S07:E15 - Triple Threat

[Ganondox 899]

I liked this episode. The premise was weak and I predicted much of the episode from the synopsis, but it's all about the execution, and this episode was great. Loved seeing more of Ember and Thorax, and it was very funny. 

On 8/19/2017 at 9:53 AM, Lexamena said:

 

I called that a long ass time ago - the similarities between star ponies. Not that it takes a rocket scientist or anything. I predict they'll be revealed to be sister or cousins in the future. 

Unicorns in general tend to have star cutie marks, can't blame Ember for not understanding pony culture. 

On 8/19/2017 at 10:08 AM, PoisonClaw said:

Gotta say, it was kind of surreal seeing Twilight being the voice of reason for a panicing Spike, when it's usually the other way around. Although... this episode was a step backwards for the great characterization Spike's gotten for the last while, since there's really is no good reason why he thinks Thorax and Ember wouldn't get along besides because the plot says so. Because of this, most of Spike's scenes were pretty cringeworthy.

On the other hand, I enjoyed seeing Ember and Thorax's interactions, especially the adorkable moose-bug Thorax. It was also funny that Ember kept mixing up Starlight and Twilight, going as far to say they're virtually identical despite the fact that one has, you know, wings.

Maybe i was just hoping for too much, but this was just an okay episode.  

Thinking Ember and Thorax wouldn't get along was contrived, but the real issue was that he double booked them when they should have each gotten full attention, then the idea they might get along got into this head (due to their different temperaments, NOT race as Hierok suggested) and he started obsessing over that. The contrivedness of the whole thing was lampshaded when Ember and Thorax went "So what?". It would have made more sense for Twilight to worry about something like this than Spike, but it was all explained, and as Truffles pointed out Twilight and Starlight tend reinforce that idea. 

On 8/19/2017 at 10:33 AM, SolarFlare13 said:

 

If anything, Hasbro could've made a sequel to the previous episode where they had to deal with the massive crowd outside, but no...we'll just pretend that it never happened and we'll go on with our happy lives

Why though? It ruins the whole point of the ending of the episode which was that there was no solution to the problem, it's not the first episode to end with the problem unsolved (Swarm of the Century with Ponyville being wrecked), it would be a waste of an episode, and that wasted episode would be a non-two parter strictly dependent on another episode. It makes no sense. 

On 8/19/2017 at 11:09 AM, ggg-2 said:

Another thing I found interesting: before the changelings were referred to as a hive, but here they're a pack?

I think the hive is the physical location, not the group.

Edited August 22, 2017 by Ganondox

[Dowlphin 459]

We could explain Spike's deviation from his usual character with the fact he's personally affected in this situation. It's easy (and important) to be the calm and composed friend in a stressful situation, so now we know that Spike and Twilight are like so many of us: We give advice but sometimes need others to remind us of it. Good relationship where when one is weak, the other is strong, and vice versa.

As for the Changeling "pack", it's explained in the context. They are are group who still resists serving love. They're probably roaming about. Thus, pack. (Or was it in relation to the converted ones? In any case, it makes sense to no longer call themselves a hive since they're no longer serving a queen.)

Edited August 22, 2017 by Dowlphin

[Truffles 2,033]

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Next, Twilight says that "according to Ember's letters, the dragons are trying to be friends, but competing is in their nature, and it's leading to more and more fights", which is why Ember is seeking advice. Does that mean that attempting to be friends is leading to more fights than usual? I'm trying to think how that would happen. Would they normally tend not to interact, but trying to be friends leads to more interactions, which then break down into fights?

I'm thinking the "friendliness" is coming off as awkward between them, and they end up insulting one another instead trying to follow Ember's advice which only makes things worse and ends up in a fight. Hopefully because Thorax's issue is actually getting featured in a few weeks, that means next season we'll get to see what Ember was talking about, too. (Unless ep. 24's title somehow relates to this (though honestly I can't see it myself) and we'll get another Ember appearance before the end of the season.)

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Finally, Thorax's problem of getting other changelings under his rule to respect him is understandable, but I'm not quite sure why he wants to ask Spike specifically for advice on that. Wouldn't he have better chances of getting useful advice from another leader, like Princess Twilight, or, perhaps even better, Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?

Some have even suggested Starlight could have been a better advisor for this, since she ruled a town. Though her rule was through deception and I don't think Thorax would be interested in ruling in that manner. Presumably Spike told him about her history as he liked to do every waking moment last season. XD

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

I might think that the first candidates for "people in Ponyville with a friendship problem" would be Ember and Thorax, who both came to Ponyville to seek advice on dealing with (essentially) friendship problems, but it doesn't seem that Spike, Twilight, and Starlight see it that way.

Yeah, that was my first thought too - that Spike was causing the friendship problem which would escalate into a big problem for Equestria hence the reason the tree decided to step in. Spike and the others not looking their guests being the problem was probably the weakest part of the plot for me. I liked that they showed us it's possible for Spike to be called by the map, but I don't know with all the stuff already going on in this episode whether this was the best time to do it. Honestly, it would have worked better overall if he had been called with Starlight back in "A Royal Problem."

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Previous friendship problems which the Mane Six (or Starlight) were called upon to solve seemed to involve significant time to travel to the location and find them first, so we might think that the friendship problems identified by the Cutie Map aren't super-urgent.

Very true, though for this I blame Twilight. When Spike says he's going to grab the ice cream to get on with his discussion regarding Thorax's problem, she shoots that idea down and forces him to look for the friendship problem instead. If he had just gone ahead with his original plan, it might have led to the real problem being solved sooner.

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

Spike says he's "pretty sure" that dragons don't like flowers, but what is that based on?

I think it's from Ember's comment near the end of "Gauntlet of Fire" where she begins with , "This doesn't mean we're gonna pick flowers." So he probably remembered that and decided she's not a fan of flowers, maybe he thinks she thinks they're too "girly" for a tough dragon like herself?

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

When the trumpeters play the entrance fanfare right at Ember, and she doesn't like it, is she on the verge of actually attacking one of them when she's interrupted by Spike? Or was she just doing the intimidation thing?

I thought she was going to attack them. Which would have been an even shorting friendship meeting than there was with the yaks. XD

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

When the Cutie Map called Spike, at first I thought it was the call of the Dragon Lord issued by Ember, similar to the one that called Spike to the Dragon Lands in "Gauntlet of Fire".

Same here. I was (pleasantly) dumbfounded when it turned out it was how the map shows him getting called. His cutie mark is his whole head!

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 5:25 PM, Music Chart Fan said:

When some curious ponies gather around Ember in town, and she announces her title and does a fire-breathing display, I'm not sure why, in that case, the ponies run away screaming in fear.

I got the impression they were falling back into "Luna Eclipsed" mode, namely, they all fear dragons in a similar way to how they feared Nightmare Moon. So just like when Luna is loud and provocative, Ember scared then when she acts in a similar way.

 

 

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 11:02 PM, Batbrony said:

That "I just watched a good episode of MLP" feeling...

I swear that shot of Thorax looks like he's posing for a pinup in a calendar. XD

 

 

16 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

I mean, for Celestia's sake, wasn't Fluttershy probably going to meet Ember at some point?  Spike didn't seem concerned about that.

*Thinks for a moment*

Oh cripes, I totally forgot about Fluttershy! I'm been going on and on in the past that Fluttershy needs Spike to help her with her fears about dragons, and was thinking the first time Ember visits Ponyville would be a good time to do that. It seems the writers didn't think so, I guess... :-/

I suppose we have that as an explanation as to why she wasn't seen, at least. She probably scheduled some time with her animal friends in her Nightmare Night mini-bunker while Ember was in town. I can't find a good reason for the other ponies, however. (Well, maybe Rarity wouldn't either because she and Ember seemed to have a minor rivalry the first time they met.)

[StoryTail 103]

  It was a nice plot!

 

I find it kind of funny where as soon as Thorax was explaining his leadership problem to Spike, and Spike was too busy trying to find the friendship problem, I thought, "Oh, I know where this is leading!  Spike is trying to keep Ember and Thorax apart, but little does he know that the leaders will get along and Ember will even help Thorax with his leadership problem."  And soon enough, yep, Ember and Thorax were helping each other on their problems towards the end.

 

Kinda funny how you can predict the ending of a lot of stories...

Edited August 23, 2017 by StoryTail

[Dowlphin 459]

9 hours ago, StoryTail said:

Kinda funny how you can predict the ending of a lot of stories...

Because they're usually following a formula. And although the beginning gave tons away, I still found this episode to develop well towards the end.

[DJ_Bonebraker 182]

On 8/19/2017 at 11:53 AM, Lexamena said:

I called that a long ass time ago - the similarities between star ponies. Not that it takes a rocket scientist or anything. I predict they'll be revealed to be sister or cousins in the future. 

That would be interesting.  More likely cousins than sisters, though (I'd still like to know more about Starlight's past between the time Sunburst left for school & when she founded Our Town).

In addition to having a few good laughs at Ember's inability to differentiate between Starlight & Twilight, I rather enjoyed this episode.  Thorax was adorkable as ever, Ember is still a tsundere & when they finally got to talk with each other, they tended to play well off each other.  I also like how this episode (and Season 7 in general) has adapted Starlight to a good supporting role as Twilight's OTHER assistant as well as a foil for both Twilight & Spike.   While there were some rather cringe-worthy bits with the main plot of Spike trying to keep Ember & Thorax from meeting (but that's to be expected for this kind of "Fawlty Towers" type of plot), there was enough pure comedy gold with the interactions between characters and their various quirks, like Ember deciding to snack on Twilight's castle (which, funny enough, Agrol Channel made a joke about not long after the end of Season 4 with his "How Ponies Made the Season 4" animation) and Thorax being attracted to the Flame of Eternal Friendship like a bug to a lamp.

Not one of my favorite episodes this season, but a very enjoyable one.  I also like the foreshadowing about the renegade faction of changelings, and I'm willing to bet that the map calling Spike in this episode is to set up the map calling him along with Trixie and Starlight for that episode, but this is just edu-ma-cated guessing on my part.

EDIT:  I also wonder if I was the only one here who immediately thought of a certain Monty Python sketch when Twilight started talking about her Comfy Chair?
 

Edited August 24, 2017 by DJ_Bonebraker

[StoryTail 103]

3 hours ago, Dowlphin said:

Because they're usually following a formula. And although the beginning gave tons away, I still found this episode to develop well towards the end.

Yes, true.  A pretty well-known fact.

 

I just kind of marvel at the fact that, from spending years of watching TV, some formulas become so ingrained in you that you don't even realize you're recognizing a formula in a show.  Might not be the most marveling thing to think about, but it makes you wonder what formulas have been ingrained in your head.

 

I'm trying to think what formula I have seen before that helped me recognize what the ending would be.  I got that Thorax and Ember would become friends from the very beginning of the show; it was only in the middle, when Thorax tried asking for Spike's advice, that I realized that Thorax would get advice from Ember.  I can't think of a plot, in another show, that was really similar to this episode.  Usually, the ones I think I can kind of recall involve the two characters getting mad at the main character for not better communicating their time schedule, or the main character is involved in poorly planned two-timing and gets caught by both people involved in the end.

 

I guess I was able to come to the conclusion with Thorax getting advice from Ember, based on how much time the show had left to resolve the issue, as well as it seeming to be the easiest route to take and not feel forced.

Edited August 24, 2017 by StoryTail

[Star Petal 215]

I think it could had been a little better. Maybe had more interaction time between thorax and ember of her teaching him how to be assertive and that assertiveness being a bit stronger. Maybe spend less time on the I gotta keep them apart cliche'. It was still a good episode though, and seeing Thorax in this episode made me hate him a little bit less. I think I am getting acclimated to his eye gouging color scheme. 

[takai 1,060]

I think this was a fairly good episode. I've been looking forward to Ember's return. Not only is she cute, but she has so much potential when it comes to learning friendship. Not only that, but also the potential in having dragons and ponies come together. We could get a lot of episodes that feel different and fresh with her and the dragons. But the way she was used in this episode was ok, but not exactly what I was hoping for. I'm hoping to see her again soon.

[Dowlphin 459]

34 minutes ago, takai said:

the potential in having dragons and ponies come together

Great potential for chaos comes to mind, heh.

[jackfettgames 50]

The episode overall was okay, but I really enjoyed both Thorax and Ember, especially when they were interacting.

[Hierok 11,829]

On 20-8-2017 at 11:21 AM, JH24 said:

When I first saw the episode I really disliked it. I felt Spike was humiliated once again, (and still feel that way) and really didn't like he had to grovel before his friends for a mistake that could have been resolved easily, and Twilight and Starlight shared some responsibility as well. I found it weird why they both went along with all the trouble instead of being honest with either Ember or Thorax. Why didn't they have to apologize?

A sincere apology is one thing, but I would never allow a friend to humiliate himself and grovel like Spike did.

On a second watch the episode was a bit more enjoyable, but I still didn't like it as much. Episode felt too forced for me to really get into it. Lots of funny expressions though, and I did find it funny in a way how the Map called Spike to fix the problem he created, yet in the end didn't do anything. Then it turns out Spike was the "friendship problem."

Thorax is simply adorable. They did a great job portraying his character.

I pretty much agree with you. The second time was better, but there were a lot more more enjoyable episodes.

It sure didn't help it came after 3 great episodes which were on the top of the series.

[Dynamo Pad 10,777]

I found this episode to be enjoyable. It was awesome getting to see Thorax and Ember once again. It was awesome to see Starlight being involved in the episode. I found it hilarious how Ember was eating all the gems in the castle. I do wonder if Spike had regular gems to give to Ember. It was pretty funny how Twilight was trying to distract Thorax with chairs. I could understand Twilight when she described her reading in different chairs. When I watch a video or read a story, I get so comfortable in my chair that I accidentally fall asleep.  I was honestly surprised how Spike was called by the cutie map. I can understand Starlight and the others, but not Spike. I do wonder how the map calls the specific pony/dragon for the friendship problem. I could guess since Spike has a chair next to Twilight, then he would be called at a certain point. It was interesting how Thorax was having leadership problems within the changeling pack. I never would have thought there would still be changelings still feeding off of love.  I also like how this foreshadows the rogue changelings and Thorax's brother in a later episode. I like how we get to see appearances from Lyra, Bon Bon and Derpy after quite a while. I can understand Spike feeling worried and not thinking of what could go right. I liked how Spike acted a bit like Twilight throughout the episode. It kind of reminded me of the episode "Lesson Zero" and "It's About Time." While I can agree that Thorax and Ember had every right to be mad at Spike. I still can understand Spike's position of worrying. It's unknown if there could have been a feud between the dragons and the changelings. Even if there are new leaders, it would still be unknown on where they would stand. I also like how Thorax and Ember both had their own problems to figure out. Even if they became leaders, they still have ways to go when it comes to leading their tribes. I like how both Thorax and Ember were able to help each other out with their problems. I really took Ember's lesson to heart in this episode. I can always be indecisive and always second guess or doubt myself. It's really helped me for the better and I take that lesson to heart. It's interesting that the friendship lesson that Spike had to solve was himself. I think it was a interesting and different approach for the friendship map. All in all, I really liked the episode. I hope we get to see Spike, Thorax and Ember hang out more in the future. 

Edited August 29, 2017 by Dynamo Pad

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Spike’s slowly been getting more responsibilities. He made sure Starlight and Sunburst became friends again in Crystalling, and now he’s a Friendship Ambassador.

[Thaliel 116]

I need more ember in my life, that dragon is gold

[Violet Bookish 349]

I liked this episode because not only did it have the surprise with the cutie mark map, but it actually addressed at the end that Spike was the one that caused the problem and he does have to own up to what he did. In most Spike episodes, he's either easily forgiven, blamed for something that wasn't entirely his fault, or he doesn't appear to learn anything. This Spike episode presents the issues in the last ones and turns it over on its head. It shows the issues we have with most Spike episodes, adds a new element to the mix, and also addresses the issues that have plagued most bad Spike episodes. So, overall, I actually really liked this episode. I'm not going to say it was the best episode of this season as it was okay at best, but it's a pretty decent Spike episode and it's good to see the writers improve on Spike focused episodes. I just really hope they keep this up and improve on Spike focused episodes rather than making more bad ones.

[Meeps 297]

Have to start out by saying that, knowing someone personally who can't tell Starlight and Twilight apart, it really made me happy to see Ember screw it up! cracked up pretty good and simply had to make sure said person saw the clip 

I'm glad we got to see more of Ember, although Thorax's character still leaves... something to be desired for me. Not entirely sure of what that is yet, but I'll be interested in seeing how he fleshes out as the show progresses. I guess it still feels like the whole reformed Changeling thing still feels a bit "empty" as far as their culture and such goes for one, and Thorax really hasn't appeared enough in the show to appear as anything more than an insecure leader so far. Will give it time. Ember had a whole episode (or was it more than one...?) showing the depth of her kingdom, so maybe the Changelings will get one, too.

Still, very cute to see Ember and Thorax become friends  aww!

[BlinkZ 1,151]

not sure what people were complaing about. Spike jumping to conclusions about two people he hardly knows. hell anyone would make that mistake. Alhtoug yeah Twilight should have been more level headed sure but she doesn't know those two well either so given the personality it not that hard to imagine.

Also Starlight comment on Spike making a problem and solving it his hilarious. it like meta joke on Spike episodes in general

[Singe 2,109]

To put it bluntly, Spike is an ambassador because he's friends. No prior training on being an ambassador when handling politics or foreign policy, which is very reflective of his freakout. He had nothing to fall back on. Let alone his handler Twilight Sparkle couldn't provide an adequate level of support to offset Spike's inexperience.

If there was a morale of this story it is to not put someone who has little no experience in an important role without an adequate level of others' support in that field to offset it.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Singe

[PonyHag1 591]

I like Thorax and Ember, so I knew this episode would be good just because they were in it. It was kind of light weight plot wise, but again it's one of those episodes you enjoy for the characters.

[Pastel 7,627]

Really didn't like the first part of this episode. I didn't understand why Spike didn't want Ember and Thorax to meet. My reaction was the same as them :

-"I accidentally invited you both at the same day."

-"SO WHAT??"

The friendship problem was also very predictable, and I just didn't like when everyone lies/hides something...

 

Fortunately the second part saved the episode, Thorax and Ember's new friendship is very interesting.

Edited September 30, 2017 by Blobulle

[Denim&Venöm 16,517]

Is it a bad thing that the best things about a Spike episode have nothing to do with Spike?

[Allen 1,371]

Spike invited both Thorax and Ember to Ponyville on the same day? What a confusing idea. Think this is two-timing to me?

When Ember took a bite of the wall: Ember, that's not a food stuff!

When Spike glows on his green thing, he got a friendship problem to solve is by making Thorax and Ember good friends with each other when he invited them both at the same time.

When Thorax and Ember fight with each other: You both calm down! Do not fight because this is not war between both of you. He did accidentally invited both of you at the same time is a confusion.

What Spike have done was not his fault, and finally he solved the friendship problem by stopping this argument between both Thorax and Ember when Spike's green thing is glowing again! And that's how it's done this way at the ending part! 

[Ziltoid the Omniscient 286]

This was the last episode of the show I remember seeing. The only redeeming quality of it was Thorax because he's just so gosh dang cute.

[Nye 1,652]

I don’t understand how the Cutie Map works anymore. I don’t get why Spike thought Thorax and Ember wouldn’t get along. They had never met, all he needed to do was introduce them and the problem would’ve been solved.