Season 7 Should Be The Last Season · 6:06am Oct 9th, 2016
Pony has had a good run. But it's time to end it.
With only one episode to watch, I'm calling Season 6 as the weakest season of MLP. Really. It's not that all the episodes suck, they don't, and every season has had terrible ones. But there is a very interesting trend with my favorite episodes of the season. I'll list them and you figure it out.
Gauntlet of Fire
No Second Prances
The Saddle Row Review
The Times They Are A Changeling
Dungeons & Discords
Buckball Season
The Fault in Our Cutie Marks
To Where and Back Again
Notice the pattern? My favorite episodes, with the exception of Saddle Row... all focus on side characters. The episodes where the Mane Six feature prominently have been rather lackluster. Gift of the Maud Pie, Maud was the best part, Newbie Dash needs no explanation, Hearth's Warming Tail was meh, Applejack's Day Off sucked, Spice Up Your Life sucked, The Cart Before the Ponies was predictable, 28 Pranks Later sucked, PPOV sucked, and we'll see about Top Bolt. Even Buckball Season and Saddle Row Review was just good, not amazing like Gauntlet or Fire or some other classics. Not to mention how many episodes recycle ideas from past seasons stuffed in a new wrapper.
The reason for this is obvious. I looked at the episode list for Season 6 on the MLP Wiki and was not entirely surprised to learn most of the writers for this season are new. Amy Keeting Rogers is gone, Larson is gone, Meghan McCarthy has been promoted to an executive. Dave Polsky is still here but his work, from the list of episodes he's worked, is not impressive. Josh Haber is here, at least. Everyone else seems to be new, or has only been here since last season. We can thank Nick Confalone for No Second Prances, The Saddle Row Review, and Dungeons & Discords.
The strength of pony has always been the writing. The animation in Season 1 was very simple compared to now, there wasn't too much action. It was the characters and stories that held interest. Well, now the writers that created these characters are gone. And in their place, no real new talent has stepped up. This isn't like when Lauren Faust left and, IMHO, the show stayed good. The torch passing attempt has been fumbled terribly.
But beyond the writing staff, there are very few stories worth telling. At least, that the show is willing to tell due to it wanting to remain kid-friendly. Let's be honest, the show will never tackle issues like Scootaloo being disabled, or Twilight outliving her friends, and they'll never seriously give one of the Mane Six a romantic interest. Maybe they'll look at Applejack's parents, maybe, but I really doubt it.
Aside from the stories that have yet to be told, how many stories have ended? Rainbow Dash has joined the Wonderbolts, Rarity is now running at least three boutiques across Equestria, Fluttershy has fully gotten over her shyness, Twilight has come into her own as a Princess and gotten her own castle and student, the CMC have their cutie marks, and most villains major and minor are dead or reformed. What stories are left for pony to tell with these characters? For most of them, their story and/or character arcs have been completed.
Season 5 left me hopeful for Season 6 because it changed the status quo so much. Diamond Tiara was reformed, the CMC got their cutie marks, Rainbow joined the Wonderbolts as a reserve and performed with them, Rarity opened her second boutique, Cadance and Shining Armor announced their baby, and we had the Cutie Map to spur new locations and story ideas. The show was demonstrating a willingness to evolve to the next level of storytelling.
But it didn't - Diamond Tiara hasn't appeared at all, Rainbow joined the Wonderbolts and this has not been mentioned again, Rarity opened a third boutique and that's it, Flurry Heart appeared and has since just been there, and the Cutie Map has been used for only six episodes across two whole seasons. Aside from you-know-what in the finale, this season hasn't continued any previous storylines in significant ways or changed the status quo much, and the part of it that did change in the finale, let's be honest, aside from probably one episode in Season 7, do you think they'll do anything with it now?
Pony has worn out its welcome. Its ongoing stories have been told to satisfaction, its running out of slice of life stories worth telling, and it is failing to set up any new ongoing story arcs for us to get invested in. I am only watching Top Bolt next week out of an obligation to see every episode this season - otherwise I have not been very interested in a lot of the new episodes from summary alone. I used to wake up early Saturday religiously to join the streams. Aside from the fact my nighttime work schedule does not allow so, I am not that excited to see the new episodes this season, today for instance I was awake this afternoon for several hours before I remembered the new episode.
This is another reason Equestria Girls is so much more interesting than the show now - it does have ongoing storylines, it does introduce new characters and ideas, it does have more stories worth telling that we have yet to see, and it does keep me excited. I want to see more of the Equestria Girls universe. I'm kind of apathetic to seeing more pony at this point. Again, the best episodes of the season have all focused on side characters or one-shot characters. That's not a good sign when your main six characters of your show are the worst part of it, even if just for a season.
2017 will see the MLP movie come out, likely after Season 7 finishes airing, judging from scheduling for the film. We'll also get three Equestria Girls "shorts" but no word on a fifth movie. I hope next year they announce moving on to Gen 4.5 to reinvigorate the franchise, or else announce an EqG spin-off. Otherwise, Season 7 should be the last one to cover the small handful of stories left that can be good. After that and the movie, I don't see how the show can continue. It's had six full seasons and one half one, an admirable performance for any cartoon series. But it's time to bring it to a dignified end.
Huh, I'm willing to concur here...
That's up to the producers and the executes at Hasbro to decide that. But you do raise a valid argument.
Well, if it's gotten bland, FIMFiction's always here.
And I've also brought up the idea multiple times that the fandom could write an unofficial next-gen series under Hasbro's permission. (Not sure how that'll work out though.)
This comment ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, here are my own opinions on the subject, and feel free to disagree if you want:
I think you read my mind here. Those were all my favorites of the season, though I'd have also included Viva Las Pegasus and today's episode, and I do agree that S6 was the weakest for a variety of reasons. PPOV and Cart Before the Ponies were—not good, and the drama surrounding Newbie Dash made me want to punch my computer monitor. I still think that the Wonderbolts are not the villains most of the fandom makes them out to be, and I'll leave it at that.
While there are still interesting stories to tell for the main characters, as the closure of one arc can lead to an opening for another, S6 hasn't taken enough risks in that department. With the episodes I didn't like in S6, most of them lacked that special something that made previous episodes enjoyable to this day. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I admittedly can't put it into words.
And personally, I'm skipping Top Bolt, if only because I want to avoid the inevitable shitstorm that comes with the territory for such episodes. I honestly do not know what they have planned for S7, especially since I thought S6 would be the last one before the announcement.
Lastly, I do agree that side characters are among the more interesting parts of MLP recently. Some such as Diamond Tiara, Spitfire, and even Flim and Flam have tons of potential for interesting stories and character development. At the same time, characters such as Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Coco Pommel have proven multiple times that they're endearing and/or entertaining characters in their own ways, thus making their appearances a treat in my eyes. Whether Season 7 can effectively use that potential is something that only the future can answer, however.
That being said, I do think that perhaps a change in direction that keeps things fresh while visiting familiar characters and settings might be in MLP's best interest, though I don't know whether it'd be best to keep things at Gen 4 or move to Gen 5. And while I'm not as much of a fan of EqG as you, I can easily see why it has grown in popularity over the years, not to mention the undeniable fact that Sunset Shimmer is amazing.
Anyway, I wish you all the best!
This depressed me greatly.
4247766 Gen 5 is not the only option. I think a Gen 4.5 series could work, keep it set in the same world with the same continuity, but focus on a new cast of characters and maybe include a time skip, short enough characters from the original series could still potentially appear, but long enough for Equestria to undergo radical changes to keep the setting fresh. Think what Korra did in regards to Avatar. The fact it's a new show would also mean it would not have to conform to the creative boundaries of the original, like mostly staying in Ponyville, staying aimed at the same age bracket, and being mostly a slice of life piece.
4247771 You make an excellent point. I could see something along those lines working, and observing how much Equestria changed from the end of FiM to the start of 4.5 could lead to some interesting and unexplored ideas. And by having some connection to the previous series, it could still include character development and cameos for the old cast.
4247778 Exactly.
Let's say it's 10, maybe 15 years later. Twilight will have settled into her role as a Princess and probably has all sorts of new stuff going on, Rainbow is probably a full-time Wonderbolt, Rarity will have numerous stores, Pinkie could be running Sugarcube Corner by that point, Granny Smith, let's be honest, is probably dead, the CMC will be grown up, and it'll be long enough for any of the cast to potentially have married and had kids. All changes that open up lots of story potential, but can't happen in the show in its current format.
Unless they time skip Season 7, but I'd take it as a sure sign they've jumped the shark, honestly.
You certainly make very valid points, and I must admit that the canon series of pony is dying.
I discovered the show in late 2013 in the glory days of pony. Twilight had just become a princess, Discord had just been reformed, the first EQG film had recently come out, and etc. Overall, it was good to be in the fandom. Season 4 was one of my favorite seasons; I found the episodes novel and engaging, and the writers were frankly better back then. Perhaps my like for season 4 was came from just the initial thrill of discovering such an unusual interest; I can never be sure.
What followed was arguably the longest drought ever in the show: 11 months of waiting from Twilight's defeat of Tirek to the advent of Starlight Glimmer. Painful as it was, it was during this long wait that I discovered FIMFiction, made an account, and began to voraciously devour fics wherever I could find them. I found a world of creativity and eloquence that often surpassed the show itself in its ability to weave outstanding stories.
Thus, when season 5 and 6 finally came, I was not as impressed I had previously been. True, I enjoyed the world-building and being introduced to a slew of new characters, from Starlight Glimmer (a lot of people hate her, I know...) to Moon Dancer (who ironically actually was the first character mentioned in the show by full name but never appeared). "Gauntlet of Fire" opened countless new opportunities for not only the show's universe but for greater character development for Spike, who unfortunately remains neglected by the writers to this day.
But evident, as you stated, was the gradual decline of quality. I must agree with you that the new cast of writers have not managed to attain the standards set by their predecessors. Several recent episodes have only shamed the writers, with old timers like Nick Confalone saving a few. But the more troubling issue, I believe, is the apparent lack of communication between storywriters. It appears as if these writers develop stories independently that are later cherry-picked by some higher executive. (Forgive me, as I am unfamiliar with the process of episode production; from what I've heard, the process goes from writing, to storyboarding, to animation, and then to voice acting.) The lack of correspondence means that stories are vastly disconnected, with few story arcs across multiple episodes, and just lack of progress in storytelling. The new writers have failed to capitalize on the opportunities opened at the end of Season 5, and instead created episodes that, with some exceptions, could have just as easily taken place in an earlier season. Such is the fate of having a scattered and inexperienced writers; there is no denying that they have completely bogged down pony.
FIMFiction (and other sectors of the fandom), in contrast, has far better writers that impress their readers on a daily basis. The creativity here never stops flowing, and new writers constantly come to replace those who have left. One may wish that the show writers could learn to tap into such bountiful potentials. Personally, I see that the show is unable to do so partially because of the target demographics. Many of the interesting but difficult subjects to tackle cannot be addressed without being struck down as non-children-friendly, most notably the ones you have stated. Now, the optimist in me wishes for a revamped series targeted at older audiences, but the realist in me knows that is a fanciful idea that will not be addressed seriously but the official showmakers. While the phenomenon of bronies is quite well known, it is still not respected by many; in the eyes of many people today, My Little Pony has been and will remain exclusively the domain of little girls.
Well, enough of the depressing luck. We can only wait and see what the show has in store for us, and hope for some unlikely miracle save to bring the show out of its downward spiral.
I dont know... I actually liked this season.
Maybe it's because I did not have high expectations. It's a children's show, after all. And I am a sucker for commerce products - predictable twists, reformed villains, happy endings - they are all fine by my book. When I sit down to watch MLP I want to see something happy and colorful and funny, and I want to forget about the cruel reality of the Real World for 20 minutes (it's hard to be an adult
)
That said, you raised a few very valid points, and I can understand the need to maintain the quality of the show we all fell in love with. Unfortunately, Hasbro is going to keep the show going until they see a drop in the toy market.
"times they are a changeling " was not a good episode. it was shite, through and through. it's writing quality was that of a fanfiction, in fact that's exactly what it seemed like: a fanfiction. and not the good kind, like the ones you and a few other authors do, one of the really crappy ones, the ones that i see every day on this site. the kind that these guys would feature, if they weren't so generic and dull. and the other changeling episodes in that season just dig it deeper. the season six changeling episodes are irredeemable shite.
no bueno.
I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Honestly, I'd rather see the series continue on for some time with the focus gradually shifting to the expanded universe of side characters, giving fan favorite characters more focus and standalone episodes while pushing the Mane Six into a more advisory role. Maybe let time visibly pass like Rescue Bots did, grow the Crusaders up to teenagers. There's no reason to close the book on G4 by ANY means so long as the fanbase is still there and the toys are still selling, and given that we have brand new fans coming in at age TWO right now, this franchise and this SERIES seem sustainable for years to come.
The problem with season six has been shaky writing, and every long-running show goes through that. And it can turn around as well.
The motherfucker should have ended with season 5, on a high note. :| I'm really holding out hope that the movie is an endcap, a grand finale for the series, even if it moves into specials or Netflix movies from there on out.
Nah, don't end it.
Instead, refocus a bit. Settle on a new Mane 6 with the originals pushed supporting roles. Maybe even a time jump.
I disagree. I've been around since late Season 2, and pony has only seemed to improve for me. The only episodes i'd say that I didn't love were The Crystalling and maybe AJ's 'Day Off' - Nostalgia has a way of making everything seem worse.
New stories are evolving as well, to be told. Starlight's redemption, how Thorax will change the Hive, Ember's reign, corperate competition (Rarity V whoever), the growth of the CmC, and others.
See it not as side-characters being used. Trixie is becoming a main character, as is Starlight. And there are still stories to be told with Twilight and the rest
Never understood why people have to be Neigh Sayers and say" It should end". Theyve confirmed season 7, we have EQG movies coming, along with the movie in 2017. Their not gonna end something thats successful to their eyes. And even though the Season 6 finale aired early, one reactor im subbed to who decided to react to it early, even said himself that it didn't feel rushed or repeated. It gave him the feeling that it was a new, untested direction, and He loved it for that. SOrry Drakey, but i gotta disagree with you man. We still have stories to tell, and they still have ways to keep us engaged with the show.
I think there is a decent possibility that it will end with season 7. I think they just need to focus on new situations or have fun episodes. Honestly, this site carries most of my interest for mlp, with the actual episodes just being for fun or to develop (or destroy) head canons. That being said, a shift on side characters would be cool (still no celestia episode!) and focus on to more slice of life. Too often we've seen very similar stories. I happen to like the fun episodes a lot more compared to story episodes. Maybe that's because it was what started it all, fun slice of life episodes, with some adventure sprinkled in occasionally. However after over 100 episodes and a youth tv rating, you can only show so much. That's the appeal for this site is that you can create scenarios they wouldn't be in on the show, but are in day to day life. Although I wouldn't rate this season as harshly, I do like the concept of more side characters, open up the world a little more.
However if they do plan to end it on season 7, my wishlist is the following:
-Sunset Shimmer (at least mentioned)
-Celestia episode (perhaps going with the previous point!)
-End it with a series finale type ending (they have been pretty good with that with pretty much every season, and especially the latest seasons, if they end the series it has to end in a similar fashion to previous seasons)
-Fimfiction doesn't die after the series ends (like I said, most of my interest is in fimfiction, I'd hate to see everyone just stop writing if the series ends. Especially since I'm being lazy and holding on to my ideas for forever)
I definitely want MLP to exit on a high note, and I'm hoping the movie is the epic vehicle that delivers it...
As for EqG... eh, I suppose there are more stories to tell there, but I'm profoundly disinterested in them. The whole human-shaped spinoff was a fun concept, but the longer it goes the more it feels counter to the whole message of the original series: all of the sudden our amazingly complex and memorable characters are exactly where virtually every other made-for-girls show thinks they should be: high school.
I completely disagree, season 6, while not the best season, that's still Season 4, was very entertaining to me.
If you ask me, nothing will ever top season 1 as the worst season of the show. Season 1, in addition to the animation being very bland now a days, also had effortlessly the weakest writing.
Twilight was a boring character in season 1, she was stuck in a position of being shoe-horned into every episode and often suffered for it, and all of her trade mark personality traits didn't really come into play until Lesson Zero.
Every character, except Twilight and AJ, hit the reset button at the end of every episode, yes Fluttershy was the worst but she wasn't the only one.
None of the songs hold up well.
The CMC were at their most annoying and least insightful this season.
The stories were very unambitious and safe, with the show not growing the beard in terms of really good morals and episodes until season 2.
The characters all acted very childish in the first season, as in "kid in an adults body" levels.
All amounts to a good but not great first season, and easily the weakest this show has ever had.
My season ranking.
Best: Season 4
Season 6
Season 2
Season 5
Season 3
Season 1
I think the big problem is all these new writers who want to do Season 2 callbacks, and Haber's letting them do it. It's great that they really like Season 2, but Season 5 introduced a ton of changes to the status quo that open up lots of potential that the writers need to capitalize on. I will say though that that Season 6 has actually been perhaps the most consistent in quality up to this point, we haven't had as many stand out episodes, but we've also had fewer true clunkers. Only "Newbie Dash" and "Applejack's 'Day' Off" really qualify as episodes that should've been given a full rewrite, every other episode has at least had potential with some good ideas, though some have done more wit them than others.