Season 8

[Tia12520 48]

How is everyone enjoying season 8 so far?  Only a couple more episodes left! ^^

[Jeric 46,866]

I’ve finished it a bit ago due to the overseas releases and I on the whole I enjoyed the season and a look at some newer characters. 

[Tia12520 48]

I feel like the overseas releases of the episodes really ruined it for a lot of people but, besides that I think this season was pretty great and the new characters made this season even better. It was sort of refreshing in a way. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,464]

Too watched the early releases, and I absolutely love Season 8. It's the most consistent season and the home of some of the show's best episodes.

[ShootingStar159 2,157]

I enjoyed it very much. I did have some problems with some episodes, especially the finale, but it was still good enough to be my third favorite season of the show. That’s pretty impressive with all the chances that the season took.

[FirePuppy 736]

I didn't enjoy most of it. Sure, the idea of the Student Six was ok, but some of my favorite characters (Pinkie Pie is one of them) hardly did anything at all this season. Hopefully Season 9 will be much better with lots more Pinkie Pie and Student Six at the same time.

[Megas 27,823]

It was alright, not to the peaks S5 or S7 reached, but had some great moments, mainly in the second half 

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,597]

Season 8 was very solid... overall.

The first half was a mixed bag. While most of the episodes were good with a few gems, and only one real bad episode "Non-Compete Clause", but it had a string of okay episodes as well. 

However, the second half brought the season from okay to pretty good thanks to a string of great episodes and a very good finale.

Season 8 represented a change in the status quo with a new setting, new characters, and a new challenge for the Mane 6. 

Twilight and the Gang were handled pretty well and had some pretty good focus episodes, but a strong point of this season were the students. The showrunners did a very good job of developing them without shoehorning them in.

The biggest strengths of Season 8 were how it continued to show how the main characters have grown and matured throughout the show, how it introduced the new characters, and how it continued to expand on the lore.

The biggest weaknesses of Season 8 lie in two things:

1. Many episodes either retread or rehash ideas from previous seasons ("Fake It Til' You Make It", "Non-Compete Clause") to mixed results.

2. Several episodes are dependent on you having seen the movie to understand what's happening.

All in all, despite some pacing issues and a rocky start, Season 8 was a good, but not great season with a strong finish as we build up the the supposedly final season.

8.0 out of 10.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

I'd say season 8 is probably my third or second favorite as it stands; with only seasons 7 & 5 being better or equal. I've come to love the student 6 as a group (Gallus is best griff; period, and Yona is just so pure <3) and aside from a couple of dud episodes; every episode felt good to great, with a string of episodes from "On The Road To Friendship" to "Sounds of Silence" being EXCELLENT! Loved this season. <3

[Here No Longer 5,279]

As of "Father Knows Beast", Season 8 is my second least favorite season of the show, to Season 3 obviously. What are it's problems? Well...

1. The episode quality has just been absurdly inconsistent. Ones like "Rockhoof and a Hard Place" to (most recently) "Father Knows Beast."  Sure, most of the highs have been pretty good highs (like the aforementioned "Rockhoof and a Hard Place", easily one of the top 10 episodes in the whole of the series in my opinion), but most of the lows have been lower (as with "Fake It 'Til You Make It", my least favorite episode in the entire series).
2. The Mane Six have just not really been good this season. I mean Twilight's had a pretty solid season, but that's really about it. Flutters has been horrendously underused (she was pretty solid in "Sounds of Silence, why not just do more of that?), Rarity's been sort of meh (though she's had quite a few bad outings, most notable of which being "The End in Friend"), at LEAST half of AJ's and RD's appearances have been terribly marred with a**holery (including but not limited to AJ in "Sounds of Silence", RD in "The Washouts", and both in "The Non-Compete Clause"), and Pinkie seems to have forgotten everything but how to be as aggravating as possible (Hey, at least one thing's consistent this season, but it is that Pinkie has been awful all the way through...).
3. There have been a remarkably disappointing number of 4/10 or lower episodes this season. This kind of ties in with the inconsistency, but I feel like it deserves its own mention nonetheless. The list as of now includes: "The Maud Couple" (4/10), "Yakity-Sax" (4/10), "Father Knows Beast" (4/10), "The Non-Compete Clause" (3.5/10), "The End In Friend" (3.25/10), and "Fake It 'Til You Make It" (2.5/10). That list, it should be said is CONCERNINGLY LONG.
4. I almost forgot to add something here. The whole season itself has had awkward pacing. Probably the smallest of the issues I'll mention here, but it is problematic. It started a bit too slow, and now is going a bit too fast with the overarching storyline.

 

But, there have been a couple of positives this season, that don't make it a Season 3 level travesty. The Student Six concept has worked far better than I originally anticipated and the world building this season has been decent enough. But that doesn't really compensate for the bad in my opinion. This season is the first since Season 3 that I have to say I didn't enjoy. Heck, I think Season 6 was pretty good, even if it wasn't really comparatively. This season has just been... mediocre, really. And that's the equivalent of "bad" in MLP terms.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Dusk Noire

[Thrond 3,263]

It’s kind of up and down for me. Like last season, I kinda feel the show’s shifted its focus to stuff I kinda don’t care about, and there’s a certain sense of dispassion regarding the mane six. People like “The Washouts” and “Sound of Silence,” but I honestly don’t feel those use these characters as well as the show’s best episodes either, and I feel a lot of episodes this season have been poorly structured. It’s why my favourite episodes this season are the most sitcom-like ones: “Horse Play,” “The Mean 6,” “Grannies Gone Wild,” etc. But I also like how this show feels less restrained by being a kids’ show. It has tackled subjects like puberty and abandonment much more directly than I would have expected the show to in many years prior. It’s just a shame that I found a good chunk of this season irritating and unfunny. The fact that this show is still predictable and simplistic might have sat better with me if it weren’t for that. 

Nobody has anything nice to say about the next two episodes, but my tune will change if they surprise me. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by AlexanderThrond

[FirePuppy 736]

3 hours ago, Dusk Noire said:

As of "Father Knows Beast", Season 8 is my second least favorite season of the show, to Season 3 obviously. What are it's problems? Well...

1. The episode quality has just been absurdly inconsistent. Ones like "Rockhoof and a Hard Place" to (most recently) "Father Knows Beast."  Sure, most of the highs have been pretty good highs (like the aforementioned "Rockhoof and a Hard Place", easily one of the top 10 episodes in the whole of the series in my opinion), but most of the lows have been lower (as with "Fake It 'Til You Make It", my least favorite episode in the entire series).
2. The Mane Six have just not really been good this season. I mean Twilight's had a pretty solid season, but that's really about it. Flutters has been horrendously underused (she was pretty solid in "Sounds of Silence, why not just do more of that?), Rarity's been sort of meh (though she's had quite a few bad outings, most notable of which being "The End in Friend"), at LEAST half of AJ's and RD's appearances have been terribly marred with a**holery (including but not limited to AJ in "Sounds of Silence", RD in "The Washouts", and both in "The Non-Compete Clause"), and Pinkie seems to have forgotten everything but how to be as aggravating as possible (Hey, at least one thing's consistent this season, but it is that Pinkie has been awful all the way through...).
3. There have been a remarkably disappointing number of 4/10 or lower episodes this season. This kind of ties in with the inconsistency, but I feel like it deserves its own mention nonetheless. The list as of now includes: "The Maud Couple" (4/10), "Yakity-Sax" (4/10), "Father Knows Beast" (4/10), "The Non-Compete Clause" (3.5/10), "The End In Friend" (3.25/10), and "Fake It 'Til You Make It" (2.5/10). That list, it should be said is CONCERNINGLY LONG.
4. I almost forgot to add something here. The whole season itself has had awkward pacing. Probably the smallest of the issues I'll mention here, but it is problematic. It started a bit too slow, and now is going a bit too fast with the overarching storyline.

 

But, there have been a couple of positives this season, that don't make it a Season 3 level travesty. The Student Six concept has worked far better than I originally anticipated and the world building this season has been decent enough. But that doesn't really compensate for the bad in my opinion. This season is the first since Season 3 that I have to say I didn't enjoy. Heck, I think Season 6 was pretty good, even if it wasn't really comparatively. This season has just been... mediocre, really. And that's the equivalent of "bad" in MLP terms.

 

 

Can't blame you about the main characters. Rainbow Dash should definitely have less episodes like this in the final season, and I do want to see more Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie episodes that are good as well.

[Megas 27,823]

7 hours ago, Dusk Noire said:

 at LEAST half of AJ's and RD's appearances have been terribly marred with a**holery (including but not limited to AJ in "Sounds of Silence", RD in "The Washouts"

>Sound Of Silence and The Washouts 

>lots of growth and maturity for both characters, the latter in particular has her trying to be more mature 

>”made them terrible assholes”

 

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,597]

10 minutes ago, This Whomps said:

>Sound Of Silence and The Washouts 

>lots of growth and maturity for both characters, the latter in particular has her trying to be more mature 

>”made them terrible assholes”

 

Shhh, you'll poke holes in his narrative.

[Here No Longer 5,279]

 

1 hour ago, Theanimationfanatic said:

Shhh, you'll poke holes in his narrative.

 

There is no narrative...?

 

1 hour ago, This Whomps said:

>Sound Of Silence and The Washouts 

>lots of growth and maturity for both characters, the latter in particular has her trying to be more mature 

 

 

 

... What? I have a feeling you weren't watching the same episodes I was. Sound of Silence where AJ was fussing Flutters for finding a f***ing shortcut and Rainbow Dash where she literally trashed the clubhouse over Scootaloo having a fan club NOT devoted to her...? I don't see any "growth" in either.

 

Edited October 6, 2018 by Dusk Noire

[Dark Qiviut 22,464]

9 hours ago, Dusk Noire said:

at LEAST half of AJ's and RD's appearances have been terribly marred with a**holery (including but not limited to AJ in "Sounds of Silence", RD in "The Washouts",

@This Whomps is 100% right. Both Sounds and Washouts heavily explored their characterizations, motivations, and what they learned so they can grow without being out of character, flanderized, or unlikable. Dash in TW, for example, is her most nuanced episode since Wonderbolts Academy: Multiple facets of who she is are molded with such complexity, giving her three dimensions that make her both endearing and sympathetic.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Dark Qiviut 22,464]

12 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

Sound of Silence where AJ was fussing Flutters for finding a f***ing shortcut

AJ was more upset at Fluttershy for not following her up the peaks and took her time with the squirrels for granted. Before she went too far, FS set her straight, and she apologized twice, once for getting carried away (immediately) and for not taking her communication with them seriously (in the climax).

12 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

Rainbow Dash where she literally trashed the clubhouse over Scootaloo having a fan club NOT devoted to her...?

That was the point. Rainbow Dash's personality juggled between envy and ego, but at the same time, she was genuinely concerned for Scootaloo's safety and was rightfully upset at her for taking her training with the WB for granted (the moment where Scoot asked Dust for advice to intentionally disqualify herself from the WB). Her decision to trash the fanclub accidentally overlooked Scoot's biggest insecurity — her disability — and she had to learn how to show devotion for Scoot and concern for her safety without her flaws undercutting them.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Megas 27,823]

14 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

 

 

There is no narrative...?

 

 

... What? I have a feeling you weren't watching the same episodes I was. Sound of Silence where AJ was fussing Flutters for finding a f***ing shortcut and Rainbow Dash where she literally trashed the clubhouse over Scootaloo having a fan club NOT devoted to her...? I don't see any "growth" in either.

 

Gotta love that condescending “not watching the same episode” argument by someone completely twisting the episodes to fit their own narrative, one that’s blatantly wrong on so many levels and missed the big picture entirely 

[Here No Longer 5,279]

Just now, Dark Qiviut said:

AJ was more upset at Fluttershy for not following her up the peaks and took her time with the squirrels for granted. Before she went too far, FS set her straight, and she apologized twice, once for getting carried away (immediately) and for not taking her communication with them seriously (in the climax).

 

That was the point. Rainbow Dash's personality juggled between envy and ego, but at the same time, she was genuinely concerned for Scootaloo's safety and was rightfully upset at her for taking her training with the WB for granted (the moment where Scoot wanted to intentionally disqualify from the WB).

Her decision to trash the fanclub accidentally overlooked Scoot's biggest insecurity — her disability — and she had to learn how to show devotion for Scoot and concern for her safety without her flaws undercutting it.

That may be true, but she should really know Flutters better than that. She knows she wouldn't just stay behind if there wasn't an actual reason. If that were the case, that would be SEVERELY out of character. I didn't find the first apology really that sincere, and as for the second I either skipped past it (I skip sometimes when watching episodes), or I didn't notice. Nonetheless, for her to assume that Flutters was just wasting time wasn't right in that situation. She should have known better at the least.

 

The point was to make her an egotistical a** that can't handle the fact that Scoots would possibly make a fanclub that isn't devoted to her? That makes for a pretty bad point for an episode. She was no more concerned about it than everyone else was, from my view. If anything, she seemed a lot more concerned about the attention she wasn't getting and her problems with Lighning Dust. 

... And I don't believe that she really did. I believe that she didn't really learn anything and only just accepted it. But I could certainly see how the ending could be interpreted differently.

Just now, This Whomps said:

Gotta love that condescending “not watching the same episode” argument by someone completely twisting the episodes to fit their own narrative, one that’s blatantly wrong on so many levels and missed the big picture entirely 

Well, that' phrasing is a fantastic way to lose credibility is it? Calling an opinion "wrong on so many levels"? Seriously, get a life. And me having an opinion that doesn't correspond with yours makes me clearly have a narrative? That's just f***ing childish. At least I can respect @Dark Qiviut's actual attempt to make real arguments, and not just slinging s*** because you're offended that I don't agree with you. 

[Megas 27,823]

33 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

That may be true, but she should really know Flutters better than that. She knows she wouldn't just stay behind if there wasn't an actual reason. If that were the case, that would be SEVERELY out of character. I didn't find the first apology really that sincere, and as for the second I either skipped past it (I skip sometimes when watching episodes), or I didn't notice. Nonetheless, for her to assume that Flutters was just wasting time wasn't right in that situation. She should have known better at the least.

 

The point was to make her an egotistical a** that can't handle the fact that Scoots would possibly make a fanclub that isn't devoted to her? That makes for a pretty bad point for an episode. She was no more concerned about it than everyone else was, from my view. If anything, she seemed a lot more concerned about the attention she wasn't getting and her problems with Lighning Dust. 

... And I don't believe that she really did. I believe that she didn't really learn anything and only just accepted it. But I could certainly see how the ending could be interpreted differently.

Well, that' phrasing is a fantastic way to lose credibility is it? Calling an opinion "wrong on so many levels"? Seriously, get a life. And me having an opinion that doesn't correspond with yours makes me clearly have a narrative? That's just f***ing childish. At least I can respect @Dark Qiviut's actual attempt to make real arguments, and not just slinging s*** because you're offended that I don't agree with you. 

Alright I'l level with you, just because it's an opinion doesn't mean it isn't a load of horseshit, as you're blatantly cherry picking a few scenes while ignoring key moments that make the episode work, in the case of The Washouts, ignoring half of the damn episode(Though considering you admit to skipping parts of episodes that wouldn't be surprising in the least). Your getting mad at AJ for butting heads with Fluttershy, and they're shit any reasonable human being would get annoyed by. And you ignore the fact that she did make amends with her, passing it off as sincere when the episode clearly makes it otherwise. 

As for Rainbow Dash dealing with jealousy and ego, that's the conflict. And one she completely drops halfway into the episode. If it really was about her ego, then she wouldn't have saved Scootaloo at the end of the episode, or would have let her hurt herself to teach her a lesson, both of which would have been garbage. She also accepts that Scootaloo's her own person should let her make her own decisions.

And no, not every damn decision she makes needs to be related to her ego, let's make that very clear. 

Edited October 6, 2018 by This Whomps

[Here No Longer 5,279]

11 minutes ago, This Whomps said:

Alright I'l level with you, just because it's an opinion doesn't mean it isn't a load of horseshit, as you're blatantly cherry picking a few scenes while ignoring key moments that make the episode work, in the case of The Washouts, ignoring half of the damn episode(Though considering you admit to skipping parts of episodes that wouldn't be surprising in the least). Your getting mad at AJ for butting heads with Fluttershy, and they're shit any reasonable human being would get annoyed by. And you ignore the fact that she did make amends with her, passing it off as sincere when the episode clearly makes it otherwise. 

As for Rainbow Dash dealing with jealousy and ego, that's the conflict. 

And one she completely drops halfway into the episode.

If it really was about her ego, then she wouldn't have saved Scootaloo at the end of the episode, or would have let her hurt herself to teach her a lesson, both of which would have been garbage.

She also accepts that Scootaloo's her own person should let her make her own decisions.

And no, not every damn decision she makes needs to be related to her ego, let's make that very clear. 

Just because you're acting like you're trying to be reasonable doesn't mean you are. I see it will be impossible to reason with you on this front. Since you obviously can't f***ing tolerate an opinion you don't agree with. If anything, this is more infuriating than the last one because it's less childish aggression and more passive aggressive sass. Got to love hypocrites (complains about me being condescending, then turns around and makes a condescending post).

I mentioned this already when quoting DQ, but here it is. I don't agree with any of what you are saying here. It's kind of bad to have an episode with the entire point of making RD an egotistical prick. It makes for a bad premise, and in my opinion it was executed even worse. 

... And you accuse me of cherry-picking. The scene where she totally trashed the treehouse was at least a couple of minutes past halfway through...

It's very difficult to read this, but judging on what you're trying to say, you're trying to make it out like I'm saying that she's being completely and utterly callous about it. It can most definitely be that she did have a degree of concern and still was butthurt over the fanclub garbage.

As I said when I quoted DQ, I could see how somebody could come to that conclusion on the ending, but I'm not entirely convinced.

...? That bit almost makes it seem like you're the one with the narrative, funny considering you've accused me more than once of having one (which I find no possible way to see that even from your perspective).

[DonMaguz 1,023]

I think S8 is the most inconsistent of seasons, yet a solid one overall.

- The concept of the school of friendship is interesting and surely a great path for Twilight. But at the same time it is nonsensical for the rest of the mane 6.

- The student 6 are a great new set of characters, their introduction felt weird and hasty but once the season started to progress they grew in an amazing way and ended up being an endearing group.

- IMO it has the worst episode (Non-Compete Clause) and one of the best streaks (19-23) in the entire series.

- S8 had a sub-par premiere and sub-par finale, but they introduced really nice antagonists.

At the end, S8 is a season where the staff took a good amount of risks. The ones that hit did it amazingly and the ones that missed did it awfully.

[MangoFoalix 25,040]

@This Whomps @Dusk Noire Okay you two, enough with this bickering. If you keep on replying to each other about this then the thread will just be locked.

[Megas 27,823]

14 minutes ago, DonMaguz said:

 

- The concept of the school of friendship is interesting and surely a great path for Twilight. But at the same time it is nonsensical for the rest of the mane 6.

- The student 6 are a great new set of characters, their introduction felt weird and hasty but once the season started to progress they grew in an amazing way and ended up being an endearing group.

- IMO it has the worst episode (Non-Compete Clause) and one of the best streaks (19-23) in the entire series.

- Honestly felt like the school was the weakest aspect of the season, like even when it was revealed it just sounded...boring. At the very least I can blame Hasbro for this since they wanted it in the first place, but I still feel the writers could have done better with it. Most episodes that focused on the school felt really weak compared to the rest of the season. And I think The End In Friend was the biggest offender of this as I feel a lot of that episode's problems stemmed completely on the school and the episode drastically improves when they decided to move away from it and actually focus on the focus characters themselves

- I think one of the biggest issues with the student six is that there are a lot of moments that rely on the mane 6, the teachers no less, being totally inept, in order to make them look better in comparison(NCC being one of the biggest offenders of this). When the episodes focused entirely on them it was usually great, but mix other key characters and it became a mess

- As much as I dislike that episode....I still don't think it's one of the worst episodes in the whole show, I honestly think there are worse out there(in S8 alone, I actually think a Matter of Principals is worse)

Edited October 6, 2018 by This Whomps

[Dark Qiviut 22,464]

1 hour ago, Dusk Noire said:

That may be true, but she should really know Flutters better than that. She knows she wouldn't just stay behind if there wasn't an actual reason. If that were the case, that would be SEVERELY out of character. I didn't find the first apology really that sincere, and as for the second I either skipped past it (I skip sometimes when watching episodes), or I didn't notice. Nonetheless, for her to assume that Flutters was just wasting time wasn't right in that situation. She should have known better at the least.

AJ spent a lot of time and energy climbing up the Peaks of Peril (including passing by a swarm of flyders that threatened to bite her for getting too close). But when she thought she was close, FS wasn't there, which meant she had to climb all the way back down the treacherous terrain (and escape those same pests) to fetch her. Combine that along with the ticket taker scaring the daylights out of them with his kooky laugh and warning, it's very understandable for AJ to believe FS isn't taking the quest so seriously. Fluttershy getting impatient back snapped her out of it. Her first and second apologies are sincere; otherwise, she would've doubled down and become an unlikable jackass after she recuperated.

18 minutes ago, Dusk Noire said:

It's kind of bad to have an episode with the entire point of making RD an egotistical prick.

Previously bad Dash episodes were partially about how they treated her ego rather than her having an ego period. Mare Do Well, RF, Newbie Dash, and 28PL exploited her ego without nuance and treated her like a bad person because of it. Grannies Gone Wild, WA, and TW demonstrate her ego as a flaw while also being very careful not to treat her like a bad person.

Quote

The point was to make her an egotistical a** that can't handle the fact that Scoots would possibly make a fanclub that isn't devoted to her?

Scoot also rushed the Dash Fan Club meeting in order to replace the DFC stuff with Washout items, all while Dash was watching, implicating that Dash wasn't as "cool" or "interesting" as them. Had she not eavesdrop, she wouldn't have a case.

1 hour ago, Dusk Noire said:

She was no more concerned about it than everyone else was, from my view. If anything, she seemed a lot more concerned about the attention she wasn't getting and her problems with Lighning Dust.  

She was just as concerned as Twilight, if not more so. Even with an envy streak, she shows strong empathy for Scootaloo, as they and the WB have the training for extreme events. Dust kept exploiting Scootaloo's naivete and desire for honor into believing she and the Washouts as a whole will truly look out for her best interests. Dash saw it right through her, but Scoot didn't.

1 hour ago, Dusk Noire said:

... And I don't believe that she really did. I believe that she didn't really learn anything and only just accepted it. But I could certainly see how the ending could be interpreted differently.

Dash was very contrite about doing the right thing. When Scoot asked LD for how to get quickly expelled from WA, Dash interfered immediately, but (accidentally) scaring her, Dash's nonobservance of Scoot's disability, and quick decision to scrap her Washouts club made her look farcical to Scoot's eyes and, in turn, accidentally helped Dust manipulate her even more. Scoot only felt more useless after Spitfire's "tough love." Yet, she's her own pony and has the right and responsibility to make her own decisions, and Dash knows this.

Simultaneously, she cares too much to not took out for her. Had she not learned anything or is driven only by ego, she would've done nothing and let Scoot fear for her life.

You stated you skip pieces of episodes sometimes. I don't know if you skipped pieces of both TW and SoS, but from your last posts here, you missed or overlooked crucial details, and your interpretations come across as shortsighted. Whenever you have the time, I really suggest to watch the episodes in full and study them better.