Episode review: "Stranger Than Fan Fiction"

"Stranger Than Fan Fiction" is yet another example of season 6's endless deluge of good ideas, featuring an analytical fan taken from a Daring Do convention into a literal Daring Do adventure. The setting of a convention had been a popular idea in the fandom for a while, especially given the prominence of conventions in the MLP fandom, and it's a great fit for a new Daring Do episode, considering how the Daring Do books have been revealed to be autobiographical. With season 6, the episode premises have never been the issue so much as execution, and thankfully, "Stranger Than Fan Fiction" isn't just a particularly strong example of an episode following through on its promise, but it's also the great Rainbow Dash showcase that the show has sorely needed. 

Season 6 midway reflections

After this week's episode, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will go on hiatus. When the show went on mid-season hiatus last year, I published my thoughts on the season so far. For season 5, these thoughts were mixed, but I largely felt frustrated and disappointed by the season, which continued right to the season finale. Thankfully, season 6 is a marked improvement, and while it's still far from perfect, it's the first time since at least early season 4 that I have been happy with this show's direction.

Episode review: "Spice Up Your Life"

The map is back.

I thought it was over. Season 5's pitiful excuse for a running storyline, the cutie map is nothing more than a poor excuse to get specific pairs of ponies in certain locations. The show has never questioned it, never explained it, and never explored it in any detail, and worse, it brings with it a deeply predictable formula which rarely provides any development for the main characters or delves into its settings beyond mere regional flavours. I hated it, and the fact that it has been brought back for another season of its horrors fills me with nothing short of dread.

And yet, even though the map is a plague on this show, each of its episodes is better than the last. "Spice Up Your Life," while even more formulaic than season 5's map episodes, is also much more charming than any of them, and lovely in its own right.

Episode review: "Flutter Brutter"

As early as season 5, news abounded about an episode where we learn about Fluttershy's layabout brother. Considering the increased prominence of Pinkie Pie's family since then, curiosity has been high about the families of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the only members of the mane six whose families we haven't seen. Now "Flutter Brutter" has finally arrived, months after news of it first surfaced, and it turned out about how I expected it to: a solid Fluttershy showcase with an entertainingly loathsome new character and a solid moral. Perhaps next we can see Rainbow Dash's family! 

Episode review: "Applejack's 'Day' Off"

I don't like the Applejack/Rarity dynamic. When these characters are put together, too often their personalities clash in ways that simply aren't enjoyable to watch, and the main conflict between the two has gotten incredibly rote. Thankfully, "Applejack's 'Day' Off" completely eschews the traditional form of this dynamic for something that feels far more friendly, but unfortunately trades any real distinguishing qualities with it, leaving a glacially paced episode without a whole lot entertaining going on. It's probably the season's weakest episode.

Episode review: "The Saddle Row Review"

One of the strongest points of My Little Pony's sixth season is its willingness to experiment and evolve. Season 5, for example, had Rarity finally follow through with her high ambitions, officially entering the Canterlot fashion scene by opening a boutique. This season, she did the same with Manehattan, although that opening was largely in the background, as "The Gift of the Maud Pie" was focused more on the family dynamic between Pinkie and Maud Pie. In "The Saddle Row Review," alternatively titled "Saddle Row & Rec," we see more about the opening of her Manehattan store, in an episode focused on comedy with strong stylistic deviations from the rest of the series.

I have to say, I never expected My Little Pony to become The Office.

Episode review: "A Hearth's Warming Tail"

Just from the lame horse pun in the title, it's immediately obvious what "A Hearth's Warming Tail" will be. At the very least, it's a Christmas episode in May, which makes season 6 the second season in a row to have such an episode, after season 5's "Hearthbreakers." More specifically, the episode is an adaptation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, and as that might suggest, this is a step away from the attempts at character development and nuance which defined the rest of the season. Although that might seem disappointing at first, however, "A Hearth's Warming Tail" boasts some of the how's purest delights in a while.