Your elitist list of episodes for if you were to introduce someone to the show.

[DanielEricIverson]

So, we are all fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Many of us have been fans of the show for a few years now, and over time, rewatching episodes, perhaps we have started to realize that some episodes are better than others.

Not all episodes are so great. some of them are boring, duds, have dumb themes, morals, lessons, or are an acquired taste.

 

Let's say you were to introduce someone to the show.

 

The person has access to all the episodes from the first four seasons. Perhaps it is Netflix or something. (which currently has all episodes from Seasons 1-4)

Your list is designed to be more critical of MLPFiM. It is to have the best episodes, with at least a few of the lesser episodes deleted from existence. If you could retroactively delete as many episodes from existence and create an alternate reality where only certain episodes got made, with those seasons just having a somewhat smaller episode count in their productions, what episodes would still be included?

 

For this exercise, I'm not imposing any specific number of episodes you must purge, but try to be somewhat of a tough critic and purge at least a few.

 

In Seasons 1-4, the studio counts the episodes at 91 episodes, production-wise.

 

But essentially, there are 85 episodes as a result of 6 episodes being two-parters.

 

I've made a list of 62 episodes.

 

Honestly, there are quite a few episodes here that I actually like, but I decided to take away a few episodes that I thought might rub certain audiences the wrong way or just bore people with arbitrary cartoon sitcom situations where the characters are acting a bit too dumb or wacky, such as Feeling Pinkie Keen, One Bad Apple, and Apple Family Reunion. (basically, I am deleting APF because it continues the canon of Babs Seed, even tho she isn't a bully in it.)

 

Here they are. They are in airdate order, with a space in between seasons:

1. Friendship is Magic

2. The Ticket Master

3. Griffon the Brush Off

4. Boast Busters

5. Dragonshy

6. Look Before You Sleep

7. Bridle Gossip

8. Winter Wrap Up

9. Call of the Cutie

10. Fall Weather Friends

11. Suited For Success

12. Sonic Rainboom

13. Stare Master

14. The Show Stoppers

15. A Dog and Pony Show

16. Over a Barrel

17. The Cutie Mark Chronicles

18. Owl's Well That Ends Well

19. The Best Night Ever

 

20. The Return of Harmony

21. Lesson Zero

22. Luna Eclipsed

23. Sisterhooves Social

24. The Cutie Pox

25. May the Best Pet Win!

26. Sweet and Elite

27. Secret of My Excess

28. Hearth's Warming Eve

29. Family Appreciation Day

30. Baby Cakes

31. The Last Roundup

32. The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

33. Read It and Weep

34. A Friend in Deed

35. Dragon Quest

36. Hurricane Fluttershy

37. A Canterlot Wedding

 

38. The Crystal Empire

39. Magic Duel

40. Sleepless in Ponyville

41. Wonderbolts Academy

42. Keep Calm and Flutter On

43. Just for Sidekicks

44. Magical Mystery Cure

 

45. Princess Twilight Sparkle

46. Daring Don't

47. Flight to the Finish

48. Bats!

49. Rarity Takes Manehattan

50. Pinkie Apple Pie

51. Rainbow Falls

52. Three's A Crowd

53. Pinkie Pride

54. Twilight Time

55. It Ain't Easy Being Breezies

56. Maud Pie

57. For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils

58. Leap of Faith

59. Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

60. Inspiration Manifestation

61. Equestria Games

62. Twilight's Kingdom

 

This is basically my elitist list. If I was trapped in an alternate dimension, and time stopped in the real world, and this alternate dimension was a room full of MLPFiM episodes, and I had to watch at least, like half of the first four seasons, I would watch these ones.

 

In this alternate dimension I'd be provided with plenty of healthy food and other amenities, but I would not be released from the dimension until I watched at least several episodes.

 

Honestly, because I am a fan and like the aesthetic cuteness of the show, I can barely count the number of episodes that I personally regard as being truly crappy.... on my fingers.

 

I just don't want people to get the impression that episodes such as Simple Ways, Swarm of the Century, A Bird in the Hoof, and It's About Time are representative of the writing quality and characterizations from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

 

Also, Party of One is overrated. The overly-done-in-cartoons misunderstanding plots are dumb, especially when a character forgets their own birthday, but this time it is Pinkie Pie, the major party pony who forgets her own birthday? dumb. These things remind me of overrated media that have storylines that are only possible because the main characters have terrible communication/ willingness to communicate.

 

Okay, so that is my list.

[ToothpasteThy]

I'm gonna say it now, I'd tell the person to watch the first few episodes of the first season, and go in chronological order from there. To me, there really are no bad episodes; I like all of them. Also, why showcase only the best? Why not show everything? It's best to see a show for what it is, not just the best parts~

[Wysteria]

If the person in question is serious about trying out the series, I would definitely start at the very beginning and go on from there. The Return of Harmony is probably my favorite episode of the whole show, but it would be shame to start someone off there because there would be no impact to go along with Twilight's realization. 

 

As far as a skeptic is concerned, I would probably pick The Crystal Empire, Fall Weather Friends, Hearth's Warming Eve, or maybe Sonic Rainboom. Definitely an episode that tones down the "girly-girly" factor - which is a turn-off for most people outside the fandom.

[DulsetTarn]

I would probably just show them the first two seasons entirely and tell them to have caution with the remaining episodes, should they choose to watch them. Even the worst of the first seasons isn't terrible and they provide a good understanding that the show can be entertaining even when getting a lot of things wrong. But then you get to season 3 and quickly come up to what I consider the first BAD episodes, and things don't get much better from there...