Ranking the 8th episodes

[KH7672 1,604]

Thanks so much for all the participation, glad these threads are enjoyable! So let's move on to episode 8 of each season. It's interesting to note that after Season two, episode 8 coincidently became almost an event marker. Be it returning characters, reoccurring characters, new background revealing characters, changes in the world, plus a lot of great music seems to come from the eighth episodes (and yes I am including "Battle for Sugar Belle" in that statement, sue me!  )

1. A Hearth's Warming Tail- For not only providing a neat spin on the Christmas Carol story but making it a musical where every song is fantastic, memorable and fits each character perfectly. Probably my favorite Christmas episode but that may be just some Starlight bias .

2. Frenemies- An episode focused solely on the villians and their character chemistry is perfect. And a unique song from three completely different characters is no small feat.

3. The Parent Map- Starlight and Sunburst were great, Stellar Flare and Firelight playing off of them were great, the entire Sire's Hollow Community is great, plus a wonderful lesson in communication.

4. Rarity Takes Manehattan- Rarity getting to show off her element and be challenged by it is wonderfully engaging, plus just points for getting to travel outside somewhere totally new in two seasons. The song is nice too, but I'm actually more fond of the reprise because the emotion she give is beautiful.

5. Apple Family Reunion- Yeah, Applejack goes a little overboard but it's the overall message of family that keeps this episode as high as it is. I love the interactions we see and of course the song that brings it all together in the end.

6. The Lost Treasure of Griffinstone- A decent start to the map pairings, plus getting to see Gilda again and actually treat the situation emotionally well (*cough* Turnabout Storm *cough*) is a nice payoff. Plus Pinkie was in top form for being funny and helpful.

7. Hard to Say Anything- Overlooking one scene that takes things a little far, this episode is perfect cringe comedy for me. From the CMC's just being overly childish to Big Mac being completely non-romantic, to of course the song, I get plenty of entertainment out of it for maybe the wrong reasons.

8. Mysterious Mare Do Well- I never got much of the hate for this episode, it's always been entertaining for me to watch Rainbow Dash get a big head and then be taken down a peg. Plus I liked the Mare Do Well plan despite being a little callous.

9. Look Before You Sleep- This only being at the bottom not because it's bad at all, just a little bland. Rarity and Applejack do have some good banter, but honestly Twilight kinda ruins it for me. I think it's the consequence of starting the show later for me that going back to an overly naive Twilight is so jarring.

[Sparklefan1234 172,088]

"Look Before You Sleep" is the first episode I ever rewatched so, that episode has a special place in my heart. 

 

"Rarity Takes Manehattan" is an AWESOME episode with an EVEN MORE AWESOME song & reprise of said song. 

 

"A Hearth's Warming Tail" = "A Christmas Carol" + MLP:FiM + AMAZING SONGS! What could be better?!

[ChB 18,557]

49 minutes ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

"A Hearth's Warming Tail" = "A Christmas Carol" + MLP:FiM + AMAZING SONGS! What could be better?!

Exactly!  

[Here No Longer 5,276]

1. A Hearth's Warming Tail
2. Rarity Takes Manehattan
3. Look Before You Sleep
4. The Lost Treasure of Griffinstone
5. The Parent Map 
6. Apple Family Reunion 
7. Frenemies 
8. Mysterious Mare-Do-Well 
9. Hard to Say Anything (The only worse episode is Fake it )

[Cash In 22,458]

Most of these are quality episodes. I had a hard time ranking them.

1. Rarity Takes Manehattan (S4) - This is just an amazing Rarity episode across the board. I felt this is where Equestria really started to become defined as an expansive world.
2. A Heart's Warming Tail (S6) A huge reference to A Christmas Carol and it's just wonderful. Some great songs here.
3. The Parent Map (S8) - Underrated episode.
4. Look Before You Sleep (S1) - They took something as simple as a spat between Rarity and Applejack and made it such a fun episode to watch. This is when the show started to really wow me.
5. Frenemies (S9) - An episode focusing on the villains. I never expected something like this and it works so much better then it ever should be allowed to.
6. Apple Family Reunion (S3) - Great Applejack episode. I really felt how huge and connected the Apple family is after watching this, so it did its job well.
7. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone (S5) - Gilda's first episode was so-so, but this was just so good. Her redemption worked and Griffonstone was solid in terms of world buidling.
8. The Mysterious Mare Do Well (S2) - *sigh* I don't think this one is that bad, but it's not good either.
9. Hard to Say Anything (S7)  - In some ironic sense, this episode is hilarious. As an actual episode, this was brutal to watch.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Cash_In

[Lulaypp 2,555]

Again I'm tied. Apple Family Reunion, Frenemies and Myterious Mare-Do-Well (though thoughts on the first and last might be inaccurate to what I might think if I watch it again now)

Apple Family Reunion - It has an Applejack solo song. One big point already. I also like the protrayal of the old grannies and the quilt. How they are not really trying to finish it as soon as possible, just kind of talking reconciling while doing it. It also shows that family reunions are not about having as many events and activities as possible, but it is about getting together, knowing distant relatives that you might not have heard of, striking friendships among family, and spending time together. Plus it features Babs. Yay!

Mysterious Mare-Do-Well - I can't really pinpoint what i like about it, but I remember enjoying it. I do remeber liking two things. One was the return of the Pinkie Sense. Another was the identity of Mare-Do-Well, how they switched between eachother. Plus if the Mare-Do-Well was one pony and real at the same time, it is an Alicorn. Yay.

Frenemies - The teamwork was enjoyable. And how Tirek knows that they will fail and set up a camp. Plus villainous musical number. Yay. Chrysalis' Twilight impression was entertaining. I also find the Cozy Glow, the guard and the mountain bit funny.

[bigbertha 414]

1. Mysterious Mare Do Well- Not my favorite Rainbow Dash episode, but it's certainly up there. It's really funny and has some nice introspection for Rainbow (9/10)

2. A Hearth's Warming Tale- Luna's Future aside, all of the songs are great and I like how Snowfall's story ties into Starlight's (7/10)

3. The Parent Map- It has a heavily flawed story, but it also has some of the best (and wittiest) dialogue of the modern seasons so it's always entertaining (7/10)

4. Apple Family Reunion- This is a very simple episode, but I think it works here because it is very charming and fun to watch (7/10)

5. Frenemies- The villains sometimes have good chemistry, but other times they're very boring together. It's a mixed episode (6/10)

6. Look Before You Sleep- There are a few charming and fun moments, but Rarity and Applejack bickering like little kids does not make for entertaining television (4/10)

7. Lost Treasure of Griffonstone- Gilda's reformation is insanely rushed and Pinkie acts like Pinkie. Yay (3/10)

8. Hard to Say Anything- I usually like cringe comedy, but this episode gets it so wrong. It goes from funny into creepy every time and that Justin Bieber parody was dated even when the episode first came out. Add on to that the CMC acting strangely childishly for season 7 and Big Mac actually going along with them, and you've got a disaster of an episode (2/10)

9. Rarity Takes Manehattan- While this isn't as annoying as Hard to Say Anything or Lost Treasures of Griffonstone, this is the episode I get the least out of. The song is decent, but everything else sucks. The pacing ruins any kind of drama, it's not funny, and Coco makes the already rushed episode even worse. At least Hard to Say Anything has a few kinda funny gags. This episode has nothing aside from a song that still goes on for too long and gets really overshadowed by Rarity's other songs (1/10)

[Will Guide 21,362]

Parent Map is my favorite for being relatable for me.

I totally relate to Sunburst and his relationship to his mother when it comes to my stepmother

12 hours ago, KH7672 said:

getting to see Gilda again and actually treat the situation emotionally well (*cough* Turnabout Storm *cough*) is a nice payoff.

Wait, are you implying that Turnabout Storm was terrible at doing that? I never understood when people go "*cough* Something *cough*" if it's meant to be insulting or what?

[Oleks 1,993]

1-2. A Hearth's Warming Tail, Frenemies  - I can’t decide which one I like better, both are amazing episodes. I only voted for the latter to show it some love in this poll.
3. The Parent Map – one the most relatable episodes to me. And a fun one too.
4. Look Before You Sleep – the episode that started the chemistry between Rarity and Applejack who have been one of the show’s greatest duos ever since. I still wonder why Twilight had that frou-frou dress in her house.
5. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone – it was nice to see Gilda again and have a glimpse of griffins’ culture. Also, a rare episode with a death in it. RIP, Arimaspi.
6-9. The Mysterious Mare Do, Apple Family Reunion, Rarity Takes Manehattan, Hard to Say Anything – I need to rewatch these episodes to rank them properly. But I don’t recall any of them being terrible.

[KH7672 1,604]

1 hour ago, Will Guide said:

Wait, are you implying that Turnabout Storm was terrible at doing that? I never understood when people go "*cough* Something *cough*" if it's meant to be insulting or what?

I understand, and yes I am implying that. It's the one part of Turnabout Storm that actively infuriates me. But I don't want to go off topic on the thread, so if you would like further explanation just PM me.

[Awkward Segway 318]

1. Frenemies

2. Look Before You Sleep

3. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

4. Apple Family Reunion

5. Hard to Say Anything

6. A Hearth's Warming Tail

7. Rarity Takes Manehattan

8. The Mysterious Mare Do Well

9. The Parent Map

[Thrond 3,263]

Oh no, I have to be a grouch. 

1. A Hearth's Warming Tale - This would be a pretty great version of "A Christmas Carol" regardless, given how great the songs and visuals are, but I especially love how this bends the story to make it a metaphor for Starlight's own past, even omitting key details from the Dickens novel. It's a story of someone who thought she was helping people when in fact she was only hurting herself. 
2. Rarity Takes Manehattan - This has a special place in my heart for shifting Rarity's character away from her vanity in the first few seasons, and it's also just really charming in general. The conflict between her generosity and the cynicism of the big city is irresistible to me; this suggests Rarity can serve as a moral example while still allowing her to make mistakes and doubt herself. 
3. Frenemies - This thing's just packed wall-to-wall with great jokes. I like that it's a fairly lighthearted adventure, putting emphasis on cartoon scenarios even though it's part of a larger storyline, and the villain's personalities are a nice change of pace from the usual main characters. And seeing them in such a silly light makes it a whole lot easier to accept them learning the magic of friendship - especially if it's in their own bumbling evil way. 
4. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone - I find this one kinda dour and dull. Neither Dash's prejudice nor Gilda's change of heart made a whole lot of sense to me, and the emphasis on jokes about how bad Griffonstone is leave a bad taste in my mouth. Most of all I just find it hard to believe that nobody in Griffonstone ever even tried making friends. That just seems too fundamental to having had a society in the first place for it to just randomly vanish. This seems like a pretty good example of how weak this show's worldbuilding used to be.   
5. Apple Family Reunion - I just don't find this very interesting. I don't really care about Applejack bungling her family reunion, and it's way too mild for my tastes otherwise.
6. Look Before You Sleep - Seeing Applejack and Rarity bicker has always felt like pulling teeth to me. This is actually the most painful example, but the fact that this how their friendship is usually portrayed makes me uncertain why they're friends at all. They seem to have nothing in common. 
7. The Parent Map - I found both of the parents deeply annoying, and didn't find any of the jokes very funny. Plus I got very tired very quickly of the obvious parallel between the parents' approach to the town and their approach to parenting, and I felt that Starlight and Sunburst should have figured out that their relationship with their parents was the problem almost immediately. And oh god the Cutie Map just makes no sense at all. 
8. Hard to Say Anything - Am I supposed to laugh at Big Mac harassing Sugar Belle? Am I supposed to laugh at him taking romantic advice from literal children? Am I supposed to laugh at an outdated Justin Bieber parody? And why, after all of this, does Sugar Belle still decide to be in a relationship with him? Everything he does in this episode seems repellent, and I wouldn't find it so easy to forget that because he apologizes and decides to play nice. 
9. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well - Okay, I get it, Dash's ego has gone to far. Do they need to have several scenes of her failing at everything? At some point she can't even open a jar of peanut butter, and stuff like that makes this episode feel mean-spirited to me. Plus, the way the mane six praise their own roles as Mare-Do-Well makes the entire moral feel kinda hypocritical. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,444]

A Hearth’s Warming Tail may lack in story, but more than makes up for it with its incredible songs (Luna’s Future is fantastic & would’ve been best song of the season had it not been for A Changeling Can Change), incredible visuals, and incredible animation. An excellent pontification of A Christmas Carol.

As for The List (!):

1. A Hearth’s Warming Tail
2. Frenemies
3. RTM (slow beginning, but really took off once the song ended. How the moral was addressed was fantastic, and the moral itself — not letting someone taking advantage of you damage your relationships — is my favorite of season 4.)
4. Apple Family Reunion (most underrated of the show, and the stars shooting by as AJ looked on’s my favorite moment of the show.)
5. The Parent Map
6. LBYS (liked it a lot more after watching it a few weeks ago; simple but effective and doesn’t take itself seriously.)
7. Griffonstone (would’ve been fine had the shoehorned, awful moral of friendship being the reason the corrupt and bankrupt Griffonstone is so barren)
8. Hard to Say Anything (nothing says humor like Big Mac trying to kiss a girl who doesn’t want his advances! Sexual harassment’s SO funny! )
9. MDW (If I want to watch friends try to be malicious, passive-aggressive douchebags and treat the periled lives of Ponyville as secondary to humiliating Dash, I’ll watch something else! First episode I hated, and it’s only worsened over the years.)

Edited September 30, 2019 by Dark Qiviut

[Sepul-Coloratura 762]

1. Look Before You Sleep : A. Whenever I start the whole episodes marathon, this episode is when I really start to fully get into it (alongside with Griffon the Brush-off). Maybe it's because it perfectly captures what I think the show's essence is. Completely based on how different the two main characters are, and about their friendship. Twilight's lack of social skills and tendency to stick to the book is true to her character and makes sense because she doesn't know what to do when her two best friends are fighting. One of the finest episodes that I can expect from a cutesy candy colored ponies show.

2. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone : A. This one sells because of it's confident directing and a sense of humor in it. Gilda is back, but it feels like less of a fanservice and more of about two friends making up with each other by necessity. Griffinstone's depiction is to set up a background for reinforcing the theme of the show, and not just for some lore expansion.

3. Frenemies : A-. Unexpectedly, this episode got me. I thought it was the show's lame attempt to adopt an action cartoon show's trope by making a villain's league and excite the bronies. But instead it had interesting character interactions and heartfelt relationship changes that was long missing from the show between the mane six that I was aching to get.

4. Rarity Takes Manehattan : A-. The show usually doesn't get cruel enough with the consequences of the character's choice. But in this case, the show is mature enough to acknowledge and reflect the cruel reality that people who discard conscience could benefit from it and someone can take advantage of your generosity. Rarity faces a hard choice, and learns friendship hard. Her both positive and negative aspect dynamically shows through the episode, and the happy righteous ending feels natural and realistic and earned as well.

5. A Hearth's Warming Tail : B. I mostly liked the songs. But overall, it doesn't deal with an issue that is interesting enough or at least it's not fully executed. Feels more like 'Gotham by Gaslight' kind of fanservice. It overlaps with Hearth's Warming Eve as well.

6. Apple Family Reunion : C. A typical Applejack story in a not so good way. Mostly because it's not that fun to watch bunch of ponies being miserable without enough sense of humor. A predecessor of Grannies Gone Wild, and both are not so good episode for similar reasons.

7. Hard to Say Anything : C. I liked the CMCs in Hearts and Hooves Day and they were actually cute. In this one, it feels more ridiculous and the story works less as a whole.

8. The Mysterious Mare Do Well : D. It feels extra miserable when the opening was so great. The worst part is when the friends all gathered up in Sugarcube Corner and they can't help wiping out the grin of their faces. The ending's reveal felt sad and frustrating, betrayed. Either Rainbow Dash would yell at her friends or be dead inside.

9. The Parent Map D. The only reason this episode was made is because they had to fill in the blanks of the family tree of the main characters. And the reveal is frustrating both as a fanservice and as a standalone story. The directing and pacing is very unstable, the lesson is not so good or well taught, the ending isn't satisfying, the characters are annoying and doesn't have that much of a redeeming quality to be enjoyable characters. The town is uninteresting and so is the whole issue around it. It feels uninspired.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[Megas 27,743]

1) Rarity Takes Manehattan - A much needed episode for Rarity after she skipped out in S3
2) The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone - I was so happy to see Gilda come back after so long, and she got a redemption that didn't suck balls, which was a series first up to this point. Also, the first actually good map episode for a while
3) A Hearth's Warming Tail - It's just A Christmas Carol with ponies, and you know what? That's totally fine, it's a good retelling with some of the show's best songs
4) Apple Family Reunion - This is the most underrated episode in the entire show. AJ just wants to have a good family reunion, and even if things don't go according to plan, seeing everyone come together to fix the barn is really heart warming
5) Frenemies - A fucking fun villain episode
6) Look Before You Sleep - The start of the Rarijack oversaturation, though unlike MFBKD, I wouldn't blame the episode for it. It's honestly fun the characters bounce off well, nothing amazing but nothing too bad either
7) Parent Map - imo, it's just a weaker version of Parental Glideance, especially Starlight's dad and Sunburst's mom we were nowhere near as fun as RD's parents
8) Hard to Say Anything - It's an episode about a grown-ass man taking dating advice from fairy tales and children. It probably sounded funnier in their heads but the execution leaves a lot to be desired
9) The Mysterious Mare Do Well - It's the fucking Mysterious Mare Do Well, of course it sucks. There's a reason why it was never mentioned again

[PoisonClaw 8,165]

1. The Parent Map (Welcome to Sire's Hollow! Welcome to Sire's Hollow! Welcome to–)
2. Rarity Takes Manehattan
3. A Hearth's Warming Tail
4. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone
5. Frenemies
6. Apple Family Reunion
7. Look Before You Sleep (This was actual the first episode I ever saw.)
8. Hard To Say Anything
9. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well (Still one of the worst episodes of the entire show.
 

[DonMaguz 1,023]

'Rarity Takes Manehattan' without a doubt, second place is for 'Hearth's Warming Tail'.

[FirePuppy 735]

1. A Hearth's Warming Tail

...

9. Frenemies (UGH!)

 

Sorry guys, but I'm not into villain-only episodes.

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

1.  Frenemies. It’s not just the villain episodes always win me over, this ep is just a fantastic villain episode. 

2.  Hearth’s Warming Tails. I swear this ep is the 2nd adaptation of Christmas Carol i have ever watched in my entire life (1st is Disney version) so i have no problem with it reusing the old story like some critics do. All of the songs are amazing (mostly because of Kelly Sheridan), some of them pull my heartstrings. The story may not be original (like almost episodes of this show anyway) but it still has its little twist, not a totally copy-paste. This ep might be the best in term of sheer entertainment value alone.

3.  Rarity Takes Manehattan. My top favorite episode of season 4. The 1st act may be a bit slow but when the conflict kicks in, it’s just amazing. This ep made me love Rarity. The second best key episode of season 4 story arc.

4.  Apple Family Reunion. A standard Apple family episode that started a question about AJ’s parents (which has been answered). Rewatch this ep after watching Perfect Pear may cause a different effects?

5.  The Lost Treasure. The Gilda backstory makes sense, i dont feel any discontinuity from the S1 episode (same writer may be the reason). The reformation may be a hit rush (i dont think any reformation in this show is perfect anyway, but it definitely more convincing than a lot of EQG reformation, even Sunset Shimmer herself). Pinkie just made this ep so much fun to watch to balance the gritty environment  of Griffinstone.

6.  Look before you sleep.  A very standard S1 that started RarityJack. After the library has been destroyed, it hurts to see this ep again so i dont...

7. MMDW.  After some several watches few year ago, i enjoy it. It might be the bad episode (maybe the worst one) back in the old days but some bad episodes in newer seasons are far worse because of one reason: It’s boring. Choosing a bad episode that i can make fun of and a mediocre episode which is so boring that i cant have anything to say about it, i rather choose...

 

8. The Parent Map.  The only interesting aspect of this ep is Starlight edgy room and her upbringing that make her become a cult leader we know. This ep is very boring which is very disappointing because i like Starlight. This is the only episode that features Starlight character that i found boring. Sunburst’s mother is pretty cool though... i hope i can see her again in the comic...

9. Hard to Say Anything.  This ep is a cringefest. If anyone want to shoot themself after watching this ep, i can understand why. Cant believe this ep started one of the best married couple of the show huh? The best thing about this ep is Feather Bang songs, perfect Justin Bieber parody, i want a full version of them.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2019 by Lambdadelta

[Astralshy 27,117]

 

I would order these episodes like this. I don'T dislike any of these episodes :>

1. Frenemies
2. Hearth’s Warming Tails.
3. Rarity Takes Manehattan
4. The Lost Treasure
5. Hard to Say Anything
6. The Parent Map
7. The Mysterious Mare Do Well
8. Look before you sleep
9. Apple Family Reunion

[bigbertha 414]

1. Hearth's Warming Tail

2. Apple Family Reunion

3. Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

4. Frenemies

5. The Parent Map

6. Hard to Say Anything

7. Mysterious Mare Do Well

8. Rarity Takes Manehattan

9. Look Before You Sleep

[Landi 600]

1. A Hearth's Warming Tail - This is easily the best of the bunch for me. It is a fun musical episode that also acts as a ponyfied version of the iconic "A Christmas Carol". I'd say this is definately one of the best episodes of season 6.
2. Frenemies - While this episode didn't stand out to me as much as it did with others, I still find it pretty fun and enjoyable to watch.
3. Apple Family Reunion - While this episode isn't the most exciting, I think it does a good job at developing applejack and giving her extended faily some more screen time. Plus, "Raise This Barn" is a very iconic song.
4. The Lost Treasure of Griffostone - This is just a decent episode that features Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in a good way. While Griffonstone didn't really intrest me all that much as a location, Pinkie and RD are able to carry it for me, along with Gilda actually becoming somewhat likeable (emphasis on 'somewhat').
5. Look Before You Sleep - This is a pretty standard middle of the road episode for me. There isn't anything here I'd say is particularly bad, but not much that make it anything too special.
6. The Mysterious Mare Do Well - This can definately be a fun episode to watch, but the way it executes its lesson and the way it treats Rainbow Dash makes it so that I can't put it any higher than this.
7. Hard to Say Anything - Similarly to TMMDW, this episode is a fun one to watch and I've had lots of enjoyment come out of watching it, but the more I think about it, this episode isn't as good as I first remembered it being.
8. The Parent Map - This is just a very plain average episode for me. That being said, the parents were at least pretty funny at times, but other than that there isn't much to this episode.
9. Rarity Takes Manehattan - There isn't really anything with this episode that stands out as being bad, I just don't remember it being very intresting. Maybe upon a rewatch my opinion on this episode will change.

This is a very average, middle of the road set of episodes for me. While there isn't anything here that I think is really bad, there isn't anything really outstanding here either, other than A Hearth's Warming Tail that is. This actually made it pretty hard to rank, since most of these episode are in the same teir for me.