trial by jury is the short, weird pilot where none of the characters are quite right but it’s amazing anyway
the sorcerer is the first episode after they got funding and it’s charming but there are plot holes big enough to drive a bus through, and nobody has really settled into their characters. once again, great.
by pinafore, everybody has settled in.
pirates is by far the silliest episode, and it’s one that people are fairly divided on, but more people like it than don’t
patience is the one that feels like it’s trying to be silly-serious but people take it as serious
by iolanthe it begins to get serious. same-gender pairings begin to develop in the fandom.
everybody pretends ida doesn’t exist, but it’s not actually an episode: it’s a weirdly-long, out-of-character straight-to-dvd film. it has some charm but really it’s just outdated, strange and sexist. (coughFLORIANcough.) either way, it isn’t really canon because of how unpopular and downright wordy it is.
the mikado is the episode that everybody has seen. literally everybody. it parodies animé tropes.
by ruddigore, the serious undertones are beginning to become more strong, but it still ends in a silly way because that’s the formula.
yeomen is generally regarded as the strongest episode. it’s got the best plot, the characters are so great, and the ending is miserable. unfortunate, the network don’t like it so much.
by gondoliers, they’re back to formula but they aren’t happy about it. it feels strained, and everybody knows it’s strained.
utopia is the beach episode, basically. people tend to pretend it didn’t happen because it’s weird and has no bearing on the plot, and it introduces some new characters.
you know they’ve been introducing one-episode characters on top of the main cast? well, they all make a reappearance for the grand duke, which is the season (and, indeed, whole-show) finale. it’s obviously over, but it goes out with a bang. everybody is sad, and it’s actually one of the best episodes because the writers were really trying.
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty
gummygunk
janainaart
theartofmadeline
