Them's Seeing Ponies

Ah yes, A Canterlot Wedding. Whilst far from a structurally perfect episode (particularly in regards to the way that the first part treats Twilight's suspicions), the general overtone of the episode has such a grandiosity and joyous energy that the experience genuinely feels akin to a celebration of the Faust/Renzetti era as a whole (particularly the ending, which is one of the final scenes of the series to carry that specific purity and observational character-based humour that Faust brought to the creative table). And now we enter season 3 (and some of the earliest episodes I can definitely remember initially airing), which is going to be one... unique experience (particularly considering the huge shifts in status quo that occur throughout the brief spurt of 13 episodes, many of which (the Crystal Empire, Trixie's reformation, Dash and Scootaloo's relationship, Dash becoming involved with the Wonderbolts, Discord's transition into recurring neutral cast member and, of course, the infamous Twilicorn) define the show's current state six years running).

Compelling analysis from Cypher. The artisan nature of pony culture is semi-inconsistent throughout the show's run (particularly with the increasing number of more anachronistic/modernistic elements (such as a supermarket analogue and the electronic billboards) which begin to creep into the later seasons) but its prominence during the early seasons is a major contributor to its charm - Ponyville is a representation of what an 'idealized' small-town society is considered to be in our culture, yet not every thorn is removed from the depiction, leaving the main cast to grapple with relatable issues on a recurrent basis (Ponyville Confidential is an excellent example of this thesis). Later seasons would expand the scope of single episodes' narratives to encompass the discovery of magical MacGuffins through thematic means, an ongoing (former) antagonist redemption arc and grandiosely styled adventure plots (particularly in the case of the Daring Do episodes and "A Royal Problem", which combines the latter two elements), but the focus on the progression of the mane six's surprisingly human struggles through a world unlike (in the use of magic and different social structure/protocols) our own (and yet familiar in multiple facets) is an angle of the show that I feel has diminished greatly during the show's run (and is executed in a somewhat lacklustre/banal way when it does emerge - see "It Isn't the Mane Thing About You"). S1-2 were definitely aimed at a younger target audience than the later seasons (particularly S8, owing to Nicole Dubuc's trademark collected and ambitious writing style), but they utilized their restraints in a far more backhandedly sly way than many give them credit for. The focal reason why the Faust-produced episodes carry such a different general overtone to the more recent seasons is due to their different priorities; the main focus of the Faust seasons being to employ very genuine storytelling in the structure of a lighthearted (not sardonically written as per Haber's style, although a few M.A Larson episodes from the era do tread into this) lampooning of kids' TV. Think about it - the show is set primarily in an 'idealistic' municipality governed by magic and different social norms (as per many of its lower-quality contemporaries), yet the world itself is portrayed in a developed and earnest manner and the characters within it are treated with more dignity and are generally more well-rounded 'human' (not tall, fleshy or two-legged though) personalities than many shows of its genre (fantasy girls' cartoon) at the time (not to mention the smaller self-referential gags such as the 'random falling objects' cartoon cliché in Feeling Pinkie Keen being humourously and subversively attributed to incompetent pegasi movers), and it's this type of contrast (where the show in its early days could, by all accounts, have failed under different hands, but its elements work due to Faust/Renzetti's approach to the material (defined by a streamlined and lightly self-referential/subversive sensibility)) which create the S1-2 'charm'. As much as I appreciate some of the later seasons' endeavours towards more ambitious and complex material (even if there isn't exactly a 100% success rate, although the earlier seasons boasted a number of dud episodes as well), their general overtones are less entertaining to me in that they prefer to play more emotional moments and complexity in a less deft manner, leading to the occasional sensation that they are trying too hard to convey their intended message. Anyways, Ponyville Confidential was another hit from season 2 (no small feat for a season filled with them) and a nice nostalgia trip (being one of the first episodes I recall the initial fandom buzz for in full) - with only two (or three, technically) Renzetti-edited episodes remaining, I must confess that I will be missing the warm fuzziness and relatability of the show's earliest days; however, with Discord's reformation and Twilight's infamous ascension (I guess we've come, such a looong, loooong waaay) approaching in two weeks now, the show's going to get fairly... interesting nonetheless (I'm not knocking on S4, considering that it's home to some of the show's most impactful and insightful episodes, but it's incredible how rapidly the series progressed from Family Appreciation Day and A Friend in Deed to the likes of the more bombastic and action-packed Daring Don't and Power Ponies).

I'm still watching - considering that I assumed that there were no breaks in the schedule, I'm currently at "Hurricane Fluttershy" (fortunately one of the show's most monumental achievements).

"Secret of My Excess" is downright hilarious. Despite the inherently bizarre nature of the focal concept, the episode pulls the comedy angle to prevent its weirdness from reaching an overt level, leading to some of the best gags in the series ("I'm not giving him cake, I'm ASSAULTING HIM WITH CAKE!" and Spike's rampage through Ponyville a la an over-the-top Godzilla homage being the highlights). Embarking upon this marathon has definitely shone light on the reasoning behind M.A Larson's popularity with the fandom circa 2011-2015; his absurd self-referential humour has the air of an energetic self-parody (even more so than the remainder of S1 and S2, which watch similar to a lighthearted parody of typical kids' TV shows, a trait which I feel the show has shed over its run), which is a blast to watch when intermingled with the Craig McCracken-esque charm of S1 and 2.

The show has been plagued by the 'forced meme' issue since around S4 or so (understandable given that S4 and S5 were produced around 2012-2013, when bronies were at their most ubiquitous across the internet), although the facial expressions (including even Twilight's conspicuous 'pudding') transitioned into more obnoxious territory circa season 5, largely due to the show shifting art directors from Ridd Sorensen (responsible for much of the simplistic and streamlined look of S1-4) in rapid succession over S5-7, leading to a number of shots inserted bizarrely intricate details onto existing laconically designed vectors to create a dissonant/unfitting effect. The BB-disclosed shot from "Secrets and Pies" is a prime example of this - the detail on the eyelid and veins is far too excessive visually and fails to gel with Pinkie's existing character design (which is simpler and more streamlined akin to Faust's/Sorensen's art styles).

I'm in the minority regarding my assessment of the show's quality - whilst I agree that the show has changed in general tone and creative priorities over its run, I personally prefer the S1-4 run. I feel that the reason for the reduction in unanimously disliked episodes across the fandom since S4 can be pinned down to the ways in which they fail - a bad S1 episode often exudes a general feeling of sloppiness, whilst a bad S7 episode fails in more specific ways (and often attempts to cover up its shortcomings with smaller details to give an air of higher complexity and absolve its own structural flaws, which works in some circumstances and not in others), which can be easier to tolerate for some, but the more didactic and serious tone of S5-8 in general leads to a reduced sense of personal enjoyment (even at its heights, which are among the show's best) compared to the building of complexity from simpler themes (creating a subjectively more confident and charming atmosphere) during S1-2 (and 3-4 to a lesser extent). That being said, my personal bottom 10 comprises the following: 1. Hard to Say Anything (season 7) 2. Non-Compete Clause (season 8) 3. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? (season 5) 4. Rainbow Falls (season 4) 5. One Bad Apple (season 3) 6. What About Discord? (season 5) 7. The Show Stoppers (season 1) 8. Princess Spike (season 5) 9. Honest Apple (season 7) 10. Owl's Well That Ends Well (season 1) Judging from the above, S1-4 comprises 40% of my worst list, whilst seasons 5-8 comprise 60% (including my top three all-time worst). Considering what I said above, that may come off as contrary to my argument, but I should clarify that I feel the difference in the nature of the bad episodes (and the general level of enjoyment I garner) between each period of the show is what I was referring to - the show has never been incredibly consistent in quality regardless of the differences in general creative ambition, and this shows even in S1-4, which I consider to be more enjoyable than their successors.

I tend to agree that seasons 7 and 8 feel more morally-driven than their predecessors, particularly 7, which explains my lack of fondness for it compared to other bronies. They're certainly worth noting for their ambitious themes, but they often seem to blunder in executing them to their full potential (the premise of "Rockhoof and a Hard Place" was promising, but a ton of the second act felt very repetitious (as if the episode was unsure of where to take this relatively unique/compelling narrative concept) despite the show throwing in interesting smaller details in an attempt to distract the audience from this).

The reason I tend to judge the earlier (S1-2 chiefly) seasons with greater generosity is because of their tonal difference from the later seasons; whilst seasons 5-8 in particular exert more focus onto executing ambitious morals and themes, the earlier seasons are more consistently successful/reach milder lows due to the complexity they add to simpler plots (one of the show's most overlooked early strengths in recent years). Similarly, the charming intangibles and fun, quirky humour (almost to the point of feeling similar to a lighthearted parody of a kids' TV show whilst not turning the self-referential gags up to an overbearing degree as would become more prevalent around season 5 and later) additionally tend to absolve many of the structural flaws of Faust-era episodes (allowing me to at least garner some enjoyment from otherwise heavily flawed episodes), whilst the later seasons are often extremely hinged on their morals/themes, which creates a less forgiving situation if they blunder (I seem to be in the minority by believing that the show still does this with at least as great a frequency as S1-2 in its more recent incarnations).

It's biased because it happens to be based on a singular opinionated perspective. Media is subjective and others tend to see it from different angles to one another. Not everyone is going to hate Father Knows Beast, for example. Whilst I can loosely comprehend why you dislike many of these episodes, I also feel that some of your reasoning comes off as somewhat flimsy or based on personal interpretations. I respect your hatred of Friendship University, but a good bulk of your argument comes off as favorite pony (ponies) preference as opposed to more well-rounded criticism, which I feel damages the validity of some of your explanations. Perhaps further explain why you love Flim and Flam to the extent that you do before you contrast it against your interpretation of them as mischaracterized in FU? As for the 'Flim and Flam are Applejack's adversaries' point, that's more down to personal perception. AJ was the main point of interaction between the M6 and the duo for the majority of their previous appearances, but I honestly don't mind that they're being poised against a different roster of characters provided that the writers can stem compelling conflicts from this. AJ was a foil for the two, yes, but that doesn't mean that they're shackled to interacting with her in every appearance.

Isn't that kind of an irrational concern considering both the show's treatment of previous guest stars ("Pinkie Pride" wasn't simply a 22-minute Weird Al worship festival, it was a Pinkie Pie narrative which integrated Weird Al in pony guise into its plot whilst giving him a genuine character to gel with the plot) and the nature of the show itself - why would the episode feature only the two guest star ponies? The only time the show has abruptly and randomly veered away from its main cast as a means of creating/carrying an episode's conflict was "Slice of Life" and that was intended as a comedic milestone gagfest, whilst this episode appears to be nothing of that nature.

Doesn't an issue like that deserve its own topic instead of veering off on a tangent in another thread about a largely unrelated matter? The M6 will probably appear in the episode itself, but if the writers can construct the plot in a cohesive way (even with non-M6 characters) to feature other characters in a leading role, that's worth commendation.

If the marathon began with the pilot two-parter on October 10th, wouldn't this marathon be covering The Best Night Ever today, considering that 24 days have now passed since said date? Anyways, TBNE is debatably the greatest finale of the series, with a surprisingly unorthodox premise for a show of its genre (main characters comically crash a party out of desperation to validate their expectations) fused with a ton of amazing humour (particularly the growing irritation of the Pony Pokey sequence and Fluttershy's infamous breakdown) and a unique conclusion to the character arcs of season 1 (among the most subtle and nuanced in the show's run, particularly in regards to the meticulous planning Faust and Renzetti invested into their construction and pacing throughout the season). Here's to this marathon's entrance into season 2 (otherwise known as 'the best season').

It honestly depends on your views on the earlier seasons. Entertainment is subjective, therefore you may not find the descriptions of later seasons in this thread to apply fully to your own opinions when watching. It's best (in this circumstance, at least) to experience a few episodes for yourself and decide whether they work for you. Whilst I would prefer to avoid veering into more subjective territory here, I will say that the later seasons are more outwardly ambitious and less mane six-centric than the earlier seasons, which may be an important factor to consider heading into them, but whether or not these changes make them 'worth it' can honestly go either way.

If we go by the generalization that "episodes that don't revolve around anypony" refers to ensemble episodes (or certain episodes which alternatively prioritize other narrative aspirations, such as comedy or specific forms of worldbuilding, over character focus or development), the list would be analogous to: - Swarm of the Century (Pinkie does play a vital role in the plot's resolution, but her screentime is surprisingly minimal throughout the first two acts whilst the episodes comically plays out the other five's interactions with the parasprite infestation) - The Show Stoppers (the first episode to collectively focus on the CMC as a unit as opposed to providing insight on any one of them or employing them as a foil to another character (see also Stare Master)) - The Cutie Mark Chronicles (textbook example) - The Best Night Ever (see above) - The Return of Harmony Part 1 (Twilight is debatably the focal character in both parts, but this applies less in the former part) - Hearth's Warming Eve (an episode focused on worldbuilding and the interactions between ponies and the aforementioned, therefore no single character has any major focus within the narrative) - Ponyville Confidential (similar to The Show Stoppers) - Games Ponies Play (the focus is exerted onto humourous antics over characterization here) - Castle Mane-ia (borderline Pinkie episode, see Swarm of the Century) - Appleoosa's Most Wanted (another narrative focusing on the CMC as a collective) - Slice of Life (obviously) - Fame and Misfortune (borderline Twilight episode) - The Hearth's Warming Club (debatable, considering the third act's focus on Gallus) - What Lies Beneath (basically a Student Six ensemble episode) - School Raze (for evident reasons)

"The Cutie Mark Chronicles" is overall an amazing episode (in facets that others have already noted), but the icing on the cake is Spike's final line (and Twilight's subsequent reaction), which is both absolutely gut-busting and serves as a sly reference to the cheesiness of shoehorning a moral into an episode obviously designed to prioritize character-building over any explicit 'friendship lesson'.

Hmmm, I actually never considered the similarity to "Jackie Chan Adventures", but you are correct about S6-8 having a specific self-referential tone and outward 'maturity' similar to a number of 90s Nickelodeon shows (the first half of S7 in particular is definitely pretty Nickelodeon-esque humour-wise, with the door gag in "Parental Glideance" being the clearest example of this).