What are the most contested/divisive episodes of the show?

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Which episodes have proven to be the most divisive, the ones where people either love them or hate them?

 

[Sparklefan1234 161,870]

Could Magical Mystery Cure be considered divisive?

It's my favorite episode but I know a lot of people aren't fans of the birth of Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

[Will Guide 21,325]

I know most episodes that have Broken Base status on their TV TROPE YMMV page are good candidates for this topic.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

8 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

Could Magical Mystery Cure be considered divisive?

It's my favorite episode but I know a lot of people aren't fans of the birth of Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

Sure. It was overall well recieved, but divisive among a few fans.

My choices would be:

• The Cutie Re-Mark
• Every Little Thing She Does 
• Newbie Dash 
• Parental Glideance 

[Will Guide 21,325]

I know most 2 part season premieres and Finales fall into this, Especially:

The Cutie Remark (The reveal of Starlight Backstory) I personally didn't see any contradictions in her backstory. It explains why she grew to hate cutie marks.

To Where and Back Again (The reformation of the Changeling and their new looks)

Shadow Play (StarSwirl's protrayal)

School Raze (for various reasons I won't spoil here)

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Just now, Happy Yoshi said:

I know most 2 part season premieres and Finales fall into this, Especially:

The Cutie Remark (The reveal of Starlight Backstory) I personally didn't see any contradictions in her backstory. It explains why she grew to hate cutie marks.

To Where and Back Again (The reformation of the Changeling and their new looks)

Shadow Play (StarSwirl's protrayal)

School Raze (for various reasons I won't spoil here)

Wasn't A Canterlot Wedding also fairly divisive when it came out?

[Will Guide 21,325]

24 minutes ago, Theanimationfanatic said:

Wasn't A Canterlot Wedding also fairly divisive when it came out?

Yeah, the way everyone abandoned Twilight at end of part 1 could have been handled better.

Still I think the bigger crime is cynical fans were missing the unspoken moral "that true mutual love like between the real Cadance and Shining Armor is more powerful than the false one sided "love" that Chrysalis was feeding off of a brainwashed Shining Armor"

Love off of a brainwashed Shining Armor was powerful enough for Chrysalis to OP Celestia, but when the real bride and groom are together, their true love was powerful enough to make Shining's Protection Magic send the 'Lings blasting off again.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Happy Yoshi

[DonMaguz 1,023]

'Fame and Misfortune' is the most divisive one I've witnessed. There were some fans who felt mocked or dismissed as 'obsessed fanatics' and took the blows personally, then there are those who felt the episode was not mean spirited and had fun watching it.

Another divisive thing about F&F is its conclusion, there are those who were enraged about the mane 6's situation not being explicitly solved and there are those who were fine with the open conclusion implying the mane 6's resolution to raise above their situation.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

1 hour ago, DonMaguz said:

'Fame and Misfortune' is the most divisive one I've witnessed. There were some fans who felt mocked or dismissed as 'obsessed fanatics' and took the blows personally, then there are those who felt the episode was not mean spirited and had fun watching it.

Another divisive thing about F&F is its conclusion, there are those who were enraged about the mane 6's situation not being explicitly solved and there are those who were fine with the open conclusion implying the mane 6's resolution to raise above their situation.

That one too. It probably also doesn't help that someone finished/altered M.A. Larson without his approval.

[RulesofRarity 489]

Magical Mystery Cure is definitely the most divisive for the utter shitstorm that was unleashed onto to the fandom. Little did we know that the complaining about Cadance in A Canterlot Wedding, was but a taster of the tantrum Bronies were going to throw over Twilicorn. Mysterious Mare Do Well is another rather polarizing episode, I've never understood why people didn't like it to be honest when Season 2 had a far worse episodes(A Friend in Deed).

The Crystalling was another episode the fandom complained about before it even aired take a guess why. 

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by RulesofRarity

[Them's Seeing Ponies 282]

From my experience from witnessing reception to S2-8 following airing:

• Feeling Pinkie Keen (split between fans who derided the episode for its incredibly clunky moral and the camp who believed the heavy flaws of the moral in question were absolved by the episode's comedy)
• Over a Barrel (take a guess why)
• May the Best Pet Win! (divided between fans who viewed it as an important and uniquely constructed character study for Dashie and the alternate camp, who considered the episode to push Rainbow's treatment of the animals too far)
• A Friend in Deed (mostly centered on Pinkie's behaviour; some believed her to be flanderized into a destructive stalker (which she kind of is within the episode outside of 'The Smile Song'), whilst others had little issue with her. I assume this is due to differing fandom perceptions of Pinkie's character/boundaries)
• Ponyville Confidential (a brutally honest fable with a powerful message or overly mean-spirited for its own good?)
• A Canterlot Wedding (the episode which began the mass fandom splintering of 2012-14, with most complaints centered on the concept (including Cadance and Shining Armor both having a fairly bland character and appearing from nowhere) being indicative of the show 'selling out' and becoming a 'typical girls' show)
• The Crystal Empire (decent premiere or underwhelming with awkward M6 shoehorning and a weak villain?)
• Keep Calm and Flutter On (mainly focused on Fluttershy's motivations - some found her treatment of Discord here to border on uncharacteristically manipulative, albeit this was rapidly overshadowed by the oncoming Twilicorn storm)
• MAGICAL MYSTERY CURE (it earned the caps for a reason)
• Daring Don't (noted for defictionalizing Daring Do and pushing the show's boundaries of reality further than the previous seasons had indicated)
• Power Ponies (criticized for its overt absurdity (keep in mind that this was only a year or so following S2, which remained relatively grounded by the standards of the FiM universe), its random focus on Spike and the cliched plot, leading to the episode being viewed as a wasted opportunity, although others managed to gleam enjoyment from it)
• Filli Vanilli (the most controversial Pinkie characterization in the entire series)
• It Ain't Easy Being Breezies (compelling character progression for Fluttershy or childish with an overtly toy-centric third-act twist (the M6 transforming into breezies)?)
• Equestria Games (dependent on individual perception of Spike's handling here)
• Tanks for the Memories (I recall two main camps of fan in this case - the camp praising the episode for its depiction of grief and the camp criticizing the episode's portrayal of Dashie as overreactionary and a karma Houdini)
• Slice of Life (a fairly obvious example)
• Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? (particularly due to the awkward moral vs. the shower of fanservice and references in the third act)
• The Cutie Re-Mark (in regards to Starlight's reformation)
• The Crystalling (due to Flurry Heart being 'the first alicorn ever born' in addition to obligatory apprehension over the talent drain post-S5 leaving us with Josh Haber as story editor, considered ominous as Haber was not a particularly popular writer at the time compared to the departures (AKR, Larson, etc.))
• No Second Prances (Twilight's behaviour was a major sticking point for many here)
• Newbie Dash (up there with MMC as the show's defining 'controversial status quo mashers')
• Flutter Brutter (Zephyr Breeze is a heavily divisive character in general)
• Every Little Thing She Does (focused on Starlight's questionable behaviour and the extent to which the fandom believed it to be justified)
• To Where and Back Again (fans at the time held issue with the changeling reformation and the focus on Starlight over the M6 (mainly due to the contrived capturing of the six), yet others were appreciative of the chemistry between Trixie and Discord)
• Fame and Misfortune (pretty much asked for its own controversy, considering its critical eye was directed specifically at the fandom)
• Shadow Play (mainly due to the PoS's impotency and Star Swirl's depiction)
• Father Knows Beast (dependent on whether issue was taken with the entire episode ultimately being a cop-out)
• School Raze (revealed extensively by recent threads)

 

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

Over A Barrel had what at the time, a controversial depiction of Native Americans.

[sweetolebob18 724]

ICR which episode it was, but the first episode where Derpy  spoke.

The voice actress thought that "Derpy is supposed to be a dude" & it came across as "Derpy is supposed to be retarded". This kicked off a shitstorm of EPIC proportions. It got so bad that Hasbro had to rerecord Derpy's voice, which kicked off another hoohaw about Hasbro caving in  

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

9 hours ago, sweetolebob18 said:

ICR which episode it was, but the first episode where Derpy  spoke.

The voice actress thought that "Derpy is supposed to be a dude" & it came across as "Derpy is supposed to be retarded". This kicked off a shitstorm of EPIC proportions. It got so bad that Hasbro had to rerecord Derpy's voice, which kicked off another hoohaw about Hasbro caving in  

I think your referring to The Last Roundup.

[Jeric 46,835]

Some of the examples mentioned here are strange. Can you call an episode divisive if the majority disliked it or enjoyed it, or are we back to just personal bias? For example, Newbie Dash was not well received when it aired. It still isn’t. While many nitipicked Canterlot Weddings plotholes it was certainly well received in general. The fervor of debate also can be a significant factor. Several finales fit that bill quite nicely as does any episode that pokes fun at the fandom. Fame and Misfortune was extremely divisive when it aired. Time has muted the impact of that episode, but the mere mention of the song as a boilerplate rebuttal to character criticism tends to have a strong reaction from some calling foul on that argument. 

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,543]

12 minutes ago, Jeric said:

Some of the examples mentioned here are strange. Can you call an episode divisive if the majority disliked it or enjoyed it, or are we back to just personal bias? For example, Newbie Dash was not well received when it aired. It still isn’t. While many nitipicked Canterlot Weddings plotholes it was certainly well received in general. The fervor of debate also can be a significant factor. Several finales fit that bill quite nicely as does any episode that pokes fun at the fandom. Fame and Misfortune was extremely divisive when it aired. Time has muted the impact of that episode, but the mere mention of the song as a boilerplate rebuttal to character criticism tends to have a strong reaction from some calling foul on that argument. 

Newbie Dash was poorly recieved by most who saw it, but it does have its defenders.

Parental Glideance was overall well-received, but slightly polarizing.

[Lord Valtasar 12,685]

i feel like Yakity Sax and School Daze/Raze fit that bill perfectly

[Singe 2,109]

Wonderbolts Academy - Mishandled Spitfire and the Wonderbolts being inconsistent with them in future episodes. Made RD the spokes pony on moral recklessness. There's also the RD should have been punished along with LD instead of being promoted part which rubbed some the wrong way.

School Daze- The biggest part is really, Neighsay. Being introduced as a character in response to current politics to be a simple magnet of hate. He makes valid points but it gets swept aside along with ignoring the past history of conflicts with some of those creatures.

[Here No Longer 5,270]

Magical Mystery Cure- I'm surprised this episode actually has it's defenders, to be honest.

Fame and Misfortune- An episode the majority of the fandom considers bad... And I never really understood why. I've been told 9001 times, but it never entirely made sense.

To Where and Back Again- I think it's kind of ridiculous to think that secondary characters starring in a finale could cause such a s*** storm...

Somepony to Watch Over Me- A personal choice. I think this is the best AJ episode in the entire series, and I have a hard time understanding what's bad about it. 

 

 

 

[Twilight Luna 30,940]

On 10/21/2018 at 4:09 PM, Sparklefan1234 said:

Could Magical Mystery Cure be considered divisive?

It's my favorite episode but I know a lot of people aren't fans of the birth of Princess Twilight Sparkle. 

Twilight becomes a Princess? Dude! Spoilers! 

 

J/K 

[sweetolebob18 724]

On ‎11‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 7:37 AM, ~Dusky~ said:

Magical Mystery Cure- I'm surprised this episode actually has it's defenders, to be honest.

Fame and Misfortune- An episode the majority of the fandom considers bad... And I never really understood why. I've been told 9001 times, but it never entirely made sense.

To Where and Back Again- I think it's kind of ridiculous to think that secondary characters starring in a finale could cause such a s*** storm...

Somepony to Watch Over Me- A personal choice. I think this is the best AJ episode in the entire series, and I have a hard time understanding what's bad about it. 

 

 

 

Magical Mystery Cure was originally supposed to be the series finale. For THAT, it'd be great. Even so, it's only the last 5-6 minutes that suck. Twilicorn is one of the 2 biggest errors in the entire series (The other is, Discord is WAY overpowered)

 

For the others, well, as a rule if I like it, most bronies think that it's lame

Edited November 9, 2018 by sweetolebob18

[Megas 27,064]

Magical Mystery Cure and Fame and Misfortune for sure. MMC mainly due to it just stirring a shit storm even before it was formally announced, not to mention a lot of constraints and meddling keeping it from being a bigger episode than it was originally supposed to be. F&M because there's almost absolutely no middle ground, you either seem to love it or hate it

On 10/31/2018 at 6:31 PM, sweetolebob18 said:

ICR which episode it was, but the first episode where Derpy  spoke.

The voice actress thought that "Derpy is supposed to be a dude" & it came across as "Derpy is supposed to be retarded". This kicked off a shitstorm of EPIC proportions. It got so bad that Hasbro had to rerecord Derpy's voice, which kicked off another hoohaw about Hasbro caving in  

I'm sorry but I'm still amazed people lose their marbles over a fucking minute cameo for a BG pony. It's not her episode, it's AJ's