by VGAddict (?) » Fri Jun 24, 2016 3:58 pm
Now that the hiatus is upon us, how would you rate S6 so far?
I would say it’s hit and miss. On one hand, I liked Gauntlet of Fire, Hearth’s Warming Tail, and Saddle Row Review. I think Saddle Row Review is one of the best episodes of the show. On the other hand, I didn’t like Newbie Dash, Applejack’s Day Off, or On Your Marks.
One thing I will say positive about the season are the great new characters. Sunburst, Princess Ember, and Plaid Stripes are all great.
Another positive is the characterization of Spike. He finally had an episode that the majority of fans agree is good, and he’s been excellent in supporting roles, like The Crystalling and Hearth’s Warming Tail. Best of all, he isn’t the butt monkey he was in past seasons, save for Newbie Dash. I especially liked his friendship with Starlight in the premiere.
However, I can’t believe how hard the season has dropped the ball with the "Explore Equestria" theme. So far, we’ve mostly been seeing locations we’ve already seen numerous times. The only relatively new location was the dragon lands. I felt this was also a problem with the map in S5. You have an entire map of Equestria, with lots of new locations to explore, but you don’t use it.
Another problem is the unbalanced number of episodes a character gets. There’s been too much Rarity and Starlight for my liking.
On the topic of Starlight, I don’t like how they keep bringing up Starlight’s past every time she appears. It was funny the first time, but now it’s just annoying. Say what you want about Discord’s reformation, at least they didn’t feel the need to constantly bring up his past actions.
Overall, while there have been good episodes, it’s not up to par with previous seasons. It’s pretty obvious that the show is suffering from the veteran writers leaving (Larson, McCarthy, AKR).
What do you think of S6 so far? What do you like about it, and what don’t you?