Author’s Note: This is Part 2 (#6-3) of DQ's list of best and worst FIM episodes (#6-3). Click here for Part 1 (#10-7). Click here for Part 3 (#2-1).

Sixth-worst: Putting Your Hoof Down

Is it one of the best episodes? Not even close.

Is it bad? Damn right it’s bad.

Is it the worst Fluttershy episode? Hell, yeah!

But is it actually among the three worst episodes in the series? Don’t even try me, because it’s not. There are five worse episodes than this.

So what did it do correctly?

The episode was intentionally unpleasant. Angel abusing Fluttershy wasn’t comedy-centric; it was written to be disgusting, and the angry reaction to Angel was what DHX looked for. The whole episode was about cringing at the actions of others in Ponyville. We know what they’re doing was wrong. We know they were taking advantage of Fluttershy. We know anyone who dared to be a jerk following the seminar deserved the consequences for their actions. The humor post-seminar was aimed mostly at those who deserved their just desserts. The gardener, Bon Bon and that other background pony, the rude blue mare, and the cabby passenger who stole Fluttershy’s ride deserved to have their plots kicked. I’ll get back to this later.

But when Fluttershy was being this cruel, the episode wanted to show how much Fluttershy crossed the line, and it did. Instead of rooting for Fluttershy, we rooted against Fluttershy; Pinkie’s and Rarity’s anger and horror were understandable. I’ll get back to this, too.

Iron Will’s advice to Fluttershy was completely ridiculous, and DHX wants you to know it.

The references and visuals are very well done and convey the mood of the scenes accurately.

Unfortunately, this is where all the positives end. Here’s what went really wrong.

Almost every single pony up to Act 3 was a major jackass, and most of them either made their debuts here or only appeared here. By having them appear so suddenly when they didn’t previously show up, you not only make the whole conflict both predictable and convenient, but also write Ponyville (a very happy town to a fault) out of character. But the ones up to the seminar were especially bad, because they got away with it. To make the plot minutely less artificial, Fluttershy would see them again with the same ol’ attitudes and antics, and the script would punished them for their actions. Hell, maybe if Fluttershy was truly in character, she would’ve told off Pinkie and Rarity for their behavior towards the nerd and tomato vendor.

It isn’t just the background ponies, either. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were very big assholes, too.

1. Rarity wooed a nerd stereotype to retrieve asparagus for Fluttershy. Keep in mind, he bought the asparagus fair and square and wasn’t an asshole at all. Although Rarity traded, she performed it underhandedly. This wasn’t generosity, and those who claim so are kidding themselves.
   
2. Pinkie Pie scammed a tomato vendor out of one extra bit. Just because it’s a classic Looney Toons gag doesn't a good joke make. It turned Pinkie into a character she’s not: someone who wanted to make others’ lives miserable. Hell, it contradicts The Smile Song’s core message of being happy when others are happy!
   

As for Angel? He may be rude, but he’s not this spoiled nor ABUSIVE! Of the three, he was undoubtedly the worst characterized. First, he punts a salad onto her head. Secondly, he slaps Fluttershy across the muzzle and shoves the cookbook to her face. When it wasn't perfect, he punts Fluttershy — and the salad — out of the cottage. Like the pre-seminar ponies, Angel never gets properly punished. Having Discord torment him in Keep Calm and Flutter On isn’t good enough because his just desserts occur way too late.

The Show Stoppers had the potential to ruin the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Putting Your Hoof Down ruined Fluttershy’s character so badly, it hasn’t recovered. Not the doormat part, but how she warped Iron Will’s advice without justification like a chess player developing his or her Queen in the opening phase of the game. There was no proper buildup. It just…happened, and she devolved into a psychopath.

Her insults to Pinkie and Rarity are evil. DHX wants us to know it’s evil, and we receive that result. But here’s the whole problem, and it’s twofold:

1. Her “assertiveness” is grossly sensationalized and makes her whole conflict artificially sadistic. Having Fluttershy call Pinkie’s and Rarity’s reasons to live meaningless is easily the cruelest thing she's ever said onscreen and one if the cruelest insults from ANYONE alive. It's even WORSE when you consider how close the trio is with each other, which makes you also consider whether she either harbored those feelings all this time or felt so insulted by Pinkie and Rarity’s warning that she wanted to hurt them where it hurt the most.
   
2. The consequences of her cruelty got downplayed. When you’re calling their passions (and livelihoods) worthless, you’re cutting into them deeply. It’s psychological bullying. She became as big an abuser as Angel Bunny.
    
   But the next scene? Rarity and Pinkie return to Fluttershy’s cottage and quickly put the blame on Iron Will. The sudden jerks were bad enough; that dialogue exchange broke the whole episode. Rarity and Pinkie were jackasses earlier, but they’re not THIS stupid! Iron Will’s advice was terrible, but Fluttershy’s actions were hers and hers alone. It’s extremely out of character for Rarity and PP to absolve ’Shy of total fault and scapegoat Iron Will. The script suddenly treats Fluttershy’s bullying as a game.
    
   Despite intentionally treating Fluttershy’s actions as wrong, the episode still excuses her. It sympathizes with Fluttershy and cuts several corners to make the audience feel sorry for her. As a Fluttershy brony, why — the hell — should I?
   

Like MDW, PYHD suffers from Boast Busters Syndrome. The final act treats Iron Will as the antagonist for the whole thing. He never suggested any of the advice Fluttershy skewed, but the ending acted like it was something Iron Will planned throughout.

Three words: Don’t bullshit me!

It’s a shame, too, because this is my third-favorite episode from season two and by far my biggest Guilty Pleasure. Unfortunately, the egregious errors prevent me from not giving Putting Your Hoof Down a pass.

Sixth-best: Lesson Zero

Thus far, the best Twilight-centric episode in the show. Back when I first watched it, I considered it rather overrated. Sure, it was fun and all of that, but the third act came off as way too random and over the top for me.

But upon further viewings, my opinions (and overall quality viewpoint) of the episode changed. Not only is it much better than I thought. It’s genius in a bottle.

One of the biggest things people talk about this episode is how insane Twilight Sparkle became. By observing past episodes (including Swarm of the Century, Winter Wrap Up, Green Isn’t Your Color, and Feeling Pinkie Keen), this was coming. Her insistence of being both on top of everything and picture-perfect culminated into the illusions she got and insistence of getting everything done on time. It was hilarious in a sympathetic sense. The dark comedy makes you feel sorry and heartbroken for Twilight, and her over-the-top insanity isn’t something out of the ordinary, either. You have plenty of people who insist on being this organized and flip out when something goes wrong or slips by them when you feel it shouldn’t. (Personally, Lesson Zero is where I actually identify Twilight the most because I focus on the nuances as meticulously as her — if not more so; and I like Winter Wrap Up more than this one.) For Twilight, missing out on the friendship report when she kept tabs of it throughout season one is the perfect bait for such an idea.

I bet some people got creeped out or got their pants wet just by seeing this:

This:

This:

Especially this:

And this:

Then there’s Spike, who was at his best and hasn’t been topped in an episode since (unless Equestria Girls counts). He played his role so well and brought forth a sense of maturity not seen in any other episode. Previously, he was simply the snarky, semi-sarcastic “baby” dragon with pride in his duties. Here, McCarthy added extra depth in his character by being the wingman, support plug for Twilight’s failing sense of sanity, and trump card for the fourth wall jokes.

Most importantly, it mends the biggest sin of season one: Twilight being shoehorned. Far too many episodes there suffered quality drawbacks just by forcing her into episodes where they would’ve been so much better without her. Three obvious examples are Look Before You Sleep, Green Isn’t Your Color, and Stare Master.

And it solves it very cleverly. Yeah, the ReMane-ing Five don’t truly do anything wrong, and their reaction to Twilight’s overreaction was justified. Nevertheless, their collective response was written as something in the wrong, because their ignorance to Twilight’s ordeal was the catalyst to LZ’s climax, and they felt very guilty over it, as they should. Celestia’s resolution to the conflict was great from a narrative and meta perspective.

So how come this is only sixth? Because five others are just as great, if not minutely better, than this one.

Fifth-worst: Rainbow Falls

Easily the most thoroughly broken episode is the series and objectively— no, factually the worst of season four. Nearly every single thing doesn’t work.

The comedy? Forced and stupid.

The conflict? Implausible and contrived.

The motives? Stupid and illogical.

The continuity? Broken.

The characters? What characters? You mean those puppets with flanderized or out-of-character personalities? That’s not developing characters. That’s developing caricatures.

The antagonists? Contrived to the core, out of character, and completely forced.

The plot contrivances? WAY too obvious.

The resolution? Lazy rip off of Wonderbolts Academy.

The overall plot? A soulless, predictable mess.

You could write a 25,000-character essay or review breaking down all the flaws narratively and logically, something I did here. You can apply a Band-Aid in the form of Derpy, the griffons, and beautiful scenery, but it still doesn’t change the fact how poorly written it is. Like Somepony to Watch Over Me, it gets far too much praise than it rightfully deserves. The only difference is unlike Somepony, RF isn’t actually overrated.

With how much I hate this episode, how is it only at #5? Well, despite the episode being so broken, the next four are broken not just narratively, but morally, too.

But first…

Fifth-best: Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

My all-time favorite episode as of today. It easily competes with Pinkie Pride as best S4 episode; in fact, you can make an excellent case for TT123 being better than PiP.

How well does it do? A few things.

1. Great characterization all around. Every single character in the episode is in character. The pets, Mane Six, and Spike (despite not talking once) act very believable. And with the exception of the two-parters and Twilight Time, Twilight Sparkle isn’t a bore. She has emotions, personality, and justification to act the ways she did. Because she was so three-dimensional here, it made me realize how important those traits are. Does she need to grow and become more mature? Yes. But the direction season four gave Twilight robbed her of relatability by flanderizing her strengths and maturity, thereby turning her into a robot.
    
   More importantly, her foil, Rainbow Dash, was explored very well. Despite a lack of maturity, she was till very in character with an incredible balance of emotion through her multi-layered quirks: casualness to the test, laziness, cockiness, and then the huge cloud of self-doubt that’s been a huge part of her since Sonic Rainboom and referenced aplenty since then (especially Wonderbolts Academy). When reviewing her whole personality, you can tell her bravado is fifty percent genuine, fifty percent façade; you see all these clues realized here when Dash becomes vulnerable and has no strength to hide her despair. To see that vulnerable side revives one big reason what helps make Dash so well-liked: She may be a hotshot with plenty of ego, but her characterization has so much dimension that makes her so likable.
    
   The whole story is character-driven, a prominent trait that was often missing in the first forty percent or so in season four. Every single line of dialogue is extremely well written, witty, and organic. The message was important, but the riveting character-driven conflict honed it all in.
   
2. Despite never properly explaining how every one of the ReMane-ing Five (minus AJ) knew about the history of the Wonderbolts and Dash’s test, it kind of makes sense. Think about it, Ponyville’s a small town, and the others know how big Dash’s test is. News isn’t self-contained. Critically consider the characters and the continuity in general — Dash not knowing the history behind the Wonderbolts while four of her friends do is kinda justified from a narrative perspective.
   
3. Continuity is reinforced and used as a backdrop without being forceful. Episodes such as Sonic Rainboom, the pilot, Wonderbolts Academy, Rainbow Falls, The Crystal Empire, and Hurricane Fluttershy are referenced and used to TT123’s advantage.
   
4. Each of their approaches to learning fit the characters. What’s even better is how despite being somewhat convenient, they vary enough. Because they drive the conflict and desire to help Dash in every possible way, their methods to learn blend better than Suited for Success.
    
   Twilight teaches and analyzes the traditional grind that most of us experience in public school. Flash cards, lectures, pop quizzes, highlighting, etc. As somepony keen to learn, she understands the formulas and progresses through her studies until she becomes one of the best while retaining her personality.
    
   Fluttershy has a very close relationship with her animals, so having the animals participate in a play is in character. Like Rarity, Fluttershy's study method is visual, but real-time and simple. Unlike Rarity’s visual approach, Fluttershy teaches us to learn through use of imagination. Atypical, but works very well for many people.
    
   One of Pinkie Pie’s unique traits is breaking into song in the most inopportune times (FIM2; Bridle Gossip; The Best Night Ever; A Friend in Deed; Dragonshy; Party of One, Pinkie Pride), many very hilarious. Music is a great method for some to focus and memorize. To put it short, it’s auditory learning, and many use this format because the catchiness of the rhythm and song allows them to dedicate their time to studying without becoming bored.
    
   Rarity comprehends topics through the creative design process (subtle continuity from several of her past episodes like Suited for Success, Sweet and Elite, and Rarity Takes Manehattan), hence the uniform treatment. Like Twilight, Rarity loves to invest in things, but does it her way by how they dressed, and it stuck. Like Fluttershy, it's a very visual form of studying, and you have plenty of people do well simply by focusing on the graphics.
    
   Like what she told Rainbow Dash, Applejack learns by working hard and through years of experience, hence the “labor of love.” To make her role less convenient, hilarious reinforcement of The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is enacted, as she doesn’t know the history of the Wonderbolts, either, and couldn’t care less. Due to her love for working in the fields, it makes plenty of sense.
    
   Rainbow Dash really loves flying and devotes plenty of her life to flying. Unlike Twilight, she's much more adapt to the air and, thus, can really focus on the tiniest of details. When she doesn't have to think too hard on everything all the time, she concentrates better. Her being able to fly through a sustained stretch of time lets her focus on the test without even knowing.
   
5. This episode is extremely hilarious and contains some of the best jokes in not just the season, but the show altogether. There are several cues where gags worked to perfection.
    
   i. “E.U.P.” Guard. A.k.a., the “Eeyup” joke.
    
   ii. Dash referencing The Failure Song in the prologue to Twilight.
    
   iii. Fluttershy’s play with the animals.
    
   iv. Spike, Dash, and Owlowiscious playing the Wonderbolts Academy fanfare as Twilight lectured the lesson of the Wonderbolts.
    
   iv-i: Spike not speaking once, yet was pivotal to the plot by helping everyone out.
    
   iv. Pinkie Pie’s rap.
    
   v. AJ’s brutal honesty like her thinly veiled insult to Rarity’s testing method.
    
   vi. “I’m not THAT tall!” Sure, Twilight.
   
6. Despite its humor, it’s also one of the most mature and serious episodes in the entire show, and this is a big surprise because the title and initial synopsis hinted about the moral of “don’t cheat.” But previews clued in on what it was truly about. The actual episode confirms it. What makes it better is the approach; when it was time to be serious, Rogers doesn’t cut corners.
   
7. The moral itself is fantastic. “One way of learning isn’t better than another. After all, everypony is unique and individual.” Even better is the story’s approach. It wasn’t told to Dash or Twilight. It was shown through the progress of the story along with a very great payoff at the end. Even better was Twilight writing the lesson, connecting the older viewers to the story. And considering the primary demographics FIM speaks to, it becomes even more potent.
    
   As an antithesis of Mare Do Well, Dash was able to learn the history of the Wonderbolts by unknowingly having her friends and all on Ponyville help her out. On a personal note, it’s my most favorite moment of season four and one of the biggest reasons why it’s my favorite episode today. To see Ponyville help one of their own reinforces the community feel from not just several episodes, but the overall root of Ponyville: When you live in a small town like Ponyville, people tend to know everyone. The townsfolk doesn’t become friends, but really family. Everypony knew Rainbow Dash was in trouble and believed she will fail. Thanks to Twilight, Ponyville planned Dash’s lesson by using her best skills to her advantage.
    
   As what Twilight said:

   
   “You learned without knowing you’re learning. Your main focus is flying, but then your brain is also absorbing lots of other information! It’s actually really brilliant!”

8. It features some of the best animation and production of the season. The transitions are very creative, yet not intrusive in the slightest. And they don’t go overboard in this style, either. It’s only used when appropriate.
   

Fourth-worst: The Crystal Empire

This is the one that fell the hardest, dropping from B- on my list to D- all the way to F. Why? These reasons.

1. King Sombra has the potential of Tirek or Discord, but the execution of Sunset Shimmer. We’re told he’s evil, but he isn’t shown he’s evil except in the background story and Door of Illusions. Seeing Twilight’s worst fear coming to life really proves how remorseless Sombra can be.
    
   But what else about present day? What would make him so menacing today? Whenever the ponies (Mane Six or otherwise) encountered him, would they be feared by what he does, his personality, and what he can do?
    
   We don't see it. His full personality is nonexistent, which means the exposition must rely to inform the audience and citizens of The Crystal Empire how evil he is. He's a power-hungry, controlling, brooding villain with no motive other than to be evil, a “personality” I see all too often in amateur and professional work. Moreover, Sombra had merely his past actions and presence to “appear” scary, a cliché in itself. The flashback of him holding the Crystal Ponies hostage ain’t cuttin’ it. Besides the door, there’s literally nothing to show how scary he is nor experience it fulfillingly. That’s bad writing and makes for a clichéd, boring villain.
    
   You can’t sacrifice one to emphasize the other; you’ll result in making the villain extremely implausible, unmemorable, and flat. Sombra exemplifies such a villain, and Sunset Shimmer screws that up worse in EQG.
   
2. The pacing is inconsistent, sometimes crawling in Part 2. Part 1 flow from one scene to another quite well, starting and stopping occasionally for exploration, song, background explanation, and humor (when applicable). But Act 2 was very different. For most of the second half, Twilight was exploring how the castle (and going up/down stairs) to locate the Crystal Heart. This takes way too long and wastes time, which you can spend on the ReMane-ing Five and Sombra’s looming threat.
   
3. Speaking of the ReMane-ing Five, the episode treats them as an afterthought. The whole episode was about Twilight protecting the Crystal Empire and defeating Sombra in order to pass her test. As she searches for the Heart, the others must preoccupy the Crystal Ponies. Unfortunately, Twilight’s search takes a bulk of the running time, relegating the ReMane-ing Five into the background and concentrating on MLP:FIM being MLP: Twilight Is Magic.
   
4. The biggest problem, and the reason why this episode is one of the worst.
    
   The premise is immoral!
    
   To repeat the synopsis that I wrote: Princess Celestia assigns Twilight et al to go to The Crystal Empire to protect it in order for Twilight to pass her test.
    
   Here is the biggest problem: “assigned” and “pass her test.” The Crystal Empire was put under siege by King Sombra, and he enslaved all of the crystal ponies with no conscience. When push came to shove, Luna and Celestia defeated Sombra and reduced him to a mere soul. But with the defeat comes a consequence: Sombra takes The Crystal Empire and its inhabitants with him.
    
   Then, it inexplicably returned. What do you think would be the most viable option? Find out a way to protect The Crystal Empire from King Sombra. That’s what Cadance and Shining Armor did (although that plot point came out of thin air, too). The protection of the Empire was important, but that wasn’t the point of the episode or goals from Twilight, Luna, and Celestia.
    
   The whole episode was about Twilight facing a test and passing it. Storywise, protecting and saving the Crystal Empire was secondary compared to Celestia’s and Luna’s true intention: prove Twilight’s worthy of ascension.
    
   The Crystal Empire was a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. Celestia and Luna intentionally put thousands of lives on the line to see if Twilight can help lead a kingdom. You DON’T play games with lives just to see if your protégé is capable of becoming an alicorn princess.
    
   What if Twilight genuinely failed? Once the common folk find out that the Royal Sisters knew about how much danger the revived kingdom was in and did nothing to personally protect it, they can kiss their reputations goodbye. To make it worse, Celestia and Luna treat their tactics like it’s a noble deed, when it’s not. Through this episode and tyrannical approach to protecting the Empire, Celestia and Luna appear very unlikeable.
    
   Also, the whole episode constantly hammers the test.
    
   Twilight’s assignment? To successfully protect The Crystal Empire.
    
   Twilight’s biggest fear? Failing her test and thus not continuing her studies.
    
   Twilight’s biggest goal? Passing her test despite telling Spike to bring the Crystal Heart back to its holster.
    
   What was Twilight most excited about? Passing her test.
    
   From the characters and story, passing the test was the primary and more important conflict than protecting the Empire. Even when Twilight decided to sacrifice passing it to save it, that focus never wavered, which is a damn shame because FIM should’ve presented itself in a more moral way.
    
   Someone is likely going to come by and claim that Celestia and Luna might not know Sombra returned.
    
   • How come Luna wanted to assist Twilight, her friends, Cadance, and SA?
    
   • When the guard told Celestia the Empire resurfaced, why did she tell another guard to find Wifehorse and Husbandhorse?
    
   Simple. To protect it. Sombra was defeated, but not destroyed. His presence lingered, and the Royal Sisters knew Sombra was waiting. Shining Armor admitted this very point in Part 1.
    

   
   Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra.

   
   She’s not fine. She can’t go on like this forever, and if her magic were to fade... Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen.

   The only thing Celestia and Luna didn’t know directly is how he was going to be defeated.
   

There are other methods to make Twilight ascend into an alicorn princess, ones that make more sense, more morally sound, and more in character of the Royal Sisters and Twilight. Twilight’s ascension arc was self-contained to only TCE and Magical Mystery Cure.

Just like Rainbow Falls with the Equestria Games arc, The Crystal Empire caused MMC to jump the shark before it even started due to Celestia’s, Luna’s, and the script’s dictatorial portrayal. Except MMC tried to fight back, only to really fall flat on its face and become one of the twenty-five worst episodes. In contrast, EG was absolutely lazy with the arc and didn’t put in any effort to redeem it as much as possible.

Fourth-best: Pinkie Pride

In a world like Equestria, special talent is not only defined, but also differentiated. The cutie mark simplifies what the character does, but they’re all very different. Pinkie Pride called out the sense of individuality and put forth a conflict you don’t see in family entertainment: To echo Tommy Oliver’s analysis of it, what if there’s someone else who not only specializes in what you do, but also is more renown, more refined and better than you?

Pinkie and Cheese are great party planners, but Cheese’s skillset is better. It’s not a theme you commonly see in family entertainment. As he’s an excellent party planner with a ton of dimension (and thanks to Weird Al, Cheese IS Weird Al!), CS is a magnificent foil to Pinkie, allowing the story the ability to progress. Not to mention the twist of Cheese being inspired by Pinkie’s party planning is brilliant.

Speaking of Cheese, albeit being voiced by Weird Al Yankovich, he wasn’t written exclusively to shove in a celebrity voice. He’s a brony with as much passion for this show as most of us here in this fandom. He belonged in the world of Equestria, and the setup via the intro was the perfect lead-up to a great payoff. It’s also fascinating by how Cheese was never the antagonist; instead, Pinkie’s pride was the antagonist.

More importantly, Pinkie Pie is treated like a three-dimensional character and is IN character (one of the few times in season four, really). Sensitive, intelligent, sad, happy, and eager to please. This episode thoroughly explores her character and takes its time doing it. Even though the pace was quick, it still flowed swimmingly because the simplicity of the plot provided enough air for the episode to breathe. Despite being in the wrong, she had a reason to let her pride get into her head. Once she realized she got carried away, she immediately learned her lesson and felt very guilty for it.

Because it’s a PP episode, you’re bound to see comedy and wonder if it works. Every single joke succeeded. The reference to the Pinkie Sense and passion for grandiose parties foreshadowed how much Pinkie inspired him to plan parties at the very end. Then you had all the gags throughout, including:

1. Cheese Sandwich immersing himself into the storyboard.
   
2. Pinkie trying to keep the constructed skyscraper — a Mare Do Well reference — afloat.
   
3. Cheese and Pinkie literally breaking the fourth wall.
   
4. The Goof-Off in general. (Cheese singing a polka version of The Smile Song and having Pinkie call him out for it was extremely clever and, in my opinion, is the funniest moment in Pinkie Pride.)
   
5. The clever joke to conclude the episode when Pinkie forgot his name. It’s a great reference to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and is a Western trope altogether, a setting established in the prologue and Cheese’s overall attire) as well as the constant use of Cheese’s name throughout.
   

Lastly, the ambiguous moral is one of the best decisions throughout the season. Prior to this whole list, it was my most favorite moment in season four. (Now it’s second most behind TT123’s climax.) She wrote in the journal, but it wasn’t revealed because it was shown step by step and came full circle in the first song’s reprise. And by not telling the audience, the writers trust the audience into knowing the lesson and allow kids and their parents to discuss the lessons side by side.

Third-worst: Dragon Quest

Easily the worst episode in season two. It’s one where it deserves so much scorn, and I say this as someone who likes this episode.

1. In the prologue, Rainbow Dash tried to force Fluttershy into watching the dragon migration despite her wanting nothing to do with the dragons… But what went wrong here was the fact that Rainbow Dash had an extremely good point when ’Shy forced Dash to watch the butterfly migration. The end result? Fluttershy assaulting Dashie and fleeing for the rest of the episode.
   
2. Flanderization is extremely apparent, particularly Rarity when she rolled out the red carpet. Not only does this segment highly exaggerate her vanity and ego, but it also contradicts a lesson she learned in Sonic Rainboom — don’t let her vanity get into her head).
    
   To make it worse, the episode contains some really serious implications of endorsing racism, classism, and every other disgusting anti-feminine/anti-masculine stereotype. In what ways? Well, let’s look them over.
    
   Spike appears in Part 1 wearing a frilly pink apron as a joke. Rainbow Dash mocks him, and Spike asks if he’s not like other dragons. The answers?
    

   
   Pinkie Pie: Oh, not even close!
    
   Applejack: But why would you want to, Spike?

   Then you had Rarity get in on the act, turning one of his biggest idols — and one of the best characters in the show — into a sexist jukebox. Not even five minutes into DQ, and this episode was guaranteed to be at least one of season two’s worst just by the sorry portrayals in the opener. You won’t gain fanbases if cruel and demeaning idiocy like this is the first thing they see in an FIM episode.
    
   *sigh* How I so wish Twilight called them out for this. Unfortunately, none of them suffered any consequences.
    
   But the stereotypes don’t end there. They worsen by presenting the dragons as stereotypical bullies and male teens.
    
   One-dimensional? Check.
    
   Stupid? Check.
    
   Incompetent? Check.
    
   Obnoxious? Check.
    
   Stereotypical accents and voices? Check.
    
   Greedy to the core? Check.
    
   Willing to steal? Check.
    
   Vandalize? Check.
    
   Mock the little one and force him to succumb to peer pressure? Check.
    
   A complete disregard for life? Double check.
    
   To make that worse, the episode actively teaches to the audience that these bully characters are like every single other dragon in Equestria. There’s a term for this: generalization! A theme you typically see in horrific entertainment. A theme the show aims against!
    
   In short, it treats one whole race as a collection of idiots while pushing the agenda of ponies as perfect godsends. To steal a quote from one of my all-time favorite cartoon series, Gargoyles:
    

   
   Goliath (to Demona): There is good and evil in all of us. Human and gargoyle alike. You should know that more than anyone.

3. On a bit of a lesser scale, the buildup for the meat of the plot is extremely contrived. Twilight, a character who read about the dragon migration, couldn’t find anything about dragons throughout her whole library? After a really touching conversation between Twilight and Spike just a minute prior, talk about a major mood killer.
    
   (I mean, couldn’t Twilight ask Celestia or Zecora for info on Spike and his ancestry instead?)
    
   In fact, the majority of DQ spent time killing the mood. Besides the example above, two major mood killers exist:
    
   • After a scene where Spike migrates (with absolutely no talking), the episode veers from exploring the possible lore of dragons to presenting caricatures.
    
   • Dash, Rarity, and Twilight finally got out of their disguise to confront Garble and the rest of his gang. Instead of standing their ground, they ran away. Yeah, when you have a defenseless egg, you can argue this was the best option, but it makes the climax very anticlimactic.
   

A few years ago, I said Dragon Quest was a big improvement of Williams’s writing from The Mysterious Mare Do Well*. Now I wonder what I was thinking, because DQ was a major downgrade. A shame, too, because there were many great ideas here, and Spike’s characterization is pretty solid. But thanks to its really abominable storytelling and rancid implications, the entire lore of dragons effectively dies.

*Putting Your Hoof Down’s story is created by Charlotte Fullerton and written by Merriwether Williams.

Third-best: Party of One

Back when I marathoned season one in the summer of 2011, this was the one that stuck out the most. If there was an episode I loved more out of every one in the whole show at that point, it’s this. Until Magic Duel aired, it remained firmly as my all-time favorite episode. (Today, it’s now fifth behind Pinkie Pride, SiP, MD, and finally Testing Testing.)

And so much was done right, starting with the story. The narrative in and of itself is paced beautifully. Every single bit in this episode made sense and treated the audience with plenty of respect. Characterization was good characterization.

Speaking of really good characterization, Pinkie’s character and logic really shine through, especially when she forgets her birthday. The Bearer of Laughter is a gigantic workaholic, spending plenty of time working in Sugarcube Corner and preparing countless events, jokes, and parties for ponies throughout Ponyville to laugh and spend casual quality time. Gummy’s birthday is a big event in Pinkie's perspective because she loves him and desires to prepare as much as she can to make the gator happy. When you have such a tight, countless, erratic schedule, particularly for a character with such a bubbly, funny, energetic personality, you're bound to forget something, even your own birthday. This is what happened to Pinkie Pie. While it may be a cliché, it works within the story’s context, includes a magnificent payoff, and reinforces the season’s (and show’s) most important theme: subversion (which climaxed beautifully in The Best Night Ever). Frankly, if it was something else, you risk breaking PoO and ruining the story.

One sloppy excuse was one thing. It’s another to see her collection of friends come up with a row of excuses that become sloppier than the one before. One important point about her party making is she parties not to make herself happy, but to make others happy. When she makes others happy, she is happy. So when the Remane Five (her closest friends) BS themselves from attending Gummy's after-birthday party, Pinkie gets suspicious. Then their sneaking around Ponyville, suspicious dialogue, and constant hiding reinforce her hypothesis of them not wanting anything to do with her anymore. It makes her feel worthless, causing her to mentally break down before Act 2 concludes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T22wxk1DSJY

“Creepy” is the operative word to describe Pinkamena. Until Creepy City in Lesson Zero, Hurricane Fluttershy, and Somepony to Watch Over Me, this really defined “creepy” in the context of FIM. Despite being played as a semi-joke, it wasn’t done to mock Pinkie, but to exaggerate it and make the viewer feel sympathetic towards her. In response, the jokes work, and it only gets better once Pinkamena and Rainbow Dash argue.

Another great strength in this episode is the comedy. There’s a ton of it, and none of the jokes failed. Each time one sprouted before the audience, it never stops being funny, and they never fall into the traps of being cheap. Each joke remains fresh, keeping the audience engaged. More importantly, when the joke is told, it makes the audience convey a mood. The excuses are stupid; McCarthy wanted us to realize how stupid the excuses are to make the viewer feel for Pinkie without making the ReMane-ing Five out of character or unlikeable; altogether, the jokes work.

If you want to read Part 1 (#10-7), click here. Click here for Part 3 (#2-1).