Now we're coming to another instant classic or so it seems to be. Rainbow Dash focus episodes have come and gone but this one remains a top contender. And it's written by M. A. Larson, and I bet it was this episode that saw him be crowned a fan favorite. "Suited For Success" lived up to the hype surrounding it, but how about this episode, especially considering Rainbow's uneven development and focus episodes in later seasons? Well, let's find out.

Read More

So this first arc doesn't seem to be holding up the greatest upon retrospect, and even the people who saw this comic and reviewed it when it first came out didn't have much to say on it aside from it showing how dark the comics were. So, has this issue also started to crack with a second look at it, or has it managed to actually do better and lift the arc up? Well, let's find out.

Read More

And now we're getting into something really, truly weird. Dave Polsky, just brushing off the controversy of "Feeling Pinkie Keen" returned to write this episode. To my knowledge this episode was nowhere near as controversial when it debuted, so many people were able to get a better feel for who Dave Polsky was as a writer. But was it a good impression or a bad one? Well, let's find out.

Read More

And now we come to the point where the show seemed to really take off and the point where Rarity would become the show's breakout character. Ironically enough, it's with an episode that involves dress making and it's written by Charlotte Fullerton who almost everyone considered the weakest link of the original group of writers. So, does this episode live up to the hype surrounding it? Well, let's find out.

Read More

Although not originally intended to be the first half finale for Season 2 (that was "Hearth's Warming Eve" before it was bumped up to air in time for the holidays in 2011), this episode would close out Season 2's first half. Interestingly, it's come to light through recent leaks that a different episode was planned originally that would've involved Mrs. Cake's pregnancy directly. Ponies would be mentioning it through things like "Bun in the oven" and "Special delivery" and Pinkie would get

Read More

So after two CMC focused episodes didn't do so well, the odds of a third one being a success were pretty slim. It didn't help that Season 1 had gotten bogged down real fast and the quality it had briefly flirted with was now gone. Still, M. A. Larson was given the task of writing this episode, fresh off his success with "Sonic Rainboom". Was he able to deliver another smash hit or only prove that, like Meghan McCarthy and Charlotte Fullerton his success was a fluke? Well, let's find out.

Read More

So just in time for the show's fourth season, the comics decided to finally include alicorn Twilight. And this was such a controversial thing that some people actually threatened to boycott the comics all together as a result (I imagine most did and eventually left the fandom). Meanwhile, word was just starting to surface about the micro series' successor for 2014, the Friends Forever series, but the micro series promised to go out with a bang by including everyone's favorite princess: Princess

Read More

This was the one arc in the comics that I intentionally avoided even back in the day. What I saw of it convinced me to give it a hard pass. Yet it exists, and the sad truth is that the comics would subsequently sink to lows even deeper than this one. So has time lessened the sting of this arc, or is it still as bad it's always been perceived as? Well, let's find out.

Read More

When Season 5 rolled around, Diamond's VA (Chantel Strand) put out a rather vague social media statement about how we would "See a different side of Diamond Tiara". Most long time fans (myself included) were quite skeptical of this considering what Diamond Tiara had been like up to this point, especially after "Flight to the Finish" and "Twilight Time". But Season 5 had managed to surprise everyone before and already had a lot of hits under its belt (though arguably just as many misses). Amy

Read More

And so, Season 3 came to an end and with it the show writers were led to believe the show was wrapping up for good at 65 episodes. In fact, that was Hasbro's plan for the longest time, just hit that magic 65 number and sell the show in syndication (even though that practice had long since fallen out of style). And the one tasked with basically making Hasbro's wishes come true and turn Twilight into an alicorn princess, was none other than fan favorite writer M. A. Larson whose most recent work

Read More

"Pinkie Pride" had brought Season 4 back to the heights it had flirted with at the start of its run, many were ready to start calling it the best season of all. So to close out the first half, Josh Haber returned to pen this episode involving Rarity and Applejack. Romance had been a weak point of the show stretching back to at least "Hearts and Hooves Day", but was Josh Haber as a new talent able to succeed where others had failed? Well, let's find out.

Read More

Because two surprise siblings never mentioned before apparently wasn't enough, I guess they wanted to ensure Rainbow Dash was the only mane six member to be an only child. At least this time it was a younger sibling instead of an older one. Dave Rapp returned to write for this episode, but Meghan McCarthy is credited with the story. So I guess that means she at least started working on this before she had to be called away to work on the movie? I mean, Dave had debuted quite horribly with

Read More

So, just a season after Rarity got her dream boutique opened (and nearly closed) in Canterlot, and just a few episodes after she went hunting for a location to establish a Manehattan boutique, we would get to see said boutique open. Nick Confalone was picked to write this episode, coming off his contested performance in "No Second Prances". So, was he able to redeem himself in the eyes of those who hated what he brought to the table for "No Second Prances"? Well, let's find out.

Read More

Season 5 had briefly soared to new heights by the time "Slice of Life" came out, but "Princess Spike" brought it all crashing back down to Earth. Yet we had another new writer immediately making their debut in the form of Nick Confalone, a writer who would prove to ultimately have staying power but also one who would tarnish his reputation in the fandom by penning some forgettable stories and bringing the Equestria Girls spin-off franchise to a low it never really recovered from. Just like

Read More

Hey, remember "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" and how bad that episode was? How it became the first episode of the show to be truly despised? Well I guess someone thought it would be a good idea to revisit that and try to "fix" it. The story is credited to Meghan McCarthy, just like in "Flutter Brutter". But to actually write the episode a new writer was brought in in the form of F. M. DeMarco who had previously worked on the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop cartoon (FiM's sister show, it

Read More

So after an insanely long stretch of not being focused on or even being mentioned, Starlight Glimmer was finally going to get an episode to herself. And this time she wasn't going to be sharing it with Twilight, or Spike, or Trixie. This was Starlight's first true solo outing since her redemption, which was still looking questionable to many. Michael Vogel was going it alone on this episode, and his previous solo outing had been the quite enjoyable "A Hearth's Warming Tail". Yet many regard

Read More

Hasbro didn't even bother with fanfare for this one, they just dropped it on Netflix and that was that. Interestingly enough, this movie came out on Netflix before Season 6 had finished airing, kind of funny how that works. But there were no pony spoilers this time around so everything was all good. The Equestria Girls franchise was changing hands once again, this time passing to Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco who were just starting to come into their own as a result of "Gauntlet of Fire".

Read More

So now we have the other half of Season 7's "premiere", an episode that was written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco and starred Starlight Glimmer, but aside from that there is nothing that would link it to the previous episode. "Celestial Advice" had certainly been different, but for the most part it had just felt like it was shilling Starlight Glimmer and offered up nothing new, no season of direction for Season 7. This episode would offer up something potentially more exciting, though in

Read More

Season 7 finally found some consistency (and good consistency at that) right at the end of its first half with the back to back successes of "Discordant Harmony" and "The Perfect Pear", the latter of which became everyone's new favorite episode. It also cemented Season 7 as a season of fanservice. Think about it, we had: A Princess Celestia episode, Starlight and Trixie hanging out, Twilight foalsitting her niece, Maud Pie returning and getting a day in the limelight, finally acknowledging the

Read More

Because having one dream episode per season wasn't enough, now we had one focused directly on Princess Luna. Scott Sonneborn was writing this episode, though the story was credited to both Jayson Thiesen and Jim Miller like with "Princess Spike" and "Party Pooped". Considering how bad the former turned out and considering the latter had received a rather lukewarm reception, that wasn't exactly a formula for success. But hey, Scott had worked well with M. A. Larson and Meghan McCarthy for "The

Read More