(Song used: Fire It Up - Thousand Foot Krutch. 

Forgot to put this in the last one but in case you didn’t know the song for the Bottom 12 one, it’s Untitled by Simple Plan)

Now we’ve reached the beginning of the Top 100 after getting the 12 who were unfortunate enough to not even make this list. Though with Season 6 not too far from coming. The episodes from #100-#90 will really have to hope Season 6 completely fails in order for these episodes to stay within the Top 100. Because all it takes is a few good episodes in the next season to knock these episodes out of the 100 as well. These are the episodes that weren’t bad enough to not make the list in a 112 episode list but also weren’t good enough to get very far beyond that. That 112 Episode list will become 137 (An additional 24 [Assuming the opener and finale are Two-parters again] episodes + Equestria Girls 4) by the end of this year that’s nearly 1 ½ of full seasons that can’t even reach #100. So Spot #100 is only going to get harder for some episodes to squeak by and get. When we get to #75 and above, for the most part those episodes can rest easy as Season 6 would have to be an absolute perfect Season for those to even come close to being put down to anywhere near #100. But the episodes in this set of 5 as well as the next are near guarantees to fall out unless once again Season 6 proves to be a horrible season. Which I see no signs of which yet (No, Flurry Heart being an Alicorn is not one of them. Nice try :P) Without further adieu, let’s begin the Top 100!

Somehow Season 5 managed to not have one episode in the Bottom 12 while every other season had at least two. You could say that’s a compliment to how consistent Season 5 was. But when you see what episodes are in #100-#90 you may realize that may not be for long once Season 6 arrives. Season 5 managed to avoid having an episode out of the Top 100 this time, but just barely. And my least favorite of the Season was Tanks for the Memories. It’s clearly better then the weaker episodes in the Top 100 but all it takes is one Season 6 episode I look positively on and it’ll forever be out. I know there’s quite a bit that do like this episode for being like the closest to a pet dying episode without the pet actually dying. But I feel it over exaggerates a lot of things. We don’t really see Tank all that often and as much as this episode wants to sells on how much Rainbow Dash cares for Tank. The only episodes we get even a little bit of their bond is in Tank’s debut episode where understandably so since Tank saves Rainbow Dash from the boulder that crushed her wing and a little moment in Just for Sidekicks where we see Rainbow Dash sneak a nuzzle. And that’s been in several episodes apart, we actually rarely see Tank after May the Best Pet Win. So I have a hard time having really any attachment to Tank. It’s cool in one of those ironic ways that Rainbow’s companion is a tortoise. But this episode wants us to take Rainbow Dash and Tank’s companionship as something dear to her very heart to the point she would sabotage a weather factory just to avoid not having Tank around for 3 Months. The whole hibernation thing kinda makes the whole 5 Stages of Grief thing rather odd. I would think Rainbow wouldn’t think it’s a big deal, if Tank really was dying and somehow it was the weather that was making his condition worsen then Rainbow’s actions in this episode would be perfectly understandable since she’s trying to save a life. Not be selfish to people who enjoy Winter just because her pet will be sleeping the entire time (Heck why not ask Fluttershy for another pet that IS around for the Winter. Fluttershy would be happy to oblige). I’m sure Rainbow could keep herself busy for that amount of time. Even after May the Best Pet Win we see Rainbow most of the time without Tank whatsoever. 

The only way Tanks for the Memories makes sense is if a lot of her interaction with Tank is off-screen and/or between episodes but nothing is really done to imply that. Rainbow also hardly gets any punishment for sabotaging the factory unless you count Tank still having to hibernate and/or the entire scene she cries. Which you kinda figure was going to happen anyway regardless or not of Rainbow’s actions. That said however, I do give credit to this episode for some good character humor here and there (“APPLEJACK CRIES ON THE INSIDE, TWILIGHT!”). As well as a nice Rainbow Dash solo song. I can’t help but feel the episode would be even better though if they parodied their own show music regarding Winter Wrap-Up which would be amusing. I get that this episode probably isn’t a popular choice for worst of Season 5, but it just bothered more then any other Season 5 episodes did. And that includes what is #99 in the list.

Now this is the episode that most see as the worst of Season 5. And *gasp* it just so happens to be another Spike episode. The poor dragon just can’t get his dues can he? But admittedly I do understand and get why so many regard this as the weakest of Season 5. The way the ending goes is so backwards. The things that come back to bite Spike actually came from when Spike was actually doing his job well. He does not instantly start to get into greed mode when he starts doing stuff “on behalf” for Twilight, he legitimately tries to help Twilight get some good sleep. This could be considered a bit of a positive on the episode that Spike legitimately really does try this best to help Twilight get much needed rest. The problem is about 2/3rd’s into the episode they throw it all the way by having Spike indeed use this for personal greed. But the greed itself isn’t what causes the karma bomb, everything that goes wrong at the end was from when he was still being helpful. It was as if the things he did earlier were just there to wait for Spike to do a bad thing for everything to go sour. Spike’s comeuppance feels reversed like he’s punished for doing what he thinks is best for Twilight more then the actual greed he shows near the end of the episode. And it just makes the episode all so awkward and maybe even a little uncomfortable. 

Though I do gotta say, the jokes they came up with Sleep deprived Twilight were really good (“Just put the hay in the apple, and eat the candle”), and as I said Spike’s effort to help Twilight is really admirable and if it weren’t for the awkward ending I feel it would be an underrated enough part of the episode to raise it more then it is now. I like this more then Tanks for the Memories for the simple reason that I don’t agree with thinking Rainbow would go that far while I do think it’s in Spike’s character to do all he can for Twilight as we actually have a solid basis for Spike’s relationship with Twilight compared to Rainbow and Tank. I’ll still admit Princess Spike is one of the weakest episodes of Season 5 but hopefully I proper explained why it’s not my least favorite of that Season

This was the very first true Spike episode in the series (Up until then Spike was a secondary character in a few episodes, with a sort of major role in A Dog and Pony Show. I can’t exactly remember what most thought about Spike back in the Season 1 Days but since Spike haven’t had a couple of episodes yet there was no real hesitation about a Spike episode yet. If anything it were the CMC that were actually annoying people most. But the CMC would later grow on us, Spike unfortunately has remained a bit of a mixed bag. I’ve said before that while a good majority of the episode is rather eh, this episode is what started to inspire my preference to look at Twilight and Spike as somewhat of a Mother-Son relationship. As unless it is a case where the Older sibling is their caretaker, you only see episodes where a child character runs away for not feeling as loved as a recent addition. It’s a Parent and Child kind of thing. Like if a Child got all sad that a new puppy in the family is getting all the attention and thought their parents didn’t love them anymore. It was only supported further by an episode before this when we saw Twilight hatch Spike’s egg. As much as I do give the episode credit for starting something that’s has inspired a lot of my work on Genie Twilight (From the very beginning I wanted to work Twilight and Spike’s special relationship in Genie Twilight. It wasn’t a spur of the moment when I wrote the story. Even going as far as Twilight and Spike making it official once the blog turned a year old. Which I’m glad a lot of people liked the direction I took them) 

Though enough about that part, as other then the ending that I do absolutely love I do admit the episode as a whole isn’t strong. As it is a little too convenient that the ponies just go all excited for the new owl. Rarity even giving a box exactly like the one she gives Spike in the start of the episode, which kinda cheapens the whole thing since we could assume Rarity gave it after having known Spike a while. But Owlowiscious was only around for a day or two by then. Not to mention despite when Twilight mentions the owl’s nocturnal it seems wide awake during the daytime for some reason. I also remember people actually calling the Owl a Mary Sue (Yes Mary Sue accusations existed even way back then) after it took on a full grown dragon to save Spike’s life in the end. Which while I wouldn’t say that, they did go a little far in giving the owl so many uses just to make Spike feel useless. On another note, despite the rating for Season 1 using an e/i rating (Harder to get away with stuff) they managed to get away with fake blood when Spike uses ketchup to try to frame the owl for mutilating a toy mouse which doesn’t fool Twilight whatsoever. Of course there was also the Spiked joke from Pinkie earlier in the episode, perhaps the censors were just more lax the day they showed Owl’s Well That Ends Well. Regardless, the episode is one of the weaker episodes in the first Season. And regardless how much I love the ending, just doesn’t get enough to get very far here.

Well now with the recent reveal of the new Alicorn baby this episode feels a tad more relevant huh? This is the episode that probably spawned pony genetics debates throughout the fandom. As somehow two earth ponies had birthed a Pegasus and a Unicorn. We just have to assume that the Cake family have recessive genes of the other species in there somewhere (They do mention they have one of each one in their families). Cause it makes it hard to make sense of it if even a family full of earth ponies can spawn the other types (Not to mention unfortunate implications if something like that happened back in the days the three pony tribes hated each other. Would the Fathers assume their wives had cheated?). But anyway, the Cakes give birth to twins of different type of Ponies. And try to find a babysitter for when they’re busy. They try their hardest not to be stuck with Pinkie but unfortunately all the rest of the Main 6 are booked. So reluctantly they ask Pinkie, who thinks Babysitting isn’t just playtime with the babies and quickly realizes that when she doesn’t know how to cheer up the babies when they start crying. 

It’s a bit of a cliche episode where an inexperienced babysitter is dealing with a troublesome and/or super strong baby with not a lot of new things done with it. It also leaves some confused on how the babies are able to fly or use magic well (Heck Pumpkin Cake levitates herself, something we only later see Starlight do in Season 5. There’s only one logical conclusion for this: Starlight is clearly still a foal on the inside. [I’m half kidding at this point]). Though some appropriate that to just something the babies eventually will lose soon. It’s just that all Pegasi and Unicorns when newborns have these bursts that they’ll never be able to even when grown up. There’s a point in the episode where Twilight’s schedule opens up and she goes to attempt to help Pinkie but her wording comes off a bit passive aggressive towards Pinkie and it upsets Pinkie to the point of kicking her out. Though kinda understandable. While I wouldn’t say it’s the worst episode, there is upcoming concern with Princess Flurry Heart that we could see a repeat performance of this type of episode. Only probably a different character and it’d just be one baby instead of two. Babysitting episodes are ok to have once in a long series, but two separate episodes where a babysitter is having trouble with superpowered babies? That might be a bit much if you ask me.

*Someone’s been ordering from the ol’ Acme company…

This episode is considered the most controversial episode of the first season. While I wouldn’t say it’s Season 1’s Mare-Do-Well. Among those that look at it negatively they would say it was. It all stems from the fact that the moral at the end could be misconstrued as “Don’t question things you cannot understand. AKA a message to people who are non-religious shouldn’t snoop around those who do believe in any kind of religion or strange phenomenon rather then scientific fact”. Faust has said that was never the intention of the episode, but it started Dave Polsky’s reputation of being a writer who wrote controversial and/or love it or hate it episodes. It is also very much a guilty pleasure for a lot of fans simply for all the humor in this episode. This was also the first episode to have an intentionally derped Derpy, the staff noticed the fervor for Derpy early enough that they decided to give a nod as early as just a little over mid-season (It even is the origin of Derpy’s usual career choice of Mail Carrier). The criticism towards the episode is rather fair though, as heck it took a while before Pinkie Sense would come up in any regularity. The next time Pinkie Sense came up in an episode was in The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. Which may have started people having the sense that if Pinkie Sense shows up in an episode then it’s a bad one. (Can we call that Critic Sense? Hardy har har, though in all seriousness it’s not true as there are perfectly good episodes that at least mention Pinkie sense by now). This is one of the first episodes to have people split on it that enjoy it for the humor, and those who criticize it for screwing up the moral. It is these episodes that start diversifying the fanbase a bit more based on what each and every individual fan prefers when watching this show.