My Little Pony Friendship is Magic

[SonicMario]

Spoiler

Is it like what the showstoppers would want you to believe?

Spoiler

Not exactly. The CMC actually find their talent is in helping others find them or know what their Cutie Marks truly mean. So they have somewhat shared Cutie Marks although they have a part of it that still reflects their unique talents. They all have the same colored shield as their Cutie Marks but they have unique symbols for each of them, Apple Bloom has an Apple with a heart in it, Sweetie has a Star with a Music note in it, and Scootaloo's is a Wing with a Lightning Bolt in it

Sweetie's the only one that really reflects what we know from Show Stoppers. But given how vague an Apple with a Heart in it as well as a Wing and a Lightning Bolt. It just means there could be many interpretations. Which is good for a Cutie Mark to have.

In fact have a picture of them.

 

[princessofalicorns]

that's weird, i had toys of scootaloo and sweetie belle that had cutie marks. they were different though.

 

[SonicMario]

that's weird, i had toys of scootaloo and sweetie belle that had cutie marks. they were different though.

Maybe you have G3 (The MLP generation prior to Friendship is Magic which is G4) versions of Scoots and Sweetie? If so, sweetie should have a Heart and Scootaloo has Butterflies.

 

[princessofalicorns]

they must be g3 then. was apple bloom's cutie mark in g3 an apple by any chance?

 

[SonicMario]

they must be g3 then. was apple bloom's cutie mark in g3 an apple by any chance?

I don't think Apple Bloom existed in G3. I think Apple Bloom was an entirely new pony in comparison to how many of the Main characters existed. (There has been at least one previous incarnation of Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack. Maybe Fluttershy too if you count Posey who has a similar color scheme and cutie mark, only Posey wasn't a pegasus. She was an Earth Pony)

 

[SonicMario]

Spoiler: Today's Episode

Shining Armor and Cadence will be having a baby! (The baby itself hasn't appeared yet, the show's actually telling us beforehand before they introduce a new recurring character. Probably debuting in Season 6)

Other then that the episode was pretty amusing, many moments I was laughing and/or chuckling.

Oh and also...

Spoiler

WACKY WAVY INFLATABLE TUBE PONY

 

[Milo Thatch]

I just watched The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows. I think it was OK. It was funny enough and the animators obviously had fun, but the plot of Pinkie Pie having to keep a secret felt really repetitive.

 

[SonicMario]

I just watched The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows. I think it was OK. It was funny enough and the animators obviously had fun, but the plot of Pinkie Pie having to keep a secret felt really repetitive.

Have you seen Crusaders of the Lost Mark yet? I would of thought you'd make special note of it considering something kinda big happened...

In fact if you haven't seen it yet then didn't you notice that

Spoiler

The CMC had their Cutie Marks when they were seeing Pinkie?

 

[Milo Thatch]

I just watched The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows. I think it was OK. It was funny enough and the animators obviously had fun, but the plot of Pinkie Pie having to keep a secret felt really repetitive.

Have you seen Crusaders of the Lost Mark yet? I would of thought you'd make special note of it considering something kinda big happened...

In fact if you haven't seen it yet then didn't you notice that

Spoiler

The CMC had their Cutie Marks when they were seeing Pinkie?

I did like the reference, but at the same time, isn't it just necessary to follow canon? Something else I didn't like about the episode was how contrived it was, where the town constantly says certain things to set Pinkie off. (Why is it that of all the things the CMC want to talk about, it's gossip? And boy, people are saying "baby" a lot in Ponyville, aren't they?) Another example of its contrivance is that Rarity was WAY too intense about how bad it is to tell secrets, just so the episode would have another excuse to make Pinkie not spill the beans.

 

[SonicMario]

I was actually asking more on what you thought about the previous episode since you didn't really post about it at all xP

Though I understand your thinking, if you're not into the humor it's a pretty average episode. It's just a fun, silly thing though like Power Ponies was last season. But at least they didn't have the baby appear at the very end (Though when they said there was a delay I thought that was because the baby was coming out sooner then expected. So I was almost certain we were going to see what the baby looks like at the end) so we don't have a rather rushed character introduction.

We'll see how the baby looks next season most likely. I think there's probably going to be concerns in the fandom if this baby is born an Alicorn or not. Cause while it's debated and we may never know for sure, Celestia and Luna are considered the only two born Alicorns and Cadence and Twilight are considered both ponies who became Alicorns (There's some book thing that may or may not be canon where Cadence was a Pegasus prior to becoming an Alicorn which would be interesting).

 

[Milo Thatch]

I was actually asking more on what you thought about the previous episode since you didn't really post about it at all xP

Oh, OK. That episode was perfect. Enough said.

OK, since there are 19 episodes out now, I'm going to rank them from worst to best.

18. Tanks For The Memories
17. Canterlot Boutique
16. Princess Spike
15. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
14. Appleoosa's Most Wanted
13. Made In Manehattan
12. Party Pooped
11. Castle Sweet Castle
10. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows
9. Rarity Investigates!
8. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
7. Brotherhooves Social
6. The Cutie Map
5. Make New Friends But Keep Discord
4. Bloom and Gloom
3. Amending Fences
2. Slice of Life
1. Crusaders of The Lost Mark

BTW, how would YOU rank the Season 5 episodes?

 

[Milo Thatch]

I just looked at Wikipedia. Apparently it's official that the name for the 2nd two-parter will be called The Cutie Re-Mark. The release date hasn't been announced yet, however.

 

[Milo Thatch]

Something I decided to throw together was this list based on IMDb about the best to worst episodes of the show from the average user score. This list will be pretty long, so I'll spoiler it.

Spoiler

1. Crusaders of the Lost Mark
2. Twilight's Kingdom
3. Pinkie Pride
4. Hurricane Fluttershy
5. A Canterlot Wedding
6. Slice of Life
7. Amending Fences
8. Party of One
9. The Return of Harmony
10. Maud Pie
11. Sleepless in Ponyville
12. Lesson Zero
13. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3
14. The Cutie Map
15. Make New Friends But Keep Discord
16. For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils
17. Sonic Rainboom
18. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?
19. Flight to the Finish
20. Sisterhooves Social
21. Princess Twilight Sparkle
22. A Friend in Deed
23. The Best Night Ever
24. Suited For Success
25. Luna Eclipsed
26. Too Many Pinkie Pies
27. Read it and Weep
28. Winter Wrap-Up
29. The Last Roundup
30. It's About Time
31. Sweet and Elite
32. Rarity Investigates!
33. Secret of My Excess
34. Rarity Takes Manehattan
35. A Dog and Pony Show
36. Filli Vanilli
37. Equestria Games
38. Dragonshy
39. Inspiration Manifestation
40. Green Isn't Your Color
41. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
42. Hearthbreakers
43. Wonderbolts Academy
44. Magic Duel
45. Hearth's Warming Eve
46. The Crystal Empire
47. Tanks for the Memories
49. Fall Weather Friends
50. Pinkie Apple Pie
51. Daring Don't
52. The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows
53. Three's a Crowd
54. Hearts and Hooves Day
55. Applebuck Season
56. Bloom and Gloom
57. Family Appreciation Day
58. Canterlot Boutique
59. Call of the Cutie
60. Simple Ways
61. Swarm of the Century
62. Keep Calm and Flutter On
63. MMMystery on the Friendship Express
64. Bats!
65. May the Best Pet Win!
66. Brotherhooves Social
67. Castle Mane-ia
68. Bridle Gossip
69. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000
70. Twilight Time
71. Baby Cakes
72. Castle Sweet Castle
73. Putting Your Hoof Down
74. Trade Ya
75. Scare Master (although it doesn't have many votes)
76. Party Pooped
77. Leap of Faith
78. A Bird in the Hoof
79. Made in Manehattan
80. Over A Barrel
81. Look Before You Sleep
82. Feeling Pinkie Keen
83. Just for Sidekicks
84. Power Ponies
85. Stare Master
86. Griffon the Brush-Off
87. Friendship is Magic
88. Games Ponies Play
89. The Cutie Pox
90. The Ticket Master
91. It Ain't Easy Being Breezies
92. Owl's Well That Ends Well
93. Dragon Quest
94. Appleoosa's Most Wanted
95. The Show Stoppers
96. Spike at Your Service
97. Apple Family Reunion
98. Rainbow Falls
99. Boast Busters
100. One Bad Apple
101. The Mysterious Mare Do Well
102. Somepony to Watch Over Me
103. Princess Spike

 

[SonicMario]

Ok, I know Princess Spike wasn't exactly a good episode. But I don't quite think it's worst episode of the show. I think that seems to be out of recency bias

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

Ok, I know Princess Spike wasn't exactly a good episode. But I don't quite think it's worst episode of the show. I think that seems to be out of recency bias

what is your least favorite episode, incidentally? i don't think i've ever seen you deride an episode completely.

 

[Magikrazy]

Where's Ponyville Confidential on that list?

 

[SonicMario]

Ok, I know Princess Spike wasn't exactly a good episode. But I don't quite think it's worst episode of the show. I think that seems to be out of recency bias

what is your least favorite episode, incidentally? i don't think i've ever seen you deride an episode completely.

I'll just say my least favorite from each season

Season 1: Look Before You Sleep
Season 2: Mysterious Mare-Do Well
Season 3: Spike at your Service
Season 4: Rainbow Falls
Season 5 (so far): Tanks for the Memories.

My least favorite overall thinking about between these episodes. It may be Rainbow Falls for the missed potential they could of gone with and what the execution of the final result was.

I disliked LBYS in Season 1 for being ultimately a pretty dull episode as well as Twilight felt out of character through most of it

Mare-Do-Well is well documented as one of the worst of the show but I put it on the dislike list more so out of knowing it's the worst of Season 2 more then out of any personal dislike though it is a bad episode cause every one of the Mane 6 goes a little too far

Spike at your Service bugs me cause apparently just 6 episodes after the Crystal Empire where we know Spike's biggest fear is Twilight kicking him out he jumps out to leave her for Applejack who only saved his life once (As someone who likes it when they do good things between Spike and Twilight it still kinda makes me grit my teeth a little) but I understand there was writing issues because the original script by Dave Polsky had to be scrapped because originally it was going to be a Spike and Rarity episode rather then a Spike and AJ episode. It was scrapped because Rarity was supposedly too mean in this version of Spike at your Service. So they had someone else rewrite it. And at the very least there's some fun character moments here and there.

Rainbow Falls however, urgh the episode just could of been done alot better. I think part of what bugs me most is that the episode is a pretty important one in Season 4 too. Since it's Rainbow's key episode. So unlike other episodes we can't ignore it as much. (Though at the very least it gave me a good laugh in the start of the S4 Finale when Pinkie interrupts Rainbow as Twilight recaps each of the key episodes noted in the journal. It felt more like that was Best Key Episode (Pinkie Pride) interrupting the worst one). It's also a bit disappointing considering the writer of it did just fine with Sleepless in Ponyville in Season 3.

(Oh and on Tanks for the Memories, it may be my least favorite of Season 5 so far. But it's still better then all four of the episodes I consider my least favorite in each season)

 

[Magikrazy]

Really, you liked (for lack of a better term) One Bad Apple more than Spike at Your Service?

 

[SonicMario]

Really, you liked (for lack of a better term) One Bad Apple more than Spike at Your Service?

One Bad Apple at least had a really catchy song going for it. And some fun lines from Sweetie. But yeah I understand that One Bad Apple's definitely on the lower tier of Season 3 episodes.

 

[Milo Thatch]

My least favorite episodes for each season:

Season 1: Look Before You Sleep, because of the repetitive, boring plot, and NO ONE was in character. I mean, even terrible episodes like Boast Busters and Rainbow Falls got Twilight's character right.
Season 2: Tie between The Mysterious Mare Do Well and Putting Your Hoof Down (boy, Merriweather Williams was bad that season) I actually didn't mind how harsh the Mane 6 were with teaching Rainbow Dash a lesson in MMDW. What I DO mind is that they were complete hypocrites and BRAGGED about their accomplishments as Mare-Do-Well. As for Putting Your Hoof Down, it mixed Charlotte Fullerton's tendency to write contrived stories with Merriweather Williams's tendency to write everyone as out-of-character *bleep*s.
Season 3: Keep Calm and Flutter On (least favorite episode of the show), because Fluttershy basically manipulated Discord into being good with a faux friendship, which lasted throughout seasons 3 and 4. There are actually a lot of other reasons why I hate the episode, but I don't have time to write them all.
Season 4: Although Rainbow Falls was undoubtedly the worst episode of the season, I hated Somepony to Watch Over Me even more, because Applejack was so irritating throughout the episode. You have to watch the episode to get it.
Season 5: I was thinking about putting Tanks for the Memories on here, because Rainbow Dash acted like an idiot, it at least looked nice and was occasionally funny. I overall disliked Canterlot Boutique more because it felt like a generic Rarity episode with an opinionated "mass production is evil" subtext.

EDIT: A bit below 5 years later after Season 5 is over I'm going to go a different route and just say a tie between What About Discord and Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep. For What About Discord I didn't care for it for reasons I stated later on in the thread which is that it's really boring and not that many of the jokes are that funny. Plus the moral is pretty problematic with it inferring that warning people on constantly bragging means you're jealous. Still, like said about Filli Vanilli next post, I wouldn't describe the episode as like the most off, just really boring and gimmicky. With Magic Sheep, well... there are some good parts about it for the most part the first two acts being okay. What really drags the episode down is it's moral and handling of Luna

Spoiler: Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep spoilers

creating the Tantabus to punish/hurt herself and how the episode drastically mishandles patronizing people for self-harm. The Mane Six just tell Luna, "you're loved/not unpopular/other people's grades are worse than you" and then Luna instantly just realizes self-harm is bad which is completely inaccurate to how self-punishment in real life works. A lot of people disliked Luna's character for her hurting herself, but then I'd sway to saying you're part of the problem because of how the Mane Six give the standard "just don't be depressed" speech which, while terrible, people still think is okay just because it's less bad than saying "I dislike you more for hurting yourself"

I'm also going to put my favorite episodes from each season:

Season 1: My problem with Season 1, making it my least favorite season, is that it just feels like the generic friends-forever kids' show that anti-bronies accuse it of being, with lackluster stories and contrived conflicts. Thankfully, there were a few episodes that were actually interesting. The best one, in my opinion, is Party of One. For the most part, the episode is pretty good, mainly because of the humor. But the main reason I like it the most is because of the infamous schizophrenic party. The atmosphere here was great, with the background music being extremely eerie. It also showed the dark side of Pinkie wanting to be with everypony, showing how unstable she can get when she's alone. In fact, I personally think this is possibly the best moment in the series, with the exception of a certain scene from Crusaders of the Lost Mark.
Season 2: A Canterlot Wedding. This two-parter introduced Shining Armor and Cadence, and did a really good job of it. The songs were great with, with This Day Aria possibly being my favorite in the series. Not to mention the fact that it's so thrilling.
Season 3: The problem with Season 3 was that there weren't any episodes that were really outstanding. However, the one I liked the most was Too Many Pinkie Pies. Dave Polsky's comedic style was pushed to the max here, making possibly the most clever and entertaining episode of the whole series, despite a few minor flaws. Too bad that he didn't write as good for the rest of the season...
Season 4: Hands-down my favorite episode in the whole series was the two-parter Twilight's Kingdom. It lampshaded several problems throughout the series so far, and fixed them. It also gave off a feeling that it wasn't just a conclusion to the season, but the whole series.
Season 5: Crusaders of the Lost Mark. Not only did it redeem Diamond Tiara extremely well, but... well, if you don't know the big plot twist at the end by now, you're not a true brony (EDIT: Striking this out a while later as later on I've decided I'm not a brony, although I like the show as much as I used to). Also, the songs did not disappoint.

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

might as well do mine since i brought the topic up

S1: Stare Master. Boring first half, unfunny CMC slapstick in the middle, topped off with an anticlimax staring match (which when you think about it, shouldn't fluttershy be turned to stone instantly if she's staring at a cockatrice?). Plus it's the episode that started all those dumb "scootaloo is a chicken" jokes. Not a bad episode per se, and it's certainly not as atrocious as I once protested it was, but it's not one I'd revisit.
S2: Dragon Quest. I think you all probably know the glaring problem with this one. While I thought most of the episode was handled well, the moral, just, ugh. Honorable metion to A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2, because while I do like it, the episode had a lot more potential that it didn't realize.
S3: Magic Fucking Duel. Least favorite episode of the series, by a mile. I seriously don't see why this doesn't get more hate. I could probably elaborate another time, but it boils down to a combination of a plodding and tedious first two acts, Trixie's unnecessarily cruel antics, the fact that she receives zero consequences for said antics, and Twilight's cheating in the second duel (which would've been fine in and of itself as an "ends justifying the means" moment, but nope, it was baked into the implicit moral.)
S4: I think we can all agree on Rainbow Falls being the worst overall, so I'll go a different route and suggest Filli Vanilli. I think my joking distaste for repetitive "Fluttershy being shy again" plots is well documented, but this crossed the line somewhere. I thought the episode handled stage fright and social anxiety too lightly, and the payoff wasn't worth it. And that's not even mentioning the glaring issue of Pinkie Pie's behavior. Again, like Stare Master it's not a bad episode exactly, but it's irritating enough to deserve a spot on this list.
S5: Haven't seen enough episodes to make an educated opinion.

 

[SonicMario]

S3: Magic Fucking Duel. Least favorite episode of the series, by a mile. I seriously don't see why this doesn't get more hate. I could probably elaborate another time, but it boils down to a combination of a plodding and tedious first two acts, Trixie's unnecessarily cruel antics, the fact that she receives zero consequences for said antics, and Twilight's cheating in the second duel (which would've been fine in and of itself as an "ends justifying the means" moment, but nope, it was baked into the implicit moral.)

On Trixie's cruelty, it's implied that's all the amulet's doing. She wouldn't have done all those things she did if say she had beaten Twilight in a duel normally instead (Which she can't do anyway cause Trixie just isn't that good at magic). In the hypothetical situation that she somehow did though, she would of just simply may have gloated a bit and left. She certainly wouldn't have taken over the whole town and forced everybody to be at her beck and call. The Amulet was the only way Trixie was going to have a chance of revenge, it was wrong for her to do so in the first place. But at the same time she probably didn't know it was going to twist her mind that much. She wanted revenge, but had she known that she would give up her mind to something that makes her have less of a morality as well as a lot more evil then she actually was. She probably wouldn't have.

Oh and before you bring up the fact Trixie still tried to do the cruel things she did even after she took off the Amulet (The scene where she says she tried to make Rainbow "Writhe in Agony"). Let's just say the effects from the Amulet don't go away that quickly, her mind had to have some time off the corruption. It's possible the final scene (In where Trixie apologizes, it's thanks to this scene we get a clear indication that it was all the Amulet's doing. is hours or even the next day after the final duel in the episode)

And on Twilight's "cheating". I saw it as a clever way of Twilight using Trixie's own talent (Illusionary magic) against her.



I've said my all-time favorite episodes of the show many times. But I suppose I can give a favorite list for each Season too.

Season 1: Cutie Mark Chronicles
Season 2: Lesson Zero
Season 3: Magical Mystery Cure
Season 4: Twilight's Kingdom
Season 5 (so far): Amending Fences

My other favorites are Hurricane Fluttershy, Canterlot Wedding, Magic Duel, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pride. I just have a few reasons of my own to consider the ones I stated for each season to be my favorite since they have a kind of special significance within the show. And of course for the exception of Cutie Mark Chronicles (Though she certainly has an awesome part of that episode), they're all Twilight centered episodes.

 

[Milo Thatch]

You know, we've talked about the episodes a lot, but we haven't talked about the writers. Here's how I'd rank them from worst to best (keep in mind I'm only including writers who have written over 3 episodes)

11. Charlotte Fullerton
10. Scott Sonneborn
9. Merriweather Williams
8. Corey Powell
7. Cindy Morrow
6. Dave Polsky
5. Josh Haber
4. Natasha Levinger
3. Amy Keating Rogers
2. M. A. Larson
1. Meghan McCarthy

Keep in mind that the only writers I don't like are in the bottom three.

 

[SonicMario]

My favorite writer is M.A. Larson of course (I even got to have a picture with him when I went to Trotcon ^^) and Meghan's my 2nd. It's interesting those two split story editing in Season 5. M.A. Larson was the Story Editor for the first half of Season 5. Meghan is the story editor for the 2nd half that's still ongoing currently.

 

[Milo Thatch]

Boy is it a good thing I didn't take a picture with him. I'd probably drive him crazy with suggestions for his future episodes.

Anyway, who's your least favorite writer? Keep in mind that I think Charlotte Fullerton and Scott Sonneborn are about as bad, but I just chose the former because I didn't want the episode to be nothing but ties.