S05:E22 - What About Discord

[MidnightNoir 13]

To be completely honest, if it wasn't for the Bob Ross references then this would have been an incredibly dull episode.

 

So this was Neal Dusedau's second episode and he's still crap. Sorry pal but you've gotta do better than that.

 

What was the though process behind this? Take an episode about jealousy and feeling excluded (which was done better in "Make New Friends but Keep Discord") and whack Discord in there to try and stop it from being boring?

 

Or did he think "I want to do a Discord episode because Discord is so random!" and cobble some threadbare plot together so that you could have Discord being random?

 

At least "Three's a Crowd" had a song!

[Kevin 160]

Now that was a great episode! Discord has definitely made some more progress in his reformation even if it meant manipulating Twilight into learning her lesson. The whole lesson really hit home for me too having been down the road of deliberately excluding myself from social events because of my introvertness.

 

By the way, I absolutely LOVED Spike's character in this episode! This is exactly how he should be, being Twilight's assistant and keeping her in check. I hope to see more this kind of thing. On another note, it's great to see obsessive Twilight make a return and Zecora making an appearance as well.

[Spikey-Wikey 378]

To be completely honest, if it wasn't for the Bob Ross references then this would have been an incredibly dull episode.

 

So this was Neal Dusedau's second episode and he's still crap. Sorry pal but you've gotta do better than that.

 

What was the though process behind this? Take an episode about jealousy and feeling excluded (which was done better in "Make New Friends but Keep Discord") and whack Discord in there to try and stop it from being boring?

 

Or did he think "I want to do a Discord episode because Discord is so random!" and cobble some threadbare plot together so that you could have Discord being random?

 

At least "Three's a Crowd" had a song!

It's only his second episode, the guy some time, because not every writer starts of great.

[Jeric 46,850]

Poll is up

[Batbrony 16,051]

 

Good morning everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews."  Well, honestly, should have a very short review for you all this morning, mostly because I just don't have a lot to say at all about this episode.  It wasn't bad or anything, just... OK, in my opinion, and not a particularly memorable episode.  Without further ado, let's jump into "What About Discord."

 

So the best thing I can say about this episode is that it has a really solid message, and I like that aspect of it a lot.  The message is essentially that in friendships, you shouldn't worry or get jealous if you don't share every memory ever made with all of your friends, and that's a particularly solid message for today's world, where it's easier to have many, many friends than ever before given how easy it is to stay in touch with people through online social media.  You can't be with all of your friends ALL the time, it's simply not possible, so they're going to have some fun times without you, and vice versa.  Accepting that fact can not only make your life less stressful, but also help you become a better friend for it.  Friends who try to do too much often risk wearing themselves down and possibly risking friendships even by simply trying to do too much and be there for their friends too much, and neither is something that anyone should want.  So on the whole, yeah, I really liked this message about avoiding jealousy in friendships and accepting that you can't make every single memory with all your friends.  It's a nice message about staying down-to-earth and not trying to do too much of a good thing.

 

Where this episode kinda lost me, though, was in its execution.  Again, it wasn't a bad episode, but it wasn't a particularly memorable episode, and that's particularly odd for one starring Discord.  It was strangely low-key in its execution, and most of the humor was very, very awkward, both of which are unusual for any Discord episode.  Don't get me wrong, he was entertaining (the Bob Ross references were particularly funny), and his trolling Twilight was pretty funny, but it just didn't ever really feel like a Discord episode overall.  Twilight almost lost it, but didn't quite, we never really got a good sense of what their weekend with Discord was like, there was a random subplot about Twilight thinking they're under a spell from Discord, none of it was just memorable in the slightest.  And that feels kinda weird and wrong for an episode starring our favorite draconequus.  At one point I even thought that Twilight's suspicions about her friends being enchanted might be correct just because even their behavior seemed a tad forced at times.  But nope, they were just acting strangely jovial with Discord.  Honestly, I would've far preferred if he was the star of the episode and we got to see just what he got up to with the girls on that weekend.  I feel like that would've made for a more straightforward episode, and maybe one which worked better for Discord.

 

As it is, this episode just kind of exists.  It wasn't awful or anything, but it wasn't amazing either, and certainly not very memorable.  Twilight was fine, the rest of the girls were fine, Spike was fine, Discord was fine, Zecora was fine.  Everyone and everything was just fine, and that's neither particularly good or bad.  But hey, not every episode of MLP can be a home run, and this is hardly the first time that's been the case.  Nothing else really to say about this one other than it was fine, so until next week everypony, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*

[Shanks 10,816]

This episode was alright, not the greatest and far from the worst.

[BrilliantVenture 334]

Personally, I felt this episode was a bit hit and miss...

While this one was better than the last discord episode (I wasn't really a fan of that one at all in all honesty)

I felt that it still lacked that "shine" that made discord's character fun to watch.

 

He just wasn't funny or clever in this episode. In fact, most of the episode kind of kept

an uncomfortable vibe. Now, I know that's probably what the writer intended due to the moral

(or lack of one there of, which I'll get to later.) at the end of the episode, but I feel it was very out of place.

 

I mean, yes...we felt what Twilight felt, which is kudos I will definitely give to the writer.

Everytime Twilight felt uncomfortable or annoyed, I felt uncomfortable or annoyed. So

props to the guy on making the audience "feel" which is generally hard to accomplish.

 

BUT...is that really what you want to feel when watching MLP?

I mean...joyful, warming, epic, or even "feelsy" episodes generally work really well

with the show...but "unpleasant" just makes you feel...well, unpleasant.

 

And that's kinda my beef with this episode. Discord episodes generally are driven with a different vibe...

They're humourous and playful, with a hint of mischief. Now while you could argue that all of that is present in this episode,

prior ones weren't blanketed by that "unplesant-ness" I've been talking about. Even in "the Return of harmony" it wasn't that bad, and I remember watching it for my first time feeling torn as the Mane 6 lost their pleasant character traits. But I feel at least that episode was done better, and felt far more balanced.

 

Now let's talk about the jokes...The Bob Ross parody was nice, and so was the Back to the Future reference. But again, I don't feel like they hit that hard in the joke department, mainly because...they were just references! Anyone can reference something, but in my opinion, to make a joke hit truly hit hard and work well, the subtlety is key, otherwise it just feels forced and in your face.

 

Now finally, let's get on to what I believe is the most important part of the episode...the moral/message.

...which was...what again? I was watching this episode with my wife, and afterwards I asked her that question

and after a long moment of silence she said, "To...share you feelings with one another?"

Now if that's the message, which I believe it is...haven't they already been doing that consistantly for the past 4 seasons?

 

I mean...even the whole "jealousy" thing doesn't really add up. I don't think Twilight was as much jealous as just really irratated at

not being able to understand the jokes. And if it was jealousy? it wasn't well expressed in the writing, at least from my point of view. But regardless, I didn't feel it was a very strong message, and I felt it kinda fell short in comparison to prior episodes.

 

It just felt like filler for the most part, nothing really happened this episode. There wasn't that much of a problem to begin with

and at times, it felt like the writer was really stretching hard to make jokes work. But hey, if you liked it, awesome!

As for me? I give it the Jerry Seinfeld seal of approval.

 

"It was a show about nothing."

 

 

6.5/10

[Truffles 2,033]

Also, the writer here also wrote Princess Spike.

 

And it only took him till his second episode to get Spike down.

 

I agree. He must have gone back and watched all of the episodes with Spike in them. Not only was Spike helpful like he usually is, but he even had some of his season 1 snarkiness that's he's lost over the years.

 

Also, I loved Spike's jealous reaction when Discord referred to Rarity as "Dearest."   Spike was ambivalent to the situation until that moment!

See, that's how Spike should have reacted to Trenderhoof in "Simple Ways." He didn't need to go on some jealous rampage, just a simple acknowledgement that he and Rarity have some history together, even if it's one-sided.

 

 

 

When time travel was mentioned, I was excited. Then disappointed when that didn't happen.

 

Yeah, I get the distinct feeling they're trying to telegraph the evil aspects of the premise of the finale... Nice nod to "It's About Time," and it makes it VERY CLEAR Twilight wants nothing to do with time travel ever again. (Hint Twilight: you're getting involved in it again whether you like it or not! )

[BlackWater627 700]

 

 

I agree with you, except I feel that this was the least amusing Discord episode. I liked some of the pop culture jokes, but I was mostly bored, and annoyed at the inefficient writing in this one. The concept was solid. Its execution left a lot to be desired.

 

Hmmm, I think I'm going to have to concur on this one.  -_-

 

 

 

To be completely honest, if it wasn't for the Bob Ross references then this would have been an incredibly dull episode.

 

I think there were some other good moments - like with Spike. But overall, I would agree with you. Could have been better with some other characters or maybe some dialogue pizzazz.   

 

 

 

Where this episode kinda lost me, though, was in its execution.  Again, it wasn't a bad episode, but it wasn't a particularly memorable episode, and that's particularly odd for one starring Discord.

 

 

Lots of people seem to have a similar opinion on this one. Know what could have livened up this episode? Maud. She rocks! 

[Fiery Shadow 109]

wait... is it out yet? i can't see it

[BlackWater627 700]

wait... is it out yet? i can't see it

 

Don't forget that the episodes stream on equestria.tv on Saturday mornings. If you can't get on, links always go up on equestriadaily. http://www.equestriadaily.com/2015/11/season-5-episode-22-what-about-discord.html 

[Meeh 48]

DID ANYBODY ELSE NOTICE STARLIGHT GLIMMER SPYING ON THE MANE 6 WITH BINOCULARS IN THE BUSHES RIGHT AFTER PINKIE AND TWILIGHT TALK ABOUT TIME TRAVEL?

 

You can barely tell, but sticking out of the bush on the far right is a pair of binoculars, and you can see the top of Starlight's mane.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Sparkarez

[cybershocker455 324]

Twas a fun episode. I enjoyed it rather well.

[CT-1138 3,182]

This episode was incredibly dull. The Bob Ross refs were fun, and I expect to see plenty of memes from that, but beyond that... dull! What exactly was Twilight's lesson? What, exactly, was OUR lesson? Honestly, it would have been more enjoyable if Discord HAD put them under a spell, or something. This was all so boring. 22 minutes of inside jokes that were purposely not funny. Just, ugh! 

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

The highlight of this episode is easily the Bob Ross reference. The jokes were really on point. I never watched Back to the Future, so the joke sailed completely over my head and left me confused.

 

The rest of the episode, though, is really run-of-the-mill. It's not badly written by any means. Compared to Princess Spike (Dusedau's other episode), this is a godsend. Spike is easily in character here. But the conflict felt really forced. It feels like a mishmash of A Bird in the Hoof, a poor man's version of Lesson Zero Light, and bad puns that stopped being funny the second the ReMane Five reiterated them. Twilight was written to be in the wrong despite the fact that she has every reason to not trust Discord: Remember, he broke her down piece by piece in Return of Harmony.

 

Echoing Hypno. It's a guilty pleasure episode. Good if you want a brief burst of fun the first time around, but it lacks replay value. The overall story quality leaves plenty to be desired.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[Varrack 1,080]

What kind of episode was this? This just wasn't...good...at all...

 

Discord basically "had a fun time with the other five". Twilight thought he was up to something, but really he wasn't. They just happened to have a good time together. Twilight gets mad for missing out on inside jokes, cracks a joke with the other five, makes Discord sad, and finally Twilight throws out a line which makes everyone laugh and then the credits roll. WHAT?

 

Poorly written. Disappointed, but it's only one episode so I shouldn't get in a fit about it. Maybe next week's ep will be better.

[Allen 1,387]

The episode today focuses on Twilight Sparkle is jealous about Discord making practical jokes on the mane six. That's what I call it a prank from April Fools.

 

At the ending part: we hug each other that we are good friends and a redeemed Discord. 

[Cwanky 17,567]

There's a valuable lesson here. Sometimes people, like Twilight, just need to go outside and enjoy life and the outdoors, like Bob Ross er Discord does.

[Kivil 1,721]

I did enjoy all of the puns and the references. What I loved most was the fact that Twilight could give in and admit her problem

[Varrack 1,080]

Starlight's back! Right there in the bushes.

 

[BrilliantVenture 334]

Starlight's back! Right there in the bushes.

 

HOW ON EARTH DID YOU CATCH THAT??? Legit...this fandom never ceases to impress me.

[Varrack 1,080]

HOW ON EARTH DID YOU CATCH THAT??? Legit...this fandom never ceases to impress me.

Someone else pointed this out actually. I doubt I would've ever noticed it myself. But yeah, she's there. I think she appears in the background in Amending Fences too.

[TheAnimatorOfficial 567]

The show got better when Lauren Faust left. Come at me.

 

Anyways I give this episode a 7/10.

Edited November 7, 2015 by TheAnimatorOfficial

[Odd Ball 231]

The show got better when Lauren Faust left. Come at me.

Anyways I give this episode a 7/10.

I still wonder how the show would have turned out if Lauren Faust didn't leave. But the show has gotten better season after season (though season 3 is by far the weakest).

[TheAnimatorOfficial 567]

I still wonder how the show would have turned out if Lauren Faust didn't leave. But the show has gotten better season after season (though season 3 is by far the weakest).

I wouldn't say one season is really weaker than another, except for the pure awesomeness that was season 4.