As usual with my reviews, it will contain spoilers. Those of you who have not watched the episode yet, you have been warned.
The premise for this story is that Twilight returns from a trip to discover that her friends have all grown close to Discord while she was away.
Okay, so as you can all tell from the brief premise above, this is an episode with a heavy emphasis on Discord. Now, anyone who has been reading my reviews for a long time, at last as far back as season two, will know pretty well by now that I am not a big fan of this character. I understand that a lot of people like him and I can understand why, especially when you consider John DeLancie?s excellent voice work. But me personally, I?ve never found anything about him that?s been able to endear me to him. As such, any episode that features him is always going to be one that I have a hard time getting into. However, in a strange way, that pre-existing dislike actually helps me to identify with Twilight for a lot of this story. Having her friends become so much closer to the guy is an incredibly disconcerting thing for her to witness, and like her, I too was incredulous about it all. So yeah, while I?m still not fond of having to put up with Discord?s character, I will nevertheless praise the episode for giving a framework for the episode that I can believe and identify with.
And speaking of identifying with someone, the overall feel and tone of the episode is a situation that, I think, most people will be able to understand at one point or another in their lives, and that?s not being a part of something their other friends are. Twilight?s situation here, having difficulty in being a part of something shared by her friends, was a relatable thing, as it?s very difficult for people to really understand such things without, as the episode says, ?being there?. As such, her continued frustrations throughout the story seemed very realistic to me, and certainly the kind of annoyance I myself would have felt in her position. In fact, the overall feel of this episode is very close to episodes like ?Lesson Zero? and ?Feeling Pinkie Pie Keen?, in that we have Twilight having difficulty with something that her friends are separate from, and she grows more and more stressed out because of it. So while that basic framework is a touch repetitive, I will say that they at least bolster it by having Twilight?s various reactions seem believable.
However, there is one major downside to this episode that, in all honesty, got under my skin in a big way, and that?s the fact that Twilight?s friends all think she was being unreasonable by assuming that Discord might have had a nefarious hand in their behaviour. In fact, the entire episode is framed in such a way as to make Twilight almost seem like a bad guy for not believing that Discord could be innocent of manipulating them. And that gets on my nerves in a big way because, quite frankly, I think Twilight was well within her rights to assume what she did, especially when you stop and think of all the things Discord has done over the years. And I don?t just mean his overt betrayal when he sided with Tirek. I mean in every episode he has done something that has either put everyone else at risk or just made things difficult for them, be it outright deception or, as this season has already shown us, nearly throwing ponies into other dimensions. Time and again, he has slipped back into near bad-guy mode, and it?s only because of his desire to hold into HIS friendships that he?s brought himself back from the brink. Doing things that are selfless or altruistic are completely beyond him.
In fact, if I?m being honest, Twilight had even MORE reason to suspect him of foul play when you consider that he actually has a history with manipulating the minds of her friends. In his very first introduction in season two, he actually went ahead and used magic to change the personalities and behaviour of Twilight?s friends, so for them to display abnormal behaviour now, I?m actually not surprised that she would think his power was involved. Look, I?m not trying to say that people can?t turn their life around and become better than they were, because I know they can. But the fact of the matter is that there comes a time when the sheer weight of one?s actions becomes so overwhelmingly negative that it is no longer unreasonable to suspect that they may do bad things again. And it?s especially true when the episode reveals that Discord WAS manipulating things, albeit without his magic. So for the episode to call Twilight as being in any way a bad person for having those suspicions, it irritates me a great deal, as it flies in the face of what any reasonably-minded person would have done or thought in her position.
Onto the humour now and, as you might expect, most of the funny moments of the story are centred around Discord and his various antics. Now, I?ve been criticised in the past for denouncing the jokes Discord does while at the same time praising the kind of stuff that Pinkie Pie gives, since they?ve been called pretty much the same type of humour. And while it is true that they share a lot of similar traits, like randomness, fourth wall breaking and the like, there are nevertheless differences that I feel allow me to justify liking one but not the other. All of it comes down to the types of characters they are and what they use humour for. Pinkie, in everything she does, is always looking to make others smile and to make them happy, and as such, that carries over into her jokes, which helps me to like them. Discord, by contrast, largely has jokes that are centred around his wish to amuse HIMSELF, rather than others. As such, humour centred around him often leaves a more bitter taste in my mouth, despite, as others have said, the fact that he does indeed employ a similar style of humour to Pinkie. And in this episode, I often found myself feeling that way throughout.
When it comes to songs, this week there?s none to speak of.
As for the moral of the episode, this time it seems to be that it?s only natural for people to feel jealous or left out, regardless of their position, and that wanting to be a part of it is in no way a bad thing. Now, this is by no means a bad lesson, but it strikes me as odd that Discord of all people was the one trying to teach it, especially since his last episode featured him being EXTREMELY jealous when someone apparently encroached on his relationship to Fluttershy. Now, I suppose the argument could be made that, having learned this lesson himself, he wanted to pass it onto someone who perhaps could have done with being taught it, but even so, his way of going about it, like most of what he does, just annoyed me. The message is still good, but going about it by way of deception and deliberately making that person feel bad about themselves is just not something I?m particularly keen on.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Well, that?s a difficult thing for me to truly say. Discord?s episodes, with the exception of any two-parters he may have had a role in, have always left me very much on the fence as to whether or not I actually liked them. And the same is true of this one also. While there were indeed many elements to it that I liked, especially when Twilight was concerned, there was no getting around the fact that it was all in service to a story that had a character I dislike at it?s centre. I suppose, for me, it?s the same as when I keep hearing of people who don?t like characters like Rainbow Dash, despite the fact that I?m personally fond of her. If you don?t like a character, then it?ll be hard for you to like any episode that stars them, even if you know there are people who DO like that character. So while I can?t honestly say that this is a bad episode by any objective measure, or even that you shouldn?t watch it, for me personally, I don?t think it?s one that I?m going to be giving a second look to any time soon, regardless of its more positive qualities.
The premise for this story is that Twilight returns from a trip to discover that her friends have all grown close to Discord while she was away.
Okay, so as you can all tell from the brief premise above, this is an episode with a heavy emphasis on Discord. Now, anyone who has been reading my reviews for a long time, at last as far back as season two, will know pretty well by now that I am not a big fan of this character. I understand that a lot of people like him and I can understand why, especially when you consider John DeLancie?s excellent voice work. But me personally, I?ve never found anything about him that?s been able to endear me to him. As such, any episode that features him is always going to be one that I have a hard time getting into. However, in a strange way, that pre-existing dislike actually helps me to identify with Twilight for a lot of this story. Having her friends become so much closer to the guy is an incredibly disconcerting thing for her to witness, and like her, I too was incredulous about it all. So yeah, while I?m still not fond of having to put up with Discord?s character, I will nevertheless praise the episode for giving a framework for the episode that I can believe and identify with.
And speaking of identifying with someone, the overall feel and tone of the episode is a situation that, I think, most people will be able to understand at one point or another in their lives, and that?s not being a part of something their other friends are. Twilight?s situation here, having difficulty in being a part of something shared by her friends, was a relatable thing, as it?s very difficult for people to really understand such things without, as the episode says, ?being there?. As such, her continued frustrations throughout the story seemed very realistic to me, and certainly the kind of annoyance I myself would have felt in her position. In fact, the overall feel of this episode is very close to episodes like ?Lesson Zero? and ?Feeling Pinkie Pie Keen?, in that we have Twilight having difficulty with something that her friends are separate from, and she grows more and more stressed out because of it. So while that basic framework is a touch repetitive, I will say that they at least bolster it by having Twilight?s various reactions seem believable.
However, there is one major downside to this episode that, in all honesty, got under my skin in a big way, and that?s the fact that Twilight?s friends all think she was being unreasonable by assuming that Discord might have had a nefarious hand in their behaviour. In fact, the entire episode is framed in such a way as to make Twilight almost seem like a bad guy for not believing that Discord could be innocent of manipulating them. And that gets on my nerves in a big way because, quite frankly, I think Twilight was well within her rights to assume what she did, especially when you stop and think of all the things Discord has done over the years. And I don?t just mean his overt betrayal when he sided with Tirek. I mean in every episode he has done something that has either put everyone else at risk or just made things difficult for them, be it outright deception or, as this season has already shown us, nearly throwing ponies into other dimensions. Time and again, he has slipped back into near bad-guy mode, and it?s only because of his desire to hold into HIS friendships that he?s brought himself back from the brink. Doing things that are selfless or altruistic are completely beyond him.
In fact, if I?m being honest, Twilight had even MORE reason to suspect him of foul play when you consider that he actually has a history with manipulating the minds of her friends. In his very first introduction in season two, he actually went ahead and used magic to change the personalities and behaviour of Twilight?s friends, so for them to display abnormal behaviour now, I?m actually not surprised that she would think his power was involved. Look, I?m not trying to say that people can?t turn their life around and become better than they were, because I know they can. But the fact of the matter is that there comes a time when the sheer weight of one?s actions becomes so overwhelmingly negative that it is no longer unreasonable to suspect that they may do bad things again. And it?s especially true when the episode reveals that Discord WAS manipulating things, albeit without his magic. So for the episode to call Twilight as being in any way a bad person for having those suspicions, it irritates me a great deal, as it flies in the face of what any reasonably-minded person would have done or thought in her position.
Onto the humour now and, as you might expect, most of the funny moments of the story are centred around Discord and his various antics. Now, I?ve been criticised in the past for denouncing the jokes Discord does while at the same time praising the kind of stuff that Pinkie Pie gives, since they?ve been called pretty much the same type of humour. And while it is true that they share a lot of similar traits, like randomness, fourth wall breaking and the like, there are nevertheless differences that I feel allow me to justify liking one but not the other. All of it comes down to the types of characters they are and what they use humour for. Pinkie, in everything she does, is always looking to make others smile and to make them happy, and as such, that carries over into her jokes, which helps me to like them. Discord, by contrast, largely has jokes that are centred around his wish to amuse HIMSELF, rather than others. As such, humour centred around him often leaves a more bitter taste in my mouth, despite, as others have said, the fact that he does indeed employ a similar style of humour to Pinkie. And in this episode, I often found myself feeling that way throughout.
When it comes to songs, this week there?s none to speak of.
As for the moral of the episode, this time it seems to be that it?s only natural for people to feel jealous or left out, regardless of their position, and that wanting to be a part of it is in no way a bad thing. Now, this is by no means a bad lesson, but it strikes me as odd that Discord of all people was the one trying to teach it, especially since his last episode featured him being EXTREMELY jealous when someone apparently encroached on his relationship to Fluttershy. Now, I suppose the argument could be made that, having learned this lesson himself, he wanted to pass it onto someone who perhaps could have done with being taught it, but even so, his way of going about it, like most of what he does, just annoyed me. The message is still good, but going about it by way of deception and deliberately making that person feel bad about themselves is just not something I?m particularly keen on.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Well, that?s a difficult thing for me to truly say. Discord?s episodes, with the exception of any two-parters he may have had a role in, have always left me very much on the fence as to whether or not I actually liked them. And the same is true of this one also. While there were indeed many elements to it that I liked, especially when Twilight was concerned, there was no getting around the fact that it was all in service to a story that had a character I dislike at it?s centre. I suppose, for me, it?s the same as when I keep hearing of people who don?t like characters like Rainbow Dash, despite the fact that I?m personally fond of her. If you don?t like a character, then it?ll be hard for you to like any episode that stars them, even if you know there are people who DO like that character. So while I can?t honestly say that this is a bad episode by any objective measure, or even that you shouldn?t watch it, for me personally, I don?t think it?s one that I?m going to be giving a second look to any time soon, regardless of its more positive qualities.
