Dark Qiviut

Season 9 and the show are over, and I think I'm comfortable with my grades for each episode this past season. As such, my best-to-worst order!

1. The Big Mac Question: A+ (#6)
2. The Last Crusade: A+ (#7)
3. Sparkle's Seven: A+ (#8)
4. The Last Problem: A (#15, best A episode)
5. Dragon Dropped: A (#20)
6. The Summer Sun Setback: A (#23)
7. Between Dark and Dawn: A (#28)
8. Common Ground: A (#32)
9. Frenemies: A (#33)
10. She's All Yak: A- (#47)
11. The Last Laugh: A- (#57)
12. The Point of No Return: A- (#60)
13. The Beginning of the End: B+ (#63)
14. She Talks to Angel: B+ (#65)
15. A Horse Shoe-In: B+ (#69)
16. Student Counsel: B+ (#71)
17. Uprooted: B+ (#77)
18. Daring Doubt: B (#80, best B episode)
19. Sweet and Smoky: B (#93)
20. Going to Seed: B- (#111)
21. A Trivial Pursuit: B- (#117)
22. The Ending of the End: C (#143, second-worst C episode)
23. Growing Up Is Hard to Do: C- (#154)
24. 2, 4, 6, Greaaat: D (#169)

For the first time, not one FIM episode within a season failed. (In episodic order, Fake It — S8:E4 — is the final F.) Is it tempting to give 246G one, given how reprehensible Dash and Twilight behaved? Hell, yeah! But if I'm going to fail it, it must deserve it. Sadly, it does a few things too well, so no failure. No One Bad Apple treatment!

S9's the most consistent of the series. However, between the first and second halves, the former was more solid. The worsts of the season all come from the latter side. And after getting a lot of attention and impact last season, the Young Six were mostly relegated to the secondary following Sweet & Smoky until 246G and then the finale. I really, and I mean really, like this season a lot, but parts of it disappoint me nonetheless.

But I'll end it on a happy note — is it a good season? Absolutely! If anything, it's among the best of the series! Disappointments aside, it remains 5 > 8 > 9 > 7 > 2 > 1 > 4 > 3 > 6.