History YMMV / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E1SchoolDazePart1

* CommonKnowledge: A common criticism of the School of Friendship is it violates the series premiers claim that friendship cannot be learned in class or books. [[https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/9/24/1840010.jpeg That wasn't actually stated.]] Twilight's not learning friendship was portrayed as her not caring to do so prior as opposed to it being impossible to do though school.

** The treatment of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 the movie's]] continuity has been a divisive topic for many fans. Some don't have issues with its overall placement within the show, and are happy that it was directly acknowledged and not left in the air like the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' series [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic or the comics]]. Others dislike the fact that the episode chose to ignore certain plot elements from the movie just so they can rush to the main plot of the episode. Then there are those who don't like the movie altogether [[FanonDiscontinuity and wish it was ignored]].

* StrawmanHasAPoint: [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Chancellor Neighsay]] is the antagonist of the premiere because he seeks to shut down Twilight's School of Friendship. But one of the reasons he cites for shutting it down are not meeting EEA standards, namely that Twilight's friends are unqualified teachers and students are skipping classes. He is correct on both counts, ''and'' Twilight lied to him and tried to cover up that the Student Six were playing hooky and she didn't know where they were. Neighsay's other concern is that [[FantasticRacism he views non-pony races as dangerous]], but even that is understandable -- [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 Equestria just got invaded and enslaved]] by an unknown enemy race, and the non-ponies have histories of poor to mediocre diplomatic relations with Equestria[[note]]Griffins are jerks almost to a rule (although they are generally accepted in Equestrian Society), many dragons see ponies as puny and weak, changelings invaded Equestria twice, yaks nearly declared war in "Party Pooped", and the hippogriff queen refused to aid Equestria when the Storm King invaded[[/note]]. We even see in the next episode that the Student Six almost accidentally cause an international incident when they go missing and the leaders of the other races start accusing each other of being behind it.

** The EEA itself: Is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism speciesist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards (and ''continues'' to do so even after the events of "School Daze") makes it seem like the latter. The fact that [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Earlier]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E8TheLostTreasureOfGriffonstone Episodes]]) show that Gilda (a Griffon)once attended the Junior Speedsters flight camp (in the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale) also seems to imply the latter.

** The EEA itself: Is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism speciesist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards (and ''continues'' to do so even after the events of "School Daze") makes it seem like the latter. The fact that [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E5GriffonTheBrushOff Earlier]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E8TheLostTreasureOfGriffonstone Episodes]]") show that Gilda (a Griffon)once attended the Junior Speedsters flight camp (in the Pegasus city of Cloudsdale) also seems to imply the latter.

** The EEA itself: Is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism speciesist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards (and ''continues'' to do so even after the events of "School Daze") makes it seem like the latter.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Chancellor Neighsay]] is the antagonist of the premiere because he seeks to shut down Twilight's School of Friendship. But one of the reasons he cites for shutting it down are not meeting EEA standards, namely that Twilight's friends are unqualified teachers and students are skipping classes. He is correct on both counts, ''and'' Twilight lied to him and tried to cover up that the Student Six were playing hooky and she didn't know where they were. Neighsay's other concern is that [[FantasticRacism he views non-pony races as dangerous]], but even that is understandable -- [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 Equestria just got invaded and enslaved]] by an unknown enemy race, and the non-ponies have histories of poor diplomatic relations with Equestria[[note]]Griffins are jerks almost to a rule, dragons see ponies as puny and weak, changelings invaded Equestria twice, yaks nearly declared war in "Party Pooped", and the hippogriff queen refused to aid Equestria when the Storm King invaded[[/note]]. We even see in the next episode that the Student Six almost accidentally cause an international incident when they go missing and the leaders of the other races start accusing each other of being behind it.

** The EEA itself: Is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism racist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards (and ''continues'' to do so even after the events of "School Daze") makes it seem like the latter.

** The treatment of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 the movie's]] continuity has been a divisive topic for many fans. Some don’t have issues with its overall placement within the show, and are happy that it was directly acknowledged and not left in the air like [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls the Equestria Girls series]] [[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic or the comics]]. Others dislike the fact that the episode chose to ignore certain plot elements from the movie just so they can rush to the main plot of the episode. Then there are those who don't like the movie altogether [[FanonDiscontinuity and wish it was ignored]].
** The decision to have the Mane 6 start up the School of Friendship. Was it a unique way to expand on the shows previously established creatures and mythos, or a shallow excuse for the higher ups to sell more toys before G4’s eventual end? There's also a third camp that the Mane Six helping the other kingdoms learn friendship was a fantastic way for the series to go, but just don't think that a school, of all possible ways in a world filled with much more unique ideas, was really the best way to do it.
** The Mane 6 being teachers at the School of Friendship. Is it a perfect choice for teaching an abstract concept like friendship to the world or is it a PlotTumor due to it practically replacing their other commitments as the show went on?

* CriticalResearchFailure: Seaspray says that he's a ''General'' of the Hippogriff Navy. If you consider the [[InterserviceRivalry rivalry between Army and Navy]], an ''Admiral'' being called a "General" is NOT acceptable. Unless you consider that the Hippogriffs were a land based country first and their ranks stayed the same even after moving underwater.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Fluttershy could have checked with one of her friends or another authority figure to see if it was okay for "Rarity" to take some students out of class on an unauthorized field trip.
** Ocellus was too caught up in the fun to realize that coming back to the school without changing back to normal form would cause a panic. What's more, she does not immediately change back once the panic starts, but instead causes even more panic, almost seriously injuring several characters.

* MST3KMantra: When asked how the Mane Six had the time to be teachers on top of their careers, Jim Miller [[https://twitter.com/TheBiggestJim/status/977770250677633024 admitted "Cartoon logic."]]

** The decision to have the Mane 6 start up the School of Friendship. Was it a unique way to expand on the shows previously established creatures and mythos, or a shallow excuse for the higher ups to sell more toys before G4’s eventual end? Fans can’t seem to agree.
** There's also a third camp in the debate. Some fans think the Mane Six helping the other kingdoms learn friendship was a fantastic way for the series to go, but just don't think that a school, of all possible ways in a world filled with much more unique ideas, was really the best way to do it.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
** It's rather odd that Gabby didn't show up on the first day of the School of Friendship as her eagerness to learn more about friendship would've made her an obvious choice for enrollment.
** On the topic of the characters of the movie, we were never told about what was the resolution of Capper and the pirates. Especially for the latter since when taking the prequel comics into account, the pirates just ''lost their primary source of income since they only rob the Storm King's ships.''
** On the topic of the respective rulers of the different races, it seemed weird that an ordinary citizen was picked for the Griffons (Grandpa Gruff) and the Hippogriffs sent their General instead of their actual leaders since this is a matter of international relations. The former has a council of lords as shown in the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWIssue61To62 Convocation of Creatures]] and the latter could have sent Stratus Skyranger as he would have been the perfect replacement for the royals due to the lack of a speaking role in the movie and therefore the lack of the need to pay a movie voice actor instead having to come up with a whole new character altogether.

** Fluttershy could have checked with Twilight, Starlight or another Mane Six pony to see if it was okay for "Rarity" to take some students out of class on an unauthorized field trip.

** A character who is a natural swimmer who's name is Silverstream. [[Literature/WarriorCats Ring any bells]]? Let's just hope she doesn't run into her [[spoiler: Graystripe...]]

* {{Narm}}: The cast stumbling over their use of "everypony" with so many non-pony races around, correcting themselves to "every''creature''." The writers seem to have forgotten that "everybody" and "everyone" have been tossed around casually since day one. Not to mention that "creature" isn't the nicest word one could use. And then it ''keeps happening'' for the entire season.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Chancellor Neighsay seeks to shut down Twilight's School of Friendship [[ObstructiveBureaucrat for not meeting EEA standards]] and [[FantasticRacism the danger the non-pony students pose to the ponies]]. But the reasons he cites for shutting it down are that Twilight's friends are unqualified teachers, students are skipping class, and endangering ponies, which are all perfectly accurate and valid reasons, ''and'' Twilight lied to him and tried to hide from him the fact that the Student Six were playing hooky and she had no idea where they were. As for his FantasticRacism, given that this is [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 shortly after Equestria was invaded and enslaved]], and the non-ponies have histories of being jerks/hostile towards Equestria[[note]]Griffins are jerks, dragons see ponies as puny and weak, changelings invaded Equestria twice, yaks nearly declared war in "Party Pooped", and the hippogriff queen had little problem letting Equestria fall to the Storm King[[/note]], his concerns over the presence of other species is not unfounded; we even see in the next episode that the Student Six almost accidentally cause an international incident when they go missing and the leaders of the other races start pointing fingers at each other.

** The EEA itself: is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism racist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards (and ''continues'' to do so even after the events of School Daze) makes it seem like the latter.

** A character who is a natural swimmer who's name is Silverstream. [[Literature/WarriorCats Ring any bells]]? Let's just hope she doesn't run into [[spoiler: Graystripe...]]

** A character who is a natural swimmer who's name is Silverstream. [[Literature/WarriorCats ring any bells]]?

** The rather blunt attack against the educational system. Is it a bold and mature move? Or, is the show trying too hard and stumbles hard?

** The EEA itself: is it an overbearing bureaucratic institution whose attitudes do more harm than good, or a legitimate organization that really does have the best interests of Equestrian students at heart but just so happens to have a [[FantasticRacism racist]] overseeing Twilight's school? The way everyone talks about Neighsay's decisions as "The EEA" makes it seem like the former, but the fact that Celestia actually allows her own schools to be held under their standards makes it seem like the latter.