Oh me oh my, how time has flown by. First of all, I want to apologize everypony for taking so long to getting around to my Season 5 Finale and overall season review. Circumstances just wouldn't allow me to get around to it sooner, the season simply ended at a very inconvenient and busy time of the year for me as far as graduate school responsibilities are concerned. However, now that school is pretty much wrapped up for the semester, I have managed to set aside some time to both rewatch the season finale and review it and the whole season. What did I think of the finale? Well, it pleased me very much, was a solid finale all around and I very much enjoyed it. Not the greatest finale MLP's ever had, but it seemed very fitting for Season 5 and just what it needed. But we'll get to that more in a bit. Without further ado, this is my full review of Season 5 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, including my thoughts on "The Cutie Re-Mark: Part 1 and Part 2." Enjoy!

 

 

The Story

 

Previous seasons of MLP have either been story-focused or character-focused, with friendship as the central theme tying everything together nicely. Now, friendship is still obviously the theme of this season, BUT this season is very distinct for a big reason: the story revolved around a far more specific theme about how cutie marks relate to friendship as well as magic and harmony in Equestria in general. Now, that's not to say plot developments didn't still occur, oh no, plenty did, but it was fascinating how thematically focused this season was on a world building element. It also thrilled me because a lot of the ideas they came up with, I've actually experimented with conjecturing about myself in the past, namely in my fanfiction, so it was very cool actually seeing elements of some of my own ideas made canon in the show. Not that I'm claiming credit or anything, that'd be silly, I'm just saying it's cool to see fan conjecture realized (since I'm sure many other bronies have had the same ideas before). Aside from the theme of cutie marks, this season largely followed Twilight as she entered the next stage of her life, that being as the bonified Princess of Friendship. She's still trying to figure out what exactly that means, of course, but she was far more focused and upbeat this season as opposed to her lack of direction and sometimes melancholy, confused attitude last season when she still wasn't sure for most of it why she was a princess. That direction actually gave this whole season a more relaxed feel; last season everyone couldn't wait to see what was in the box made by the Tree of Harmony, and that made the tension build up with each passing episode as we drew nearer. This season, though, everyone was just kinda doing their own thing around town and Equestria to make it a better place. I liked that, it actually felt a little like Seasons 1 and 2 tonally. Like the previous odd-numbered seasons of MLP, Season 5 has opened a new chapter of the show, and I for one am quite delighted with how it is going so far. Below are my Top 3 plot developments of Season 5, each wonderful in its own special way!

 

Top 3 Plot Developments:

 

(1) Cutie Marks Matter: Believe it or not, it's actually been since around, I want to say, Season 1 or 2 since cutie marks really last mattered in the show. Don't get me wrong, they're mentioned plenty, the CMC have kept trying to get theirs, and we constantly hear about ponies special talents. But they haven't particularly mattered for plot purposes in quite a few seasons. Well this season, as I said earlier, they were at the center of the entire season, and I loved, loved, LOVED that! It's something that's unique to Equestria and makes it stick out from other fictional universes; it's like the Force in Star Wars or wizarding magic in Harry Potter or hobbits and the One Ring in Middle Earth. The writers finally took advantage of how one could expand upon the canon we had about cutie marks and turned it to the show's advantage, introducing new characters, new ideas, explaining how cutie marks really fit into Equestrian society and how important they are to it, it was all great. It reinforced yet again that, unlike other kids shows, MLP has quite the expanded universe to it, and that gives it a depth and complexity that I can very much appreciate for a show of its nature. Overall, seeing cutie marks have an impact on the show again and in new and exciting ways made me very, very happy.

 

 

(2) The Mane 7: I'll get more into Starlight in my review of the Season Finale below, but I really do love this plot development, even though it happened in the last five minutes of the season (and in and of itself was certainly rushed). So why do I love it so much? Well because it opens great new possibilities for the show, that's why. This was a very appropriate time to add a new member to the main cast, if they were ever going to do it, it really it needed to be now. I like the choice of Starlight in particular because she has a lot to learn as well, and this in turn opens new possibilities for the original Mane 6 to act as mentors to her, especially Twilight, who, like Celestia mentoring her, can now mentor Starlight. I'm very, very interested in seeing where this plot development leads, and so for its impact on the show alone, which cannot be denied given that it's obvious things are going to change with Starlight now around permanently, it's my second favorite plot development of the season.

 

(3) Cutie Mark Crusaders Mission Accomplished: Alright, some people might be mad I put Starlight joining the Mane 7 ahead of something as momentous as the Cutie Mark Crusaders FINALLY getting their cutie marks on my top plot developments list, but let me explain. I ADORED the CMC getting the cutie marks, it was very emotional to watch as a fan and just a huge moment in the show in general, and executed perfectly and FAR better than Starlight's quickie reform was. BUT it doesn't open up quite as many possibilities for the show as Starlight joining the Mane 7 does, it simply doesn't. I imagine the Crusaders next season much the same of what they did this season, only with a little more purpose and direction in their actions, but they've never gotten as much screen time as the Mane 6 and they never will, that's not going to change. Starlight's going to probably feature FAR more heavily in Season 6 than the CMC, so while I was thrilled beyond belief to see this finally happen, again, it's just not as impactful on the show itself as Starlight joining the main cast is. Great moment in the season, just not quite as important.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

Expecting Cadance and Shining Armor: This moment doesn't make the top 3 list since it was only covered in one episode, BUT it still deserves a mention at least. I mean, holy cheese, Cadance is pregnant, she and Shining Armor are gonna be a mother and father, Twilight's gonna be an Aunt, Spike's gonna be an honorary crazy uncle, and they're most likely going to have a filly or colt next season! THAT. IS. HUGE!!! Granted, we're not gonna get to see a lot of their kid; I mean, I don't imagine in any sense of the word that, before the show ends, whenever that is, we'll even get to see their baby reach CMC age. The only scenario I can see seeing an older version of their kid would be in some kind of show epilogue segment when all is said and done (again, whenever that happens). BUT again, it's still big; I mean, come on, how many children's shows actually feature a character get pregnant? That, by extension, is indirect recognition from the writers that, yes, sex and procreation happens in this world. Granted, you could say they already did that with the Cakes, but still, this is pretty darn big considering how much more important of characters Cadance and Shining Armor are to the overall show. Can't wait to see where it goes next season, and hopefully we get to see some of preggy Cadance before the delivery.

 

Luna Finds Serenity: I chalk this up here mostly because it was probably the finest character moment of the season of any of the princesses (not counting Twilight). Luna's turn as Nightmare Moon has always given her an added layer of depth and complexity, and it was nice to see the writers showing that she was still not completely over the terrible mistakes she'd made in the past. The talk at the end which got her to forgive herself was a bit rushed, yes, but the self-torture itself was very intriguing to see, how Luna's guilt was literally eating away at her and manifesting into something terrible. I hope we get to see more of Luna now after she's finally achieved a true level of inner peace and serenity that she probably hasn't known in over a thousand years, and couldn't have been happier that the writers got to put her old guilt to rest once and for all.

 

Top 3 Worst Episodes

 

Full disclosure, here: when I put an episode on this list for this season, it is not like in Season 4 where there were numerous episodes that I just didn't like as a whole. These episodes were ones that just had certain elements I didn't care for, but I don't think any of them were overall bad, and that's to Season 5's credit. But here are the 3 episodes I consider to be the weakest of Season 5.

 

(1) "What About Discord?": OK, this episode's biggest sin was being unmemorable, but for a Discord episode, that's a REALLY big sin. It seemed like every element of this episode, while sound on the whole, was off just a tad, and that made for a very, very strange episode with a confusing feel to it. It had nothing that I would consider a highlight of the season, nor anything that I would particularly remember either, and for that reason I consider it to be the weakest of Season 5's episodes.

 

(2) "Party Pooped": This episode, while far more memorable and entertaining than "What About Discord?" (and a better episode because of it) was immensely frustrating for one reason and one reason only: THE YAKS OF YAKYAKISTAN!!! Now, these guys were HILARIOUS, I loved every moment of their over-the-top douchiness and short fuse-reactions. BUT what I hated about them was that, quite simply, NOBODY called them out on their douchiness, and that made it unbearable to watch. Everyone in Ponyville kept acting like, yeah, these guys weren't just being totally unreasonable and it really was the ponies' fault that they weren't enjoying themselves. I'm sorry, but, no, they're just jerks. Really bucking big jerks! But everyone in Ponyville kept blaming themselves, and I hate, hate, HATED THAT!!! It's like a white person studying the antebellum period and the Civil War and blaming themselves personally for slavery in the U.S. That's stupid and doesn't help anyone, and that's exactly what I wanted to keep screaming at every single pony in Ponyville during this episode.

 

(3) "Brotherhooves Social": Now for the most part, this episode really resonated with me, seeing as I'm a BBBFF myself. That said, it's got issues. Not terrible issues for the most part, but the overarching plot didn't thrill me. Don't get me wrong, I love Peter New and his Big Dragintosh performance was hysterical, but I would've liked it if more of the episode was like the last five phenomenal minutes. It still could've been funny, it just didn't need to be quite as funny as it was trying to be.

 

The Characters

 

The Mane 6

 

Twilight: Interestingly enough, this season was not quite as Twilight heavy as some of the more recent seasons have been, and I think that's because it was in a more stable place where she didn't have to be front and center quite so often. It was very Twilight heavy at the start and finish, but in between she only had a few episodes where she featured, and some others where she was a supporting character. Overall, though, she had a very strong season. It was kind of nice seeing her not quite as stressed as she's been in Season 3 and Season 4; she seemed more mature, more at peace with herself and confident in her abilities as a leader, and I liked that a lot. She's the still the same book-loving goof we've always known who still freaks out about things she shouldn't, but she's also older and more experienced and it really showed this season. She spent the whole season growing into her role of Princess of Friendship, getting used to her new castle, and just letting life go on for her and her friends, and it's been great seeing her lead them in finding their place in the world and also taking a new student in Starlight Glimmer under her wing. Strong season overall, Twilight, I liked you in it very much.

 

Applejack: When she wasn't serving as the strongest and most mature supporting character of the Mane 6, Applejack had a phenomenal Season 5 in the episodes in which she featured, especially in the second half of the season. None of her starring roles really had the problem of her getting lost in the crowd, as has been the case in the past, and this helped her really, really shine when she was featured, especially in "The Mane Attraction" when she got to reconnect with Rara. When she wasn't one of the main characters of an episode, AJ was busy proving yet again why she's Twilight's right-hand mare of the bunch, because she's so mature, helping, levelheaded, practical, etc. She does what she needs to do for her friends, family, and Equestria, and that's pretty much AJ in a nutshell and what we got to see this season: simple in her wants and needs, certainly not flawless, but a very wonderful character all the same when she owns who she is.

 

Rarity: Very strangely, there were 3 episodes in the middle of the season, IN A ROW, in which Rarity was THE star of the episode (although AJ did feature a tad more prominently in "Made in Manehattan"). That's just so unusual that I thought it deserved being mentioned. Anyways, Rarity had a fine, fine season. She didn't have quite as many supporting roles as Applejack did (because really, what pony ever has as many as AJ?), but when she starred in an episode, she was on her A-game. Unlike AJ, this season saw quite a few changes for Rarity, the biggest being her opening a new boutique in Canterlot, and it was nice seeing her live out a dream like that. Besides that, while she was still the drama queen we've always loved, she, like many of the main cast, seemed very mature and stable as well. When her friends or Equestria needed helping, she just did it in her own way. Again, she certainly wasn't flawless, but not in a way that made you scratch your head, and more often than not when she did feature, we got to see Rarity's fabulous features and strengths on full display. Solid season for her, and I can't wait for what Season 6 has in store for her now that she's got a new unicorn friend to pal around with and make considerably more stylish.

 

Fluttershy: Aside from "Scaremaster," which felt more like an older Fluttershy episode, Fluttershy, in her handful of other featured appearances, was interestingly enough taking on a role of quiet teacher, which I really liked. She set Discord straight at the Grand Galloping Gala, and helped open up Twilight's eyes and see and learn what she needed to in order to resolve the conflict between the Hooffields and McColts. It's a side of her we haven't really gotten to see much before, but I really liked it; it shows that she's not just there to be cute and kind, but that in her own unique way she can take charge and lead others down the path they need to take when she has to. She's always had this quiet strength, but maybe it just comes out more easily now now that she's more confident in herself and doing what she has to do when she has to do it. Overall, even though she didn't have very many starring roles this season, Fluttershy had a very good season all the same.

 

Rainbow Dash: If I had to sum up Rainbow Dash's Season 5 in one word, I'd choose "Acceptance." This season was ALL about, for her, finally showing the fruits of accepting that she's not in control of everything in her life. Life takes unexpected directions, sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worst, but either way we can't always do anything about it and need to rely on our friends and their good judgment in those instances. RD's always struggled with accepting things if they're not the way she wants them, but this season she really grew out of that. "Tanks for the Memories" was a good start in which both Tank and her friends helped her accept that her little tortoise buddy wasn't always going to be around for her since he needed to hibernate (though there were obviously more than a few allusions to death in that message), "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" saw Dash accept a friend back into her life she started out not wanting anything to do with, and in "Rarity Investigates," she learned how to trust Rarity, pretty much her polar opposite, with helping her get out of a jam she couldn't get herself out of. This was a very mature Dash we got to see, overall, and I really, really liked what they did with her character this season.

 

Pinkie Pie: If there's any character who barely seems to change from season to season, it's Pinkie Pie. And trust me, that's a good thing, it really is. She's just one of these characters who really should stay the same, for the most part, it's really for the better. That's not to say she's not mature or anything, oh no, she can definitely help solve problems in her own unique way when she has to. But for the most part, her season was mostly just her loving life as always and helping others do the same, and that's good, because that's Pinkie Pie and just what she does. She's the best cheerleader the Mane 6 have because, if another member of the group comes up with a good idea or action, she's usually the first one to get on board with it, she just tends to have a good sense for these things. All in all, while I wouldn't say this season had a quintessential Pinkie Pie episode like previous seasons have, Pinkie still had a super solid season overall, and I have no complaints with how it went for her.

 

 

Spike: It's very, very weird to say that Spike had a really good season when he only had one episode really in which he was the main character, but, well, he really did. Not that there was anything terribly different about him, but the few times Spike showed up (most prominently in the season finale), his best traits as Twilight's loyal baby dragon assistant were on full display. He was loyal, he was helpful in the advice he gave and actions he took, and he was by Twilight's side all the way. There wasn't any making him unnecessarily incompetent for the sake of the plot (and no, his actions in "Princess Spike" are perfectly forgivable given the circumstances), no OOC episodes for him. It wasn't a terribly Spike-heavy season, he usually was there for comedic relief, but when he did feature, he was great.

 

 

CMC: Oh boy, the CMC. Well, this season, while featuring them about as often as MLP seasons do, will always live on in our hearts and memories for what happened in their last episode. It's wonderful that they got their cutie marks this season, all at once, when the magic of cutie marks was such a prominent theme of the overarching season's storyline. Besides that, it was just a wonderful moment in and of itself and I don't think the writers could've handled it better. It was very unexpected, but when it happened, it just felt right, like this was the right time to happen. Their couple of episodes before that one, closing out their three-episode arc with Luna and showing them help a full-grown stallion discover what his cutie mark meant, set up "Crusaders of the Lost Mark," very nicely, and the closure was only heightened by their reconciling with Diamond Tiara and pointing her in a better direction. Overall, for the CMC, they had a wonderful season, and I can't wait to see what life after getting their cutie marks has in store for the lovable trio.

 

 

Supporting Characters: As with Season 4, there's way too many new and recurring supporting characters to cover them all, BUT I will do my best to highlight the high points (and low points) of the most important or prominent supporting characters of the season.

 

First, let's cover where the show REALLY dropped the ball with the supporting characters, because it's quite possibly the biggest flaw of Season 5. Princess Celestia. DEAR BUCKING LORD, did she get the shaft!!! THIS felt wrong in every sense of the word, and for very good reason. Not only is Nicole Oliver a wonderful VA who has a great command of the role, but more importantly, this is just a character who cannot be ignored like this. She is the ruler of Equestria, raises the sun, and Twilight's bucking mentor!!! And yet, her biggest appearance was at the Grand Galloping Gala, THAT'S IT!!! She spoke in maybe two episodes total, and in both cases it was just for laughs or lighthearted moments, not because she was actually guiding anyone! This is just unacceptable, UNACCEPTABLE! It's like if Gandalf never showed up in LOTR after being established as such an important mentor to Frodo, or if Dumbledore got ignored in a Harry Potter book. She's just too important to both the setting and the main characters, and her absence was felt! The show should not be going out of its way to ignore Celestia when it doesn't have to, and the writers need to rectify this next season. She needs to have an episode of her own, it's a long time coming; Luna and Cadance have both featured more than her at this point, and that is just absurd. We need a look at how she rules, heck, even just an idea of what a typical day is like for her or how she helps guide other ponies besides Twilight even. But enough is enough; there have been over 100 episodes of MLP, and we've still never had one starring Princess Celestia. THAT IS JUST WRONG, and needs to be fixed as soon as possible, and in my mind, it is no doubt the biggest flaw and failure of Season 5.

 

Moving on to the other two princesses, they had very good seasons by comparison. Cadance's one feature really came when her pregnancy was announced, but that was a big bucking deal and the show treated it very nicely. As for Luna, she had a wonderful starring role in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" which saw her confronting some buried, deep-seated guilt and overcoming her dark past once and for all. I loved every minute of that, but again, it's somewhat sullied in hindsight by how her sister was completely ignored by comparison (even if Luna is still my Best Princess). Besides that, she gave the CMC some very solid advice in closing out her arc with them, and that was really cool to see as well. Overall, she easily had the best season of all three of the alicorn princesses (besides Twilight, of course).

 

While Discord didn't have quite the important character-development season he had last season, he still had a solid season overall. "Make New Friends But Keep Discord" was about as good an opening episode as one could possibly have hoped for from him, and I really hope we get to see more of the Smooze. While "What About Discord?" was still my least favorite episode of the season, that doesn't mean that Discord wasn't enjoyable, it was just an odd episode overall. Still, not a whole lot was happening with our favorite draconequus this season, certainly not as much as last season, but that's not a bad thing. One should never be spoiled with too much Discord, it would only cheapen how special his moments are supposed to be.

 

Like Cadance, Shining Armor really only showed up to announce she was pregnant, but that was a fun bit to see all the same, especially when he got to see Twilight's reproduction of his old room. I'd still like to see more of him, but at least this season he wasn't completely dwarfed by Cadance like he was last season in terms of amount of appearances.

 

The Apple Family had quite the exceptional season, though they've consistently been a strong element of the show since Season 5. Between AJ being AJ and Apple Bloom getting her cutie mark, we had blatant recognition from Applejack of their parents' deaths short of flat out saying they're dead, Big McIntosh finally getting a starring role in which he got to both learn a lesson but also teach Apple Bloom one and grow closer to her as a big brother in the process, and all of them going on a wild family trip to spend Hearth's Warming with the Pies. It's nice that this family is consistently so much fun to follow, heck, they're probably the most recognizable aspect of Ponyville for all bronies at this point, and I very much enjoyed watching them, as always, this season.

 

Besides Tank in "Tanks for the Memories" and Gummy having some amazing moments (one in particular in "Slice of Life") the Mane 6 pets, sadly, didn't feature much, like last season. That didn't bum me out too badly, but I would like to see more of them in the future again; I know they're just pets, but they're a pretty fun bunch themselves, and it'd be nice seeing an episode exploring what they mean to their owners.

 

Some of the recurring supporting characters had solid appearances, more so than last season. The Wonderbolts had a nice turn in "Rarity Investigates," especially from what we got to see of Soarin' and Spitfire (as well as meeting Spitfire's mom), Zecora turned up now and then, and others kinda just chilled in the background. Diamond Tiara probably had the most notable season of any recurring supporting character, given that she's finally taking a path towards becoming a nicer pony who genuinely tries to help others out because it's the right thing to do, and that was very nice to see (maybe we'll even get an episode starring her and Silver Spoon in the future, who knows?!). Cranky marrying Matilda was a pretty big deal as well, though more so because it was in "Slice of Life," which was just amazing in every single which way possible. And Gilda herself had a nice return, and it was a blast getting to see a nicer side out of her, maybe she'll get to turn up more in the future as well.

 

Like last season, this was quite a season for one-shot supporting characters as well. The ponies in Starlight's village, Troubleshoes, the yaks, Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Moondancer, Sassy Saddles, the whole Pie Family, the Hooffields and McColts, and a whole ton of other ponies around Ponyville and Equestria were a blast to watch, not to mention many of them have the potential of becoming recurring characters to a certain extent. My favorite would probably have to be Countess Colorartura/Rara, because I'm sorry, but she was a wonderful new character to get to meet. Lena Hall turned in a great performance for her, both in her singing and voice acting, and more importantly the way she fit into Applejack's character worked great for me and I would just love to see more of this character in the future. But all of these characters were a joy to watch and it never ceases to amaze me how many new characters DHX is able to come up with, and I can only hope we get to see more of some of them at least in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Background Characters:

 

The season for our beloved background characters can be summed up in three words: "Slice of Life." I mean, my gosh, what more is there to say besides that? I mean, yeah, they were there, they were all over the place and had some fun bits throughout the season. But the piece de resistance came in Episode 9, the 100th episode of MLP, and gosh dang it, what a joy that was to watch. I've made it no secret that that was my favorite episode of the season, and for entirely fanboyish reasons of which I am not ashamed. I mean, it starred Derpy Hooves for crying out loud and it shipped her with the Doctor, HOW COULD I NOT LOVE THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THIS SEASON?!?! I ranted plenty enough in my review of that episode of what made that episode in particular so special for the background characters, but suffice it to say that this season, more than any other season, it was apparent that DHX extends affection for the fans of the show through their background characters. Oh sure, they love 'em too, I'm sure, but they know as well as we do that these obscure characters first started getting attention because the fans themselves started noticing them and coming up with art, stories, and personalities of them. These are the characters that we as a fandom have fleshed out, and DHX did well in showing how much they appreciate our love and support of the show by showing them love in return and featuring them in an episode just for us. I'd love to still see more episodes featuring them to different extents in the future, but for now, this was wonderful and good enough. The background characters were just as much a part of Ponyville and Equestria as ever, I love 'em for it, especially my Best Pony, Derpy Hooves, and I love DHX for showing how much they care about us through them. Thank you, DHX, thank you so much for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aesthetic Quality

 

Animation

 

While it's getting harder and harder for DHX to push the boundaries on what they can do as far as improving their already phenomenal animation for the show, there were a few areas where I thought notable improvements were made, namely with the ponies themselves. Most notably, there seemed to be a very wide variety of characters this season, both among the supporting and background characters, and I think that can be most attributed to some experimentation DHX did with the ponies body sizes and body types as well as their facial expressions. It really helped make the world of Equestria even more rich than it already was and I hope we continue to see changes like that in Season 6. Overall, DHX's animation delivered at the exceptionally high levels we've come to expect from them.

 

Comedy

 

Compared to last season, I will say that this season might not have been quite the same laugh riot that that season was. That said, there was still plenty of great humor throughout the season, and some episodes were entirely just silly (heck, "The One Where Pinkie Knows" was 95% just plain goofiness, no lesson really whatsoever, and the other 5% was the revelation that Shining Armor and Cadance are going to have a foal). I will say that, as serious as some of these episodes could get, the writers still managed to seamlessly weave humor into the episodes in healthy doses, there didn't ever seem to be a case where there was too much or too little humor in an episode, the level of humor always seemed to match an episode's tone. And I think that balance itself is probably the greatest quality of the humor and comedy this season and is to be praised; it illustrates what a command DHX's writing crew has at this point over the comedy of this show and just how they good they are at not just writing it but also knowing when to place it in episodes. Overall, there were as many laughs this season as I could have wanted or hoped for, and I appreciate the show for always tickling my funny bone.

 

Songs

 

Daniel Ingram had another phenomenal season of music in store for us, what a surprise. I guess that really should go without saying at this point. Compared to last season, there didn't seem to be quite as much variety in the styles of music (which is weird to say since I can't quite put my hoof on why that is), but the music itself always delivered (aside from maybe "Sisterhood," that one didn't have to be played up for yucks at the end I didn't think). Overall, however, the entire season's soundtrack was a wonderful addition to MLP's already extensive overall soundtrack, and I look forward to listening to many of these songs over and over again.

 

Top 3 Season 5 Songs

 

(1) "The Magic Inside": Well this one goes without saying, doesn't it? Lena Hall absolutely NAILED it out of the park with this incredible piece, and there's a very good reason that this is the song from this season which Daniel Ingram chose to submit to the Daytime Emmy's. What can't I say about this song and its sequence? It's powerful, emotional, heartwarming, a gigantic shoutout to the fandom and a giant statement from the show of just how meaningful it can be and how serious its writers take this world and its characters. Granted Lena Hall kinda has an unfair advantage considering she's a Tony-award winning Broadway actress, but I don't bucking care because this piece is so lovely and she put her heart into it, it wasn't just a job for her. Ingram came up with the perfect song for her, and she took care of the rest, and we as bronies all profited just getting to experience such a powerful song in this show from a new character in her debut episode, of all things. To think that we have a song like this in the show this season really helps one put into perspective just how much MLP has taken off since Season 1; I can probably count on my hands how many children's animated shows would ever have a song of this quality and emotional power like this in them, and 5 years ago MLP certainly wouldn't have been one of those shows. My, how far this show has come, and I commend Daniel and DHX for just going all out with this one, and of course Lena Hall for the incredible performance.

 

 

(2) "We'll Make Our Mark": Like "The Magic Inside," "We'll Make Our Mark" (specifically the reprise at the end) was also very emotionally powerful, but for very different reasons. "The Magic Inside" was carried by how great the music was as well as Lena Hall's stellar performance, and for that it beats this one out. However, "We'll Make Our Mark" was terribly powerful too all the same, the biggest reason being that, well, it capped off five seasons worth of stories from the Cutie Mark Crusaders (and it even flashbacked on some of their earlier escapades). It was just one of those moments where the show closed out a long, ongoing storyline in the most perfect way possible, and I have to give credit to all the songs in "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" for doing very much the same, they were very well-placed, great tunes for the episode, and all played their part in marking the end of the CMC's quest for their cutie marks, but this one at the end especially. For that reason, it's definitely the second best song of the season.

 

(3) "Friends Are Always There For You": Like "We'll Make Our Mark," "Friends Are Always There For You" capped off a storyline as well, that being all of Season 5's overarching storyline. The song itself is actually fairly standard for Mane 6 (or rather, Mane 7) ensemble pieces at this point, but that's not to say it wasn't executed well, and that's really why it makes this list. Yes, the end of the finale was rushed as was Starlight Glimmer's redemption, but this sequence was very, very good all the same, most notably the second half of the song number. When they all gathered in Ponyville with the rest of the townsponies, that's really when the song won me over, especially that closing shot of all of them just staring at the viewers. It just seemed like a very nice way to close the season, with all of Ponyville celebrating, not just the main characters, and it seemed to be DHX's way of silently saying that they understand how much we love all of these characters, not just the stars, but this entire world they've made. So yeah, the sequence itself is really what made this song great, not so much the music alone, but it's still overall a very lovely piece.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

"In Our Town": This song did not make it into my top 3 because the music itself is fairly repetitive, by design, of course. That said, it's a phenomenal song, namely, a phenomenal villain song (though it's not a very traditional villain song). What makes it so phenomenal is that it's very unique, namely in the content itself. The Dazzles' songs in Rainbow Rocks were great because the music was great, not so much because the songs themselves were so villainous. This song, however, is downright sinister, and its sinister in a way you rarely ever see in a children's cartoon, with a smile on its face. You've got Starlight Glimmer espousing her twisted utopian vision in song of a world without cutie marks along with the ponies she's roped into her enterprise, and taking cues from nationalist WWII tunes, this song is all about spotting what's wrong beneath the cheery veneer of the surface. Possibly MLP's best villain song to date (though "This Day Aria" is hard to beat, so I'm not entirely sure), it's certainly the show's best villain song since that one, and it's quite spectacular that Daniel Ingram even had the notion to write it.

 

"The Rules of Rarity": This song gets an honorable mention for just being classic Rarity, right in the same tradition as songs like "The Art of the Dress" and "Becoming Popular." The instrumentals in Rarity songs are almost always few, light and cheery, and that's certainly no different here. It's multiple reprises serve the storytelling in the episode well, and Kazumi Evans singing is as always pure joy to listen to.

 

"I'll Fly": "I'll Fly" almost didn't get a mention here since, well, I don't like the reason it's sung. Rainbow Dash is singing all about knowingly bucking up the very seasons themselves for all of Ponyville just out of her desire to not lose spending time with her tortoise for a few months, and to her, that's a good enough excuse. I really enjoyed "Tanks for the Memories," don't get me wrong, I really, really loved that episode's message, but this song itself might have been better served if it was a little more over-the-top goofy villain in its feel, something like "You're a Mean One, Mister Grinch." As is, it's kind of uncomfortable that it has such an upbeat tune when Rainbow Dash is singing about knowingly doing the wrong thing. It's like the song is trying to convince the audience to take RD's side cause she's "AWESOME!" and "RADICAL!" That said, it still gets an honorable mention simply because Ashleigh Ball's RD singing voice is something we don't get to hear enough in the show, and this song is a perfect reminder that we really should hear RD sing more often. Yeah it's not quite as lovely as her AJ singing voice, but she makes the most out of RD's gravelly voice for musical numbers when she has to. For that reason alone, it definitely deserves a shout out.

 

The Season Finale

 

Surprisingly enough, there's actually not that much to cover in the season finale. Why? Well, its plot centers around time travel and it doesn't have that many characters, which makes for a very minimalist episode in which not that much actually happens. That's not a bad thing, no, not at all, in fact the episodes were executed very well. In my honest opinion, this was in many ways an ideal time travel episode. Plenty of time is given for the time travel scenario to play out (in this case, a time travel scenario where the past is being altered in order to affect the future), we see the effects of the altered timeline itself (multiple times), and it's resolved at the end so that the present is unaffected. The pacing up until the end was actually great, and the fact that there were so few main characters helped as well. Really the only characters that actually mattered here were Twilight, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer. That said, it's not perfect either, but in ways which I think are forgivable, even if they should be called out.

 

So let's get the time travel out of the way to start things off. The altered timelines were a whole lot of fun to see, but simultaneously depressing since, well, everything got progressively worse as the episodes went on. Besides the last one shown, I think the most disturbing one for me was actually the first one with King Sombra, simply because we actually SAW him enslave the minds, bodies, and souls of the Crystal Ponies. That was disturbing to the extreme, even more so than the Changeling timeline, though that one did have very disturbing implications considering Changelings imprison and feed on ponies. Perhaps even more bleak than that however was the final timeline, which went places I never honestly thought this show would go. We saw an Equestria that was simply nothing but a bleak, dead wasteland in which there was just no life whatsoever, and the effect of that wasn't just disturbing, but moving as well. Just considering a timeline where such a beautiful land would take such a horrible turn for the worst is something I don't think any viewer liked to see, and really put into perspective just what was at stake in an episode that, really, was fairly low key, considering there were only three major characters involved and all that Starlight kept doing was preventing Rainbow Dash from winning her race in Cloudsdale as a filly. I adored Nightmare Moon's timeline just because she is terribly cheesy and in a weird way kind of adorable in her over-the-top villainous behavior. I mean, don't get me wrong, the idea of her banishing Celestia to the moon is pretty disturbing too, as is the idea of everlasting night, but the ponies actually seemed better off in her timeline than in either Chrysalis's or Sombra's timelines. My biggest critique of the time travel and alternate timelines was that there really should've been maybe one less than there were. I loved the first two because they helped introduce Twilight and Spike to what exactly was going on (Zecora's explanation of time as a stream was particularly awesome), but Nightmare Moon's didn't really serve much purpose other than working Nightmare Moon in there (because, well, she's amazing, but still, it took up at least five minutes). More time ties into my next critique concerning Starlight Glimmer.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, Starlight Glimmer had, for the most part, a fantastic return. She showed what a powerful opponent she could be, was very intelligent in her actions and playing a really long game in her plotting, and relentless. That said, two things didn't work with her. First, she didn't believe Twilight when she showed her the worst alternate timeline that this is where her meddling with time would lead Equestria, which tells me two things: (1) she clearly doesn't know jack about Twilight and her friends, which, while not unusual in this universe, is still ridiculous since they're national bucking heroes, and (2) she didn't consider the consequences that her meddling in time could have beyond breaking up Twilight's group of friends, which seems out of character for someone who was so intelligent for the most part in her actions, despite, obviously, her unhinged and reckless behavior. My second critique is with her redemption. I like the idea of the redemption itself, even if what led her to hate cutie marks was a tad weak, and I very much look forward to seeing what they can do with her now that she's joined the Mane 6. But it needed at least 5 more minutes of screen time there for it to be more believable. I like Twilight talking things out at the end with Starlight, but when they get back to the present, she needed to be more conflicted, not just, "OK, I'm ready to be good now." She clearly still has a long ways to go in learning about friendship, and I look forward to seeing that next season, but that really should've been highlighted a bit more.

 

Twilight and Spike were really great here, honestly, it was probably their best showing together since "The Crystal Empire." They worked off of each other, figured things out, and just made a great team through and through. At the same time, you got to see how all of these alternate timelines personally hurt both of them, and neither was unnecessarily incompetent. Overall, I loved that the final episodes revolved around both of them, the episodes would've felt too cluttered if the entire Mane 6 came along. Twilight assuming the role of mentor for Starlight is also an interesting proposition and something I look forward to watching next season as both of them continue to evolve.

 

So overall, I think my favorite element in these episodes wasn't so much the episodes themselves, but the new doors they opened for the show going forward. The episodes themselves, while not flawless, worked fine, but it's really exciting thinking about where the show goes from here. All in all, this was a fine way to close the season and set up Season 6. In fact, for the first time in two seasons, I'd say we had a season finale that wouldn't have worked as a show finale, and that was by design. It highlights that MLP is solidly here to stay for at least one more season, and I appreciate that the writers were in a position to make a finale like that. A fitting way to end Season 5, indeed, most fitting.

 

 

Concluding Remarks

 

Overall, Season 5 was probably the most thematically and philosophically ambitious of any of the seasons to date. It's not my favorite season of MLP, but it stands apart on its own as a very unique season shaped most by its themes rather than the story or characters, and it was nice seeing such ambition from the writers. At the same time, DHX continued to show their love and appreciation of the brony community now more than ever, most notably in "Slice of Life," which was, by far, my favorite episode of the entire season. Seeing the Mane 6 functioning with more direction in their lives, especially Twilight, made this whole season feel far more calm and stable than the last two, while still showing us plenty of new and important developments to characters and the overarching story. All in all, the entire season was a blast, even if it did get a bit unnecessarily dragged on on account of the hiatus, and I had a great time following it with each and every one of you. Until next season everypony, this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic Season 5 exit*