S05:E07 - Make New Friends But Keep Discord

[Manman20x6 359]

This season so far was pretty weak, but this episode was actually very good!

 

That Metal Gear Solid reference.

 

And Maud is the queen of sick burns. Apply cold water, Discord.

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

I can´t wait until it appears on Dailymotion!

[Allen 1,387]

Thanks for the heads up on this episode! There's Discord at the Grand Galloping Gala including the Smooze, Fluttershy was there too.

 

I don't miss out the Smooze's part he dance with Pinkie Pie at the end of the episode story, once Discord didn't make a mistake about him. 

[Drunk Cheerilee 130]

Pure comedy gold, this one. And the VERY first episode I've ever seen live. I give it all the stars in Andromeda.

[applelove 64]

The snooze in this episode reminds me of an animated version of Slimer in the Real Ghostbusters series.

[Cleverclover 1,526]

Ever since It Ain't Easy Being Breezies, Natasha Levinger has been my least favorite FiM writer. However, I must admit that this episode was really quite entertaining. 

 

If Discord will be getting his own focus episodes from this point on, this was a pretty damn good start.

 

However, one thing I didn't like were Celestia's remarks at the end of the episode:

 

 

"Can you imagine how dull it would have been if I hadn't invited Discord?"

 

Ugh.... :okiedokielokie:

 

Shut up, Celestia. Just shut up! 

 

You DO NOT get to act like this was in your plan all along when, as usual, you had absolutely no handle on anything! 

 

"Trollestia" has just lost any and all charm or humor it once had when considering just how utterly incompetent she has become. Let's face it, had Fluttershy not gotten through to Discord, there is absolutely nothing she would have been able to do to save Tree Hugger from the "sock puppet" dimension, just like there was absolutely nothing she could do against the Smooze (as expected). 

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

Pure comedy gold, this one. And the VERY first episode I've ever seen live. I give it all the stars in Andromeda.

That´s a whole lot of stars.

I give them, too.

[smitty121325 64]

Like last week's "Appleloosa's Most Wanted," I thought this episode was very meh. I felt the writing and dialogue could've been better. For example, as soon as you hear the name "Tree Hugger," you instantly know that it's a set-up for a character who's a stereotypical hippie (very much like Tree Flower from "The Angry Beavers"). I would have liked to see more of the CMC experiencing what it was like to be at the Gala. The premise could have made for a very interesting and entertaining CMC episode. I also found it creepy that Spike woke up to find Discord in his bed. Talk about creepy. 

[Photon Jet 5,491]

That´s a whole lot of stars.

I give them, too.

You might want to ask Rosalina for a bit of assistance.

[smitty121325 64]

This season so far was pretty weak, but this episode was actually very good!

 

Well, I guess that's where you and I differ. I thought this season was going great so far until this episode aired. 

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

You might want to ask Rosalina for a bit of assistance.

Why? And whoo is Rosalina?

[MAIKUN 262]

I was wondering by the way: What happened to the Fluttercord shipping anyhow?

[Photon Jet 5,491]

Oh, Rosalina is a Super Mario character who first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy. This is what she looks like: 

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/d/d3/SSB4_Rosalina_Artwork.png/220px-SSB4_Rosalina_Artwork.png

 

I've said that because you would have a really hard times collecting those stars to rate this episode.

[Carolina 212]

Damn, I LOVED Tree Hugger! Best new pony of the season, IMO. I wonder why Fluttershy has never mentioned her before and really hope we see her again. The Smooze was also surprisingly cute and I felt a little bad for it that Discord was just using it. Wouldn't mind seeing it again, too. 

 

Fluttershy was being a bit obtuse about Discord, though. How could she not have noticed how upset he was? Personally, I would have liked it if she apologized for ignoring his feelings. Oh well. 

 

And Maud was back!!! Nice to see her having a good time in her own way.  Also, was it just me or were the CMC REALLY annoying in this episode?

 

So, I guess it's been a year since "The Best Night Ever." Did the plus one caveat even exist the first time around?

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

Oh, Rosalina is a Super Mario character who first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy. This is what she looks like: 

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/d/d3/SSB4_Rosalina_Artwork.png/220px-SSB4_Rosalina_Artwork.png

 

I've said that because you would have a really hard times collecting those stars to rate this episode.

Nah, I would just give the whole galaxie. Much easier.

[Photon Jet 5,491]

Nah, I would just give the whole galaxie. Much easier.

Okay, you could say something like that.

[LongGoneGr 1,305]

Damn, I LOVED Tree Hugger! Best new pony of the season, IMO. I wonder why Fluttershy has never mentioned her before and really hope we see her again. The Smooze was also surprisingly cute and I felt a little bad for it that Discord was just using it. Wouldn't mind seeing it again, too.

 

Fluttershy was being a bit obtuse about Discord, though. How could she not have noticed how upset he was? Personally, I would have liked it if she apologized for ignoring his feelings. Oh well.

 

And Maud was back!!! Nice to see her having a good time in her own way. Also, was it just me or were the CMC REALLY annoying in this episode?

 

So, I guess it's been a year since "The Best Night Ever." Did the plus one caveat even exist the first time around?

Yes, in Season 1 Twilight got 1 extra ticket.

[Batbrony 16,053]

Welcome back everypony to another "Batbrony Reviews."  This week, oh gosh... so Discord finally had his "Lesson Zero" moment.    One would've thought that it might've been in "Keep Calm and Flutter On" before this episode, but nope, this was definitely it.  Poor dude went off the deep end from almost the first minute to the last.  And ya know what...

 

 

I didn't just like it, I LOVED it!    This episode... oh my goodness, this episode.  My one complaint is that it wasn't longer, just because I would have liked to get to see more of the Gala a second time around.  But really, even as is, this episode is pretty much perfect.  The pacing, although whirlwind-fast from start to finish, was outstanding, and they somehow managed to not only fit in an actual plot with a well-delivered message, but A LOT of little subplots and nice little aesthetic touches as well.  Without further ado, let's begin.

 

So to start, let's talk the main character, Discord.  First of all, it's very much worth noting that this is the first time, in my opinion at least, that he's been the SOLE main character of an episode.  He's been a main character before, but here, it was clear from start to finish that he was the primary subject.  No one else had to actually learn a lesson, it was him alone, and while we've seen his chaotic nature before get him in trouble, this time things, although still similar, were also quite different.  Discord did not cause trouble entirely because of his penchant for causing chaos; instead, he caused trouble because he was actually worried about his dearest friendship he has, that being with Fluttershy.  That illustrates a remarkable amount of character progression for Discord; it's quite clear, now, that friendship, at least his friendship with Fluttershy, is the most important thing in his life.  At the same time, the episode also handily illustrated how much he still has to learn about friendship, seeing as the entire conflict was driven by his possessiveness of Fluttershy, jealousy of Tree Hugger, and inability to understand 'sharing' Fluttershy with other friends.  Granted, that might seem a bit confusing seeing as Fluttershy has been friends with the Mane 6 since she befriended Discord, but she was friends with them before she even met Discord, so perhaps that makes it easier for him to accept those friendships.  Overall, him making a mistake like this makes a lot of sense, and Fluttershy knocking some sense into him at the end was a great delivery of the message and lesson he had to learn.  Besides that, he was a riot, as Discord always is; from his insane house in Lord-only-knows-what-dimension (speaking of which, I'm impressed the mail pony even managed to get to his house in the first place  ) to the crazy antics he kept doing from start to finish, not to mention that terrifying puppet-dimension he opened, John DeLancie brought his A-game as always to this role and most certainly did not disappoint!  All in all, this was a fantastic episode for Discord, and it was great to see him not only being hilarious in his chaotic, crazy way as usual, but also learn such a lesson as he did here.

 

Next, let's talk about... well, everything else, since, as I said before, there was A LOT of other stuff in this episode.  I loved seeing Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack bringing their sisters/surrogate sister as their plus-ones to the Gala, there were some really feel-good and cute moments in that little story-thread and it was one of the things that I would've loved to see more of if this were a two-parter episode.  Twilight and Princess Celestia were very cute together as well, though I was awfully disappointed that Luna didn't even make an appearance.  :okiedokielokie:   Ah well, at least Celestia was channeling her inner-Trollestia this entire episode, that was fun.  For not really enjoying Maud in her initial appearance, I actually really liked seeing her here.  I don't know, maybe she's actually grown on me since she first showed up, maybe it's that I actually really like some of the fan work she shows up in, but she was really funny here and it was cool seeing her brought back, even if she wasn't in it that much (she did manage to get a wicked burn in on Discord, after all  ).  It was great seeing the Grand Galloping Gala again as well (though was it just me, or did it seem a little... empty, at times?), and I absolutely adored some of the dresses and suits, whether worn by main or background characters.  Discord was swagging in his orange-suit-and-top hat, the Mane 6 and Celestia all looked lovely and I can't wait to see some fan art of their dresses, and even minor/background characters like Maud, Tree Hugger, Raindrops, and Lyra looked great.  Overall, you know that all the little things in this episode worked splendidly when my biggest complaint about them is that I wanted to see even more of them!

 

 

LOL, you do suck at flying Twilight!

 

Hey!

 

 

Soooo... how's your night been?  Having a good time?

 

 

Pinkie, what are you doing?  Pinkie, stahp. 

 

 

I do so love bucking up state events!  Especially that time I invited Chrysalis and her changelings to Canterlot.

 

Wait, WHAT?!

 

Oh, nothing.

 

The Smooze itself did not disappoint, not in the slightest.  It was simply a riot (not to mention a bit adorable as well in a... smoozy sort of way), and you could tell the writers were having a lot of fun with this guy.  I loved that he wasn't actually a malicious, he's just a hungry... well, smooze that simply can't help itself, and that made for some hilarious gags.  My particular favorite was when he got all over Rarity and Discord vacuumed off the ooze and her dress, IDK, it may be an old gag, but it was fairly hilarious given that Rarity would literally be the only pony at the Gala who would be so self-conscious of suddenly being "naked" in front of everypony.  In fact, I'd even say that it might have been hearkening back to her line in the Season 1 finale when she didn't want Spike coming in while they were getting dressed for the Gala.  Either way, it was a fun gag, and there were tons more with the Smooze, which I think we all expected but nonetheless was still great to see.

 

 

I seriously loved this gag SO MUCH!!!

 

 

I ship it   

 

The one thing I didn't actually really care for in this episode was our new character, Tree Hugger.  Now don't get me wrong, she wasn't anything for me like what Maud was when she first showed up; seriously, Maud did NOTHING for me when she first appeared and I didn't care about her in the slightest back in Season 4.  Tree Hugger was entertaining, to say the least; it was pretty funny seeing the writers run with the hippie-caricature like they did, her voice actress did a nice job in the role, and I'm fairly sure she was high-as-a-kite at the Gala (pretty much confirmed when she told Discord she didn't remember him  ).  I can also totally see Fluttershy befriending somepony like this, so that worked fine as well.  What I didn't like was that she was sorta Mary Sue-ish, and not just in her mannerisms.  Fluttershy kept saying really weird stuff like "Oh my gosh, that's the funniest thing I've heard!" to reinforce how wonderful Tree Hugger was, and that felt off for both Fluttershy and the writers.  For one, I highly doubt from what we saw that Tree Hugger is that funny, so I really didn't believe what Fluttershy was saying, and secondly, this was literally the writers telling instead of showing us that Tree Hugger's alright.  Now yeah, we got to learn about her as well, but she didn't seem as amazing as Fluttershy often described her.  My beef with this Mary Sue-ishness was only amplified when she stopped the Smooze.  Not only did it seem like a terribly obvious plot-device to only make Discord hate her more and everyone else love her more (ZOMG GUYS, NOT EVEN CELESTIA OR TWILIGHT CAN STOP THE SMOOZE, WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!?!   Wait, here comes Tree Hugger to save the day!  OMG, YOU SO COOL TREE HUGGER!!!... see what I mean?), but... come on, even for an episode as bizarre at times as this one, the bucking noises she made to calm it down were just WEIRDDDDDDDDD.  I mean, seriously, what the buck was that?  What the buck was she actually doing?  And, I know her talent is supposed to be with rare animals, but she seriously figured out in 5 seconds what to do to stop the Smooze?  I'm sorry, but she was such a Mary Sue at times that there were a lot of things I didn't like about her in execution.  It just felt like the writers were trying too hard to both convince the other characters AND the audience that she's cool, and they didn't really need to; like I said, I found some of her lines enjoyable enough, so they just should've let her traits speak for themselves instead of having her save-the-day for no reason other than the plot demanded it.  OK, rant over.  I hope the length of this rant didn't suggest I hated this character, I really didn't.  I'm just disappointed in her and the writers, is all.

 

 

 

Seriously, though, HOW THE BUCK DID SHE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SHE HAD TO DO THIS?!?!  Was it all the drugs?  Be honest, it was the drugs, wasn't it??

 

Overall, however, this episode was a treat.  Like I said, this was Discord's "Lesson Zero" and man-oh-man was it as crazy as that sounds.  The humor was great, the pacing phenomenal, the animation superb, the main and minor story threads both simply splendid, and it was cool seeing how far Discord has come as a character, but also how far he still has to go in learning how to truly befriend others.  It makes you wonder about more disturbing questions, like how is Fluttershy going to teach him to accept losing friends; I mean, yeah, we're never gonna see that in the show, but we all know that Fluttershy is going to die someday.  Well... she'll have to at some point before then teach Discord how to accept that seeing as he's an immortal being and all, and that's... kinda tragic to think about, seeing as, despite his age, he's so new to this.  Just goes to show how much great character there is for even a guy as seemingly whacky-on-the-surface as Discord.  Anyways, fun episode, wonderfully put together episode, I loved every minute of it.  Season 5 continues its roll of good episodes with a real bang-up one this week, and I couldn't be happier.  That's all I got everypony, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*

 

 

This was such a blast, and everypony had the time of their lives as I indirectly ruined their evening!  I sure am glad nopony important got to miss out on all this fun!

[Dark Qiviut 22,388]

There are alot of in jokes that really hit for me. You got obvious ones like the Metal Gear box and very obscure ones like the Rodney Dangerfield Tie pulling and the Gallagher Melon smash. I got a very good chuckle out of this.

Discord: "Man, what a crowd, what a crowd. Last week was rough. Last week, my mail came back, my magic came back, and my wife came back.

 

"Do you know that Fluttershy and I are close? Not all that much, I can tell ya that. But do you also know that she loves to leave notes to me? Every time I go to her house, I find a note. About Celestia, my mothers, and the other girls. I mean, I got a friend. I wanted a companion in the house. I ended up with a piece of paper. Everything with her is notes. Well, I gotta appreciate leaving someone mail. But who leaves a note in the living room saying, 'I'm in the bathroom?'"

 

(I love Dangerfield. XD)

 

---

 

Now, for a more serious note, I really appreciate Fluttershy's roles this season. Since season one, plenty of her characterizations relied on her being a flanderized scaredy-cat. Being a big fan of her, this flanderization was a major regression of her growth, as if she didn't learn anything from Luna Eclipsed onward. The writers paid attention, because she's a lot more different, and it's a long time coming. She got timid once in The Cutie Map, but was for all the right reasons. But she's a lot more assertive and sure of herself. The lessons she learned up to this point (including Dragonshy, Putting Your Hoof Down, and Breezies) are literally being put into use. This episode is no exception. When Discord misbehaved, she was right there in calling him out and keeping him accountable, as any responsible friend should. Hopefully, they keep this up in future episodes.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[Jon the VGNerd 885]

This is a very interesting episode, as it involves Discord with his jealousy of Fluttershy's new friend and uses smooze (ERMAHGERD!) as a substitute, which didn't ended too well. He learned his lesson and that Discord shouldn't just rely on Fluttershy, but also rely on other ponies like the Smooze.

 

Oh, did I ever mentioned dat Metal Gear Solid reference?

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

This episode is going to be one of my top 7 favorite 

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

One other thing I don´t like about this episode: Discord didn´t drink some of the Smooze and called it a Smoozie.

I hate it when they miss puns like that.

[Photon Jet 5,491]

Discord: "Man, what a crowd, what a crowd. Last week was rough. Last week, my mail came back, my magic came back, and my wife came back.

 

"Do you know that Fluttershy and I are close? Not all that much, I can tell ya that. But do you also know that she loves to leave notes to me? Every time I go to her house, I find a note. About Celestia, my mothers, and the other girls. I mean, I got a friend. I wanted a companion in the house. I ended up with a piece of paper. Everything with her is notes. Well, I gotta appreciate leaving someone mail. But who leaves a note in the living room saying, 'I'm in the bathroom?'"

 

(I love Dangerfield. XD)

 

---

 

Now, for a more serious note, I really appreciate Fluttershy's roles this season. Since season one, plenty of her characterizations relied on her being a flanderized scaredy-cat. Being a big fan of her, this flanderization was a major regression of her growth, as if she didn't learn anything from Luna Eclipsed onward. The writers paid attention, because she's a lot more different, and it's a long time coming. She got timid once in The Cutie Map, but was for all the right reasons. But she's a lot more assertive and sure of herself. The lessons she learned up to this point (including Dragonshy, Putting Your Hoof Down, and Breezies) are literally being put into use. This episode is no exception. When Discord misbehaved, she was right there in calling him out and keeping him accountable, as any responsible friend should. Hopefully, they keep this up in future episodes.

Fluttershy has come a long way and now she's not as shy as she was previously. Keep strong Fluttershy. Keep strong.

[MLPFiMBrony2232 19]

One thing I want to see Discord do in a future episode is get a voicemail message to Twilight somehow and use a line kind of like one of the ones Joker used in Arkham City. Picture this:

 

Automated Voice: You have one new message.

Discord: I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. A hotline straight to my bestest friend in the world. Just think. I can call you whenever I get bored. I think our relationship is really maturing Twilight, next thing you know we'll be exchanging letters or meeting up for romantic dinners. But seriously I need to talk to you.

(beep)

Automated Voice: This message will self destruct in 3...2...1.

Twilight: Ahh. (Ducks and Covers)

(Discord emerges from small explosion of whipped cream)

Discord: SURPRISE!

 

What do you think?

 

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

One thing I want to see Discord do in a future episode is get a voicemail message to Twilight somehow and use a line kind of like one of the ones Joker used in Arkham City. Picture this:

 

Automated Voice: You have one new message.

Discord: I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. A hotline straight to my bestest friend in the world. Just think. I can call you whenever I get bored. I think our relationship is really maturing Twilight, next thing you know we'll be exchanging letters or meeting up for romantic dinners. But seriously I need to talk to you.

(beep)

Automated Voice: This message will self destruct in 3...2...1.

Twilight: Ahh. (Ducks and Covers)

(Discord emerges from small explosion of whipped cream)

Discord: SURPRISE!

 

What do you think?

I do think that would be epic.

May I put it in some fanfiction at some point?

It´s on Dailimotion!

Watch it now! Agaibn or for the first time! Both! Whatever!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qey52_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-507-make-new-friends-but-keep-discord_animals