Tops of Season 4 So Far

[Stellafera 3,836]

Best Pony (Mane 6)

 

I interpreted this question as "MVP of Season 4". Best pony is still Applejack, natch.

 

Applejack or Pinkie, Applejack or Pinkie... I've flipped flopped in my vote over them twice. Right now, it's on Pinkie. Season 4 has been wonderful for Applejack, of course, and she's had many strong episodes without any of the bad moments that Pinkie Pie has had. But Season 4 deserves credit for making me care about a pony I never really noticed before. There's a sense that she's saying all her punchlines with purpose and the intent of making others laugh, which actually makes them much funnier in my book.

 

Worst Character:

 

I interpreted this as "Which characters has this been a bad season for?".

 

Twilight and Dashie, Twilight and Dashie... sorry Twilight. Each of them were one of the better parts about an episode where they played off the CMC, but in general? Baaaad. Rainbow Dash got a travesty of a key episode, and Daring Don't wasn't exactly her shining moment. But she has had some nice one-liners here and there, along with Flight to the Finish.

 

Outside of Twilight Time, Twilight has been booooorrrrrriiinnggg. Season 3 was not a good season for her and neither is this. Spike has gotten some ill treatment, but he's likeable no matter what and has thus moved up in my rankings. Can we please have a simple character-centered Twilight episode like Lesson Zero? It's all plot, plot, plot with her and bluntly, I'm sick of it. No adventure story, no epic new spell, all I want is more personality!

 

Best Episode

Somepony to Watch Over Me  .

 

The first time I saw it, I thought it was pretty good, but on review I determined that it is the funniest episode in the series thanks to well-timed sight gags and overall great punchlines from Applejack (The random as heck item list turning out to be completely necessary? Brilliant). The ending makes me verbally squee and is pretty heartwarming. Applejack came across as so earnest in her attempts at protecting AB that it gave her the sympathetic edge needed to prevent matters from being too one-sided. The CMC were at their best, and Scootaloo just spat out quotable one-liners like wildfire.

 

It was not as heartfelt as Hurricane Fluttershy, but I can appreciate comedy just as well as feelings and this one happened to come with the latter too as a side dish. 

 

Worst Episode

 

I practically make a game of this. You can't go below this episode. You can only despair of reaching it.

 

 

Normal bad episodes just make fail in the vicinity of the episode. No, that's too easy for this one. Rainbow Falls sucks the goodness out of things it touches. I happily nurse my hatred for it because if I tried to like it I would end up hating it more. If Rainbow Falls was a color, it wouldn't be in the visual spectrum. Instead, it would be gamma radiation and kill your brain cells.

 

Let's look at just some of the ways it is terrible. Rainbow Dash, who was becoming a mature and smart pony throughout Season 3?

 

HAHAHA SHE CAN'T MAKE HER OWN DECISIONS AND RELEARNS A LESSON THAT SHE NOT ONLY UNDERSTOOD BUT APPLIED IN PREVIOUS SEASONS.

 

The Wonderbolts?

 

HAHA NOW THEY'RE JERKS FOR NO REASON.

 

Rarity?

 

HAS NO FASHION SENSE OR COMMON SENSE COMPLETELY CONTRARY TO HER CORE. 

 

What a fricking cheat on a trait that has inspired some of Rainbow Dash's best moments. What a frickin insult to the Element of Loyalty. What a disappointment from Corey Powell, who seemed to understand the pony so perfectly in Season 3. It even showed us the impressive vista of the titular setting and then look exactly like Wonderbolt Academy for the rest of the episode. What the heck.

 

Best CMC

 

I needed a bit of positivity after that, and the CMC have had a very good season. Even Twilight Time, their weakest episode, was good for the Crusaders themselves. A lot of the sharpest comedy has come from these three fillies. I voted for Applebloom, who has received so much nuanced and fun focus. Scootaloo has also been great; I only wished there was more of her in Flight To the Finish. CUTIE MARK CRUSADER EPISODE CARRIERS!

 

Best Character Who Has Given A Key

 

I went with Coco, though I sure did like Cheese. I guess I prefer how they integrated her giving Rarity the key.

 

Best Key Episode

 

Rarity Takes Manehatten! A grounded episode with an excellent execution of its plot and exploration of the idea of generosity. I could've put Pinkie Pride here and been just as happy, though.

 

So far, Season 4 Is...

 

Still confusing me and it's supposed to be late season! I voted "Kinda cool but I was expecting much more", but it's more of a season that is strongly hit and miss. With Season 3, I could tell you about halfway through that I liked it. With Season 4...

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by Stellafera

[Scootalove 10,689]

Best Pony (Mane 6): Rarity was probably the MVP along with Pinkie Pie and Applejack, but Rarity Takes Manehattan really hit the home run for me.

 

Worst Character: Rainbow Dash, sorry Dashie but Rainbow Falls wasn't your best episode even for a key episode and it could have been better if it wasn't handled very badly.

 

Best Episode: Pinkie Pride, I didn't find anything wrong with it and it did pretty well.

 

Worst Episode: Rainbow Falls, with the wrong characterization and the Wonderbolts' acting out of character it was hard to enjoy it at least. It had a saving grace though, only a little.

 

Best CMC: To me, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom have been fighting for that spot.

 

Best Key Episode: A tie between Rarity Takes Manehattan and Pinkie Pride.

 

Best Character To Give a Key: Cheese Sandwich and Coco Pommel have a tie with each other.

 

Season 4 so far, is good but it could be better.

[FlutterDash4072 189]

Best Pony (Mane 6)

 

Fluttershy. No one's had a perfect season, but she's had way more good moments than bad this season.

 

Worst Character

 

Rainbow Dash has had a really bad season. I hope she gets a good episode this season to lift her out of this spot, I hate seeing my favorite being treated so poorly.

 

Best Episode

 

Right now I'm sticking with the season premier episodes. I really liked the backstory we got, and Discord was a little better here than in Three's a Crowd.

 

Worst Episode

 

Rainbow Falls is in my bottom five, and the only episode I really hate so far this season.

 

Best CMC

 

Apple Bloom so far, but she's also had much more attention than the other two, and none of it was bad.

 

Best Character Who Has Given A Key

 

Coco. I liked Cheese Sandwich too, but Coco left more of an impression on me, and I would rather see more of her in a future episode than Cheese.

 

Best Key Episode

 

Rarity Takes Manehattan.

 

So Far, Season 4 Is...

 

My second favorite, behind season 2. No season is perfect but both of these have enough good to outweigh the mediocre and the bad.

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

Best Mane Six Pony: Pinkie Pie

 

I was actually torn between her and Rarity but the deciding factor was how they were portrayed in their feature episodes of this season ("Pinkie Pride" and "Rarity Takes Manehattan" respectively). Pinkie Pie was given a depth that even MLP fans who are not really fans of Pinkie got to see, plus her key moment bore more weight with me than Rarity's. I've seen the argument that Pinkie Pie had Flanderization problems this season, but Rarity has had her moments, too, like "Rainbow Falls", and some will contend "Simple Ways" had one too.

 

Worst Character: Spike

 

This was a no-brainer, but unfortunately it's not Spike's fault, it's that of the writers for turning him into the resident punching bag and going absolutely backwards on his character development. He's always first in line for the Idiot Ball or some other form of abuse, and I'm honestly getting sick of it, not to mention the fact that he's a male character being treated this way really fuels the Men's Rights Activist inside of me. MLP is not Family Guy. Spike is not Meg. We're better than that.

Best Episode: Pinkie Pride

 

Definitively one of the best of the show, I can't say anything about this that hasn't been said. It was top-flight writing, hard-hitting character development, among the highest level of music that this show has produced, and the handling of "Weird Al" as the guest star is second to none, I don't think I've ever seen a better guest star in any cartoon I can recall, which says much for this show, not only for the effort in writing him into this episode, but the reputation that this show has built up to be able to capture the attention and commitment of such a high-profile celebrity. Definitely A+ level effort from some of the best in the business today.

 

Worst Episode: Rainbow Falls

 

Alas, for the positive character development, we must come to another case of negative character development, and the Wonderbolts really take the prize here. To put it simply to the Wonderbolts, WHERE IS YOUR HONOR, DIRTBAGS?!

 

Seriously, why would a prestigious team act so dishonorably as to lie and deceive each other out of a chance at competing, and why would Spitfire not only have to relearn a lesson from last season, but actually reference said moral while not acting it?

 

Unfortunately, my favorite character got royally bucked in the key episode department, but Fluttershy had a mediocre key episode, too. I guess it must be a Pegasus thing.

 

Best CMC: Scootaloo

 

"Flight to the Finish" definitely sealed the deal on Scootaloo. After the better part of three seasons without an episode, it was a great feeling throughout the fandom when she finally got one in "Sleepless in Ponyville" and to see Scootaloo get a second episode meant nothing less. She is one of my most relatable characters in the show considering her similarity to my current position in life, and it really does good to see her persevere in the face of adversity, compounded from her ability to fly by the bullying on the part of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. She had a couple of dumb moments in "Twilight Time" and "Somepony to Watch Over Me" but when you're a kid with those kind of emotions, how can you blame her for getting swept up in the moment?

 

Best Character Who Has Given A Key: Cheese Sandwich

 

Another easy choice. Cheese Sandwich was the only one out of the four to have had a fully-developed personality in the one episode he was in (besting Spitfire who was in the show since season 1), and was not only inspired by the actions of Pinkie Pie in the episode but by Pinkie Pie's actions well before the events of the episode. He displays a genuine respect for Pinkie Pie which contrasts how he presented himself beforehand, which may be because the only thing worse than seeing someone you respect very much falling on hard times is knowing you yourself created the situation that caused the person to fall on hard times. There is no sinking feeling worse than that, and Cheese made amends well enough and went right on being himself.

 

Coco Pommel deserves an honorable mention because her pattern nearly follows the same as Cheese. Similar to Cheese, her boss Suri nearly kills Rarity's confidence completely and almost causes her to give up. However, where the similarities end is that while Cheese respects Pinkie Pie and was not doing it intentionally, Suri was driving Rarity down intentionally, and Coco knew she had enough good in herself to give Suri the big heave-ho, make amends with herself and Rarity, and go look for something else, which, by her luck, landed her in work helping Rarity, probably the best atonement for what Suri did while Coco was within her employ.

 

So far, Season 4 is: Very good but could be better

 

The good points: We are seeing new directions in the storytelling that should fortunately keep this show afloat for the next 5 years. Season 3 introduced to us a willingness to go down new avenues, that this show will answer many of its questions and will not freeze in time like other cartoons usually do. Enough has changed so that the show can do similar morals and storylines to what it has already done and do them more poignantly this time around.

 

The bad points: Unfortunately, despite continuity being referenced increasingly in this show, it is not nearly used enough to justify the promise of a season-long story arc. This season's arcs (keys, Equestria Games, and the beginning of Twilight's princesshood) have really raised more questions than I'm sure they'll be able to answer, one of them being if any of these endings make sense at all. If that's the question they're raising, that might be a problem. Another point of contention was the lack of references to Twilight's princesshood. They reassured us that Twilight would still be the same character after her ascension, but, unlucky for us, they took that a little too far in basically just having an alicorn walking around and nopony giving a Dam. My last real point of contention is the seeming return to Season 1's formula of having the entire Mane 6 in almost every episode. While it worked naturally more often in Season 1, the current show staff does not handle it well and it usually results in one or more characters being Flanderized, which was an unfortunate constant this season.

[TwilightDreamer 69]

I really enjoyed the season since it is a real improvement from season 3 but I don't have a favorite character at the moment since I hate to pick favorites but Rainbow Dash, she's not at her best this season since she's so out of character at most points throughout the season's run and the proof is right up at Rainbow Falls the minute you look at her trying to go out of her way to get into the Wonderbolts and fly for Cloudsdale in the Equestria Games.

 

Pinkie Pride is one of those episodes that got me into liking Pinkie Pie despite her randomness becoming increasingly annoying as the season progresses. Pinkie's relationship to her element and her friendship with the girls is tested heavily when Cheese Sandwich came into Ponyville and became the new Party Pony, supposedly overshadowing Pinkie when he only did it for a reason and that he never intended to hurt her feelings and her pride in any way. She also comes to realize that pride comes before a fall and that it can lead to disastrous results like how the Goof-Off backfired on her when she realized that she let her pride get in the way of her friendship with Rainbow. Rainbow Falls is definitely one of the season's low points as far as I know with how they handled things in it like how out of character the Wonderbolts and Rainbow are, the moment between Rainbow and Soarin being somewhat weak and with Derpy being ignored, it's at rock bottom in this season. Filli Vanilli is somewhat of an episode that could be great were it not for Pinkie despite her not intentionally hurting Fluttershy's feelings directly and being oblivious to her fears of performing in front of a crowd and that the pink mare's care-free nature and "encouragement" didn't help things with Fluttershy since she made her cry near the end! Pinkie, my god, what have you done to poor Fluttershy?!

 

So far, even if Season 4 had it's ups and downs like the last 3 seasons, it's really surprised me and I'm hoping that it blows me away in the season finale.

[Shift 4,274]

Best Mane 6: Rarity.

Worst Character: Spike. He's just becoming bland now.

Best Episode: Pinkie Pride, no brainer.

Worst Episode: Rainbow Falls, also no brainer.

Best CMC: I've said it before and i'll say it again: Sweetie Belle.

Best Key Character: Spitfire. I dig those glasses. And I love her military asshole self. *notes that only I and another guy have voted spitfire* Eheheh.

Key Episode: Pinkie Pride. Again.

So Far s4 is...: Best goddamn season. Ever.

[BayoUni2847 528]

Best mane 6 so far: Applejack

Worst Character so far: Twilight Sparkle

Best Episode: Simple Ways

Worst Episode: Rainbow Falls

Best CMC so far: Scootaloo

Best Key Giver: Cheese Sandwich

Best Key Episode: Pinkie Pride

So far this season is: My second favorite season.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 479]

Best Mane 6 Pony:  Rarity.  She's been great in nearly all the episodes she has been in.  Besides, I just plain love her, I don't think I need to say more.

 

Worst Character:  I'm not sure why I put Discord, because I liked him in "Princess Twilight Sparkle".  I've always thought he was a stupid sort of character anyway who 1) is too chaotic for his own good and 2) just has a plain annoying personality.  I thought he was just a "smart" troll in "Three's a Crowd" so that might explain why.

 

Spike gets an honorable mention though for being generally poorly written this season.

 

Best Episode: "Pinkie Apple Pie".  The whole family argument thing was quite well introduced, and Pinkie just plain nails her role as a "perfect fool" in this episode who looks beyond the petty disagreements to help the Apple family stay on track as a family.  Plus, the song was actually great for once, and the humor was quite flowing.

 

In case you are wondering, I do consider "Pinkie Pride" to be objectively one of the best episodes this season, but I can't bring myself to personally like it.  I'll need not repeat the rant I've given on the episode thread page about how much I "disagreed" with it.

 

Worst Episode: "Daring Don't".  This is the only episode in the series where I said to myself after watching "What the hay was that?"  Not only do you have a premise that almost calls for an entirely different world than Equestria and its vicinity itself, but Dash was an unsympathetic jerk, idiotic, and downright insulting.  AK Yearling's "plot" seemed unbelievably convoluted with a hundred holes, both in execution and questioning of her character, and the moral was confusing, unsupportable by the episode, and only found through dumb luck (like "Games Ponies Play").  It almost makes a mockery of both the show and the fandom, the latter since I see Dash's actions as being a commentary on the fanbase.

 

"Rainbow Falls" gets an honorable mention for its obvious plot holes and inconsistencies, character derailment of Spitfire and other Wonderbolts, and for everypony blindly believing Rainbow Dash was actually hurt.  (Oh, and Rarity's surprisingly ugly dresses.)

 

Best CMC: Apple Bloom, but only because I haven't been much impressed with any of the CMC this season.  AB wins marginally because of her efforts in "Somepony to Watch Over Me", but even then I have my qualms.

 

Best Character Who Has Given a Key: Much as I "disagreed" with "Pinkie Pride", I can say without qualification on the quality of Cheese Sandwich.  I found it amazing how much depth and charisma they could put in a one-episode pony, and he plays his role well (even though I found the character itself overblown).

 

Honorable mention goes to Seabreeze, whose demeanor and impatience with his fellow Breezies kept "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" from being firmly in the rubbish pile.

 

Best Key Episode: "Rarity Takes Manehattan".  Its handling of Rarity's Element was treated non-trivially, and to top it off, her forcing of her friends to make the dresses to the sacrifice of enjoying the rest of the city struck a huge dramatic chord with me.  Besides, it's a Rarity episode.

 

Again, "Pinkie Pride" should top this list as well, but I just couldn't like it enough, not to mention its materialist vibe that I felt trivialized the Element of Laughter and wasn't satisfactorily resolved to my taste.

 

So Far, Season 4 is... I put down "my second favorite season so far" but it's only because after rewatching Season 1 I find that season weaker than I originally remembered.  I've found more problems with the episodes this season than other seasons, but at the same time it has given me at least as much to enjoy.

Edited March 14, 2014 by OptimisticNeighsayer

[Rainboom Dash 1,056]

Best Character: Fluttershy. It's great to see she's been getting more development recently.

Worst Character: Spike. Really, most of the writers seem to have lost interest in him. He's had barely any role this season outside of "butt monkey". I know there was Power Ponies, but that was just one.

Best Episode: Pinkie Pride. One of the show's greatest.

Worst Episode: It Ain't Easy Being Breezies. It was good, but not as good as the rest for me.

Best CMC: Apple Bloom. She was great in Somepony to Watch Over Me.

Best Key Character: Cheese Sandwich.

Best Key Episode: Pinkie Pride, again.

Overall: Best season of the lot, for me. Some very minor gripes but so many great episodes.

[Megas 27,972]

Best - It's been terrific for AJ, Rarity, and Pinkie, though I'm inclined to pick Pinkie because she's been getting higher on my mane 6 list because of S4, yeah there was Filli Vanilli, but unlike other episodes*coughlunaeclipsecougafriendindeedcough* she's at least called out for it

Worst -  With the exception for Fight to the Finish, this is an absolutely shitty season for Rainbow Dash(and I hate saying that for my favorite character)

Best episode - Pinkie Pride or Rarity takes Manehatten easily

Worst - I'm gonna keep the trend going, Rainbow Falls is definitely the seasons lowest point(though admittedly I don't hate it as much as everyone else). Though I do feel the need to call out Simple Ways for being Rarity's first weak episode imo.

Best CMC - for now, Scootaloo

Best Key Character -  Cheese Sandwich, though I'm tempted to pick Seabreeze(easily Breezie's highlight)

Best Key episode - Again, Pinkie Pride or Rarity Takes Manehatten, the other two can't even compete

My opinion of this season - I like it a lot, but if you want me to be honest, it's my least favorite season so far

Edited March 14, 2014 by Megas75

[Pinky Pie 71]

I have just added "Best Song" and "Worst Song" parts to the pool, please vote them as well

[Whatevs 377]

Why the sudden appreciation for Rarity? What changed in your guys' heads?
I ask because I'm testing a theory and any info would be appreciated.

If this question was asked a few weeks ago (around where Pinkie Apple Pie was), I would've easily said Rarity, as her in-characterization was easily the most consistent. But with about two months left, the answer is much tougher.

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie suffer from major characterization problems this season.

• Beyond Twilight Time, Castle Mane-ia, and PTS, her role as an alicorn princess is often either unrecognized or ignored entirely, reducing her to the middle-mare that either gives out bad advice, has no character, or is a DEM.
• Dash's characterization is very inconsistent. In character in Flight to the Finish. Very questionable in Daring Don't. WAY out of character in Rainbow Falls.
• Pinkie Pie has been VERY flanderized this season so far, more than last year.

Rarity has started to become rather flanderized for the sake of drawing out humor (her entire performance in Simple Ways, her inability to design high-quality patterns and uniforms in Rainbow Falls, and thinking of her shiny fashion over the breezies despite being warned about their delicate touch in the intro). The true breath of fresh air came during Filli Vanilli as the support role for Fluttershy.

Despite a massively flanderized personality in Rainbow Falls, Applejack was the most consistent… Then she hit a GIGANTIC brick wall in Somepony…

Fluttershy suffered a major flanderization problem in Power Ponies and then had her fantastical point of view of the vampire fruit bats glorified to hone in a moral that had no purpose being there. In Rainbow Falls, her flanderization appeared again by actually being too developed and involved willingly. On the other hand, she's made huge strides since in Three's a Crowd, Filli Vanilli and It Ain't Easy Being Breezies.

So, I'm stuck between Applejack and Fluttershy, but chose Fluttershy. I might reverse my choice sometime later.

 

Very well thought out.
However, I disagree that simply being flanderized for one episode takes said character out of the running, when the other 2 were also flanderized and have been relatively static low risk characters (referring to Rarity versus AJ and Flutters).
Just an idea to prompt discussion as I feel that was unfair.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Whatevs

[Castle Bleck 19,401]

Coco Pommel, Cheese Sandwich, and mai waifu Maud Pie are best newer characters.

 

Oh, and Rainbow Falls bucking SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!

Edited March 15, 2014 by Anti-Villain