@joand  
I don’t think I would call it “critically acclaimed”, because even those who enjoyed it usually have one or two issues with the sequence of events.
 
Personally, I thought it was amusing, but I’m not really a huge fan. I just hate to see Fluttershy getting so little respect.
 
I outright despise several of Williams’ other episodes though…

@joand  
I’m with you there.

The funny part is: I think Bats! is the only MWW ep I really, genuinely, hate. All these other ones she gets crap for, I kinda think are just okay. The critically acclaimed smash hit, Bats!, that’s the one that fucks my shit right up.

@Background Pony #3C9B
 
Don’t worry, I’m aware of that. To my knowledge, her role in S2 (for the most part) amounted to “person available for consultation”

@Ebalosus  
On the contrary, Faust had far less direct involvement with Season 2 than people think she did.

I don’t.

@Background Pony #7BD1
 
I did read it, and what I have to say is the following:
 
Friend, I like the way you think :)
 
One of the biggest problems we have when it comes to the episodes is that the lines between what writer is to thank/blame is quite often blurred, because A) as Alel said, we really don’t know the finer details of producing an episode; and B) writer accreditation is quite often very arbitrary in nature, due to union/guild/whatever rules, meaning that although someone has their name attached to an episode, we don’t actually know how much input others had into the writing of said episode.
 
Putting this into context: MMDW was written when both Faust and Renzetti(sic?) were still involved with the production, which means that they would’ve seen the final product and had input to some degree (esp. regarding the story editor, Rob Renzetti), and “o-kayed” it. You’d think that if the episode is as bad as certain people claim it to be, then either Faust or Renzetti would’ve sent the script back for re-writes; since they didn’t, it implies that either fandom idols approved of something that turned out bad, or *gasp* they’re fallible humans, just like everyone else.

@Alel  
Whoa, I just read this comment. I should notice it earlier.
 
I nominate it as best comment on Derpibooru.

@Alel  
Dude, you, you deserve a medal.  
You pointed out every flaw every single one of these “analysts” assume without thinking of other instances in the show.  
I’ve tried to argue my point for Williams in the Round Stable but no, I get the stupidest replies ever as to why Williams is worst writer.
 
But you wanna know what I really hate when people bash Williams? When they call out flaws in her episodes that other writers have also committed. Williams episodes are too mea nspirited: oh, I’m sorry did you happen to forget how in MtBPW every one of the Mane6 were ASSHOLES! Heck, Charlotte Fullerton has written more bad episodes than she has, and with the mane6 as big of assholes as the mane6 are accused of being in TMMDW! Another thing I hate: the people who hate PYHD blame and bash Merriwether and spare Charlotte, while the people who loved the episode praise Charlotte Fullerton to high heavens and ignore the fact that Merriwether wrote the d*mn thing too.
 
I hate it when people are biased, I mean seriously, what is so hard to believe about a market that was established about 5 episodes before PYHD! I swear, people just pull up the randomest, most stupidest reasons to hate MwW work. I’ve always thought her episodes were good, I liked the fact that she actually decided to take on Rainbow Dash’s worst flaw and set her on her path to becoming the better pony she is today. Without MMDW, Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be where she is now, the episode needed to happen to allow for Dash’s further development in the show.  
I mean, Meghan McCarthy had to have had a pretty good reason to keep her on the writing staff. Merriwether Williams isn’t perfect, but she has, by far, had the most improved out of all the writers in the show. Heck, since TMMDW her episodes have become better, less clunky, and developed better flow. Compared to the ‘awesome’ Corey Powell who has deteriorated as a writer since her debut episode SiP, and yet fans still worship her and consider her a better writer. Williams arguably has had 3 good episode out of the (what is it now) 8 episodes she’s written. While Miss. Powell here has written only one good episode out of 3, while the other 2 flopped spectacularly.
 
Anywho, I think I’ve rambled long enough. Nobody probably even read through this whole long thing

@Alel  
Oh, the first first episode. That first episode. Sorry. I assumed you were making a point about the characters occasionally acting out of character rather than a joke about how the reasons given for disliking certain episodes can be applied to episodes people actually liked. Carry on, then.
 
(For the record, I didn’t actually like the pilot that much. The plot felt clichéd, and Luna’s redemption happened way too quickly for me. Still, it was good enough not to turn me off the series.)

@Heroine Addict  
…I was talking about the first episode of the series… the pilot… the first season premiere…
 
 
And we can go deeper:  
@Alel  
Everyone was acting off character from the let go in the ‘80s: horses don’t talk.
 
Worstesterest franchise everesterest.

@Alel  
For the convenience of everyone, I’m going to assume that was sarcasm. I know from experience that Derpibooru users aren’t always experts when it comes to noticing that sort of thing.

Everyone was acting off character in the first episode: we never saw them act like that before.
 
Worstester series everester.

@Ebalosus  
Gilda was in Griffon the Brush-Off. Worstest episode everest.
 
…everest

@Sonlirain
 
Everyone was acting off character in MMDW, ergo:  
Worster episode everer

@EHAN  
FLuttershy was acting off character.  
Worst episode ever.

HEY GUESS WHAT
 
BATS! WAS GOOD

@Background Pony #DF18 (or I think that was me)  
Aaand my faith was well-rewarded. Yay.

@Whatevs  
Are you… inviting me to destroy some graves?

@D50  
Ancestor desecration?

There are a couple Merriwether episodes I don’t care for, to be honest.
 
100% of all Lauren Faust episodes, I don’t care for.

All I’ll say is that there were only five episodes in the entire show that I outright disliked, and she wrote three of them.

She’s hit and miss.
 
gets shot for being neutral

@Alel
 

@Vree  
@professor_of_hoers  
I would be too generous to even call “a series of statements” to Vree’s pasted comment (the same goes for the vast, vast majority of comments from this fandom on the matter), the last paragraph is specially facepalm inducing.  
It’s all just throwing assumptions and convenient overgeneralizations of her work for the end of bashing her, whatever serves the purpose; all information processed AROUND a preconceived idea originated from the reception of an episode without knowing anything about her beforehand (or about the production of an episode for that matter).  
I haven’t seen any REAL insight on her work. Nevermind that shows like SBSP and Camp Lazlo rely on characters staying in character when everything else can be inconsistent, nevermind the constant complains of SBSP characters being flanderized and ooc AFTER she and other writters left the show after the third season, nevermind her being a consultant in Real Monsters and The Thornberrys, nevermind Free for All wich has the main characters going through their own arcs, nevermind her being one of the main forces behind Adventure Time wich is FULL of continuity and characterization and stuff (EVEN if it’s bizarre and has bad morals on purpose), nevermind her episodes for Littlest Pet Shop, nevermind that she BARELY worked in one or two episodes of Angry Beavers and Rugrats… nothing well thought out or insightful, nothing actually valid.
 
On the comparison I made, one has to consider CONTEXT:  
In TMMDW, Rainbow Dash egomania and eventual breakdown is BUILT UP, first teasing and enjoying her fan club, then selflessly saving a filly and receiving recognition, then saving a baby and old ponies and receiving more recognition and embracing her status, then becoming reckless after coming to think it’s easy, then worrying that she may lose it, THEN obsessing over it, and finally exploding; the episode gave depth to her (saying that she hates being alone, yet telling others that she wants to be alone, for example). Can’t say the same about beloved episodes like LZ where Twilight is suddendly an exagerated psycopath like she has never been before, her obsesiveness exagerated from the very beggining and only getting worse.  
With RiaW, RIGHT FROM THE BEGGINING what once was simple teasing of eggheads is turned into downright ilogical prejudice (“I SO not read”, seriously?) and the episode doesn’t take enough time for her to get way too obsessed with books, it doesn’t feel like a genuine transition, she is all over the top about something and then all over the top about something else, a caricature of herself. And that’s saying nothing of her trying to steal from a hospital and causing so much trouble without consequence…
 
The whole thing about the others conspiring against her and stuff is painfully fallacious, it’s what people WANT to think.  
I don’t see how the absence of a talking scenne (that could be for various reasons in the production for what we know, and can actually be debated) means more than what is actually shown, namely:  
-The others saving ponies RD wasn’t going to save.  
-Among those ponies being RD herself.  
-MDW not even trying to humilliate RD (actually avoiding it) besides doing what needs to be done.  
It’s because of this last point that people who want to antagonize the episode have to come up with accusations of their plan being so ridiculously cunning and indirect that make no sense, with people believing it because they have already make up their minds.
 
And what does the dam have to do with anything? That dam that was also in IAT and this being a show were electricity clearly exists and we already saw a place like Manehatan when Applejack was a filly and also clearly prevented Poniville from flooding? What about the videogames and vacuum cleaner from HaHD? What about the construction pegassy with drill and all in SR? What about those crazy machines in FPK? What about the DJ in SfS? What about the bowling in TCP and where did those lions come from? What about the disguises of astronaut, firefighter and surgeon in LE? What about the radiation suits in idontrememberwhatepisode? What about the factory in TLR? What about the references to James Bond technology in MMMotFE? What about Trixie using a magic computer in MD? What about the cinema and motorized vehicles in OBA?  
What is so f*cking unbealivable about a freaking market and what makes it any different to the one in FAD?  
And don’t get me started on all the moments that can be seen as ooc or way too mean that aren’t from her episodes, but that nobody cares about pointing out only because they aren’t written by her.  
It’s like things are only and selectively problematic if they are introduced in an episode by her; people can’t simply say they don’t like an episode, they have to pretend it’s more than that.
 
 
I don’t repeat myself without explaining, it’s that this bulshit requieres considering the whole show and her career to correct, and people tend to dismiss long comments.