Ranking the 9th episodes

[KH7672 1,604]

With the 9th episodes to choose from there's probably going to be a lot of differences especially as half of these are known for having divisive morals and characterization, along with the all encompassing episode 100 !

1. The Saddle Row Review- Great humor and especially loved the framing device with each of the Mane 6 getting equal time to shine. It's just an overall fun episode.

2. Pinkie Apple Pie- I enjoyed Pinkie tagging along with the Apple family, and this was also just a fun showing of the Apple family playing off of each other. And the song was great too.

3. Sweet and Elite- Rarity is a delight to follow through this episode and the third act where things come together nicely. Along with having Fancy Pants, a not as stuck up Canterlot citizen, and a fun song with "Becoming Popular"

4. Slice of Life- I can't say I was really hankering for a background pony episode, but I think they pulled it off well. Each character felt purposeful and personal, plus the mayor's wedding speech is such a nice lesson.

5. Bridle Gossip- I just like coming back to this one for the absurdity in the story, like everything surrounding the Poison Joke effects, and of course the Evil Enchantress song. Plus it's a nice introduction to Zecora and Apple Bloom's friendship they kept for a bit.

6. Spike at Your Service- If I'm being honest the only thing that bugs me about this episode is some of Spike's incompetence and Twilight's implied carelessness. However every other Mane 6 member is enjoyable especially at the scene of staging Applejack's rescue.

7. Non-Compete Clause- I admit this comes from my bias towards the students and getting to see them interact together, but while at points Rainbow Dash and Applejack's rivalry goes a little far, even dangerously so, I have a slight enjoyment for it as well. The ending is the only thing that doesn't work for me.

8. Honest Apple- There is a lot to dislike here especially in Rarity's decision making and yet some stuff I like from the unique and memorable designers to the return of Photo Finish and Hoity Toity. Applejack does go a little too far but I feel she gets brought back down well, plus that Strawberry Sunrise scene is one of the best things.

9. Sweet and Smoky- Not even my liking of Smolder could make this episode enjoyable. Spike is beaten around too much, Garble's change doesn't feel that genuine and Fluttershy is at total ends of the annoyance spectrum with being overly cute and overly brash. But, eh Ember was nice.

Edited September 30, 2019 by KH7672

[ChB 18,574]

Pinkie Apple Pie is #1 for me, because Apples to the Core is one of the best songs ever!  

Saddle Row Review comes second, due to excellent narration. (Not to mention Twilights sweep dance and Pinkie’s “clone”)

[Sepul-Coloratura 765]

1. Sweet and Elite : B+. A very Rarity episode. The character and conflicts are well set up and executed well.

2. Bridle Gossip : B. I chose this because it functions as a story more, relatively speaking. A lesson about racism is well done way more than that gosh darn She's All Yak.

3. The Saddle Row Review : B. It benefits very much from it's editing and directing. Maybe the boldest and the most prominent style in the show.

4. Slice of Life : B. It's OK when a fanservice is actually inspired and driven.

5. Sweet and Smoky : C. The characters are portrayed much scanty than they should be. Garble being Smolder's brother? That's interesting, but there's not that much more interesting stuff in the episode for me.

6. Pinkie Apple Pie : D+. A rare case of getting a D just for being simply bland.

7. Spike at Your Service : D+. I don't think I will rewatch this episode that much. Most of you may all know why.

8. Honest Apple : D. The only good part of this episode is Rarity shredding.

9. Non-Compete Clause : F. You saw it coming. One of the lowest rated episodes, if not the lowest.

ps. I am looking forward to the 13th episodes pole which are the mid season finale episodes.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Sepul-Coloratura

[Here No Longer 5,289]

1. Sweet and Elite

2. Slice of Life

3. Saddle Row Review

4. Pinkie Apple Pie

5. Bridle Gossip

6. Honest Apple (Far from the last time Rarity causes her own conflicts...)

7. Spike at Your Service

8. Sweet and Smoky

9. Non-Compete Clause 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Angus Delaney

[bigbertha 417]

1. Spike At Your Service- This episode is hilarious. Whether it's intentional or not, I find this to be one of the funniest episodes of the show (9/10)

2. Sweet and Elite- A really solid Rarity story. It's nothing particularly special, but it executes its simple story incredibly well (8/10)

3. Slice of Life- This is a really fun episode. I like all the background characters that get spotlight, I think all the events are framed really well in a sweet story between Cranky and Matilda, and the scene of Vinyl and Octavia going to the wedding is one of the best of season 5. I just wish the mane six weren't shoved into the background to do this (7/10)

4. Bridle Gossip- The story is very thin, but this is a really funny episode (7/10)

5. Saddle Row Review- Funny, but not that funny (7/10)

6. Pinkie Apple Pie- I really like the moral, but most of the episode is just okay (6/10)

7. Non-Compete Clause- There is a little bit of ironic enjoyment to be found, but most of this episode is insanely boring, not helped by the student six showing off their lack of personalities (3/10)

8. Sweet and Smoky- Pretty much just here because of how bad Garble's reformation is. The subplot is just kinda meh (3/10)

9. Honest Apple- The story knows how flawed it is, but so what? It doesn't actually fix its problems. The episode knows that Rarity choosing Applejack for the fashion show is a bad idea, but it still happens and it sucks (3/10)

[Sparklefan1234 185,201]

"Sweet and Elite", "Pinkie Apple Pie" & "The Saddle Row Review" are my favorite "9th episodes".

 

 

[cmarston1 5,965]

Wow, looks like a lot of unpopular episodes are here.  Spike at Your Service, Bridal Gossip, Honest Apple, and Non Compete Claus?  Sheesh this really is a weak list of episodes.  But out of the options I would have to say that my favorite would have to be The Saddle Row Review, with Sweet and Elite and Pinkie Apple Pie being the best episodes here that aren't it.

[Dark Qiviut 22,656]

Slice of Life is the perfect summation for a 100th episode. The relationship between DHX and the brony fandom is unique and special, and who’s better to write it than M.A. Larson? His wit’s all over this episode, and he definitely researched ideas from the fandom while maintaining his own ideas. It was really funny, but doesn’t take itself so seriously. Oh, and the moral and how it was addressed is absolutely perfect.

And The List!

1. SoL
2. Saddle Row (the most creative narrative structure of S6 and hilarious!  )
3. Pinkie Apple Pie (We’re apples to the corrrrrrrrre! Eeyup!)
4. Sweet & Elite
5. Sweet & Smoky
6. Spike at Your Service (this is a terrible episode, but it ironically has plenty of good humor, especially Dash outing AJ’s novel idea )
7. Honest Apple (Applejack, what the fuck happened to you?! Rarity, are you that incompetent a planner?!)
8. Non-Compete Clause (if Twilight wasn’t on her game, this piece of shit would’ve been an atrocity. How the hell Applejack and Dash still have jobs after nearly causing Yona to drown is beyond me.)
9. Bridle Gossip (take all the poor qualities of Season 1 and narrow it down to one episode. Wanna explain why racism and prejudging fail? Don’t make the Mane Six this unlikeable (especially Pinkie and Rarity), oversimplify it, tell instead of show, make Apple Bloom abandon her now-tiny sister in the Everfree Forest, and be so contrived that Twilight has all the reason to give in. What an atrocity!)

Edited September 30, 2019 by Dark Qiviut
Honest Apple’s worse than NCC, but I despise NCC more. >__<

[ChB 18,574]

11 minutes ago, cmarston1 said:

Wow, looks like a lot of unpopular episodes are here.  Spike at Your Service, Bridal Gossip, Honest Apple, and Non Compete Claus?  Sheesh this really is a weak list of episodes.  But out of the options I would have to say that my favorite would have to be The Saddle Row Review, with Sweet and Elite and Pinkie Apple Pie being the best episodes here that aren't it.

I actually liked Bridle Gossip and Honest Apple. Didn’t mind Spike at your Service, either. Non-Compete Clause was the only one that really bothered me, and even that was mostly because it happened so late in the series that more was at stake.

[Dark Qiviut 22,656]

2 minutes ago, ChB said:

Non-Compete Clause was the only one that really bothered me, and even that was mostly because it happened so late in the series that more was at stake.

I have no idea how that episode was green-lit. Complete Crap Clause was the perfect summation of atrocious characterization for AJ and RD. If I wanna watch them misbehave while competing, I’ll watch Fall Weather Friends. At least that episode doesn’t make them responsible for nearly drowning a student.

[Oleks 2,003]

1. Slice of Life – my second favorite episode of MLP for many reasons. Nuff said.
2. The Saddle Row Review – a sweepingly good episode that totally subverted my expectations.
3. Bridle Gossip – a funny episode that handles a serious topic rather well.
4. Honest Apple – two things: Strawberry Sunrise and Rarity’s guitar solo.
5. Sweet and Smoky – you don’t see cringe saving the day very often.
6. Sweet and Elite – I wonder if Twi’s dancing have improved since then. 
7. Pinkie Apple Pie – I may be in the minority, but I didn’t like the song in this one, mostly because of the lazy “forever-together” rhyme. Also, are Applejack and Pinkie Pie related or not?
8. Spike at Your Service – that one came out of nowhere, especially the dragon code thing.
9. Non-Compete Clause – at least Ashley Ball likes this episode.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,341]

I know some didn't care for it, but I really enjoyed "Slice of Life"! Octavia and Vinyl's house is perfect for them!

Their roving musical duet/duel was the cornerstone of the episode!

They jumped the shark!

[Thrond 3,272]

1. The Saddle Row Review - This is a really good mockumentary sitcom, and it really underlines the potential of these characters for such a format. I honestly wish the show did more genre experiments like this, because it's such a breath of fresh air for a show that's usually so formulaic. 
2. Sweet and Elite - Has a lot of great moments, like the goofy cold open and Pinkie's party cannon and Twilight's dancing, and does a really good job of making Rarity's early-season vanity relatable. I really liked seeing her ultimately embrace her small-town roots. She wasn't my favourite character in the first three seasons, but this episode does a particularly good job of grounding her before season 4 would tone down the vanity a bit. 
3. Slice of Life - Bold move to take this corporate-mandated fan-pandering episode and crank the absurdity up to 11. This is best known for its references to the fandom, but I think it's so great specifically because it never quite goes where you would expect it to. Almost every joke here works even without understanding the reference, and the general tone is goofy and surreal enough that pretty much anything seems to fit. 
4. Pinkie Apple Pie - Feels a bit lightweight to me, but there's a lot of charm here, and it's filled with great Pinkie Pie moments. I think this does an especially good job of grounding Pinkie's hyperactivity in her emotions; she's weird, but I could always sort of tell where she's coming from, which isn't always true of her. 
5. Spike at Your Service - Probably belongs lower, but it's kind of a guilty pleasure for me. Spike's behaviour here is kinda irritating, and doesn't make any sense, but the mane six get a lot of great lines, and that keeps me coming back to this one even though it's really flawed. 
6. Sweet and Smoky - This is pretty bland. Just another "be yourself" moral from a show with a lot of them. 
7. Bridle Gossip - This has some funny moments, especially the poison joke pranks, but for the most part it's kinda basic and predictable, and there's a few too many contrivances for my taste. And I don't like seeing these characters being so judgmental.
8. Honest Apple - I feel like Applejack and Rarity always bring the worst out of each other, and this is a great example; Applejack's insensitivity is just annoying here, and the story feels like rote moralizing as a result. Plus, Rarity kinda seems to get herself into this issue; why didn't she stop Applejack? And really, what did she think would happen?
9. Non-Compete Clause - This is mostly just petty bickering and I find it really dull. Plus, such a shallow reading of these characters just doesn't seem to fit the context of the friendship school, which doesn't let the show ignore continuity in service of story, but this also isn't a very insightful story to begin with, so it doesn't even have that aspect to redeem it. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by AlexanderThrond

[Lulaypp 2,558]

I really like Pinkie Apple Pie, so that is first place. From the abrupt family roadtrip, the Apple Family really trying their best to give a good impression to Pinkie, who is just have a time of her life, all the way to the fact that they don't even know whether or not Pinks is an Apple relative. And Golden Delicous' ton of cats. O.O  I also like the ending of the Apple arguing and Pinkie just decided that she is family and thus should join them in arguing. Big plus, the song. Apples to the Core remains as one of my favourite MLP song, even now.

Second place is tied between Saddle Row Review and Sweet and Elite. (Funnily both are Rarity episodes).

I love what they did in Sweet and Elite putting Rarity in this classy high society and show just how much she can fit the social circle in such a short amount of time, despite coming from Ponyville. And in the end when the Canterlot ponies found out that Rarity came from Ponyville, they are ready to turn her down. It was a fun show of social society, which I must say is rather realistic for some social circles. Plus "How come y'all aren't doing any gardening? This is a garden party, isn't it?" is one of my favourite Appplejack quotes.

I like the format of Saddle Row Review. They made what could have been a rather boring episode for me into a really enjoyable one. How it is a newspaper interview and how they cut between the interviewing session and the opening preparation itself. And Pinkie practically going "More food!". Not to mention that 'Pinkie' cameo. It also have alot of tiny things that I find enjoyable throughout the episode.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Lulaypp

[Cash In 23,414]

Pinkie Apple Pie takes my vote, simply for being a well constructed episode. Of course, I can't mention the episode without bringing up Apples to the Core -- which definitely works in its favour.

[Rushing cash 845]

I can't decide which I like better, slice of life or bridle gossip. I think I like SOL slightly more... But both are amazing episodes episodes.

The saddle raw review and pinkie apple pie are both great episodes too, and Sweet and elite is also a good one.

The rest are below average, with spike at your service and NCC as bad episodes, especially spike at your service. 

[Megas 28,368]

1) The Saddle Row Review - Not just a great Rarity episode, but a great Mane 6 episode, they were all in top form
2) Bridle Gossip - I liked this one when it first aired, and I remembered a ton of people liking it. It's honestly a shame the fandom turned on it, even barring unfortunate implications, I still think it's worth watching for the poison joke gags alone
3) Pinkie Apple Pie - Made me want more Pinkie Pie and Applejack episodes, heck, more Pinkie/Apple family episodes in general, they work so well together
4) Spike at Your Service - I unironically love this one. Yeah, it's a shit Spike episode, but it's also one of the best mane 6 episode, with some having their funniest moments

aaaaaaaand after that it goes completely down hill
5) Slice of Life - Gonna be generous and give this one an edge. If you like fandom memes and BG ponies you'll probably like this one. I don't so for me it sucks
6) Sweet and Smoky - Garble still sucks and should have never been redeemed
7) Sweet and Elite - Show's most overrated episode.
>Episode before, MMDW, RD gets a big head, gets humiliated and punished for it
>Very next episode, Rarity lies constantly for her own personal gain. Is celebrated and rewarded for it
fuck off
8) Honest Apple - Getting your friend who you know hates the things your getting to judge is a fucking bad idea, and saying AJ was the one in the wrong when she was never interested in fashion, and actively making her the bad guy is a load of bullshit. I think by this point even the writers were completely sick of seeing Rarity and AJ together all the time
9) Non-Compete Clause - Of course it's this. "Oh, god, why do you guys like RD and AJ so much, why can't you like our new OCs instead?"

[DonMaguz 1,023]

Have to go with 'The Saddle Row Review' barely winning over 'Sweet and Elite'.

[Will Guide 21,376]

Guess I'm the only one who voted for Sweet and Smoky. I voted because of Fluttershy's cute moments and Garble liking beat poetry reminding of that scene in the coffee shop of an Extremely Goofy Movie when Buret Girl put that bully in his place.

[Lucky Bolt 35,250]

Oof, another tough one. I suppose...between The Saddle Row Review and Non Compete Clause...the latter is my favorite just because of AppleDash bias lol

[bigbertha 417]

1. The Saddle Row Review

2. Sweet and Elite

3. Pinkie Apple Pie

4. Bridle Gossip

5. Slice of Life

6. Sweet and Smoky

7. Honest Apple

8. Spike at Your Service

9 Non-Compete Clause

[Astralshy 30,608]

My list :> With exception of Non-Compete Clause I like all these episodes.

1. Slice of Life
2. The Saddle Row Review
3. Bridle Gossip
4. Sweet and Elite
5. Pinkie Apple Pie
6. Sweet and Smoky
7. Honest Apple
8. Spike at Your Service
9. Non-Compete Clause