Wow, just... just wow. "Magical Mystery Cure" was one heck of a season finale, and it did not disappoint in the slightest! Not gonna lie, I'm feeling the liquid pride big time right now! Well, now that I've seen it, it's time to collect my thoughts about the whole of Season 3 in general. So, here it is everypony, my full review of Season 3 of MLP: FiM, including my thoughts on "Magical Mystery Cure". Enjoy!

 

The Story

 

Although the shortest season thus far, Season 3 proved to quite possibly be the most impressive of the seasons as far as story telling goes, especially for one particular reason: there were already 52 episodes prior to Season 3. That meant that DHX had to maintain accurate continuity and atmosphere in each episode to stay true to the plot and characters we've come to know and love based on 52 prior episodes, and let me tell ya, that is no easy feat, not in the slightest. Did DHX cave? Of course they didn't, not in the slightest! Instead, we got some of the best plot developments, whether in the main Twilight-centered story line or the stand alone episodes themselves, that we've ever seen in MLP, and frankly, I couldn't be happier with how they all turned out. Below are my top three favorite plot developments of Season 3, each wonderful in its own special way!

 

Top 3 Plot Developments:

 

(1) Scootalove: need I say more? OK, I will, just because it deserves all the praise it can get. I cannot count how many times I myself, or any other brony in the fandom, between Season's 2 and 3 were absolutely begging, flat-out BEGGING, DHX to give Scootaloo an episode. It was undeniably wrong that she hadn't had an episode as of yet, and would've been simply unacceptable if she hadn't gotten an episode this season, so of course DHX, in all its awesomeness, gave us a Scootaloo episode, because awesome people tend to do the right thing. But did they stop there, was DHX simply satisfied to give us JUST a Scootaloo episode? Far from it! Instead, what we got was one of the greatest and most affectionate shout-outs to the brony fandom since Derpy's cameos in Season's 1 and 2. While it certainly made sense within the story line, considering Scootaloo's always idolized Rainbow Dash, it still caught a lot of us off guard that in Scootaloo's very first episode, DHX was breaking out the Scootalove. The fraternal relationship of sisterly affection that has budded between her and Rainbow Dash is one of the greatest plot and character developments in the show period, and, in my book, the greatest addition to MLP canon of Season 3. Here's hoping we get to see more Scootalove in Season 4 (which it sounds like we will)!!!

 

(2) The Apple Family: prior to Season 3, thepotential plot developments that one has in Applejack's family had been sorely untapped, save for special exceptions such as the family reunion in the first episode and Cousin Braeburn in Appleloosa. Both DHX and bronies knew this, and so while the latter lobbied hard for some good new Apple Family developments on our forums, the former evidently listened and responded to our requests. Thus, I couldn't have been more thrilled when we got to see a number of canonical plot developments take place concerning the Apple Family throughout the season. First, we got an excellent new entry among the supporting characters in Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's new favorite cousin and frankly, a delightfully different type of supporting character. I mean really, who would've thought that one of the first Apple Family members whom we have really gotten to meet outside of the Ponyville bunch would have a Brooklyn accent of all things? But even that was trivial compared to the levels of awesome that we got in "Apple Family Reunion". This wasn't just an opportunity to meet and learn more about Applejack's family, this was also a fantastic chance to meet ponies from all over Equestria, and learn what little we could in a 22 minute episode about as many of them as possible, and ya know what, DHX, as usual, did a wonderful job illustrating all the diversity and different types of ponies in both the Apple Family and Equestria. Whether we see more of them in the future, I can't say, but this season I was quite satisfied with all the activities and goings on of the Apple Family that we got to bear witness to.

 

(3) The Crystal Empire: this was undoubtedly the coolest and most unique new location of the show revealed in Season 3 (and all around one of the best locations yet in the show in general), and it also is where some of the best plot developments of the season took place. The fantastic season opener started the season off on a great note, setting the pace for what we'd be getting in the rest of the season and adding quite a bit to what we know about Equestrian history and lore; in addition, the Mane 6's return to the Crystal Empire later in the season was a fantastic bit of continuity on DHX's part, and a wonderful chance for us to get to see more of the Empire in its fully blossoming, love-filled, crystally state, which we'd only seen a little of in the season opener. All in all, some very great plot developments took place at the Crystal Empire, and I look forward to seeing it again next season; perhaps we'll get to see the Equestrian Games themselves even!

 

 

Honorable Mentions

The return/redemption of Trixie/Discord: I couldn't conscientiously list these in my top three for two big reasons: (1) in their general execution, as far as plot developments go, they were extraordinarily similar, and (2) we have yet to see what really may come of these new developments, especially for Discord. While the latter especially was probably a far more important development for the whole of Equestria than any of my top 3 (except for maybe the Crystal Empire's return), as I said, we simply don't know yet what really will come out of this development. While both of these characters' return and redemption were quite awesome and handled with expert skill by DHX, the true fruits and sincerity of their redemption have yet to be tested, and I hope that we may at some point, either next season or even later, get to see that these two are truly redeemed and doing some really good things for Equestria. Until then, the long term consequences of these plot developments are up in the air, and so I can only honorably mention them as fantastic plot developments this season.

 

Alicorn Twilight: I'll talk a little more about this later in my review of the Season Finale at the end of the post, but for now, I'll just say this; I liked this development, I really did, and I actually also believe that it will most likely be permanent. This was, also, admittedly probably the most major plot development of the entire season. So, why isn't it in my Top 3? Well, that's thanks to Meghan McCarthy's Twitter post following the season finale today, in which she stated that the season finale is more like the first part of a 3 part episode. Yes, Twilight became an alicorn and a princess, and we know why, and it was handled, in my opinion, quite excelllently; but we don't know what she's going to be doing as an alicorn or as a princess, nor where she'll be ruling (my money's on Ponyville), nor 100% for certain that this change will for sure be permanent (although I'm still leaning towards its being permanent). Until Season 4, this is all going to remain up in the air and speculated upon constantly, and so, considering this plot development opened too many questions and didn't answer enough of them before the season ended, I can only honorably mention it. That's not bad, I understand why it happened, on account of the shorter season, but still, the fact remains that if this were a longer season, DHX could've tied up the loose ends that are left now as a result of this very quick and new development a lot better than they were allowed to. Oh well, we'll just have to wait until Season 4, that shouldn't be too hard right? Hehe... right?

 

 

The Characters

 

The Mane 6

 

Rarity: I am not going to lie, and it's very sad because I love all of the Mane 6 equally, but there is no denying that this was a rough season for Rarity. I'm not mad in the slightest at DHX about this, not at all; they had the bad luck of having to put together a full season with as many characters as they have in only 13 episodes, and with some pressing plot developments that needed to be addressed, somepony was inevitably going to lose the spotlight to an extent, and that pony turned out to be Rarity. In many ways, this isn't surprising; she's generally never topped many bronies lists as best pony, and also had already had quite a few good episodes devoted to her in Seasons 1 and 2, including one of the funniest episodes of the show in general. This, along with the fact that she has such an outgoing and impressionable personality, means that her character has already been well established; we know exactly who she is and what to expect of her behavior, and so Rarity was relegated to a supporting role in Season 3 more than any of the Mane 6. That's not to say it was handled badly; on the contrary she showed up quite a bit and had some of the best supporting role moments. Her personality is so large that she simply can't help but leave an impression no matter how much screen time she gets, and so she actually worked quite a bit better than some other characters in the show do as supporting characters, such as Twilight or Fluttershy. Still, there is no denying that, relegated to supporting roles only and having a shorter season, Rarity definitely factored in a lot less than any of the Mane 6 on the whole, and that's still saddening. I hope that next season, being a 26 episode season once again, we get to see at least one Rarity episode, because those are always fun episodes!

 

Pinkie Pie: save for her one episode "Too Many Pinkie Pies," Pinkie Pie was actually also, like Rarity, largely relegated to a supporting role. However, this didn't hurt her in the slightest, because if there's anypony who has a bigger personality than Rarity, it's Pinkie Pie. She's more perfect than any of the Mane 6 for playing a supporting role, because she's always ready to do something that will leave us rolling on the floor laughing and talking about her for weeks! While some bronies have complained this season that Pinkie's been awfully out of character and far too hyper, to the degradation of her character, I disagree, largely due to some comments made earlier in the season by my friend DashForever. He pointed out that in "Too Many Pinkie Pies," we were treated to Pinkie's serious side, a side only the true Pinkie could ever show; as such, the whole point of the episode really is to show that Pinkie is a more complex character than people tend to give her credit for, even her own friends! It just so happens that most of the time, she doesn't show that side of herself. I don't know about the rest of you, but I for one thought that Pinkie had a fantastic Season 3, both in the humor and serious moments departments. And of course, being Pinkie, she just had to end the season with a joke that pretty much summed up how all of us first reacted to Alicorn Twilight, because really, who else could make that joke? Pinkie Pie, we all love ya just the way you are! Stay pony my friend.

 

Fluttershy: Fluttershy was a bit of a mixed bag this season, a very peculiar case among the Mane 6. Her one stand alone episode, "Keep Calm and Flutter On," was simply amazing, and highlighted everything that is great about Fluttershy. That said, it was also largely amazing on account of Discord's completely out-of-control personality and behavior, along with the character progression that he went through. Still, Fluttershy, to her credit (and DHX's), largely maintained control of the screen during her scenes, and if not for that, I'd have to say she had a poor season. Unlike Rarity or Pinkie Pie, or really any of the Mane 6 except for Twilight, Fluttershy is really, really difficult to pull off well as a supporting character, all because of her quiet and reserved nature. She'll have an adorable moment every once in awhile, but unless DHX really devotes their efforts in a scene to focusing on Fluttershy, she simply doesn't leave that much of an impression as a supporting character. The best that Fluttershy was as a supporting character this season was in "Magic Duel," and even there, in order for her to be as good as she was, DHX had to devote some scenes entirely to her, lest she get overwhelmed by other characters' stage presence the whole time. She was also pretty good in the season finale, but I won't go into detail about that here. Still, "Keep Calm and Flutter On" happened, and so I cannot help but assert that in the end, Fluttershy truly had a solid Season 3, just because that episode was so great!

 

Rainbow Dash: our favorite blue pegasus had exactly the kind of season I expected; aside from the development of Scootalove, it was pretty much par for the course. That's not to say I didn't think RD was great, oh no, far from it, she was awesome as usual; she just got as much screen time as I pretty much expected she would when DHX is also trying to juggle all these other characters in a 13 episode season. Rainbow always stood out whenever she was filling a supporting role, because that's what RD does, she takes center stage even if an episode's not about her, and I love that. She remained impulsive, fiercely loyal, and ready to do whatever she had to do for her friends whenever and wherever she needed to do it. Her one solo episode, "Wonderbolt Academy," was a fantastic illustration of just how much RD has matured and grown as a pony and friend since Season 1; as DashForever also pointed out, the contrast between RD and Lightning Dust was simply fantastic, a perfect contrast of Dashie now with how she used to be, brash and egotistical. However, the greatest RD moment, I think we can all agree, came in "Sleepless in Ponyville"; as I mentioned earlier, Scootalove took a lot of us off guard, but was simply amazing in its execution and development, and opened up a treasure trove of new possible episodes and scenarios that Rainbow Dash can get into now that she's taken Scootaloo under her wing, and I very much hope that we'll get to see some more developments in Scootalove next season, just because it'd be a wonderful way to develop or show off traits about Dashie that we've never seen before. All around, Rainbow Dash had exactly the kind of season that I expected DHX would give her, and I loved every minute of it!

 

Applejack: aside from Twilight, in my honest opinion Applejack had a better Season 3 than any of the other Mane 6, and let me tell ya, that's a very, very good thing. As I said, I love all of the Mane 6 equally, but prior to this season I'd developed a soft spot for AJ, because frankly, she'd never gotten a universally loved episode that really did her character justice in Seasons 1 and 2, and was kinda held in low esteem by a lot of the fandom, to my own dismay. But, DHX clearly saw this as well, and so decided to fix it as well as any of us could've hoped. She did not just get one, but TWO episodes in which she was either the only main character or one of two main characters; one of these episodes was undoubtedly excellent, and both treated her character excellently. Also, if you take out the season opener and the season finale, Applejack probably ended up with more screen time than any of the Mane 6; heck, she was the only character to both appear in and talk in every episode this season, and that includes Twilight! Especially for the first 9 episodes of the season, she always played at least a fairly major supporting role, and was usually (albeit, unsurprisingly) the most level headed and mature member of the Mane 6; it was especially fun seeing her in scenes with Rarity, since those two remain my favorite polar-opposite pair of friends among the Mane 6. Applejack both reaffirmed her role as the most mature member of the Mane 6 but also came out of Season 3 as undoubtedly a more complex and developed character than I'd say most bronies prior to Season 3 would've given her credit for, and so more than any member of the Mane 6 this season, I think that Applejack has most clearly seen a major resurgence in the love and respect that the brony fandom has for her, and I thank DHX very much for giving Applejack the kind of season she both especially deserved and needed!

 

Twilight: OK, in many respects, Twilight had the best season of all the Mane 6, and most certainly had more important developments to her character than any of them. However, I get the feeling that the community's going to be split on just how good of a season she had more than for any other character, but here's what I think. First, I loved the major developments to Twilight's character, including the now canon Alicorn Twilight. It showed some really fantastic character and story progression, and just how much she's learned and grown since moving to Ponyville. That said, she did not have a perfect season; one weak spot in particular this season was Twilight as a supporting character. In two episodes, she just didn't show up at all, and even when she did, she did not necessarily play that large of a supporting role in other episodes; this may simply be the nature of having a main character in a supporting role and trying to ensure that she doesn't steal the show, but there's still no denying that she could be a pretty weak supporting character at times. I suppose the other reason I'd critique this is because I love ensemble episodes, where, although there may be a main character, all of the Mane 6 play important and notable supporting roles. For most of the season, there was not too much of this in any episodes; however, the last two were really well done ensemble episodes, so that gives me hope that DHX hasn't lost their touch or changed the direction of the show. While Twilight will always be the main character, all of the Mane 6 will always have to play a significant role in the show if it is to remain as good as it's always been. Still, as I said, Twilight, although at times her roles and amount of screen time were inconsistent, probably had the best season of the Mane 6, and I really can't wait to see where the show goes from here now that she's officially an alicorn and a princess!

 

 

 

Spike

Oh wow, this guy was all over the place this season, wasn’t he? Somepony at DHX must really, really, really love this character, but for the life of me, whoever they are, they could not figure out a consistent formula for the guy! He started off the season spectacularly, with the best two episodes he’s ever had, and in fact doing something that I’d been calling for quite a little bit since Season 2; he helped the Mane 6 with an epic quest against a villain, in fact, he played a crucial role and even got his image on a window! That was awesome, and a great bit of character development for the little guy; for once, he was doing something to help with a major threat, not just sleeping or hanging back in the library (or whatever the heck he was doing at the wedding, honestly, I have no idea what he was up to then!). But then “Spike At Your Service” happened. Now, don’t get me wrong, I thought that episode was a fantastic Applejack episode, and did her character a lot of credit; but, as a Spike episode, it kinda fell flat. He was just bizarrely out of character the whole episode, and just couldn’t do anything right; I don’t know, I’ve tried to justify it, but after the season opener it’s really hard to. I guess the best explanation I can come up with is that Spike’s still a baby dragon, and so still growing up and making plenty of mistakes along the way. They made up for his bizarre behavior there quite a bit with the episode “Just for Sidekicks,” where he didn’t seem that out-of-character, aside from being kind of a douche nozzle for most of it, but, ya know, gems will do that to a dragon; my only complaint with that episode was that it was the second Spike episode in a 13 episode season, where we had no Rarity episode. But, it was a good episode at that, so, I didn’t really mind that much; Spike went through some really great changes this season, and I can’t wait to see what the little guy is up to next season!

 

CMC

The CMC had quite a good season considering its length, showing up a lot more than I figured they would. I personally thought that they had their best proper CMC episode yet in “One Bad Apple”; the entire episode took me completely off guard with how good it was, and is now my favorite CMC episode, for a number of reasons, some of which I’ll discuss in more detail in a little bit. Apple Bloom remained a fantastic leader and glue that holds the CMC together; Sweetie Belle was adorable as ever, if not even more adorable (I think I died twice inside when she started crying in "One Bad Apple”). The addition of Babs to the CMC was very unexpected but pleasant as well, and thanks to her efforts back in Manehatten, there are now a total of six CMC in the show; even though we have yet to meet the other two, I imagine that with a 26 episode season, DHX will undoubtedly find time to introduce the two groups to one another at some point next season. Heck, it’d be a great excuse for us to finally really to get to see Manehatten in a full episode! And finally, Scootaloo, who undoubtedly had the best season of the CMC; as I mentioned earlier, she sorely needed her own stand alone episode, and DHX, in their infinite genius, did not stop there, not in the slightest, but delivered us with what I described earlier as the greatest plot development of Season 3 in the canonization of Scootalove. That was a massively important and extraordinarily well executed plot development, and her stand alone might even be the best CMC stand alone episode yet, since, as DashForever pointed out, it still focused nicely on the other CMC as well, illustrating two already existing relationships between sisters, and introducing us to a third fraternal relationship just budding in the show into all kinds of awesome.

 

All in all, it was a fantastic season for the CMC; however, I think it’s time that DHX finally started getting serious about their cutie marks. It’s been 3 seasons, 65 episodes, and not a single one has gotten her cutie mark yet; if next season was a shorter season, I wouldn’t think it was quite such a pressing issue. However, it’s a full length, 26 episode season, and as such, one of them at least needs to get their cutie mark, because honestly that would be the best thing that could happen to the CMC; it’d be fascinating and heart-warming getting to see how they manage to stick together even after one of them gets a cutie mark, because that would stand testament to how deep and sincere their bonds of friendship are at this point. So, just as last year’s most pressing issue for the CMC was a lack of a Scootaloo episode, I’d say it’s safe to say that this upcoming season, the most pressing CMC issue will be that one of them should finally get her cutie mark!

 

 

 

 

 

Supporting Characters

 

This was a really great season for supporting characters as well, especially familiar faces we were introduced to in Seasons 1 and 2. Cadance and Shining Armor especially had some fantastic screen time throughout the season, starting with the opener (not gonna lie, greatest single moment for them was Shining’s “Cadance-javelin toss”!), and it was really great to see DHX expand upon their characters and not just relegate them to an exposition dustbin, as so many studios do with special characters introduced in special episodes as those two were. Probably the most important development for them then in that regard was actually their appearance in “Games Ponies Play,” since it was the first regular episode they’ve ever appeared in.

 

In addition to those two, Princess Celestia remained a fantastic presence throughout the season, culminating in probably her best appearance yet in the show in "Magical Mystery Cure"; I honestly got teary eyed as she was explaining Twilight’s future and how much she’s watched over her at the end of the episode. It was simply a fantastic and beautiful moment, and Celestia’s song made it all the more precious.

 

Her sister Princess Luna also had an incredibly memorable appearance in “Sleepless in Ponyville”; the idea that she can go into other ponies' dreams and watch over them was a very cool expansion on the duties of the Princess of the Night, and it was awesome getting to see her finally personally guide another pony just as her sister always does. One thing that I just realized in fact was that Luna, Celestia’s little sister, provided guidance to Scootaloo, who aspired to and actually became, more or less, Rainbow Dash’s little sister! That kind of subtle symbolism is awesome, and yet another reason that Luna’s appearance in that episode was so great.

 

Trixie’s return was handled far better than I expected it would be, and in addition to her, we got to see some fun bits from Snips and Snails; I know many bronies don’t like those two, but honestly, I think their humor is underappreciated and misunderstood.

 

Discord’s return was about as epic as any of us could’ve hoped it would be, and honestly, I cannot really say anything more about him than that; it was just perfect in every way!

 

Finally, the six pets finally got their due in “Just for Sidekicks,” and boy howdy, that was hilarious; it was just too much fun seeing them all together in an entire episode, led by their ring leader Satan Bunny, I mean, Angel Bunny.

 

As for new supporting characters, there weren’t quite as many as usual, due to the nature of the shorter season, but we had a fair share of them. Babs Seed was probably my favorite new supporting character, in addition to the rest of the Apple Family that we got to see later, and I really hope that Babs shows up more in Season 4, possibly in Manehatten itself!

 

King Sombra was a very different and very cool new villain, even if he didn’t have that much screen time, and Lightning Dust was a very well-executed minor villain, providing a perfect contrast in the present between the old Rainbow Dash and the new Rainbow Dash.

 

Finally, the Equestria Games Inspector, and even more so her doppelganger who was mistaken for her, were both pretty fun supporting characters in "Games Ponies Play"; the latter was especially sweet and funny, and her claustrophobia took me completely off guard and made for some very funny jokes. Her heartfelt and sincere appreciation of the Mane 6 was also really fun to watch, considering those six really don’t get nearly as much appreciation in the show as they should! All in all, this was a great season for supporting characters.

 

 

 

 

 

Background Characters

This was a fair season for background ponies, but not a great one. The early episodes especially had quite a few great new background pony moments, including even some particularly tricky to spot Derpy moments. The moments were still few and far between, however, and aside from exceptions to this rule, such as “Wonderbolt Academy” and “Apple Family Reunion,” there were not that many consistently great background pony episodes. Probably the one background pony who actually had the best season was Doctor Whooves, ironic in that he had such a great season when his fanon companion and love-of-his-life Derpy had such a horrible season. He had some very funny and clever cameos, especially the pear costume cameo in "One Bad Apple”. Most of the other background ponies had their fair share of appearances as well (BonBon in particular seemed to show up a lot, not always, but often, with Lyra); still, there were a fair enough number of episodes in which background ponies didn’t even show up once, and given the shorter season, their absence as a result was more noticeable.

 

However, above all else, there was an especially notable absence, and that was the void created by the all out disappearance of Derpy Hooves. For most of the season, it was clear that Hasbro had pressured DHX to leave her out, and I was beginning to despair that this could very well be the end of our favorite mail mare. But, DHX, once again, proved my fears to be misplaced; it just took them awhile to do so. By fans' counts, we had a grand total of not just one, but five, count ‘em, FIVE Derpy cameos in the season finale; in one of these cameos, she even breaks the fourth wall (the first time she’s ever done so, at least so blatantly, as far as I can remember) and winks at us with her derpy eyes. After that, I was left speechless; this is not just a Derpy send off, this has to be, undoubtedly, DHX’s way of saying, “Don’t worry bronies, she’s not gone, and she’ll be coming back better than ever next season,” and ya know, I’d believe it. The crap from “The Last Round Up” has died down, and soccer moms have completely forgotten about Derpy, so now I think it’s safe to say that Derpy will be back and better than ever next season in her cameos, even if she doesn’t talk again. So yeah, while I’m certainly sad that Derpy kinda got the shaft this season, if it’s only for this season, I can live with it; I’m just glad to know that she probably hasn’t been permanently axed from the show.

 

 

 

 

Now, I said background characters for an important reason; while the background ponies played a much lesser role this season, the background animals had all kinds of cameos! Gosh dang, these guys were funny throughout the season, and heck, we even had some recurring cameos, such as Harry the Bear (who is AWESOME) and Mr. Beaverton Beaverteeth. All in all, the large amount of background animal cameos was very much appreciated on my part this season, and provided a healthy dose of some new and very cute humor that only added to the quality of the show.

 

 

 

 

 

Aesthetic Quality

 

Animation

 

This season, we were treated to undoubtedly the finest visual experience that DHX has as of yet had to offer. Some of the locations, the animations, the characters themselves, were simply stunning in their quality, and it is amazing to contrast the level of quality we have now in the animation with the still excellent, but undoubtedly inferior, animation of Seasons 1 and 2. DHX’s animators continue to refine their craft in every way imaginable, and it is simply unbelievable some of the visuals we were treated to this season. I can’t even begin to imagine how fantastic Season 4 is going to look if they keep improving their animation more and more!

 

Songs

 

Well, for 95% of the season, although there were certainly some treats of songs, we got about as many as I figured we would, and I would’ve been totally content if we had just gotten one or two songs in the finale. “Bad Seed” took me completely off guard, and until today was probably my favorite song of the season, and “Raise this Barn” was likewise fantastic. But then the season finale happened, and Daniel Ingram, that sneaky son of a gun, just had to go and blow my mind more than he's ever done before! We had seven songs, SEVEN SONGS in a one-episode season finale!!! I still can’t wrap my head around how he pulled that off, but that musical genius did, and by golly, good on you Mr. Ingram, my hat’s off to you sir! So, here are my top three favorite songs of the season.

 

Top 3 Season 3 Songs

(1) “True, True Friend”: holy crap, this song took me off guard! This was undoubtedly the best ensemble song the Mane 6 have ever sung. It was heartwarming, it was catchy and beautiful, it had generous roles for each of the Mane 6, it had the townsfolk screaming “PINKIE!” in joy!!! Honestly, what more could we have asked for in a song? The ensemble songs have always been my favorite in the show ever since “Winter Wrap Up” set the standards for MLP’s full-length musical numbers in Season 1, and they don’t come nearly enough. But this… this might very well be my favorite song of the show of all time, even better than “Smile, Smile, Smile” which I didn’t think was possible for the longest time. Mr. Ingram, you never cease to amaze me, and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in Season 4!

 

 

 

(2) “Bad Seed”: until today, this was my favorite song of the season, for one major reason especially: it took me off guard more than any song this season up until today, even more than “Raise this Barn”. It was extremely catchy, a legitimate trio for the CMC, not just a Sweetie Belle-dominated song, and just all around enjoyable in every sense of the word. That, and within the first ten seconds your heart will explode from cuteness when you see it. I feel kinda bad that it got usurped by “True, True Friend,” but of the songs from the normal episodes this season, it remains my favorite, and still one of the most surprising treats of Season 3!

 

(3) “Raise this Barn”: in addition to a proper Applejack episode, there was one other thing that bronies, myself included, spent the entire off season begging for: an actual Applejack song! Until Season 3, she’d sung far less than any of the Mane 6, and it was a dang shame, especially considering Ashleigh Ball actually does her own singing for RD and AJ, and has a fantastic singing voice to boot. So, what did DHX do? Exactly what we wanted, giving AJ a delightful song that was very true to her character. While some thought it was a little hokey, and even began the memorable (and quite funny) “Racist Barn” meme as a result, this song was exactly what I wanted and expected from AJ this season in the form of her first song. Thank you DHX for finally doing justice to such a beloved character and giving her such a memorable song!

 

The Season Finale

 

OK, well, as I promised earlier, I’d include a full review of the season finale in my Season 3 review. So, how did I like the finale? Overall, I thought it was great, and quite impressive as well, considering DHX had to pull of everything that they did in this episode in 22 minutes. Hot dang, that was impressive to say the least, and it didn’t feel rushed for most of the episode for one big reason: Daniel Ingram and his seven songs! This was officially the first musical episode we’ve ever gotten; I’m not talking about just one or two musical numbers here, no, we had seven songs in 22 minutes, which took up between a third and a half of the episode. That right there was impressive, and it was a lot of fun to finally see an episode like this.

 

That said, I will say this as well; I don’t want this to happen again, ever! “But Batbrony” you may ask in shock, “You just said it was awesome! Why don’t you want it to happen again?” Well I’ll tell ya why; TV shows should only ever pull the “musical episode” thing once, and that’s it. This was a fun, and somewhat necessary, experiment in storytelling for the DHX crew; however, it still felt at times like it was rushed, despite their best efforts, simply because so much was going on, and I just know that they (and I) would’ve killed to have another episode to cover everything that was happening. Heck, as Meghan McCarthy herself admitted, this will really in the long run play out to be more like the first part of a 3 part episode, continued in the season opener next season, so clearly there’s a bigger story to be told than what we had to settle with today. With 26 episodes next season, there is no reason whatsoever that DHX should have to close next season with a single episode that feels rushed in pacing at times, and I’m glad, because, even though this creative experiment was successful for the most part, I don’t want them to ever be forced again to do something like this on account of time constraints. I have no doubt that next season, we will be treated to both fully developed season openers and finales that have at least two episodes devoted to them both, maybe even more if DHX comes up with a particularly epic season finale!

 

However, what this episode didn’t do, and this is what I think every brony both feared and can agree on, even if they didn’t like the episode that much, was this: jump the shark. Even if I didn’t hear anypony say it prior to the episode, a meme I saw following the episode actually pointed this out, and I finally realized that that’s what every brony feared the moment we heard about Alicorn Twilight; we feared, to varying extents, that the show would jump the shark, commit an unforgivable plot development that it could simply never recover from. While many are still uncertain as to how great Alicorn Twilight will prove to be, I have yet to hear anypony saying that MLP has jumped the shark and committed an irreparable action, and that is great credit to the finale, no matter what your other thoughts about it may be. Every brony is still looking forward to Season 4 as much as ever, and this finale did nothing to make anypony less excited about it! Kudos DHX, kudos.

 

As for the rest of the episode, it was simply beautiful. The animation was stunning, the music, as I already alluded to, was time and time again incredible, and overall, it felt like a clip show episode done right! That’s a little confusing I know, considering that there was a lot of new plot developments going on throughout the whole episode, but think about it this way; everything that happened was the culmination of the events of the first 64 episodes, as Celestia herself explained at the end. Everything that’s happened in the show has been building up to this. Throughout the whole episode, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia, because really the primary theme of this episode was basically how much Twilight’s friends have come to mean to her and each other, and that, the magic of friendship, is, after all, the foundation of the show and fandom itself. So like I said, it kind of, in some ways, felt like a clip show, but a clip show done right, which is incredibly impressive considering those are so often just awful filler episodes in most TV series that try to pull them off!

 

The humor was great (especially from Pinkie Pie towards the end; two words, “ALICORN PARTY!!!!!”); the heartstring tugging was sincere and oh so saddening, especially seeing how absolutely lost, forlorn, and despairing the Mane 6 were with their cutie marks all askew and messed up; their eventual triumph couldn’t have been executed better, especially with a song like “True, True Friend,” and it simply highlighted just how very close and loving these friends are (they even said to each other at the end that they love each other, tell me, when was the last time you saw characters in a kids show, that aren’t family members, say to each other, in a sincere manner, that they love each other?); and while Twilight’s transformation, which was handled excellently, was the overall emphasis of the episode, the episode went to great lengths to ensure us that the show will stay focused on all of them. Twilight may be the main character, but this is the Mane 6’s story, not just Twilight’s, and it will remain so for as long as the show runs, of that I have no doubt. After all, the final words of the episode were basically a shout out to us bronies even, with the Mane 6 and Twilight’s assurance that everything will be just fine! How can you not feel reassured after that? Overall, although certainly rushed at times, this might very well be my favorite episode of the season.

 

Oh yeah, and one more thing: Derpy’s back. Derpy’s back. Oh let me say that again, because it feels so very good to say it, DERPY’S BACK!!!!!!! As the resident Derp Knight of the forums, I’m not gonna lie, this was basically my reaction when I saw that she was in the episode not once, but five times, and even broke the fourth wall:

 

 

 

 

Concluding Remarks

This season started with a bang, and it ended with a bang, and at 13 episodes only, that couldn’t be more impressive. Throughout the whole season, a great question hung in the air, even if none of us were willing to admit it; will this be the final season, or will MLP transcend the 65 episode rule? Well, thanks to the show’s fantastic quality and our ever-growing devotion, the show will be back for at least one more season and better than ever! That alone stands as testament to just how good this season was; it clinched MLP’s continued renewal, and considering it was 50% shorter than all previous seasons, that says a lot. Overall, it might be my favorite season so far, although I am somewhat cautious to make that declaration, just because in many ways it’s very hard to compare it to Seasons 1 and 2, since those were twice as long. However, whether or not it is, there is no doubt that this was a special season, and executed simply to perfection by DHX, and really, have we come to expect anything less from them? The story of the Mane 6 will continue next season, and this in no small part thanks to Season 3 of MLP, and that alone is reason enough to love this season. Brony on, everypony, brony on, because everything’s gonna be just fine!