S07:E17 - To Change a Changeling

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

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I put you in a bag. I thought it went great.

LOL! That's a good one. XD

[Goat-kun 2,498]

39 minutes ago, Jeric said:

So what you are saying is that ... deep down ... all right-wingers really just want to become like the left at the end of the day.

Modern "right-wingers" also include the old left and center. What I'm saying is that we are more pragmatic and see things for what they are despite artificially constructed modern social implications. But at the end of the day we all still want to belong, don't we.

 

I didn't see Pharynx becoming more left-oriented. I saw other changelings becoming more right-oriented. It was through their acceptance that he transformed. His previous behavior should not be taken as a sign of his philosophy. Individuals lost in society tend to be more unhinged.

 

P.S: Since I've mentioned them already, a true right-wing fanatic would actually be a G/R Gruul-like anarchist. You won't see them in FIM any time soon. The finale villain will likely be a B/U control.

38 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

I think that was preshadowed a bit - despite the fact she can apparently still use magic to a certain extent, she was unable to teleport right into the hive (and in fact only got a bit closer than they did the previous time) so I think something there is still inhibiting her powers.

Inhibiting her powers? More like being nerfbatted to her proper place. And if little stones are so powerful, then you can finally give me that gruff griffin witch hunter that will finally put an end to all this powerful unicorn business. One bit, two bits, pony and twine  

[CypherHoof 26,479]

8 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

Inhibiting her powers? More like being nerfbatted to her proper place. And if little stones are so powerful, then you can finally give me that gruff griffin witch hunter that will finally put an end to all this powerful unicorn business. One bit, two bits, pony and twine

And yet, past evidence has been that once you take Starlight's magic headstick off her, she actually makes some sane decisions. Not much sign of it in this episode; her plan was about as good as her one for the Sisters, and again, it only all went right due to other individuals doing the right thing in spite of her plan, rather than because of it.

maybe the "sane decision" switch was set to Spike this episode (given there seems to be only one selector for that) and because then taking Spike would have been a sane decision, they didn't do it...

[RulesofRarity 489]

32 minutes ago, StitchandMLPlover said:

Maybe Pony magic still doesn't work normally in Changeling territory. 

I guess that would explain why she couldn't teleport directly into the hive.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Has Thorax had more development than Spike?

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

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Ph: I don't take advice from ponies. The only thing I take from you is breakfast. At least I used to.

Tr: You know, you're a lot like us!

Ph: Doubt it.

May be a couple of examples, but the dialogue has improved significantly after a bit of a slow start.

[CypherHoof 26,479]

Just now, Dark Qiviut said:

May be a couple of examples, but the dialogue has improved significantly after a bit of a slow start.

Yup. Pharynx is an awesome character. I am just waiting for the first ships with Ember to appear

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

I really hate the idea that Starlight was so quick to give someone up as irredeemable. I think this might be my least favorite Starlight appearance so far. Leading the "dreadmaulwurf" (?) is the kind of reckless impulsive plan I've come to expect, and love, from her, but being so quick to give up on someone after all the chances she's been given feels wrong.

Honestly, I feel like she should have been on Pharanxes side after seeing how passive the changlings had become. She's never been the biggest fan of "feelings" and such. I get that sometimes writers need to make characters act certain ways to move the story along, but it doesn't even feel necessary here, since Pharanx had plenty of reasons to leave the hive without Starlight.

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

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Ph: Hmm. Maybe you two do understand me.

SG: Yes! We do. But now, Trixie has come to terms with being second-best.

Tr: *alarmed*

SG: And I no longer control other ponies against their will. And our lives are so much better for it.

Tr: *glares crossly at Starlight*

Ph: Wow. So you're both losers.

There's a lot to unpack in this hilarious twine of dialogue. XD

[FemaleIntrovert1995 138]

The only thing I didn't like about the episode was Trixie. She was a total jerk in this episode. However, Trixie has been through a lot, and that's just her character I guess. 

Why was Trixie even there? 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

1 minute ago, Dark Qiviut said:

There's a lot to unpack in this hilarious twine of dialogue. XD

He might have more respect for Twi then, given the circumstances - but not from the description he got

[Jeric 46,834]

Just now, CypherHoof said:

And yet, past evidence has been that once you take Starlight's magic headstick off her, she actually makes some sane decisions. Not much sign of it in this episode; her plan was about as good as her one for the Sisters, and again, it only all went right due to other individuals doing the right thing in spite of her plan, rather than because of it.

There is a hidden genius in what the writers did with Ms. Glimmer in this episode. In many many past episodes decisions characters make rarely, if ever, truly felt organic. It isn't specifically an issue with this show, or with animation, but in a large swath of narrative storytelling. 

When a character starts with a specific goal and mindset, they are usually presented to the audience as someone who stays the course through multiple attempts to teach the goal, only the means change. 

People are way more complex that most characters you read or watch. Starlight started at one goal and approach. When that failed she then reassessed if her opinion and approach was correct. She then changed her mind to something that made her feel highly uncomfortable. Then, when presented with new information she found herself renewed in her original decision and goal, but this time driven by an emotional reaction and not assessing the situation. This is the point the episode actually reaches that level of complexity when you enter the arena of pure interpretation absent of objective truth. This is how these decision trees happen IRL. You become emotionally moved by someone or something and it does tend to override judgement, especially since you just went through a complete reasoned analysis already. That acts as a slight of hand to your cerebral cortex. 

Humans vacillate frequently between emotional responses and reasoned judgement, and this is what that actually looks like narratively presented. Someone who wrote this episode paid attention in Dev Psychology! 

 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

1 minute ago, FemaleIntrovert1995 said:

The only thing I didn't like about the episode was Trixie. She was a total jerk in this episode. However, Trixie has been through a lot, and that's just her character I guess. 

Why was Trixie even there? 

Maybe they didn't want Pharynx to be the only jerk in the entire episode?

[Jeric 46,834]

3 minutes ago, FemaleIntrovert1995 said:

 

Why was Trixie even there? 

Because they are all friends. 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

Just now, Jeric said:

Because they are all friends. 

Doesn't explain the absence of Spike though...

[Jeric 46,834]

15 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

I really hate the idea that Starlight was so quick to give someone up as irredeemable.

It makes sense though, because she was approaching it as if he needed to be redeemed, and he actually didn't. So from go she was trying to solve the wrong functional equation, and the output didn't fit. 

The dude didn't need redemption, that's one of the best parts of the episode. 

5 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

Doesn't explain the absence of Spike though...

Sure it does. I have many friends, and a decent amount are interconnected. I don't have to pull an Avengers Assemble for two of us to stop by another person's house. This is the same reason episodes don't star the entire Mane Six. Not everyone needs to be together at the same time. That's actually kinda weird and doesn't  allow new dynamics. It can harm friendship groups. This method is actually far better than a map mission because that would have left the Spike question a bit problematic. This was just a brief pop-in to say hi. 

[Oleks 1,983]

When I found out the title of this episode I was afraid the writers might mess it up – the whole changeling reformation thing was questionable enough, and now they were going to milk on the subject. 

Well, the episode wasn’t quite what I expected. It featured another Starlight’s terrible plan (no magic this time though), Thorax being almost as soft as before and Trixie being Trixie. But I really enjoyed it nevertheless. 

I loved the references, especially the manbearpig one. The epic speech, the monster battle and some new facts about changelings all made this episode great for me.
So, the only unreformed changeling now is Chrysalis. I hope she’ll stay that way, although I highly doubt it.

Spoiler

Now that we have the Royal Sister male counterparts, brace yourselves, everyone, the tsunami of shipfics is coming.

 

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

2 minutes ago, Jeric said:

It makes sense though, because she was approaching it as if he needed to be redeemed, and he actually didn't. So from go she was trying to solve the wrong functional equation, and the output didn't fit. 

The dude didn't need redemption, that's one of the best parts of the episode. 

I agree, that was the best part.

But Starlight's whole character arc is that she's learning. She makes mistakes, but she usually doesn't know any better, and learns from it. But here, she already knows giving up on Pharanx is wrong, but she's going to do it anyways. If someone else came up with the idea first, I could see her being talked into it. For me, it just feels like a contrived way to drive the plot, especially since it isn't necessary to get Pharanx to leave.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

A fantastic episode with a pretty crude fight scene and a Starlight nerf that is more irritating than any other nerf in the series.

8/10 what the hell Starlight.

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

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It sounds like your lame feelings forum is for talking about me behind my back!

Hmm…changelings talking behind someone's back…reminds of this shithead couple three episodes ago.

[Luminance 2,181]

Starlight by referring towards her old dictator ways through symbolisms like mentioning "Iron hooves" and "Manifesto" from Fame and Misfortune is so clever. I'm practically enjoying it because even the writers knew what they were doing and it's quite entertaining. 

[Thief of Hours 0]

This was a lighter, softer and more ponified way to telling the Mandalore arc of Star Wars the Clone Wars. I like it.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

43 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

And yet, past evidence has been that once you take Starlight's magic headstick off her, she actually makes some sane decisions. Not much sign of it in this episode; her plan was about as good as her one for the Sisters, and again, it only all went right due to other individuals doing the right thing in spite of her plan, rather than because of it.

maybe the "sane decision" switch was set to Spike this episode (given there seems to be only one selector for that) and because then taking Spike would have been a sane decision, they didn't do it...

Well, you can believe Jerry Boy up there who thinks our glorious writers are literary geniuses, or you can be salty like me and say: it looks like she was just another victim of plot convenience. This time she was on the receiving end cause her presence inside episodes is, from this point onward, just another mundane powerful unicorn/friendship connoisseur inconvenience that has to be nerfed/dumbed down with the rest of them in order for story to work.

 

The thing is, such decisions and shortcomings do not stick with a single character. They come and go as plot demands.

[Stardust Balance 7,716]

I think it would've worked better if the Changeling brother remained as his original form - Mostly because his reformed form looks the absolute worst of all the redesigns - to show that you can show love and affection your own way without the hamfisted "Beauty and the Beast" route. A better episode than last week's, I'll say that much. Pharynx might be my favourite character of season seven thus far.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

His new design isn't even that that bad, it isn't super colorful or rainbowy.