Impressions of Season 1

 Like I mentioned before, even with all the fan content I've seen, I'd never watched the Friendship is Magic series proper. Most of my information for my analyses/theories came from the wiki, or from things like the songs.

 Well, I just finished my first run though season 1. Here's some of my thoughts on each episode, and general thoughts about the season. Most of these were written just after I watched the episodes.

1. Mare in the Moon (aka Friendship is Magic part 1): The initial personalities of the Mane Six don't seem to match up with the fan representations. Time will tell whether this is early installment weirdness, or not.
2. Elements of Harmony (aka Friendship is Magic part 2): Celestia not appearing until the very end of the episode was a nice touch.
3. The Ticket Master: I had not realized that the chase scene with the crowd actually used a track that sounded like Yakkity Sax (aka the Benny Hill Chase Theme). I thought that was just a fan addition. Kudos to the MLP team on that one.
4. Applebuck Season: I empathize with Applejack a lot in this episode. I tend to take on more responsibility than I can handle, for the sake of helping others. Also, others have mentioned this, and it makes me laugh. Ticket Master mentioned a bet between Applejack and Big Mac. Quoth Applejack, "If I win, he's gonna walk down Stirrup Street in one of granny's girdles." Was Big Macintosh's injury from that? It's in the right spot...
5. Griffon the Brush Off: Many fan parodies of this episode have mocked Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash for picking on Gilda, but I must disagree. Gilda was acting like a jerk to everyone except Dash. Regardless of whether or not she "deserved" all the pranking at the party (which Dash said was not aimed at her), I would not want someone like that around.
6. Boast Busters: Before I watched this episode, I never really got why Trixie was so popular. Her personality seem over-dramatic and uninteresting. Well, I was right about the over-dramatic part, but she was surprisingly well written. I guess I'm a fan of (THE GREAT AND POWERFUL) Trixie now.
7. Dragonshy: Fluttershy just annoyed me in this episode. I get that she's shy. I used to be super shy and nervous too. But she was a burden on all her friends for almost the entirety of the episode. Sure, she saved the day at the the end, but it was by giving the dragon a verbal beat down, which was pretty much the opposite of her behavior in the rest of the episode. I could rant about this for a while, but I'd better move on.
8. Look Before You Sleep: Twilight is adorable. That is all.
9. Bridle Gossip: The interaction between Applejack and Applebloom was hilarious. Also, Flutterguy.
10. Swarm of the Century: Given how much stock they later put in her "Pinkie sense," it's strange to see the ponies ignore her here. Most fans put the blame on Pinkie not explaining herself, but given that she was the only one who actually knew what the parasprites were, the others should probably have paid more attention to what she was doing. Plus, Pinkie's whole shtick is not explaining herself.
11. Winter Wrap Up: Apparently, I'm one of the few who didn't enjoy the title song for this episode. Plus, there was no other pony beside Twilight who had tried to organize the event? I find that hard to believe, given how smoothly the town seems to run the rest of the year, even with other events going on. But I guess Twilight could have organized those too. Food for thought.
12. Call of the Cutie: Straight up, I did not enjoy this episode. Applebloom was irritating, and the lesson about patience (granted, it was implied rather than stated outright) fell flat, given the CMC's behavior in later episodes.
13. Fall Weather Friends: I guess this one was ok. I don't know, it really didn't leave much of an impression on me. Maybe I'll go back and watch it again.
14. Suited for Success: Like with Applejack in Applebuck Season, I empathize a lot with Rarity in this episode, much more than I expected. I always thought of her as the prissy, girly type (and she is), and someone I wouldn't have much in common with. Yet, her generosity, even to the point of frustration and exhaustion, is something I readily identify with. I will keep an eye on her in future episodes.
15. Feeling Pinkie Keen: I don't know if this episode is supposed to be a metaphor for religious faith, an author tract in support of superstition, or if I'm just reading too much into it. Regardless, Twilight was not being very smart. She was looking to either disprove Pinkie's claim to "Pinkie sense," without even considering the idea. She was refusing to accept the reality of something that was quite evident. Hmm, maybe it is a metaphor.(Sorry, I don't mean to sound smug. Moving on.)
16. Sonic Rainboom: I can understand Dash's stage-fright. As I mentioned above, I used to be a very nervous person. Even the idea of being in front of a crowd still gives me butterflies-in-the-stomach. That rescue scene though. The moment that Dash pulls off the rainboom always gives me chills. Every single time. It doesn't seem to matter what music it's set to either. My personal favorites for that scene are Bon Jovi's It's My Life, Guile's Theme from Street Fighter, and anything by Two Steps from Hell.
17. Stare Master: If Dragonshy ruined Fluttershy for me, this episode redeemed her. Fear did not even enter her decision making process. Her only concern was for the safety of the CMC. And staring down and berating a cockatrice as it's turning you to stone? Pure awesomeness. However, the CMC parts once again did not appeal to me at all. I'm 0 for 2 on them...
18. The Show Stoppers: Make that 0 for 3. This was my least favorite episode so far, narrowly "beating" Call of the Cutie. It's weird, I'm still searching for my purpose in life, so I feel like the CMC and their episodes should appeal to me. Instead, they are by far my least favorite characters. Do they get better in later seasons? I can only hope.
19. A Dog and Pony Show: I understand that the writers needed to remind us of Spike's crush on Rarity, but between this episode and the next, it feels like they were cramming it down the audience's throats. Didn't leave much of an impression on me other than that, but I liked Sapphire Shores.
20. Green Isn't Your Color: It felt like they packed a lot into this one. The dynamic between Fluttershy and Rarity, Photo Finish and her whole deal, Pinkie's obsessive enforcement of confidences, and Twilight's struggle with the secrets she's been asked to keep. One of my favorites so far.
21. Over A Barrel: It seems that the Apple family is not good at letting each other talk when they have something important to say. I was more ok with the buffalo and their characterization than I expected.  
22. A Bird in the Hoof: I had fun with this one. It was more cartoonish antics than life lessons, but it was a nice break from the heavier/fluffier stuff in the rest of the season. It did do a good job of humanizing (ponyizing? I lost my English/Equestrian dictionary. What's the proper term?) Celestia. Also, again with the yakkity sax.
23. The Cutie Mark Chronicles: Very entertaining. I liked this one a lot. Maybe it was the bite-sized chunks that the episode was divided into, but it seemed to move much more quickly than most. I didn't like how Fluttershy was animated as a foal. I creeped me out; uncanny valley, I guess. The CMC were ok in this one, but I could chalk that up to their limited screen time.
24. Owl's Well That Ends Well: They already did the jealousy lesson in Green Isn't Your Color (one of my favorites), I don't understand why they needed another. This was probably a good place for a Spike episode, but this one didn't do anything for me.
25. Party of One: I had been looking forward to this one for a while, and I wasn't disappointed. If I tried to say everything I liked about the episode, I'd end up doing a full plot summery. The highlights were Pinkie's opening song, the "crazytown" scene, and Gummy. Nothing in particular, just Gummy. But what's up with that song? You know, Pinkie's "jam." It kinda creeped me out, and I have no idea why.
26. The Best Night Ever: Turns out that because of all the fan content surrounding this episode, I'd already seen most of it. About the only unexpected things were Soarin' and Spitfire. They were nothing like what I expected, but then again, they haven't had much screen time yet. All in all, this was a good episode, and an excellent ending to the season. EDIT: Oh my goodness, how could I forget this? During the Pony Pokey song, when the animals are all cowering in the trees (because of Fluttershy), there's a vulture that shelters a squirrel and three chicks with it's wings. That protective movement, across species and phylum, stuck out to me. Even in animals we see a strong tendency towards cooperation and friendship.

 I identified quite a bit more with the various members of the Mane Six than fan depictions implied I would. I already empathized with Twilight Sparkle (OCD and being a bookworm/brainiac), Fluttershy (shyness hiding strength), and Applejack (honesty and dependability). Now I see that I also have things in common with Rarity (taking too much on myself), Rainbow Dash (stage fright), and Pinkie Pie (fear of abandonment or losing my friends).

 My favorite episodes from this season were Green Isn't Your Color, Suited for Success, and A Bird in the Hoof. 

 Of all the writers, I like Charlotte Fullerton the best, but most of them are good. I'm still on the fence about Cindy Morrow and Chris Savino, though I know that Mr. Savino doesn't have any more episodes.

 Overall, I enjoyed this season a lot. I didn't expect to find quite so many cool or fun episodes this early in the series. Not much world building yet, but we've got lots of time.

 Onward to season 2!



 So, you remember that root canal I had a few weeks ago? Apparently my problems aren't over. I went in to get my permanent crown, and the dentist noticed an abscess on my gums. I went back into the specialist today, and I need more work. I go in next week, and again two weeks after that. If that doesn't do it, the tooth will probably have to come out. Your prayers would be appreciated.

 I just praise God that we were able to catch it. If I hadn't gone out of town for two weeks, we wouldn't have know about it until it became a huge issue. Once again I am in awe of God's provision.


God bless.