Popular Unfavorite Episodes

[SolyWack 482]

Do any of you have an episode that just didn't click for you, but in multiple places around the site, you see people praising it? Or Vice Versa, when you really liked an episode and it seems the popular opinion is unfavorable?

 

My example would be Pinkie Pride, i just thought this episode wasn't all that good, some cheesy western guy (pun intended) who throws parties, all of pinkies friends abandon her, then she leaves and comes back and all is happy. One of my least favorites definitely.

 

Or flipping it around, it seems an unpopular episode is Look before you sleep, but i really liked the interactions between the two, and it felt like this is the episode they truly became friends

 

So what do you guys think? Do you have any unpopular favorites or popular least favorites?

Edited May 15, 2015 by AppleJack_Wack

[JonasDarkmane 19,790]

No not really, I like all of the episodes except for "Griffin to brush off" but I don't think there was a lot of like for that in particular. 

[碇 シンジン 27,437]

I like all of the episodes =)=)=)=)=) and they make me feel happy however there are couple episodes that I feel uncomfortable to rewatch

 

Griffon the brush off - I didn't like Gilda because she reminds me of the bullies in my own school who were those 'cool' kids and it is uncomfortable for me to watch the episode because of that

 

From whom Sweetie Belle Toils - I think the thing that Sweetie Belle did was horrible to Rarity and I just feel bad inside when I watch the episode 

[Odyssey 5,718]

The only one I can think of is Magical Mystery Cure. Now I won't say it's entirely bad. I liked how Twilight's ascension to Alicornhood has opened many opportunities for possible story arcs, and the music is good too. I can also see why other people would like it. But for me, I feel as if the story was rushed, the Cutie Mark Swap didn't get enough time for an explanation and Twilight's ascension wasn't handled well, as if it was written around a cliffhanger or whatever.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

I'm not too big on Winter Wrap Up. It's an alright episode overall, but the moral at the end is one of those morals that I'm personally tired of hearing but again, that's just a personal thing. 

 

Also Luna Eclipsed. I only found the episode about average and I feel the only reasons people think it's amazing is because Luna is back. I mean, the episode hangs on you not getting why the mane six are suddenly afraid of Luna without knowing it's a joke. I get that they were joking, but they don't even explain it until the end of the episode so you're just left sitting there confused on how they are afraid of her after seeing her reformed.

 

For underrated episodes, I've got several of them (Daring Don't, Equestria Games, Tanks for the Memories) which I feel are all unfairly hated episodes due to pure over exaggeration to one thing that happened, but I don't want to get to into it here.

[Pastel 7,630]

I thought Pinkie Pride was just ok. I didn't like the whole goof off scene (and I disliked Gummy and Boneless IRL).

 

I really liked Rainbow Falls: the place, the plot, and the fact there were many secondary characters (Bulk Biceps, Spitfire, Derpy...). I don't understand why this episode is so hated. :/

Edited May 15, 2015 by Blobulle

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

The appeal of "Hurricane Fluttershy" has always eluded me.  I found everything about the episode painfully predictable (except maybe for the fact that they didn't actually reach the 1000-wingpower goal) and the implication that you can more than double your abilities on the encouragement of your friends as a bit too ridiculous even for this show.  In addition, the technobabble joke I found too out of character for Twilight at that stage in the show and really left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

I've got several others, but I think this one stands out most.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,163]

I honestly don't think there was a popular episode that I didn't like...

 

However, one of my favorites is easily Daring Don't and I know that one is fairly well unliked amongst the community.

[cider float 2,539]

There are some episodes people like among the CMC episodes. I'm just not thrilled about those and I like to call those "filler" episodes.

 

OR SHOULD I CALL THEM "FILLY" EPISODES??????

 

  is not amused

Edited May 15, 2015 by cidershield

[ponylaces 1,870]

I didn't really like Magical Mystery Cure. I didn't hate it, but it had way too many songs and it felt rushed. If it was an hour long season finale, it could've possibly been a better episode. I understand that it is a musical episode, so it's supposed to have lots of songs, it just bugged me for some reason. Pinkie Pride was also a musical, and I liked that episode.

 

Magical Mystery Cure had some nice moments, and some of the songs were good, but the episode isn't really a big deal to me (well, besides Twilight becoming a fucking alicorn princess).

 

I think an underrated episode is The Last Roundup. I really liked it, and it's probably the only good Applejack episode, but it's usually forgotten because of the whole Derpy thing.

[Megas 27,969]

Magic Duel wasn't all that great. I like it mostly for Zecora, but it is no where near as good as everyone says, let alone to be one of S3's best(in fact I throw up in my mouth every time someone says it was S3's only good episode). I swear people only like it because loltrixie

 

As for the other way around, I could make a laundry list of episodes I like but other people have massive throbbing hateboners for, but some notable ones include Spike at Your Service, Trade Ya, May the Best Pet Win, Baby Cakes and Rainbow Falls(which I swear people act like it shot there dog). There are still plenty of episodes though that people make complaints that make me go "dude, REALLY?"

Edited December 26, 2015 by Megas75

[Sidral Mundet 1,666]

Magic Duel. I really dislike this episode.  

First off the writers can't agree on a tone.  Is this a comedy or a drama?  If it's the former, loss the dark colors and make Trixie a lot more comedic. If it's the latter, lose the jokes you got in and have all, and I mean ALL, the characters actually do something to help stop Trixie and not just hang around waiting for Twilight to come in and fix all the problems.  It's very much trying to have their cake and eat it too, but it doesn't work, at least to me.

Secondly, the whole mess seems to praise Twilight.  If any episode showcases OP Mary-Sueish Princess Twilight Sparkle, this is that episode, and she's not even a princess in this episode!   I mean Trixie apologizes only to Twilight, even though she fuck over the rest of the town.  Do they get an apology? Nope, Trixie leaves town before the police force/lynch mob could get her.

Thirdly,  Fluttershy.  Larson, just stop writing Fluttershy, you can't do it.  The whole Dangerous mission outfit scene is the absolute worst scene with Fluttershy in it.  Yell at a dragon to stop it from causing global warming? Sure. Go into the dangerous and unexplored forest to save the CMC? Yes.  Overcome your fears of being laughed to help get water to Cloudsdale? Right on.  Go to one of your friends house which you've gone to before to help save the town from an evil dictator?  Nope that's way too scary. 

Fourth, where the heck are the cops? This brings me back to the whole rogue unicorn topic I started a while back.  Basically, this episode shows that there is no way that Ponyville has any sort of way to prevent what happened in this episode.  No police force came in to try to arrest or stop Trixie from doing what she did and all the towns ponies just sat back with their mouths open even though unicorns make up roughly a 1/3 of the population.

 

As for the other end, I enjoyed Spike at Your Service.  Yeah Spike was a bit to OOC but everyone else was great IMO. 

[Little Red 1,529]

There are three or four episodes I was never crazy about. Can't think of them all off the top of my head, but I know I wasn't crazy about the parasprite one (name slipped my mind) because I didn't like how Pinkie never bothered to even explain to her friends but her friends were blamed for not just listening to her. I didn't like Mysterious Mare-Do-Well because I didn't think the rest of the Mane 6 handled Rainbow well. And a couple others I just weren't crazy about because the moral/script didn't go right with me.

[PoisonClaw 8,172]

I've never been a big fan of Lesson Zero, which I've heard a surprising number of people over the years refer to as a good starting or "jumping on" episode to introduce new viewers to. To me, Twilight's mental breakdown is way out of character for her, even given her usual and current moments of freaking out. Every subsequent mental breakdown was either brief or much more subdued like in It's About Time, which I like to lovingly call "Lesson Zero Done Right."

[Manman20x6 359]

I cannot stand episodes where the main character acts like a jerk and gets away with it with no repercussions whatsoever. This means:

 

Sweet and Elite : Rarity spends the whole episode lying her plot off, and no one ever finds out the truth. Meanwhile, she's putting off her task of making Twilight a dress, and it turns out for the best! Moral of the story: You are allowed to lie as much as you want, and procrastination will result in everything going well.

 

Just for Sidekicks: Spike spends the whole episode ignoring his responsibilities and bribing his way out of the bad situations he brought upon himself, and by the end of the episode no one is aware of it. Moral of the story: Bribery will solve all your problems.

(This one is a borderline example, as he did suffer SOME consequence in losing all of his gems, but what really bugs me is how no one ever finds out how bad of a petsitter he is.)

 

Tanks for the Memories: Hoo boy, this one is the absolute worst of the bunch. Not satisfied with turning Rainbow into a jerk, they elevate her to full-fledged villain in this episode. She BLEW UP A FACTORY IN THE MIDDLE OF A MAJOR CITY and gets off scot-free! Moral of the story: It's worth it to threaten the lives of hundreds in exchange for minor personal gain.

[baba_booey 4,303]

Unpopular Favorites:

-Tanks for the Memories

-Griffon the Brush Off

-Equestria Games

-Owls Well that Ends Well (pretty much the Sonic 3D Blast of MLP for me lol)

-Most of the hated Season 4 and Season 5 episodes

 

Popular Unfavorites:

-Sleepless in Ponyville - I'm sorry, but if you look past the Rainbow Dash, Luna and Scootaloo scenes, the characterization is incredibly poor and everypony seems to lack common sense.

-Sonic Rainboom - Rarity's too OOC for my tastes, the climax feels incredibly forced, Twilight Sparkle magically finds a "walk on clouds" spell RIGHT after she does a spell that could nearly kill Rarity, and Fluttershy doing the same thing to Rainbow Dash people complained about Pinkie Pie in Filli Vanilli.

[Shanks 10,816]

Popular episodes I didn't like

 

Magical Mystery Cure: This could count for either because of how polarizing it was but these days I would say it is more popular than unpopular. Even if twilicorn manages to work out I am still going to say that this is the worst episode of the entire series. It was like an acid trip and not the interesting kind. It made no sense whatsoever and made a complete mockery of a great character.

 

Rarity Takes Manehattan: I didn't criticize this too much publicly mostly because Rarity was almost entirely ignored last seasons and I felt like I would just let Rarity fans enjoy it because I know what it is like to have your favorite pony be a tad underrated (Applejack). But while the episode was a good idea I just felt like it fell flat on its face because it tried way way too hard to say "we told you she is generous, she sang a song about it." Helping out Suri was a generous act I won't argue with that but that song is like the MLP equivalent of a guy in a crowded locker room bragging about the size of his schlong.

 

Tanks For the Memories: This is the second worst of the entire series and the worst episode of season 5 so far. It took something that had no business being an allegory for death and made it one. There was zero permanence with Tank hibernating because he is going to wake up a few months or so later which made Rainbow Dash's over the top actions completely unjustifed and non sensical.

 

Somepony To Watch Over Me: I am a huge Applejack fan and until that episode never saw a truly bad Applejack episode. Applejack was so insanely out of character that in this episode she seemed like a cheap caricature of what she is in most other episodes. Applejack being overprotective is believable but nothing in the plot made it anywhere near justified to have it be to this extent. It is like whoever wrote this episode hasn't head of subtlety or plot development.

 

I will be back with unpopular favorites when I think of them.

[Dark Qiviut 22,539]

 

 

To me, Twilight's mental breakdown is way out of character for her, even given her usual and current moments of freaking out.

Twilight was never out of character at all throughout Lesson Zero. In episodes prior, she had been shown to freak out, especially if the reasons were justified, like not wanting to get embarrassed in front of Celestia. Lesson Zero features one of her most justified breakdowns. Twilight is very studious and is proud of getting this done on time. By being incredibly organized to a fault, it helps her accomplish those tasks. But when things go by her, she breaks apart: She's not used to situations like those, and she doesn't want to fail the assignment because she doesn't know what might happen nor does she want to. Here, there's a very rigid schedule; she forgets about it; she panics under the near deadline. Twilight wants to solve it and comes up empty every time. In fact, by using the bit of foreshadowing at Sugarcube Corner in Act 1, her meltdown was a long time coming.

[rjrgmc28 130]

For me there are only two episodes that I hated but others liked.

 

The first being Power Ponies in the forth season. I wasn't expecting the episode to be a favourite of mine due to past experiences, but I did not enjoy this episode for many reasons, one of which was due to the whole Flutterhulk thing that went down. Although I stated my reasons why I hated the episode on my blog and made some valid points, I was blasted and was torn apart by several members of a another brony forum that I frequent over my objection to that scene. The overall majority liked that episode while I was the odd one out.

 

The second was Appleoosa's Most Wanted. For some reason while I enjoy CMC themed episodes (including anything Rarity and Sweetie Belle), this episode fell flat for me and also due to Braeburn's appearance that sparked a bit of controversy.

 

After I did my episode recap post and pointed out the reasons why I hated it plus some objections regarding the synopsis and story going into a different direction, I was yet again blasted. Also this almost started a huge fight and I had to pretty much go into "defensive mode" trying to explain further. Again, I was the odd one out on the forum while the majority liked the episode.

 

So yeah, I tend to stir up a bit of trouble if I go against the status quo.

Edited May 16, 2015 by rjrgmc28

[Fawkes The Phoenix 737]

Tanks for the memories. Rainbow was acting too stupid and selfish even though she was aware of that. Maybe she had a reason (and not really a good one, it was always about her and never about Tank in the end) but it doesn't justify what she did, she didn't even feel bad about it. Besides, the writers wanted us to notice the "deep" allegory so easily that they made Rainbow Dash act like that was actually happening. Worst Rainbow Dash episode.

 

Mare Do Well wasn't actually that bad in my opinion and Rainbow Dash was acting in character.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Fawkes The Phoenix

[Creamy Arty 6,252]

No to the first half of OP's question, but as for the second part, I'm one of the elusive fans of Mysterious Mare Do Well. That's right, I enjoyed that episode, and I've liked all of them that Merriwether Williams has written. 

[Superstars111 79]

There are a number of episodes that I had minor issues with, but there were two that I absolutely despised. And I was under the impression that everypony else despised them, too, until just in the past day or so, I've seen people referring to them as brillint episodes, and everypony else agreeing!

 

One of them was the Last Roundup. This one seems to be less popular than the other, and even though it was probably the worse of the two, the other involves my favorite character, so I'm putting this one first.

Applejack lied. "Ah did not lie!" Yes you did. You said you would tell them everything at breakfast. You didn't tell them everything at breakfast, and never intended to. With anypony else, this would have been annoying. But with Applejack, it's just plain against her character. She's not just a lack of lies, she's honesty. Meaning, she shouldn't even be trying to decieve them with implications. And yet she told them repeatedly that she just wanted a change of scenery, and that was all, nothing to it. There were other episodes where she wasn't exactly honest, and that bugged me, but nothing as extreme as this episode, where she went directly against the element of harmony that she's supposed to represent.

 

The other was The Best Night Ever. Or, as I call it, The Worst Episode Ever. Most of it was fine. The song at the beginning was wonderful, and the situations that they were all stuck in were funny and sad at the same time... My issue was that the writer showed that she clearly doesn't understand Fluttershy's character. Animals will love her. That's her special talent. There's no question. They will love her. Now, let's say that the gardener kept scaring the animals off, so that she couldn't play with them. That would have been feasible. But that didn't happen. They didn't love her, which already is enough for me to hate this episode that clearly doesn't understand my adorable little Fluttershy. But what does she do after that? She tries to trap them, even shouting, "YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE ME!" That isn't Fluttershy, who represents the element of kindness. If they didn't love her, which already is completely ridiculous, she wouldn't lose her temper. She would curl up in a corner and cry. And I would hug her and make her feel better and point out that obviously the gardener was scaring them away. But as it is, I really didn't appreciate this episode in the slightest.

[colt_following 169]

I also don't love Pinkie Pride. As much as I love both Weird Al and Pinkie Pie, I just can't bring myself to go back and watch it again.

 

I actually hated the Breezy episode but I went and watched it last night again and I gained a new appreciation there.

[Fawkes The Phoenix 737]

One of them was the Last Roundup. This one seems to be less popular than the other, and even though it was probably the worse of the two, the other involves my favorite character, so I'm putting this one first.

Applejack lied. "Ah did not lie!" Yes you did. You said you would tell them everything at breakfast. You didn't tell them everything at breakfast, and never intended to. With anypony else, this would have been annoying. But with Applejack, it's just plain against her character. She's not just a lack of lies, she's honesty. Meaning, she shouldn't even be trying to decieve them with implications. And yet she told them repeatedly that she just wanted a change of scenery, and that was all, nothing to it. There were other episodes where she wasn't exactly honest, and that bugged me, but nothing as extreme as this episode, where she went directly against the element of harmony that she's supposed to represent.

 

 

What about Twilight in Lesson Zero, or Rarity in Sonic Rainboom, or Pinkie Pie in Party Of One, Or Fluttershy in The Best Night Ever, or Rainbow Dash in Dragonshy? In all those episodes the mane 6 acted against their element, but the difference is that AJ had a reason that was kinda valid. It's not like the mane 6 are supposed to be perfect in all the circumstances.

[chirox the pony 1,336]

A couple, Tanks for the memories being the biggest example, I already wrote a review on it so go read that if you wanna know more. I also wasn't big into castle sweet castle, it was just mediocre to me (I also wrote a review for that).