Cultures Contemplations: The Secrets of Season 3

HELLOOO EVERYBODY and welcome to Cultures Compendium of Reviews! As always, I am Culture Shock. Your guide to all things cultural in Equestria and beyond. Today, we're looking back MLP's shortest season ever. However, there are a FEW rules to go over before we can get started. First off, all content within this blog is expressly the opinion of its author. It does not, nor should it EVER, reflect the overall opinion of the fandom. Lastly, if ANY of you notice ANY mistakes, be it typos or otherwise, please don't hesitate to let me know. With that said, let's begin. Shall we?

So it's come that time once again. With season 8 finally kicking off we at last move past another season towards the future. And Season 3 by far was the epitome of failure for this show. Not only was it 13 episodes short but every episode seemed to either struggle to meet it's goal or fall just short of it. There were a small handful of good things to come from it but generally speaking I think at this point Hasbro was likely betting on it being this gens last season. If not then by far this was a waste of both effort and income on the companies part to be honest.

First off, I feel the season was hurt most of all by it's short run which, compared to seasons 1 & 2, likely meant less time to really work on things and harder deadlines. Unlike 24 episode seasons a season with 13 or less episodes means having to fit so much into every episode just to make a decent plot and a believable story. This of course means some writers and / or developers will resort to cutting corners to save time and maximize on work effort. Which, in turn, leads to poorly produced episodes and a decline in viewers. And that can either hurt a show in the long run or end it entirely.

Next, I feel like a lot of episodes missed some good opportunities for fun plotlines and even comedic jokes. For example, they could have crossed both episodes 11 and 12 off together near the end by having Spike show up in the Crystal Empire to round up his rowdy charges and then on the way back to Ponyville have the whole gang surprise girls mid-trip. You kill two birds with one stone, you make a more enjoyable plot, and you utilize your characters to their fullest. Instead every episode was just a mess of whatever crammed into 30 minutes with the exception of a small handful of episodes.

Lastly, there was never any real explanation as to why the season was only 13 episodes long as opposed to the original 24 episodes.It would have made more sense in the long run and probably would have saved the seasons bacon. Not to mention how it would have explained so much. But then again this IS Hasbro we're talking about. The masters of guarding secrets till they're grave.

In conclusion, speaking in overall term season 3 was a waste of profits for almost an entirety of nothing. It opened with high hopes and only crashed within the first few episodes. Which just made the finale even worse in the end. If I had to label this season I can honestly say without a doubt and without any regrets that season 3 is by far.... the WORST season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic EVER!!!

Alright! This concludes my recap of season 3. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a like if you did. Also, don't forget to follow us for more updates. Got a suggestion for a review? Leave it in the comments section down below. This has been Culture Shock, your guide to all things cultural in Equestria and beyond, saying KEEP CALM AND BRONY ON!! PEACE!!