MLP:FIM Season 4 Wrap-Up & Grading

[Amaris]

So there we are, everyone. All 26 episodes of Season 4 are in the can (and available in our video archive if you haven't seen them all yet), and the mystery of the magic lock box (lock box [/al gore]) has been revealed. Twilight became a super saiyan ultra demi-goddess (then, for some of us she already was ), and all was well.

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of season one. I started watching the series right after the end of the season, on May 16th, 2011 (I checked. That is the date that Awesome Possum showed me a link to Friendship is Magic, Pt. 1, and I was hooked).

It was perfect in every way, at least to me. The characters were lovable, the stories fun and exciting, and the lore was fresh and new, and something I had never seen before.

Then season two came, and I enjoyed it very much. It was a strong sophomore outing for the series, and I think the overall strongest season for the fandom. Lots of great episodes in season two, and we got two great villains, and songs, and background, and Luna! Season two had a lot going for it.

Season three was a good continuation, though its truncated season, extended hiatus, and major Princess upgrade for our dearly adorkable main protagonist caused some to worry.

Season four put those concerns to rest, in my opinion. Season four has been the best season so far, though as I said I still love season one the most. This season has seen massive world building, improved animations, more music, greater depth of story, and our favorite characters just keep growing and developing. So season four has been nothing short of excellent, IMO, and that is why I have no problem giving the season an A+. For me, it knocked the ball right out of the park with a Grand Slam Home Run.

I'm sure I have complaints, somewhere, but at the moment I can't think of any. This season was just so good, and I was so thrilled.

Favorite S4 Episode: Episode 22, "Trade Ya"
Least Favorite S4 Episode: Episode 17, "Somepony to Watch Over Me"

I also believe season 4 has the best season finale of any season. It is just massively epic.

What did you think? Well, to make it easy on all of you, I've created the poll above. Grade the season, and then please tell me what made it great/horrible/meh for you. As you can see, this is an extended poll, so everyone should be able to find a grade they're happy with, and vote it in.

Don't forget to post!

 

[Taylirious]

I need to think about this a lot. I may need to see each EP again!

 

[Amaris]

I recommend it, yes.

 

[Kemaiku]

The first half of the season felt like old times, the season premiere opened out the plot well and had a solid enough story, but I'm still not sure about Discords plunder seeds. It was amazing seeing some of the flashbacks with it.

We had some great new characters, Coco became a huge hit and I hope we see more of her in the future. The Breezies even managed to throw off their Generation 3 reputation completely, their rebooted form is much better. The Scandanavian nature was a nice touch.

We had a lot of great character moments and growth overall, giving time to all of the cast to develop. The key stories, if weak inthemselves at times, reinforced the original pilot's lessons about the nature of the elements they represented.

Seeing the keys take form in the finale felt very much like the elements taking the cutie mark form in the pilot, and didn't we have a lot of call backs to it, and to an extent, Cutie Mark Chronicles during the season?

Background ponies certainly had a chance to shine this time too. Colgate's little day out with Berry was adorable, and of course we had tonnes of Derpy, even her being given a role to play during most of the season, competing in the Equestria Games. Not only did they bring her back, they gave her an arc of her own, and managed it well with keeping her mute to tone down any criticism.

The facial expression count this season was huge, the voice acting went up a notch, the CMC VA's are obviously growing up and we've seen their characters do the same. It's a pity they haven't earned their marks yet, as drawing it out too much longer would be a little too far fetched.

Twilight dorking out for Twilight Time was a highlight of the season, her scene in the HayBurger has to be one of the best of the series, we got good old completely nerd Twilight back for a while.

But that brings us to the slightly less appealing half of the season, where after a point it felt a little too stilted, the stories not quite as good, the episodes seemed too short or to filler-y. Dave Polsky has written some of the most controversial or divided episodes so far, and giving him more scripts of season 4, hurt it in my opinion, and too much seems forced by Meghan, who is, I think, too willing to let the network tell her how to do the show.

The finale, rebooting the very first villain for the franchises 30th anniversary was an interesting move, but the ending felt rushed, the destruction of Golden Oaks unnecessary and forced, and the confrontation a little too anime-ised. The blatant toy commerical ending was too over the top for me.

But others have speculated that the Rainbow Powers where a one shot from the chest, that they may now return to the Elements. Some of the writers have even mentioned a whole episode of season 5 early on will have Twilight dealing with the loss of Golden Oaks.

So whereas I disliked a good bit of the second half of season 4, season 5 is going to be picking up on the aftermath of it, so maybe this was a temporary blip in trying to build up the finale. Not that things are more grounded again, Twilight's purpose is revealed, we leave that part of 3 and 4 behind.

Equestria Games was a disappointment on a totally different level. Teased from August 2012 and in the show from January 2013, that was really a waste of quite a long buildup.

So, my opinion is mixed and a lot of you probably found out, not as smoothly as I'd hoped, but anyway, I still think it started out stronger than season 3 and even a tiny bit more overall than 2. It has a lot to like about it, and enough character moments to make it work.

But for toy commercial ending, in the words of Futurama, I assign it the worst grade imaginable. An A minus minus *cackles*

 

[DarkHorizon]

This has felt like the most consistent season so far. Whilst there have been dips in quality, there was rarely a dud in them.

Initially, I was concerned that the Quest for the Keys would take over, and we would lose too much of the slice-of-life feel that made me like the series in the first place. Thankfully, it didn't, and whilst those specific episodes sometimes felt a bit shoehorned in, they weren't adventure stories - which was a nice way to do it, I thought.

That aside, this season has seen the continuing evolution of the animation, more excellent work by Daniel Ingram on songs and William Anderson on incidental music, and a number of very strong stories. It really feels like a peak in the show's history.

The finale was an epic adventure tale, which kept me riveted all the way through. Whilst I said similar things about "Magical Mystery Cure", this really had the sense of the closing of a chapter and the start of a new one, even more so that that episode. Things like the loss of Golden Oaks, the new castle, the resolution (somewhat) of Twilight's season-long arc, the ending on the photograph.

Whilst I ended Season 3 feeling a bit apprehensive about where it would take us, I am very much looking forward to next season. It has been a joy every Saturday afternoon to sit down and watch it. It's pretty much the only television show I watch live these days.

Favourite episode: Filli Vanilli
Least favourite episode: Daring Don't

Favourite song: Find the Music in You (In the Treetops Remix)
Least favourite song: The Rappin' Hist'ry of the Wonderbolts

 

[Amaris]

The first half of the season felt like old times, the season premiere opened out the plot well and had a solid enough story, but I'm still not sure about Discords plunder seeds. It was amazing seeing some of the flashbacks with it.

I love the concept of the plunder seeds, and I have to say I didn't expect them to mean anything at all, when I first saw them.

We had some great new characters, Coco became a huge hit and I hope we see more of her in the future. The Breezies even managed to throw off their Generation 3 reputation completely, their rebooted form is much better. The Scandanavian nature was a nice touch.

So many people fell in love with Coco, and I was one of them. I mean, how can you not adore that face?! I just have no defenses for it.

We had a lot of great character moments and growth overall, giving time to all of the cast to develop. The key stories, if weak inthemselves at times, reinforced the original pilot's lessons about the nature of the elements they represented.

Seeing the keys take form in the finale felt very much like the elements taking the cutie mark form in the pilot, and didn't we have a lot of call backs to it, and to an extent, Cutie Mark Chronicles during the season?

Yes, the tone was very reminiscent of the Cutie Mark Chronicles, in how it brought home the notion of intertwining destinies. This season was very good at making that point.

Background ponies certainly had a chance to shine this time too. Colgate's little day out with Berry was adorable, and of course we had tonnes of Derpy, even her being given a role to play during most of the season, competing in the Equestria Games. Not only did they bring her back, they gave her an arc of her own, and managed it well with keeping her mute to tone down any criticism.

Derpy's reappearance, and frequent appearance, really was a love note to the fans, and I am happy that it was all resolved, because Derpy came out on top.

The facial expression count this season was huge, the voice acting went up a notch, the CMC VA's are obviously growing up and we've seen their characters do the same. It's a pity they haven't earned their marks yet, as drawing it out too much longer would be a little too far fetched.

You know, I never thought the VAs could get any better at what they do, and this season just blew that notion away. They really are excellent in their craft. It's why I want to be involved as a VA. It takes time and talent, but it's so worth it.

Twilight dorking out for Twilight Time was a highlight of the season, her scene in the HayBurger has to be one of the best of the series, we got good old completely nerd Twilight back for a while.

Twilight dorking out at HayBurger is still my favorite moment of the season. I just wanted to squeeze her for being so adorkable. If there had been any doubt in my mind about Twilight still being her sweet self, this would have eradicated it.

Also, who hasn't wiped their face off with a bun instead of a napkin?

But that brings us to the slightly less appealing half of the season, where after a point it felt a little too stilted, the stories not quite as good, the episodes seemed too short or to filler-y. Dave Polsky has written some of the most controversial or divided episodes so far, and giving him more scripts of season 4, hurt it in my opinion, and too much seems forced by Meghan, who is, I think, too willing to let the network tell her how to do the show.

I love Dave Polsky, but yeah, his episodes are usually the ones that cause big discussions in the fandom. I'm all for it, but I do understand why others wouldn't be as gung-ho about them as I am.

The finale, rebooting the very first villain for the franchises 30th anniversary was an interesting move, but the ending felt rushed, the destruction of Golden Oaks unnecessary and forced, and the confrontation a little too anime-ised. The blatant toy commerical ending was too over the top for me.

But others have speculated that the Rainbow Powers where a one shot from the chest, that they may now return to the Elements. Some of the writers have even mentioned a whole episode of season 5 early on will have Twilight dealing with the loss of Golden Oaks.

I'm one of those who believe the rainbow powers were a one-shot. If not, I'll eat my hat, as soon as I find it, but I don't think we'll see them in the future, except for maybe the first episode of season 5, since they might recap and such.

The destruction of Golden Oaks left me a bit traumatized.

I don't mind if Twilight gets to keep her castle, but I would like to see Golden Oaks return. If not, then make a big library in the castle.

Also, Tank needs his own throne. I'm just sayin'.

So whereas I disliked a good bit of the second half of season 4, season 5 is going to be picking up on the aftermath of it, so maybe this was a temporary blip in trying to build up the finale. Not that things are more grounded again, Twilight's purpose is revealed, we leave that part of 3 and 4 behind.

Oh, I don't think what we saw in the finale will be a common occurrence in season 5. I see it as a great one two punch to keep us going until the next season. I realize not everyone liked the anime approach, but I was out of chair every couple of seconds watching that finale, so I loved it.

Equestria Games was a disappointment on a totally different level. Teased from August 2012 and in the show from January 2013, that was really a waste of quite a long buildup.

As much as I ended up enjoying the episode (Spike is best Enrico Palazzo), I was surprised by how small the payoff was. I thought the last two or three episodes was going to be about the Games. I was surprised when I discovered that 22 minutes were devoted to the whole thing, and that of those 22 minutes, less than half was about the games themselves.

So, my opinion is mixed and a lot of you probably found out, not as smoothly as I'd hoped, but anyway, I still think it started out stronger than season 3 and even a tiny bit more overall than 2. It has a lot to like about it, and enough character moments to make it work.

But for toy commercial ending, in the words of Futurama, I assign it the worst grade imaginable. An A minus minus *cackles*

WERNSTROM!

This has felt like the most consistent season so far. Whilst there have been dips in quality, there was rarely a dud in them.

Initially, I was concerned that the Quest for the Keys would take over, and we would lose too much of the slice-of-life feel that made me like the series in the first place. Thankfully, it didn't, and whilst those specific episodes sometimes felt a bit shoehorned in, they weren't adventure stories - which was a nice way to do it, I thought.

That aside, this season has seen the continuing evolution of the animation, more excellent work by Daniel Ingram on songs and William Anderson on incidental music, and a number of very strong stories. It really feels like a peak in the show's history.

Agreed. The quality of the animation, and the soundtrack, surpasses that of an average weekly cartoon, I am always impressed that they can reach even greater heights. There is some seriously great talent at work behind the scenes.

The finale was an epic adventure tale, which kept me riveted all the way through. Whilst I said similar things about "Magical Mystery Cure", this really had the sense of the closing of a chapter and the start of a new one, even more so that that episode. Things like the loss of Golden Oaks, the new castle, the resolution (somewhat) of Twilight's season-long arc, the ending on the photograph.

I liked MMC. Then again, Twilight focused episodes are my bag, baby, yeah.

Whilst I ended Season 3 feeling a bit apprehensive about where it would take us, I am very much looking forward to next season. It has been a joy every Saturday afternoon to sit down and watch it. It's pretty much the only television show I watch live these days.

The same. I watch MLP, and I watch Cosmos, and that's it. Everything else is either on Netflix, or viewed some other way. My tastes, they are confusing to content aggregators.

Favourite episode: Filli Vanilli
Least favourite episode: Daring Don't

Favourite song: Find the Music in You (In the Treetops Remix)
Least favourite song: The Rappin' Hist'ry of the Wonderbolts

You didn't like Pinkie Pie's Rappin' Hist'ry of the Wonderbolts?! TO THE MOON!

Nah, just kidding. It's definitely dependent on taste. I'm an 80s child, so I saw all of these things as a teenager. I liked these things, then. Do I have issues? Oh, yes. Yes.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Count me as one who loved that anime fight! That never happens in an American show aimed at girls!

 

[Taylirious]

A All in all a good/solid season.

Favorite: Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 - Because Of Pinkie Pie's rap!
Least Favorite: Bats!

 

[Garren]

Whoa! Ponies. I watch the show with the misses and it's cute and quirky. One thing I don't like about the later seasons, though, is all the singing. Some of the songs aren't bad but at times, it got a little ridiculous. I still think the first season had the best balance of song, charm, and character. The other thing I noticed is that the five main ponies seem to be more agreeable with each other. The point of having distinct personalities is that they will clash at times and be forced to compromise. But there's just too many times where it's like they unanimously agree to do the same thing and they all love it. I'm a little disappointed with that but what can you do.

This season was entertaining. The finale was a hit and miss. Felt like DBZ at times but I was also surprised how gullible they made Discord out to be.

 

[Garren]

Count me as one who loved that anime fight! That never happens in an American show aimed at girls!

I get the feeling they didn't put that in there for the girls.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Count me as one who loved that anime fight! That never happens in an American show aimed at girls!

I get the feeling they didn't put that in there for the girls.

Well, not the super girly girls...

 

[Amaris]

Whoa! Ponies. I watch the show with the misses and it's cute and quirky. One thing I don't like about the later seasons, though, is all the singing. Some of the songs aren't bad but at times, it got a little ridiculous. I still think the first season had the best balance of song, charm, and character. The other thing I noticed is that the five main ponies seem to be more agreeable with each other. The point of having distinct personalities is that they will clash at times and be forced to compromise. But there's just too many times where it's like they unanimously agree to do the same thing and they all love it. I'm a little disappointed with that but what can you do.

This season was entertaining. The finale was a hit and miss. Felt like DBZ at times but I was also surprised how gullible they made Discord out to be.

I loved the finale, but it's nice to see another person who really likes season one like I do. It's still my favorite season of them all. As for the agreeing, I see it less as agreement and more as support. Even if they disagree, they'll still support each other because each friend knows what that idea means to everyone else, and so even if they don't like it, they'll help bring it to fruition because that's what friends do. Just my two bits on the subject.

Also, welcome aboard!