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Time to talk about Season 2!

1. The Return of Harmony (Part 1): EXCELLENT. This premiere really cranked up the juice, first with the character of Discord and then getting John DeLancie to voice him. The episode was mostly set up for the craziness of part two, but it was creative in how Discord was able to undermine/hypnotize the Mane Six into inverting their elements. He struck the right balance of funny and threatening.

2. The Return of Harmony (Part 2): EXCELLENT. Twilight's interactions with her Discorded friends was a source of both comedy and drama, as was her attempts to get them all back to normal. The inventiveness of Discord’s chaos is obviously also a big selling point, as is Discord’s smarmy-charm. There’s a reason this premiere is considered one of the best of the series.

3. Lesson Zero: VERY GOOD. We’ve seen Twilight falter under pressure out of a desire to please the Princess, but this one shows us how deep that goes. This is also a strong moment for Spike, displaying some rare common sense here. It’s like they have a ying-yang relationship: if Spike is acting scared or irrational (Bridle Gossip, Castle-Mania, Triple Threat) then Twilight is the one who’s level-headed and calm. But if Twilight is the one needing comfort, and her friends aren’t around, then Spike is there for her. Good for him. I also liked her friends realizing their mistake and actually interrupting and standing up to Celestia—a real rarity. Also, Smarty Pants was cute.

4. Luna Eclipsed: VERY GOOD. The long-awaited return of Luna! Admittedly, some head-tilting moments considering no one recognized her or seemed to know anything about her except Twilight way back in the series premiere. Ah well. Almost everything Luna says became a meme, helped by her exuberant personality and fun drama-moments. The costumes were also visually creative. I also really like Pipsqueak. However, I realize on the rewatch that this was the first of a couple of episodes that seemed to say “if people think of you a certain way; don’t fight it, just embrace it,” which is a bit of an iffy message. Still it’s better than the other two that pushed this idea (“Appleloosa’s Most Wanted” and “Newbie Dash”) and even then it sorta works in the context of this episode; although it would’ve been better if there was some recognition of “even if you enjoy this holiday and like being scared of Nightmare Moon, you shouldn’t act that way to Luna herself 24/7.” If folks want Luna to play the part of Nightmare Moon and get enjoyment out of being scared on the holiday, that’s fine. But they have to realize that it is just a role. Learn from Wreck-It-Ralph, guys!

5. Sisterhooves Social: EXCELLENT. Sweetie Belle is the cutest crusader and you can’t help but want to hug her through all this. While I’m a little critical of using Applejack and Apple Bloom’s relationship as a perfect model to which Rarity should aspire, all the characters worked very well off each other and it was all very heartfelt.

6. The Cutie Pox: VERY GOOD. I always like seeing more Zecora and the Big Lebowski references were funny. All the cutie marks and how they forced Apple Bloom to adapt to them was a funny concept.

7. May the Best Pet Win!: VERY GOOD. This was a great way of taking a weakness (the show being tied to a toy-line) and making it a strength. Rainbow Dash’s figure is packaged with a tortoise? Okay, here’s how that works! And since everyone already had a pet, this was a great way to introduce it. I love the songs, the creativity; and the fact that (aside from one rather pointless scene that goes nowhere) everyone is fully on board with Rainbow’s idea for a contest to decide her pet. Granted, the moral is a little weak since Rainbow Dash is already friends with ponies who aren’t athletic or like her at all, but that’s a minor issue; sometimes the mechanics of the metaphor just get in the way. For those concerned about the safety of the pets going through Ghastly Gorge, I think the fact that neither Rainbow nor her friends were concerned was a sign that they had that things were well in-hand. She wouldn’t have let any of them get devoured (permanently) by those eels. I especially like that, in contrast to certain OTHER episodes, Rainbow Dash doesn’t need to be browbeaten into making the “correct” choice; she’s perfectly capable of realizing for herself what the right thing to do is, though I do feel a little bad for the falcon at the end. Plus, Tank gives us some of the best moments and episodes in both My Little Pony and the Equestria Girls shorts. Greatness all around!

8. The Mysterious Mare Do Well: BAD (AWFUL!). Why does it have an additional label beyond Bad? To paraphrase “The Critic,” I needed to draw a distinction between which episodes merely stink and which ones you shouldn’t air near an open flame. This isn’t just bad, it’s outright loathsome. This was, I think, the first episode to be near-universally reviled by fans. A number of fans had reacted against the apparent slight to science and rationality in “Feeling Pinkie Keen.” Some thought CMC episodes was an unwanted distraction from focusing on the characters they wanted to watch. I thought “Owl’s Well” was a subpar episode. But none of those negative reactions compares to the reception this episode got. It got to the point where nowadays it’s fashionable to ask if the hate this episode got was justified; if its reputation doesn’t actually exceed the badness of the episode itself. Well, for my part, no. The reputation for awfulness is 100% justified and in no way exaggerated.

I could write entire essays based on why it’s awful, but to put it briefly: this is like someone turned Christmas with the Kranks into an episode of MLP: the main character is a self-centered jerk surrounded by folks trying to get them to the change their ways by behaving like even bigger and more unlikeable jerks. If the Mare Do Well is meant to be a superhero, then I can only conclude her origin story involves being bitten by a radioactive asshole. Their methodology is so bad that they end up having to explain the purported ‘lesson’ to Rainbow at the end because she had no idea what they were going for. So that’s a fail right there. Not to mention it means they could’ve just explained it to her at the start and skipped this whole mess. There’s no depth to this moral, heroes don’t brag because—because! It’s not even a lesson about overconfidence causing you to get sloppy or make mistakes; they insist it’s just that bragging is a no-no. Sorry, but if someone wants to rescue me from a burning house so he can score bragging rights with his bros, do you think I’m going to complain? Even the rescues Mare Do Well makes and Dash doesn’t don’t support the idea that bragging makes you sloppy. Most of those rescues looked to be impossible for Rainbow to do alone regardless of whether she was boastful or humble. Now, I am someone who genuinely hates bragging and grew up thinking that it’s better to be under-confident than over-confident, constantly putting myself down out of fear that I might let my ego get away from me. So you know this episode dropped the ball because by the end of it, I was ready to rethink my own position and considered the prospect that I had been wrong all along. Nice going, morons.
With all that said, I am absolutely opposed to any attempts to harass, denigrate or otherwise be a dick to the writer, Merriweather Williams. While I do not like her work on this episode (and with a rare exception, I think her other contributions to MLP have also been sub-par), I will not support personal attacks on her as a person. Moreover, as we don’t know what went on in the writer’s room, I don’t even feel confident in proportioning out blame for the final product of the episode. It could’ve been a bad premise she was handed, it could’ve been interference, it could’ve been an episode she didn’t want to write, etc. A lot of things happened behind closed doors and I don’t know the story there. None of which changes the fact that this episode is dreck, but I do not stand by attacking writers, even bad writers, as people—especially when I don’t know the full details .

9. Sweet and Elite: EXCELLENT. This episode amazed me because this was the one I could most easily see occurring in real life. I enjoy Fancy Pants as a breath of fresh air among the Canterlot elite, the song was really sweet and Rarity is just fun to be around. Even when she’s making what is obviously the “wrong” choice, you really can’t get too mad at her for it. While “trying to be in two different places at once without anyone noticing” is plot old enough to be used in the Flintstones, I still thought it was entertaining. Twilight’s was pure adorkable in this episode and I loved them unintentionally crashing this fancy garden party. This is the way to show a character that wrestles with flaws, but is capable of growing past them.

10. Secret of My Excess: OKAY. This is an episode I often have difficulty remembering. While I like the obvious Godzilla/King Kong homages, Spike and Rarity’s touching moment during the fall and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s joint save, most of the rest wasn’t too engaging. A Zecora appearance is always welcome but most of the episode is just, well, “Spike wants!” until we get to the climax. There's also the way Rarity wheedles Spike out of that gem at the start. I would've preferred if Spike noticed her eyeing it and offered it to her on his own initiative. It further emphasizes how much he cares about her and that she cares about him too. To me, any choice that accomplishes the same results while making both characters look better, as opposed to making both look worse, is the better option unless you deliberately intend to draw attention to those character flaws, which this episode did not. Also the Wonderbolts display their uselessness. Better get used to that.

11. Hearth's Warming Eve: OKAY. This episode is decent enough on its own, but it feels a little boring to have the Mane Six portray historical figures who are basically the same as them. It makes some of the dialogue, like Fluttershy-as-Pansy saying she dislikes Rainbow Dash-as-Hurricane. It would’ve been so much more interesting if the roles were reversed: have Rarity be the clever assistant and Twilight the stuck-up princess; Rainbow Dash the timid private and Fluttershy having to be the loud, proud commander, etc. Maybe their unhappiness at the roles they got could actually lead to the behind the scenes arguments we saw? I don’t particularly care about the lack of explanation for the alicorns on the Equestrian flag we saw, which is what a lot of people commented on. It’s a fine, cute little episode.

12. Family Appreciation Day: OKAY. The first of several episodes to do the “embarrassed by family member” plot and is about as interesting as that suggests. While seeing Granny Smith’s flashback about the founding of Ponyville (leaving aside the continuity snarls from Winter Wrap-Up) was interesting, that’s not enough to really elevate it. The only other interesting thing of note is seeing Silver Spoon be the first to applaud her. Some fun moments and an emotional one here or there, but nothing really all that special for this show.

13. Baby Cakes: OKAY. I’m just going to say it: it’s an uphill battle getting me to like stories that revolve around adults panicking because babies do baby-things like get fussy, cry and soil themselves. Now, there is more to this episode than that, thank goodness. The Cake twins are certainly cute and do have personalities. But it also feels rather contrived having them be a pegasi and a unicorn, to say nothing of the explanations for them flying and having magic already. It feels like the creators realized earth pony infants would be boring and they couldn't think of any other pre-established couple in the series besides the Cakes who would naturally have kids. I do like Pinkie’s endearing determination, as usual. But the premise just didn’t give me a lot of reason to want to revisit this one too often. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing really makes it stand out either.

14. The Last Roundup: EXCELLENT. Aside from the landmark of letting Derpy speak (and ignoring the ‘controversy’ surrounding it), everyone had some really strong moments: Pinkie’s flip-out over the Pinkie Promise and chimcherrychongas was hilarious, I adored Rainbow’s determination in getting the truth out of Applejack, the homage to the Lucy Show was great, etc. I also like it when a character feels takes on more responsibility than they need to, because they think others are counting on them to do so, rather than having anyone intentionally pressure them. Everything just really clicked here.

15. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000: OKAY. Flim and Flam are just oozing with personality and their song is catchy as hell. Later episodes with them tried to recapture that magic, but I don't think they were ever able to repeat it as well as they did here. I liked seeing more from the rest of the Apple family and that opening pre-theme scene remains one of the funniest in the series. The only things I’m more critical of are how Applejack lets Apple Bloom and Granny Smith drag the family into something foolish and dangerous (and not for the last time) and she just goes along with it. While her “I didn’t learn anything!” was cute and cheeky, this wasn’t the right episode to drop that in. She got very, very lucky after making some really bad decisions (or stepping back and letting others make bad decisions) and avoided the consequences through no action of her own. So for Applejack to be that smug feels a bit unearned, frankly. I did enjoy seeing the Mane Six team up with the Apples and it was great to see that they were as upset and devastated by the loss as the Apples themselves. I’m not big on claiming that using time-saving technology equals “cheating.” After all, we saw Granny Smith drink the cider Flim and Flam made in the song and she was visibly impressed before trying to hide it. The only other issue is Pinkie Pie being uncharacteristically selfish and oblivious, hoarding cider for herself and from the context, this isn’t the first time she’s done this. You’re better than this, Pinkie.

16. Read It and Weep: VERY GOOD. As someone who only really took to reading around the fourth grade thanks to a particularly inspiring teacher, I really enjoyed this episode. But beyond my own love of books, I liked the neat parallels between Rainbow's situation and Daring Do's. This also set up a lot of fun possibilities and expanded the world, regardless of how one feels about the later decision to make Daring Do real in-universe. Rainbow Dash is both adorable and awesome and there's a lot of fun imagery and scenes. Just like curling up with a real good book.

17. Hearts and Hooves Day: VERY GOOD. It was nice to see Big Mac and Cheerilee get some more time and development, and the CMC were really adorable, even when causing untold chaos. Add to that a fun song, a good moral and the fact that this one stuck: the CMC never tried this horseapples again. You tell them love potions/poisons are bad and they don’t ever think about using them again, not even trying to wheedle the difference between not using a love poison versus using a love potion. That puts them up on a few adult characters I could name.

18. A Friend in Deed: WEAK. I expect I’ll get some flak for this one, but really, aside from the phenomenal song, what else about this episode really stands out? And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that song. I like Cranky and the moral they were going for is good, but it’s undercut by how both the problem and resolution is Pinkie violating Cranky’s privacy and not leaving him be, even when repeatedly asked. Plus, the sudden appearance of Matilda in the opening made the direction pretty obvious. There were some visuals and creativity, as is usual for a Pinkie Pie episode, but nothing that really made it stand out from the rest. While I empathize with Pinkie's plight here, I think the Equestria Girls short “Five Stars” handled this moral better.

19. Putting Your Hoof Down: WEAK. The concept of Fluttershy taking advice from a Self-Help Guru to be more assertive and taking it too far is a really obvious one. I saw several fanfics tackling this before this episode was ever even announced. Things are also a bit confused by Rarity and Pinkie trying to blame Iron Will for all this, which Fluttershy naturally doesn’t accept—but then she refuses to pay him because she doesn’t like the results. I don’t know; that seems a little confused. At the very least, I have to wonder why Iron Will got all the blame, to the point where he was listed in the MLP guide book in the villain section. Why? I mean, we saw dozens of ponies at Iron Will’s talk and the only one we saw take it too far and physically assault other ponies was Fluttershy; that doesn’t give the impression that this is all Iron Will’s fault. I think the other issue is Fluttershy bawling out Rarity and Pinkie. That clearly is going to rankle some people. Part of the problem, I think, was that Fluttershy was smirking and grinning evilly the whole time. Facial expressions really alter the mood of a scene. People being angry and so overwrought that they throw out something stupid and mean just because they want to hurt the person who upset them? Yes, I believe that totally. But the fact that she’s grinning the entire time she talks about this; it makes it feel like this is something she is savoring, that she enjoys grinding them down like that. A lot of fans feel Fluttershy was out of character here and I’m tempted to agree.

20. It's About Time: OKAY. While there’s fun humor and visuals, I think this episode is too similar to Lesson Zero to really stand out. Ponies in cat-suits are a plus though.

21. Dragon Quest: OKAY. This only semi-decent Spike episode before Season 5 … and it’s just that. Decent-ish. The positives are that we got explore more about dragons, got some good humor, and decent feels on Spike and Twilight’s behalf. Also, Crackle and the Crackle-costume. The problems are that in order to get Spike in a position where he starts wondering about these questions, the Mane Six are written horribly out of character and flanderized in the opening scene (yeah, you can tell Merriweather Williams wrote this...) and they had to establish that Spike never asked about this before, Twilight never researched this before and nopony knows anything about dragons. Look, I can get not knowing some of the finer details about dragons but … seriously, nothing? Zecora seemed to know plenty a few episodes ago, why not ask her? While the moral is meant to be more about not being pressured to dislike things that are seen as “sissy stuff” (appropo given the nature of this franchise) the fact that Spike writes off all dragons and declares himself a pony has an unintended subtext given they’re two different races…and Spike is writing one off on the basis of encountering three jerks and making sweeping judgments about all dragons based on that. So, oops? This is one of the few times I can recall where the MLP comics wrote an issue that explicitly calls out the conclusions of an episode (See Friends Forever #14). Also Spike gets a pet/steals a kid that then gets written out because the writers forgot he had it when they were writing a pet-centered episode. Oops again. So the mechanics of the metaphor get in its own way of its own generally good message. While the story is good, the way they had to clearly force things in order to get the characters into a certain frame of mind to set things up is blatant and poorly written. A mixed bag from start to end.
22. Hurricane Fluttershy: EXCELLENT. You know the difference between a good Fluttershy episode and a poor one? It’s not a matter of her repeating or not repeating the same lesson about being more assertive. It’s a matter of effort. In a weaker episode, the show writes itself into knots in order to get Fluttershy what she wants with little actual effort on her part and common sense telling you it probably shouldn’t work out that way (e.g. “Keep Calm and Flutter On”). In a good episode, Fluttershy works for what she wants and even if she only makes baby-steps towards her goal, every iota of progress is that much more significant because it felt earned by her actions; not gift-wrapped to her by the writing gods. In that regard, this is one of the best Fluttershy episodes. Not only is she at her best, but so is Rainbow Dash and Twilight. The visuals from inside the tornado were really gripping and creative. You want to cheer their triumph. The only hiccup is that they really shouldn’t have resorted on using numbers so often. Rainbow Dash wants everypony in town to hit around 10.0 wingpower so they can get a new record of 1,000. But because eight pegasi are out sick, not only can they not hit 1,000 but they won’t even hit 800? Um, those eight pegasi would each need wingspeed power of 25 in order to make that big a difference. I know, it’s a nitpick, but still. Also, Spitfire is useless. Again, get used to that.
23. Ponyville Confidential: OKAY. It’s certainly an interesting story and it invites a fair amount of humor. I mean, Diamond Tiara as J. Jonah Jameson? A lot of fans think the Mane Six were too harsh to the CMC when they found out, but honestly I find it hard to blame them. Still, I think the biggest hiccup is that there was no real recognition on the part of the ponies reading the gossip that they were part of the problem. They were all for reading about this stuff (as was everyone else). If anything, the CMC were the first to want to move away from this but were overruled by Diamond Tiara and popular demand; even before the blackmail. So I do get why folks think the CMC got a bit of a raw deal even if I don’t quite feel the same way. CMC episodes tend to focus on the role of what kids do and what they should do; not the role of the adults since in real-life, kids have very little real influence on what adults do. Rarity was a bit of a bonehead: being completely dismissive of her friends’ anguish until it impacted her directly. Yeah, I know the Mane Six were like that when it was the others who were being written about early on, but they didn’t have an upset Mayor Mare or Trixie actually in the room with them at the time. Also, it felt a little inconsistent that Gabby Gums went back and forth between reporting ‘real’ gossip (the Mayor’s mane-dyeing, reprinting Rarity’s diary) and just flagrantly making stuff up (Twi as a Canterlot snob, Rainbow Dash as a softy, Fluttershy’s tail extensions). Cheerilee's absence and lack of oversight also does not impress. I know, if the adults were more on top of things there wouldn't be plots for the kids to do and things to realize for themselves, but it is a weakness nonetheless.
24. MMMystery on the Friendship Express: WEAK. The best parts are Pinkie’s imagination scenes about what she thinks happened. Otherwise, this is a mess. What’s even the moral? It’s wrong to accuse people—so get facts and then accuse them? Oookayy…. Also, if you want to have a fun little mystery akin to “who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?” that’s fine, but by having this be a contest with actual stakes involves, it makes Pinkie’s friends look like jerks. It doesn’t sit well and it doesn’t really fit.

25. A Canterlot Wedding (Part 1): VERY GOOD. Let’s get it out there—introducing a brother never before mentioned or even hinted at was stupid, especially since his first episode is basically the Happily Ever After story. He also didn’t make a good impression by reacting to be called out by whining “It wasn’t my fault!” That said: the rest was really good. I liked Twilight’s understandably mixed feelings, and how she then warmed up when she learned it was Cadance he was marrying. How she never knew Cadance’s formal name, or why neither of them ever mentioned to Twilight they were even dating, is a bit of a stretch. Also, Cadance’s love magic flashback scene was … a little iffy morally. I guess we know why Twilight was willing to use the Want-It, Need-It Spell. Unlike a lot of others, I don’t think the Mane Six really had good cause to question Twilight’s reasons for questioning Not-Cadance’s behavior. Yes, Twilight was in a mood from the start, but then again, she knows Canterlot and the players involved. They don’t. If something smelled wrong to her, they should’ve given her the benefit of the doubt. Wasn’t that also the sub-lesson of Lesson Zero? Granted, Twilight could’ve explained that she was happy her brother was marrying Cadance when she found out, only to have her suspicion meter run up by Not-Cadance’s behavior. I’m not saying Twilight was beyond reproach, just that I don’t think the ReMane 5 had as strong a case for dismissing her concerns. But I did like the atmosphere they were building up, the size of the events plus the songs and the adorkable Ladybugs Awake Dance.

26. A Canterlot Wedding (Part 2): EXCELLENT. Just gonna say it: I love this episode. I love Chrysalis and the changelings, I love the aria, I love the fight scenes … you can tell they really cranked things up for this finale. Even though we never met these characters before, Cadance struggling in the cave to push the cart, singing about her love for Shining Armor, it sold me on them as a couple. While defeated by the power of love is silly, as Chrysalis herself pointed out, I still thought this really a really fun, exciting ride. Celestia’s attempt to turn this in a lesson with a moral at the end felt forced and unnecessary…especially since it doesn’t speak well to Celestia’s own instincts. Nor Luna’s unfortunate absence. Still, the epic fight and music were really something to behold.

Break Down:
Excellent episodes: 7
Very Good episodes: 7
Okay episodes: 8
Weak episodes: 3
Bad (Awful) episodes: 1

14 out of 26 were above average
8 out of 26 were average
4 out of 26 were below average

Overall Average for Season 2: 3.615
Final Overall Score: VERY GOOD

With a very strong premiere and finale and two of the most enduring villains, as well as the last season Lauren Faust was involved in, I can get why Season 2 is a classic. Though the numbers from my scoring giving Season 1 a higher rank, I'd be really hard-pressed to justify why it turned out that way. Possibly a combination of nostalgia and the fact that Mare-Do-Well is an albatross around S2's neck. Still, overall it's one of the strongest seasons of the show. Also, I notice that my drabbles for some episodes are longer than others, especially when I have criticisms to make. I don't know what else to say except that I love the show so much that it's just easier to comment on the things I didn't like, since that's a very small part of most episodes. The things I love would've made this ten times as large.

Description

Time to talk about Season 2!

1. The Return of Harmony (Part 1): EXCELLENT. This premiere really cranked up the juice, first with the character of Discord and then getting John DeLancie to voice him. The episode was mostly set up for the craziness of part two, but it was creative in how Discord was able to undermine/hypnotize the Mane Six into inverting their elements. He struck the right balance of funny and threatening.

2. The Return of Harmony (Part 2): EXCELLENT. Twilight's interactions with her Discorded friends was a source of both comedy and drama, as was her attempts to get them all back to normal. The inventiveness of Discord’s chaos is obviously also a big selling point, as is Discord’s smarmy-charm. There’s a reason this premiere is considered one of the best of the series.

3. Lesson Zero: VERY GOOD. We’ve seen Twilight falter under pressure out of a desire to please the Princess, but this one shows us how deep that goes. This is also a strong moment for Spike, displaying some rare common sense here. It’s like they have a ying-yang relationship: if Spike is acting scared or irrational (Bridle Gossip, Castle-Mania, Triple Threat) then Twilight is the one who’s level-headed and calm. But if Twilight is the one needing comfort, and her friends aren’t around, then Spike is there for her. Good for him. I also liked her friends realizing their mistake and actually interrupting and standing up to Celestia—a real rarity. Also, Smarty Pants was cute.

4. Luna Eclipsed: VERY GOOD. The long-awaited return of Luna! Admittedly, some head-tilting moments considering no one recognized her or seemed to know anything about her except Twilight way back in the series premiere. Ah well. Almost everything Luna says became a meme, helped by her exuberant personality and fun drama-moments. The costumes were also visually creative. I also really like Pipsqueak. However, I realize on the rewatch that this was the first of a couple of episodes that seemed to say “if people think of you a certain way; don’t fight it, just embrace it,” which is a bit of an iffy message. Still it’s better than the other two that pushed this idea (“Appleloosa’s Most Wanted” and “Newbie Dash”) and even then it sorta works in the context of this episode; although it would’ve been better if there was some recognition of “even if you enjoy this holiday and like being scared of Nightmare Moon, you shouldn’t act that way to Luna herself 24/7.” If folks want Luna to play the part of Nightmare Moon and get enjoyment out of being scared on the holiday, that’s fine. But they have to realize that it is just a role. Learn from Wreck-It-Ralph, guys!

5. Sisterhooves Social: EXCELLENT. Sweetie Belle is the cutest crusader and you can’t help but want to hug her through all this. While I’m a little critical of using Applejack and Apple Bloom’s relationship as a perfect model to which Rarity should aspire, all the characters worked very well off each other and it was all very heartfelt.

6. The Cutie Pox: VERY GOOD. I always like seeing more Zecora and the Big Lebowski references were funny. All the cutie marks and how they forced Apple Bloom to adapt to them was a funny concept.

7. May the Best Pet Win!: VERY GOOD. This was a great way of taking a weakness (the show being tied to a toy-line) and making it a strength. Rainbow Dash’s figure is packaged with a tortoise? Okay, here’s how that works! And since everyone already had a pet, this was a great way to introduce it. I love the songs, the creativity; and the fact that (aside from one rather pointless scene that goes nowhere) everyone is fully on board with Rainbow’s idea for a contest to decide her pet. Granted, the moral is a little weak since Rainbow Dash is already friends with ponies who aren’t athletic or like her at all, but that’s a minor issue; sometimes the mechanics of the metaphor just get in the way. For those concerned about the safety of the pets going through Ghastly Gorge, I think the fact that neither Rainbow nor her friends were concerned was a sign that they had that things were well in-hand. She wouldn’t have let any of them get devoured (permanently) by those eels. I especially like that, in contrast to certain OTHER episodes, Rainbow Dash doesn’t need to be browbeaten into making the “correct” choice; she’s perfectly capable of realizing for herself what the right thing to do is, though I do feel a little bad for the falcon at the end. Plus, Tank gives us some of the best moments and episodes in both My Little Pony and the Equestria Girls shorts. Greatness all around!

8. The Mysterious Mare Do Well: BAD (AWFUL!). Why does it have an additional label beyond Bad? To paraphrase “The Critic,” I needed to draw a distinction between which episodes merely stink and which ones you shouldn’t air near an open flame. This isn’t just bad, it’s outright loathsome. This was, I think, the first episode to be near-universally reviled by fans. A number of fans had reacted against the apparent slight to science and rationality in “Feeling Pinkie Keen.” Some thought CMC episodes was an unwanted distraction from focusing on the characters they wanted to watch. I thought “Owl’s Well” was a subpar episode. But none of those negative reactions compares to the reception this episode got. It got to the point where nowadays it’s fashionable to ask if the hate this episode got was justified; if its reputation doesn’t actually exceed the badness of the episode itself. Well, for my part, no. The reputation for awfulness is 100% justified and in no way exaggerated.

I could write entire essays based on why it’s awful, but to put it briefly: this is like someone turned Christmas with the Kranks into an episode of MLP: the main character is a self-centered jerk surrounded by folks trying to get them to the change their ways by behaving like even bigger and more unlikeable jerks. If the Mare Do Well is meant to be a superhero, then I can only conclude her origin story involves being bitten by a radioactive asshole. Their methodology is so bad that they end up having to explain the purported ‘lesson’ to Rainbow at the end because she had no idea what they were going for. So that’s a fail right there. Not to mention it means they could’ve just explained it to her at the start and skipped this whole mess. There’s no depth to this moral, heroes don’t brag because—because! It’s not even a lesson about overconfidence causing you to get sloppy or make mistakes; they insist it’s just that bragging is a no-no. Sorry, but if someone wants to rescue me from a burning house so he can score bragging rights with his bros, do you think I’m going to complain? Even the rescues Mare Do Well makes and Dash doesn’t don’t support the idea that bragging makes you sloppy. Most of those rescues looked to be impossible for Rainbow to do alone regardless of whether she was boastful or humble. Now, I am someone who genuinely hates bragging and grew up thinking that it’s better to be under-confident than over-confident, constantly putting myself down out of fear that I might let my ego get away from me. So you know this episode dropped the ball because by the end of it, I was ready to rethink my own position and considered the prospect that I had been wrong all along. Nice going, morons.
With all that said, I am absolutely opposed to any attempts to harass, denigrate or otherwise be a dick to the writer, Merriweather Williams. While I do not like her work on this episode (and with a rare exception, I think her other contributions to MLP have also been sub-par), I will not support personal attacks on her as a person. Moreover, as we don’t know what went on in the writer’s room, I don’t even feel confident in proportioning out blame for the final product of the episode. It could’ve been a bad premise she was handed, it could’ve been interference, it could’ve been an episode she didn’t want to write, etc. A lot of things happened behind closed doors and I don’t know the story there. None of which changes the fact that this episode is dreck, but I do not stand by attacking writers, even bad writers, as people—especially when I don’t know the full details .

9. Sweet and Elite: EXCELLENT. This episode amazed me because this was the one I could most easily see occurring in real life. I enjoy Fancy Pants as a breath of fresh air among the Canterlot elite, the song was really sweet and Rarity is just fun to be around. Even when she’s making what is obviously the “wrong” choice, you really can’t get too mad at her for it. While “trying to be in two different places at once without anyone noticing” is plot old enough to be used in the Flintstones, I still thought it was entertaining. Twilight’s was pure adorkable in this episode and I loved them unintentionally crashing this fancy garden party. This is the way to show a character that wrestles with flaws, but is capable of growing past them.

10. Secret of My Excess: OKAY. This is an episode I often have difficulty remembering. While I like the obvious Godzilla/King Kong homages, Spike and Rarity’s touching moment during the fall and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s joint save, most of the rest wasn’t too engaging. A Zecora appearance is always welcome but most of the episode is just, well, “Spike wants!” until we get to the climax. There's also the way Rarity wheedles Spike out of that gem at the start. I would've preferred if Spike noticed her eyeing it and offered it to her on his own initiative. It further emphasizes how much he cares about her and that she cares about him too. To me, any choice that accomplishes the same results while making both characters look better, as opposed to making both look worse, is the better option unless you deliberately intend to draw attention to those character flaws, which this episode did not. Also the Wonderbolts display their uselessness. Better get used to that.

11. Hearth's Warming Eve: OKAY. This episode is decent enough on its own, but it feels a little boring to have the Mane Six portray historical figures who are basically the same as them. It makes some of the dialogue, like Fluttershy-as-Pansy saying she dislikes Rainbow Dash-as-Hurricane. It would’ve been so much more interesting if the roles were reversed: have Rarity be the clever assistant and Twilight the stuck-up princess; Rainbow Dash the timid private and Fluttershy having to be the loud, proud commander, etc. Maybe their unhappiness at the roles they got could actually lead to the behind the scenes arguments we saw? I don’t particularly care about the lack of explanation for the alicorns on the Equestrian flag we saw, which is what a lot of people commented on. It’s a fine, cute little episode.

12. Family Appreciation Day: OKAY. The first of several episodes to do the “embarrassed by family member” plot and is about as interesting as that suggests. While seeing Granny Smith’s flashback about the founding of Ponyville (leaving aside the continuity snarls from Winter Wrap-Up) was interesting, that’s not enough to really elevate it. The only other interesting thing of note is seeing Silver Spoon be the first to applaud her. Some fun moments and an emotional one here or there, but nothing really all that special for this show.

13. Baby Cakes: OKAY. I’m just going to say it: it’s an uphill battle getting me to like stories that revolve around adults panicking because babies do baby-things like get fussy, cry and soil themselves. Now, there is more to this episode than that, thank goodness. The Cake twins are certainly cute and do have personalities. But it also feels rather contrived having them be a pegasi and a unicorn, to say nothing of the explanations for them flying and having magic already. It feels like the creators realized earth pony infants would be boring and they couldn't think of any other pre-established couple in the series besides the Cakes who would naturally have kids. I do like Pinkie’s endearing determination, as usual. But the premise just didn’t give me a lot of reason to want to revisit this one too often. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing really makes it stand out either.

14. The Last Roundup: EXCELLENT. Aside from the landmark of letting Derpy speak (and ignoring the ‘controversy’ surrounding it), everyone had some really strong moments: Pinkie’s flip-out over the Pinkie Promise and chimcherrychongas was hilarious, I adored Rainbow’s determination in getting the truth out of Applejack, the homage to the Lucy Show was great, etc. I also like it when a character feels takes on more responsibility than they need to, because they think others are counting on them to do so, rather than having anyone intentionally pressure them. Everything just really clicked here.

15. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000: OKAY. Flim and Flam are just oozing with personality and their song is catchy as hell. Later episodes with them tried to recapture that magic, but I don't think they were ever able to repeat it as well as they did here. I liked seeing more from the rest of the Apple family and that opening pre-theme scene remains one of the funniest in the series. The only things I’m more critical of are how Applejack lets Apple Bloom and Granny Smith drag the family into something foolish and dangerous (and not for the last time) and she just goes along with it. While her “I didn’t learn anything!” was cute and cheeky, this wasn’t the right episode to drop that in. She got very, very lucky after making some really bad decisions (or stepping back and letting others make bad decisions) and avoided the consequences through no action of her own. So for Applejack to be that smug feels a bit unearned, frankly. I did enjoy seeing the Mane Six team up with the Apples and it was great to see that they were as upset and devastated by the loss as the Apples themselves. I’m not big on claiming that using time-saving technology equals “cheating.” After all, we saw Granny Smith drink the cider Flim and Flam made in the song and she was visibly impressed before trying to hide it. The only other issue is Pinkie Pie being uncharacteristically selfish and oblivious, hoarding cider for herself and from the context, this isn’t the first time she’s done this. You’re better than this, Pinkie.

16. Read It and Weep: VERY GOOD. As someone who only really took to reading around the fourth grade thanks to a particularly inspiring teacher, I really enjoyed this episode. But beyond my own love of books, I liked the neat parallels between Rainbow's situation and Daring Do's. This also set up a lot of fun possibilities and expanded the world, regardless of how one feels about the later decision to make Daring Do real in-universe. Rainbow Dash is both adorable and awesome and there's a lot of fun imagery and scenes. Just like curling up with a real good book.

17. Hearts and Hooves Day: VERY GOOD. It was nice to see Big Mac and Cheerilee get some more time and development, and the CMC were really adorable, even when causing untold chaos. Add to that a fun song, a good moral and the fact that this one stuck: the CMC never tried this horseapples again. You tell them love potions/poisons are bad and they don’t ever think about using them again, not even trying to wheedle the difference between not using a love poison versus using a love potion. That puts them up on a few adult characters I could name.

18. A Friend in Deed: WEAK. I expect I’ll get some flak for this one, but really, aside from the phenomenal song, what else about this episode really stands out? And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that song. I like Cranky and the moral they were going for is good, but it’s undercut by how both the problem and resolution is Pinkie violating Cranky’s privacy and not leaving him be, even when repeatedly asked. Plus, the sudden appearance of Matilda in the opening made the direction pretty obvious. There were some visuals and creativity, as is usual for a Pinkie Pie episode, but nothing that really made it stand out from the rest. While I empathize with Pinkie's plight here, I think the Equestria Girls short “Five Stars” handled this moral better.

19. Putting Your Hoof Down: WEAK. The concept of Fluttershy taking advice from a Self-Help Guru to be more assertive and taking it too far is a really obvious one. I saw several fanfics tackling this before this episode was ever even announced. Things are also a bit confused by Rarity and Pinkie trying to blame Iron Will for all this, which Fluttershy naturally doesn’t accept—but then she refuses to pay him because she doesn’t like the results. I don’t know; that seems a little confused. At the very least, I have to wonder why Iron Will got all the blame, to the point where he was listed in the MLP guide book in the villain section. Why? I mean, we saw dozens of ponies at Iron Will’s talk and the only one we saw take it too far and physically assault other ponies was Fluttershy; that doesn’t give the impression that this is all Iron Will’s fault. I think the other issue is Fluttershy bawling out Rarity and Pinkie. That clearly is going to rankle some people. Part of the problem, I think, was that Fluttershy was smirking and grinning evilly the whole time. Facial expressions really alter the mood of a scene. People being angry and so overwrought that they throw out something stupid and mean just because they want to hurt the person who upset them? Yes, I believe that totally. But the fact that she’s grinning the entire time she talks about this; it makes it feel like this is something she is savoring, that she enjoys grinding them down like that. A lot of fans feel Fluttershy was out of character here and I’m tempted to agree.

20. It's About Time: OKAY. While there’s fun humor and visuals, I think this episode is too similar to Lesson Zero to really stand out. Ponies in cat-suits are a plus though.

21. Dragon Quest: OKAY. This only semi-decent Spike episode before Season 5 … and it’s just that. Decent-ish. The positives are that we got explore more about dragons, got some good humor, and decent feels on Spike and Twilight’s behalf. Also, Crackle and the Crackle-costume. The problems are that in order to get Spike in a position where he starts wondering about these questions, the Mane Six are written horribly out of character and flanderized in the opening scene (yeah, you can tell Merriweather Williams wrote this...) and they had to establish that Spike never asked about this before, Twilight never researched this before and nopony knows anything about dragons. Look, I can get not knowing some of the finer details about dragons but … seriously, nothing? Zecora seemed to know plenty a few episodes ago, why not ask her? While the moral is meant to be more about not being pressured to dislike things that are seen as “sissy stuff” (appropo given the nature of this franchise) the fact that Spike writes off all dragons and declares himself a pony has an unintended subtext given they’re two different races…and Spike is writing one off on the basis of encountering three jerks and making sweeping judgments about all dragons based on that. So, oops? This is one of the few times I can recall where the MLP comics wrote an issue that explicitly calls out the conclusions of an episode (See Friends Forever #14). Also Spike gets a pet/steals a kid that then gets written out because the writers forgot he had it when they were writing a pet-centered episode. Oops again. So the mechanics of the metaphor get in its own way of its own generally good message. While the story is good, the way they had to clearly force things in order to get the characters into a certain frame of mind to set things up is blatant and poorly written. A mixed bag from start to end.
22. Hurricane Fluttershy: EXCELLENT. You know the difference between a good Fluttershy episode and a poor one? It’s not a matter of her repeating or not repeating the same lesson about being more assertive. It’s a matter of effort. In a weaker episode, the show writes itself into knots in order to get Fluttershy what she wants with little actual effort on her part and common sense telling you it probably shouldn’t work out that way (e.g. “Keep Calm and Flutter On”). In a good episode, Fluttershy works for what she wants and even if she only makes baby-steps towards her goal, every iota of progress is that much more significant because it felt earned by her actions; not gift-wrapped to her by the writing gods. In that regard, this is one of the best Fluttershy episodes. Not only is she at her best, but so is Rainbow Dash and Twilight. The visuals from inside the tornado were really gripping and creative. You want to cheer their triumph. The only hiccup is that they really shouldn’t have resorted on using numbers so often. Rainbow Dash wants everypony in town to hit around 10.0 wingpower so they can get a new record of 1,000. But because eight pegasi are out sick, not only can they not hit 1,000 but they won’t even hit 800? Um, those eight pegasi would each need wingspeed power of 25 in order to make that big a difference. I know, it’s a nitpick, but still. Also, Spitfire is useless. Again, get used to that.
23. Ponyville Confidential: OKAY. It’s certainly an interesting story and it invites a fair amount of humor. I mean, Diamond Tiara as J. Jonah Jameson? A lot of fans think the Mane Six were too harsh to the CMC when they found out, but honestly I find it hard to blame them. Still, I think the biggest hiccup is that there was no real recognition on the part of the ponies reading the gossip that they were part of the problem. They were all for reading about this stuff (as was everyone else). If anything, the CMC were the first to want to move away from this but were overruled by Diamond Tiara and popular demand; even before the blackmail. So I do get why folks think the CMC got a bit of a raw deal even if I don’t quite feel the same way. CMC episodes tend to focus on the role of what kids do and what they should do; not the role of the adults since in real-life, kids have very little real influence on what adults do. Rarity was a bit of a bonehead: being completely dismissive of her friends’ anguish until it impacted her directly. Yeah, I know the Mane Six were like that when it was the others who were being written about early on, but they didn’t have an upset Mayor Mare or Trixie actually in the room with them at the time. Also, it felt a little inconsistent that Gabby Gums went back and forth between reporting ‘real’ gossip (the Mayor’s mane-dyeing, reprinting Rarity’s diary) and just flagrantly making stuff up (Twi as a Canterlot snob, Rainbow Dash as a softy, Fluttershy’s tail extensions). Cheerilee's absence and lack of oversight also does not impress. I know, if the adults were more on top of things there wouldn't be plots for the kids to do and things to realize for themselves, but it is a weakness nonetheless.
24. MMMystery on the Friendship Express: WEAK. The best parts are Pinkie’s imagination scenes about what she thinks happened. Otherwise, this is a mess. What’s even the moral? It’s wrong to accuse people—so get facts and then accuse them? Oookayy…. Also, if you want to have a fun little mystery akin to “who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?” that’s fine, but by having this be a contest with actual stakes involves, it makes Pinkie’s friends look like jerks. It doesn’t sit well and it doesn’t really fit.

25. A Canterlot Wedding (Part 1): VERY GOOD. Let’s get it out there—introducing a brother never before mentioned or even hinted at was stupid, especially since his first episode is basically the Happily Ever After story. He also didn’t make a good impression by reacting to be called out by whining “It wasn’t my fault!” That said: the rest was really good. I liked Twilight’s understandably mixed feelings, and how she then warmed up when she learned it was Cadance he was marrying. How she never knew Cadance’s formal name, or why neither of them ever mentioned to Twilight they were even dating, is a bit of a stretch. Also, Cadance’s love magic flashback scene was … a little iffy morally. I guess we know why Twilight was willing to use the Want-It, Need-It Spell. Unlike a lot of others, I don’t think the Mane Six really had good cause to question Twilight’s reasons for questioning Not-Cadance’s behavior. Yes, Twilight was in a mood from the start, but then again, she knows Canterlot and the players involved. They don’t. If something smelled wrong to her, they should’ve given her the benefit of the doubt. Wasn’t that also the sub-lesson of Lesson Zero? Granted, Twilight could’ve explained that she was happy her brother was marrying Cadance when she found out, only to have her suspicion meter run up by Not-Cadance’s behavior. I’m not saying Twilight was beyond reproach, just that I don’t think the ReMane 5 had as strong a case for dismissing her concerns. But I did like the atmosphere they were building up, the size of the events plus the songs and the adorkable Ladybugs Awake Dance.

26. A Canterlot Wedding (Part 2): EXCELLENT. Just gonna say it: I love this episode. I love Chrysalis and the changelings, I love the aria, I love the fight scenes … you can tell they really cranked things up for this finale. Even though we never met these characters before, Cadance struggling in the cave to push the cart, singing about her love for Shining Armor, it sold me on them as a couple. While defeated by the power of love is silly, as Chrysalis herself pointed out, I still thought this really a really fun, exciting ride. Celestia’s attempt to turn this in a lesson with a moral at the end felt forced and unnecessary…especially since it doesn’t speak well to Celestia’s own instincts. Nor Luna’s unfortunate absence. Still, the epic fight and music were really something to behold.

Break Down:
Excellent episodes: 7
Very Good episodes: 7
Okay episodes: 8
Weak episodes: 3
Bad (Awful) episodes: 1

14 out of 26 were above average
8 out of 26 were average
4 out of 26 were below average

Overall Average for Season 2: 3.615
Final Overall Score: VERY GOOD

With a very strong premiere and finale and two of the most enduring villains, as well as the last season Lauren Faust was involved in, I can get why Season 2 is a classic. Though the numbers from my scoring giving Season 1 a higher rank, I'd be really hard-pressed to justify why it turned out that way. Possibly a combination of nostalgia and the fact that Mare-Do-Well is an albatross around S2's neck. Still, overall it's one of the strongest seasons of the show. Also, I notice that my drabbles for some episodes are longer than others, especially when I have criticisms to make. I don't know what else to say except that I love the show so much that it's just easier to comment on the things I didn't like, since that's a very small part of most episodes. The things I love would've made this ten times as large.