Season 5 reflections.

Well... at least it's not season 4?

Episode review: "The Cutie Re-Mark"

Season 5 episodes 25 and 26
A very ambitious finale that isn't quite as gripping as previous ones, but is very entertaining and still reaches an emotional climax.

Romance in My Little Pony

My Little Pony has a distinct aversion to romance, and as much as it benefits the show, it's understandable that it may leave some hungering for more. Here, I explore the show's treatment of romance, and why fans continue to look around it.

Returning to "Tanks for the Memories"

"Tanks for the Memories" is the archetypical example of an episode which I like less and less the more I think about it.

Episode review: "The Mane Attraction"

After a weak start, the penultimate episode of My Little Pony season 5 builds up to an incredibly powerful climax. If only anything in it actually mattered.

Episode review: "The Hooffields and McColts"

Season 5 episode 23
It's not perfect, but for a map episode to be genuinely entertaining is a minor miracle.

Episode review: "What About Discord?"

Season 5 episode 22
What a strange, awkward episode.

Equine brilliance - Returning to Bloom and Gloom

With "Bloom and Gloom," season 5 peaked early, and the rest of the season is still scrambling to reach its heights.

Episode review: "Scare Master"

Season 5 episode 21
Oh, c'mon, My Little Pony, you're better than this.

Episode review: "Hearthbreakers"

Season 5 episode 20
Well, that's different.

Returning to "Castle Sweet Castle"

Here's my extended thoughts on "Castle Sweet Castle", an episode that I feel I should like more than I do.

Episode review: "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows"

Season 5 episode 19
Oh boy, a baby. That's exactly what this show needed.

Episode review: "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"

In my review of "Slice of Life", I mentioned that the show hasn't quite broken out of its trend of stagnation. For all the stylistic experiments of the first half of season 5, it was still reluctant to move the show forward in any meaningful way, and often threw out ideas that felt like they didn't receive the level of attention they deserved. It was improving, but it was still hesitant to take the last step.

"Crusaders of the Lost Mark" is that last step. 

Episode review: "Brotherhooves Social"

After the season premiere of My Little Pony, I thought the season was going to have more episodes revolving around characters who aren't the usual main cast. Unfortunately, this never really came to pass, with the only exceptions being one Discord episode that still prominently featured Fluttershy and "Slice of Life", which never counts. Although "Brotherhooves Social" stars Apple Bloom as one of the two lead characters and prominently features both Rainbow Dash and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, this episode belongs to Big Mac, and contains a behind-the-scenes feel that "Make New Friends But Keep Discord" never did. It is one of the best episodes of the season. 

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Friendship Games movie review

BEST NEW FEATURE (for the whole series)
In some ways a messier and weirder Equestria Girls film than Rainbow Rocks, yet just as fun and inspired, and possessing a fittingly climactic tone.

Episode review: "Made in Manehattan"

Just stop already with this map junk, alright?

Episode review: "Rarity Investigates"

Wow. Just... wow.

Episode review: "Canterlot Boutique"

This episode is very imperfect, to be sure, but it tries so many things that other episodes are unwilling to do, and for that it's admirable. 

Review: The Equestria Girls: Friendship Games shorts

Over the course of August 2015, Hasbro has been releasing shorts to promote its upcoming feature film, Equestria Girls: Friendship Games. This is similar to what they did with Rainbow Rocks, with the primary difference being that the Rainbow Rocks shorts had more focus. Here, I'm going to review all five of them.

My Little Cult: Friendship is Indoctrination - Returning to "The Cutie Map"

With at least a month of hiatus still remaining, now is a good time to reflect back on the episodes that have been released so far. Here, I will share new thoughts on the episodes on repeat viewings, going in more detail and including spoilers, starting with the season premiere, "The Cutie Map".

Season 5 midway reflections

With My Little Pony's fifth season having been cut in half, and the second half having no known release date yet, it seems appropriate to reflect on the season so far.

Episode review: Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?

What was that?

Episode review: Amending Fences

Episode writer: M.A. Larson
So... a fan favourite, eh? We haven't seen one of those for a while.

Episode review: Party Pooped

Wait, what? What?!

"Slice of Life" and same-sex relationships

In the 100th episode of My Little Pony, the fan-favourite pairing of Bon Bon and Lyra gained a scene which drove home the idea about them being "best friends", in a way that was suggestive of them being more than that. The thing is, this choice of wording also gives those who would deny said same-sex relationship some precedent. In this article, I'll discuss the issue by touching on a few different points.
(Disclosure: I am heterosexual, so be aware that I might not be the leading authority on this sort of issue.)

Episode review: Princess Spike

I wasn't expecting this week's episode to be as strange and exciting as last week's, but I was at least expecting it to try to be something. 

Poll: 100th episode!

A lot of people were really fond of the 100th episode, and there's a lot to be fond of. There were many great moments. Which was your favourite? Vote in the poll to the side and reply below!

Edit: Poll embedded in post for mobile users.
Edit: Yes, I know I forgot to list Gummy. In the process of embedding the poll, I've made it so I'd have to reset the poll in order to add another option, so I can't fix this oversight. Sorry about that.

Favourite part of the 100th episode?

Episode review: Slice of Life

(or, how I learned to stop caring and love the nonsense)
Yeah, I've got nothing.

Episode review: The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

No.

Episode review: Make New Friends but Keep Discord

Title isn't very subtle, is it?

Episode review: Appleoosa's Most Wanted

Look, season 5, I'm glad you're trying, but a semi-decent idea is kinda ruined if everything around it is awful. Remember, spoilers follow.

Episode review: Tanks for the Memories

S5 continues to show a lot more purpose and effort than S4 had at this point with a flawed but solid episode. (Spoilers follow)

Episode review: Bloom and Gloom

Easily the best and most important episode of Season 5 so far.

Episode review: Castle Sweet Castle

And here I was, thinking S5 would at least wait a little before bringing out the filler.

Episode review: The Cutie Map

Ushering in the new season, "The Cutie Map" is a strange step in a new direction, and it's compelling in spite of its imperfections.

Remember, if you want to watch the episode, do that first, because I'm not marking any spoilers.

Comic Catch-up: Issue #1 - The Return of Queen Chrysalis Part 1

Now that all the episodes are on the way, let's move on to the next best thing: The official comics! Unfortunately, this first one is a bit of a rough start.

The Top 10 Worst Episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

I'm a huge fan of this show. Hell, I host a blog about it. And yet, I don't like every episode. Far from it, a number have made me genuinely angry, and here I'm gonna list my ten least favourites.

Equestria Girls recap-review

Equestria Girls is the first feature film based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. When this was announced, people freaked out. They were afraid that the film would be drowned in high school clichés, and they were upset that the first pony movie wouldn’t actually have the characters as ponies. In fact, when it came out, it was revealed that very few of the characters we know and love would have major roles in this film. In fact, only Twilight is as we know her. People feared that there wouldn’t be an actual pony movie, but now that one’s been announced, it turned out that those fears were unfounded. But is Equestria Girls itself any good? Well, let’s dive in.

Character analysis: Rainbow Dash

Let's talk about Rainbow Dash.

Thinking About Equestria Girls

So, yeah, Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks is good. But it's not perfect, and its flaws stem largely from the same source: The constraints of the premise. But there's a lot to be said about the limitations of this spinoff, so here's some musings on Equestria Girls' inherent issues that prevent it from being on-par with the best episodes of the show, as well as a couple more repairable issues, and some ideas about how the series should progress.

Friendship is Magic: An Overview

Since the end of the most recent season, I have been going back to the past three seasons and certain parts of the fourth. To conclude with this, I've decided to take a broader look at the show so far, describing what I think about each of the four seasons.