spoiler How would you rank the season finales?

[RulesofRarity 489]

Here's my list:

(From worst to best)

8. The Cutie Remark

7. Shadow Play

6. To Where and Back Again

5. School Raze

4. Magical Mystery Cure

3. The Best Night Ever

2. Twilight's Kingdom

1. A Canterlot Wedding

 

 

Edited September 28, 2019 by RulesofRarity

[FlareGun45 2,221]

From least to greatest:

7: Best Night Ever (great episode, but not a great finale)

6: Magical Mystery Cure (proud of Twilight, but it felt rushed)

5: Cutie Re-Mark (great villain cameos, Spike came but didn't do anything)

4: Canterlot Wedding (went beyond my expectations)

3: To Where and Back Again (great use of supporting characters and return of Chrysalis, but there should've been more Thorax episodes, this episode came too early)

2: Shadow Play (the legends, all the mane cast were useful, continue the pony of shadows arc)

1: Twilight's Kingdom (best battle, best plot twists)

[Sly 236]

Twilight's kingdom> Shadow Play> Magical Mystery cure> The Cutie Remark> A Canterlot Wedding> Best Night ever>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Koopa Koot>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Tingle>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Metroid Other M>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Sly 4>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>PPG Reboot>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Call of Duty>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Electronic arts>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>ImrunningoutofideassoIwilljustputalotofarrows>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>To Where and Back Again

Edited October 21, 2017 by Sly

[Peter16373 103]

Season Finales:

7. Season 1 Finale The Best Night Ever 

6. Season 3 Finale Magical Mystery Cure 

5. Season 4 Finale Twilight’s Kingdom

4. Season 2 Finale A Canterlot Wedding

3. Season 6 Finale To Where and Back Again 

2. Season 5 Finale The Cutie Re-Mark

1. Season 7 Finale Shadow Play 

Edited October 21, 2017 by Peter16373

[Megas 27,062]

TBNE(we need another finale like this one)>Shadow Play>ACW>Twilights Kingdom>MMC> Fuck Cutie Remark>Fuck TWABA harder

[Hierok 11,829]

Well, lets see

1. Shadow Play
2. Magical Mystery Cure
3. Twilights Kingdom
4. A Canterlot Wedding
5. To Where And Back Again
6. Cutie Remark
7. The Best Night Ever

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

7. A Canterlot Wedding: This goes dead last, for having Twilight's friends treat her like crap, and for introducing one of the most worthless stallions in the whole series. Fuck Shining Armor, and fuck this episode.

6. Magical Mystery Cure: Twilight getting wings didn't bother me, though I didn't care much for the whole episode being one big musical. A True, True Friend was the only song I liked.

5. Best Night Ever: It's a great slice of life episode, but as a finale? It's nothing too special, though I loved all the Fluttershy bits and seeing Pinkie screwing with Octavia on stage.

4. The Cutie Re-Mark: Pretty solid. Most of the alternate timelines were fascinating, and Starlight's development here actually made me respect her. I wanted her to fall off a cliff in The Cutie Map and die. I've rarely ever stopped hating a character so easily.

3. To Where and Back Again: This episode gets more shit from people than it deserves. Putting the focus on secondary characters, especially reformed villains, makes it clear that anybody can be a hero. And it's consistent with The Cutie Re-Mark in how it reinforces that the Mane Six's friendship isn't the only one that matters to Equestria; everyone's does. The execution isn't perfect, but Trixie and Discord really stole the show here, and Chrysalis has never been more threatening.

2. Shadow Play: Can't go into too much detail for obvious reasons, but man, the character development here was brilliant. All the ponies were vital in resolving the conflict, and the resolution was fantastic. Anybody complaining about Starlight at this point has no soul.

1. Twilight's Kingdom: Best villain, best friendship lesson, and one huge crazy battle in what's arguably the best possible finish to the key episodes. The MLP movie doesn't hold a candle to this.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

7.) The Best Night Ever: Just a cute episode, a fitting end to season 1

6.) The Magical Mystery Cure: Rushed yet fun, great songs and the biggest change in the series, but pacing was off.

5.) To Where and Back Again: Really good, part 1 was slow, but part 2 made up for it

4.) A Canterlot Wedding: First Disney esque 2 parter, great pacing,great music, just great

3.) Twilights Kingdom: Fantastic episode all around, great action and storytelling, just amazing

2.) The Cutie Remark: I loved everything here, from the timelines, to Starlight, it felt like so much was happening but was paced perfectly

1.) Shadow Play:

Spoiler

Balancing so many characters excellently, a fun villain, tons of lore, great new "new" characters, everyone had a role, sooo goood. Oh, and lots of LOORE

 

Also, Starlight never forced anyone in the village to give up their cutie marks, they weren't slaves. They were all even willing to stay equal if Starlight did.

She also had no idea what the negative impact was on the present in TCR

Edited October 21, 2017 by Ryanmahaffe

[DonMaguz 1,023]

1. The Cutie Re-Mark.

2. A Canterlot Wedding.

3. To Where and Back Again.

4. Shadow Play.

5. Twilight's Kingdom.

6. Magical Mistery Cure.

7. The Best Night Ever.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,272]

1. Twilight's Kingdom: An awesome villain, it cemented Discord as a friendly character, it cemented Twilight as the princess of friendship and it had an epic fight to wrap it up. This is how it should be done.

2. Magical Mystery Cure: While this episode is quite flawed, I love it solely because of Twilight becoming a princess. Amazing moment. 

3. Best Night Ever: Probably the most simple of the finales, but that is why I like it. It was a simple premise, with a simple ending and it all felt rather chill. 

4. To Where and Back Again: This was a surrrise for me. I loved the squad of characters that were teamed up and negating their magic was such a good idea. Of course the giant sore here is how the princesses were captured with no resistance.

5. Canterlot Wedding: I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. Chrysalis is a wonderful villain but besides that, this one is fairly straightforward for me. Nothing mindblowing, but still alright. 

6. Shadow Play: Unpopular opinion time. This finale disappointed me. It has an amazing villain, awesome setup and a decent resolution at the very end, but the problem that happens, without spoiling much, it makes every other character become brain-dead for the sake of making it become the Starlight show. I like Starlight at this point, but this was just stupid. No other character objected to the plan except Starlight and what do you know, she was right the whole time. Stupid. 

7. The Cutie Remark: I hate time travel concepts and this episode throws it around like a toy. Starlight was the pure definition of a Mary Sue, being able to fly with magic alone and match an alicorn on a magical level entirely, all of this with a terrible backstory that hardly justifies her mission and her overpowered bullshit. Like I said, I like Starlight now, but this episode made it take a while. 

[Sly 236]

3 hours ago, Kiryu-Chan said:

TBNE(we need another finale like this one)>Shadow Play>ACW>Twilights Kingdom>MMC> Fuck Cutie Remark>Fuck TWABA harder

About TBNE, to be fair, not many people know about the fact that Return of Harmony was originally supposed to be the S1 finale (which personally, it would have had much more sense considering that it had the series finale feeling that all the other finales EXCEPT TWABA had, unlike TBNE), but got shifted to S2 premiere instead. 

This to say: don't expect any slice of life as season finale in future seasons, as TBNE ended being as such just for a "technicism"

Edited October 22, 2017 by Sly

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

1. Best Night Ever: Everything here works brilliantly. The fairytale satire is absolutely hilarious. At the Gala is great. How everyone's expectations fell flat during the Gala and how they desperately tried to make it up was really great. Pinkie with her Hokey Pokey, AJ bringing the cart indoors, Fluttershy trying to trap the animals (only to screw up XD). Great moral at the end. Unlike the other finales, this one doesn't take itself too seriously. The story's hair is loosened, and the plot is really simple. But it doesn't need to be so bombastic. Friendship Is Magic here. Oh, yeah, "afraid to get dirty?!" is still funny. Best S1 episode. Until Perfect Pear, the best episode of the show, too.
   
   Grade: A+
    
2. Shadow Play: FIM's canon is created and rounded on the fly, so it's a huge compliment when this episode is able to make it all look preplanned. This isn't a simple good-vs.-evil story at all. The entire conflict contains several side plots, but weaves them together so well that nothing falls out of place. Every line has spunk and purpose. Even though the stakes are high, the snappy dialogue and varied characterizations provide a boatload of well-done humor. To have the Elements of Harmony be the Pillars' heirs is a genius idea.
   
   But what it does best is how it builds up the Pony of Shadows's backstory more and more, beginning with an excellent homage to the pilot's opening, treating Ponehenge as the Pillars' final resting place (a reference to the possible origins of Stonehenge), and not treating the PoS as some generic villain. Tying the whole plot into a friendship problem in Part 2 is the best plot twist of the series, because it brings Starlight into the conflict and humanizes the story even more.
   
   Starlight has her best appearance to date: She shows off excellent detective skills, understands something was fishy with the entire conflict, and gets very emotional after Star Swirl casts Stygian off as irredeemable; it's my top moment of the second half. While other villain backstories are often isolated or rather short, SP doesn't leave theirs alone and expands it with each scene, deepening the conflict. When Stygian explains he felt like an outcast in the team for being so weak physically and magically, the story takes such a round turn, and goes back to Celestia's line from MMC: Star Swirl doesn't understand friendship. Starlight's whole arc (much higher quantitatively than S6 and better written by far than in S6) made it feel properly built up.
   
   How Haber successfully balanced out fifteen characters (not including side ones and Stygian) in 44 minutes astounds me. SP gets better with every re-watch, and the conflict makes more sense each time you think about it. It's what To Where would be had it been written well. Best two-parter of the series.
   
   Grade: A+
    
3. Cutie Re-Mark: While most rate it down, I rate this high-quality finale a lot higher. This finale points out how one small difference can carry large consequences. Dash's Sonic Rainboom being foiled by a bloodthirsty Starlight does just that, turning every fallout into something much worse, including the funny ones. But when TS dragged SG with her into the future, the episode started to change. The conflict becomes humanized, and Starlight begins to grieve, particularly through denial. Although the cause for her hatred for cutie marks was very brief, think about this. Her only friend was taken away from her due to circumstances beyond her control. It makes no sense for an adult, but it does for a child, whose reactions run less on logic and more on emotion.
   
   Unlike prior villains, Twilight had to face off with a unicorn smarter and stronger than her; attempting to defeat her with magic was pointless. In order to "defeat" her, she had to treat her as an equal. Make her see the consequences of her actions. Open up her heartbreak. Convince Starlight to not be reckless and give the Magic of Friendship another chance. Starlight believed her.
   
   Punishment doesn't work at all, even if some legitimately believed so. If TS punished her, she's going back on her word and telling us friendship is undeserved. That doesn't work in Equestria's proactive and progressive society. Teaching Starlight the MoF is the best option.
   
   Grade: A
    
4. Twilight's Kingdom: Anyone want to epitomize evil in the series? Tirek does it really well. Even in his frail state, he's a magnificent bastard. When he's weak and powerless, that's where he really shined, because he brought forth a quality you can get from an intimidating villain: manipulation. He knew how to get Discord at his weakest. Being one of the most morally ambiguous characters, Discord was ignored by pretty much everyone but FS. Discord knew how to lure him into betraying them and then catch him at his lowest point.
   
   But, boy, was there a major flaw in this episode. The AliTrio were beyond incompetent here. Are you telling me that you're going to have Discord follow and arrest Tirek, and you don't have a backup plan in case Tirek either overpowers or manipulates him? And then in your decision to transfer your magic to Twilight under the belief that Tirek doesn't know jack shit about her presence? WTF?! For all they oughta know, Discord might've told him about Twilight and was coming after all four of you any second now. This is done purely to centralize Twilight as a character here, but the setup's so stupid that it really hurts TK's quality.
   
   Grade: B-
    
5. A Canterlot Wedding: "Guilty pleasure" describes this episode. A lot of fun to watch, but nowhere near that good objectively. The flaws have been tapped and hammered into the wall, so I'll only call out a couple.
   
   The setup to explain SA and Cadance's love is very weak. The audience has no idea whatsoever who they are nor do they know they exist. Up till this point, we know nothing about TS's family life or the thought of how much SA means to her. But it ain't just him. Cadance, too. But both of them are so flat, and their romance is confined to them telling us they love each other.
   
   Queen Chrysalis is dumb here. Sure, she's hammy and egotistical. But when your ego tells you it's a good idea to trap Twilight in the same caves as Cadance, that's just stupid. OTOH, she's as vile and lecherous a villain in the series. She ponynapped Cadance, took her place, and good chances they slept together. Goodness knows what they did the night before the wedding.However, she thought it was also a great idea to visibly brainwash SA in front of everyone…and no one blinked.
   
   Grade: C-
    
6. Magical Mystery Cure: This one is way too overhated, and this is someone who harshly criticized this episode in the past. The rushed pacing, poor buildup leading to MMC (with only TCE prior), treating talent and cutie marks as preordained goals, and the climax happening in Act 2 are all really big problems here. But it also does a lot of really good stuff, too. Most of the songs were really well done (including A True, True Friend and I've Got to Find a Way), and the same goes for the choreography and visuals.
   
   But what does it do really well? Show us she earned it. Twilight's justifiably upset over accidentally warping their brains and history. As a result of her mistake, they live lives they never lived. So what does she do? Find her friends, help them live lives they actually lived by, restore their memories. Although she leads the charge, she needed help from her friends. When she completed her task, she was able to finish SS's broken spell.
   
   Is it good? No. But is it bad? No. The flaws and strengths cancel each other out.
   
   Grade: C-
    
7. To Where and Back Again: Good God, what a train wreck. Starlight's written OOC by choosing Trixie as her "best friend" over Twilight, even though TS and SG have better chemistry, and Trixie manipulated her in NSP. All of the buildup leading up this episode…what buildup? After Tail, SG was missing most of the time and only appeared when the spot or episode demanded it. Trixie and Thorax only appeared in one episode apiece, the latter not getting any proper development to convince the audience he's ready to replace Chrysalis.
   
   Even though Discord's completely reformed and redeemed, he still doesn't give a shit about anyone but FS. If Starlight told him she wasn't kidnapped, chances are he wouldn't care less and needed to be manipulated into joining the rescue.
   
   Pacing is terrible. Most of the two-parter is really sluggish and doesn't start to pick up until they went inside Chrysalis's castle. But in the final battle, Starlight convinces Chrysalis's entire army (which consists of thousands of changelings) to suddenly abandon her in favor of Thorax? This ain't like what happened to Starlight in TCM: FS outed her there to everyone's shock.
   
   Chrysalis is an even bigger idiot here. So, let's see. While SG was gone, you were able to kidnap the RM7, the Royal Sisters, Sunburst, and the Royal Family. Chrysie, you were given ample opportunities to kidnap Starlight, one of which included while she slept in the castle, and you do nothing? Y'wanna remove your biggest threats from conquest? Y'get rid of all of them. She kidnapped Spike and FH for being a threat…but not SG? Chrysie, you're reaching Sunset levels of incompetence.
   
   Finally, and I ratted about this so often…not showing and explaining how Chrysalis and the Changelings kidnapped all of them is the biggest plot hole of S6 and one of the biggest of the entire show as a whole. So, lemme get this straight. In ACW, the M6 took out dozens of changelings in a massive brawl and only surrendered when the entire army cornered them. But you're telling me, just through one scene, that it took probably four, five, or six changelings to kidnap Luna (and have us assume that they kidnapped the others just as easily, too)? To quote @Nuke87654 from the EQDF, this is a form of plot armor, where the changelings will normally have their plots whooped unless the plot demands it. It's the most important plot point of the two-parter and, thus, requires explanation. To claim this plot hole can be deduced through interpretation or doesn't have to be explained is an admission of how fatal this flaw is. Their kidnapping of Equestria's saviors drove Starlight into forming that hodgepodge; how they kidnapped them is the glue that holds it together. With it missing, the story collapses. It's TW's biggest flaw.
   
   I won't cut any corners. TWaBA is a horrible episode, one of the ten worst written episodes of the series (second-worst of S6 behind PPOV), and doesn't deserve any support.
   
   Grade: F

Edited October 22, 2017 by Dark Qiviut

[Thrond 3,257]

1. The Best Night Ever (score: 100) - Hilarious episode which puts the perfect cap on what is still the show's best overarching narrative: the growing friendships of the mane six. Filled to the brim with memorable moments, actually has personal stakes, doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the only finales to play to the show's strengths. 
2. Twilight's Kingdom (score: 95) - Takes itself too seriously, but I have some residual fondness for the intensity of this, which was actually kinda fresh at the time. Moreover, Twilight's confusion and restlessness regarding her new position are sympathetic and genuinely moving, and I think that makes this one of the few pony episodes to actually earn its serious tone. 
3. To Where and Back Again (score: 85) - The other finale to play to the show's strengths. Doesn't waste time on unneeded story details, has a broadly unpretentious vibe, and features the best-ever characterization for Starlight and Trixie. This is a finale based on genuine, relatable anxieties. This is a finale with a genuine sense of vulnerability. This is fun. 
4. A Canterlot Wedding (score: 68) - My opinion of the first half changes with each viewing, and right now I feel it spends too much time on Twilight being annoying, and doesn't have enough to offer besides its mystery. Second half is a total blast, though; one of the only times I feel the show has done action right. 
5. The Cutie Re-Mark (score: 53) - Takes itself way too seriously, and unlike "Twilight's Kingdom," it's not smart enough to justify that. Oh yeah, I totally believe that Twilight & co. are the only ponies keeping Equestria safe, and that nobody else could have done it. The world isn't that simple, dammit! I'm still pretty fond of the climax, though. 
6. Shadow Play (tentative score: 48) - Not the worst finale yet, but certainly the most boring. Takes itself about as seriously as "Cutie Re-Mark," but isn't quite as dumb... though it compensates for that by being profoundly unimaginative. Again, fond of the climax, but Starlight needs to go away. 
7. Magical Mystery Cure (approximate score, pending re-watch: 18) - I just don't believe any of this is justified, so when I'm expected to get emotional about it, I get pretty angry instead. Plus, the way this treats "destiny" still disturbs me to no end, and I'm increasingly convinced that Twilight never even wanted to be a princess. Just hateful all around. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

7. Best Night Ever - Amazing episode of season 1, the most memorable one, but it didnt feel like a finale to me so... 

6. Twilight Kingdom - A bombastic finale that made you proud to be a brony, even myself, but time went on, the novelty has been worn off. Celestia's plan is dumb. The other mane 5 are useless, they just there to remind us the past key episodes and triggers of Rainbow Power, only Twilight actually do something worth-watching, that is what make this finale so low in my list. Whenever i rewatch this finale, i always skip to some funny parts and the fight scenes.

5. Magical Mystery Cure - This finale should be two-parters, i blamed Hasbro for this, but for what it was, i enjoyed it. The songs are amazing, they wont get out of my head anytime soon. Some people call Twilight's descent a 'jumping the shark' moment, to me, it's proved to be capable of changing status quo which a lot of cartoons dont, this finale made me take this kids show more seriously.

4. Cutie Remark - The most grimdark finale with multiple bad alternative universe, it's reallly interesting to see 'what if' scenerios where the mane 6 fail to save the world. Starlight's reformation is believable enough to me, she gave up on her own and never begging for forgiveness, she ready to be punished (some people just ignore that points in their complains about Starlight face-heel turn), it's Twilight decision to forgive her as a Princess of Friendship. I didnt like the backstory that much, i thought it was a weak motivation for a villain, but after many Starlight episodes thoughout S6 and S7, i finally have a clearer picture of Starlight's psyche. So, the backstory is fine, i dont mind it anymore. The reason i cant place this finale higher because of the BS song sequence, they should delete that song and let Glimmer has that last few minutes to make apology speech to Equal ponies. 

3. Shadow Plays - Amazing lore-building finale, it tied to Tree of Harmony origin so well, i like it. Starwirl is a jerk but S3 confirmed that dude sucks at friendship, make totally sense. All mane 6 members actually contribute to the cause by their own strengths and wits (finding the artifact), they use their ability fit their elements of their ancestor. Starlight is great in this episode, she realized the bigger problems and suggested a better solution, mind you, the shadow will be defeated no matter what, Starlight is just there to give a better ending. I feel bad for her in this ep, Sunburst sided with Twilight & Starwirl, ignored Starlight, i want to punch him in the face right now, this finale and Uncommon Bond is a nice combination... They dont waste any precious screentime, i really appreciate that, nothing feel like filler. Twilight is too fond of her idol that cloud her judgement, which is understandable, because it happened in Twilight Kingdom and being addressed in A Royal Problem, she cannot think straight when her idols are around. The shadow has super cool concept but he didnt do anything interesting in the final, just a practice target for Element of Harmony. Stygian's backstory is great but i have a question, why didnt he try to explain whatever he doing instead just running away? Sirens are a big bonus to this finale.

2. To Where and Back Again - An unique finale with combination of secondary characters had to work together to defeat the evil queen without magics, the concept itself is already a bit tricky to write because the Mane 6 are usually the main characters in two-parters and how did they pull out? Well, it went beyond my expectations, i didnt expect it to be that great. The build-ups are subtle that you couldnt even predict what they are going to do with the finale, Trixie become friend with Starlight in No Second prance then become hero of Equestria, a reformed changeling become King of changeling, Discord interact with Trixie and Starlight herself become an enemy with Chrysalis, how could you see this coming? Every members of the group contribute to the story, their dynamics are far better than mane 6 in their recently finale (Twilight Kingdom is just about Twilight, Remark is just about Twilight), each other shine without foreshadowing each other, Starlight couldnt save the world on her own, its the effort of the team make it work. There are some clever moments that surprised me like Thorax disguised as Starlight, Discord being tricked by multiple Fluttershy, Chrysalis snapped her neck. It not a perfect finale for sure, the Act 1 is slow, the changeling's actings are too obvious, how Chrysalis captured everyone were left unknown (even they are explainable but still...), changeling new designs hurts my eyes, i am not seeking for perfection of literature, i am seeking for entertainment and this ep delivered, the entertaining interactions between characters make this finale work. The reason this finale is higher than Shadow Plays is Chrysalis's 'FUCK YOU' to Starlight's reform speech.

1. Canterlot Wedding - Another unique finale featured Chrysalis. This is a slice of life about the royal wedding turned out to be a Canterlot Invasion, this is best plot twist of the entire series, no one see it coming, its not a Best Night Ever, nothing in the show can top this plot twist. This Day Aria is the best mlp villain song ever, nothing in the show right now can beat this classic. Chrysalis is easily become fan favorite villain, she is just entertaining to watch, her plans are actually smart beside trapping Twilight and Cadence in the SAME DUNGEON , everything is ruined because of Deus Ex Machina which is very common in early two-parters of the show... I like Cadence and Shining Armor, they are nice additions to the show (and the abomination Flurry Heart came later on). The scene mane 6 beat the shit out of those changelings is awesome, it's so cartoony violent and funny, it's so 'Powerpuff girl', the mane 6 can defend themself when the situation called for it. Twilight is annoying but i dont mind the old Twilight, i like how she is so obsessive of her brother. The moral is meh (trust your instinct) but the show used to add moral for the sake of it so i dont mind. There are some bad writtings that you may not like if you prefer the writing of later season (the villain is dumb in the end, Cadance and Shining Armor came from nowhere, the main character is annoying) but this finale is just... fun to watch, the songs are amazing, the mysterious atmosphere is great, the plot twist is amazing, the humors are good, the actions are awesome and totally memorable, that all you could ask for a good finale. 

(Editted) None of them are in my bad category, i enjoyed all of them, just some of them better than others.

Edited October 23, 2017 by Lambdadelta

[Ivan The Adorable 304]

I don't have a strong dislike for any of these and they're all mostly fun episodes. That said;

1. Twilight's Kingdom- while I don't think this finale is without flaws by any means, it's my favorite finale. One reason is it serves as a point of focus for the entire season, building up the rest of the Mane 6 as equals in achievement to Twilight to kind of set up the ultimate understanding of her purpose as a princess, that she doesn't have to go the distance alone. The other big reason I like it is it serves as a huge payoff for the Discord redemption character arc, allowing his failure in cynicism to finally turn him to a more sincere understanding of friendship. And yeah, the bombastic over the top action is fun and fun is fun.

2. Best Night Ever - This is basically the perfect finale for season 1. One thing I enjoyed about season 1 is it had really the most internal consistency until Season 7 came along, with the gala being this huge event running through and all of the characters fully showing their element when it finally arrived. It's a great celebration of the characters we had spent a season getting to know, and it's entertaining throughout. 

3. To Where and Back Again - despite my reservations with Starlight's introduction into the series as a main character at this point, this finale served to tie together a lot of the development the character made and establish her value as a character in the future. Which is something a finale really needs to do for the characters it focuses on. I just wish Starlight's character relations with the supporting cast outside Trixie had been illuminated a little more solidly in this season to prepare better for this finale. I'm not too fussed with it pushing the rest of the main cast aside as a matter of framing, just that it was kind of janky in execution.

4. Shadow Play - I really enjoy how this episode ties together many different threads established earlier in the season and uses the history of the series as a whole. I probably need to see this one again to decide my feelings overall. While I was kind of disappointed with Twilight in this one being an idiot in both the summoning and banishment phase, I do think the conclusion was a good development for her. Maybe I just don't think Twilight's had enough solid teaching moments with Starlight to pull it off

5. Cutie Remark - 

6. A Canterlot Wedding - Not a popular opinion, I think, but at the time of airing (and for most of the following two seasons) Candence and Shining Armor are these two bricks of non personality introduced last minute to play some part in an epic plot. I actually like the first half more where Twilight is being intelligent and trying to uncover a mystery, but there's no real payoff. The action scenes are fun and Chrysalis is a great villainess aesthetic wise, but the plot is just ...kind of stupid? Pretty much all the time with the Mane 6 is wasted since the solution is just to blow her up with a love explosion. 

7. Magical Mystery Cure - just kind of "whaaaaa?" On one hand it is a pretty fun episode that has a song I enjoy and the idea of the Mane 6 being forced into each other's role is interesting. On the other hand it's so painfully a random series of events stuck together with no warning to make Twilight a princess because the toy demanded it. I don't care that it was toy motivated, but there was no buildup to this move and it mostly just serves to confuse the purpose of the show and characters. There is no illumination on how this change will affect the characters in the future, which alone is a quality that just makes it bad as a finale.

 

[Ganondox 899]

7. Magical Mystery Cure - Makes no sense whatsoever, is extremely anti-climatic for what it introduced, and has the absolute worst pacing in the series, with the conflict being completely resolved in the first half. 

6. A Canterlot Wedding - The focus is put on two bland, canon-breaking characters who came out of nowhere. The plot resolves around everyone having an idiot ball, and end with a total Deus Ex Machina. 

5. The Best Night Ever - A fine episode, but rather dull compared to later finals. 

4. The Cutie Remark - Pretty fun episode, but there is some inconsistencies with the time-travel, and Starlight Glimmer's Freudian Excuse and reformation were a bit weak/rushed. 

3. To Where and Back Again - Only real complaints is the kidnapping and transformation at the end were both too easy. 

2. Shadow Play - The last two have some of the best drama we've seen from the series and tie in so many points with so much world building. 

1. Twilight's Kingdom - This episode fixed all the crap MMC introduced, which is mainly while I'm putting it above shadow play. I know it had flaws, but after this time I don't care about them much. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Ganondox

[Jeric 46,834]

First, I enjoyed all of them. Just putting that out there. Also re-evaluated several of these very recently. 

 

1. Best Night Ever

2. Shadow Play (fav two-parter)

3. To Where and Back Again

4. Cutie Re-mark

5. Canterlot Wedding

6. Magical Mystery Cure

7. Twilight's Kingdom

 

[Ganondox 899]

On 10/22/2017 at 11:34 AM, Dark Qiviut said:

Twilight's Kingdom: Anyone want to epitomize evil in the series? Tirek does it really well. Even in his frail state, he's a magnificent bastard. When he's weak and powerless, that's where he really shined, because he brought forth a quality you can get from an intimidating villain: manipulation. He knew how to get Discord at his weakest. Being one of the most morally ambiguous characters, Discord was ignored by pretty much everyone but FS. Discord knew how to lure him into betraying them and then catch him at his lowest point.

 

But, boy, was there a major flaw in this episode. The AliTrio were beyond incompetent here. Are you telling me that you're going to have Discord follow and arrest Tirek, and you don't have a backup plan in case Tirek either overpowers or manipulates him? And then in your decision to transfer your magic to Twilight under the belief that Tirek doesn't know jack shit about her presence? WTF?! For all they oughta know, Discord might've told him about Twilight and was coming after all four of you any second now. This is done purely to centralize Twilight as a character here, but the setup's so stupid that it really hurts TK's quality.

Grade: B-

Just a random little comment. After playing a lot of Agar.io, the princesses strategy actually made a lot of sense: it's a lot easier to steal divided power then concentrated power, and Tirek operates basically on Agar rules. 

Edited October 24, 2017 by Ganondox