My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 2 Wrap Up

Fillies, gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic recap/review. Well, it’s finally happened. Season 2 has come and gone. It’s been one heck of a season. Filled with chaos, tardiness stress, awesome holidays, sibling conflicts, cutie marks, pet contests, superheroes, social elitism, greedy dragons, more holidays, town history, newborn foals, broken silences, cider wars, reading books, matchmaking, cranky donkeys, assertiveness, future selves, teenage dragons, fear of humiliation, gossip columns, mysteries, and weddings. And it’s looking like a long 20+ weeks until we return with season 3.

But before we can really start the long wait without any new Pony, it’s time to take one last look through the previous season 2. What were its highs? What were its lows? Did it surpass the previous season in quality? And did it leave us wanting more? That’s what this article is here to do. I’m going to finish up my discussion of season 2 with this Season 2 wrap-up.

This article will be broken into three  sections. We’ll go through the changes the season went through, the top episodes of the season, as well as the ultimate pros and cons that this season provided.

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CHANGES FROM SEASON 1 to SEASON 2

The first major change was the departure of Lauren Faust as executive producer. Many people were worried that Faust’s exit would lead to the beginning of the end of the show’s quality, as season one had been so beloved. In the end, I think this season proved that the show was still in capable hands, as the writing proved to hang on its own. Also, Lauren would still end up being a consulting producer, so it wasn’t like the influence she brought on the show was gone entirely.

When it comes to major changes in the structure of the series, the biggest change to the structure of the show came in the third episode of the season, Lesson Zero. To help remove Twilight’s stress, Princess Celestia would give the job of friendship lessons to all of the mane six. This would now lead to episodes that wouldn’t have Twilight involved, also meaning there would actually be episodes without her, unlike season 1 which had her in all 26 episodes. But this wasn’t limited to just the mane six, as other characters like the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike would also give their friendship lessons.

Morals were also far more varied this season, and at times didn’t feel like they were just limited to being about friendship. The show would focus episodes around morals like believing in yourself (Hurricane Fluttershy), not judging things until you tried them (Read it and Weep), not running away from your problems (The Last Roundup), and that there’s better ways to stick up for yourself instead of being rough (Putting Your Hoof Down). Personally, I like the idea of straying further from simply lessons on the magic of friendship, as even though that is still the premise of the show, you can only do so many stories centered around friendship before it gets mundane.

While the show would introduce more side characters, one of the big changes this season was more development on the more major side characters from season 1. For example, we learned more about Granny Smith, we saw the likes of Cheerilee and Big Macintosh get some major character time (And for Big Mac, surprisingly more speaking time), as well as be partly the focus of their own episode. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would get more focus as the season progressed, though we’ll talk on how that was both a good and bad thing as we progress. And of course, one certain grey pegasus had her big moment, and we unfortunately know what happened after that.

Despite that, this season helped broaden the world far more than season one did, and it should be interesting to see what characters get these big moments in the next season. Will Mayor Mare get an episode? Will we delve deeper into Lyra and Bonbon’s friendship? Will there ever be an intervention for Berry Punch that can work? And will Silver Spoon finally tire of Diamond Tiara’s prissy attitude? Only time will tell.

Princess Luna got a major makeover from her original look in season one. As well as a personality that came off far better than the more timid, somewhat emo personality that some of the fans were expecting the character to be. Instead we got a character who seems mentally behind the times (being banished to the moon for a millennium will do that), and is energetic, boisterous, and has far more interesting quirks to her than what anyone would have guessed. Aha, the quality has been doubled! Kudos to the show for putting in the effort to make this character far more dynamic than initially expected.

We learned more about the history of Equestria, and the history of Ponyville,  something that was lacking in season one. Season two helped structure the world around this show far better, and helped to answer so many questions that many fans merely speculated. There are still many questions left unanswered about the world of Friendship is Magic, and hopefully we’ll have those answers in season 3.

And one more major change was the quality of the animation. While still done in flash, the show continued to improve in quality, as the effects and overall look of the show improved vastly.  There were some new and dynamic camera angles, and some moments that almost made you think that this show wasn’t done in flash. While season one did have some top notch animation with the medium, this season was a vast improvement with it.

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TOP 5 EPISODES OF SEASON 2

This is where the best and worst episodes will get one last look. These decisions were made by the general consensus of the posters of the Freakin’ Awesome Network forums, through polls given throughout the season, as well as my own opinion, which is about the same for each of them. What episodes went above, and below, the call of duty? Let’s break it down.

BEST

#5. Hurricane Fluttershy

When the pegasus ponies of Ponyville are tasked to make a tornado of  rainwater for Cloudsdale, as well as try to set a wing speed record, everypony is on board… Except Fluttershy. She begins to suffer from confidence issues, as well as a fear of being embarrassed. But in the end, she manages to do her part, and proves to herself that she can accomplish anything if she truly believes in herself.

It took a while for Fluttershy to have her own story this season, but out of the two she would get, this was easily the strongest. A good story, mixed with what I feel is a solid moral. The moral worked so well because as adorable as it can be to see Fluttershy be scared or meek, it’s also not good for the character in the long run. You want to see her overcome her issues, and you want to see her not be so scared or worried. And the moral was an overly positive one, much like most have been this season.

Other major highlights included a more sisterly relationship for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, as well as the now legendary muscular pegasus. This hurricane of an episode is certainly deserving of it’s rank at #5

#4. Secret of my Excess

On Spike’s birthday, the realization of getting presents begins to make him greedy. But a side effect of his gift getting that this greed is making the dragon grow and become a major threat to Ponyville. But the realization of a generous act for Rarity helps Spike come to his senses, and turns him back to normal.

After more of an emphasis on comedy and slice of life stories, it was good to see an episode that focused more on action. Also, after a weak Spike episode in season 1, it was great to see a far better story for him, plus he finally bit the bullet and confessed his crush on Rarity, in one of the more adorable moments of the season. This episode is certainly deserving of being in fourth place.

#3. Lesson Zero

After realizing that she doesn’t have a letter to send Princess Celestia, Twilight begins to worry that she will be sent back to magic kindergarten for being tardy. She tries to find a friendship moral, but nothing comes up. As she becomes more stressed, she conjures up a friendship problem, but all it does is cause a far bigger problem. In the end, Princess Celestia helps to take some of the stress of weekly friendship lessons off Twilight and instructs the rest of the mane six to sends her reports whenever they learn a valuable lesson.

For the first episode of the Post-Lauren as EP era, they definitely had a lot to prove, and this episode proved that the show was still in good hands… or is it hooves? A very entertaining story from start to finish, as well as being a great way to expand ideas for the show without things getting monotonous with it just being about Twilight learning lessons. Plus Twilight going crazy was entertaining as well. It’s no wonder this episode has remained such a strong staple of the season for most fans, and it’s deserving of its place at #3.

#2. The Last Roundup

Yes, the most controversial episode of the show and the season has hit the #2 spot.

After Applejack sends a letter to her family saying that she won’t be returning home after competing at the Canterlot Rodeo, Twilight and the gang try to find her and bring her home. But after finding her, it appears that Applejack is being stubborn and hiding something from them. After trying their hardest to get a straight answer from her, they eventually learn the truth that Applejack didn’t win any of the blue ribbons at the rodeo. Applejack learns that running away from her problems aren’t the way to solve them.

This is the first episode I gave a perfect 10 to. I found the story, the action, the humor, and as always the moral to be the best of the season. It also helped that this was the episode that featured one of the biggest moments ever. That’s right, this was the episode with the I Love Lucy parody! Oh, and it was more importantly the episode that Derpy became canon… for a brief moment.

While this episode will forever have the shadow of being the single darkest moment in the brony fandom, where it seemed lines were drawn over if the character was offensive, or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I, and a lot of people will be forever grateful to those who gave us this epic moment, before the cancer of forced political correctness struck. And even without Derpy, this would still be a 10 for me, and for others. It’s deserving of the 2nd place spot.

Also, to update on the Derpy situation one last time, The Last Roundup recently returned to The Hub, and has unfortunately been replaced with the version on iTunes. It’s a shame that it happened, but at this point there’s nothing left to do. It’s just another example of the foolish way our overly paranoid society has become, and that the only ones who get offended are the ones who think people will get offended. Oh well…

Again, if you want the right version with the original voice, please pick up “The Friendship Express” DVD, available now.

#1. A Canterlot Wedding

When Twilight learns her brother Shining Armor is getting married to her old foalsitter Princess Cadence, things seem to be all well, until she begins to suspect Cadence has become evil and manipulative. However, it soons turns out that the real Cadence was kidnapped, and “Mi Amore Cadenza” was an impostor. Twilight and the gang try to stop the evil changeling queen, but in the end Cadance and Shining Armor save Canterlot, and finally become a married couple.

I remember when the news that this episode was going to be the season finale, and the backlash over the existence of Cadance and Shining Armor, with many bronies feeling that this was Hasbro trying to shoehorn their toys on the show, and that these characters would be annoying Sues. That this was a betrayal to the brilliance that Lauren Faust had given us (didn’t help matters that she would speak out saying she wasn’t happy that Cadance was an alicorn). And as always, I was one of the few who simply said “Wait and see. Just wait and see what they do with the show before flying off the handle, and claiming that this is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!”

And lo and behold, I was right. The two part finale proved to be excellently written, had a gripping and epic story, and Cadance and Shining Armor were more than just “Hasbro inserted sues”. What we got was proof of how great this show was, and how the writers of this show know how to make things epic and exciting. And that all the worry that Hasbro was trying to sabotage the show was all for naught, as it was shown how important the show had become to Hasbro and the Hub through the major push in advertising, and the use of the likes of Tori Spelling and Brooke Burke for events.

And in the end, it was a perfect way to end the season, and is deserving of the #1 best episode of the season. So, the moral of the story is simply let Hasbro suggest whatever they need to. The people working this show clearly know what they’re doing. Stop worrying and enjoy the show, because they’ve barely given you reason to worry before.

WORST

#5. Hearth’s Warming Eve

Our heroes star in a play about the birth of Equestria, and the conflict between the unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony tribes. When they all discover a new land, and argue about who deserves to own it, little do they know that their bickering is actually causing the world around them to freeze thanks to creatures known as windigoes. But eventually the three tribes manage to find peace, and form Equestria as a home for all ponies.

While the episode gave some long awaited insight into Equestria’s history, in the end it felt lacking in a lot of areas. It felt like the story was missing some key elements, lacked the energy other episodes had, and the main issue was that for an episode that felt like it was centred around Pony Christmas, this didn’t feel like it really needed the Christmas setting, nor did it really give insight as to how Hearth’s Warming is celebrated. It missed out on a lot, and that’s what made it unfortunately worthy of #5.

#4. Family Appreciation Day

When Apple Bloom is chosen to bring a family member for Family Appreciation Day at school, the only one available is Granny Smith. But when she begins to feel embarrassed by her grandmare, she tries to keep her from showing up and humiliating her in front of the entire class. But when Granny Smith does show up, and gives the story of Ponyville’s birth, Apple Bloom learns that she shouldn’t worry about what other people think, and that she shouldn’t be embarrassed by her family.

Again, another episode that handled the history of Equestria, but again seemed to lack in the elements that made things as entertaining as previous episodes. I also think that Apple Bloom centred episodes were starting to run their course with many people, especially considering her other episode “The Cutie Pox” was hit and miss for most fans. Plus, the lack of major mane six characters seemed to hurt this episode, since the plot didn’t feel all that strong. Those issues were enough to make this one fall to the 4th worst of the season.

#3. May the Best Pet Win!

Rainbow Dash wants a pet of her own, and holds a contest to see what pet is worthy of being cool enough to hang with her. A tortoise continues to try his best to compete, but Dash continues to mistreat it, believing it’s just not cool enough. But when Rainbow Dash ends up trapped and hurt while flying through Ghastly Gorge, the only pet left to save her is the tortoise. Dash declares the tortoise the winner, names him Tank, and makes him her new pet.

I think it’s safe to say that of all the ponies on the show, the one who has the most polarizing fanbase is easily Rainbow Dash. Her cocky and brash attitude doesn’t sit well with others, nor does her often overpowered nature. And when these issues are the forefront of the story, they end up turning more people off than entertaining them. And that was the case with this episode. While the pets were awesome, and Tank was a great character, it was Dash herself, and the feeling that she never learns her lesson that turned people away from this one. The best pet won, but this episode lost in the eyes of the fans, which is why it’s #3.

#2. MMMystery on the Friendship Express

Pinkie Pie is in charge of guarding the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness cake for a contest in Canterlot. But when the cake winds up ruined, Pinkie plays detective and begins to accuse the rival confectioners. Twilight eventually takes over the job as detective, and learns that the real culprits were Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

This episode was a massive miss for a lot of people, mainly due to just not feeling very entertaining in the long run. It didn’t help that after two stronger Pinkie episodes, that this one felt incredibly weaker in so many other ways. Despite being saved from a more likely “Pinkie did it” outcome, it still just felt like such a filler episode, which was not a good way to go into the season finale honestly. There’s no mystery that this one is the 2nd worst of the season.

#1. The Mysterious Mare Do Well

When Rainbow Dash becomes the resident hero of Ponyville, the popularity begins to go to her head. But when a new super hero known as Mare Do Well shows up, Dash begins to become jealous of this new hero, as well as fear her own popularity is going away. Dash soon discovers that Mare Do Well was actually all her friends trying to show Rainbow Dash that being a hero doesn’t mean you have to be an egotist.

Oh boy, where did this episode go so wrong? Well, in a lot of ways really.

First off, Rainbow Dash’s ego, which had bothered some people in the previous Dash episode, was now raised even higher, giving the feeling that she never learns from her lessons, making the emphasis of these morals pointless. Another problem people had was the fact that this was the episode following “May the Best Pet Win!” Meaning that if the last episode soured you on Dash, the show wasn’t going to give you time to recover your thoughts on her. Back to back character episode placing was one of the few issues that hurt this season, and this was the worst case.

But what was easily the biggest issue with so many was the moral. People simply hated the idea that it was her friends trying to make her feel inferior in order to teach her a lesson. There seemed to be a bit of hypocrisy in how their actions didn’t exactly help as much as they would. Plus, there’s the issue that they not only deceived Rainbow Dash, but did it at the expense of the entire town, who embraced Mare Do Well as a hero.

At the time I did the review, I had very little issues with the payoff, and was glad it was at least one of her friends instead of someone out of the blue like Trixie, or another character the fans had been clamouring for a comeback. But after a while to digest it, it definitely shows just how poorly the moral was done. This was the first episode of the show to be written by Merriwether Williams, and didn’t exactly start her off on the right foot with fans. Characters seemed very out of the norm (Pinkie scared of ghosts?) and the whole episode itself just seemed so poorly handled and wrong compared to how much better other writers handle the show. It definitely wasn’t the best way to come in.

In the end, this was the first major backlash by the bronies when it came to the show, and certainly wouldn’t be the last. And in the end, it’s easily deserving of being considered the worst episode of season 2.

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And now it’s time to break this down into the final big section, which is the 4 biggest Pros and Cons of the season. What worked, and what didn’t?

PRO

1. This season had some great character development, some cases aside. It actually shows in the long run how much these characters have evolved throughout the 52 episodes. While they still have those moments where they slip up, such as Twilight being naive, Dash being cocky, or Fluttershy being scared, they are still very minor. And in moments where they should matter it shows greatly. Good examples being the once stubborn Applejack asking her friends to help her when dealing with the Flim Flam brothers, or Rainbow Dash still reading Daring Do in a later episode. Where season one laid the groundwork for these character’s basic traits, this season built on them greatly in terms of how well the characters grow and evolve, and just how many major and minor imperfections they all have.

2. If there’s one thing that MLP has been praised for, it’s definitely the music. And this season provided some of the best songs yet. From “Find a Pet” “Becoming Popular” “Smile” and “This Day Aria”, the quality of the music improved by leaps and bounds, and most of these songs felt close to Disney level in terms of how improved they were. Daniel Ingram continues to bring this show some of the most memorable and entertaining music ever, and if this was what we got for this season, I can’t imagine how epic season 3 will be.

3. I touched on it earlier, but the decision to give other characters the responsibility of handling the friendship report was a wise decision. I love Twilight Sparkle, and it’s obvious she will always be the main protagonist of the show, but that shouldn’t mean that she’s the only one that needs to learn lessons on not just friendship, but other major life lessons as well. Plus, it helped to give other ponies more of a shot at the spotlight, which is always a great thing.

4. The villains, while lacking for the most part, were awesome this season. We started with the chaotic, charismatic, and lovably evil Discord, who sent Ponyville in a state of chaotic insanity and corrupted the mane six to be the opposite of their respective elements of harmony. From there we mainly got characters who weren’t as evil, but still memorable. The  Flim Flam Brothers were smooth talking con artists, Iron Will was a tough minotaur who thought being assertive meant being rough to everypony. There was the group of teenage dragons who may not have been so much evil, as they were acting on basic dragon nature, which was still mean and cruel. And the epic final enemies of the season being the Changelings and the Changeling Queen. The show’s plethora of epic characters grew, and with it came some great villains that hopefully return in the future. And with Discord VA John De Lancie set for a season 3 return, we may possibly just see one big  return very soon.

CON

1. First big issue I had with this season is that there felt like a lack of that many big adventure episodes. While I enjoy the comedy elements of the show, I think for the most part, there were too many, and the bigger adventure stories were spaced too far out. I guess that makes the adventure episodes a little better since there weren’t as many, and the ones that were adventures delivered when they did arrive, I just feel that there were too many comedy episodes, and a few too many that fell flat.

2. The placement of episodes was undeniably awful. The worst cases were back to back episodes starring certain characters, like the infamous Double Dash Disaster. Also, it felt like it took too long for episodes focusing on certain characters. Certain main characters. For example, it took almost the end of the season for a Fluttershy episode. That’s just not right. Not to mention, very few episodes focusing on the mane six. Which takes us to the next big con.

3. Too many Cutie Mark Crusaders Episodes. If you followed my reviews at all throughout this season, you knew this con was coming. But let’s be honest. When you have five episodes based on the exploits of side characters, and can barely add two episodes on mane six stars like Rarity and Fluttershy, then you know there’s a bit of a problem when it comes to story balance. I like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the episodes they had for the most part were great. Heck, I count my lucky stars they didn’t just fall into the “let’s find a way to get our cutie marks” territory for all of them. But there just were far too many, and they almost always feel like filler.

And the biggest issue was that none of them focused on Scootaloo. Two focused on Apple Bloom, and another on Sweetie Belle, with the other two being the three together. If season three does focus on them as much, they need to push an episode or two on her as well. Right now she’s the least developed major side character, and it’s confusing as to why. There’s angles to go with. Her obsession with Rainbow Dash, her apparent inability to fly, her lack of a sister. It just seemed that maybe one or two really filler stories could have been dropped to give her some just focus. Oh well, there is hopefully another season to give the many Scootafans their much needed episode fix.

4. I enjoy the writing of the show, but if I was to say there was one weak link, it was definitely Merriwether Williams. Most of Merriwether’s episodes suffer from major story issues, usually have characters acting out of the norm, and simply feel weaker in the long run. Like I previously touched upon, it doesn’t help matters either that her first episode was “The Mysterious Mare Do Well”. While they did improve as the season progressed, you can definitely tell her work is the roughest quality of the bunch. But since she’s newer to the show, that’s to be expected. It still doesn’t change much though. Hopefully her work improves on in the third season, but time will definitely tell.

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In conclusion, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 2 was a solid season. It was well written, had some amazing moments, great characters, and was a fun experience for the most part. There were some big issues, and moments that led to the first real major rifts in the fanbase, but those issues aside, it was an excellent eight months, and some of the best television I’ve enjoyed in a long time.

Thank you to everyone who’s worked on this great show. The wonderful writers, producers, animators, musicians. Everyone at Studio B and DHX Media. You continue to deliver one of the best television shows of this generation, and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for season 3, even if it is 13 episodes as currently speculated.

And most of all, thank you to every one of you who have read my articles as this season progressed. I’m glad to know that I have both helped people get into the show, and helped keep people interested in it. I am also thankful to this show for being one of the main reasons I’m currently an author for this website. I will forever be grateful. I hope you enjoyed my opinions on the product, and I certainly can’t wait until September to give you all some more. Of course, if anything major drops between now and season 3 like another DVD I can review, I will of course be here to talk about it.

So, until then, have a wonderful Summer, we’ll see you in September bronies and pegasisters.

 

Special thanks go out to Blue Paint Sea for allowing me use of the season 2 fan poster.