I have three stages as well:
 
1  
Hmm? Is this true?
 
2  
Oh, seems it is true.
 
3  
Whatever.

@Background Pony #AF01  
True. That and whatever they make needs a story written around it.

@matt0044  
It varies. Sometimes they only offer feedback and suggestions, and in other cases marketing will do as you say and require some new thing to be squeezed in wherever, but there are also times when their needs and demands have a pretty direct bearing on the story.

You know, I heard that Hasbro doesn’t dictate how the episodes are written. They pretty much just make a toyline and asks DHX, “Hey, gang. Care to work this toyline into the show anyway you can? Kthxbye.”

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
Well if he left, fine by me, won’t have to bother us with his whinning anymore.

@ED-SKaR
 
Step 4  
(\

@sapphire475gs
 
Step 4  
/)

@ED-SKaR  
Your way of life is good.
 
Mine only differs by one step.
 
3. Man that was great…. let’s see what the community artists are gonna do with this! To DERPIBOORU!

@The Twelfth Doctor Whoof  
There are actually a ton of people who enjoyed it. How have you not noticed? There are even close to a thousand people subscribed to the subreddit dedicated to Equestria Girls. The haters are just loudmouths in certain spots.

@s.m.c  
Wrong. Evidently you’ve never heard of CR. He thought the wedding 2-parter ruined the show forever, spent Season 3 becoming more and more bitter, until he finally renounced the series and the fans (many of whom only became fans because of his positive review). Nowadays he says he wishes he’d never heard of MLP.
 
Naturally, Ponyfans responded in kind and he’s become something of a persona non grata around these parts.
 
As to OP’s “process”, well… I’ve seen it happen with Cadance, the Crystal Empire, and to a lesser extent with Equestria Girls (there are those who genuinely enjoyed it). However, the jury’s still out on Twilicorn.

The three stages of ED-SKaR watching new episodes
 
 

@PonyPon  
I don’t get what you’re trying to say. Could you repeat it more?

@Ahmed  
But with the wedding nobody thought that the show was ruined, we just assumed that would be boring, and proved to be good

@Klonoahedgehog  
The only one, that I can say right of my head, is the wedding two-parter, which had a similar fanreaction.  
I’m not saying everyone liked it, I’m just saying, many were pleasently surprised.

I have never seen an instance where the second one happens.

@someguy111  
Given the size of the fandom, certain segments of the fandom do at least the first two every time.

@PonyPon  
Neither does 2.

3 doesn’t always happen, op.
 
3 doesn’t always happen!

Like if they gave a shit.