Do You Think the Show is Getting Better or Worst for Season 4?

[Forlong 1,726]

Overall, I'd say the season is better.  With amazing gems like Flight to the Finish and Pinkie Pride.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 471]

I can't say whether the show is getting better or worse, it's just becoming a horse of a different color.

 

On one hoof, I get the feeling that the show is letting the plot dictate the actions of the characters rather than the other way around.  Considering that many have admired this show for connecting the characters well with a plot, this should be cause for disturbance.  However, I find a good, well-executed plot more laudable than absolute character integrity (as “character integrity” is often dependent on one’s own interpretation of the character rather than any consideration of the overall literary merits of an episode simplicitor), so as long as the character isn’t completely derailed for the sake of a gimmick, it’s not really that much of a problem.  (I’m still on the fence on this one as far as AJ goes in “Somepony to Watch Over Me”.  Every side of the argument has good points but neither completely seals the fate for me.)  We’ve had plenty of engaging plots this season, at least as much as some of the other three seasons.

 

There are other things that give me pause about this season.  In some ways, I feel like the show has lost its sense of whimsy and invention that attracted me to the show in the first place.  To have any world-building at all for an episode this season gives it a very large bonus for me regardless of the rest of its quality.  And some episodes just don’t seem to have the energy and drive that I felt was more true of the previous seasons overall and those that do tend to have other problems with it.  Yet there are still many shining moments of humor and times when I could be engaged in the character’s mindsets, feeling both sympathetic and critical of their actions.  The latter is what I look for most in an episode, and even in some of the weaker episodes (and also those that were strong but I didn’t exactly like) the show has done an effective job doing so.

 

Overall, I like this season better than Season 3 and even Season 1, but it doesn’t seem an improvement over Season 2, which continues to be my standard. 

Edited March 13, 2014 by OptimisticNeighsayer

[Mars Caramel 319]

I would say that it is getting better, despite some rough terrain. I really liked every episode in season 4 so far, except for Somepony to Watch Over Me.

 

But even if it isn't getting better by a lot, I would still say at least slightly.

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

At the end of the day it's just a show for little girls. It'll always be that for me and I'll treat it accordingly.

[Pixel Stick 927]

@@OptimisticNeighsayer (since the forum didn't format my quote correctly, for some reason)

 

In some ways, I feel like the show has lost its sense of whimsy and invention that attracted me to the show in the first place.

 

I kinda agree with you here.  When I first discovered the show just after Season 2 had ended, I was amazed by how wonderful and new it felt - so much different from virtually any other cartoon/anime I'd watched in recent years.  Instead of having either a long story arc to be told across multiple seasons (eg. Avatar, Spice and Wolf, etc.), or being nothing but a collection of one-shot, non-continuous shorts (Dexter's Lab, Animaniacs), I found this to have a lovely, refreshing mix of both extremes.  Slice-of-life with just enough of an overarching storyline to give it focus, and a believable world in which to develop.

 

Season 3 started to lose a bit of that focus, and now Season 4 feels a lot like "We really SHOULD be getting back to the main plot, but...", which feels distracting.  Also, I'm dismayed by the fact that both Pinkie Pie and Spike seem almost irretrievably entrenched in their roles as "Screaming idiot" and "Bumbling comic relief", when they both had considerable depth in prior seasons.

 

I'm concerned that Season 4 feels like the inevitable "we're running out of ideas" slump that happens to many shows.  But it's not even so much that they're running out of ideas - they just don't seem to have the same magic to their execution that they did before, and part of it I think is that they're trying to cram too much plot into a 21-minute episode much of the time.  A lot of the episodes I'm more critical of this season feel like they could be so much better with just a little different editing...

 

Anyway, I reserve judgment on whether the show as a whole is in decline or not for at least the rest of this season.  And apparently, Hasbro is planning to keep the show (or at least the franchise) alive for several more years, so let's see if they manage to keep it from tanking in the process.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Pixel Stick

[MK15 68]

The S4 is not bad as you jerks are pointing and the crew hasn't lost the magic touch that made the series so special, it's you bronies that have lost your passion and are blaming the FiM staff for this. If you really think you can do a better works than they why don't you try to do episodes by yourselfs? Oh right, I forgot, you already tried and you miserably failed *coff* DOUBLE RAINBOOM *coff*.

 

-_-

[Pixel Stick 927]

The S4 is not bad as you jerks are pointing and the crew hasn't lost the magic touch that made the series so special, it's you bronies that have lost your passion and are blaming the FiM staff for this. If you really think you can do a better works than they why don't you try to do episodes by yourselfs? Oh right, I forgot, you already tried and you miserably failed *coff* DOUBLE RAINBOOM *coff*.

 

-_-

 

Uh, judgmental much?  We're all fans of the show (otherwise we wouldn't be here, right?), and we all have our opinions about it.

 

And in fact, you know that there's a rich fan community here creating tons of its own work, much of which is show quality, right?

 

If a significant portion of the fanbase thinks the show is losing its touch, perhaps it is - perhaps the show has changed in a way that causes people to think that.  And who else would we "blame" if we felt the show's quality was in decline?  The "FiM staff" is responsible for the content of the show - a mix of DHX and Hasbro, and nobody else.

 

So could you please explain your vitriole just a bit?

[MK15 68]

http://mlpforums.com/topic/91049-lauren-faust-is-not-a-goddess-stop-saying-the-s1-is-perfect-proofs/

 

I've already opened this topic to show that the show hasn't lost anything compared to the first season.

 

The first season had it's problem, the show never has been perfect, neither in the beginning, the first season had it's mediocre episodes (the pilot, Ticket Master, Feeling Pinkie Keen, Show Stoppers, Over a Barrel, A Bird in the Hoof and Owl's Well) or even AWFUL episodes (Boast Busters and Stare Master). The only episodes of the S4 that are bad are Rainbow Falls and Somepony Watches Over Me (and the Breezies one being mediocre). All the other ones ARE good episodes. I don't see all the problems you see, and even if would agree, the previous seasons, had their problems, as the S4, no seasons are perfect, in any show. So the show is going well. Uhm, forgive my curiosity, If you don't like the show anymore, why are you bronies continuing to watch it?

Edited March 13, 2014 by MK15

[nanobyte 27]

season 4 is certainly stepping it up with the quality, but i think the show as a whole is going down hill.

[TwilightDreamer 69]

It's not as bad as anyone else would think; I would say that MLP is looking up with season 4 despite the rough patches it has.

 

I'm really enjoying this season so far and while it may not be the best as season 2 is, it still holds up to me as something of a worthy season for the show. I would say by far, the show is practically getting better if the MLP team continues to surprise me.

[Pixel Stick 927]

http://mlpforums.com/topic/91049-lauren-faust-is-not-a-goddess-stop-saying-the-s1-is-perfect-proofs/

 

I've already opened this topic to show that the show hasn't lost anything compared to the first season.

 

The first season had it's problem, the show never has been perfect, neither in the beginning, the first season had it's mediocre episodes (the pilot, Ticket Master, Feeling Pinkie Keen, Show Stoppers, Over a Barrel, A Bird in the Hoof and Owl's Well) or even AWFUL episodes (Boast Busters and Stare Master). The only episodes of the S4 that are bad are Rainbow Falls and Somepony Watches Over Me (and the Breezies one being mediocre). All the other ones ARE good episodes. I don't see all the problems you see, and even if would agree, the previous seasons, had their problems, as the S4, no seasons are perfect, in any show. So the show is going well. Uhm, forgive my curiosity, If you don't like the show anymore, why are you bronies continuing to watch it?

 

I don't think anyone ever claimed the first two seasons were perfect, nor that Lauren Faust was perfect.  That's not the point - it seems to me that a fair number of folks feel that even with their flaws, the first two seasons were BETTER than the current one, though obviously a fair number of folks disagree on that too.

 

A few people have said they don't like the show anymore, and they've left.  A few claim to not like it but stick around anyway, perhaps because they still like the community.  People like me still like the show and don't WANT to see it go downhill, and we're worried that it either is declining or is about to.  And some people don't see anything wrong with it at all, such as yourself.  There's nothing wrong with a mix of opinions.

 

My problem with your approach here is that you seem to be saying "Well, I don't see anything wrong with it, so you're all just looking to stir up drama."  With all due respect, just because you don't see problems with it doesn't mean it's invalid for others to believe there are problems.  I for one happen to think that both Flight to the Finish and Rainbow Falls were decent episodes - not the best of the season, but not the worst either.  And my least favorites so far have been Daring Don't, Simple Ways and Breezies - all of which have their fan followings as well.  Chalk it up to differences in opinion, but don't call us jerks because we think differently than you.

[FNGRpony 658]

It's gotten better and worse.

 

We literally got the worst discord ever in three's a crowd.

The CMC has been solid gold in season 4.

It's all and who you focus on?

Flutters has bombed in season 4.

Every time apple jack takes a step forward she's forced to take two steps back with something else.

 

We've gotten the best and the worst of pinkie pie.  With out a doubt.

Their been some neat nodds to the fans,

twilight seems to have proven that alicorn basically changed nothing, which is a push,

Rainbows in rare form most of the time,

And i think rarity has been a blast in season 4 more often than not.

 

So like i mean it's all in who you showed up for?

 

No changelings, 0 luna, but lots of neat ideas, some hit some miss,

and a plot long story arc that seems to be heading up to rainbow rocks.

 

I'm happy with season 4, but i might hate the end result.

[Ianpiersonjdavis 512]

So far I kind of like it as there was really only one episode in the season I truly despised (Rainbow Falls), but as much as I'd like to reserve judgement I'd have to say I'm neutral on this Season since I liked all of the episodes up until that one and others have just felt 'meh'.

 

I believe that only if it drops back down to Season 3 quality with two maybe three good episodes after being cut in half to thirteen extremely  rushed episodes again, should we be worried.

 

But, I'm still confident until the finale that this Season will still end up being as good as 1 and 2.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

The show hasn't seen a change in quality, it has seen a change in direction. Some people prefer this direction, others think it was the wrong path to take, hence the constant divisiveness of the fandom (minus Rainbow Falls which has recieved a large amount of backlash).

[Keen Blade 64]

Any pony is good pony. My least favorite episodes are still quite enjoyable to me. Altogether, I think they've done an excellent job pacing the way they develop the characters and reveal the world. Equestria still feels like a place with a lot of secrets, where who knows what new things will be revealed next? And the characters have developed and grown- they have neither stayed exactly the same nor have they arrived at the point where no further development is possible. I still feel like there is a story unfolding here, like we're still exploring a strange new land and watching these characters make their way through it. And those facts remain one of the most amazing things about this show to me.

 

Furthermore, the balance of episode types has been excellent this season. Some episodes go into worldbuilding, lore, and have big stakes, while others are smaller adventures, or slice-of-life antics, or just some characters talking about their relationships. They go back and forth between these different kinds of stories quite seamlessly in a way that feels natural and that I've never encountered before. Furthermore, I think they've gotten even better at fitting larger, more complex stories into the allotted time. 

 

Overall, I remain very impressed and eager for more.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

The S4 is not bad as you jerks are pointing and the crew hasn't lost the magic touch that made the series so special, it's you bronies that have lost your passion and are blaming the FiM staff for this. If you really think you can do a better works than they why don't you try to do episodes by yourselfs? Oh right, I forgot, you already tried and you miserably failed *coff* DOUBLE RAINBOOM *coff*.

 

-_-

 

They didn't say it was bad, or even that it has lost its touch. Also, did you just blame them for FlamingoRich's animation? How does that make sense? Double Rainboom's main problem was that it was advertised as a full-length episode to mirror the show, it wasn't, but it was a good animation nonetheless. Its writing was a little lackluster, but Egoraptor's work is the same way (coming from a fan of his). FlamingoRich is a talented ANIMATOR, he and his crew aren't great writers imo. I have seen some really good episode ideas on here that I could see happening in the show, so let's not make blanket statements.  :okiedokielokie:

It's gotten better and worse.

 

We literally got the worst discord ever in three's a crowd.

The CMC has been solid gold in season 4.

It's all and who you focus on?

Flutters has bombed in season 4.

Every time apple jack takes a step forward she's forced to take two steps back with something else.

 

We've gotten the best and the worst of pinkie pie.  With out a doubt.

Their been some neat nodds to the fans,

twilight seems to have proven that alicorn basically changed nothing, which is a push,

Rainbows in rare form most of the time,

And i think rarity has been a blast in season 4 more often than not.

 

So like i mean it's all in who you showed up for?

 

No changelings, 0 luna, but lots of neat ideas, some hit some miss,

and a plot long story arc that seems to be heading up to rainbow rocks.

 

I'm happy with season 4, but i might hate the end result.

 

Worst Discord ever was in Keep Calm and Flutter On imo, and how has Flutters bombed? She's just been delegated to the sidelines, because there's nothing for her to do. That to me isn't bombing, it's just...well...Fluttershy has been written into a corner, because of her previous development. She's the most explored character after Twilight, yet the least fleshed out. Most people are worried about Pinkie this season, but I'm worried that Fluttershy will have nowhere left to go after this. That's unfortunately what I think MLP's downfall will be, retreading previous ground with each character until it becomes frustrating to even the casual audience.

Edited March 14, 2014 by DryColt84

[Night1Wisp 3]

Well, some episodes aren't that great, I don't really like Twilight Time and Flight To The Finish. But is do like Power Ponies and Filli Vanilli and Bats. I like most of the episodes and the animation is really awesome! So i think it's getting better. 

[Castle Bleck 19,333]

I can't say whether the show is getting better or worse, it's just becoming a horse of a different color.

 

On one hoof, I get the feeling that the show is letting the plot dictate the actions of the characters rather than the other way around.  Considering that many have admired this show for connecting the characters well with a plot, this should be cause for disturbance.  However, I find a good, well-executed plot more laudable than absolute character integrity (as “character integrity” is often dependent on one’s own interpretation of the character rather than any consideration of the overall literary merits of an episode simplicitor), so as long as the character isn’t completely derailed for the sake of a gimmick, it’s not really that much of a problem.  (I’m still on the fence on this one as far as AJ goes in “Somepony to Watch Over Me”.  Every side of the argument has good points but neither completely seals the fate for me.)  We’ve had plenty of engaging plots this season, at least as much as some of the other three seasons.

 

There are other things that give me pause about this season.  In some ways, I feel like the show has lost its sense of whimsy and invention that attracted me to the show in the first place.  To have any world-building at all for an episode this season gives it a very large bonus for me regardless of the rest of its quality.  And some episodes just don’t seem to have the energy and drive that I felt was more true of the previous seasons overall and those that do tend to have other problems with it.  Yet there are still many shining moments of humor and times when I could be engaged in the character’s mindsets, feeling both sympathetic and critical of their actions.  The latter is what I look for most in an episode, and even in some of the weaker episodes (and also those that were strong but I didn’t exactly like) the show has done an effective job doing so.

 

Overall, I like this season better than Season 3 and even Season 1, but it doesn’t seem an improvement over Season 2, which continues to be my standard. 

( •_•)( •_•)>⌐■-■(⌐■_■)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QagvGeALda4

 

.........

 

...What? You were clearly setting someone up for it!

Edited March 14, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Henny Penny Benny 936]

Personally, while I certainly can be critical about the show, I prefer to just sit back and enjoy whatever the writers throw at me. I don't think there's been a single episode in any season that I genuinely didn't enjoy. The only one that really came close was "Daring Don't", but I've only seen it once, and it's probably a lot better than I remembered, even if it wasn't as memorable as others.

 

Point is, I think the show just continues to improve as the characters grow and learn and change while staying the same deep down. I was uneasy about Alicorn Twilight at first, but I've accepted it as the way things are and will be, and the writers are doing a great job with it. I expect to feel the same about the Rainbow Power thing, too. Sure, things may be different, but the characters have been and will likely continue to be the same characters I fell in love with.

 

So really, what's there to complain about?

[OptimisticNeighsayer 471]

 

 

What? You were clearly setting someone up for it!

I knew somepony would pick up on that sooner or later. 

[applejock 358]

Since Gen1, the element of MLP has only grown over the years. This current Generation, season and films (hurry up Rainbow Rocks!!!) is very modern in its attempts to pass on the lesson of "Just be nice to one another, love is a real word!".

 

My humble opinion is this current Gen is only getting better, by every single episode, to seeing our Mane6 becoming humanized, and coming full circle  (almost) with the CMCs.

 

The bottom line is, as a human being, your mind is off the charts of problem solving, beyond any measure in the want to seek information, and most of all, it is your worst enemy. If you WANT to find flaws, you WILL. If you just want to smile, YOU WILL.

 

The show hasnt changed its message for 25+ years, your mind is changing it.

 

Love it, or hate it, but don't spread the virus of "greydom" the valley that is full of "what if.." or "well i think blank blank".

 

TLDR= THIS SHOW ROCKS, PERIOD.

[FNGRpony 658]

 

Worst Discord ever was in Keep Calm and Flutter On imo, and how has Flutters bombed? She's just been delegated to the sidelines, because there's nothing for her to do. That to me isn't bombing, it's just...well...Fluttershy has been written into a corner, because of her previous development. She's the most explored character after Twilight, yet the least fleshed out. Most people are worried about Pinkie this season, but I'm worried that Fluttershy will have nowhere left to go after this. That's unfortunately what I think MLP's downfall will be, retreading previous ground with each character until it becomes frustrating to even the casual audience.

 

Keep calm and flutter on promised potential.  Which I felt paid off in season 4 premier.  three's company might have some kind of pay off later,

but as it stands, it just felt like a mess.  a fun mess but a mess none the less.

 

Flutters is there to be cute.  And each season she gets a little less cute.  Am i wrong?  Hell even her melt downs were cute.

When i say bombed i feel she's had the weakest showing this season.

 

Not just the main six but if you included the cmc flutters would still be dead last.  and she was my favorite going into season 4 lol. 

The writing staff improved practically everyone else.

 

Sure pinkie dumb most of the time but when she's good she's great.  If flutters at least had some Golden moments, she's had some okay ones,

but there's nothing I could point two in season 4 and go "see that's why she's the best."

I wish i could.

[Shanks 10,816]

Season 4 started out pretty strong, not entirely flawless as there was still the lingering issue of Twilicorn and how poorly it was handled in the season 3 finale but looked very promising with an epic season premier that delved into Equestrias past and rock solid episodes like Pinkie Apple Pie, Pinkie Pride, Bats and Daring Don't but took a serious nose dive around Rainbow Falls with a plot that seemed a tad rushed and had Spitfire being seriously out of character. The other episodes since then have been a bit hit or miss, there have been good ones after that but even some of those weren't as good as they could have been. But what really drives me insane is the ridiculous amount of inconsistencies, out of character moments that make this whole season feel the writers don't know what they hell they are doing and are just pulling stuff out of their asses.

 

Rarity Takes Manehattan really went overboard with Rarity going out of her way to be generous as it were some defensive response to all the people saying she isn't generous by saying "see Rarity is generous" making it feel awkward and forced and really seem like bragging with that song. Applejack's overprotective side was played up for laughs and was developed in a believable way in Somepony To Watch Over Me which as much as it sickens me to admit makes it the only Applejack episode I ever truly disliked and my least favorite episode of the season so far and as AJ fan pissed me off more than I could possibly put into words. Granted Applejack for the most part has still kept her momentum from season 3 but that episode has me a bit worried, Pinkie Pie started out very strong this season but it seems like she is devolving into the 1 dimensional shadow of her former self that characterized more of her in season 3 which for a little while gave Rainbow Dash some potential competition for my 2nd favorite pony (she now has some from Twilight after Applejack broke the tie break between them and Luna for my #1 spot).

 

Fluttershy still suffers from the inconsistencies she has suffered from since season 2 with learning a lesson and then just forgetting only to conveniently remember it later, if it wasn't for this inconsistency Fluttershy would be significantly higher on my favorite pony rankings as she has had some very inspiring and profound moments in the series and I can understand her appeal. And same with Spike, why can't they write a decent Spike episode for crying out loud? Why does he always have to be the punching bag of the group? Yes he can be a doofus sometimes but all the time?

[TheChosenPony 279]

To be honest.

 

I think all the episodes are perfect the way they are. We just have to learn that they all teach a lesson one way or another and personality changes are usually needed for teaching the lesson.

 

Characters are the way they are- they arent perfect, wouldn't it be funny if I went all nostalgia critic on my friends and started complaining how they were out of character

Edited March 15, 2014 by TheChosenPony

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

It's a roller coaster. Hopefully it doesn't take a plunge with stupid hasbro trying to sell toys through episodes.