My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 125 - Party Of One

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Dear Princess Celestia,

    Pinkie Pie is crazy!  Yesterday she made us go to a birthday party for her pet alligator, which we all did because we’re her friends, but today she wanted us to go to the after party for the party we just went to.  I have my studies and my friends do all have jobs, although Pinkie Pie never seems to go to hers.  After today, I don’t have to wonder why she gets so much time off.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 124 - Owl's Well That Ends Well

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The mane six share a rare night together at a meteor shower as Owl’s Well That Ends Well opens.  It is a fine moment that is relatively unequaled in the series, and seems to be the setup for at least a decent episode.  Then Owlo­wiscious shows up.  This mysterious owl just invites himself into Twi­light’s house one night, but she doesn’t see anything weird about that.  Then he starts doing the chores that Spike is supposed to be in charge of, which causes the “#1 Assistant” to get butthurt.  Spike repeatedly tries and fails to make Owlowisicious look bad, and eventually ends up almost get­ting himself killed.  Twilight then explains something she could have ear­lier which would have prevented a large chunk of the episode, but it’s TV logic that fortunately saves Spike.  Adding a new character pretty much never stuck in the first season, and Owlowisicious is no different.  Once the next episode rolls around, he’s long gone, so Spike doesn’t have to worry anymore.  That just makes Owl’s Well That Ends Well doubly unnecessary.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 122 - A Bird In The Hoof

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God this is a dull episode.  Since trying to make My Little Pony a Looney Tunes car­toon worked so well in Fall Weather Friends, Charlotte Fullerton decided why not do the same but even more so this time.  A Bird In The Hoof in­volves Fluttershy kidnapping Princess Celestia’s pet bird Philomena and try­ing futilely to convalesce her.  Like A Dog And Pony Show, apparently this kidnapping is supposed to be funny.  Unlike that episode, there are no good moments to balance the bad ones out.  Fluttershy tries a lot of things that don’t have any hope of working, and both her and Twilight needlessly freak out about what they imagine the nicest princess in all of history will do to them.  Of course, they can partially be forgiven since the “Trollestia” meme basically originates from this episode.  One uttered word by the prin­cess when she introduces her pet would have spared us all of the action that follows.  As the Anthropic Principle states, if something stupid or extremely unlikely has to happen for a movie or show to exist, then it will happen.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 121 - Over A Barrel

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In some ways, Over A Barrel is kind of the first season's forgotten episode.  Maybe not in rule 34-dom, where Braeburn, Bloomberg, and the wing-boner have received attention, but the story and events don’t seem to have had much effect on anything that’s come after it.  The episode is surprisingly epic for a typical 22 minutes, which balances out some of the awkward parts of the writing.  Yes, we've seen the “outsider becomes leader of a native tribe” trope many times before, but rarely is a “world-deciding” conflict shown from both sides where the two make sense.  There are a lot of new characters here who will probably never return, which is unfortunate even if there isn't much more story left.  Although M.A. Larson specializes in similar epic adventures featuring all of the ponies, Over A Barrel is otherwise unique from any other episode.  Not only does it take place entirely away from Ponyville, but the mane six get split up early on and have vastly different experiences because of it.  They are outsiders who have to deal with an unfamiliar situation, and everything isn't exactly handled correctly.  A lot of drama and suspense is packed into the episode, along with a large number of characters and commentary on issues.  Somehow (and quite surprisingly), writer Dave Polsky made it all work.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 120 - Green Isn't Your Color

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Green Isn't Your Color is a bit more over the top in its depiction of the fashion industry than Suited For Success, and also unfortunately has more slapstick.  Nevertheless, the overall spirit is fun, and the episode still manages to depict an important lesson even if in a slightly silly manner.  This spirit carries Green Isn't Your Color, which otherwise might have come off as a jab at fashion by someone who really doesn't know much about it.  Everything is well-meant though, and another in a long line of great supporting roles by Pinkie Pie is instrumental in helping.  Not every moment sparkles, and a lot of what happens suffers from the one-off/forgetfulness syndrome that is typical of the first season.  With the overall good time though, this doesn't end up mattering so much.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 119 - A Dog And Pony Show

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A Dog And Pony Show is probably the least of the “adventure” episodes of the first season, although the genre is strong enough that it certainly still rates in the top half.  Amy Keating Rogers is again plagued by a few too many cutesy touches of the kind that sank Fall Weather Friends, but this time she finds enough good moments to compensate.  The plot is the darkest of any episode yet aired in the series, and it’s hard not to take the subject seriously even though it’s only played for laughs.  Rarity is kidnapped by three Gollums Diamond Dogs (not of the Bowie variety), who plan to use her to find the ridiculous multitude of gems just lying around Equestria.  Of course, Rar­ity doesn't know how to be scared in situations she should be, and won’t compromise her “principles” no matter what peril she may be in.  It’s extremely doubtful that any kidnapping situation turns out like the one here, as the Dogs’ disgust with Rarity would probably lead to her death rather than them willingly let her go.  That means the point doesn't exactly come off, since acting like Rarity does in a similar situation almost certainly isn't the right thing to do.  Kidnappings aren't generally sources of comedy, so the episode feels somewhat disconcerting overall.  With a large amount of fantasy elements present, it’s better not to take A Dog And Pony Show too seriously, and the various fun parts that Rogers somehow finds do elevate the episode.  Mostly this is thanks to Rarity, who shines even though she has a bit of the stereotypical “fabulous” bug that certain writers often plague her with.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 118 - The Show Stoppers

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For what wouldn't be the last time, two Cutie Mark Crusader episodes were inexplicably aired back-to-back late in the first season.  The Show Stoppers appears to be the point where the Cutie Mark Crusader fetish bloomed, even though the devotion to these characters hasn't entirely been justified yet.  While it turns out the Cutie Mark Crusaders have even more stupid things to try doing, they’re less annoying about it here and mostly keep to themselves.  This culminates in an incredible disaster of a show in which literally everything goes wrong.  However, The Show Stoppers is the first time we actually get a hint as to their future cutie marks, even though the Crusaders themselves of course ignore the obvious. 

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 117 - Stare Master

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I liked the first act of Stare Master better than when I had to watch it a second time in Sisterhooves Social, but not by much.  Stare Master is an episode filled with awkward moments, clichés, and one-offs, but has enough good to make it at least passable.  The dreaded Cutie Mark Cru­saders make their first return in a starring role after being introduced five episodes earlier, and are generally annoying when they are or aren't using cartoon physics.  Outside of events that could only take place in cartoons, this is a pretty accurate depiction of younger kids and the difficult dynamic adults can have in dealing with them.  Flut­tershy is also featured in the episode, and again shows that she can be surprisingly assertive when dealing with animals.  This means we don’t get any of her patented ridiculously cute moments, but it’s refreshing to see there’s a line where Fluttershy won’t be walked over.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 116 - Sonic Rainboom

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There may not be a big message or moving reason behind Sonic Rain­boom, but few episodes in the series are as much of a joy to watch.  Great moments and dialogue are built on top of each other, creating a moving and exciting story where one probably should not exist.  Like its “sister” episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles, some of the details prevent it from being great, although the events of TCMC make the ones here more poignant.  Also like the later episode, Sonic Rainboom ranks among the best efforts of the series so far.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 115 - Feeling Pinkie Keen

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It’s hard to believe that the first season could get any worse after Griffon The Brush-Off, Look Before You Sleep, and Fall Weather Friends, but yet it does.  Most of the writers had difficulty their first time out, but Dave Polsky “tops” them all.  He doesn’t try to hide that his misguided offering serves his agenda and no other purpose.  There isn’t a plot to Feeling Pinkie Keen, nor is there a lesson.  Apparently Polsky hates Twilight Sparkle as much as Merriwether Williams hates Rainbow Dash, since the only thing that happens in this episode is that Twilight gets embarrassed over and over again.  At least it could be argued that Dash is quite overloved by the fanbase.  I doubt Twilight is most people’s favorite pony, but she certainly doesn't deserve this.  Although I completely disagree with the “message” presented in this episode, I do want to point out that isn't the case for The Mysterious Mare Do Well.  I absolutely concur that the Dash love is ridiculous, but it’s still a terrible episode.  Feeling Pinkie Keen is an extremely poor offering no matter what your feelings about faith are.