The First Half of Season 9 v.s. the First Half of Seasons 1-8 (Episodes Only) · 5:22pm Jun 22nd, 2019

Now that "Between Dusk and Dawn" has aired in the U.S. and we're all caught up, I can FINALLY start comparing the first half of Season 9 to the first half of all previous seasons (except Season 3 which of course didn't get a second half). It's been quite a final season so far, but how well has it done? Has it truly offered hope that the show will go out on a high note, or has it only proved that the show wrapping up now is for the best because it's not what it used to be? Well first, let's look at how all thirteen episodes stack up. And as always, this list is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.

13. Sweet and Smoky
12. Uprooted
11. Going to Seed
10. The Point of No Return
9. She's All Yak
8. Between Dark and Dawn
7. The Last Crusade
6. Student Counsel
5. The Beginning of the End, Part 1
4. The Beginning of the End, Part 2
3. Sparkle's Seven
2. Common Ground
1. Frenemies

And now we'll see how the episodes compare to their respective counterparts from all eight previous seasons. The winner of each match up will get a point (or two points in the case of two parters). Did Season 9 snatch enough points to take the lead, or have the other seasons offered too much of a stiff competition?

Episodes 1 and 2: Friendship is Magic v.s. The Return of Harmony v.s. The Crystal Empire v.s. Princess Twilight Sparkle v.s. The Cutie Map/Cutie Markless v.s. The Crystalling v.s. Celestial Advice and All Bottled Up v.s. School Daze v.s. The Beginning of the End
The winner is (in a close contest): Princess Twilight Sparkle. "The Beginning of the End" kind of borrowed some notes from this two parter, especially the invading Everfree Forest, Twilight having doubts about her new role, and Discord returning as a trickster mentor with a twist at the end about his actions. That's not to say it's a complete rehash of it, "The Beginning of the End" does add new elements and for a set up we've yet to see the pay off for it was fine. Grogar is a villain that has taken time to grow on me, but making him the father of monsters and him being powerful enough to do things like resurrect King Sombra serves well for his role as the final big bad. It's just that "Princess Twilight Sparkle" had a lot to prove, prove that it could work with Twilight's new princess title, new wings, and Discord's redemption. And it did so very well, to the point where it almost feels like a second or third pilot for the show (in a way you could say it was the beginning of G4.5).

Episode 3: The Ticket Master v.s. Lesson Zero v.s. Too Many Pinkie Pies v.s. Castle Mane-ia v.s. Castle, Sweet Castle v.s. Gift of the Maud Pie v.s. A Flurry of Emotions v.s. The Maud Couple v.s. Uprooted
The winner is (no contest): Lesson Zero. Even if it is still kind of played for laughs, of all the mental breakdowns we've seen on the show over the years this is by far the most serious. There's a kind of creepy undertone to the whole thing watching Twilight, the most calm and collected, rational character on the show at that point, slowly going insane from stress. In fact, perhaps it was because this episode was so well received that the writers started writing Twilight's freak outs more and more often. "Uprooted" sadly takes the cake for the worst episode in this slot, it's a disappointing rehash of "Castle, Sweet Castle" just with the student six. And it ends up completely invalidating the Tree of Harmony's destruction by resurrecting it as a new playset, I mean castle.

Episode 4: Applebuck Season v.s. Luna Eclipsed v.s. One Bad Apple v.s. Daring Don't v.s. Bloom and Gloom v.s. On Your Marks v.s. Rock Solid Friendship v.s. Fake It 'Til You Make It v.s. Sparkle's Seven
The winner is: Sparkle's Seven. Yes, it's a jumbled combination of ideas spitballed by the VAs of the mane six, but it's really saying something when they were able to mostly accomadate all of them, even ones like Pinkie Pie going to space and Rainbow Dash wearing a dress. I do have to deduct a few points for neither Twilight or Rarity's plans at all involving distracting or removing Shining Armor and Princess Celestia, even though the whole purpose is to test castle security and why wouldn't a test of security want to see how well it works without the head of security around to oversee it? But it's made up for by some unexpected turns, and a sweet ending with Spike finally being acknowledged by Twilight as something more than an assistant (even if I'll still kind of cling to the idea of her being a mother to him). Only "Rock Solid Friendship" and "Applebuck Season" truly came close, and both have their flaws, such as the former starting off with a redundant and weak plot about rocks, and the latter crossing a bit of a line on slapstick when ponies get sick from food poisoning (plus, why isn't that what pushes Twilight over the edge?).

Episode 5: Griffon the Brush Off v.s. Sisterhooves Social v.s. Magic Duel v.s. Flight to the Finish v.s. Tanks for the Memories v.s. Gauntlet of Fire v.s. Fluttershy Leans In v.s. Grannies Gone Wild v.s. The Point of No Return
The winner is (no contest): Gauntlet of Fire. Come on, you didn't really think the highwater mark for Spike's character could lose out did you? Even assuming there was competition (and "Sisterhooves Social" and "Flight to the Finish" do offer it), everything that's come since in this slot in the season has been medicore at best and forgettable at worst. It's almost like they knew they could never top "Gauntlet of Fire" so they decided to just put throwaway episodes into the fifth episode slot for all the remaining seasons. While "The Point of No Return" does try more than "Grannies Gone Wild" it never can escape the shadow of being an inferior version of "Amending Fences" and if I wanted to watch "Amending Fences" I would watch "Amending Fences" I wouldn't watch a rehash of it.

Episode 6: Boast Busters v.s. The Cutie Pox v.s. Sleepless in Ponyville v.s. Power Ponies v.s. Appleloosa's Most Wanted v.s. No Second Prances v.s. Forever Filly v.s. Surf and/or Turf v.s. Common Ground
The winner is (in a close contest): Common Ground. As great as "Forever Filly" is, it pretty much establishes that Rarity has been more of a parent to Sweetie Belle than her actual parents, and apparently mid to late 20's is the Equestrian equivalent of a mid-life crisis, plus this is for all intents and purposes the last time we will ever get to hear Sassy Saddles speak (quite a shame, she had so much potential). "Common Ground" was surprising not only for featuring the return of Buckball (and apparently it will return again later on this season) but also bringing back Quibble Pants. Getting Patton Oswalt and his family involved was a nice touch, which does a lot to flesh out characters like Clear Sky and Wind Sprint, especially since Patton's daughter Alice is a really big fan of the show from what I hear. And episodes like this show Rainbow at her best, supporting others even while she has her own obligations to tend to.

Episode 7: Dragonshy v.s. May the Best Pet Win v.s. Wonderbolts Academy v.s. Bats! v.s. Make New Friends, But Keep Discord v.s. Newbie Dash v.s. Parental Glideance v.s. Horse Play v.s. She's All Yak
The winner is (no contest): Horse Play. The Celestia episode we waited years and years for, and it did not disappoint. An episode that finally addressed Twilight's idol worship of Celestia and the dangers that could come about from it. Of course, the play stuff isn't anything we haven't seen before, it's the typical "Comedy of Errors" story that's at least as old as Shakespeare if not older. Compared to that, nothing else really can compare. That's not to say "She's All Yak" didn't try, but in addition to the third act causing the whole episode to fall apart, Yona's visit to Sweet Apple Acres accomplishes nothing from a narrative standpoint other than expositing about the lucky pot dinner and giving Yona a chance to do something with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Yona easily carried the episode, but considering we'd already gotten a "Be Yourself" moral this season, having another one right after it didn't help matters.

Episode 8: Look Before You Sleep v.s. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well v.s. Apple Family Reunion v.s. Rarity Takes Manehattan v.s. The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone v.s. A Hearth's Warming Tail v.s. Hard to Say Anything v.s. The Parent Map v.s. Frenemies
The winner is (no contest): Frenemies. Much like "Horse Play" this was an episode we had been begging to see for years and years, a villain team-up. Finally, our prayers were answered and we were treated to an excellent display of back and forth between our villains. They even managed to utilize Cozy Glow properly as a butt monkey (though it does make you wonder what kind of role she's supposed to play if she lacks the power of Chrysalis and Tirek, and her manipulative act no longer fools anyone). Heck, Chrysalis got to come back from the depths of villain decay here, and Tirek got a chance to have a middle ground between his manipulative self in his weakened state, and the brute force in his powerful state. Time will tell if The Legion of Doom turns on Grogar, or if he turns on them. While there are other episodes here of decent to enjoyable quality, even "Rarity Takes Manehattan" fails to hold a candle to this glorious villain team-up that will remain perhaps one of the best episodes not just of Season 9 but of the entire show.

Episode 9: Bridle Gossip v.s. Sweet and Elite v.s. Spike at Your Service v.s. Pinkie Apple Pie v.s. Slice of Life v.s. The Fault in Our Cutie Marks v.s. Honest Apple v.s. Non-Compete Clause v.s. Sweet and Smoky
The winner is (no contest): Slice of Life. Only two or three other episodes even come close to matching "Slice of Life" which even in the wake of the 200th episode and its stronger writing, still holds up well as a fantastic love letter to the fans who ensured the show's long lasting success (if not for the massive popularity, Hasbro would've ended it at 65 episodes and no movies or specials). Heck, even now there are things that we know they were going to include in the first draft that got left out (such as Lyra teasing Bon Bon about her funny voices, Vinyl Scratch talking, and Flash Sentry following Cranky Doodle Donkey and asking why nopony likes him). While "Sweet and Smoky" didn't hit the same insulting lows as "Non-Compete Clause" it didn't exactly fare much better. I thought we were done with the Spike abuse in the final season, but apparently not.

Episode 10: Swarm of the Century v.s. Secret of My Excess v.s. Keep Calm and Flutter On v.s. Rainbow Falls v.s. Princess Spike v.s. The Saddle Row Review/Saddle Row and Rec v.s. A Royal Problem v.s. The Break Up Break Down v.s. Going to Seed
The winner is: Keep Calm and Flutter On. "A Royal Problem" was the only true competitor, and now that we've gotten another royal sisters episode (a somewhat better one at that, though we may be getting another one later on) the appeal of it has dimmed a little, especially because "A Royal Problem" was just as much Starlight's episode as it was the royal sisters. "Keep Calm and Flutter On", even if it's one that the writers probably wouldn't have done had they known they were getting renewed for a fourth season, still did a good job of bringing back Discord and starting his redemption, while leaving it open that he wouldn't fully change. Even now, it's clear that he is still his chaotic self, he just allies with the side of good when it suits him (and he can do selfless acts sometimes). Heck, why couldn't "Going to Seed" have been Discord who was causing all the strange happenings and he ends up caught? That could've been a clever way to spice up an otherwise dull episode that felt more like Apple Bloom's story than Applejack's.

Episode 11: Winter Wrap-Up v.s. Hearth's Warming Eve v.s. Just for Sidekicks v.s. Three's a Crowd v.s. Party Pooped v.s. Applejack's "Day" Off v.s. Not Asking for Trouble v.s. Molt Down v.s. Student Counsel
The winner is: Student Counsel. "Party Pooped" seemed to be more about how many crazy facial expressions the animators could pull off than it was about telling a good story (not that the story was bad because of it, Pinkie Pie in particular really shone but the yaks one noteness killed a lot of scenes). And "Molt Down" while a nice growth phase for Spike, felt like an unpolished first draft that could've been so much more with a little more rewriting. The remaining episodes offered little if anything to challenge "Student Counsel" which for what may well be Starlight's final outing did a great job of showing her character growth, and even managed to do well with characters like Trixie and Mudbriar who were often the weakest links of previous episodes. It's not perfect, but aside from the hard to overlook contrivence of getting all the mane six out of the way for the episode's story, "Student Counsel" had nothing really major hurting it.

Episode 12: Call of the Cutie v.s. Family Appreciation Day v.s. Games Ponies Play v.s. Pinkie Pride v.s. Amending Fences v.s. Flutter Brutter v.s. Discordant Harmony v.s. Marks for Effort v.s. The Last Crusade
The winner is (in a close contest): Pinkie Pride. I seem to be in the minority on Scootaloo's parents in that I actually like them, and think the hate towards them isn't justified. We have seen far worse parents throughout the show than Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood, who were at least willing to admit they were wrong and came across as having good intentions that they didn't think through. But "The Last Crusade" felt padded out in the middle, and admittedly it would've been nicer to just have the episode be about Scootaloo's parents coming back and reconnecting with her. So it really came down to "Pinkie Pride" or "Amending Fences", and ultimately "Pinkie Pride" wins out for being an outstanding Pinkie Pie episode, an enjoyable musical, and Weird Al guest starring as Cheese Sandwich to perfection. It's been confirmed that Cheese Sandwich will be coming back in the second half of the season, but I seem to be the only one not excited for his return because I'm worried the current staff won't know how to utilize him (since most of them weren't around when they brought Weird Al in to guest star).

Episode 13: Fall Weather Friends v.s. Baby Cakes v.s. Magical Mystery Cure v.s. Simple Ways v.s. Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? v.s. Spice Up Your Life v.s. The Perfect Pear v.s. The Mean Six v.s. Between Dark and Dawn
The winner is (no contest): The Perfect Pear. Even at its best "Between Dusk and Dawn" couldn't have hoped to compare to what might be the closest the show has come to perfection. "The Perfect Pear" was a fantastic episode that finally gave us answers to Applejack's parents and did so in a way we were never expecting. The emotions and feels were very real indeed, and William Shanter voicing Grand Pear proved that he can act despite all those parodies and out of context clips. "Between Dusk and Dawn" had a lot going for it as a royal sisters episode, but even then they only make up half of the episode and it's jarring to see them fighting yet again.

And now to tally up the points: Season 1 - 0 points, Season 2 - 1 point, Season 3 - 1 point, Season 4 - 3 points, Season 5 - 1 point, Season 6 - 1 point, Season 7 - 1 point, Season 8 - 1 point, Season 9 - 4 points. So thus Season 9 narrowly squeaks past Season 4 to take the lead at 4 points to 3. Seasons 2 and 3, as well as Seasons 5-8 only get 1 point each, and Season 1 gets dead last with 0 points! Even if we were only comparing Seasons 7 and 9, Season 9 would ultimately beat out Season 7 7 points to 6. So despite some bumps in the road, Season 9 has taken the lead in its first half and done better than Season 8. But we'll have to see if it can keep it up in the second half, where there's going to be more tough competition to overcome.

And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll update the ranking for the mid season finales to see where "Between Dusk and Dawn" would fall.

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superfun

superfun #1 · Jun 22nd, 2019 · · ·

For me, the winners are:
Episodes 1 and 2: Friendship is Magic vs The Return of Harmony vs Crystal Empire vs Princess Twilight Sparkle vs The Cutie Map a.k.a Cutie Markless vs The Crystalling vs Celestial Advice and All Bottled Up vs. School Daze vs Beginning of the End
Winner: Beginning of the End

Episode 3:  Ticket Master vs Lesson Zero vs Too Many Pinkie Pies vs Castle Mane-ia vs Castle, Sweet Castle vs Gift of The Maud Pie vs A Flurry of Emotions vs The Maud Couple vs Uprooted
Winner: The Maud Couple

Episode 4: Applebuck Season vs Luna Eclipsed vs One Bad Apple vs Daring Don't vs Bloom and Gloom vs On Your Marks vs Rock Solid Friendship vs Fake It ‘Till You Make It vs Sparkle’s Seven
Winner: Sparkle’s Seven

Episode 5: Griffon The Brush Off vs Sisterhooves Social vs Magic Duel vs Flight to The Finish vs Tanks for The Memories vs Gauntlet of Fire vs Fluttershy Leans In vs Grannies Gone Wild vs Point of No Return
Winner: Tanks for the Memories

Episode 6: Boast Busters vs The Cutie Pox vs Sleepless in Ponyville vs Power Ponies vs Appleloosa's Most Wanted vs No Second Prances vs Forever Filly vs Surf and/or Turf vs Common Ground
Winner: No Second Prances

Episode 7: Dragonshy vs May The Best Pet Win vs Wonderbolt Academy vs Bats! vs Make New Friends, But Keep Discord vs Newbie Dash vs Parental Glideance vs Horse Play vs She’s All Yak:
Winner: Parental Glideance

Episode 8: Look Before You Sleep vs The Mysterious Mare Do Well vs Apple Family Reunion vs Rarity Takes Manehattan vs The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone vs A Hearth's Warming Tail vs Hard to Say Anything vs The Parent Map vs Frenemies:
Winner: Frenemies. My current favorite episode of the series.

Episode 9: Bridle Gossip vs Sweet and Elite vs Spike at Your Service vs Pinkie Apple Pie vs Slice of Life vs The Fault in Our Cutie Marks vs Honest Apple vs Non-Compete Clause vs Sweet and Smokey
Winner: Slice of Life

Episode 10: Swarm of The Century vs Secret of My Excess vs Keep Calm and Flutter On vs Rainbow Falls vs Princess Spike vs The Saddle Row Review a.k.a Saddle Row and Rec vs A Royal Problem vs The Break Up Breakdown vs Going to Seed
Winner: A Royal Problem

Episode 11: Winter Wrap Up vs Hearth's Warming Eve vs Just For Sidekicks vs Three's A Crowd vs Party Pooped vs Applejack's "Day" Off vs Not Asking for Trouble vs Molt Down vs Student Counsel:
Winner: Student Council. It's so hilarious it pretty much wins on the comedy alone, though making Mudbriar more likable also helps

Episode 12: Call of The Cutie vs Family Appreciation Day vs Games Ponies Play vs Pinkie Pride vs Amending Fences vs Flutter Brutter vs Discordant Harmony vs Marks for Effort vs Last Crusade:
Winner: Last Crusade

Episode 13: Fall Weather Friends vs Baby Cakes vs Magical Mystery Cure vs Simple Ways vs Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? vs Spice Up Your Life vs The Perfect Pair vs The Mean 6 vs Between Dark and Dawn:
Winner: Between Dark and Dawn. This one was just so much fun I had to give it the win. Sure, the B-plot is a bit lacking, but the A-plot MORE than makes up for it.

So right now, my score is:
Season 9 in first with 7
Seasons 7 and 5 in second with 2 each.
Seasons 6 and 8 in third with 1 each.

As for my ranking of the season:
Frenemies
The Last Crusade
Student Counsel
Between Dark and Dawn
Sparkle’s Seven
Beginning of the End
Common Ground
Sweet and Smokey
Point of No Return
She’s All Yak
Uprooted
Going to Seed

Based on the revealed synopses so far, the second half actually looks less like a curbstomp in favor of the first half.

RainbowSparkle3