My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 515 - Rarity Investigates!

Rating:

Nobody ever said reviewing was easy, and this analysis wasn’t going to be either.  I had on my hands an episode with four writing credits, which meant the culprit could be any one of them.  A lovely femme fatale was called upon to investigate a potential crime, but I was left to pick up the pieces.  She knew right where to get me, tugged at all of my strings and used her considerable charm.  Like myself, she was into fashion, sporting some of the best clothes ever seen on My Little Pony.  With a grace and elegance none of her friends could muster, she solved her case in time for dinner, but did this style have any substance?  One of the most colorful television shows finally produced long stretches of gorgeous black and white, but was that enough for a good rating?  Only I could decide.  It was a lonely road, but one I chose long ago.  I know why I did, and what I had to do now.  Maybe I’d lose some friends, or alienate the public again, but none of that mattered.  It was just me, my typewriter, and the truth.  And I’ll be damned if I was ever going to betray any of those for anyone.

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

Season five was essentially chopped into two halves because of horrendous scheduling by Discovery Family, and whether coincidental or not it fell into this grouping.  The first marked M.A. Larson’s story editor debut, and (aside from two missteps) featured surprisingly strong efforts which often explored dissatisfaction with cutie marks.  Many were offbeat and experimental, but despite public opinion, this was My Little Pony’s best 13-episode stretch so far.  That includes Larson’s own contributions, which explored many fan-developed background characters who are no less worthy of screen time than the main ones.  The second part belonged to Meghan McCarthy, and was unsurprisingly high on events (Crusaders getting their marks, Cadance pregnant, two holidays and two map episodes, plus a near space-time continuum unraveling) but low on quality.  No exploration of any first half themes was attempted, and characterization (with one notable exception) stayed at a bare minimum.  These episodes make up the biggest “meh” stretch of any season and almost all of them are largely disappointing.  After missing season four, Larson again demonstrated his status as My Little Pony’s best writer.  He saved McCarthy’s convoluted opener and penned his two strongest scripts which celebrated series history while still pushing it forward.  Dave Polsky joined him with two unappreciated and underrated character episodes that looked at two equally misunderstood ponies and treated them humanely.  No one else remotely had a good year, whether the writers were returning (Amy Keating Rogers, Cindy Morrow, Natasha Levinger (ugh), and sadly Noelle Benvenuti) or newly added (only Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco created passable work; the others all deserve pink slips).  This produced a very frustrating season which showed plenty of early promise before flaming out in rather boring fashion.  After such a sustained horrid stretch, My Little Pony appears to be in peril, having exhausted both good ideas and writers.  Season five’s overall feel therefore remains negative, but its best moments cannot be forgotten and are unquestionably series high points.