Why I think season 3 is the most "interesting" season

[Pony Of The Month 534]

I was inspired to make this thread by this forty minute long review of season 3:

 

This guy says that this season was the most interesting season so far, and I couldn't help but agree with him. He's not using the word "interesting" as a synonym for best (although he did say this was the best season because it was the most interesting). He's using it in a different way. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but if you watch the video you'll understand. 

 

This review did have a problem though. He says that if making Magical Mystery Cure a one parter was a choice than the episode was awful, but if studio b had no choice, than it was great. I don't understand the logic here....

 

Anyways, I'm going to summarize the reasons why this season is so amazing using each episode: I'm not going to tell you whether I like these episodes or not, just why I find them interesting.

 

The Crystal Empire- Not only did this episode take Twilight further into her journey, but it foreshadowed the end of it.

 

Too Many Pinkie Pies- When this episode was first announced, I thought that it was just going to be a fun little episode about pinkie cloning herself. To many people, that is exactly what it was. But to me, this episode is MUCH deeper than that. This episode asks the question "What if you were no longer unique?" At least, that's what I got out of it. Pinkie no longer feels like a unique pony because there are now 11 clones of her. Her friends no longer see her as one great friend, but 11 nuisances. They can't help it. They have no idea which one is the real pinkie pie, which is why they don't just get rid of all of them so easily. This episode seems like a big philosophical "what if" scenario. 

 

One Bad Apple- No matter what, if you decide to create a bullying episode, not everyone is going to like it. Everyone has different experiences, and if it doesn't match up with their experiences, they're not going to like it. The thing that made this episode interesting to me is everyone's reactions towards it. It makes me wonder, if there is even such thing as a perfect solution to bullying. The answer is no. I honestly learned more from the fandom's reaction towards this episode than I learned from the episode. But I'm okay with that.

 

Magic Duel- This episode introduces the concept of the alicorn amulet. Enough said.

 

Sleepless In Ponyville- In this episode, we learn that Luna can enter the dreams of other ponies. This leaves us a lot of questions. Is this morally ethical? How often does Luna do this? etc.

 

Wonderbolt Academy- A lot of people are complained about the ending of this episode. I personally don't understand them. Of course the ending is going to be so open! What did you think would happen. Did you really believe that Rainbow would become a wonderbolt just because she proved herself to be more respectful than Lightning Dust? Anyways, the reason I find this episode so interesting, is merely because it's a huge continuation in Rainbow Dash's story arc. This episode really makes me interested to see the arc continue. 

 

Apple Family Reunion- We learned more about the apple family. How could this not be interesting?

 

Spike At Your Service- Everyone including me complained about this episode because Spike was out of character. But what I want to know now is that is there such thing as "out of character." We all have our weird days or phases, and this was definitely one of Spike's weird phases. Sure, it really bothered me that Spike was able to leave Twilight so easily, but is it really that hard to believe?

 

Keep Calm And Flutter On- This episode asks the question "Is friendship really magic?" and according to the end of this episode the answer is yes. This was my favorite episode of the season, but that doesn't mean I'm going to accept its moral as absolute fact. I'm not going to deny it either. It's just something that makes me think.

 

Just For Sidekicks/Games Ponies Play- These episodes make me wonder "How many stories can be told by the events of a single day?" So many events can happen within a single day. There are good stories that can be told and there always will be. These episodes really make me think. And they don't try to, they make me think simply by happening at the same time.

 

Magical Mystery Cure- This episode gives us a lot of questions. I'm not going to list those questions here, because we all have them. This episode is also very controversial. Not only does it deal with the theme of destiny, but Twilight becomes an Alicorn, and a lot of people think this episode was rushed. People either love it or hate it. But even if you hate this episode with a passion, you have to admit that it leaves you wanting to see what happens next. This may sound like an over generalization, but I think this episode has left EVERYONE wanting to know what happens next. And that's the most interesting thing about this episode.

 

So, I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that I found season 3 to be the most interesting season because it made me think much more than the first two. This season makes me think about not only their world, but our world as well. It makes me think about the future for Equestria, and every episode has stimulated some philosophical thinking out of me in some way or another.

 

 

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

This review did have a problem though. He says that if making Magical Mystery Cure a one parter was a choice than the episode was awful, but if studio b had no choice, than it was great. I don't understand the logic here....

 

I believe what he's saying is that if they had been forced by Hasbro or whoever to make it a one parter, they did an excellent job with the time they had. If it was their own choice, he thinks it's an awful one on their part because a two parter would've been better.

 

And to add a few things to your commentary of some episodes:

 

Too Many Pinkie Pies: In addition to the interesting philosophical question you posed, we also learn a lot about Pinkie Pie. A lot of critics of her character complain that she's sometimes just too random to the point of annoyance, which admittedly she has strayed towards at times. However, this episode contrasts the real Pinkie Pie to clones who are just what the above described: soulless balls of fun who just annoy the heck out of anyone and don't care how they make others feel. This juxtaposition was a nice reminder of the complexity of Pinkie's character as opposed the negative perception she normally receives.

 

Magic Duel: This episode does a lot more in my eyes than just introducing the Alicorn Amulet. More important than that, we see Twilight truly using the "magic of friendship" to solve her problems. She didn't need to cheat and use fancy magic like Trixie did, she just needed her friends and her leadership.

 

Sleepless in Ponyville/Wonderbolt Academy: Both these episodes left such large loose ends for Rainbow Dash. Though we saw neither resolved by the end of S3, you can bet S4 will return to the subjects of the Academy and Scootaloo (possibly both at the same time).

[Scootalove 10,689]

The Crystal Empire: I guess this episode impressed me, even if it had little backstory on King Sombra.

 

 

Too Many Pinkie Pies: I guess it brought  a huge smile on my face, when this episode introduced a clone army of Pinkie Pie's.

 

Apple Family Reunion: This episode, showed that Applejack is very sisterly and this was the 2nd time that I saw the whole Apple family. A very good episode overall.

 

Sleepless in Ponyville: A lot of good scenes were in this episode. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash defined a whole new era in cuteness and adorableness. Especially, when Dash and Scoots hug.