Season 8 is Super Not Good · 1:24pm Jun 4th, 2020
I'm two seasons behind on the show; an unconscionable status for a fanfic writer. So, you know, I'm drawing a lot lately, and I have time to background watch shows. So I'm trying to catch up.
God, I hate Season 8. The Student 6 are wonderful, sure. Especially Yona. I fucking love yaks for some reason. But the whole idea of Twilight starting a school is a premise change for the show, which is the textbook definition of jumping the shark. Don't the mane 6 all have, you know, careers? It sets my teeth on edge.
All this was bearable. And not every episode is bad. Then I got to Marks for Effort. Like. Halfway through it.
First, Cheerliee's one-room schoolhouse is clearly meant for little foals, and Twilight's school seems to be a secondary school or a college. Why can't the Crusaders go there? They've got to be old enough by now. Don't give me that 'you already know all about friendship' crap; you don't say to three talented amateur astronomers that they don't need to go to college to study cosmology. 
But this is also bearable. Fiction is dumb sometimes.
But then: Cozy Glow. My fuck. I've gotten through a minute and a half of her dialogue and it sets my teeth on edge. I can't STAND her.
I hate this so much I went back to episode one to make sure the show was actually good and I haven't been deluded all this time. I haven't; it's still magical.
Deep breaths.
Does Season 9 get better? Are there episodes I can cherry-pick? Especially since 9 still isn't on Netflix and I'm not into piracy so I'd have to buy them.
While we're in the topic; I've come to understand that the finale involves Twilight separating from her friends when she becomes queen only princess. If so: do you want Fallout: Equestria? Because this is how you get Fallout: Equestria. 
Season 8 is absolutely the low point of the series. 9 picks up from there. It does have a few clunkers itself, but the good definitely outweighs the bad.
As for Season 8 itself, you can absolutely miss "Yakity-Sax," "The End in Friend," and "Father Knows Beast." The first two do the characters no favors, and the last is a deplorable shaggy dog story. However, there's plenty to look forward, like "The Hearth's Warming Club" and most if not all of the episodes between "On the Road to Friendship" and "The Sound of Silence."
Short answer: She doesn't.
Long answer: Oh, like I'm going to spoil that.
Season 8 picks up some in the latter half, actually gets pretty good in the last quarter. Season 9 is overall very good, with a few clunkers here and there. That said, the first half of season 8 might be the worst stretch of episodes the show had, so I can understand you getting a little burnt out.
Also, yes I very much want Fallout: Equestria.
The last season is even worse imo. Character assassinations all around, with Rainbow Dash at her absolute nadir, having an episode so bad she seems less mature than her first appearance.
While I lowered my expectations since season 6 (7 was quite good though overall!) I was able to enjoy the last couple seasons, but with all the good writers gone canceling the show was kind of a mercy killing before they ruined every character.
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Thank you for your guidance! You give me hope.
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Well, I mean, I'm writing a Fallout: Equestria. So I guess that was rhetorical.
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I never really kept track of which seasons were bad as much as I did individual episodes, but I basically agree with this assessment. There's also the many EQG specials and shorts, most of which are cute diversions even at their lowest.
From what I can gather, opinions vary greatly on when the show has gone downhill (for some people it's season 3, for others it has only gotten better with each season). For me, season 8 marks the point when I was no longer looking forward to watching a new episode, but MLP arguably was on the decline way before that (the writing quality that is - visually, it just kept improving).
In season 8, I personally enjoyed The Washouts somewhat as it felt more "old school" to me, but it doesn't seem to be a popular episode in general. Season 9 has She Talks to Angel which was decent in my opinion and also seems to be liked overall. The rest is a blur of mediocrity, shark-jumping, flanderization or outright character assassination from what little I can remember. There may be a few other decent episodes, but nothing that sticks in my mind. YMMV as I saw some enthusiastic comments on seasons 8 and 9, but if you're already loathing season 8, you probably won't like season 9 either.
All nine seasons are on Hulu.
I think Season 8 is the most controversial season of the show. Many people hate it, some are neutral towards, some like it, and some love it. On a casual viewing, I love Season 8, but when looking at it critically I'm closer to neutral or liking. It has a lot of problematic episodes, but a lot of episodes I think are underrated. In particular, Sounds of Silence is an amazing episode from the season. A top tier episode in the whole show.
As for Season 9, it's pretty awesome. Season 8 is the worst season, while Season 9 is 3rd or 4th best. Especially in the first half, it has so many standout episodes in different ways, and it's pretty darn consistent, with only a handful of episodes much of the fandom regards as less than really good (at least according to IMDB). It's also a somewhat controversial season, but for the most part people think it's good.