S05:E08 - The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

[Chewbroccali 32]

The Return of Gilda! This was an OK episode and I enjoyed it 

[Chewbroccali 32]

I'm actually more interested in that the writers have begun to touch upon the subject of death in S5. First Tank, then the one-eyed monster's skull. Who knows what might happen later?

Tank didn't really die, but were you maybe talking about RD thinking he died?

Edited September 13, 2015 by Chewbroccali

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

'Griffon the Brush-Off' is one of my favorite episodes ever. When I heard this episode would put Dash and Pinks together again on a special mission in the griffon kingdom, I knew Gilda would have to be in there somewhere. Add the fact that it was written by Amy Keating Rogers, and I had very high expectations for this episode.

 

The beginning is great. Rainbow Dash's Twilight impression is immortal. IMMORTAL. 

 

Finally we see Gilda again, and unlike Trixie's reappearance in Season 3, the magic wasn't lost. She looks, sounds, and acts just the same as when we last saw her--the "too cool" attitude, the vintage 90's insults...I'm nostalgic already. 

 

I guess I should have seen the end coming: the real lost treasure isn't the Idol of Boreas (which was incredibly easy to find), but friendship. Although I guess if the griffons discover friendship again, they can just team up and retrieve the Idol from the bottom of the crevasse. In other news, Gilda apparently can bake, and Pinkie Pie has a crush on a statue. Pretty good stuff, although Gilda's change should have been more of a 90 than a complete 180 so that it felt realistic, and the griffons were poorly developed; we got to see only a handful of them, and only a few besides Gilda had names. It was good, but it could have been better.

[BrawnyCharger 511]

Personally I didn't care for the complete reformation of Gilda. Because some of the things she did in her introductory episode made me believe that she was a genuine bully.

 

I understand that it had to happen at some point because that's kind of what the fandom wanted. But I would have preferred if they had a semi-reformation of Gilda. IE She helps rescue Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, makes some amends with Rainbow Dash, yet Gilda still retains her gruff cold antagonostic persona (especially towards Pinkie). Similar to the way they maintain Discord's mischievous ways even though he's reformed.

 

I think it would make for a more realistic development.

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

 

would love to see an AJ/FlutterShy epsiode.

 

I would also love to see more AJ+FS.

[ImpctR 155]

Gilda and the Gryphon village was interesting, they could have been (Spoiler ahead) presented in the last 2-parter of the season.

[AtomicStone 724]

This episode was okay. But I was a bit disappointed in how they dealt with Gilda's reforming, she changed too quickly for my liking and it kind of ruined how Gilda was as a character for me.. It should have been more of a gradual thing I reckon.

Edited March 5, 2016 by AtomicStone

[HorsesandMOARGaloar 300]

I have three questions:

1. In the history scenes, Griffonstone used to be neat and tidy when the Idol of Boreas was under the griffons' control. How did it became a mess: was it because of the griffons' nest-making habits?

 

2. In some fanfics, Gilda finds the Idol of Boreas and become coronated as Queen of Griffonstone. If any griffon happens to find the Idol, would the griffons make them their next ruler?

 

3. If the person who finds the Idol is not a griffon, but a pony, a yak, a changeling, or any other species, what would the griffons do?

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

kinda cool to see gilda's appearance. but she rarely changed :/

 

oh well. the eppie was decent. not worse. but definitely not memorable either

[cmarston1 5,959]

This has to be one of my favorite episodes from season 5.

I really enjoyed how Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were presented in her.

The same goes for how it actually made me like Gilda.

Plus the backstory and worldbuilding we got out of this episode was really interesting.

[Thrond 3,263]

This episode is so gray and gloomy that it dampens most of the entertainment I would have found from this, and that the worldbuilding is so rudimentary and half-assed doesn't help. Ooh, a vague myth about griffons losing their "pride" which is ultimately meaningless! How exciting! Gilda lacks energy here, and I just don't care about her enough for her turnaround, which I don't entirely feel is earned, to have the desired emotional effect. And then there's the ending, which I find utterly insulting. Oh yeah, these griffons in this dilapidated society would never think to just... make friends! Totally unfeasible! There's nothing practical about cooperation in the face of adversity! Moreover, I find the implication that griffons will be better if they just adopt pony values to be vaguely offensive - it's basically a civilizing mission, which has seriously questionable historical parallels. It bothers me a lot, but I wasn't enjoying the episode up to that point regardless, so whatever. 

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,006]

Wait, after all this time they FINALLY returned Gilda? And, they actually made her an interesting and 3-dimensional character? Wow..............I'm impressed. For a character whom had very little to work with, they really did Gilda's character well in this episode.

[Neo_Shiron 56]

I've waited for years for that episode^^ I always knew Gilda wasn't a jerk for no reason but someone who was afraid to lose a friend. I can't remember if she actually said it but to me it looked like that. Hopefully we will get more griffin episodes soon, especially with Gilda, Gabby and Greta^^

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

This Episode had an okay Message, but i was disappointed, that the Episode didnt go the Direction, that it seemed to take. The new Land didnt looked as great, the Villain was already gone and they didnt even find something that awesome.

[Thrond 3,263]

I dunno, this one tries really hard to be funny, but it's kind of a bummer. A lot of the jokes seem to revolve around how bad Griffonstone has gotten, and that's just not very fun to me; even the good jokes have kind of a bitter aftertaste. The backstory is really simplistic: what happened after the idol was lost? What happened during that last king's reign? I guess it doesn't matter, but it makes this episode's approach to worldbuilding really bland. And then there's Rainbow Dash, who is just sort of grumpy for the entire thing. Her resentment for griffons isn't just unpleasant, it's kinda hard to believe. Does she really believe that every single griffon must be like this one girl she knew? Meanwhile, Pinkie's behaviour just seems stupid sometimes; why did she drop the rope?

And the take on Gilda, no, I really don't buy it. Are we talking about the same Gilda who delighted in cruelty and couldn't stand the idea of Rainbow having other friends? I don't recognize that Gilda in this episode; this character's arguably better, but enough of this episode relies on continuity that getting an entire character wrong doesn't sit right with me. And most of all, I just do not buy that no griffons ever became friends. Gilda's presence here lessens the implication of griffons being bettered by adopting pony values, but I think this society defined entirely by greed to the point where it literally ruins them is just way too simplistic for its own good. There's a certain point where cooperation would be in their mutual self-interest, and this seems way past that. This episode has its charms, but too much of it just sort of bores me. Still, I at least appreciate it a little more this time. 

Score:
Entertainment: 5/10
Characters: 4/10
Themes: 7/10
Story: 4/10
Overall: 50/100

 

[bigbertha 414]

Outside of Gilda's reformation, this episode was just okay. The jokes are decent and the world building is somewhat interesting despite not going that in depth. What really brings this episode down is Gilda's reformation. It all happens in one and a half minutes. There aren't any hints that there could be more to Gilda until 14 minutes in when she help Greta up. The episode's focus is in the wrong place. Less time should've been spent developing Griffonstone and more time should've been spent developing Gilda because as is, her reformation did nothing for me.

Score: 4/10

[Meushell 52]

I enjoyed this episode, but I think it could have been a lot better the story itself had more time to develop. Everything was rushed, and the griffins themselves were so one dimensional. It feels like we missed half of the story.

Why did the griffins change after losing the statue? Was it the fault of the king? Why did they never go looking for it? Seriously, it was like, right there.

Also, did the map send Rainbow in to be a damsel in distress? That would be kind of hilarious if it did. Gilda and Rainbow really didn’t seem ready to be friends for anything less.

A creative fan could rewrite this episode in fan fiction and expand on everything missing.

[qwerE 96]

Seems like many people found the reformation of Gilda really unnatural. It was actually okay for me, and I loved the episode. I didn't find the reformation to be utterly nonsensical because she definitely was a friend of Rainbow Dash in the past. It means that she could be friendly, but she just chose to act like a bully after being exposed to Griffonstone's unfriendly atmosphere. I would love to see how Griffonstone changes from now on!

[bigbertha 414]

There are many problems here. My biggest one is how ponies are treated as so much better than every other species. This problem started back in Dragon Quest, but that was just a one off episode. From now on, it's going to become a much bigger problem until it culminates in the Friendship School. In this episode's case, it shows Griffonstone as a nation of poverty, greed, anger, and generally negative traits. And of course ponies are needed to save them and teach them to adopt the ways of the ponies. Gilda does mention a "pony hero complex", but it's not followed up on. That could give nuance to the story and we can't have that. ponies have to save everyone so they can always be the hero and the kids will want more pony toys.

There's no practicality in the moral or any in depth look at Griffon society. The worldbuilding is basic and dull. There was an idol that the society treasured. It was stolen and the society crumbled. How interesting. And the moral is just to be nice. Nothing about how that'll work in a society so entrenched in negativity and bitterness. Gilda just needs to be nice others and I guess others will want to be nice too. 

The characters also have problems. Pinkie is really dumb here. She has the mindset of "if everyone acts nice, it will spread and everything will be better". That's a very simplistic outlook, but I guess it works because nuance isn't allowed. She also spends all of her and Dash's bits on candy, drops down rope without realizing she has to hold one end, and is generally really annoying. And Gilda completely changes in personality after her reformation. She immediately apologizes for being a jerk and seemingly wipes her mind clean of what she was like before that point. It's way too abrupt. 

There's also the problem of Twilight apparently never having been to Griffonstone, despite the fact that she says she's been obsessed with Griffon culture since before she became an alicorn and could've gone whenever she wanted. She could've gone with Pinkie and Rainbow. The map says nothing about banning others from going. If Twilight was really worried, she could've still gone and just stayed away from Pinkie and Rainbow.

A lot of these issues come from an overarching problem of this show trying to bite off more than it can chew. It keeps trying to tackle big issues and expand its world, but has to remove all nuance and simplify everything. Tank can't die because it's a kids show. Starlight can't have a point with her philosophy because it's a kids show. Trouble Shoes can't dislike his Cutie Mark because it's a kids show. Pinkie can't deal with the fact that sometimes just being nice isn't enough because this is a kids show. This has been a problem even spanning back to season 1 (Griffon the Brush-Off, Feeling Pinkie Keen). If this show can't handle complex topics without simplifying them and removing all nuance, it just shouldn't go there. 

Score: 3/10

Edited February 3, 2019 by bigbertha

[Rikifive 24,128]

It was an interesting episode, but Griffonstone's design was rather cheap and poor, feels like it all was rushed. 

 

I wasn't a fan of Gilda, but that episode kinda changed it. 

 

I threw 4/5

[JMTV99 1,352]

I really like this episode. This is the best episode featuring Gilda. At first, I wasn't too crazy about Gilda back in Season 1 since she's nothing more of a jerk character just for the sake of being a jerk, but in this episode, she's really likeable. The best moment of the episode was her backstory. She was so precious when she was little griffon. Her first time meeting Dashie was so adorable. I really like how she change of heart in this episode and I want to see more of her. Such a shame that she didn't get more appearances later on in the show.

[Astralshy 26,453]

I also liked this episode. Presenting the backstory and giving more depths to Gilda was appreciated. The proper introduction of the griffons is at least something important within the world building of MLP.

The first episode where the Map is giving a quest to (outside the premiere) is a good one. I really like this plot device :D

And RD's impression of Twilight was cute :3

[Grover 29]

This is my favorite episode of My Little Pony. The metaphors being used here about how idolatry and monarchy are less important than genuine loyalty are very important. Gilda is a great griffon dude lol, she could have been a star among griffons, she could have become a legend to them, she chose her friend over the idol. That was big of her, and she even worked with Pinkie to make the rescue happen for Rainbow, even though Pinkies incompetence kind of got Rainbow trapped down there, she still had good insight.

Bottom line, Gilda didn't need to be banished from pony kind for being mean, she didn't try to you know LITERALLY OVERTHROW EQUESTRIA, she just hollered at and ripped on oversensitive ponies lol, but obviously her loyalty as a friend was absolute to Rainbow, and it brings more perspective on the fact that rainbows loyalty element speaks volumes about her and always has. 

[Wholeinsome 18]

On 2023-09-22 at 7:17 AM, Grover said:

This is my favorite episode of My Little Pony. The metaphors being used here about how idolatry and monarchy are less important than genuine loyalty are very important. Gilda is a great griffon dude lol, she could have been a star among griffons, she could have become a legend to them, she chose her friend over the idol. That was big of her, and she even worked with Pinkie to make the rescue happen for Rainbow, even though Pinkies incompetence kind of got Rainbow trapped down there, she still had good insight.

Bottom line, Gilda didn't need to be banished from pony kind for being mean, she didn't try to you know LITERALLY OVERTHROW EQUESTRIA, she just hollered at and ripped on oversensitive ponies lol, but obviously her loyalty as a friend was absolute to Rainbow, and it brings more perspective on the fact that rainbows loyalty element speaks volumes about her and always has. 

Really enjoy your emphasis on the fact that Gilda was willing to work with Pinkie Pie for the greater good of things and to put Rainbow first in the situation seeing as she was literally in peril. Gilda also putting friendship above status is very telling of why those two became friends in the first place. Really good episode.

[Antiyonder 1,119]

The episode is present on this compilation at the 21:32 mark:

A solo video will be posted when uploaded.