My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Season 4 Top And Bottom 5

M.A. Larson sat out the fourth season to complete his novel Pennyroyal Academy, and as such it became the first series not to earn any ratings higher than four stars.  In his absence though, most of the other writers stepped to produce their best work, including some of the new additions.  Dave Polsky ended up with the lion’s share of five shows, and most of them were solid.  Amy Keating Rogers returned to pen both the best Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie episodes, while Meghan McCarthy’s opening and closing two-parters were far more successful than her previous efforts.  Josh Haber brought a realistic feel that fit the season perfectly and proved himself worthy of remaining on the staff, and even Merriwether Williams turned in one of her “best” episodes (in that it didn’t top the worst list).  Unfortunately, Scott Sonneborn and Natasha Levinger were both complete disasters, while McCarthy’s meddling ruined plenty of potentially decent outings.

These last three produced filler which destroyed the flow of a season that was surprisingly gripping at times.  Having an arc regarding finding six keys allowed for each mane six member to have their own special episode, and three of them were among the season’s top ratings.  After the Equestria Games hoopla was introduced in the previous season’s Games Ponies Play, that became a solid mini-arc as well.  These served to focus the season, and were unquestionably stronger than most of the other episodes that didn’t deal with these threads.  So even if no one specific episode matched the best efforts from previous seasons, the fourth was undoubtedly My Little Pony’s strongest overall to date.  With Larson’s return set for the fifth season and many other writers finally maturing, expectations have to be set rather high.  It is a great loss that Larson chose this particular season to sit out, but I must concern myself with the shows that were actually produced.  And there was plenty to like.

Top 5

1. Filli Vanilli

 

With no clear cut top choice like in season three, I have little remorse in picking my favorite.  Filli Vanilli takes place in a slightly alternate universe (where the ponies are actually interested in music), and borrows some of its plot from Singin’ In The Rain, but no other episode finds so much joy.  Fluttershy is afraid to sing in public despite her great voice, but unexpectedly gets an opportunity once Big Mac whoops too hard at a turkey calling contest.  As their voices are just slightly apart in octaves, Zecora whips up some poison joke which allows Fluttershy to sing with a bass voice backstage.  Rarity’s visible group may earn the applause, but Fluttershy shares every moment of their triumphs.

Rogers’ free callbacks to her previous Bridle Gossip produce great continuity, and she offers a spectacular lesson for Fluttershy.  Sometimes you’re the only one holding yourself back, although Rogers is also smart enough to realize that such a drastic change for Fluttershy couldn’t happen overnight.  There is no single greater moment in the season to rival Fluttershy’s positive squee after her first performance, and her introversion is again handled extremely accurately.  Filli Vanilli marked the first time I felt excited for forthcoming episodes, and it might be a solid series introduction despite being far from typical.  Between all of this and some surprising attention to detail (finding different ways to hide Fluttershy at their various events becomes more hilarious as they go on), Filli Vanilli is an easy choice for my top spot.

2. Rarity Takes Manehattan

Dave Polsky followed his disappointing Daring Don’t with a surprisingly strong Rarity episode.  She takes her friends to the big city for fashion week, and takes the top prize in a roundabout method.  Along the way, Rarity counters the usual New York stereotype by being kind to those she meets (which actually pays off later), must employ her sweatshop/friends to build a new line when her special fabric is stolen, and has a shockingly honest dialogue with the pony who made her competitor’s dresses.  Rarity’s light and dark sides are portrayed in equal measure, but neither feels contrived nor an attempt to prove a lesson (as happened in other fourth season episodes).  Like Filli Vanilli, the reset button ending feels organic rather than an absurd effort that restore things to “normal”.

All of Polsky’s episodes have been solid after Feeling Pinkie Keen, but he’s never shown so much thoughtfulness before.  Many “throwaway” background characters are actually developed, and Rarity feels well-rounded since she shows off her entire personality instead of just one side.  Less successful are the fashion ponies, who only seem like stereotypes.  But the final conversation with Coco saves this a bit, as it brings depth to a character who didn’t say much before.  For this, a montage song that actually had purpose, and more fine voice acting by Tabitha St. Germain, RTM is easily Polsky’s best outing to date and a lock for the top list.

 

3. Princess Twilight Sparkle

McCarthy’s earlier two-parters were maddeningly mediocre, although she finally found some success by eschewing her usual tropes.  Princess Twilight Sparkle doesn’t include the royal couple or a retconned villain, but instead focuses on setting up a season-long arc and providing some historical context.  Twilight is tasked with starting her royal duties, but is soon drawn back to Ponyville when Celestia and Luna both disappear and the Everfree Forest threatens to take over Equestria.  She uses a potion to peer into the past, and sees the Elements Of Harmony’s earliest uses in banishing both Luna and Discord.  After discovering the Tree Of Harmony is close to death, Twilight returns her Elements and is presented with a second quest.

While uneven and problematic in terms of pacing, Princess Twilight excels with its fleshing out of Equestria’s history.  Scenes of Celestia sending Luna to the moon are surprisingly moving, and Discord denying responsibility to help Twilight learn shows he’s not so bad after all (for now).  McCarthy probably took inspiration from Larson here, but that’s better than her usual formula.  The fourth season may not have been able to sustain its opener’s mood, but an attempt to push forward was definitely made.  While her later meddling went terribly, McCarthy found a focus in her solo episodes that she hasn’t been able to hit before.  Twilight’s Kingdom doesn’t quite measure up because it has the aforementioned problems, but both offer compelling storytelling, good characterization, and few headshaking moments.  For a season without its best writer, McCarthy found an almost perfect way to start things off right.

 

4. Pinkie Pride

This episode feels specifically designed to be the favorite of every brony in the world, which is why it will never be mine.  The wall-to-wall songs aren’t great, but thankfully there isn’t too much plot to get in the way.  Pinkie is charged with Rainbow Dash’s upcoming birthday party, but faces competition from fellow planner Cheese Sandwich.  She concedes when Dash isn’t having any fun, although the two eventually decide to work together.

Pinkie Pride works not because of the songs but for the development of Pinkie Pie’s character.  And it happens around Weird Al’s guest appearance, which isn’t a distraction.  Although Yankovic didn’t contribute any music himself, the polka medley “battle” is definitely a highlight.  Despite the weak plot and unsurprising ending, Pinkie Pride is the best depiction of Pinkie’s character to this point.  A lot of fun and irreverence, with some sadness still lurking.  And the use of so many songs is completely justified.

5. Maud Pie 

Introducing Pinkie Pie’s sister leads to a strange episode, since Maud has the exact opposite personality.  She is extremely deadpan and unemotional, which causes much strife when the mane six attempt to make friends with her.  Instead of trying too hard, they realize this fairly quickly, but agree on some common ground regarding their mutual acquaintance.

Noelle Benvenuti’s lone effort feels very different, and is thus hard to rate.  Maud’s responses are so simple that they become tiring after a while, causing the episode to drag.  But the positives include both Maud’s character and her eventual lesson.  You can’t be friends with everyone, and that’s alright, but some people don’t realize it.  Even if Maud Pie is probably not quite as good as other four-star episodes, I felt it still needed recognition for this and how compelling Maud herself is.  Despite extreme differences, she actually feels like Pinkie’s sister.  My Little Pony has had trouble in this area, but Benvenuti finally found the right touch.  Even through some tough parts, Maud Pie is an extremely memorable episode. 

Honorable Mention: Twilight’s Kingdom, Castle Mane-ia, Rainbow Falls 

Bottom 5

5. Bats!

What would a bottom list be without Merriwether Williams?  Through a combination of some maturity and the show hiring even worse writers, she doesn’t hit #1 this year, but Bats! is still bland enough to eke out a spot.  The title characters have infested Applejacks’ farm, and Fluttershy’s attempt to stop their apple cravings ends up somehow turning her into one.  Our ponies are able to have Fluttershy use the stare on herself, and she is restored after a partially horrifying transformation.

Bats! would have made a decent Halloween episode (despite airing after Christmas), but it has nothing to do with the various season arcs.  While containing improved characterization, Williams’ story feels like it takes place on a different series, and there are still too many spotty writing moments.  Far worse episodes were certainly produced this season, but Bats! does nothing to change my belief that Williams doesn’t belong writing for the series.  Given the flap about McCarthy being mistakenly credited and that Williams wrote no other fourth season scripts, the higher-ups seem to agree. 

4. Inspiration Manifestation

This episode continues to anger me, which is shocking considering the writers behind it.  My best guess is Inspiration Manifestation details drug use, but that still seems a bit unlikely for this children’s series.  Spike finds a book that allows Rarity to create objects at will, but the side effect is immediate addiction.  She spends most of the episode wandering around town “improving” stuff, but naturally everything is just worse.  Spike enables this until the proper time, and then his honesty somehow breaks the spell.  Too bad Twilight now has to clean Ponyville up herself. 

Too many stories exist of people doing crazy things on drugs, and while they wouldn’t have happened sober, responsibility for taking them in the first place must be assumed.  Unfortunately, IM sidesteps this by placing blame solely on the book, and not having Rarity accept any consequences for her actions.  Yes, the issue is important (if rather out of place for My Little Pony), but the lesson finds culpability solely with drugs themselves.  This is a terrible message that only seemed to come about because the actual plot was over way too quickly.  Decent characterization is all that saves IM from a worse rating, because the episode is a huge misstep from two usually solid writers.

3. Somepony To Watch Over Me

What’s more fun, watching Apple Bloom spend her first night home alone, or having Applejack ruin it exactly one minute in?  Sonneborn picked the latter, which led to two extremely painful acts of Applejack “caring” about her little sister.  The family was supposed to be away on important delivery business, but Applejack just couldn’t wait to play mother.  Having had enough, Apple Bloom sets off on her own, but is almost killed in the forest by a chimera.  Applejack comes to the rescue of course, and then somehow decides this proves Apple Bloom is ready after all. 

Airing immediately before Maud Pie, Somepony demonstrates how poorly My Little Pony has handled sisters to that point.  Applejack’s apparently dead parents are never shown or mentioned, so that excuses her attitude of trying to be one for Apple Bloom.  But sweet Jesus is she difficult to watch here.  The third act action sequence just confuses things more, since it shows Apple Bloom probably isn’t ready yet concludes she is.  Somepony is a mess that isn’t fun to watch at any time, and destroys its premise in favor of sisterly meddling.  Like its fellow bottom three episodes, there just isn’t anything good to say about the outing.

2. Pinkie Apple Pie

If you had to describe Pinkie Apple Pie in one word, it would be “filler”.  Pinkie discovers she might be distantly related to the Apples, but nothing else happens for about the next 17 minutes of show.  Then they find out no one is sure after all, but some obscure dialogue apparently proves they are.  So much for the message of not needing to be related to your family.

All of the in-between time is taken up by a dull and painful road trip that includes a cliché-filled filler song and much arguing amongst the Apples.  Levinger is ostensibly trying to point out that blood relation isn’t necessary to be considered family (such as married aunts or uncles and adopted children), but Pinkie is accepted into the Apples because she can tolerate their bickering.  Sure.  With two-thirds of the episode absolutely wasted and a confused non-conclusive message, Pinkie Apple Pie earns its place as one of the most frustrating and boring episodes ever produced in the series. 

1. Trade Ya

Seriously, what the fuck was this episode?  The mane six spend a day at some local swap meet, and come away with less than they started.  Zero fun trades are made, and those bothering to participate are completely fleeced.  A potential slice-of-life episode is ruined by clichéd moments and no sense of enjoyment.  And the pony that was most looking forward to this superfluous day?  Pinkie Pie, who brought absolutely nothing with to trade.  Natch. (*facepalms*) 

Maybe Trade Ya wouldn’t have ranked at the bottom in other seasons, but there’s really nothing positive to say about it.  Like the other episodes on this list, Trade Ya exists outside the arcs and could have been produced at about any time.  But the fourth season started with a conscious attempt to push forward, which makes such filler episodes doubly painful.  Sonneborn showed no sense of drama or story, and wrote two forgettable efforts that should be excised from canon.  Even if these bottom four spots are debatable as to order, Sonneborn clearly deserved the last place based on merit.  And Trade Ya is a “magnum opus” as to why he shouldn’t have been given a chance during such an important season.  Was there really nobody better out there to write for this series, especially amongst all the fanfiction?  I’d almost have rather had another Williams episode in place of Sonneborn’s abominations.  He’s that bad. 

Dishonorable Mention: It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies, Three’s A Crowd, Power Ponies