Thrond

"Daring Don't" - I think this actually has some of the better worldbuilding in the show, but it also mistakes constant loud expository chatter for jokes, Daring Do comes across as bland and tediously morose, and the plot is severely undercooked. The dialogue is constantly repeating the episode's themes, but then it cops out of actually dealing with the ideas it set up. This story is about nothing. And why call a character "Somnambula" if she never actually sleepwalks?

Easily the worst Daring Do episode so far. 

"Forgotten Friendship"

Score:

Entertainment: 6/10

Characters: 7/10

Themes: 7/10

Story: 4/10

Overall: 60/100

"Marks for Effort" - Adorable. Cozy Glow is an immensely charming new character, and I loved seeing people outside the main student characters in the school. Most of all I loved how this was able to keep the CMC in a mostly admirable role while still having them learn something. That they tried to get into the school, and were partially tutoring Cozy Glow in order to experience her homework vicariously, sets them up to learn something just like she did - they may be relatively mature and great at friendship, but that doesn't mean there's nothing left for them to learn. That's something this show should do a lot more of. And it's nice to see the show regaining some consistent charm and humour after the season's rough start. 

Also, I seriously underestimated the impact the school has had on this show. It adds so much context to stuff the show would have tied itself into a pretzel explaining in earlier seasons, and makes it all feel so much more natural. And seeing actual jokes based around Spike's wings proves that this show is capable of direct continuity when it tries. That sense of progress has been the best part of these past few seasons. 

"Shadow Play" - Has small moments of charm, but nothing all that special, and there's a few plot points here which only occur because the mane six make decisions which doesn't fit what I've come to expect from them. I still don't find Starlight interesting at all, and this is very self-serious and focuses overwhelmingly on the show's increasingly crappy mythology. Plus it's incredibly formulaic and predictable, and doesn't even offer the interesting themes or imagery of other self-serious finales. By objective standards, this may not be the worst two-parter to date ("Princess Twilight Sparkle" is hard to top), but it's blatantly the least impressive, and I don't know what you all are seeing in it. 

I feel like this isn't the same show I fell in love with. I'll start season 8, but if it doesn't demonstrate a significant change within three episodes, I'm just done. I can't deal with this show anymore. 

"The Beginning of the End"

Entertainment: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Themes: 4/10
Story: 6/10
Overall: 63/100

[episode of two characters squabbling and generally not respecting each other]

"Oh, I totally ship them now."

u wot m8

My Little Pony premieres, ranked:

1. "The Crystalling"
2. "The Return of Harmony"
3. "The Crystal Empire"
4. "Friendship is Magic"
5. "The Cutie Map"
6. "School Daze"
7. "The Beginning of the End"
8. "Celestial Advice" / "All Bottled Up"
9. "Princess Twilight Sparkle"

As far as I recall, every single griffon, dragon, and changeling who has ever expressed an interest in the Magic of Friendship in this show has been either inspired by ponies, or inspired by someone who was inspired by ponies. Draw your own conclusions. 

Also, did no buffalo want to come to the school? 

Current ranking for the seventh season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:

1. "A Flurry of Emotions" - 93/100
2. "The Perfect Pear" - 83/100
3. "A Royal Problem" - 83/100
4. "Parental Glideance" - 80/100
5. "Discordant Harmony" - 80/100
6. "Not Asking for Trouble" - 63/100
7. "Rock Solid Friendship" - 60/100
8. "Celestial Advice" - 50/100
9. "Forever Filly" - 48/100
10. "Fame and Misfortune" - 45/100
11. "Honest Apple" - 40/100
12. "All Bottled Up" - 38/100
13. "Fluttershy Leans In" - 35/100
14. "Hard to Say Anything" - 25/100

Did Rarity make RD’s Daring Do cosplay for her?

Also, I’m pretty sure AJ is the only if the mane six who’s yet to reveal her dork side. It’s only a matter of time, though. 

Also also: Equestria Girls comic-con short when? 

Finally catching up on those Equestria Girls chose-your-ending shorts, and I'm astonished how the same series which produced junk like "Mirror Magic" could turn around and suddenly become this consistently wonderful (excluding "Opening Night" and "Text Support.") I love the combination of the mundane and the whimsical - these characters use their powers to help their everyday lives, and nobody thinks everything of it. And these things keep finding new angles for the characters, too. These ones even have a continuous story arc, which is something the show itself has never quite pulled off. Sure, they're not emotionally substantial, but they're kinda delightful. It kinda makes me wonder how they're gonna translate their formula to a full hour-long special. 

Also: That "Rarity Investigate - The Case of the Bedazzled Boot"? On its own terms, maybe the best thing Equestria Girls has ever done. 

Hey I just got back from watching an old Star Wars movie what's going o-

oh

oh what the heck

I like Equestria, but I also like when Equestria Girls cuts away all the worldbuilding and magical stuff to let the characters speak for themselves. 

In related news: Flash Sentry likes dating horses. That is simply a fact. 

I really don't understand how people can criticize the first Equestria Girls for being cliched and generic and then go on to praise the "Dance Magic" special. 

To be honest, everything which has happened since makes me think I was too hard on "Friendship Games." 

I still kinda hope that they don't reform Chrysalis. She's possibly my favourite villain in the series, just because she's so fun to hate. If it's sufficiently justified I'll take it, but I feel there's ample evidence that her villainy mostly stems from self-centred reasons, and that she's too stubborn to see any other way.

Anyway! Midway through MLP season 8, my ranking:

1. "Horse Play" (100)
2. "The Mean 6" (85)
3. "Marks for the Effort" (83)
4. "Molt Down" (80)
5. "The Break Up Break Down" (78)
6. "Grannies Gone Wild" (75)
7. "School Daze" (75)
8. "The Maud Couple" (68)
9. "Surf and/or Turf" (55)
10. "Fake It Till You Make It" (35)
11. "The Parent Map" (35)
12. "Non-Compete Clause" (25)

Comparatively, the percentage of episodes I enjoyed by this point in each season (13 episodes in): 

S1 - 77%, 10/13
S2 - 85%, 11/13
S3 - 54%, 7/13
S4 - 54%, 7/13
S5 - 46%, 6/13
S6 - 85%, 11/13
S7 - 46%, 6/13
S8 - 69%, 9/13

Pretty good showing so far. I wish the school premise had a somewhat bigger impact on the mane six, as their starring episodes generally don't seem to have all that much to do with it, but the season has been pretty good about consistently offering up fresh story concepts while still keeping them entertaining, just as season 6 did. I like Starlight a lot more this year than I did in the past, and this is the first time she feels like a satisfying part of the main cast. I just wish the mane six had better episodes, because they still feel rudderless despite the change in concept. Those new students are charming, though, and thankfully stay out of the way, keeping the focus on the characters I already care about. Every season has its stinkers, but the high points this year have been relatively frequent, and especially these past four episodes have been a really strong showing. It's just nice to see that this show still has new things to offer, and hasn't entirely lost its touch yet. Much improved from last year's paltry showing. 

I was kinda excited for another season of Josh Haber's lazy story editing, especially after I felt the Lewis & Songco way overdid it last season, but the weird creativity which made season 6 appealing to me isn't rearing its head often enough this year. It's too late to find the right balance. 

Oh well, at least "Horse Play" happened. 

I'm always surprised that people take Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon in "A Royal Problem" at face value when they're obviously figments of Starlight's imagination. 

Similarly, people often argue that Celestia and Luna could have transformed, but without knowing how, it seems awfully out of character for them to just spontaneously turn evil out of a mere spat. Surely they would have learned not to do that. 

I've seen enough people denying the Apple parents are dead that I have a hard time feeling "The Perfect Pear" depicted the issue as well as it could have. 

And if kids can't handle that... I dunno, I just don't like the show reminding me of its restrictions. 

I’m a big fan of the current direction of “Equestrian Girls.” I feel the shorts are the perfect format for the series, and “Rollercoaster of Friendship” was my favourite long-form EqG thing in years. I still don’t think “Forgotten Friendship” is all that great, and nothing in either special convinced me that EqG is good for much other than vignettes, but those are some awfully delightful vignettes. A longer format isn’t guaranteed to actually give us better substance, as “Forgotten Friendship” shows IMO, so why not just present a bunch of clever skits which move the world forward?

They’ve really gotta do something about the villain problem, though. 

It's kinda weird that after liking season 6 so much I've reached a point where I'm not looking forward to a single thing pony-related... 

Maybe I should catch up on the comics. 

Latest batch of Equestria Girls shorts is kind of a step down. The high concept of the chose-your-own-adventure shorts kept the number of dull scenarios to a minimum, but here we're back to the girls doing kinda generic things in a not terribly exciting setting. Some are funny, at least. 

Goddamn, though, I love Zephyr Breeze. That guy sucks but he makes me laugh every time. 

Learning about Canadian terms I took for granted which the USA doesn't have is consistently blowing my mind. So: "Parkade" = parking garage, "pencil crayon" = colored pencil, "garborator"= garbage disposal in sink. 

Also, apparently Ruffles All Dressed chips are specifically marketed as Canadian down there.