Find the other parts of my S4 retrospective here.

Well, I’m waaaaaay behind schedule on these MLP S4 rewatch write-ups, but I’ll do my best to put out as many in the next couple days before Season 5’s premiere as I can. After Flight to the Finish, Season 4 settles into a groove, and the subsequent several episodes strike a good balance between the earnest and well-made stuff that made MLP popular in the first place and the engaging ambitious ideas that have propelled it forward since Season 2. These two episodes aren’t the best examples of that description, considering they’re reflective of some of the significant shortcomings of MLP trying to be more ambitious, but they still have a bit of what made MLP so great in the first place and a bit of what still makes it so great. Now let’s get down to some more pone!

Continue reading “A Look Back on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 Part IV – ‘Power Ponies’ and ‘Bats!’ [SPOILERS]” →

Find the other parts of my S4 retrospective here.

Flight to the Finish is one of those episodes that reminds you why MLP: FiM is a special show to a lot of people. It’s a wonderful package of genuine charm, humour and great character moments, with all its parts coming together into an incredibly empowering message for children that doesn’t talk down to them. In essence Flight to the Finish is about childhood and self-identity, but it’s the thoughtful construction of those ideas that makes this episode so fantastic.

Continue reading “A Look Back on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 Part III – ‘Flight to the Finish’ Mini Review [SPOILERS]” →

Find Part I of my S4 Retrospective here.

MLP Season 5 now has an official date, and as of typing Pony Countdown says we’re roughly 16 days, 3 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds away from it. I guess I better get to my Season 4 rewatch. This time I rewatched episodes 3 and 4, and for better or for worse it’s pretty fair to say these two episodes are different to anything that came before them in MLP. First off we’ve got the establishment of the series’ first ever concrete season long arc, but besides that we’re treated to some pretty unique ideas that the show hasn’t touched on, some neat and some… well, not so neat. Enough chatter, let’s talk about some pony!

Continue reading “A Look Back on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 Part II – ‘Castle Mane-ia’ and ‘Daring Don’t’ Mini Reviews (MILD SPOILERS)” →

MLP is starting to feel like a real distant hobby. Not because I hold any ill will towards the series or the fandom like I did in the break between Season 2 and 3, but just because it’s hard to maintain your passion through such a long break between seasons, even with a surprisingly strong movie in between. I figured that I should go back and give Season 4 another watch in preparation for Season 5, especially considering it’s the only season that I can’t boast having seen every episode at least three times. It’s not long now until Season 5 graces our screens and I get another opportunity to sit behind my computer screen late at night (god dammit timezones) with a bunch of cheap sugary crap to watch whatever crummy live-stream my dreadful internet will support, as has become the tradition for me with these two-parters. It always gets me giddy to watch these and to see the series be really ambitious, even if it falls just short almost every time because of a lack of breathing room in its conflicts.

Continue reading “A Look Back on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4 – Princess Twilight Sparkle Review (SPOILERS)” →