bigbertha

I think the first half is the better half in this episode. It's consistently funny and entirely focused on the main story. The second half on the other hand is a lot weaker. Most of the adventure in the Everfree feels like filler because once Starlight remembers the Student Treehouse, everything before is forgotten and doesn't mean much in the long run. I guess it was supposed to show how much Starlight's scheduling has messed everything up, but Silverstream going missing already accomplishes that goal. If they just found Silverstream in danger and saved her, that would get the same point across without feeling like filler. The second half does still have some good jokes and isn't as boring as most other episodes this season, but it is a let down compared to what came before. It's a shame because the first half really is great. Starlight and Trixie have such a great dynamic and the conflict is a nuanced one. Both Starlight and Trixie have good points and that makes the story much more engaging. And I just have to mention again that the comedy in the first half is the best of the season. It doesn't rely on meme faces and is actually timed well for once. Score: 8/10

I really like the idea of this episode. I like the idea of a heist episode and I like how the show is able to make a heist story fit naturally with these characters. And the episode is entertaining. I wasn't bored and I was having fun watching the situation play out. The issue is that I feel like the episode should've gone further. Most of the jokes aren't great (because a lot of them are just meme faces) and the emotional core is underdeveloped. All the stuff with Spike isn't brought up very often leading to it being a lot less impactful in the end. And no. The flashback in the beginning doesn't count because it didn't show Spike being left out that much. He was enjoying himself and Twilight and Shining Armor didn't completely ignore him. I think this episode should've fully committed one way or the other. Either fill up the episode with crazy and fun jokes and go all out or fully develop the emotional core and make it a really impactful episode. As is, it tries to do both and neither are very impactful. Both are done fine, but neither are done really well. I honestly prefer the 100th episode because it was more focused. Score: 7/10

This is just Castle Sweet Castle. Characters are remembering something that was destroyed and have different ways of doing them. They all clash and end in a song while working together. There are a couple differences, but those are more surface level. The cores of both episodes are nearly identical. I found Castle Sweet Castle to be boring and I find this episode to be boring. Score: 5/10

Surprisingly, I don't have a problem with Twilight freaking out here. With such a big responsibility put on her so soon, it makes sense that she'd react this way. Instead, I have a problem with everyone around her. Celestia and Luna at this point should know that putting such a big responsibility on Twilight with such little warning is a bad idea. And the ending just takes away tension from the rest of the episode and makes all the freaking out pointless. But my bigger problem is with the rest of the mane six. Apparently, nobody remembers the lesson of Lesson Zero since nobody takes Twilight seriously. They all brush off her very legitimate concerns by saying they can handle it because they've defeated bad guys. That makes no sense and Twilight doesn't really call them out on it. Just because they've been able to defeat bad guys doesn't mean they can handle the politics involved in running a kingdom. I just can't get over how insensitive and stupid the mane six aside from Twilight are. Not even Applejack realizes that Twilight might actually be right here and they all brush Twilight off as a joke. Speaking of jokes, I hate them. Most of them are about how often Twilight freaks out and how nobody takes it seriously anymore. The joke doesn't work because this is a situation where they should be taking Twilight seriously. Also, lamp shading like this only works if the problem the writers point out isn't that bad or if the writers are going to fix the problem, like Lesson Zero lamp shading Twilight having to give a lesson in every episode of season 1 and proceeding to fix the problem. Twilight freaking out all the time is a big problem and the episode obviously doesn't fix it since Point of No Return happens. And the rest of the jokes are pretty meh. Discord has a couple decent moments, but not enough to make up for everything else. As for the story with Sombra taking over, it's really bland. Sombra has no presence because of his terrible voice and over the top design (there's a reason The Crystal Empire kept him as shadows for most of the episode). Also, the episode telegraphs very early that Sombra is not going to win since Grogar expects Sombra will lose and that removes tension. The only actually dramatic thing that happens is the Tree of Harmony being destroyed, but I don't really care about the Tree of Harmony. Overall, this is just another example of how MLP has gone from unique and charming kids show to generic modern cartoon. All this episode does is make me want to watch a better modern cartoon. Score: 3/10

I really think season 3 is the peak of the show. Despite only being a half season and having a few duds, it has all of the strengths from seasons 1-2, but overall feels more polished. The characters are more entertaining than ever, the jokes are on point, and the animation is the best of the entire show.

Yeah. It's the worst thing G4 (debatably My Little Pony as a whole) has ever done and kinda makes me die inside thinking about it.

I wish the show had another episode with Spike and the CMC interacting. It happened way back in Just For Sidekicks, but I feel like there's so much more potential in that pairing that could've been and still could be explored.

This episode is fantastic up until the leap of faith scene. The comedy in the episode is really great and Twilight getting hurt works because she keeps denying the obvious. All of her experiments are based around her already assuming the conclusion of Pinkie Sense not being real instead of actually trying to explain it. If the moral she learned was about her being more open minded about Pinkie Sense then this episode could've been salvaged. But that's not the only thing that would've had to be changed. The entire leap of faith would've had to be changed since it's bad. Nobody brings up the option of Fluttershy flying Twilight over the gap or Twilight teleporting herself because the script says so. It's really contrived. And the moral Twilight does learn seems to imply trying to explain Pinkie Sense is pointless when that's not true. She should just be coming at it from a different angle. But those problems aren't applicable until the end of the episode. Everything else is really funny with a lot of great facial expressions and poses. I really miss this style of animation from this show. I do think the positives outweigh the negatives here, but I can see why people would hate this episode. Score: 7/10

This is a solid episode. All of the mane six are pretty one note (except Applejack who doesn't even have a personality), but that's not a big problem because they have really cute and fun interactions. I like a lot of the little character moments here like the joking when the mane six first climb the mountain and the subtle reactions they make to each other. It makes their friendship more realistic and more fun to watch. There are a few jokes that fall flat and the mane six can be a bit too one note, but most of the episode is simple fun. Score: 7/10

Generally, yeah my thoughts on the show have gotten more negative. But even on first watch I've never been a fan of seasons 5 and 7.

The biggest things for me are the animation and comedy. Seasons 1-3 are a lot bouncier and cartoony which is more appealing to me than the newer seasons which don't anything interesting visually. And the comedy is just better for me in the early seasons. Most episodes back then are pretty consistently funny while I don't laugh as much at most episodes after season 3. The stories of seasons 1-3 aren't much better than 4-9 for the most part, but the animation and comedy keep them enjoyable. Without those two things, the early episodes would be as dry to me as the later episodes.

I'm disappointed, but not because I thought the season would be good. Based on the last 2 seasons, I knew this season would suck. The reason I'm disappointed is because I thought the season would be a mess that I could laugh at or that would at least be interestingly bad. Like episodes with problems that are interesting to talk about and wonder why the decisions were made. So far, season 9 only has one episode like that: The premiere. Aside from that, the episodes have been mediocre. Not actually good, not interestingly bad, and not even bad enough to laugh at. Sparkle's Seven is an exception since it's actually good, but it's still not something that sticks in my mind and it doesn't do anything great. Seasons 1-3 had a charm to them that no other show has captured. There's something about those seasons that makes them stick in my mind and makes them distinct from every other show I've seen. They're not better than every other show I've seen (not even close), but they stick out and I respect them for that. Nowadays, the show doesn't do anything really unique. The art style is somewhat unique, but the charm and cuteness has been washed away in favor of "funnie" faces. Both the story arc and slice of life episodes do nothing that hasn't been done better in other shows. And without that unique personality, there's nothing keeping me from watching those instead. MLP is just fine with hitting some story beats, having some generic jokes, and calling it a day. There is nothing that makes MLP stick out to me anymore. And that's a shame.

Every episode should be treated equally. High stake episodes are not inherently better than low stake episodes.

I think the biggest problem with these season 9 slice of life episodes so far is that they're more concerned with hitting story beats than making the episodes fun. Aside from Sparkle's Seven, they've all been ruined by this problem.

Here's my list. Pinkie and Twilight are only in C tier because of season 4 and after. If this was just seasons 1-3, they would be at least in high B tier.

While I wouldn't call her a Mary Sue (since she's pretty clearly not), I don't think she's an interesting or enjoyable character.

No, but very few seasons start well. The only exceptions are 2, 3, and maybe 6

Have you even read my reviews? I give every episode a fair chance and try to give fair criticism.

I've written reviews for every episode that you can look at if you want.

They did this in Games Ponies Play with Cadence teaching Twilight a breathing technique to calm her down. Yet apparently the show didn't seem to remember that detail since Twilight continued to devolve to the point of the show making meta gags about her.

Eh. I definitely don't like season 6 since most episodes don't stick out either positively or negatively, but I guess it's not as bad as seasons 5 or 7 which both have some of my least favorites of the show.

1. They are not objectively the worst seasons 2. Josh Haber alone is not why things went downhill. There are a variety of factors and piling the blame entirely on one person is ignorant.