Cleverclover

Oh, my Lord, please don't remind me of Clannad. I never would have wasted my time with that craptastic anime if I knew what would happen. Doubtful. Applejack definitely isn't going to be responsible for her parents' deaths, but unfortunately, I could definitely see some dumb fuck new writer thinking that making her responsible would be a good idea. That said, it's still the least of my worries where that episode is concerned.

After this episode, I just have one question: WHY THE F*** DID VALENTINE WRITE THE COMPLETE WASTE OF DHX ASSETS THAT WAS THE CART BEFORE THE PONIES!?!?!?!?!?!?! It's really annoying to me that the same writer who churned this episode out also wrote the episode that did absolutely nothing to advance the CMC. This was really the first and apparently only episode all season that has done anything to advance the CMC (and no, On Your Marks barely counts). Very sweet episode, overall. Possibly the best characterization for the CMC all season, especially Scootaloo. Also, despite the implication that she's talented on borderline Mary Sue levels, Gabby was quite an enjoyable character. Best griffon confirmed? It's just really bittersweet to me that this episode seems like the first legitimate step of an arc that should have started long before now. I don't understand why we have so many episodes in season 6 of the mane six spinning their wheels needlessly, when they could have instead gone towards advancing the CMC and Starlight.

At least since Haber has been at the helm. Even though McCarthy showered Twilight with glory all throughout her two-parters, she at least had the courtesy to give the mane five an opportunity to do something worthwhile, even if they were relegated to a B-plot. Now the mane five are about as useful to two-parters as Celestia is. They're barely even B-plot worthy. They're only present for the sake of filling space. The "mane six" have not saved the day in what seems like a really long time. Lately, it's just been Twilight and a few other non-main characters.

Oh, man, where to begin... The Cutie Pox - Easily one of the worst CMC episodes ever, and in my opinion, it's the worst episode of season 2. I still can't believe AKR wrote this. Mysterious Mare-Do-Well - This episode has been thoroughly ripped to shreds by the fandom so there isn't much I could add, but it just amazes me how almost nothing about this episode makes any sense. This story honestly seems more suited for the comics. Spike at Your Service - Spike has gotten some pretty bad episodes, but this has got to be the worst of the worst. It paints him as mind-numbingly incompetent and unable to complete simple tasks, which is virtually the opposite of his character. Twilight's Kingdom - Outside of the scene that everyone adores so much, the writing here is just abysmal. This two-parter features Celestia at her most incompetent, and it's honestly to the point where I legitimately wonder why anyone trusts her to rule the country anymore. Twilight's decision to give up her magic was nothing but pure idiocy on her part, and in all seriousness, it should have gotten her and her friends all killed. There's definitely a problem when the plot is so heavily on your side that you cannot fail, no matter how dumb your decisions are. Princess Spike - Almost as bad as SAYS, and definitely Spike's second worst episode. The One Where Pinkie Knows - This episode was just annoying. It's one and only joke stopped being funny only five minutes in, and it was just painful that they kept it going to almost the final minute of the episode. Newbie Dash - After FIVE seasons of buildup to this moment, Dash most certainly deserved better than this atrocity. Why they gave this one to a new writer will always be a mystery to me. Flutter Brutter - Despite Fluttershy's excellent characterization here, Zephyr makes this episode borderline unwatchable. Definitely one of the worst characters ever introduced on the show. The Cart Before the Ponies - I cannot even begin to understand why this episode exists. It's so out of place in season 6 that even if it had aired in season 1, Applejack, Dash, and Rarity would still have seemed out of character. It also did absolutely nothing for the CMC's new arc, thus rendering it all the more pointless. This episode could have easily gone towards advancing their arc, or even Starlight's arc. 28 Pranks Later - This episode clearly thinks that its dumb and pointless zombie gimmick would save it from its terrible writing and how OOC Dash was. It didn't. Yet another episode that could have easily gone to advancing Starlight or the CMC. Nothing of value would have been lost if this episode did not exist.

They can leave Twilight out. That would be fine. What people are really concerned about is that the mane five are presumably going to be shafted for the third two-parter in a row. They have not featured prominently in a two-parter since The Cutie Map.

It suddenly occurs to me that this could actually be Starlight's last hurrah in the show. I still have my doubts about her becoming a permanent cast member since almost nothing about her or the way she's been handled makes me feel as though she was ever meant to be around for the long run.

That's definitely a first. That said, if Twilight is to be sidelined, I'd have preferred the focus go to the rest of the mane five, who have been noticeably absent in the last two two-parters. Seems to me like it would have been a much better idea to have Starlight teaming up with the mane five to save Twilight, as it would both give them a bigger presence and allow an opportunity for them to build a relationship with Starlight, who still seems to be a stranger to them. But nope. The mane five will just never have their day. Ever.

So the mane five will be shafted for the third two-parter in a row? What a shocker.... In fact, the only surprise there is that Twilight will presumably be getting the shaft as well. Otherwise, this seems like yet another standard two-parter formula, which like the normal episodes, is simply becoming stale at this point: Big bad villain? Check. Equestria in life-threatening peril....again? Check. Princesses unable to do anything about the situation? Check. Twilight Starlight doing the most to save the day? Check.

It becomes stale when you start seeing more character regression than progression. It becomes stale when you start to realize that some of the episode plots we're getting have actually been done before, only with a different coat of paint. It becomes stale when you start to realize that the show has peaked, and it most likely isn't going to get any better than it's already been, only worse. Just because I'm a fan of this show doesn't mean I'm going to turn a blind eye when it noticeably starts going downhill. How can you be a fan of something and want it to end, you ask? Because many people would much rather have a show end while it's still good, rather than continue on indefinitely and become a shadow of what it once was. The problem is that nearly everyone who was involved in the show from the very beginning has moved on. Faust? Gone. McCarthy? Gone. Larson? Gone. Rogers? Gone. In general, something like that does not tend to bode well for a show's continued quality. Season 6 has mostly been left to the devices of new writers and most of them (not all, but most) have simply failed to impress. Unless the "changes" include somehow getting the old writers to come back, I don't really think there's much that can be done about the state of the show. Especially while you have someone like Josh Haber at the helm, who evidently receives scripts featuring horrendous characterization of the mane six, and yet still sees fit to approve them for production.

Do I think there will be? Unfortunately, yes. Do I want there to be? Hell no. Season 6 has clearly proven that there is nowhere else to take the mane six but down. There is evidently no further lessons for them to learn except for the ones they've already learned, and no more mistakes for them to make except for the ones they've made and learned from before. Barely any room for them to surprise us with any new character studies, but plenty of room for them to disappoint us with horrendous characterization. After almost eighteen episodes, barely anything has progressed this season. Starlight and the post-marked CMC, two of the biggest reasons the show had to continue past season five, have barely been anywhere to be found all season. There's no season-long arc, and there is apparently nothing that this season is building up towards. I do not want another season of this. I do not want another season of the mane six spinning their wheels and going nowhere. I do not want another season full of filler episodes in which the mane six act like they haven't developed past season 2. But I think there will be another season simply because I think Hasbro will unfortunately run the last popular show they have into the ground before even thinking about ending it.

This. And this. Damn, this subject annoys me to no end. I'm sorry, but "Cadance" just irritates the hell out of me. It's not the correct spelling, damn it!!!

I sure do see a lot of comparisons to the god-awful The Cart Before the Ponies, mostly when describing AJ and Dash's actions. The flaws AJ and Dash displayed here seemed within character for the both of them, unlike Cart Before the Ponies. They both have a very competitive nature and they have a tendency to let it go to their heads more than it should. They may have been a little jerkish, but they didn't do anything quite as bad as ignore their sisters' existence so that they could hog all the glory for themselves. Additionally, it's definitely it's better that they realized where they had gone wrong without having to be told, again, unlike Cart Before the Ponies. And I also think they resolved their mistake in a much more satisfying fashion in getting Fluttershy and Pinkie to enjoy the game again. Additionally, I want to throw in that The Cart Before the Ponies is a god-awful episode that had no business being in season 6.

Yeah, I have to admit. This trend has recently become more and more commonplace, and it's really getting annoying at this point.

Still not worse than she was in The Cart Before The Ponies. Same with Applejack, for that matter.

I think this episode is a very good example of how to make the mane six flawed without going backwards on their development. The flaws here were within reason and had a genuine catalyst, and it's definitely a plus that Applejack and Dash figured out what was wrong without having to be told. A pretty good episode. Nothing spectacular, just good. Also, just to be sure I'm not going crazy, did Snails really just do a kickass job at comic relief in an episode?!?!?!?

I've yet to find either in an Equestria Girls film.

Man, I am pretty much desperate for this episode not to disappoint, and unfortunately, season 6 has left me disappointed far more often than not. I really hope whatever Applejack supposedly lies about, it's well-intentioned and not malicious. But the notion that it goes as far as to nearly put her whole family in the hospital has me more than a bit worried...

Applejack character study incoming!!!! Though admittedly, this isn't exactly how I would have imagined Applejack came to value honesty. Still, I look forward to this one all the same.

I'd have to agree, honestly. Fluttershy is honestly the only one of the mane six who has actually improved and progressed this season.

That was kinda underwhelming. The plot was set up rather quickly, but then it took a mind-numbingly long time for the episode to actually go somewhere. The scene just before they started the game should have only lasted a minute at most, but instead, the episode wasted time on Discord's lengthy arrival and him trying to guess at what they were about to do. I just really think the episode could have used its time better than it did. That said, I liked Discord and his antics. The Celestia face in particular was hilarious, though granted, the scene in which it happened was filler. Not a bad episode overall, just really average.