This is something I thought I’d do for a little bit. Give my personal thoughts on each of the seasons of Friendship is Magic. Starting with of course the first one. Find it all after the break. Just a forewarning though, if you’re one that loves the first season to the point it’s your favorite. I should tell you that I think it’s the weakest of the three 26 episode seasons and I explain why I feel that way. I like all of the Seasons, even the controversial Season 3. But I thought I’d share how I think of each of the seasons we’ve had to give a proper perspective on my thoughts toward each one. Another, I should give is that this might be a bit of a long post. Not as long as my thoughts on the Season 4 Finale was, but almost.

My Favorite Episode(/s) of Season 1: Cutie Mark Chronicles

My Honorable Mentions: Applebuck Season, Sonic Rainboom, A Dog and Pony Show, Dragonshy, Winter Wrap-Up, Party of One, Best Night Ever

My Favorite Song(/s) of Season 1: At the Gala

My Favorite Writer of Season 1: M.A. Larson

My Least Favorite Episode of Season 1: Look Before You Sleep

My Guilty Pleasure Episode of Season 1: Show Stoppers

My Overall Thoughts: Season 1 is where everything began. It was the season that showed us that a show about technicolor horses can be endearing and addicting to watch. While I’m sure most of us weren’t here from the very beginning when the show began back in October 2010. I was lucky enough to get early enough in the fandom when the later Season 1 episodes were new. The Pilot was a surprisingly good hook. As within a week after I watched the Pilot just out of boredom (I don’t remember exactly what compelled me to watch it other then I was bored enough to check out this new My Little Pony cartoon I may have seen mentioned somewhere on the internet when browsing), I had caught up to the first 17. For that, the first season has a sort of charm and nostalgic factor to it even if it’s not really that old compared to other cartoons that are probably more fitting for the word nostalgic like our favorites from the 90s/Early 2000s.

That said I do feel for the most part because of how the season has this feeling. It’s blinded many who have dedicated themselves to critiquing any new episode of the show in the future while still putting this season on a higher pedestal then it should be. I’m not trying to say you can’t prefer Season 1 if anyone feels like Season 1 is the best for whatever reason. As long as anyone is not stepping on any others toes and claim that any of the seasons after Season 1 suck just because it’s not Season 1. I personally believe Season 1 has a big flaw, that while not quite as detrimental as Season 3’s shortness. Is big enough to make me drop it a few pegs enough that even though Season 2’s main flaw of being inconsistent quality might be a deal breaker for some. It’s far more of a deal breaker for me even for a Season that never had an episode that was as bad as some of the worst of Season 2.

What is it you ask? The Friendship Letters in conjunction with Twilight.

You heard me right. Twilight’s my favorite pony, yet I believe she’s part of the big flaw of Season 1. And while it’s kinda cool she’s in every single episode of the Season. There’s a big problem with this that I have looking back. And I think even the staff knew they were heavily limited by this. Because the very first non-two parter episode of Season 2 they immediately worked into absolutely destroying this limitation. Because of how the Friendship Letters work. Twilight HAD to have some sort of role in every episode regardless if the episode actually needed her so in some cases Twilight felt shoehorned in a few episodes. I think much of the episodes of Season 1 could have been improved without Twilight playing a role in the episode. Episodes like Stare Master, Green Isn’t Your Color, Look Before You Sleep, and A Bird in your Hoof all kinda shoehorned Twilight in different ways (Though admittedly Twilight essentially bloodbending Fluttershy at the Fashion Show in Green Isn’t Your Color was kinda humorous).

Look Before You Sleep I feel is the worst offender however. It’s only 6 episodes after the Pilot, and it seems to claim Twilight’s always wanted a slumber party… when she said she wasn’t that interested in Friendship. It feels like Spike kind of accidentally took Twi’s brain with him when he went to Canterlot. And while I would later love Adorkable Twilight, it was far too early for it where it seemed jarring after Twilight’s portrayals in the Pilot, Ticket Master, and even one episode later in Bridle Gossip. She’s also really naive in an episode that probably would of been served better if it had just been Applejack and Rarity having to stay together in a cave with them arguing beforehand. While some argue Lesson Zero flanderized Twilight (Even if flanderization is a gradual process. Not a sudden event), I argue Look Before You Sleep was far worse in this regard. Twilight really couldn’t have helped with cleaning up the tree that crashed inside her tree just because nothing was said about it in a book? How Look Before You Sleep Twilight is how I imagine what her clones would be like if Twilight went to the Mirror Pool from Too Many Pinkie Pies (She even repeated the word fun more then once in the episode… OMG NEW THEORY j/k). Twilight felt like a two-dimensional character in Look Before You Sleep. It also didn’t help that even if I ignore Twilight’s portrayal the episode was kinda dull and uninteresting to me anyway. While it’s not exactly the most common choice among most others of being the weakest episode of the first season (You’ll see much much more votes for episodes like Feeling Pinkie Keen or Show Stoppers), it’s my personal least favorite from the first season.

And in some other episodes, she was just the moral compass where the character despite back in the pilot being the character who wasn’t interested in Friendship is suddenly the epitome of Friendship. In other words in episodes like Fall Weather Friends, she talks down to her friends as if she’s already the Princess of Friendship 2-3 seasons earlier then she actually did. When she herself should still be learning more about friendship herself. And the one moment they did have her in the wrong, they kinda overexaggerated and even kinda over punished her in Feeling Pinkie Keen (As much as I still laughed at the Looney Tunes style comedy) It was just far too formulaic, and the show would have grown stale fast had the show never got out of this. Which luckily the first chance they got to do it, they did it immediately in Lesson Zero. But I’ll get more on this in the Season 2 Overview if I get to that.

Some of the reasons for this limitation might be because of the e/i rating that put some restrictions. While the staff did manage to keep in a few things past what’s a pretty obvious stricter censor rating (Like Pinkie’s line in Owl’s Well That Ends Well with the punch being “Spiked”, and arguably from the same episode the mouse being covered in ketchup to simulate blood). But anyway, the e/i rating is a rating that put a watermark on the corner of an episode that wasn’t just on Season 1 of Friendship is Magic but other ones like the recent Strawberry Shortcake cartoon. The cartoon had to be educational or informative in some way, so this might of led right into the whole letter thing and thus also Twilight appearing in every single episode. While this could be seen as something that could excuse this flaw. I prefer to look at what came out of the Final Product, not the possibility that some executive meddling is always the reason a season of the show has any flaw. Because that’s accusatory talk that only seems like scapegoat-blaming that many people during the big dramas in the fandom annoyingly did all the time. And just to compound the feat of Lesson Zero of Season 2, although Return of Harmony were the first episodes of the show without the e/i rating attached. Lesson Zero feels like the episode where the show finally broke free out out of the rating. Going full on nuts and utterly destroying a really formulaic status quo from the first Season. It’s because of the e/i rating that Season 1 just felt too safe. Most of the weaker episodes are good compared to some of the bad episodes of future seasons. But even the best episodes of Season 1 just feel perhaps, at most just above average compared to the episodes that hit it big from after Season 1.

Another thing I’d like to say is the continuity. While Season 1 does have a few continuity references like Dragonshy mentioning an event from the Pilot. The whole Gala arc that went from Ticket Master to Suited for Success to Best Night Ever. It’s a bit confusing just what exactly these episodes are ordered by. As other then the Gala dresses making cameos in one or two episodes. There’s not really much references to past episodes, not even possible subtle ways of seeing continuity within episodes. Probably the most obvious question is how We had Winter Wrap-Up for Episode 11. But then we have Fall Weather Friends only 2 episodes later. And it’s not like you can exactly say that in Equestria that the orders of the Seasons are different. Because in the very Winter Wrap-Up song, it says specifically that tomorrow Spring is here. Heck this is kinda why I scratch my head at the possible implication in the Season 4 Opener that all of Seasons 1-3 all took place within one year. Continuity is just something that the future seasons will always have over the first. Season 2 arguably not that much either, but there’s at least a decent possibility that most of the episodes took place after each other. Which I’ll explain later. Season 3 had quite a few episodes that was a continuation on something related to much of the characters or return of certain antagonists. And Season 4 has by far the most continuity out of any season by far thanks to the Rainbow Trinkets. And I think it’s a valid point by now to point out how continuity helps in this show. Even if the reason they didn’t include much continuity was so that sometimes kids not get too confused when they view single episodes. I feel it awards the fans, kids included to get why certain later episodes carried over something from previous episodes whether it’s from more then one Season ago or just one episode ago. To say kids shows shouldn’t focus at having episodes have too much impact on the rest of the show is implying kids are too dumb to remember. The worst thing a show or even a whole network can do is think they have to dumb things down for their audience. Cause that’s when you alienate loyal fans of the show along with making the show no longer something that even as kids get older, they can look back and still appreciate.

Regardless, while I believe Season 1 is the weaker of the three full Seasons. That’s not to say I don’t give it any credit. Like I said earlier there’s a certain charm to the first season. That’s hard to match at times, though it’s actually dangerous for a Post-Season 1 Episode to try to capture the charm of Season 1 because I feel it’s good that each of their seasons have their own strengths. If every season was like Season 1, it would be stale and while it wouldn’t leave room for a Season to be worse then Season 1. It also prevents it from being better. And I do have a few beloved episodes even now. Cutie Mark Chronicles being the hugest. Which would probably only be among the first episodes that would lead me to choosing M.A. Larson as my favorite writer of the entire show. Adorable fillies, interesting backstories (Twilight’s Flashback still remains to this day as one of my favorite scenes of the entire series), lots of that heart and charm that Season 1 offered quite a bit, and just an overall brilliant episode. Some honorable mentions to hilarious episodes like Applebuck Season, and A Dog and Pony Show. Episodes with some pretty cool moments like Sonic Rainboom and Dragonshy. As well as episodes that performed great musically and even sometimes in other areas as well in both Winter Wrap-Up and Best Night Ever. While none of the music of Season 1 I put as one of my favorites, I did kinda like how grandiose At the Gala was. (Admittedly it wouldn’t be until Season 3 that I really paid attention much to the Music of this show. Not to say I didn’t enjoy Season 2’s songs though. As I believe Season 2 was stronger musically against Season 1 as well. This Day Aria especially).

And I even have a soft spot for an often hated episode in Show Stoppers. While I agree it is annoying that we had this episode yet in 4 seasons, none of the CMC have gotten all that much closer to getting their Cutie Marks. It’s frustrating when Show Stoppers kinda shows us what their talent may just be but they still haven’t capitalized on this despite many other Status Quo changes that have happened. It’s kinda hilarious looking back that Twilight grows wings before any of the CMC get a Cutie Mark. But maybe Season 5 will change this (But I suppose we’ve said this for every season by now). Anyway, probably a big reason I have a soft spot for Show Stoppers is that it’s the first one I watched on live TV. The first 17 I marathoned within a week. And this was the episode that I would see back when new episodes aired on Friday afternoons. I think much of the hate for the episode is because back in Season 1 the CMC were kinda regarded as Scrappies that most didn’t care about as much as the Mane Cast. While we still mainly care about the Mane 6 more, I believe the CMC has grown on us since then. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo each has had episodes that are considered some of the best of the series.

In short, Season 1 was a good start that really got things going that while limited in a lot of ways. Future seasons would be sure to improve upon and from the bottom-up get better animation, better music, better episodes, and plenty more thanks to the initial success of the first season. Without the first season we don’t have a bar for the show to keep raising like it has. Both Seasons 2 and 4 have risen the bar for Friendship is Magic quality’s far beyond what Season 1 has started. This doesn’t mean I think Season 1 is the best season, because by that logic every show that went on to be successful’s first season would always be considered the best regardless. While there usually talk that in movies, the original is almost always better then the Sequel. I don’t think the same applies for shows, as good shows have following seasons fix any problems of previous seasons. Which FiM has done, especially from the transition to Seasons 1 and 2.

Feel free to reply with your own favorite things about the first season :)