My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 622 - P.P.O.V. (Pony Point Of View)

Rating:

Didn’t I just complain about the previous episode being dull and pointless?  P.P.O.V. (Ponies’ Pussies Or Vaginas) trots out another Rashomon-style story regarding the above three ponies’ unlikely boat trip, except there doesn’t end up being any point besides filler.  Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all recount various conflicting versions of how their boat sank while Twilight and Spike figure out what really happened, but the conclusion is profoundly unsatisfying.  The Foxes return for an episode that looks decent and has some fun with each story and their unspoken similar details, although it falls apart upon any reflection.  Wow is that teaser exposition convoluted, and did they really walk to shore after being capsized by a freaking sea monster?  Like Michael Vogel immediately preceding, the Foxes cannot justify why their episode even exists.  The story setup and actual events were more interesting, but instead we hear Rarity et al. make stupid exaggerations while perfect Twilight comes to the rescue.  Literally every series does the Rashomon trope at some point, but P.P.O.V. certainly doesn’t qualify as an interesting version.  The episode actually feels more suited for season one with an obvious moral, the mane six struggling to understand each other, and Starlight being mysteriously absent.  Even if this counts as a better showing for the animators, problematic writing and pacing hurt any chance for P.P.O.V. to be remotely enjoyable.  Every other season six criticism applies here, since these issues all stemmed from the script.  P.P.O.V. is therefore nothing more than poorly-written filler from that part of the season where it usually occurs.  While again not painful like more terrible episodes, P.P.O.V.’s odd feel does little right either and makes for yet another uninspired outing.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 604 - On Your Marks

Rating:

On Your Marks is a rare necessary episode that doesn’t feel substantial.  Dave Polsky’s premise could have gone either way, but he chose to populate his script with filler.  Now possessing strange new cutie marks, the Crusaders question both their continued activities and existence.  They ultimately decide on a Radiohead-like compromise between doing their own activities around group ones, but Apple Bloom doesn’t come upon this so easily.  Our least favorite ponies still find time to solve a cutie mark problem while helping another earn his, but neither ends up being very remarkable.  Some problems exist from the Crusaders having gotten their marks in crusading earlier, but Polsky can’t be forgiven for what he came up with.  On Your Marks needed to be better given My Little Pony’s writing situation, which unquestionably makes it disappointing.  Too many scenes are wasted with them not knowing what to do, and that doesn’t make for compelling viewing despite being understandable.  If anything, On Your Marks seems like the series is searching for ideas, but like our protagonists they aren’t finding them.

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.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 517 - Brotherhooves Social

Rating:

Alright, take three.  I detest completely rewriting anything (twice, no less), but Brotherhooves Social left me little choice.  Essentially, I got the episode correctly at first but second-guessed myself out of fear I was seeing what I wanted rather than what actually existed.  Perusing various Twitter feeds showed that this wasn’t the case.  While cleaning up a loose thread from Made In Manehattan, Brotherhooves Social provides Big Mac’s biggest character development in definitively showing he’s trans.  This may seem unlikely, but it makes sense given his earlier princess dream and quiet loner demeanor.  Since Applejack and Rarity are busy, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have no escorts for the Sisterhooves Social.  Big Mac decides to step up and help his younger sister out, but he goes as “cousin Orchard Blossom”, a flamboyant and loquacious Southern belle.  They are accepted into the event because “sister” is loosely defined, but every activity unfortunately goes poorly.  Dave Polsky hits many aspects of being trans, including unwanted awkwardness in appearance, dealing with people who quickly dismiss you, those who know but don’t care, and some who inexplicably find you attractive, and a large apparent disconnect between “personas”.  This insight grounds what appears to be another drag comedy at first, but most definitely isn’t on subsequent viewings.  The episode remains polarizing since it treads a thin line here, but certain scenes’ effectiveness cannot be denied (especially Big Mac and Apple Bloom’s concluding dialogue).  While probably not the best way, Brotherhooves Social feels like a landmark in how it presents trans issues to kids without overtly doing so.  And it improves dramatically on season two’s Sisterhooves by better reflecting the sibling dynamic.  Polsky’s script is too tropey for its subject, but Brotherhooves represents an unexpectedly bold statement from a season with very few of them.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 516 - Made In Manehattan

Rating:

Without a strong character like Maud Pie, Noelle Benvenuti’s Made In Manehattan achieves very little.  Coco Pommel returns, while Applejack and Rarity must somehow improve New Yorkers’ attitudes.  Their task involves a community theater revival which will reignite Manehattan’s neighborhood spirit, but the play is so dull that no one could possibly find it captivating.  And that goes for the rest of the episode also, which doesn’t offer any character development, story, or reason for existence as nothing remotely compelling happens.  Benvenuti still has decent characterization and some moments are watchable, but there are too many coincidences, odd references, and moments of Applejack wondering if this “could be the reason the map called me here”.  An “anti”-montage of Applejack accomplishing nothing is balanced out by her wondering if they can make it off a street “corner”.  While obviously satire, this could be legitimate after an earlier tense street crossing.  And that’s indicative of Made In Manehattan’s problem, since Benvenuti’s incredibly dry script fails to produce tension or interest.  The (almost forgotten) map’s god-like properties feel odd, Rarity and Applejack still aren’t convincing together, and Coco only frets about her stupid volunteer work which couldn’t possibly be important.  Obviously Benvenuti had a good heart and message behind this episode, but that lackluster play would have only further divided everyone.  Made In Manehattan is more frustrating than disappointing then, since few episodes are so boring and poorly thought out.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Season 3 Top And Bottom 3

The preordained half order for season three prevented much hoped-for development, but My Little Pony was definitely in transition nonetheless.  Fortunately, no truly awful episodes were produced like in earlier seasons, but a reduced count still didn’t prevent unnecessary filler.  Even worse was both of M. A. Larson’s episodes getting heavily cut and feeling rushed, which could have been prevented by eliminating any show Merriwether Williams touched.  Each writer found their usual spots on the top and bottom lists, but that doesn’t mean surprises didn’t otherwise abound.  Dave Polsky returned to establish himself as one of My Little Pony’s better scribes, while newcomer Corey Powell fit in more than some writers who had already worked the entire series.  Many characters’ returns were notably well done (unlike any new ones introduced), although the most talked about development had to wait until further seasons for exploration.  That creates an unfinished feel to season three despite tiny steps of progress being made.  Even so, every episode’s relative merits are pretty much known already.  There shouldn’t be as much fluctuation as season two’s list, although the final spots remain open for debate.  This list is of course half-sized, since the usual top and bottom five would encompass almost every episode.

About The Ranking System

Thanks to newspaper editors and an idiot populace, movie reviews are typically accompanied by a rating of so many stars or whatnot.  We’re familiar with how they show relative worth, but what do stars even mean?  People notoriously have trouble comprehending numbers, which also goes for most reviewers.  They find rating systems arbitrary and have therefore adopted a cavalier attitude regarding something they don’t enjoy.  Granted, ranking everything perfectly is impossible, but stars aren’t necessarily pretending to do so.  What they indicate are levels that quickly reference a relative ranking while allowing variation between each.  Hypothetically, any amount of numbers could be used, and some publications even assign ratings out of 100.  Practically speaking, some limit must be made or any system will become useless.

While four stars are usually used for movies, this amount is a bit too restrictive for me.  Allmusic uses five, and I have more or less adopted that system.  From 1-5 and including half stars, this allows nine different ratings, which is typically enough and partially analogous to a 1-10 scale.  Episodes generally fall into one of these levels, but not all fours are exactly the same quality.  Each level has a meaning though, which are helpfully described below.

Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans Of My Little Pony

Rating:

I am not a brony.  Even if Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans Of My Little Pony doesn’t quite reach its goal, the documentary inspires me to consider how I got here.  Despite volumes of books written on a show I don’t particularly like, any consequences have been spared since my interest remains completely hidden.  Bronies depicts less fortunate souls as director Laurent Malaquais attempts to show that the My Little Pony fandom isn’t so weird after all, but he can’t congeal his footage into a compelling story.  Malaquais splits time between specific bronies’ lives from around the world and interviews with various cast members, although neither angle ends up being explored deeply enough.  That My Little Pony has helped these specific people cannot be denied, but one wonders if every celebrity appears more for their careers than the fans.  Making matters worse are a few animated shorts (starring John de Lancie) which try explaining bronies with a Gilbert and Sullivan-esque tune, but only end up stereotypically dividing them into non-existent groups.  However, Malaquais does at least capture the fandom’s spirit, which shines through for large stretches and makes Bronies an overall enjoyable experience.  Focusing on those fans who are unaccepted by their community is wise, but Malaquais doesn’t demonstrate why this show inspires such devotion.  No time is spent on any character besides Twilight (because of Tara Strong), while the writing and episode strength doesn’t match other top shows of its era.  Every interview subject still seems like an outsider who looks and acts very strange, while they’re not entirely humanized or made to seem remotely normal.  Not that anyone should, but the distinct question of “why?” hangs over Bronies without ever being answered.  At least it hints that My Little Pony’s positive outlook came as a respite after 2008’s economic recession, which similarly parallels the Beatles and Shirley Temple in history.  And the love felt and good times had by every convention-goer are definitely infectious.  Pacing and editing problems still dominate however, while having to meet celebrity demands doesn’t help either.  Malaquais makes some progress on a vexing conundrum for outsiders though, even if Bronies almost certainly won’t recruit any new fans.

My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 512 - Amending Fences

Rating:

Amending Fences plays as either the second part or flipside to Slice Of Life, but yet explores completely different ground despite starting from a similar spot.  Instead of fan-derived background characters, M.A. Larson based his script on one throwaway moment which occurs two minutes into the pilot.  These ponies had lines and some personality, but were then completely forgotten.  Twilight brushed past them and their party invitation before investigating her suspicions regarding the “Mare in the Moon” prophecy, and she was subsequently sent to Ponyville for good.  While Amending Fences’ story may feel familiar, Larson again took bold risks by strongly adhering to continuity and eschewing any sort of “interesting” plot.  But focusing on character interactions is never anything less than compelling.  Those three ponies who confronted Twilight (Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts) were barely moved and seem happy having some tenuous celebrity connection.  The mentioned but previously unseen Moondancer behaves quite differently though.  Without actual time travel, Larson uses her to show an alternate universe where Twilight never made friends.  Moondancer’s design and other similarities are therefore quite intentional.  But she also might be a shy introvert who got hurt and then retreated into herself.  Larson doesn’t have time for developing every new character, but Minuette and Moondancer are more well-defined than certain recurring ones.  He also touches on celebrity culture and (possible) autism while clearing up loose threads literally no one cared about.  This decision makes Equestria seem like a real world with consequences rather than an episodic TV show which always starts and ends in the same place.  Like its sister episode Slice Of Life, Amending Fences feels very different from “normal” My Little Pony outings, but Larson correctly realized that this show was well-suited for such material.  By using continuity to explore human themes and showing more “background” characters who deserve being seen again, Amending Fences stands as yet another testament to Larson’s superiority of craft.