My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

[Fireand'chutes77]

Given the indications of massive spoilers in the promos, I've been plugging my ears and going 'lalalala'. :P

The Game of Thrones 'opener' they put out today was pretty cool though!

[Rob]

Forgot about mentioning it when it was announced last month, but the Season 5 DVD set is up for preorder on Amazon.

So, now that Season 6 is underway, it's time for another rundown!

"The Crystalling" (2-parter): Awkward moments with Starlight, and a superbabby MacGuffin that kickstarts the plot of the episode. In a change of pace, there's no villainous plot here, which is fine.
"The Gift of the Maud Pie": It was pretty good to see some more of the relationship between Pinkie and Maud, and having them play off of Rarity.
"On Your Marks": This can be summed up as "The CMC 'What Now?' Episode". Since they don't have to spend their time trying to get their marks anymore, and problems don't come up too often, there's plenty of time to pursue individual interests, but Apple Bloom has the hardest time, because she was far and away the most obsessed of the three to get her mark. All in all, a solid ep.
"Gauntlet of Fire": Whaddaya know, a good Spike episode! And we get to learn some more about dragon culture. Plus plenty of geeking out by Twilight over the learning opportunity, and Rarity showing concern for Spike.
"No Second Prances": Best episode of the season so far. After all, it does mark the first appearance of a past antagonist in three years (EQG counterpart notwithstanding). and it's someone Starlight can relate to! This episode also shows that Twilight still has a way to go herself.
"Newbie Dash": Finally, Rainbow gets the chance to live the dream, but gets hit with a bit of culture shock with the Wonderbolts, and manages to screw up on the first day. This one caused a bit of a stir with the hazing involved, as it does go beyond the traditional touchy-feelie friendship theme of the show, but really, the only real issue I had with this episode is the middle act, where Rainbow's desperation to improve her reputation results in some cringe-worthy bits.

Only six more episodes until the mid-season hiatus... personally, I like breaking up the season like that (kind of like the winter break with traditional network programming). Certainly better than having to wait 11 months between seasons like we did with season 5.

[tweeb²]

Sooo, anyone has seen the last ep with Patton Oswalt? And voicing the MLP in-world version of what apparently is really common in fandoms, the fan that thinks "only x part is cannon, rest is crap".

As one who first experienced fandoms, shipping, fan art...the first fanmade music videos on youtube back when YT was all new!! You can tell I had a nostalgia train hit me with this episode.... Was The last Son of 84 the one who made famous movie trailers with KP footage??

Anyway, it's been great, and made me remember the all the great quotes Prof. Dementor had even though it was more like a minor villain. The one I remember the most the voice message in "Ron The Man" " I've taken my entire staff and my newly acquired PAN DIMENSIONAL VORTEX INDUCER!!! and we are off to Las Vegas, leave the message at the tone!!"

[Rob]

I really let myself slack off on the rundowns... season 6 has been over for a while, and I'm just now playing catch-up! So, where did I leave off? Ah, yes...

"A Hearth's Warming Tale" - A nice, if somewhat simplified take on a classic old holiday tale, with some enjoyable songs.
"The Saddle Row Review" - Definitely a different style of storytelling than we've seen before in this series, and it was definitely fresh and entertaining.
"Applejack's 'Day' Off" - The big clunker of the season. I can certainly understand the lesson here, about getting a fresh perspective on things and all, but the execution really derailed AJ a bit.
"Flutter Brutter" - Man, Fluttershy's brother is annoying! But I think this ended up being a pretty good episode for Fluttershy.
"Spice Up Your Life" - Finally, another map quest! Though, this one was kind of average for me. Not bad, but not great.
"Stranger Than Fan Fiction" - The one with Patton Oswalt. I definitely enjoyed this episode, even if there were times where I just wanted Quibble Pants to shut up.
"The Cart Before the Ponies" - The other big clunker of the season. It really seems to me that they completely derailed Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash just to have them try to relive their youthful glories at the expense of the CMC.
"28 Pranks Later" - This one seems like it would've been a better fit a few seasons ago, as Rainbow Dash seems to have regressed when it comes to her obsession with pranks. Still, not bad, but it's just a bit off to me.
"The Times They Are a Changeling" - This development took me by surprise, but I think it's a big step in the right direction. And if there was ever a time for love and tolerance...
"Dungeons and Discords" - I feel that Spike and Big Mac were a little too obsessed with their game, and that they could've at least actually tried one of Discord's suggestions before deciding they'd rather just RP, but it was still a pretty good episode.
"Buckball Season" - Definitely enjoyed this one. It was interesting to see Snails get a prominent supporting role that doesn't involve Snips and Trixie, and I liked how the featured Mane Four were handled.
"The Fault in Our Cutie Marks" - Finally, a good post-cutie mark CMC episode! And Gabby's about as popular a new character as Ember. She's just too kawaii for her own good.
"Viva Las Pegasus" - A map quest that involves Flim and Flam, where they're not the bad guys? Definitely an entertaining turn, and I especially enjoyed Fluttershy in this episode.
"Every Little Thing She Does" - It seems Starlight still has a way to go when it comes to comprehending and understanding the moral implications of her actions. Still, not a bad episode.
"P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View)" - The "same story, different details" bit was fairly entertainingly pulled off here.
"Where the Apple Lies" - It was nice to see some of AJ's and Big Mac's past, and amusing to see that Big Mac just couldn't shut up back in the day. Though... Spoiled Milk? Really? No wonder Diamond Tiara was messed up!
"Top Bolt" - It was nice to see Twilight and Rainbow collaborate on a map quest, and this makes up for the awkwardness of "Newbie Dash".
"To Where And Back Again" (2-parter) - I have to say, this is the first time I genuinely felt sympathetic toward Starlight. This season finale did have a couple of big acts to follow after the season 4 and 5 finales, but this one still managed to do pretty well. I was a bit taken aback by how the Changelings were handled at the end, but I like that Chrysalis isn't reformed yet.

Legend of Everfree was decent enough, it had some nice development for the human Twilight, and a little bit more development for Sunset as she comes into her own, without having to try to look to Princess Twilight for help. In fact, unlike the first three, there's no pony Twilight, and no ponies at all, nor any sight of Equestria, which means this is the first movie that isn't pinned down to a specific timeframe in relation to the FiM series. All in all, it was pretty good, but still not as good as Rainbow Rocks.

So there's my rundown for season 6.