Episode review: "The Crystalling"

These past few seasons, I've been very frustrated with My Little Pony. I felt that the show wasn't living up to its potential, and worse, its quality had grown increasingly uneven. Season 5, which ended in November, was a step in the right direction, with a huge spike in ambition that, unfortunately, was accompanied by even more inconsistent quality than before. While season 5 had some of the show's best moments, it also suffered from a variety of issues, which made for a very frustrating season to sit through in spite of its many pleasures. However, one of the better things season 5 did was make significant changes to the status quo, setting up a strong foundation for season 6 to build on. Now that it's here, it's easy to see how the events of season 5 have paid off: "The Crystalling" is the revitalization that the show desperately needed.