Season 8 so far.

[CastletonSnob 3,079]

Well, the first half of Season 8 is in the books, and another midseason hiatus is upon us. Now it’s time to give our thoughts on the season so far.

I personally think this season isn’t bad, but it’s a step down in quality from Season 7, for a few reasons. Number one is how they’ve been handling the School of Friendship. For something that was supposedly a big deal, the School of Friendship hasn’t been utilized that well. Besides the premiere and Non-Compete Clause, we haven’t really seen the Mane Six teaching classes. The Mane Six don’t appear to be particularly good teachers, either. Neighsay may be a racist asshole, but he wasn’t entirely wrong when he said the School’s staff is unqualified to teach.

The Student Six haven’t been well utilized, either. They haven’t had episodes centering on them, either as a group or individually. Hell, they’ve barely had any role in the season so far, mostly being limited to background appearances. You could take them out of episodes like Marks for Effort and the episode would be the same. As a result, they haven’t had much, if any, development.  The writers missed an opportunity to develop their friendship over the course of the season, like how the friendship between the Mane Six developed over the course of Season 1.

The other reason I believe this season is a step down is how certain characters have been written. The most glaring example would be Rainbow Dash and Applejack in Non-Compete Clause. The episode felt like a retread of Fall Weather Friends, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash being over-competitive. The only problem is FWF was all the way back in Season 1 and NCC is a Season 8 episode, WHEN THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER!

That’s not to say the season is bad, by any means. It’s had some great episodes like Horse Play, Grannies Gone Wild and Molt Down. That MLP can still have great episodes this late into its run is a testament to its quality. It’s just that it isn’t as good as Season 7, which IMO was the best season of the show.

Overall, I think the season has been a mixed bag so far.

What do you think? How is the first half of Season 8?

[Will Guide 21,364]

Decent. I just we could have spend more time with the new students. And the stuff that was fun in my eyes was still good.
For Now, my top 3 is:
"The Molt Down"- The big Game Changer

"Parent Map"- I relate to Sunburst a lot

"Surf and/or Turf"- The Seaponies and Hippogriffs are fleshed out more.

and the only 2 I would call bad, although not enough to make me swear like a sailor

"Fake it Until You Make it" Couldn't understand half of the dialog and so was not being as engaged as I should.

"Non-Compete Clause" While I do agree with the fact that RD and AJ were terrible teachers from a more realistic POV, I wouldn't go Fury with Rage over this. although it's only the worst in comparison to the rest of S8 so far. It's still has good points in my book.

[Rhythm Red 6,484]

I haven’t watched a couple of the recent episodes (which I should probably do), but I can say that season 8, along with the other newer seasons, feels like a completely different show to me than the first 4-5. That’s a good thing in some ways, but a bad thing in other ways. Overall, I’d say I’ve certainly enjoyed season 8 so far. Its had several great episodes, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the season. It’s definitely not my favorite season, though.  

[King of Canterlot 9,603]

32 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

Overall, I think the season has been a mixed bag so far.

That's exactly the right way to describe it, a very mixed bag of episodes and characters. I have tended to like the episodes this season that don't necessarily focus on the school or the new students. Personally the episode I've hated the most this season is Surf and/or turf I just don't like it for a whole number of reasons, and I just couldn't stand the CMC's in that episode. But the season has had many great episodes too, from Grannies gone wild to The parent map, I really liked those episodes, and I honestly didn't mind Fake it till you make it either, I'm surprised that many people don't like this episode. 

I hope that they try to develop the characters more, especially the students, but honestly I'm not sure if that'll happen because I think MLP may have too many characters this season, and not enough screen time to be able to show them all growing and learning. MLP has been around for a long time though, and I'm confidant that they'll be able to finish out this season strong, they have in the past  

[Oleks 1,993]

IMO, this season had a rather slow start, and I'm still not a fan of the School of Friendship idea, at least with the Mane Six as its full-time teachers. But it had a number of very good epsides, especially the recent ones. And, of course, Horse Play was just wonderful.

Personally for me the biggest change so far is the fact that Limestone is now my favorite Pie sister.

I also hope they'll focus more on the Student Six in the future episodes, because it really feels like a missed opportunity.

Spoiler

As for Non-Compete Clause... If only we could forget it and never speak of it again.

 

[Zhortac 1,475]

Minus 50 points for lack of Trixie this season.
It does get points for this god tier meme face from Starlight.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

First half of season 8 favorite to least:

* Molt Down (Spike going through a physical change, most relatable story, great use of Zecora and Smolder)
* Breakup Breakdown (great moral, great choice of characters, hilarious)
* Parent Map (got to know Starlight and Sunburst's parents, interesting moral, wish we got to know a bit more on Starlight's past)
* Horse Play (Celestia's most starred and character developing episode ever)
* Surf and/or Turf (awesome new concept taking place in a movie environment, and amazing moral, but what use were the CMCs?)
* Grannies Gone Wild (very hilarious episode)
* School Daze (interesting new concept, interesting and realistic antagonist, awesome new characters)
* Marks for Effort (the CMCs were awesome in here and so was Starlight, love the setup for Cozy Glow, Twilight was a little too mean in one part)
* Non-Compete Clause (AJ and Rainbow were very OOC and annoying, but the Student Six makes it worth while)
* Mean Six (loved Chrysalis and the clones, but the Mane Six side of the story felt boring, and felt like another Return of Harmony)
* Maud Couple (good concept that dragged on in some parts)
* Fake It Till Ya Make It (interesting Fluttershy personas but overall episode felt rushed in some places and dragged in others)

There was not a single episode I disliked! Some I mighta had problems with, but not that much! This season is going AWESOME!

Edited June 9, 2018 by MegaSean45

[FirePuppy 736]

5 hours ago, Zhortac said:

Minus 50 points for lack of Trixie this season.
It does get points for this god tier meme face from Starlight.

Disagreed. I despise Starlight/Trixie episodes! The next time Trixie ever gets an episode, it better be her LAST one.

3 hours ago, MegaSean45 said:

First half of season 8 favorite to least:

* Molt Down (Spike going through a physical change, most relatable story, great use of Zecora and Smolder)
* Breakup Breakdown (great moral, great choice of characters, hilarious)
* Parent Map (got to know Starlight and Sunburst's parents, interesting moral, wish we got to know a bit more on Starlight's past)
* Horse Play (Celestia's most starred and character developing episode ever)
* Surf and/or Turf (awesome new concept taking place in a movie environment, and amazing moral, but what use were the CMCs?)
* Grannies Gone Wild (very hilarious episode)
* School Daze (interesting new concept, interesting and realistic antagonist, awesome new characters)
* Marks for Effort (the CMCs were awesome in here and so was Starlight, love the setup for Cozy Glow, Twilight was a little too mean in one part)
* Non-Compete Clause (AJ and Rainbow were very OOC and annoying, but the Student Six makes it worth while)
* Mean Six (loved Chrysalis and the clones, but the Mane Six side of the story felt boring, and felt like another Return of Harmony)
* Maud Couple (good concept that dragged on in some parts)
* Fake It Till Ya Make It (interesting Fluttershy personas but overall episode felt rushed in some places and dragged in others)

There was not a single episode I disliked! Some I mighta had problems with, but not that much! This season is going AWESOME!

I can't believe you put the episode I totally hate the most as #2 and Pinkie and Fluttershy's only respective episodes on the bottom. I'll feel even more nervous if we get another Mane Sixless episode in the future and it ends up in a very high position.

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

The only episode I said MEH to was Non-Compete Clause, mainly because of Applejack and Rainbow Dash's behavior.  It was only balanced out by the Student Six's own enthusiasm.

Other than that, I actually did like this season so far.  My only complaint is that some previous side characters aren't shown off(Ex: Diamond Tiara, Ms Pommel, Trixie)

[Zhortac 1,475]

8 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

Disagreed. I despise Starlight/Trixie episodes! The next time Trixie ever gets an episode, it better be her LAST one

Excuse you? I know it's ok to be wrong, but this is just beyond that.

[Ganondox 899]

I think it's a completely average season. It's got good episodes and not so good episodes. Overall I think it's pretty good, but I like the show, and it's a far cry from what we got from Season 7 by this point. 

Here is my midseason ranking: 

1. Marks For Effort (One of the few episodes to actually surprise me, Cozy Glow is interesting, and lots of great small things)
2. Horse Play (Light hearted and a whole lot of fun, maybe one of the funniest ever)
3. The Mean Six (Very entertaining both on it's comedic and dramatic fronts, it successfully works a major villain into a slice of life episode)
4. The Parent Map (It kinda drags on at first, but then the moment at the end where everything is finally explained really gets to me)
5. Surf and/or Turf (I like the world building and the theme about divorce) 
6. Fake It 'Til You Make It (They pulled Fluttershy's characterization off much better than I was expecting from the synopsis, and her different personas where so fun)
7. The Break Up Breakdown (Lots of snappy dialogue, but I found the resolution unconvincing, I for one don't believe in Hearts and Hooves Day )
8. Molt Down (Yet another rushed big change episode, it had some great moments, but it didn't seem to have any real moral aside from a bizarre puberty metaphor)
9. School Daze (One of the better season openers, but not one of the best)
10. Non-Compete Clause (I found it meh, but not as bad as many made it out to be, it just wasn't very good)
11. The Maud Couple (I try my hardest to defend him because it's not his fault, but I really don't like Mud Briar, he's so annoying)
12. Grannies Gone Wild (Oo look, Rainbow Dash is just going to be incredibly lame because Applejack is worst pony for no reason)

 

 

 

[Kadeda 178]

Only episode i didn't like was Non-Compete Clause. Rest was entertaining.

[Goat-kun 2,530]

Pleasantly underwhelming death throes spiced by its own existential futility mashed into the mold of predictable outcomes and transformed into asset flip quips by redundancy and misuse.

[Thrond 3,263]

I like it! Specific episodes are generally quite entertaining, the concepts on offer here are generally fresh even when the plot structures aren't, and there's a general sense that most of the characters have new direction. I'm finally fully on board with Starlight Glimmer, and these past four episodes in particular have been consistently delightful. I particularly like the fact that moralizing isn't taking centre stage here, and several episodes have only very general morals, instead giving the stories and jokes space to breathe. In general, the show feels sharper and more creative than it has in a while. 

The school concept was always somewhat weird, but I'm surprised by how little it's actually been invoked. There's some episodes which probably couldn't exist without it - my beloved "Horse Play" feels like a lost season 2 episode, but it might not have been able to happen without the new status quo - but a lot of mane six episodes only make nominal reference to it, and the show has done very little to examine how they're reacting to their new positions. As such, the mane six still feel kinda rudderless even as Spike, the CMC, and Starlight continue to have interesting roles, and even with fun episodes like "Grannies Gone Wild" and "The Mean 6," there's not a great sense that we're learning much new about them. Some people say there's not much left to do with them, but I think they just need a change of scenery. Too bad that "Non-Compete Clause," the one episode to really try, just had all the wrong ideas. 

We'll have to see how the back half holds up, but there's also a decent handful of episodes here which I just don't like at all. They're hardly the majority, but it's not quite on par with the first half of, say, season 6, for example. With that said, there's very few episodes I've been indifferent to, and in one case I was even able to reevaluate my opinion on an episode for the better, which usually isn't how my feelings towards this show evolve. In short, I'm just into what's being offered here, and after a particularly brutal season 7, it's reminding me what I loved about this show. 

[FirePuppy 736]

Also by the looks of it, some more side characters appeared for the first time without any of the Mane Six whatsoever (The Break Up Break Down, the episode I totally hated), like Spike, Discord, the donkeys from A Friend in Deed, and even Maud Pie and Mudbriar!, and STILL not a single episode where Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie individually appear without the rest of the Mane Six. The only other characters left besides them without such a thing are Granny Smith, Sunburst, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and the latter two's daughter, Flurry Heart.

Edited June 13, 2018 by FirePuppy

[Misty Shadow 7,969]

Nearly all of the episodes so far have been fairly good, about even with Season 7 for me. I still like Non-Compete Clause, unlike many who don't, but I do agree that episodes like Fake It Till You Make It and Grannies Gone Wild were fairly lackluster. Episodes like The Maud Couple, The Break Up Break Down, and The Mean 6 though, were awesome.

[GeekySonic 1,150]

I was frustrated to have to watch other people's react videos to view the episodes, but at least I'm finally caught up. With the exception of Non Compete Clause, I thoroughly enjoyed every episode so far.