bigbertha

I mostly just like this episode because of how it expands the world. We've seen swamp lands before, but this episode shows more about the kinds of ponies who lived in these areas. The main story surrounding it is just okay though. Fluttershy isn't perfect here, which is an improvement from Fluttershy Leans In, but she's still not that interesting to watch. This is probably more of a personal thing and it's been a problem for me since the beginning of the show. Usually, she's paired with someone else to make things more interesting, and while that happens here, she and Twilight don't have a really fun dynamic. And the moral is made so obvious that the third act is incredibly predictable. I like some of the jokes, but that's not enough. Honestly, without the lore I think this episode would just be meh. But with the lore, it's at least interesting. Score: 6/10

This episode is really meh. I like some of the jokes, but too many of them rely on "Rarity acting crazy" jokes which we've seen a lot by this point. Also Pinkie is annoying. Of course. Score: 5/10

This episode has one big problem: The two leads are the most annoying of the mane six. Both Pinkie and Rainbow Dash are grating here. Pinkie for her voice and bad jokes. And Rainbow for how selfish she is. She only helps Daring Do because Daring Do retired thus not making books for Rainbow. Her actions don't really come out of wanting to help Daring Do because they're friends and more because she wants Daring Do to write more. This was a problem back in Daring Don't and it's still a problem here. The story itself isn't very good either. Rainbow, who is supposedly a super-fan of Daring Do, can't recognize Caballeron even though he doesn't even try to hide his voice. The parallel between the hope in the legend of Somnambula and Pinkie jumping into a vat of acid is really poorly presented. And the ending is rushed. The townspeople completely forgive Daring Do once she runs Caballeron out of town even though they had real reasons for hating Daring Do. Yeah, Daring Do makes up for her actions at the end, but that's after the townspeople celebrate Daring Do, carrying her and throwing her in the air. If there was a conversation about this between Daring Do running Caballeron out of town and the town celebrating Daring Do, maybe this wouldn't have been a problem. There are a couple things I like, but they're pretty minor. Pinkie gets a few good bits here and there and the legend of Somnambula is decent. Unlike Campfire Tales, there's actually a story surrounding the legend so a simple legend works, compared to when the simple legends had to be the main things supporting the episode. Somnambula's legend isn't exactly great, but it's fine for what it is and it actually has context. But that's about it in terms of positives. Score: 3/10

I really like this episode. The story does a good job at showing both the new Changelings' and Pharynx's perspectives. The Changelings have a point because Pharynx is a jerk all the time and messes with everything they do. Pharynx has a point because the new Changelings are pretty weak and their belief that they have no enemies can lead to trouble. It's this dynamic that makes the story interesting. I like that the episode doesn't force Pharynx to give up his values completely and instead has everyone reach a compromise. The Changelings are going to learn to defend themselves and Pharynx is going to be less of a jerk to everyone. Though Pharynx changing his form is kinda unnecessary. I think the message of the Changelings learning to accept Pharynx would've been stronger if they accepted his as he was. Starlight and Trixie do a good job at keeping the episode funny. They don't really do much in terms of the story, but they do contribute a lot of fun banter and good jokes. Starlight does end up screwing things up with everything working out okay, but unlike A Royal Problem, she's called out and is made fun of instead of congratulated. It's still really contrived, but at least Starlight gets called out for it. Overall, this is my favorite episode of the season so far. The story is interesting and mostly solid, the comedy is pretty great, and I have to say that this is some of the best dialogue in a long time. Sure, there's still bad exposition and some dud jokes, but most of the lines are pretty great. Score: 8/10

Gay ponies are already all but confirmed with Lyra and BonBon so I don't really know why this is a question when the answer has already been given as yes.

It would most likely have been better. Sure, season 3 didn't have Faust and I think that's a good season, but I feel like that season was trying to stay consistent with the style of the first 2 seasons. The show started to suffer once it broke away from Faust's style in season 4.

Season 1. I can pick out a stand out joke in every episode of that season (except Boast Busters, Stare Master, and Owl's Well) which I can't do for any other season. Also Pinkie, the most comedic character, was at her best in season 1 so that helps.

What a waste. If the point of the episode was just to show some fun legends, it fails because all of the legends in this episode are so generic and dull. If the point of the episode was to expand the world of Equestria and explore new cultures, it doesn't work because the episode doesn't show that much about each culture. There is no contextualization, meaning there's no sense of what time period the stories are taking place in or how they connect in any way to what we already know. We know that the Mighty Helm existed, but that's about it. We know that this Asian inspired land of Unicorns existed, but that's about it. Where was this land located relative to the Equestria we know? Was it close or far away from Canterlot? Was Canterlot even a thing at this point? These are questions that can breed actual expansion of the world. World building is not just about creating new creatures and cultures. It's about connecting these new cultures and creatures into what we already know to make the world feel real. And the framing device isn't much better. It's just bad jokes and reminding the audience of a much better episode. Score: 3/10

Still a great episode. Thorax is adorable and Ember gets a lot of good jokes from not understanding Pony culture. Spike being called by the Map creates a lot more joke opportunities and makes an underlying tension that keeps things interesting. The jokes in general are really good and very consistent. The only issue is that Spike doesn't do anything aside from causing the problem. This is even lamp-shaded at the end. It's Thorax and Ember who end up solving the problem while Spike spends the entire time worrying. But that doesn't hamper things too much. Score: 8/10

When taken as a commentary, this episode fails. Firstly, the journal was written during seasons 4-5. Not before or after. So any arguments made about the mane six at the time don't really apply anymore. Maybe people didn't like Rarity at the time, but I don't think she's that hated now. The guy talking about how Twilight would've been more interesting if she stayed in Canterlot makes no sense since the journal starts after Twilight became an Alicorn. And that also invalidates the "Twilight was better before she got wings". Yeah, people complained that Fluttershy learned the same thing over again, but the writers fixed the problem. That fact makes how the show treats the argument very confusing now that I think about it. The writers themselves recognized this as a problem and made Fluttershy more aggressive. That'd be like if season 4 had an episode calling out Twilight giving out every lesson. Not only would that be outdated, but it'd have been a problem that the writers themselves recognized and fixed. Secondly, there are times where the arguments are just plain wrong. This mostly just applies for Rarity's backlash. The only reason given is that Rarity apparently stated that she think she did all the work in Simple Ways when that's not true. She said she put in a lot of work and that it was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she didn't say she did all the work. The only other argument is that they don't think Rarity has learned any of her lessons. 1. How would they know? and 2. They could say that for any of the mane six. It honestly makes me think the writers couldn't think of a good reason for things to go wrong for Rarity so they just made stuff up. Thirdly, the friendship journal has a different purpose than the TV show. The journal is obviously a metaphor for the TV show, but that doesn't work because the purpose of the journal is solely as an educational tool while the TV show is also to entertain. All of the talk about the mane six like characters don't work because the journal is not entertainment. Any criticisms against the mane six made from the book are automatically bullshit because the journal only documents the lessons made at the end of each episode. The journal does not set out of make characters and tell stories. It's autobiographical and is made to share lessons. The TV show on the other hand is fiction. It does set out to tell stories and create characters. A fair comparison for the journal would be if the TV show was just the friendship lessons from seasons 4-5. Not the rest of the episodes. Just the lessons. If that was true, this episode couldn't be made because there'd be no fan criticism to base it on. You can't criticize something like that unless it gives a rancid moral. But that's not one of the criticisms that the episode goes for. Only the stuff that makes no sense in universe. So yeah. As a commentary on the fanbase, it's a failure. But as a nonsensical farce, it has its funny moments. There are a lot of good one-liners, the scene of the mane six rediscovering the friendship journal I think has the most jokes in one scene of the entire season so far, and some of the fan backlash is legitimately funny. The Sweet Apple Admirers bit is clever and everyone thinking that Pinkie is "the funny one" works because it makes sense that Pinkie would insert a lot of comedy into her entries and that that's the only thing these ponies know about her personality-wise. But the problem is that this episode isn't a farce. It brings up arguments that make no sense in the show's universe and expects the audience to take the episode seriously when it takes the arguments down. By the end, the episode gives such little of a shit about justifying these arguments in universe that they are literally using words like "character". Honestly, if the writers had such a big problem with the fans and really couldn't think of a good way to present it in an episode, they should've sent out a tweet or something. It would've gotten the point across and kept them from making such a mess trying to justify it in universe. It would've been better for everyone. Score: 1/10

This is a very charming episode. Bright Mac and Pear Butter are very cute together and their banter is fun enough. They may come off as too cliche, but the episode justifies it by having their story be told by close family and friends. Of course they would only want to talk about positive memories. I also like that the episode is subtle about telling the audience that the Apple parents are dead. Everyone talks about them like they're dead, but it's never outright stated and I think that works a lot better than a cliche scene of maybe, Apple Bloom getting her hopes up that their parents might come back before Granny Smith says that they're dead. Subtlety is always more effective and it certainly applies here. Sadly, that's the only thing this episode is subtle about. There is a lot of dialogue that feels useless. Like Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Applejack stating when one of their parents does something that they do. And having Pear Butter and Bright Mac talk as babies. Not only is that distracting, but it's just unnecessary. Who cares how Bright Mac gave Pear Butter her nickname? Wouldn't it have been more effective if Bright Mac and Pear Butters just made baby noises while the episode shows them getting along? On top of that, the stuff with Pear Butter and Bright Mac being pulled apart because of the Pears moving is pretty dull. It's such a cliche story and there's not enough charm to back it up. Of course the parents are going to find out about their secret wedding and of course Pear Butter is going to choose the Apples. And the stuff with Grand Pear regretting what he did is super basic. It's pushed to the background for most of the episode so when it comes back at the end it doesn't hit that hard. Same goes for Grand Pear and Granny Smith making up. When Grand Pear comes back, Granny Smith still seems to hold a grudge, but it's dropped very quickly. I think a quick conversation between the two of them would've done a lot of help both problems. Also the episode can slip into cheesy territory a bit too often. This is more of a personal thing, but it just goes too far at some points like during the song and especially the ending. That tree goes way too far in beating the parents's relationship into our heads and that line from Applejack after doesn't help. More of that lack of subtlety. To be fair, there are a lot of little things I like. I like that there's an effort to naturally include secondary characters like Mrs. Cake and Mayor Mare into the story. And the little continuity nods are nice to see, especially Mayor Mare's pink mane. That's a really nice touch. And the episode has a couple jokes spread around. I don't quite think there's enough, but the ones that are there work well. The episode overall is enjoyable enough, but it doesn't quite hit that great mark. Some more subtlety and some tweaking of the story would've gone a long way to make it something great. Score: 7/10

This episode is meh. Discord makes things slightly more interesting, but not interesting enough. I like the scenes of him talking to himself, but that's not enough. Both scenes of Discord going to the tea shops play out in the same way and the scene of Discord seeing Pinkie in a store is annoying because Pinkie. The third act feels like the writers were holding back. It's very slow and mild when it could've been pushed a lot further. I guess it's just another victim of Fluttershy being a very dull character. Nothing about the episode stands out as being especially memorable which is disappointing since Discord is such an inherently interesting character. Score: 5/10

This episode is boring. I mean, this episode has some things going for it. Like, it's kinda fun to see the Yaks again, but that loses its novelty quickly. Pinkie is still annoying, but she's not completely annoying and she has some funny moments. In the end, I think what sinks this episode is how repetitive it is. The second act is just a lot of waiting around in a pretty dull setting. We're just waiting for Pinkie to finally be forced out of Yakyakistan and everything up to that point drags. The third act is a little better, but not by that much. The rest of the mane six don't add too much in the way of comedy. Score: 5/10

You know something wrong when even the characters are pointing out problems with the story. In the first scene, everyone questions why Applejack should be a judge when everyone knows she's too practical and doesn't understand fashion. For some reason, Rarity still makes Applejack be the judge and is then surprised when Applejack is too practical. Rarity is never called out for causing the episode's conflict and the story instead goes through the a really boring story that even the characters predicted would happen. For a positive, I do like the message and the scene with Applejack being confronted with a pony who doesn't like apples is a good one on its own, but the rest of the episode is just bad. Also that joke with Rarity playing the guitar is so badly executed in so many ways. It's honestly one of the worst jokes of the entire series. Score: 3/10

This episode is dumb. For a show that's trying to convince me that it has continuity (as seen by the references to Hearts and Hooves Day in this episode), it's a strange decision to make the CMC follow a fairy tale for romance after Forever Filly, which was about how Sweetie Belle is more more mature now. And it's even dumber that Big Mac goes along with it. And the jokes told from the plan range from bland to uncomfortable. It doesn't help that this episode has a teen pop star parody that was already dated when the episode came out. All the gags with him are too easy and the song he sings was already done better in All Bottled Up. Seriously, not one line in his song even comes close to "Friendship used to make me so queasy queasy". Overall, this is a boring, annoying, and slightly uncomfortable episode. Definitely not one to come back to. Score: 3/10

This episode seems to not understand the difference between supportive and being way too supportive. Supportive parents congratulate their children for accomplishments and tell them they can do better when they fail. They set boundaries for their kid by giving fair punishments when their kid does something wrong and teach them to be humble by not praising them too much. They watch quietly during performances and cheer only when it's appropriate. Super over the top parents, on the other hand, praise their children for everything they do, even when they fail, and constantly cheer and scream even when it goes into being disruptive. Their child never learns that they can be wrong since the parents don't give punishments, and the kid ends up with huge egos who always need praise. Rainbow's parents are clearly shown to be super over the top and we've seen in multiple episodes like 28 Pranks Later and The Mysterious Mare Do Well that this has had a really bad impact on Rainbow, and yet the episode says that her parents' actions are perfectly fine and that Rainbow is wrong for calling them out. Sure, maybe she went too far (but I don't even think that), but the episode doesn't guilt Rainbow for going too far; it guilts her for calling them out in the first place. That is scummy. And then Scootaloo says that she'd want parents like Rainbow's and that's where the episode's misunderstanding is shown the most. Scootaloo doesn't want parents like Rainbow's. She wants normal supportive parents. If she really wants parents like Rainbow's then that's very disturbing. Nothing about the episode makes me think that Rainbow should just appreciate her parents as they are. They collect old diapers, bitten apples, and broken vases. That's not normal support. That's obsession. Yet Rainbow is painted as in the wrong when she complains about her parents actually disrupting her Wonderbolts practice. If the episode is going to say that Rainbow's parents don't have to change, it should justify it. I shouldn't be feeling catharsis when Rainbow blows up at her parents. I should feel that Rainbow went way too far and that they were just well meaning parents, but no. Her parents seem so unaware of how crazily obsessed and disruptive they are that I think they needed to hear all of what Rainbow said to get the point across. Yet even that doesn't work since the ending makes me think that Rainbow's parents are going to continue to be like this. Hell, Rainbow is seen joining in with them at the end. So in the end nothing was accomplished aside from making things worse. I have no idea how this episode was made as everything about it is wrong on a moral level. Even ignoring how morally terrible this is, the episode still sucks. Rainbow's parents are so creepy with their obsession that the first act is uncomfortable to watch. And the rest of the episode has Rainbow's parents act obnoxiously so I get just as frustrated as Rainbow. And Scootaloo doesn't help in the slightest, disturbingly not finding anything wrong with Rainbow's parents and actively guilting Rainbow into forgiving them. This is a broken episode. Both morally and story wise. It isn't funny, it's annoying (with a lot of screaming and squealing), and overall nothing here works. This is garbage. Score: 0/10

Another really boring episode. It takes a cliche story and plays it completely straight. Of course Rarity is going to learn that she needs to stop treating Sweetie Belle like a child. It's obvious by the end of the first act yet it goes on and on. I kinda like the parallel between the main plot and sub plot, but that doesn't make either plot less boring. The story being cliche and predictable wouldn't be such a big problem if the episode was funny or interesting in some other way, but nope. Just mediocrity. Score: 5/10

Fluttershy barely feels like a character here. She has no flaws to learn from and has no defining character traits aside from liking animals. This makes the episode boring because Fluttershy is the lead here. All that happens is Fluttershy decides the build an animal sanctuary, some experts don't make it in the way she likes, and she builds it on her own. She doesn't learn anything and doesn't change at all by the end. She doesn't have to alter her original plans or realize that her plans were too idealistic; her plans are perfect and everything works out. How thrilling. Score: 3/10

This could've been great. Maud's story in finding a friend is really enjoyable, she and Starlight are charming together, and the comedy is consistently funny. The only problem is Pinkie. I know that the story relies on Pinkie being annoying since she needs to learn to not be annoying, but she's just too much. She ruins every scene she's in which is a shame since she's in a lot of scenes. This episode would've benefited greatly from a Pinkie more like seasons 1-3 rather than this obnoxious Pinkie. Instead of screaming a lot of her lines and being really shrill and high pitched, she could've just talked really fast and jumped around a lot, like the older Pinkie. It would've still gotten the point across while being less annoying for the audience. Instead we have a lot of great things brought down by one big problem. It's unfortunate. Nothing feels worse than missed potential. Score: 5/10

This is a very cute episode. That's not all that's here as there are some other good things like Cheerilee making another appearance, Spearhead, and some other jokes, but most of the episode is reliant on Flurry Heart being cute. And in that sense it succeeds. The story isn't too interesting and there aren't that many good jokes, but ones there work and the cuteness factor does help the episode quite a bit. Score: 7/10

Celestial Advice: This does not hold up on rewatch. When you know the ending and that Starlight isn't being sent away, any stakes the episode had goes away and all that's left is a mostly really boring episode. Some gags work and I like that there's some insight into Celestia's mind, but the episode doesn't go far enough into that. Most of the episode is Twilight worrying about doing something we know she doesn't end up doing. Score: 5/10 All Bottled Up: This episode plays out so predictably. Of course Starlight is going to end up learning that she shouldn't hold in her anger through her plan backfiring. The actual climax when her plan backfires is fun, but it's very brief and the rest of her plot is really meh. There are some good jokes, but it's not enough to make up for the bland story and Trixie being annoying. As for the sub plot, I understand that it's going for a juxtaposition between how well Twilight and friends get along compared to Starlight's conflict, but I don't think it's pushed far enough. The song is great, but I wish the entire sub plot was pushed to that level of cheese. That could've been hilarious. Instead, it's mediocre aside from the song. Score: 5/10

-Seasons 2 and 3 are the only good seasons from 1-6 -I love The Mysterious Mare Do Well -The show went downhill after season 3 -Newbie Dash is great -I love Spike at Your Service (though it's more as a guilty pleasure) -Despite hating Stare Master, I like The Show Stoppers -I don't like Dragonshy, Applebuck Season, Return of Harmony, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rarity Takes Manehattan, Twilight's Kingdom, The Cutie Map, Amending Fences, Crusaders of the Lost Mark, and The Mane Attraction, with the last two being on my bottom 5 of the series -Stranger Than Fan Fiction is the only 10/10 episode in seasons 4-6 -I dislike more than half the episodes in season 5 -Despite liking Gauntlet of Fire, I don't think it's the best Spike episode. I think both Equestria Games and Just for Sidekicks are better -I like Pinkie Pride, but it's nowhere near my top 5 or top 10 of the series -I kinda like One Bad Apple. It's not exactly good, but I look back at it positively overall -Simple Ways is in my top 5 favorite episodes of seasons 4-6 -Aside from Make New Friends But Keep Discord and To Where and Back Again (if that counts), I don't like any of Discord's episodes.

Lesson Zero and It's About Time MMMMystery on the Friendship Express and Rarity Investigates Griffon the Brush-Off and The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

This one's dull. It's just one extremely obvious joke. I'd say Starlight the Hypnotist is worse since that one was slightly annoying while this is just boring, but not even the best of these FiM shorts have been good.