User blog:Lightening McQueen/Season 3 Review

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This is my review for the third season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Season 3 was not as great as season 1, but slightly better than season 2 in my opinion, so overall, it was great. It showcased a new part of Equestria called the Crystal Empire while also introducing another villain known as King Sombra, redeemed old villain Discord (though I didn't really like where his redemption went in the following seasons), included the best episode about Rainbow Dash in my opinion and started her and Scootaloo's sister-like relationship, and most notably saw Twilight controversially becoming an alicorn and the end of writing friendship lessons to Celestia.

The Crystal Empire parts 1 and 2

Here in this two-part episode, we see that Cadance and Shining Armor have moved to the Crystal Empire after their wedding in the previous episode "A Canterlot Wedding", but while they began to rule there, one former king of the empire, called King Sombra, tried to gain back power and enslave all of the ponies living there, known as the Crystal Ponies. Now, Sombra was not one of my favourite villains, because to be honest, he didn't have much screen-time, just appearing in the form of clouds for most of the episode, and how he wants to treat the Crystal Ponies as his slaves was just awful, kind of reminding me of slavery in America back in the pre-1860s! Additionally, I know my best friend hated the fact that Celestia didn't go with the Mane Six and Spike to the Crystal Empire to stop Sombra, and I understand that, although she could be busy with other duties such as making sure Sombra didn't invade Canterlot or something.

Anyway, I didn't think the episode was too entertaining. I mean, the Mane Six and Spike's search for information about the location of the Crystal Heart as well as trying to keep the Crystal Ponies occupied at their fair was quite...dull; I don't even have big memories of Pinkie disguising herself as Fluttershy, although now that I think about it, that's a clever in-joke to both of them being voiced by Andrea Libman. Also, Twilight facing her biggest fear through a magic door beneath the palace is one moment I want to forget, because it breaks my heart seeing a vision of Celestia sternly telling Twilight she failed her test after the real Celestia assured her she wouldn't! At least we don't get to properly see Spike's biggest fear of Twilight kicking him out. But the best moment has to be Twilight sacrificing her hopes of passing her test and letting Spike take the Crystal Heart before Sombra could; it's proven how much Spike deserves to be a hero throughout the show, when he's had plenty of moments where he messed up. So, to put it all together, the episode was mediocre, though it's also my third least favourite season premiere, only beaten by season 8's "School Daze" and season 4's "Princess Twilight Sparkle", but I still like the songs "Twilight's Failure Song" and "Ballad of the Crystal Ponies".

Too Many Pinkie Pies

A common gag in various cartoons is one character making clones of themselves just to make their lives better, only to find it's caused more trouble than before, and this episode is one of those examples. Pinkie wanted to spend time with all of her friends while they were each doing different activities in different areas, so she used a magic mirror pool to make clones of herself, but the clones took advantage of this and made loads more clones than she needed, and then caused mayhem for everyone around Ponyville due to their personalities being slightly different to the real Pinkie's. Wow, the animators sure must've had so much fun making multiple copies of the same character to put on-screen together, as well as have them all bounce and repeat "fun" wherever they go! Out of every TV show episode I've seen where characters make clones of themselves, this is the best one in my opinion, because unlike those other episodes, you can easily tell which one is the real Pinkie due to how regretful and miserable she was even though none of her friends could tell, and having every Pinkie challenged to watch paint dry seemed like a spectacular way of getting rid of all the clones and leaving just the real one left without accidentally sending them back. With a perfect moral about having to choose which of your friends you want to spend time with at a time, this episode, I can say, is amazing, despite the small reference to the previous My Little Pony generations when one of the clones made her face look like a G3 pony's, which I don't really have a lot of interest in all the first three generations while having seen plenty of episodes from the original My Little Pony show and My Little Pony Tales in my youth.

One Bad Apple

I can see where this is going. It's the introduction of Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's cousin who didn't have a cutie mark just like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came around, Babs joined their side and bullied the Cutie Mark Crusaders for the couple of weeks leading up to a harvest day parade. In order to pay her back, the Cutie Mark Crusaders all built a float containing a booby trap that would send Babs plummeting down to a muddy ditch, only to find out she only bullied them because she got bullied herself and didn't want Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to bully her too. I can understand that many fans hated this episode, and I did feel that way for the first half of the episode, but it grew on me as I watched the second half. Besides, who else wouldn't feel sorry for Babs when I remember getting bullied in school, even getting blamed when I tried to pay back at getting pushed by bullies in primary school? And it's lovely to experience Babs become part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the end. If only Applejack's advice to the Cutie Mark Crusaders about telling a trusted adult when you're being bullied, which Sweetie Belle also kept suggesting throughout the episode but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo declined because of Babs calling them snitches, was taken in other episodes where they got bullied by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon but never told any of the Mane Six about them. Oh, well, at least we did see Applejack witness Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon tease the Cutie Mark Crusaders again before Babs stood up to them at the end. Anyways, I'll consider this episode good, complete with a nice song and hilarious humour from Pinkie while she drove a lettuce float in the parade; I laugh out loud when I hear her yell, "Veggie salad!"

Magic Duel

One important highlight of this episode is the return of Trixie, previously appearing in season 1's "Boast Busters", although duplicates of her were also seen in that same season's "Bridle Gossip" and season 2's "The Return of Harmony". But in this episode, she had come back to Ponyville for revenge against Twilight, having become a laughing stock after failing to prove she can capture an ursa minor. Despite having watched this before watching "Boast Busters", I knew Trixie was going to be big trouble, what with forcing Snips and Snails to pull a carriage without any wheels when they still adored her, removing Pinkie's mouth and not even putting it back when she disabled every other spell, and banishing Twilight from Ponyville while mistreating all of her friends! It only took some time for me to completely understand it was mostly because the Alicorn Amulet she bought had taken control of her mind and made her more powerful and evil than she wanted to be, as I was too distraught thinking how awful Trixie had been, but her second duel with Twilight did make me a bit intrigued, even though it wasn't actually the kind of battle I was expecting. I mean, you would've thought that at a time like this, each of them would take their turn at performing a spell to beat each other, but instead you just get Twilight seeming to perform more and more tricks one-by-one whilst Trixie was just too stunned wondering how she did all of those, which turned out to just be Twilight's friends and their families providing backup so they could all pressure Trixie into taking the amulet off. While some despise Trixie, she only grew on me just a bit when she apologised for all of her troubles and was forgiven by Twilight (though not completely as shown in season 6's "No Second Prances"). And just as I was wondering throughout the entire episode whether they'd show Pinkie get her mouth back, they only did that right at the end, when I was starting to lose hope as soon as the iris out started to show; it's like M. A. Larson didn't even want to hear Pinkie speak as if she kind of annoyed him! This episode was okay in my opinion, but I'll take it over "Boast Busters".

Sleepless in Ponyville

Earlier in the show, we have seen that Scootaloo always loves spending time with Rainbow Dash because she enjoys her coolness, which my best friend says makes Scootaloo a mini version of Rainbow. But here, we learn she wanted Rainbow to spend real time with her and see her like a little sister. And to do that, she tried to keep confident in Rainbow's presence while they were on a camping trip with Apple Bloom, Applejack, Sweetie Belle and Rarity, but as Rainbow Dash began to tell a series of spooky stories each night, Scootaloo began to suffer from having nightmares and becoming sleep-deprived, all of which cause her to lose hope and wander off on her own in fear. One thing that's kind of questionable for me is how Rainbow Dash found out Scootaloo was gone when she had been wearing earplugs in her sleep, although I guess she just woke up all of a sudden and noticed Scootaloo wasn't there, and it's better than failing to save Scootaloo from going over a waterfall. I can relate to Scootaloo in this case, because I constantly get fears that I keep worrying about while struggling to get enough sleep after starting to get addicted to technology. But like Luna said to Scootaloo, I have to face my fears and admit them to my friends and family to make myself better. Anyway, lovely to see Rainbow Dash agree to become a sister figure to Scootaloo no matter how confident or scared she is; I just know they're gonna enjoy the rest of their lives like sisters! And that's why this is another episode I'll call amazing, also my second favourite of the season! Also, for the first time ever, we experience Princess Luna travelling through others' dreams, as part of her job of controlling the night, thus expanding her role in the show!

Wonderbolts Academy

Now we're getting to the best part of season 3, at least in my opinion. It's what every Rainbow Dash fan had wanted: Rainbow getting trained for her dream as a future Wonderbolt! During her training, she was coached by Wonderbolt captain Spitfire, who was also simultaneously a drill sergeant, and was partnered with another Pegasus, Lightning Dust, who was given the role of being a leader, much to Rainbow's distress when she was made Lightning's wingpony. However, due to her being so reckless while determining to push herself more than others and even Rainbow, Lightning Dust caused loads of trouble for every trainee, even going too far to create a tornado that almost sent Rainbow Dash's friends falling down to their deaths when they came to visit Rainbow with a care package! What makes this episode amazing is Rainbow Dash was more concerned about her friends' safety than how much she always wanted to be a Wonderbolt; I was hugely surprised she decided to quit when she informed Spitfire at once, but I know she'd rather keep her friends safe than join a team she thought is meant to be reckless, and I'm glad it made Spitfire put Rainbow's words into account and promote her to leader! After writing the worst episode ever, "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", Merriwether Williams sure did her absolute best making this one the best Rainbow Dash episode in my opinion! It's also both my favourite season 3 episode and my third most favourite episode of the entire show! Lightning Dust is such a cool character (even her name sometimes reminds me of Lightning McQueen from the Cars movies), Spitfire looked pretty smart with a suit and tie, and Pinkie was so lovable and hilarious when it comes to shouting through megaphones, repeatedly opening and closing a postbox without even waiting for the postman, and worrying so much about Rainbow Dash!

Apple Family Reunion

Ah, yes. We all know that back in the season 1 premiere, the Apple family had a reunion. But this time, we have a whole episode entirely focused on the next Apple family reunion, where Applejack was put in charge, and extra relatives came including Babs Seed, who made her only other speaking appearance in this episode, and that's a shame because I do love her. Anyway, as Applejack tried everything to make the reunion the best one ever, she put pressure on all of her family, preventing them from enjoying their time together. This isn't bad, but I think Applejack was just a tiny bit out of her mind, not realising what her family preferred to do. Fortunately, she still made up for it by gathering the family together to rebuild the barn when it got destroyed during a fruit bat attack, and let me tell you, when she said during the "Raise This Barn" song, "Git-R-done!", she reminded me of Larry the Cable Guy and his character Mater from the Cars movies, because they both also say those words on a few occasions. Although, I'm surprised Pinkie managed to give Applejack honey from a beehive without making the bees feel alerted; I'll never get over her belching out one bee while eating some of the honey, because of my fear of bees and how it scarily reminded me of Winnie the Pooh eating a bit of honey with several bees on it during the "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree" story in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Overall, this episode was great, with my favourite part being Apple Bloom and Babs Seed spending time together, but I also love the flashback of Applejack as a baby, the last time someone writes a friendship lesson to Celestia, and best of all, the shooting stars having been made to represent Applejack's parents, as they sadly never made appearances for most of the show due to Lauren Faust originally wanting to have them dead but doubting Hasbro would allow the idea in the first place.

Spike at Your Service

I've been hearing a lot of fans they dislike this episode after I watched it, and I can't blame them. When Applejack saved him from a bunch of timberwolves, Spike was determined to keep helping her even when she didn't have any more work for him to do, all because he had to follow a Dragon Code that, according to Twilight, can only be stopped if Spike had to rescue Applejack from a danger in return. All of this wasn't too likable for me. I mean, every time Spike tried to help Applejack, he made a complete mess of everything! He even overcooked a pie he baked for Rarity, and then got her whole kitchen in a mess too! I don't quite get how clumsy he was working for Applejack compared to how well he usually was working with Twilight! And what if Applejack couldn't think of anything else for him to do? The only good parts were Rainbow Dash implying she wanted to become captain of the Wonderbolts (which I guess is where my friends who love Rainbow got the idea of wanting her to become Wonderbolt captain from), Pinkie wanting to wear a moustache, and Spike having his turn to save Applejack from the timberwolves! I wouldn't say it was terrible, but I'll just call it poor.

Keep Calm and Flutter On

Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is the episode where Discord was brought back to life after having been turned to stone for his chaotic ways in the season 2 premiere "The Return of Harmony", because Celestia thought he could be reformed with the help of Fluttershy. At first, because I didn't watch "The Return of Harmony", I didn't mind it too much, but now, while the idea of reforming a villain by volunteering to be their friend wasn't bad, I think it felt a bit crazy that Celestia wanted to free Discord after he had pulled pranks on her and tried to conquer Equestria twice, especially as I'm not much of a fan of Discord! To add to that, when he promised Celestia he'd use his magic for good most of the time, it didn't really look like he did considering the setups and mischief he caused in the following episodes he appeared in! But oh, well, I'll accept his and Fluttershy's friendship, as it makes for a perfect episode about Discord in season 7, "Discordant Harmony". Anyway, while I don't really get along with Discord's chaos in this episode while Fluttershy tried treating him like a good friend, I'll consider it good, for Discord reforming once he realised even friends can't agree on what he prefers.

Just for Sidekicks

We're getting to my least favourite episode of the season. Here, Spike, having run out of gems for a cake because he kept on eating the gems before putting them in the batter, volunteered to look after the Mane Six's pets while the ponies went to visit the Crystal Empire, just so he could earn some gems to use for his cake. But because he wasn't taking responsibilities for the pets, he had to take risks while tracking down Angel, who tried blowing his cover by taking the next train to the Crystal Empire to see Fluttershy. Honestly, if Spike is going to bake something with gems in it, he should have someone do it with him to make sure he didn't eat what he likes! Next, he just got so greedy for gems after having learnt about having more generosity in season 2's "Secret of My Excess", not even daring to tell anyone why he needed them so badly; hasn't he ever learnt anything about being honest and...What's the word...supportive?! Whatever happened to him being Twilight's noble assistant? I don't always like when someone gets cross or annoyed with Spike, like when Twilight crossly reminded him he needed to look after animals instead of baking his cake, but in this case, I think he kind of deserves a big telling-off from the Mane Six if Angel succeeded in getting them to spot him! I even had to look up what a chaperone is when I felt confused by the train guard saying Spike needed a chaperone to bring pets onto the train! And lastly, if Spike still ate the last gem at the end, then what is the point of this episode apart from seeing he had already given Peewee, the phoenix he kept as a pet after refusing smash his egg under Garble's orders in season 2's "Dragon Quest", back to his parents and listening to him, Spike, shout "why" in both the beginning and the end?! I'd rather watch the Mane Six's side of the story in the next episode, "Games Ponies Play", than this one! Even though it has an excellent moral about taking responsibilities, I'd still call it bad, despite that I love the moment when Tank licked Rainbow Dash's face in the presence of Rarity, much to Rainbow's embarrassment.

Games Ponies Play

Taking place at the same time as the previous episode "Just for Sidekicks" (though various home media lists them apart), the Mane Six came to the Crystal Empire to give a warm welcome to Equestria Games inspector Ms Harshwhinny, in hopes that she'd choose the Crystal Empire as the host of the next Equestria Games, a sports event similar to the Olympic Games and of which would finally occur twenty-five episodes later in season 4's "Equestria Games". Unfortunately, as they were in a rush to greet Harshwhinny at the railway station, they found a different pony, Ms Peachbottom, by mistake, and only realised this by the time she finally revealed who she really was, while the real Harshwhinny, who's harsh hence her name and also one of my despised characters by the way, had already been treated to a bad welcome without anyone to greet and escort her to the palace. While it's not so entertaining to watch an entire episode where the Mane Six believed Peachbottom to be Harshwhinny while not realising she felt anxious of the interior of the Crystal Empire, I think it's more enjoyable than the premiere "The Crystal Empire", and I'll take it over "Just for Sidekicks". Shame Peachbottom wasn't the Equestria Games inspector, because she'd be better for it than Harshwhinny in my opinion due to her kindness and enthusiasm, and we never saw the Mane Six interact with her again after they realised she wasn't the real inspector, but at least after their conversation together, Harshwhinny considered Peachbottom's own welcome enough to make the Crystal Empire the host of the Equestria Games! Also, I can't believe Peachbottom actually took interest in Shining Armor even though he was already married to Cadance! Overall, this episode was great, though the audio sounds distorted when I rewatched it on Netflix.

Magical Mystery Cure

This is it! The one season finale that not only ended the original era of the show, but also resulted in a lot of controversy leading to the ending, even before the episode was aired! As the story wraps up the era of the Mane Six, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders writing friendship lessons to Princess Celestia, Twilight had discovered she accidentally switched her friends' special talents, thus giving them alternate cutie marks and putting them in the wrong jobs. The reason for this was because she read an unfinished spell posted to her by Celestia that was written by her legendary idol Star Swirl the Bearded, without realising she actually cast the spell on her friends overnight! And in order to fix it, she showed her friends each of their proper jobs, while also giving them memories of their Element of Harmony, and it also made her figure out how to finish Star Swirl's spell, with extra words that showed how much she understood friendship unlike Star Swirl. The montage of her getting the rest of the Mane Six back to their original selves was a little rushed, but it's no big deal, as I love the song "A True, True Friend" that plays throughout most of the scene! The next scene is where it gets critical, as after the spell was finished, Celestia saw Twilight had accomplished all she needed to learn about friendship, therefore deciding to give Twilight a pair of wings and make her both an alicorn and princess, but this has only resulted in a mix of love and hate from the fans on Twilight's different role as a princess alongside Celestia, Luna and Cadance instead of being Celestia's student. Personally, I was stunned by it but got used to it as time went on, since I had watched the episode almost four years after it aired and had already watched plenty of season 4 and season 5 episodes before then, but also grew to love Twilight with wings and as a princess! Besides, I'll take it over her future form shown in the show's final episode "The Last Problem", even choosing her first coronation dress as my second favourite dress she has worn! Without further ado, this season 3 finale was amazing, at least in my opinion anyway!

Rankings

Episodes

1. Wonderbolts Academy
2. Sleepless in Ponyville
3. Too Many Pinkie Pies
4. Magical Mystery Cure
5. Apple Family Reunion
6. Games Ponies Play
7. Keep Calm and Flutter On
8. One Bad Apple
9. Magic Duel
10. The Crystal Empire parts 1 and 2
11. Spike at Your Service
12. Just for Sidekicks

Songs

1. A True, True Friend
2. Raise This Barn
3. Babs Seed
4. The Ballad of the Crystal Empire
5. The Failure Song
6. I've Got to Find a Way
7. What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me
8. Celestia's Ballad
9. Morning in Ponyville
10. Behold, Princess Twilight Sparkle
11. Life in Equestria
12. The Success Song