10. Bridle Gossip (Season 1, Episode 9)
Why it stayed just above the bottom: If Apple Bloom hadn't wandered off into the Everfree Forest then the misunderstanding with Zecora never would've happened. Twilight was the one willing to vouch for Zecora and try to understand her, and I bet she would've done so the next time Zecora showed up in time if Apple Bloom hadn't wandered into the Everfree Forest to prove some kind of point. And then there's Apple Bloom leaving her shrunken sister all alone in the Everfree Forest, which doesn't exactly make her look sympathetic.

9. Family Appreciation Day (Season 2, Episode 11 in production order/12 in airdate)
Why it stayed in the bottom three: That big contrivence is what hurts this episode: Why in the world would Apple Bloom believe the pony who's been bullying her for months? If it were one of her friends that would've fixed a lot of things and probably justified some of the lengths Apple Bloom went to in order to keep Granny Smith from coming in for Family Appreciation Day. Plus it would've meant we could've cut the redundant scenes of Granny Smith at the market place and ignoring Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon clearly bullying Apple Bloom in plain sight.

8. Somepony to Watch Over Me (Season 4, Episode 17)
Why it moved down: This episode has it all backwards. Apple Bloom is punished when the family decides to let her stay home alone and Applejack inexplicably has second thoughts, but when Apple Bloom sneaks off to make the pie delivery and "prove" she can take care of herself (and is attacked after getting lost) she is rewarded for it. That kind of logic leaves you scratching your head, especially when you wonder "What did Apple Bloom do to deserve this?".

7. Bloom and Gloom (Season 5, Episode 4)
Why it moved down: Of all the LunaxCMC episodes this is the one that inexplicably decided to take the longest amount of time to reveal itself as one, perhaps because it dwells on the abrupt discarding of Babs Seed that raises questions it isn't prepared to answer (why bother doing it if they weren't willing to follow through with the consequences?) and because Applejack doesn't say anything that would reassure Apple Bloom. Her fears are perhaps valid, but there are still things we have to wonder if they exist only in the dream or have always been there and Apple Bloom just hasn't noticed.

6. On Your Marks (Season 6, Episode 4)
Why it moved down: It isn't until about halfway into the episode that it shifts to being an Apple Bloom centered one, and it really just proves that she is incapeable of holding the spotlight on her own. She just gives up on doing things because she has to do them on her own (even though she has done that before), and when it gets to Tender Taps the episode starts to make it painfully obvious what the problem is. Apple Bloom does ultimately shine through in the end but by that point it's too little too late to make up for how much the episode has been drifting about with no direction.

5. Going to Seed (Season 9, Episode 10)
Why it's in the top five: As far as Apple Bloom episodes go this one is harmless, even if it seems like it's trying to be an Applejack episode (it kind of feels like it was going to be an Apple Bloom episode and then changed to an Applejack episode at the last minute). The biggest issue is Apple Bloom's never before seen belief in "The Great Seedlin'" which they treat as something she's always had. But there's also the problem of how Applejack treats it like a big deal even though we learn that all it would've taken to solve it was a little bit of communication and a compromise. From there, not much really happens and Apple Bloom and Applejack don't really do much together.

4. Pinkie Apple Pie (Season 4, Episode 9)
Why it stayed the same: Now you can skip to the Scootaloo episodes since the Apple Bloom episodes remain the same in ranking from here on out. Apple Bloom gets a few moments to shine in this group episode, about the only thing that really hurts her is the horribly dated "Applelicious" rap that was blantent fan pandering. She does seem to be the one who hits it off the best with Pinkie Pie though (kind of a shame this was the last time they really interacted together).

3. The Perfect Pear (Season 7, Episode 13)
Why it stayed the same: Apple Bloom kick starts the plot here, and it's understandable why she does so since she's the only one not aware of the bad blood between the Apples and the Pears. It's nice that they give her some stuff to do here, even if the most we get is her being like her mom in knowing what other ponies are meant to do with their lives and her having her father's coat and mane colors. It's really sweet when she calls Grand Pear "Grand PearPear", though she was probably the one with the least hostility toward him.

2. Brotherhooves Social (Season 5, Episode 18 in production order/17 in airdate)
Why it stayed the same: Even if Apple Bloom can get kind of annoying with her behavior here, the moments of genuine bonding with Big Macintosh towards the end more than make up for it. Apple Bloom in a way was sort of neglecting the members of her family outside her big sister, and she needed to be reminded that her other family members were important too. There really isn't much else to say, because I'd just be repeating myself at this point.

1. Call of the Cutie (Season 1, Episode 12)
Why it stayed on the top: This was really Apple Bloom's day in the limelight, and she did not disappoint in the slightest. She tries her hoof at a lot of things and it's understandable why she isn't taking the time to consider what she might really be good at. Give her credit for being able to try to improvise a solution at the last minute when Applejack threw her right back into the fire.

And now for the Scootaloo episodes, like with Apple Bloom she got just one more focus episode this season which brings her total up to 6 (meaning poor Sweetie Belle is the CMC member with the fewest focus episodes). But I'm going to save you all time since the only change is the top spot, it gets taken by "The Last Crusade" which means all other episodes move down one notch. "The Last Crusade" is bolstered a bit by Scootaloo's parents and aunts finally making their big canonical debut, but also by a particularly noticeable fact: For the first time in a Scootaloo focus episode, Rainbow Dash isn't crucial to the overall plot. Every other Scootaloo centered solo episode placed a great deal of focus on Rainbow Dash, and while they never felt quite the same it could get a little repetitive since not every Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle episode involved their big sisters. "The Last Crusade" had Rainbow Dash show up to give encouragement, but she wasn't the one who ultimately helped Scootaloo and the CMC realize what they needed to do. I just wish they could've ellaborated on Scootaloo's family situation a little bit sooner, even if they wanted to save the actual parents until now (just a few lines of dialogue in earlier episodes would've been nice).

And now to rank all the CMC episodes, all 35 of them.
35. Stare Master (Season 1, Episode 17)
34. The Show Stoppers (Season 1, Episode 18)
33. The Cutie Pox (Season 2, Episode 6)
32. Bridle Gossip (Season 1, Episode 9)
31. Growing Up is Hard To Do (Season 9, Episode 22)
30. Appleloosa's Most Wanted (Season 5, Episode 6)
29. Marks for Effort (Season 8, Episode 12)
28. Hard to Say Anything (Season 7, Episode 8)
27. One Bad Apple (Season 3, Episode 4)
26. Family Appreciation Day (Season 2, Episode 11 in production order/12 in airdate)
25. Somepony to Watch Over Me (Season 4, Episode 17)
24. Parental Glideance (Season 7, Episode 7)
23. Bloom and Gloom (Season 5, Episode 4)
22. Going to Seed (Season 9, Episode 10)
21. The Cart Before The Ponies (Season 6, Episode 15 in production order/14 in airdate)
20. On Your Marks (Season 6, Episode 4)
19. Pinkie Apple Pie (Season 4, Episode 9)
18. Surf and/or Turf (Season 8, Episode 6)
17. The Big Mac Question (Season 9, Episode 23)
16. Marks and Recreation (Season 7, Episode 22 in production order/21 in airdate)
15. Twilight Time (Season 4, Episode 15)
14. The Perfect Pear (Season 7, Episode 13)
13. Brotherhooves Social (Season 5, Episode 18 in production order/17 in airdate)
12. Call of the Cutie (Season 1, Episode 12)
11. The Cutie Mark Chronicles (Season 1, Episode 23)
10. Flight to the Finish (Season 4, Episode 5)
9. Ponyville Confidential (Season 2, Episode 23)
8. The Washouts (Season 8, Episode 20)
7. For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils (Season 4, Episode 20 in production order/19 in airdate)
6. Sisterhooves Social (Season 2, Episode 5)
5. Sleepless in Ponyville (Season 3, Episode 6)
4. The Last Crusade (Season 9, Episode 12)
3. Hearts and Hooves Day (Season 2, Episode 17)
2. Forever Filly (Season 7, Episode 6)
1. Crusaders of the Lost Mark (Season 5, Episode 19 in production order/18 in airdate)

Whew, and there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll update the rankings for the Spike episodes.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Nice work! Thought, when I saw the grow up design, I had to think of this fan animation, thus me saying it's familiar

[superfun]

Here's how I rank the CMC group episodes:
Crusaders of the Lost Mark
The Big Mac Question
Marks for Effort
Growing Up is Hard to Do
Surf and/or Turf
Marks and Recreation
The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
Hard to Say Anything
Hearts and Hooves Day
Ponyville Confidential
Twilight Time
The Show Stoppers
Cart Before the Ponies
Stare Master
One Bad Apple
Appleoosa's Most Wanted

And here's how I rank the episodes that focus on one individual member:
Last Crusade
The Washouts
Parental Glideance
Brotherhooves Social
Flight to the Finish
On Your Marks
Forever Filly
For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
Sleepless in Ponyville
Bloom and Gloom
Sisterhooves Social
Call of the Cutie
Family Appreciation Day
Going to Seed
The Cutie Pox
Somepony to Watch Over Me