From what I can tell, the whole thing about keeping you in the dark was an attempt to get you invested in the episode. The point was to get you screaming internally (or externally) to want to know what this is all about. All that just to build up for the pay-off near the end with the "haha joke's on you" moment that Discord went through and concluded with the warm and fuzzy happy ending. That appears to be what the writer tried to craft with this episode. You could say that was the "joke" of the entire episode.

Anyway, I was happy to see and hear from Zecora again even though it was short but sweet.

Maybe I'm a lot more patient than I give myself credit for since I didn't find the shenanigans to be that grating. I knew that this was leading to something so just sit still and wait for everything to come together.

Your rant was also fun to watch

This episode was my least favorite Discord episode.

From what I can tell, the whole thing about keeping you in the dark was an attempt to get you invested in the episode. The point was to get you screaming internally (or externally) to want to know what this is all about. All that just to build up for the pay-off near the end with the "haha joke's on you" moment that Discord went through and concluded with the warm and fuzzy happy ending. That appears to be what the writer tried to craft with this episode. You could say that was the "joke" of the entire episode.

 

Anyway, I was happy to see and hear from Zecora again even though it was short but sweet.

 

Maybe I'm a lot more patient than I give myself credit for since I didn't find the shenanigans to be that grating. I knew that this was leading to something so just sit still and wait for everything to come together.

 

Your rant was also fun to watch

In that case, I guess it was successful on me, anyway. I've had a few people tell me that they were more bored or annoyed by this episode than any other this season, but I spent way too much time scratching my head to get to that point. It seemed a little too awkward for me personally to be glad I was along for the trip, but I never thought about jumping ship, at least.

Zecora was probably overdue for another turn in the spotlight, and the scene was perfectly fine, but there wasn't really much to talk about, so I didn't.

And thank you. I had to film each rant a couple times over before I was satisfied XD

This episode was my least favorite Discord episode.

No arguments here.

Sigh... this half of the season is not going great. These episodes struggle over simply getting a "good" rating.

Canterlot boutique: I liked it but it felt like they regressed Rarity's business savvy. The "if your hearts not in it" moral was decent, but felt preachy and too idealistic.

Rarity Investigates: Moderately funny, could have been funnier... and better paced. But hey RariDash

Maid in Manehatten: The moral stands out... and its the only thing that stands out.

Brotherhooves Social: Again the ending is really the only part people seem to love about this episode, and I agree but the rest of the episode was a bunch of dressed in drag jokes and plot points that I didn't care for.

Crusaders of the Lost Opportunity... I mean Mark: This episodes was amazing... if you ignore the fact that Diamond Tiara's development was forced, laden with cliched, solved with cliche, and undeserved because she is a little shit. Oh also cutie marks earned through the cliched and forced plot... so much contempt. So basically if you ignore every single quality of the episode, it's amazing.

The One Where I Don't Care: repetitive and worthless.

Hearthbreakers: This one is actually good. I like how Pinkie Pie interacted with her family.

Scare Master: I was angry about this episode initially, but do see its better qualities now. It actually might be on of the better episodes in this half, I'm shocked to say. But seriously, stop with the Fearful Fluttershy episodes.

What About Discord?: What the fuck was this episode going for?

Next episode pairs up my 2 favourite ponies, Twilight and Fluttershy, so I really hope its good, for my sake and for the season's sake.

Sigh... this half of the season is not going great. These episodes struggle over simply getting a "good" rating.

 

Canterlot boutique: I liked it but it felt like they regressed Rarity's business savvy. The "if your hearts not in it" moral was decent, but felt preachy and too idealistic.

 

Rarity Investigates: Moderately funny, could have been funnier... and better paced. But hey RariDash

 

Maid in Manehatten: The moral stands out... and its the only thing that stands out.

 

Brotherhooves Social: Again the ending is really the only part people seem to love about this episode, and I agree but the rest of the episode was a bunch of dressed in drag jokes and plot points that I didn't care for.

 

Crusaders of the Lost Opportunity... I mean Mark: This episodes was amazing... if you ignore the fact that Diamond Tiara's development was forced, laden with cliched, solved with cliche, and undeserved because she is a little shit. Oh also cutie marks earned through the cliched and forced plot... so much contempt. So basically if you ignore every single quality of the episode, it's amazing.

 

The One Where I Don't Care: repetitive and worthless.

 

Hearthbreakers: This one is actually good. I like how Pinkie Pie interacted with her family.

 

Scare Master: I was angry about this episode initially, but do see its better qualities now. It actually might be on of the better episodes in this half, I'm shocked to say. But seriously, stop with the Fearful Fluttershy episodes.

 

What About Discord?: What the fuck was this episode going for?

 

Next episode pairs up my 2 favourite ponies, Twilight and Fluttershy, so I really hope its good, for my sake and for the season's sake.

I might disagree with you on two of those. I thought Made in Manehattan was refreshingly understated, after all the episodes that tried to dramatize plots like this more than they deserved, and in addition to the moral, I thought it managed to shine in many of the "little" moments, like the facial expression punch lines and Rarity's attempt to borrow from The Peanuts. And I liked Brotherhooves Social even more. Seeing Big Mac finally break out of his shell was a blast, and having it happen through the opportunity to play an entirely different character (which is indeed known to be liberating for many shy actors) was absolutely brilliant.

But otherwise, unfortunately, I have to agree almost entirely. Altogether, this half almost feels deflated. It's is like a reverse Season 4, starting strong and getting weaker, instead of the other way around. Except season 4 showed signs of stepping it up before it was even done with the first ten episodes. There were signs that this was going to happen to season 5 before we even before we got to this half...