Friendship is Magic 1: The fantasy elements are strong, which I appreciate. (3/5)

Friendship is Magic 2: Quaint and nostalgic, albeit quite aged. (3/5)

Ticket Master: Also very quaint, but in the wrong ways this time. (2/5)

Applebuck Season: Incredibly basic, even for early Friendship is Magic standards. (2/5)

Griffon the Brush Off: Gilda is rather over the top, but it's otherwise fine. (3/5)

Boast Busters: Trixie is a lot of fun. Snip and Snails, however... (3/5)

Dragonshy: The dragon talking was rather lame, but Fluttershy shines through. (3/5)

Look Before You Sleep: Rarijack is a cliche pair, but it is indeed fun. (4/5)

Bridle Gossip: Zecora is to be celebrated, but this moral is quite antiquated. (3/5)

Swarm of the Century: Pinkie Pied Piper shines like... bronze? It's good overall. (3/5)

Winter Wrap Up: Winter Wrap Up's song is the series' first certified banger. (4/5)

Call of the Cutie: The first CMC episode, and it proves to be... alright. (3/5)

Fall Weather Friends: The autumn visuals, lore, and dynamic make this episode great. (4/5)

Suited for Success: It's easy to relate to Rarity here sometimes. (3/5)

Feeling Pinkie Keen: Congratulations! Your TWILIGHT evolved into RAPIDASH! (3/5)

Sonic Rainboom: Rainbow Dash's signature move proves to be a showstopper. (4/5)

Stare Master: Crusaders episode two! And an unflattering one as well. (2/5)

The Show Stoppers: Crusaders episode three! Better, but still nothing sensational. (3/5)

A Dog and Pony Show: The humor is on point, though the moral is peculiar. (4/5)

Green Isn't Your Color: Very mundane, to the point that Pinkie is the highlight. (3/5)

Over a Barrel: "This apple cider ain't shit!" The writers after one sip: (3/5)

A Bird in the Hoof: Another Fluttershy episode that proves to be unmemorable. (2/5)

Cutie Mark Chronicles: Crusaders episode four! This one makes me want more! (4/5)

Owl's Well That Ends Well: Spike is on the short end of the episode stick. (2/5)

Party of One: Andrea Libman proves her acting chops to be golden. (4/5)

The Best Night Ever: A lot of fun and very climactic. No villain needed! (5/5)

OVERALL: The very first season of Friendship is Magic is as a whole, quite an enjoyable experience, even after all these years. It is showing its age in some areas, but it holds up reasonably well all the same. The key thing that still makes Season One enjoyable to revisit is the overall cozy and whimsical atmosphere.

Our Mane Six are a lovely group of characters. Each one is a fairly well-worn archetype, but they all get a few extra quirks to make them just a bit more interesting. Twilight is a classic bookworm, but she is also has quite a sassy and fiery attitude at times. Rainbow Dash is a cocky athlete type  eager to compete and show off, but she is just as eager to help someone in need and uplift others. Rarity is a posh fashionista, but she is an artist above all else, valuing her craft more than the accolades they bring. Even Pinkie Pie, the wildcard party animal of the group, is prone to depressive episodes if she feels undervalued. It is easy to take all of this for granted nowadays, but even in spite of the fact that the Mane Six are all standard archetypes from young girls' entertainment, they truly do go the extra mile to ensure that they were solid characters as well. Back in 2010, this was nearly unheard of.

The fantasy elements are surprisingly strong as well. There is of course the standard magic spells, but there are many different creatures from Greek mythology as early as the first episode, on top of interesting original creations like the Ursas or Parasprites. The locations such as Canterlot, the Everfree Forest, Froggy Bottom Bog, Cloudsdale, among others, all lend a sense of wonder and scale to the setting. Nightmare Moon's backstory also gives the setting a history right from the start, and a distant, mythical mentor figure in Celestia. This is another thing that is easy to take for granted; the worlds in young girls' entertainment were seldom so well defined.

Friendship is Magic's key theme is of course friendship, which Twilight learns all about along the way. This of course leads to many morals being told; good ones overall, but more often than not, very basic ones. Embracing each other's differences, not getting too caught up in competition, the importance of compromise; nothing here is new, but the framing usually manages to carry these morals reasonably well. The music is much the same; often very catchy and just the right amount of campy, but nonetheless a bit basic.

Season One is overall a good time and stands on its own fairly well, but there is no denying how aged it can feel. The letters to Celestia were charming once or twice, but also something that made the episodes feel a bit too rigid, if not outright patronizing. Some morals, such as Bridle Gossip and A Dog and Pony Show are timeless, but also so universally understood that they feel redundant. The cast of characters is overall great, but nothing especially unique or revolutionary. The Season as a whole takes a bit of time to get going; the Premiere is a decent introduction, but the truly good episodes take a while to arrive.

When it all comes together, Season One is overall quite an enjoyable watch, even if a bit too basic at times. With the added benefit of hindsight, it can also be enjoyable to watch Friendship is Magic back when it had no real lore baggage or expectations to meet. There is an appealing sense of purity to this Season, and while it is rather dated, if not outright archaic at its worst times, it can still prove to be a good time overall, and an excellent subversion of the idea that young girl's entertainment is destined to be rubbish.

Return of Harmony 1: John De Lancie portrays the first truly fantastic MLP villain. (5/5)

Return of Harmony 2: The resolution is rushed, but the episode is still enjoyable. (4/5)

Lesson Zero: The episode-ending letter trope is cleverly jettisoned at last. (4/5)

Luna Eclipsed: Luna's first proper appearance, and she proves to be iconic. (4/5)

Sisterhooves Special: A very sweet episode overall. The sisterly love is palpable. (4/5)

Cutie Pox: Amusing, and Zecora is always neat, but otherwise forgettable. (3/5)

May the Best Pet Win: A tortoise of all things... makes a great Dash companion. (4/5)

Mysterious Mare Do Well: Utterly mean spirited, entirely at Rainbow Dash's expense. (1/5)

Sweet and Elite: A good showing for Rarity, but not among her best. (3/5)

Secret of My Excess: Hm. Godzilla: Minus One is more colorful than I anticipated. (3/5)

Hearth's Warming Eve: Making lore a stageplay is a fun way to worldbuild. (4/5)

Family Appreciation Day: Nice lesson, but Granny Smith was indeed insufferable. (2/5)

Baby Cakes: Pinkie being so baffling that toddlers don't like her... bleh. (2/5)

The Last Roundup: Doesn't leave much of an impression, Pinkie Promise aside. (3/5)

Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000: Economics 101, featuring pastel ponies and musical numbers! (4/5)

Read it and Weep: A decent comedy episode, but a poor Dash episode. (2/5)

Hearts and Hooves Day: Somewhat amusing, but the gag gets old quickly. (3/5)

A Friend in Deed: The Smile Song alone forgives every sin of Baby Cakes. (4/5)

Putting Your Hoof Down: When episodes have bad pacing, it sends me racing! (2/5)

It's About Time: Time Travel episodes are always fun, this one especially. (4/5)

Dragon Quest: Spike gets another dismal episode, sadly. Better luck next time. (2/5)

Hurricane Fluttershy: Rainbow Dash's coaching is surprisingly compelling. (4/5)

Ponyville Confidential: The moral is quite intriguing, especially for a Crusaders episode. (5/5)

MMMystery of the Friendship Express: A fun idea and presentation, but way too much filler. (3/5)

A Canterlot Wedding 1: This Day Aria is a Disney Renaissance tier tune. (4/5)

A Canterlot Wedding 2: Nice conclusion, but I'm sorry; Chrysalis is lame. (3/5)

OVERALL: Season One is overall good, but Season Two went out of its way to improve on every aspect of this series that it possibly could, to fairly good success. Most of the strengths from before are still present, and many issues are addressed, leading to highs that are higher than ever.

Season Two comes roaring through the gate with Return of Harmony, which introduced an absolutely fantastic villain in Discord. Nightmare Moon had her backstory to carry her, but her overall personality left a bit to be desired. Discord makes up for it with flying colors, courtesy of John De Lancie's wonderfully chaotic performance. The next handful of episodes are great as well; Lesson Zero does away with the letters to Celestia cliche in a wonderfully clever way. Luna is reintroduced in Luna Eclipsed, and given an iconic, charming personality. Rarity, Applejack, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all shine brightly in Sisterhooves Social.

The primary issue with the season rears its ugly head once Mysterious Mare Do Well comes along. it is the first episode of the series that I would call truly bad. Not only that, but the season as a whole gets noticeably more rocky from there until the very end. Each individual episode has its own separate issues, and even so, not all of the mid-season episodes were bad at all. That said, Mare Do Well was a big enough snag to curb its momentum, and episode like Family Appreciation Day, Baby Cakes, Read it and Weep, and Dragon Quest are big enough drags on the season to make the midpoint feel like a slog at times. It does however save face reasonably well toward the end with Ponyville Confidential, Hurricane Fluttershy, and Canterlot Wedding. In general, the highs this season reaches are all the higher than what Season One offered most of the time, now that all of the characters are better defined, and the writing and humor are tightened up.

Season Two is evidently the one I have the least to say about, but not necessarily in a bad way. It is overall a step up from Season One, and even though the middle can drag a bit, it only becomes truly insufferable once. In general, it seemed to have traded consistency for higher peaks of quality, which seemed to work in its favor in the end. By and large, Season Two lacks any of the aged feeling that Season One has, and manages to push My Little Pony to new heights.

Celestial Advice: Celestia laughs at your suffering. (4/5)

All Bottled Up: The literal bottle is a bit too on the nose. (3/5)

A Flurry of Emotions: Flurry is a strange lore addition. She's also absolutely precious. (4/5)

Rock Solid Friendship: This episode rocked... until Pinkie ruined it. (2/5)

Fluttershy Leans In: Is this a first draft? (2/5)

Forever Filly: Quite heartwarming. Also, I totally called Rarity using that stick. (4/5)

Parental Gildeance: Can Bow and Windy just adopt Scootaloo please? (5/5)

Hard to Say Anything: It's hard for me to say anything nice here! OOOH! (2/5)

Honest Apple: Strawberry Sunrise's scene is among the worst in this show. (1/5)

A Royal Problem: Good, but I overall dislike Celestia and Luna's characterization here. (3/5)

Not Asking for Trouble: Yak STILL not fun! Pink Pony fun, at least. (3/5)

Discordant Harmony: Normie-cord is next level cursed. Good on Fluttershy! (4/5)

The Perfect Pear:  What's in a name? That which we call an apple. (4/5)

Fame and Misfortune: As far as I'm concerned, this episode does not exist. (1/5)

Triple Threat: Rock Solid Friendship, except Spike ruins it this time. (3/5)

Campfire Tales: An excellent Sleepless in Ponyville sequel, warts and all. (4/5)

To Change a Changeling: Pharynx is an edgy boy... understandably, considering what surrounds him. (4/5)

Daring Done: It's quite anti-historian of Yearling to destroy cultural monuments... (3/5)

It Isn't the Mane Thing About You: Punk Rarity is not something I knew I needed. (4/5)

A Health of Information: Zecora's comeback was fun overall, and Fluttershy shines too. (4/5)

Marks and Recreation: The Crusaders' story still manages to grow organically this far. (4/5)

Once Upon A Zeppelin: The emotional core of this story is nearly unmatched. (5/5)

Secrets and Pies: Who put The One Where Pinkie Knows in Season 7? (3/5)

Uncommon Bond: Starlight's friend circle makes for a great time. (4/5)

Shadow Play 1: Twilight forgot to do the side quests before the boss. (3/5)

Shadow Play 2: A great conflict clogged with far too many characters. (4/5)

OVERALL: It's no secret that Friendship is Magic has been a series of ups, downs, and all-arounds, but Season 6 specifically was a poor showing overall. Season 7 however, does a quite good job of saving face for it, and being an overall great season on its own. In many ways, it is what Season 6 should have been.

One of the first things that stuck out to me about this season was its curious lack of a two-part premiere. This is not necessarily a bad thing; if anything, the lack of gimmicks or tricks that are usually introduced in premieres allowed a lot of room for more small-scale, intimate stories this time around. Even so, there is no denying that the two-parters were a good way of building excitement and momentum for what followed. This may perhaps be a strange thing to get hung up on, but it represents my main issue with Season Seven: it really takes a while to find its footing. The first half definitely has good episodes; even a few great ones, but none were what I would truly call extraordinary. It's difficult to put into exact words what each Season feels like, but I believe most will agree that every season of FiM has a more or less unique vibe, and the premieres did a good job of establishing them. Season Seven does not get a unique voice of its own until later on because of this.

Once it does find its footing though, Season Seven has a multitude of very sweet, heartfelt stories. Even some of its weaker episodes usually had a throughline to prevent them from being intolerable, with only two real exceptions. Familial bonds are the main theme of quite a few episodes this season, and most of them are wonderful. Parental Glideance is yet another spectacular Scootalove episode. A Flurry of Emotions is pure innocent and adorable fun. Campfire Tales is both a visually and thematically interesting episode with lovely interactions with the CMC and their older sisters. Once Upon a Zeppelin has among the strongest emotional cores in the series, and though I am not as over the moon about it as many others are, there is no denying just how tragic and heartfelt The Perfect Pear is.

Starlight Glimmer appears a bit more as well, and her portrayals are mostly great this time around. I even enjoyed her role in Shadow Play quite a lot. It would have been easy for her to feel forced, but the fact that she is the one who believed Stygian could change, in contrast with Starswirl's iron-fisted condemnation made for a great conflict. Starlights role in general seemed up in the air during Season 6, but here she is comfortably a major supporting character, and an overall good one as well.

In the latter half of this season, there is quite a bit of focus on folklore and fables focusing on the Pillars as well, which I am overall mixed on. The stories themselves are totally fine; even intriguing at their best. The simple fact that they turn out not to be fables however, badly hurts them for me. It takes away their sense of wonder and mystery, and degrades the tales to simple backstory for the new group of characters they are hyping up. I do appreciate the idea of putting more effort into worldbuilding and lore, and while it didn't fall flat on its face, I do think that it failed to truly make Equestria that much more interesting. If anything, the fact that all of these fables turned out to be true, and the fact that we see every single one of these legendary figures in the flesh makes the world feel more claustrophobic and rigid. All five of the stories told this season were connected, and every single one of the Pillars lived in the same time frame. Their presence in general makes Shadow Play seem far too bloated; Starswirl was the only truly necessary Pillar in practice. Regardless, while I am less than fond of how the tales were executed, they do at least add a feeling of adventure to Season Seven, which adds a fair amount of excitement to an otherwise low-key season.

Nonetheless, Season Seven is a welcome return to form after the bitter taste Season Six left. Not only is the mean-spirited tone gone within the first episode, but it also defines Starlight's character significantly better, and tells much more sweet and enriching stories with the Mane Six. The lore additions, while questionable overall, did at least pave the way for new and unique stories to be told as well. When it all comes together, Season Seven becomes a lovely watch with the perfect balance of adventure and tenderness.

Now that the Equestria Girls' cinematic run is over, it instead will spend the rest of its run in shorts. It is a little bit disappointing, but it is nonetheless nice that EQG got a good chunk of content after the films were finished. Tales of Canterlot High specifically is technically three shorts, but this is one overarching story, so I decided to contain them all in this one section.

Dance Magic: A good episode overall. The Human counterparts to the mane Six tend to fall to the wayside a bit more than their original counterparts in this subfranchise, so it is nice to see one of them get their own spotlight feature. Rarity being the star of this one, of course, and she is overall a likeable character. She does not hold a candle to her original counterpart however, and despite the overall story being enjoyable, this can put a damper on what is otherwise a nice special overall. The appearance of the Shadowbolts is a nice touch nonetheless, and I welcome them becoming more prominent, considering their poor showing in Friendship Games. This one isn't half bad.

Movie Magic: This... is a Scooby-Doo episode. Everyone who has seen this short immediately made this parallel. This isn't a bad thing per se, especially for a series as straightforward and innocent as My Little Pony, but there is a reason the Scooby-Doo formula just got so stale. Mysteries are simply not very compelling when the culprit is obvious, and if you are even remotely wise to the typical red herrings and tricks of a typical Scooby-Doo episode, you will crack the code of this short immediately. Not an out and out awful experience, but one that is too predictable for its own good.

MIrror Magic: Starlight Glimmer appearing in Equestria Girls was bound to happen eventually, and this is the time when it does indeed happen. Her interactions with Sunset are nice, but I do think they parallel each other a bit too much at times. Starlight is more or less the same character as Sunset; a magical prodigy with a spotty past who has since changed their ways, but can still have a fiery temper. There are those little differences and nuances of course, but they fill the same general mold nonetheless. Juniper is unfortunately a dismal villain however, and her climactic showdown was pitiful.

This trio of shorts are a bit of a rollercoaster, not unlike their parent series. When they come together, they make a decent time overall, but it is difficult to not compare them to Rainbow Rocks and Legend of Everfree. The only edge this special has is that it allows the Humane Six to shine a bit more on their own, and Starlight's appearance in the third part. Outside of those, this is overall a fairly bog-standard Equestria Girls installment, complete with the inherently worse cast than the original series and an utterly pitiful villain.

3/5

𝓐 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓶 𝓲𝓼 𝓛𝓸𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰
𝓘 𝓢𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓴 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓥𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓪𝓲𝓷
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓮

This film was a long time coming. Perhaps a bit too long, all things considered, but that is a separate subject. To get straight to the point, the first and only "proper" Friendship is Magic movie manages to capture a grand, cinematic scope as well as one could hope, but everything else suffers for it. Perhaps this would not bug a casual viewer only just getting into the franchise, but by the time I saw this movie, I was not that. I was a viewer who had seen 7 whole seasons of this series beforehand.

As far as the actual content of the movie, it is about as trite and paint-by-numbers as it could get away with. Twilight is the only member of the Mane Six to have any major contribution to the story; possibly Pinkie and Rainbow Dash as well, if we are to be generous. Even so, an entire half of our main characters are mere wallflowers who are subject to the whims of the plot. Twilight is the one who organizes the entire festival at the beginning and end of the film, and does most of the work in planning their next destination or actions; she is the overall emotional core of the movie. Rainbow Dash helps the pirates get their act together. Pinkie helps Skystar get out of her funk. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack are of no consequence.

The plot itself is utterly derivative, copying the worst trends of 2010's animated films. The barrage of celebrity roles. The quippy antagonists. The super edgy antagonist balanced by their bumbling sidekick. The unashamed toy commercial. The third-act misunderstanding. The third act misunderstanding immediately getting resolved with no impact. The big bad betraying their underlings with no justification. The death fake-out. The dance party ending. The lame joke-cut-to-credits. Every single one of these is on display with no hint of irony or wit. Friendship is Magic has never been totally original or subversive, but it always managed to avoid the worst cliches of other western animation, for the most part. The movie, however, seems to relish in them.

The additional characters leave me with little to say. The Hippogriffs are a fine lore addition, but nothing particularly interesting. The Storm King is not the worst villain in this series, but the attempts to make him intimidating and like a massive threat ring hollow. Tempest is as typical of a edgy anti-villain as one could get. Capper and the Klungetown residents are utterly ghoulish character designs that I could happily never see again.

I tried my best to simply see the movie for what it was on its own, but that is simply not possible for me, as a viewer of the series up to now. Why on Earth is Celestia asking for the help of the cowardly Hippogriffs, when the dragons, changelings, and Discord would almost certainly be more than willing to help? Why is Twilight trying to steal the Hippogriff's orb to transform everyone, when again, dragons and changelings exist, and are explicit allies with the ponies? Why is Starlight not helping at all? Why is Twilight all of a sudden skeptical of her competence as a Princess, now that Season 4 is long over? The answer to all of these questions is that the movie was co-produced alongside the show, thus, was somewhat behind in terms of details. This is somewhat forgivable, but surely there could have been more communication between the two groups to keep things just a little bit more consistent.

The music in the movie is overall fine, but most of the songs reek of Oscar Bait. Rainbow especially sounds decent, being performed by Sia of all artists, but it still feels rather trite. Everything else is fine, but all of the songs lack the charm that FiM's typical songs do, trading their signature style for grandeur. None are bad by any fair metric, but none are impressive either, in spite of their greater scope. The animation is overall good from a technical standpoint, but the style is utterly lacking. On top of the aforementioned rubbish character designs, the designs for the ponies feel rather uncanny. The Princesses look lovely, but the regular ponies suffer. The setpieces tend to be overall fine, but none wowed me. Many were outright unpleasant; intentionally in most cases, but it is odd for a My Little Pony movie to be so murky and dour all the same.

When it all comes together; the unpleasant visuals, lame new characters alongside inconsequential old ones, ridiculously trite story with every cliche in the book, large-scale but unremarkable songs, and the complete absence or outright regression of storytelling elements from the show create a bizarre, tonal mismatch with the series it is a part of. I have seen worse movies; far worse, actually. With how long this was awaited however, and with how poorly it turned out in the end, I cannot justify giving this movie a remotely good score. It completely fails to play to Friendship is Magic's strengths, instead opting to just be another, par for the course 2010's animated feature. I am glad that others have gleamed something from this movie, but I found it to be a sorry end to Friendship is Magic's cinematic legacy.

1/5

School Daze 1: Characters. Characters everywhere. (2/5)

School Daze 2: I didn't know that my grandfather was in this show! (3/5)

The Maud Couple: Technically, this episode can't rock, as it is digital media. (3/5)

Fake It Til You Make It: Fluttershy evidently skipped her antipsychotics. (2/5)

Grannies Gone Wild: The title nearly gave me a stroke. Thankfully, it's innocent. (4/5)

Surf and/or Turf: Wow, Mount Eris looks nice when in actual color! (5/5)

Horse Play: Celestia seems awfully petty and vindictive these days... (2/5)

The Parent Map: Really nice, but the repetition hurts the emotional payoff. (4/5)

Non-Compete Clause: The autumn visuals, lore, and... oh. Nevermind! This episode blows. (1/5)

The Break-Up Break Down: Good for a misunderstanding episode, but still a bit bland. (3/5)

Molt Down: A surprisingly tasteful and effective puberty metaphor. Well done! (4/5)

Marks for Effort: So... why do the Crusaders care about this school? (2/5)

The Mean 6: Amusing, albeit a waste of an intriguing idea. (3/5)

A Matter of Principals: So... why does Discord care about this school? (2/5)

The Hearth's Warming Club: Hearth's Warming episodes are guaranteed to be good. (4/5)

Friendship University: Flim and Flam are just annoying now. Starswirl also exists. (2/5)

The End in Friend: One pony is an ambitious showsman, and the other is... (2/5)

Yakity-Sax: I remember when Pinkie liked to see us smile. (1/5)

Road to Friendship: Bringing Trixie back was among the best late season decisions. (4/5)

The Washouts: Good episode, somewhat disappointing Wonderbolts Academy sequel. (3/5)

A Rockhoof and a Hard Place: Ah, a Pillar episode! Nice, but too little too late. (3/5)

What Lies Beneath: The Students are no Mane Six, but they stand tall. (4/5)

Sounds of Silence: Middling episode hard carried by a nice, albeit overextended song. (3/5)

Father Knows Beast: I appreciate the theme, but this was still a waste. (2/5)

School Raze 1: "I've learned that it's okay to count on friends!" Bruh. (2/5)

School Raze 2: Celestia really just sent a child to hell, hm? (2/5)

OVERALL: This season has drawn a lot of ire, and it is not difficult to see why. Before we get into that however, I will preface this by saying that Season 8 was in a frankly unenviable position from the word go, simply because of how much baggage it had to account for, on top of any new ideas it had. This excuse only goes so far, but it does make me a touch more forgiving of Season Eight's missteps, due to how daunting of a task it likely was to write for it.

Regardless, the elephant in the room is of course, the School of Friendship itself. This entire series is basically one elongated toy commercial, but this is the only merchandising plug that I found especially difficult to stomach; even moreso than Equestria Girls. The primary reason is simply because, not only does it go against core themes of the show, it is just poorly handled as a whole. It practice, it is not completely awful, but the School never manages to truly justify its existence.

The one silver lining it has is that it allows for the many races of Equestria to finally congregate; there truly were many different sentient species in this setting by now, so this offered an opportunity for them to come together. The Student Six are the byproduct of this, and though they are not particularly fantastic characters, they end up being likeable enough by the season's end. The idea of Twilight extending friendship to not only ponies, but to all of the creatures in Equestria is at the very least, an interesting idea. It just relies on the peculiar notion that other species inherently do not value friendship, and must be taught to do so in a school. A more charitable interpretation is that friendship is in every creatures' blood; the Tree of Harmony says this itself,it is just that they have all just lost their way to greed or corruption.

There are many questions and concerns that the school raises; almost all of which are justified. The school is nonetheless my secondary issue with this season. My personal largest gripe was the sheer bloat that the series had accumulated in such short time.

Friendship is Magic always had a large ensemble of characters, but Season Eight pushed this to dire levels. Not only were the Student Six introduced, but the races and lore from the movie had to be acknowledged as well. If that was not bad enough, the Pillars had only appeared in the Season Seven finale so far as well, and for how much the previous season hyped them up, it was impossible to truly just ignore them. Combine all of this with the Mane Six, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Starlight and all of her friends, the Princesses, Discord, and a number of other important side-characters, the overall cast had become horrifically clogged in record time. Yet despite all of this cast congestion, there is still a remarkable amount of character regression on the Mane Six's part, and even on other series veterans as well. Non-Compete Clause, Yakity-Sax, The End in Friend, and A Matter of Principals are all egregious examples of this, leading to treading of old ground when there truly is no room for it. Not only is it just irritating to see episodes and conflicts recycled, it also wastes what precious time this season does have to do new and unique things.

In general, there is a feeling of creative malaise that permeates throughout the whole season because of this. The downpour of characters on top of the regression for older characters feels as though they were stretching as hard as they could to wring out more episodes for this show, to say nothing of its new ideas such as the Kirin. To its credit, the semi-serialized format primarily tells smaller, self-contained storylines, allowing for the focus to switch to any character at any given time without any continuity baggage. Still, the spotlight splitting from so many different characters so often leads to the entire season feeling unfocused; even the Friendship School as a focal point feels dubious at times.

There are indeed good ideas and episodes this season, as is the case with any of the others. Surf and/or Turf especially deserves credit for making me warm up to the movie's lore additions, but Sounds of Silence, Grannies Gone Wild, Molt Down, Hearth's Warming Club, and What Lies Beneath are all worthwhile as well. All of these provide great conflicts and stories, but such is par for the course at this point, so it is honestly rather faint praise. Nonetheless, Season Eight deserves this silver lining, at the very least.

Season Eight is another contender for worst season of the show, but for all of its issues, I still prefer it over Season Six. The Student Six are better realized than Starlight Glimmer was back then, and the overall unpleasant, cynical tone of Season 6 is almost entirely gone. It is unfortunately replaced by a rather uninspired and ironic one, but at the very least, this Season does not feel actively malicious. That is a not a high bar to clear however, and ultimately, the bewildering School of Friendship, the blatant recycling of older conflicts, the show starting to buckle under the weight of its lore and characters, and just the overall lack of truly great episodes leave Season 8 in a precarious spot.

𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓜𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼
𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓲𝓮𝓰𝓮 𝓫𝔂 𝓦𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻
𝓤𝓷𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮

Tales of Canterlot High was a cute story overall, but it did suffer from being a touch too basic. Forgotten Friendship is a substantial improvement thankfully, as it has much more compelling drama and pacing overall.

Sunset is the heart and soul of this special, as usual for Equestria Girls content. The special explodes onto the scene with We've Come So Far, easily among my favorite Equestria Girls songs. Not only does it sound incredible, it is just such a heartfelt ode to Sunset's character development over the course of this series. Seeing her return to Equestria was an absolute treat as well, and her reconciliation with Celestia was the perfect cherry on top. It truly is a pleasure to see Sunset's old mentor acknowledge how far Sunset has come since the first film. Even Twilight's geeking out in the old library is a cute touch; the humor of this special in general is on-point.

The primary conflict is, of course, the Humane Six losing their memories of Sunset and how she has changed, leaving her on her own to deal with the issue. This special takes a page from its parent shows playbook and allows Trixie to take the spotlight alongside Sunset, and it works wonderfully. Trixie has been something of a major side-character in Equestria Girls already, so giving her a prominent role was a great idea. Besides, Trixie in general is just fun to watch.

The one issue with this special is Wallflower Brush. Though not the worst villain in the franchise, she is a bit of a poor one for how little she does until the climax, and how sudden her reformation is. I do appreciate the theme they were approaching with her; a lack of meanness on your part does not constitute kindness, as apathy can be nearly as cruel. The climax itself is overall a good showing for Sunset, but the immediate change in attitude on Wallflower's part after the Memory Stone is destroyed is jarring. It is nonetheless nice how Sunset offers her a helping hand to her after the fact, but that is only becoming increasingly common in this franchise period, so even that loses its impact a bit.

The special is a success all the same, thanks to Sunset's great characterization, a good jolt of humor on Trixie's part, and the overall moral of the story being a good one. Not everything lands perfectly, but this special is overall a great time, and stands as among the best Equestria Girls content this subfranchise has to offer.

4/5

𝓤𝓹, 𝓓𝓸𝔀𝓷, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓐𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭
𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂 𝓸𝓯 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓾𝓷
𝓨𝓮𝓽, 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓽𝓮 𝓓𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓪

For all of Equestria Girls' merits, its primary cast is among its weakest elements. The Humane Six as a whole are not anywhere near as developed or well-defined as Sunset Shimmer and Sci-Twi, much less their pony counterparts. Thankfully, this special has Applejack and Rarity in starring roles. Rarity had already had the spotlight once admittedly, but anything is an improvement for these girls.

Rarity and Applejack's conflict itself is perfectly serviceable, albeit unextraordinary. Rarijack episodes in general tend to be on the simpler side, and this special is no exception. It is a bit better than usual, thanks to Applejack's envy toward Vignette Valencia playing a part, in addition to Valencia goading Rarity on as the special progresses. Valencia herself is... frankly, rubbish. Even for My Little Pony standards, she is dismal. The climactic finale being the Humane Seven combining their powers to... destroy her phone was incredibly silly in general.

This special ends up being fine as a whole... but the key issue is, I have basically only covered half of it. Of every special thus far, this one has the most filler by far. I did not do exact math, but I am willing to bet that about half of it is just random antics that do not forward the story at all. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing; on the contrary, most of what makes Equestria Girls fun is the overall smaller scale stories that allow for simple and fun things like Sci-Twi and Sunset playing a ring-tossing game. Even the Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy sideplot on the rollercoasters or Pinkie's deputy job are entertaining. There is no denying that they are clumsily spliced into the main conflict however, which can make the pacing seem off. These sideplots would have been better served as more random shorts, similar to the Summertime Shorts from earlier on.

Rollercoaster of Friendship ends up being perfectly palatable when all is said and done, but the main story taking a backseat as often as it does, on top of the primary conflict being on the simpler side in general make this one a definite step back from Forgotten Friendship. There is no part of this special I consider insufferable at all, nor even particularly bad. It is just a bit of a mess, albeit a colorful and fun one.

2/5

𝓞𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓵𝔂 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓼
𝓓𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓣𝓸𝓸
𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓲𝓼 𝓖𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓘𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓭

After Rarity and Applejack get to shine in Rollercoaster of Friendship, this special is dedicated to Sci-Twi and Rainbow Dash. Both have had a good amount of screen time themselves, but Sunset taking a bit more of a backseat so the others can shine is something I am on board with overall.

The special taking place on a cruise gives it a fun vibe, and thankfully, the filler in this special is significantly lessened. The first parts can be a little bit of a drag, with Rainbow Dash insisting on finding a villain to fight. Rainbow Dash in general gets a bit obnoxious here, but All Good comes in at just the right time to get the story moving again. The song is not top-tier, but it is very catchy, and a perfect fit for a summertime party. There is thankfully not a villain to bemoan, as the primary source of conflict is the storm caused by the remnants of the Storm King's magic. I am grateful for this, as not only would a villain have been awfully forced in this situation, it allows the characters to breathe as well, free of any toxic influences. Except for perhaps Applejack; poor girl. Jokes aside, this does Spring Breakdown a world of good.

The elephant in the room is that, of course, Sci-Twi and Human Rainbow Dash enter a portal to Equestria, and get to spend time with Princess Twilight and Spike for a while. As neat as it is to see Sci-Twi and Twilight interact, this is another thing that would have been better served as a short, as much of the time spent in Equestria is just conversing with Twilight while the Humane Seven wait on their friends to save them. It really is fun to watch, but it's tough to find it enjoyable when Sunset's friends' lives are actively at stake.

The climax of this special actually is good this time. Perhaps not Welcome to the Show level, but each of the Humane Seven using their abilities to stage a rescue operation was fun to watch, especially after most of past transformations ended with rainbow lasers. This truly was a good way to use the mandated "super forms" of the Humane Seven in a creative way. The actual ending is a touch rushed, but it is nice to see an actual proper climax to one of these specials again.

Spring Breakdown is still not what I would call Forgotten Friendship level, but it manages to be good in its own right. There are still lingering filler issues, such as the entire Equestria segment or anything to do with Rarity's love subplot. The plot in general is a bit silly as well, all things considered. None of it is outwardly distracting however, and the story proper manages to be a good time.

3/5

𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻
𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓓𝓪𝔂 𝓒𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓟𝓪𝓼𝓼 𝓜𝓮 𝓑𝔂
𝓣𝓻𝓾𝓮 𝓞𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵

Similar to its parent series, these Equestria Girls specials have been rather inconsistent. I am pleased to say that this one is very much a return to form in almost every way. The premise alone is fascinating, being a Truman Show-esque groundhog day loop. The actual mechanics of how said time loop works are... hairy, to say the least of it. If you are willing to look the other way though, this is actually a great way to frame the moral of this story.

This is another Sunset Shimmer focused special, but she is accompanied by Pinkie Pie in her first major role as well. These two make for a great duo, and though Pinkie can be rather obnoxious, much of the special is focused on this anyhow, as Sunset loses sight of how important Pinkie is to her, in spite of her antics. This revelation happens well before the climax, and it is nice to see their relationship mended with time to spare. The Dazzlings even manage to make an appearance, although they are a red herring more than anything. It would have been nice for them to get a whole new song, but it is at least nice to see them again after all this time. They are also not subjected to a redemption arc either. There is nothing inherently wrong with these of course, but the Dazzlings in general have always been too merciless and cruel to qualify for it, I would say.

The real villains this time are still nothing I would call extraordinary, but the conflict they provide is an interesting one. Their perfectionism is what leads them to use the Time Twirler and constantly restart their performance, causing the time-loop. Sunset uses these many restarts to eventually reconcile  with Pinkie however, after their first few attempts to attend the PostCrush concert get ruined. It is nice to see Sunset finally learning to make the most of her time with Pinkie, and Sunset passes this lesson on to K-Lo and Su-Z nicely.  K-Lo and Su-Z learning to not let 'perfect be the enemy of good' as a whole comes across as a much more flattering attempt at the Fame And Misfortune story. This special is more about life experiences not needing to be flawless, and that they are always invaluable at your friends side.

Sunset's Backstage Pass is a great time in general, thanks to its inherently interesting time-loop gimmick, Sunset's character arc, and the great climax. Not many Equestria Girls stories can boast that final point either, so while I would not call this special sensational, it manages to end on a high note indeed.

4/5

𝓜𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓑𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓢𝓲𝔃𝓮 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓼
𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮 𝓟𝓸𝓸𝓻, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓕𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓕𝓾𝓷
𝓙𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓪𝔂

This special is interesting, as it is not one ongoing story, but a series of shorts with a holiday theme. Not only that; it is also the final bit of Equestria Girls content as well, which is rather jarring, but truth be told... I don't think this was a bad way to end the franchise. Perhaps not remotely ideal, but I would still call this a decent sendoff.

The actual final short, O Come All Ye Squashful, can barely be called a finale at all. In general, there is a lot more that could have been done with this cast of characters, and the Equestria Girls setting. That said, I think a simple, heartwarming series of shorts about the holiday season is appealingly straightforward. The core appeal of this series is the characters, and while none get an epic sendoff, I think the next best thing was some sweet, small-scale episodes like these. Holiday specials in general are a great way to focus on a group of characters showing their traditions and bonds.

The individual shorts are separate enough for me to have independent thoughts, but not significant enough for me to really give a score. Instead of trying to frame this in some cumbersome way, I will just say that they are all some level of cute or endearing. Except for perhaps Cider Louse Fools, which has the least holiday imagery, and even more Flim and Flam appearances. Even that may not be bothersome for others though, so I cannot outright say that it is awful as a whole. All of them are, at worst, some level of endearing and fun.

It wouldn't be fair of me to bemoan Holiday Unwrapped for what it is not. I would have indeed liked some grand, emotional sendoff for Equestria Girls, but looking at this strictly for what it is, it is a wholesome set of mini-stories with the timeless Christmas aesthetics and atmosphere. Letting the Humane Seven just breathe and have some time to themselves, with no Equestrian magic to hijack their events, makes this special an overall festive and enjoyable watch. It is appealingly back-to-basics, especially with its parent show only becoming more bloated as time went on. There are a thousand different things that Equestria Girls could have done in its run, and there are indeed a few other things I would have liked to see before its rather unceremonious conclusion, especially since Fluttershy never truly got a special to herself. Nonetheless, Equestria Girls defied its basic premise's inherent lameness, and blossomed into something worthwhile in the end.

3/5

𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓲𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓮𝓻
𝓐 𝓢𝓹𝓻𝓪𝔀𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓖𝓲𝓯𝓽 𝓔𝔁𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮
𝓢𝓸 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮, 𝓢𝓸 𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽

Friendship is Magic is certainly no stranger to Holiday specials, considering its long run. It has generally succeeded with these specials as well, and Best Gift Ever is no exception. The extended length is of course what makes this special stand out, but by no means is that its only merit.

Best Gift Ever's story is markedly traditional, especially compared to Hearth's Warming Eve and its story of the origins of Hearth's Warming as a holiday. This is not a bad thing however; the idea of most winter holidays being about friends and family above all else is a tale as old as Christmas itself, but it is timeless all the same. My Little Pony's basic theme is all about this kind of thing, which allows for a great variety of wholesome character interactions. Each character is split up for the gift exchange, and it makes for great fun when some group together. Rainbow Dash and Discord especially work wonderfully as a team, and seeing Twilight with her extended family is always lovely. The stories with the lone characters are great as well, with Rarity's quest to find her lost package, or Pinkie's journey to the far northern reindeer's home. Each character is allowed to do their own thing, which keeps the special overall very fun and dynamic.

Most of the character's stories are great, but there are two unfortunate outliers: Applejack and Fluttershy's, and Spike's. The former is hurt by yet another Flim and Flam appearance, when their gimmick has long run its course, and the latter by its overall insignificance, and the return of Spike's crush on Rarity.Neither of these are truly awful; Flim and Flam selling rubbish toys and artificially increasing demand for them is indeed something they would do, and putting a stop to that scheme is in line with the holiday spirit. It is nonetheless hurt by the fact that this is the seventh time they have appeared to haggle our heroes, and they have not grown or changed at all in that time.

Spike's subplot is overall tolerable as well, but it can't help but feel at least slightly regressive, considering the fact that Spike had become much more of a genuine friend for Rarity since the early seasons. Him going to such lengths as to trade names with Fluttershy, when him getting a gift for Rainbow Dash would have made for a great plot itself, is just maddening. Spike's crush on Rarity was among the least interesting aspects of his character, and seeing it grow from childhood crush to genuine friendship was a great improvement for both of them. These plot threads are by far the worst, but neither are truly bad, so it speaks to how lovely the rest are that these are at the bottom.

The only other issue I could think to bring up is Starlight's absence outside of her cameo with Trixie, but I appreciate the back to basics approach with it being the Mane Six, Shining Armor's Family, and Discord. Starlight has her own group of friends anyhow, which would most likely serve to clog up the runtime more. The pacing of this special was nearly perfect as is, so I think that bit of bloat was a necessary sacrifice. She is not bereft of Holiday episode appearances either, with Hearth's Warming Tail being another Hearth's Warming episode that I adored.

There is nothing truly revolutionary about the overall story of Best Gift Ever, but most Holiday specials in general tend to fit the same general mold. This one only needed to be wholesome and festive, and it has this in spades. In many ways, it feels somewhat like a good Season 2 episode, but in the best possible ways. No matter what, this special is a wonderful addition to Friendship is Magic's Holiday collection, and stands as a lovely story on its own.

4/5

𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓗𝓪𝓼 𝓛𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓗𝓾𝓮
𝓐 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓽𝔂
𝓐 𝓖𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓮𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓡𝓮𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

I am not coy about the fact that I strongly dislike the 2017 My Little Pony movie. It is not Godawful, but I can hardly wring out any enjoyment from it, ironic or sincere. It would not be a surprise for me to say that my expectations for Rainbow Roadtrip were reduced significantly thanks to this, but I am pleased to report that this special is a marked improvement. The only thing they truly have in common is the improved animation; just about everything else is different.

The animation and visuals specifically were striking in this special, especially compared to the Movie. It is not noticeably more technically advanced, but the actual art direction and color palate are wonderful. Much of the colors in the movie are muted due to the hopelessness of the town, but this is actually a significant plot point. There are no loathsome character designs either; the worst of them are very obvious recolors, which I will not defend. I will however, say that I prefer the recolors over the ghoulish Klungetown creatures. When the actual colors come back to the town, it is strikingly gorgeous as well.

The actual story of the special is appealingly modest. It centers around a festival that the Mane Six are invited to, bringing them to said town that has lost all of its color. The lion's share of the special is about the Mane Six splitting up and finding out the town's history and meeting all of its residents. The central theme is one of community bonds, and it is surprisingly compelling; in many ways, it is like a grander version of Made in Manehatten. Both focused on the small things an individual can do to better their community, and all of the ways the Mane Six help the residents of the town get their hope back is just... pleasant. Even quite relevant nowadays.

The new characters are not quite home runs, but all are charming in their own ways. Sunny is a very troubled but idealistic figure, hoping to bring his town back from the brink. Petunia is quite cute, but has a fairly limited role in the special. Kerfuffle, Moody, the Hoofingtons, Torque, and the Barrel Twins are all simple archetypes overall, but the way their lives and circumstances improve by the Mane Six's efforts are truly wonderful. Kerfuffle learns to express herself. Moody and the Hoofingtons bury the hatchet and combine their apricots and baking skills respectively to make apricot pies together. Torque learns to enjoy and take pride in her work. The twins learn to practice and work diligently to achieve their dreams.

When they all come together, they are at last able to bring color back to the town in the latest Rainbow Festival. The special makes a fine point of showing that most of the residents don't even believe in the festival any longer; most question if it even still exists. The whole metaphor of everything losing its color as a whole town sinks into despair is shockingly poignant, and seeing the residents coming together to breathe new life into the town as a community is very gratifying.

If I can give this special grief for anything, it is that Spike is arbitrarily left out. Not much is lost in the plot by his absence, but the core group does feel rather naked without him. There is also the issue of the recolored characters in the backgrounds, which can come across as sloppy. Finally, there is the very sudden proposal that Sunny gives to Petunia, after shying away from her the whole special. There is an obvious history implied with them, but we never get to see them interact prior to this, so it rings hollow.

Those niggles aside, Rainbow Roadtrip is everything I was hoping for in regards to a Friendship is Magic movie, even though this is technically not a movie at all. The Equestria Girls movies were enjoyable in their own right, albeit basically a separate franchise, and I have made my distaste for the 2017 film clear. This special, on the other hand, is simply a vibrant, wholesome story about the Mane Six restoring a town's luster through community building. The core of the story only seems to get more resonant with time; coupling this with the relaxed pacing, fun character interactions, and gorgeous visuals, it makes for among the absolute best specials in this Generation.

5/5

The Beginning of the End 1: Could someone please give Sombra a Snicker's bar? (2/5)

The Beginning of the End 2: Golly, this Grogar sure means business! Right...? (2/5)

Uprooted: Castle Sweet Castle 2: Store Brand Six Edition! (2/5)

Sparkle's Seven: A splendid tribute to the voice actors indeed! (5/5)

The Point of No Return: An anti-Amending Fences of sorts. It's fine. (3/5)

Common Ground: A treat for Oswalt, but I don't care about Quibble. (3/5)

She's All Yak: Yaks not fun! Yaks NEVER fun! YAKS GO AWAY FOREVER!!! (2/5)

Frenemies: Seeing our villains' personal quest is a ton of fun. (4/5)

Sweet and Smoky: Did we learn nothing from One Bad Apple? (2/5)

Going to Seed: Sorry, Applejack was totally in the right. Get to work. (2/5)

Student Counsel: Starlight seems less bored in her office nowadays, at least? (2/5)

The Last Crusade: I rather dislike Scootaloo's parents, but otherwise? This is decent. (3/5)

Between Dark and Dawn: I'm sorry, I just can't enjoy bratty Royal Sisters. (2/5)

The Last Laugh: They really made Weird Al boring, eh? Unbelievable. (2/5)

2, 4, 6, Greaaat: Generation Four gives one last "Fuck You" to Rainbow Dash. (1/5)

A Trivial Pursuit: Remember that breathing technique Cadance taught Twilight? I do. (1/5)

The Summer Sun Setback: Not quite Frenemies level, but these three are still fun. (3/5)

She Talks to Angel: Among the body-swap episodes I enjoy. Animal abuse aside... (4/5)

Dragon Dropped: Decent Spike sendoff and moral. Rubbish Rarity sendoff. (2/5)

A Horse Shoe In: All Bottled Up 2: Metaphor Free Edition! (3/5)

Daring Doubt: I understand the ire toward reformations now. Good lord. (1/5)

Growing Up Is Hard to Do: It's way too late in the series for this gimmick. (2/5)

The Big Mac Question: A great Saddle Row Review successor, and cute story overall. (4/5)

The Ending of the End 1: The Grogar twist alone ruins any chance this episode had. (2/5)

The Ending of the End 2: A decent spectacle, but far too fast and quite underwhelming. (2/5)

The Last Problem: In spite of everything, Friendship is Magic sticks the landing. (4/5)

OVERALL: Among every season of this show, Season Nine had a very special and profound responsibility. Having the final 26 episodes, it was tasked with giving all of its beloved characters and the show itself a proper sendoff. This was never going to be easy, considering the legacy that Friendship is Magic had built up to this point. I am pleased to say that, when all is said and done, The Last Problem manages to be a right and proper grand finale for the series. Season Nine as an actual final season however, I will rescind all tact and say it plainly: this was a sorry way to send off Generation Four.

This season truly does have a myriad of issues, but most come from a place of simple character regression. Very rarely is there a truly good appearance from any of our main characters, and this is made even worse by the fact that these are their final chances to shine. Episode like 2, 4, 6, Greaaat, Trivial Pursuit, and Dragon Dropped are all poor experiences in their own right, but since these are the final focus episodes for Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Rarity respectively, they only come across so much worse.  It is one thing to make small continuity mistakes, or to use a conflict relatively similar to a past one. it is another thing entirely to practically subvert the core values of your main characters for the sake of creating more conflicts. The worst episodes of Season 9 have this in spades. The presence of so many call-backs and Easter Eggs only makes it worse, as it makes it feel as though the series is being selective which details it finds important.

The aforementioned 2, 4, 6, Greaaat is a particularly egregious example of this. The primary conflict is that Rainbow Dash would rather not lead the cheer squad, as she seems to look down on cheering in general. There are quite a few callbacks to previous episodes; one of which being a unicorn with the same butterfly wings that Rarity had in Sonic Rainboom. Sonic Rainboom is also the episode where Rainbow Dash teaches Fluttershy how to cheer, with no ire toward the practice. Even ignoring this baffling oversight, Rainbow Dash's behavior in general is deplorable, even after five other episodes of her being humbled. This creative malaise from Season 8 is in full-force thanks to this kind of thing; possibly even more so.

Outside of the slice of life episodes, the seasonal arc ends up being poor as well. Beginning of the End does a decent job of setting Grogar up as a final boss of sorts, and it is nice for Sombra to get a 'proper' appearance after all this time. The trope of the final season of a show bringing back every major villain is perhaps a bit silly, but I think it fits Friendship is Magic very well overall. These villains have all had very finite screen time compared to our main cast, so getting a much larger dose of them is just plain fun, and a good way to cap off the show. That said, Sombra is immediately disposed of in the premiere once again, robbing us of the chance to see Sombra alongside the other villains. Beginning of the End does let Sombra do some neat things, namely destroying the Tree and Elements of Harmony and conquering the Crystal Empire, as well as Canterlot. He is not totally wasted per se, but his defeat is as comically fast as his victories, making the drama in the premiere not truly resonate.

This leaves Grogar and the Legion of Doom. I am pleased to say that the Legion of Doom's storyline was a decent one; Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow have a fun group dynamic. Frenemies was a lot of fun thanks to them, and they were the highlight of Summer Sun Setback. They aren't even half bad in Ending of the End either; it is just everything that surrounds them that ruins the episode. I do wish that they had stayed a touch more serious as villains, Tirek especially, but he is still fun to watch alongside Cozy and Chrysalis. Sombra being absent from the group, while Cozy of all people is allowed to stay will always sting nonetheless.

Finally, Grogar is inherently a gigantic can of worms; most likely the most controversial element of Season Nine. To begin with, Grogar is a lame villain up to the Discord reveal. His voice actor is good, but Grogar himself is all talk, no action. The most he ever does is pin the trio against a wall, and scold them for supposedly failing to retrieve the bewitching bell. Otherwise, all he does in run his mouth and look cool, like every other My Little Pony villain. One his identity is revealed however... I will not be evasive: the Discord twist is among the worst creative decisions that Generation Four had ever made. Not only does it waste a villain that many fans were eager to see for years and completely defuse the conflict he was setting up, it badly hurts yet another major character's development with Discord. The Ending of the End is single-handedly ruined by this, to say nothing of its other issues. It is as paint by numbers as season finales go, with the ruthlessly fast pacing, and anticlimactic villain defeats. Other things such as Canterlot being utterly destroyed and the Windigoes returning should be major events, but they seem to be brushed off just as quickly as they happen. The Pillars also prove to be useless here, making them among the most unnecessary major characters in this series. It all just rings hollow, as nothing has a chance to sink in, and the primary villain they were building up to turned out to be a red herring.

In spite of how rocky Season Nine was, and the series as a whole really, The Last Problem manages to be a mostly fantastic grand finale. The moral of life always changing, but friendship's value enduring all the same is a very poignant one, and an appropriate lesson to end the series with. The Mane Six's future designs are a bit questionable, and there are still some other things that would have been nice to see in the flash forward, such as an adult Flurry Heart. That said, it is nice that The Last Problem does not feel bogged down by any superfluous elements at all; it is purely a Mane Six episode. In general, the final episode is also free of the fake, superficial feeling of much of the season as well. The songs of the latter day seasons have all been fairly lackluster, but The Magic of Friendship Grows is as heartfelt and appropriate way to close the series out. The final shot of the show being the book from all the way back in Mare in the Moon finally closing is just so gratifying as well. The final episode's only issue is that is does not hit quite as hard as it could have, since the entire season preceding it turned out to be poor overall. This is not The Last Problem's fault specifically, but the entire show had just become a bit too stale and tainted for The Last Problem to land as well as it could have.

Season Nine has a multitude of issues that badly bring down the season as a whole, but the overall fun arc with the Legion of Doom, and especially The Last Problem ending the series as elegantly as it did prevent it from being an abject failure. Still, there is no getting around how many major, easily avoidable mistakes were made this late into the series, and how much time is misused as a whole because of this. This season was the first that officially put Generation Four on borrowed time, and it absolutely had to use this time wisely. It ultimately failed to do so, and while Friendship is Magic got a good enough conclusion overall, Season Nine failed to tie up many loose ends and give its individual characters appropriate send-offs. Much of it just rings hollow, and that's no way to end such an iconic series.

In the end, is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic a good show?

Perhaps a silly question for someone like me; the answer is self-evident, is it not? Well, despite my mere presence on this website, my fondness for many of its characters, and the countless hours I have spent on this franchise as a whole... I am not prepared to give a definitive yes to that question.

It's honestly quite tragic, because once in a while, in those special moments, the answer seems obvious. Moments like Rainbow Dash comforting and reassuring her honorary little sister out  of her insecurities over her inability to fly. Moments like Applejack putting on a simple stageplay to lift the spirits of a cynical, angry metropolitan population. Moments like Big Mac finally pouring his heart out to his little sister and reconciling with her, putting aside his perceived inadequacy. Moments like Twilight's extended family creating their own Northern Stars show to treasure forever. It is quite obvious, but it really should not go unsaid how utterly important these characters are to Friendship is Magic's success. Most are age-old archetypes, but each one offers just a little bit more than one would expect out of a show for the target demographic FiM aims for. Those little nuances and charms breathe new life into these characters we have truthfully  seen time and again, and send them soaring to new heights.

Everything about this series just feels so rich and alive. Characters are exaggerated and whimsical, but not without pathos or struggles. Locations are vibrant and colorful, with just the right amount of mystery and lore to feel compelling. The voice acting for hero and villain alike is done with the perfect amount of both silliness and sincerity. Vocal songs at their peak are almost as campy as they are heartfelt. The morals taught are often fundamental and widely understood, but most are worth teaching to Friendship is Magic's target demographic all the same. In spite of the franchise's merchandising mandate, very few elements feel forced or superficial. In the perfect moments, when everything works in harmony, you could almost be convinced that magic truly does exist, in the form of media. Many animated series have come out of the past two decades, but none have managed to capture this same wholesome, heartfelt tone quite the same way.

Alas, when looking at the series as a whole outside of these moments, things are not quite so simple.

For every Lesson Zero, there is a Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. For every Hearth's Warming Tale, a Newbie Dash. For every Once Upon a Zeppelin, an Honest Apple. Many shows have a dud episode here or there, and many more simply degrade with time. Friendship is Magic however has among the most bewildering peaks and valleys I have seen in Western animation. The overall quality of the show remains inconsistent from Nightmare Moon to Luster Dawn. The quantity of exceptionally poor episodes is palatable, but combining those with the mediocre or just tolerable episodes,  overall make for a blight on this series that it never manages to grow out of. I truly cannot stress enough how much of an issue this is, as not only does it prevent the series from ever gaining any true momentum, it also breaks the simple trust the viewer has in the show to not waste their time. This series is serialized, and so it has an unspoken obligation to at least respect continuity to a reasonable degree. Thus, every major continuity error and unexplained character regression is a point against the show for not paying attention to itself. The serialization also means that the pitfalls cannot be ignored so easily as well. it is one thing for an episode of Spongebob Squarepants to have a poor episode; they can most often just be skipped with no real loss, as that show is simply about comedy and gags. Friendship is Magic is a long, ongoing story that does not have this luxury. You cannot simply skip Newbie Dash, as it is the episode where Rainbow Dash becomes a Wonderbolt; one of the key developments the series was building up to from the start.

I do hate to sound so anal; I am not one to take a very small continuity error or a slight snarl in a character arc personally. The show is indeed serialized, but the lion's share of its content is the slice of life episodes, all of which allow for self-contained stories to happen. It is better that the show has a bit more breathing room with its smaller scale stories, as to not be bogged down with lore or too much of the previous episode's continuity baggage. This format also lends itself to the moral-teaching format as well, allowing for the morals to be framed in more creative and flexible ways. There does come a point where the show seems as if it is disrespecting my time however. Be it the time I spent watching a poor episode, or worse, the time I spent on a previous, truly good episode, by rendering it irrelevant in some capacity. Fallweather Friends is a great episode showcasing the rivalry between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and them learning to not take their competition so seriously as to hurt themselves or their friendship. Alas, their recklessly competitive spirit comes roaring back in Non-Compete Clause, so much so that it stands to endanger the new students of the Friendship School. Thus, not only is the time spent on Non-Compete Clause wasted for it being a rubbish episode, the time I spent on Fallweather Friends is also wasted for teaching a moral that the characters no longer abide by.

Thankfully, the good does indeed outweigh the bad by the end. It is especially remarkable that Friendship is Magic pulled this off with how much the merchandising crept into the series. Most of it is fairly obvious, but rarely does it feel especially obtrusive. Even when the toy commercials inevitably start, there is most often an effort to make them worth your time. I was not sold on Twilight's Castle from the Season 4 Finale. Twilight herself was not sold on it herself either though, and Castle Sweet Castle makes an effort to make it a true home for her after the Golden Oaks Library was destroyed. This episode remains among my favorites in Season Five because of this. Equestria Girls as a subfranchise managed to pull this off as well. The first movie was awfully trite and unashamed of being a doll commercial, but Rainbow Rocks and Legend of Everfree after it were were good enough to prove the subseries as worthy of existing, as well as many of the specials that released afterward. This is of course the most major example, but even things like Flurry Heart, the Crystal Ponies, or any number of grandiose locations never truly bugged me. The only merchandising part of the series I found unpalatable was the School of Friendship, but even it wasn't totally beyond saving. Not in concept at least.

The sheer number of characters was an inevitable byproduct of this, and the vast majority are a success, minor and major. The cast was indeed becoming congested by the end of the series' run, but I do think that Friendship is Magic deserves credit for keeping it at bay as long as it did. Even so, with the sheer number of characters competing for screentime, some inevitably fall by the wayside, and the cast as a whole suffers from being ill-defined at its worst moments. The series did indeed do a good job with most of its characters, but I do truly think it could have lived with less than it had by the end, or at the very least used them a bit more wisely.

The antagonistic characters specifically are also mostly a success. The minor antagonists provide more moral conflicts with the main characters in the slice of life episodes, and the major antagonists  make the beginnings and ends of most seasons exciting. The latter are something I initially took for granted; most major villains in this show are fairly one-note, but the grand scale and conflict these villains bring go a long way in selling Friendship is Magic's high fantasy setting. Most of the villains are some variety of ancient evil, and most are given some sort of explanation as to where they come from or how they came to be.  These things may seem insignificant, but it was not until Season Seven lacked a two-part premiere that I realized how important this could be, and how much momentum and excitement these two-parters and their villains can give a season in general. One could even argue that they were pivotal to Friendship is Magic's success.

I can praise and condemn the show for any number of things... but one thing it has over many of its peers, is a proper final season and ending. I have of course, extensively covered Season Nine's shortcomings, but this is one final thing about the show that was not to be taken for granted. Many of Friendship is Magic's peers were never given the chance to give their stories a proper climax, and even among those that were, many still failed to offer a worthwhile conclusion. Considering that, It is a wonder that The Last Problem closed the book on this franchise as gracefully as it did. Countless other cartoons have either gone on for eons with no end in sight, or become grotesque parodies of what they once were, only to be put out of their misery with no fanfare or mourning. Individual characters' final episodes were much more spotty, but the finale for the series as a whole is mostly a success; enough of a success to make the whole series feel worth it. It truly does speak to Friendship is Magic's merits that it managed to secure an actual ending; warts and all, it is the kind of soft landing that many other series would kill for, both animated and live action.

So perhaps My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is not an all-time great show after all... but maybe it scales a peak much more profound than that. Young girls entertainment had basically no legitimacy prior to Generation Four of My Little Pony, and it managed to be among the most far-reaching and beloved animated series of the 2010's. It does not have the writing quality and consistency of many of its peers, especially when compared to Cartoon Network's best shows from the 2010's, or other series such as Gravity Falls. It does however have an unmatched charm that holds up even to this day. It may sound like a backhanded compliment, but I don't believe the quality of the show itself is what gave Friendship is Magic the legacy that it did; not entirely. It truly is a case study of how far some simple charm, sincerity, and optimism can bring a work, especially in the dour times that we find ourselves in these past few decades. Something this wholesome and light-hearted can truly be invaluable to a weary soul, toy commercial or not.

In the end, My Little Pony: Friendship is indeed a great time, albeit one with many major asterisks. Those asterisks ultimately don't matter so much after all though, because Friendship is Magic offers something more than a typical good show ever could. Much like a true friend in our waking lives, we may be able to bemoan their quirks and flaws, but we would not give them for the world.