Alrighty, alrighty, alrighty, good afternoon everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"! Sorry about being late to getting to this review, just been busy with some things since the episode. Thankfully, this morning's episode is not one which requires a massive review, namely because (1) it was so good, and (2) one need not thoroughly detail every which way in which it was good. Without further ado, let's begin, this is "Dungeons and Discord."

 

 

 

 

So before this episode debuted, if you had asked me what I thought was the funniest episode of the season so far, I would have said without a doubt "Saddle Row Review." That has since changed. Oh my goodness, has it ever. "Dungeons and Discord" is easily not just the funniest episode of Season 6 so far, but also one of the funniest episodes of the show ever, made all the more impressive by the fact that it was carried entirely by secondary characters, the closest to a main character being Spike. Honestly, I can't possibly cover every which way in which it was funny, simply because that would be an impossible task. It's a fantastic example of what can be done when (1) the writers are on their A-game, (2) you have a great combination of characters for an episode's purposes, and (3) you have some phenomenal voice actors who simply OWN their roles at this point. The writing, oh goodness, from a comedic stand point it was top notch in every single way. "Saddle Row Review" might be more impressive in its structure, but "Dungeons and Discord" is more impressive in the stunning variety of ways in which it was funny. You had Discord bits, you had Spike bits, you had D&D bits (or should I say, O&O bits), you had Big Mac bits, you had Mane 6 bits, and best of all, tons and tons and TONS of humor referring to the wider world of Equestria, something we're seeing more and more in Discord episodes. From the opening scene, I could tell this was going to be a treat for a couple of reasons. First, John de Lancie was clearly on his A-game here, even in the opener. It's easy to forget that this guy is a world class actor in general, not just a great voice actor, but performances like this remind you of just that. He was given some great material to work with and he owned it every single step of the way. On top of that, the fact that they were willing to go with a joke as crazy as the Opposite Equestria one told me that this was going to be a visually stunning episode, and it most certainly was, there were a RIDICULOUS number of different settings for a 22 minute episode which only helped to enhance the insanity of everything going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Besides that, it was just fun. The lesson was nice enough, and it was nice to see that Discord still has plenty of problems (namely his ego and unwillingness to reach out to others besides Fluttershy and some of her friends), but really, this episode just wanted to cut loose and have a TON of fun. When it comes to Discord, you have to strike a fine balance between his penchant for doing whatever he wants and whatever lesson he's supposed to learn. This episode struck the balance perfectly. It was amusing seeing a game of all things confounding the Lord of Chaos, both its rules and the nature of using one's imagination to bring it to life, not to mention the fact that we learned that Discord has a very limited idea of what it means to spend a night on the town or having fun with the guys (which made for some excellent adult humor as well, such as his list of the rowdiest establishments in Ponyville). It's easy to forget that not only is friendship new for Discord, but his very perspective of the world is different from any other character's considering he can do things that no one else can. Living your whole life like that, it's not surprising he's developed such an ego about himself.

 

 

 

 

 

But like I said, overall, this episode was a love letter to two things, (1) D&D, and (2) the idea that the show can sometimes just sit back, relax, and have a downright fun episode without a very serious lesson. In fact, I have literally only one complaint, and it is a super, super tiny one. RD and Pinkie's joining the fun at the end, while harmless enough (and their costumes were pretty awesome) seemed a bit forced, just a tad. I hate to say this, but it almost felt like the writers were VERY quickly trying to hammer in the idea that just because it was a "guy's night" doesn't mean the girls couldn't participate. Look, I know the nature of the show (or at least a big part of it) is to show that there is no single way to define what girls do, but when the show is at its best at doing that, it's when it's not being clumsy about it. Rarity is just great at fashion because that's what she loves, just like RD is great at sports because that's what she loves. This though, it actually felt in a very minor way like the writers were afraid that if they didn't let the girls (or at least some of them) participate in the O&O fun, then they'd be telling people that D&D is just for guys. Again, it's a super minor complaint because it happened for about 2 seconds, but all the same, I just have to say that they never should have worried about that in the first place. Firstly, it was nice actually seeing a guy-centric episode, especially centered around secondary characters, for a change, and definitely helped the episode stand out. Secondly, it just felt unnecessary. Guys have guy nights sometimes no different than girls have girl nights sometimes; you're not sexist if you enjoy doing something like that, that's just the nature of some get-togethers. So like I said, minor complaint, but most of all I just don't think the writers should have worried about it at all; they saw a problem where none existed and through in something really quick to fix a non-existent problem. It would have been neat to see Pinkie and RD in the whole episode, sure, but when they showed up at the last second like that just for what essentially was a promo-shot, it came off as forced.

 

 

 

 

All in all, however, as a comedic episode, this episode was perfection. Great writing, great voice acting, and stunning animation all came together for one of the greatest comedic episodes the show has ever had. I for one can't wait to rewatch it and laugh twice as hard the second time. That's all I've got for you, everypony, this week, until next time this is Batbrony signing off. I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*