Now we're coming to another instant classic or so it seems to be. Rainbow Dash focus episodes have come and gone but this one remains a top contender. And it's written by M. A. Larson, and I bet it was this episode that saw him be crowned a fan favorite. "Suited For Success" lived up to the hype surrounding it, but how about this episode, especially considering Rainbow's uneven development and focus episodes in later seasons? Well, let's find out.

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So this first arc doesn't seem to be holding up the greatest upon retrospect, and even the people who saw this comic and reviewed it when it first came out didn't have much to say on it aside from it showing how dark the comics were. So, has this issue also started to crack with a second look at it, or has it managed to actually do better and lift the arc up? Well, let's find out.

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And now we're getting into something really, truly weird. Dave Polsky, just brushing off the controversy of "Feeling Pinkie Keen" returned to write this episode. To my knowledge this episode was nowhere near as controversial when it debuted, so many people were able to get a better feel for who Dave Polsky was as a writer. But was it a good impression or a bad one? Well, let's find out.

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And now we come to the point where the show seemed to really take off and the point where Rarity would become the show's breakout character. Ironically enough, it's with an episode that involves dress making and it's written by Charlotte Fullerton who almost everyone considered the weakest link of the original group of writers. So, does this episode live up to the hype surrounding it? Well, let's find out.

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Four episodes in and the show had bobbed up and down in quality with no clear direction or sense of purpose. It had good moments and bad moments. Cindy Morrow made her writing debut here and we got our introduction to what seemed like the first one off antagonist for an episode. With the knowledge of what would happen to Gilda a few seasons down the road, has this episode gotten better, worse or stayed the same? Well, let's find out.

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Although not originally intended to be the first half finale for Season 2 (that was "Hearth's Warming Eve" before it was bumped up to air in time for the holidays in 2011), this episode would close out Season 2's first half. Interestingly, it's come to light through recent leaks that a different episode was planned originally that would've involved Mrs. Cake's pregnancy directly. Ponies would be mentioning it through things like "Bun in the oven" and "Special delivery" and Pinkie would get

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So after two CMC focused episodes didn't do so well, the odds of a third one being a success were pretty slim. It didn't help that Season 1 had gotten bogged down real fast and the quality it had briefly flirted with was now gone. Still, M. A. Larson was given the task of writing this episode, fresh off his success with "Sonic Rainboom". Was he able to deliver another smash hit or only prove that, like Meghan McCarthy and Charlotte Fullerton his success was a fluke? Well, let's find out.

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By now word had started to surface about what was in store for the Season 2 finale, though most details remained under wraps. As for the show itself, it seemed like it had been ages since an episode debuted where no one had any complaints about it. Interestingly, M. A. Larson was penning the first Twilight Sparkle focus episode since "Luna Eclipsed" which had also borne Larson's name. But since at least "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" his track record hadn't been as great as it once was.

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This was the one arc in the comics that I intentionally avoided even back in the day. What I saw of it convinced me to give it a hard pass. Yet it exists, and the sad truth is that the comics would subsequently sink to lows even deeper than this one. So has time lessened the sting of this arc, or is it still as bad it's always been perceived as? Well, let's find out.

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When Season 5 rolled around, Diamond's VA (Chantel Strand) put out a rather vague social media statement about how we would "See a different side of Diamond Tiara". Most long time fans (myself included) were quite skeptical of this considering what Diamond Tiara had been like up to this point, especially after "Flight to the Finish" and "Twilight Time". But Season 5 had managed to surprise everyone before and already had a lot of hits under its belt (though arguably just as many misses). Amy

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Season 4's second half really needed some good episodes under its belt if it didn't want to drag down the entire season with just two truly impressive episodes. Rarity was the next to get a focus episode in a season where she'd already notched two rather interesting ones, including her long overdue return to the spotlight in "Rarity Takes Manehattan". However, Corey Powell was writing this episode and she had been associated with "Rainbow Falls". Perhaps because of that, Meghan McCarthy was

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"Pinkie Pride" had brought Season 4 back to the heights it had flirted with at the start of its run, many were ready to start calling it the best season of all. So to close out the first half, Josh Haber returned to pen this episode involving Rarity and Applejack. Romance had been a weak point of the show stretching back to at least "Hearts and Hooves Day", but was Josh Haber as a new talent able to succeed where others had failed? Well, let's find out.

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Because two surprise siblings never mentioned before apparently wasn't enough, I guess they wanted to ensure Rainbow Dash was the only mane six member to be an only child. At least this time it was a younger sibling instead of an older one. Dave Rapp returned to write for this episode, but Meghan McCarthy is credited with the story. So I guess that means she at least started working on this before she had to be called away to work on the movie? I mean, Dave had debuted quite horribly with

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So, just a season after Rarity got her dream boutique opened (and nearly closed) in Canterlot, and just a few episodes after she went hunting for a location to establish a Manehattan boutique, we would get to see said boutique open. Nick Confalone was picked to write this episode, coming off his contested performance in "No Second Prances". So, was he able to redeem himself in the eyes of those who hated what he brought to the table for "No Second Prances"? Well, let's find out.

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Hey, remember "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" and how bad that episode was? How it became the first episode of the show to be truly despised? Well I guess someone thought it would be a good idea to revisit that and try to "fix" it. The story is credited to Meghan McCarthy, just like in "Flutter Brutter". But to actually write the episode a new writer was brought in in the form of F. M. DeMarco who had previously worked on the 2012 Littlest Pet Shop cartoon (FiM's sister show, it

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So right after an insult of a Discord episode, and with all eyes slowly drifting towards what was now on the horizon for the Season 5 finale, it was time for the third and final map mission of the season. And by process of elimination it was going to involve Twilight and Fluttershy who had last truly worked together in "A Bird in the Hoof", not a very memorable episode. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco were going solo this time, after their last writing endevor had been a collab with Meghan

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So after an insanely long stretch of not being focused on or even being mentioned, Starlight Glimmer was finally going to get an episode to herself. And this time she wasn't going to be sharing it with Twilight, or Spike, or Trixie. This was Starlight's first true solo outing since her redemption, which was still looking questionable to many. Michael Vogel was going it alone on this episode, and his previous solo outing had been the quite enjoyable "A Hearth's Warming Tail". Yet many regard

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If "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well" was the first true dud of the show and "Hearth's Warming Eve" is the most pointless episode of the show, then this is the most forgotten episode of the show. It seems like an episode that a lot of people forget exists. It's written by Cindy Morrow who had just come off her high from "Sisterhooves Social", so that should've been a sign of something, right? Well, let's find out.

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Season 7 finally found some consistency (and good consistency at that) right at the end of its first half with the back to back successes of "Discordant Harmony" and "The Perfect Pear", the latter of which became everyone's new favorite episode. It also cemented Season 7 as a season of fanservice. Think about it, we had: A Princess Celestia episode, Starlight and Trixie hanging out, Twilight foalsitting her niece, Maud Pie returning and getting a day in the limelight, finally acknowledging the

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Because having one dream episode per season wasn't enough, now we had one focused directly on Princess Luna. Scott Sonneborn was writing this episode, though the story was credited to both Jayson Thiesen and Jim Miller like with "Princess Spike" and "Party Pooped". Considering how bad the former turned out and considering the latter had received a rather lukewarm reception, that wasn't exactly a formula for success. But hey, Scott had worked well with M. A. Larson and Meghan McCarthy for "The

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