A common thread I found when people talk about bad episodes

“It’s mean spirited”
 
It’s a complaint I ran across a couple of times when I listened to peoples’ lists of worst MLP episodes. I also noticed, though it’s something I noticed for one list, whenever someone talks about their most “hated” episode, it’s usually the second season (the Jerk Season as I call it) that contains the episode.
 
So it led me to thinking. If the ponies aren’t dicks, would it make better episodes? Is there an example of ponies being dicks, yet it didn’t make the episode downright bad? Is this a weird topic to be talking about?

It’s not that ponies can’t be jerks, it’s the main characters that shouldn’t be jerks, at least not in a way that’s being treated for comedy. They are supposed to be the embodiments of friendship, so when they’re suddenly callous assholes for the sake of a joke, it’s both unfunny and completely at odds with the entire premise of the show. It’s why Rainbow was such an awful character up until season 3 showed us she’s capable of not being an asshole for an extended period of time.

@Trickquestion  
The ponies being jerks is a factor in many eps though.  
Sonic Rainboom with Rarity, Suited with everyone but Rarity.
 
It’s more how much the audience understands the reason behind the jerkishmess and it is paired with some catharsis.
 
And I would argue that Rarity has it worse in the asshole for the sake of the joke department

@Whatevs  
Like I said, temporary protagonist jerkery is good if they use it as a way for the character to overcomes a moral failing and learn a lesson, but using it as comedy is when it falls flat for me.

@Trickquestion  
well of course, moral failings should enhance the character in the long run through increased depth, resonance and development

Stop letting Merriwether Williams write episodes that aren’t either the ponies playing roles or parodies of films and this issue will be lessened.
 
Seriously, every single other writer gets that ponies aren’t assholes all of the time.

@Itsthinking
 
Seconded. Although the other writers a guilty of this sin, Williams is especially guilty of it. From my perspective, it seems to be the only way she knows how to create conflict within a given episode.

@Ebalosus  
She’s a writer from a different time and has never learned to write in any other way.

@Itsthinking
 
…which leads me to wonder: Don’t the showrunners know that this kind of writing cannot really work given the structure of the show?

From what i have seen different people dislike episodes for different reasons.  
The show have several strong areas and different fans are attracted to different areas. This means that when an episode slips in one such area people who like the show for it become disappointed.

@Ebalosus  
I think McCarthy is probably under a lot of deadlines and something has to give.

This thread complains about ponies being jerks, but some people IRL (not just in this fandom, but on the internet as a whole) aren’t so different.

@ender1200
True

Funnily enough in hindsight Merriweather Williams’ episodes aren’t as bad when taken together with the rest of FiM. If anything, she had more hits than misses in the end.

@Ebalosus
When I used to watch Mr. Enter as a kid I thought Ms. Williams was a terrible writer in MLP the very worst.

TBF past me thought the same. Besides the likes of MMDW and Spike at Your Service, her episodes have ranged from fine to good.