S08:E13 - The Mean 6

[Senko 459]

14 minutes ago, Dynamo Pad said:

That does make sense when you put it that way. Plus, the clones Chrysalis had created seemed to have all of the abilities and traits the mane 6 have. Seeing how Chrysalis was almost overpowered by evil Twilight. I guess maybe since the clones she made could possibly wield the elements, then she could have the advantage of the mane 7. That makes sense that she didn't make many clones in fear of being betrayed. I guess she felt there are trust issues now that she lost her hive of changelings and the clones she created. I could see Chrysalis doing this plan again, but making it more refined, so there won't be many drawbacks to using said spell. I know I keep telling others this and it might not happen, but I keep thinking back to the episode, "It's About Time." When present Twilight asked about an epic pony war in the distant future. I feel that somehow in the grand finale of the series there would be an epic pony war lead by a returning villain. It just feels like this episode could be a prequel to a future event that has yet to appear. 

I also think she's fallen into the common villain trap of "It's all YOUR fault." She nearly conquered Cantalot until Twilight stopped her, she nearly conquered Equestria until Twilight's pupil stopped her AND took away her hive. Its no longer about feeding and ruling via the changeling race for her now its about revenge. Until she's beaten Twilight  and her friends that's going to be her focus. Why rebuild her chagnelings with a new hive when Twilight and her friends will probably ruin it beat them first then rebuild. It's also showing up in the comics if your willing to include them where in the arcs involging her you can see a shift from "Changelingopolis" to "Changelingopolis + Make Twilight and her friends suffer" so its only a short step after she loses her hive to "Make Twilight and her friends suffer." Especially since in the comics she's also been beaten by them at other times.

[J.J 918]

On 7/18/2018 at 6:55 PM, Dynamo Pad said:

That does make sense when you put it that way. Plus, the clones Chrysalis had created seemed to have all of the abilities and traits the mane 6 have. Seeing how Chrysalis was almost overpowered by evil Twilight. I guess maybe since the clones she made could possibly wield the elements, then she could have the advantage of the mane 7. That makes sense that she didn't make many clones in fear of being betrayed. I guess she felt there are trust issues now that she lost her hive of changelings and the clones she created. I could see Chrysalis doing this plan again, but making it more refined, so there won't be many drawbacks to using said spell. I know I keep telling others this and it might not happen, but I keep thinking back to the episode, "It's About Time." When present Twilight asked about an epic pony war in the distant future. I feel that somehow in the grand finale of the series there would be an epic pony war lead by a returning villain. It just feels like this episode could be a prequel to a future event that has yet to appear. 

Remember the "Beat-Alls" in PPG, I would love for them to experiment with something like this, like Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, they should have an arch where the Mane 7 are greatly overwhelmed, but what ends up taking advantage of the bad guys is their lust for power, independence, and control, together they are unstoppable, but make it about how only harmony can withstand a true allegiance. 

[Senko 459]

3 minutes ago, Aquaflame said:

Remember the "Beat-Alls" in PPG, I would love for them to experiment with something like this, like Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, they should have an arch where the Mane 7 are greatly overwhelmed, but what ends up taking advantage of the bad guys is their lust for power, independence, and control, together they are unstoppable, but make it about how only harmony can withstand a true allegiance. 

They actually did partially do that in the comics in the siege of the crystal empire ark where an alliance of Sombra, Chrysalis, Lightning Dust, Iron Will and the Flim Flam brothers launch an attack.

[J.J 918]

Just now, Senko said:

They actually did partially do that in the comics in the siege of the crystal empire ark where an alliance of Sombra, Chrysalis, Lightning Dust, Iron Will and the Flim Flam brothers launch an attack.

I would actually like to see Lightning Dust, "reformed" a tad bit, in an overly competitive show down, I like the idea of Rainbow Dash having an ongoing rival of her own.. as for Flim and Flam, & Iron Will, I am not feeling it in the same sense.. plus we've already have had some episodes about these schills, they arent menacing, just trashy. I think they need to make it more power oriented, or perhaps introuduce a new villain, who isnt much on his own, but is a clever manipulator, and uses the other villains like puppets, until they are liberated, I dont see reformation for those specific three villains that is why they were listed... but maybe a puppeteer that unites the villains, make for an interesting plot device.

[Senko 459]

2 minutes ago, Aquaflame said:

I would actually like to see Lightning Dust, "reformed" a tad bit, in an overly competitive show down, I like the idea of Rainbow Dash having an ongoing rival of her own.. as for Flim and Flam, & Iron Will, I am not feeling it in the same sense.. plus we've already have had some episodes about these schills, they arent menacing, just trashy. I think they need to make it more power oriented, or perhaps introuduce a new villain, who isnt much on his own, but is a clever manipulator, and uses the other villains like puppets, until they are liberated, I dont see reformation for those specific three villains that is why they were listed... but maybe a puppeteer that unites the villains, make for an interesting plot device.

I think you should take a look at the siege of the crystal empire ark in the comics I'm actually trying quite hard not to spoil things there but well this is the opening of the 2 issue story, this hooded pony is not one of those names I mentioned.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Senko

[bigbertha 410]

This episode feels a lot like "Princess Twilight Sparkle" in that it feels like nothing happens for the entire runtime. The characters mess around in the forest, but they all end up feeling the same as when they started. Sure, Chrysalis found the elements, but did we need 22 minutes of nothing to get to that? There are a few good jokes, but not nearly enough to make up for everything else.

Score: 3/10

[Allen 1,371]

Sorry for my late reply to this episode topic. Queen Chrysalis is back for revenge against Starlight Glimmer!  She made the Mean 6 and those are the counterparts of the Mane 6 ponies which that's odd.  The real Mane 6 and Starlight Glimmer have their campsite ready near the Tree of Harmony as a group trip at Everfree Forest, they split up and I don't know where they went which they encountered some Mean 6 in the middle part of this episode until those real Mane 6 ponies regroup altogether in happiness. The Mean 6 and Queen Chrysalis were on their way to the Tree of Harmony, they first messed up their campsite and they're at the Tree of Harmony to retrieve those Elements of Harmony, but the Tree of Harmony identified those ponies as fakes and it melted and disintegrated them. That's a good job for the Tree of Harmony for protecting its elements in place! That foiled Queen Chrysalis' plan and she swears for revenge against Starlight Glimmer in a rage for the next time we see Queen Chrysalis again. Finally, at the ending part, the real Mane 6 and Starlight Glimmer were discouraged about their campsite in ruins that what the fake Mean 6 had done, but that's okay because Pinkie Pie said it's their worst day ever but I say it's their best day ever when they laugh at each other once again before fixing up the campsite as Queen Chrysalis flies off in a rage. 

Tree of Harmony, you could have surrendered Queen Chrysalis and potentially defeated her before she escapes! That's when the Tree of Harmony have done that by the real Mane 6 to defeat the villain altogether since we defeated Tirek back in the 4th season finale.

Therefore, my rating for this episode is great as Pinkie Pie said it's their worst day ever but I say it's their best day for their camp trip! We hope to see Queen Chrysalis return for revenge against Starlight Glimmer in a rage and I want her to be defeated once and for all, or redeemed in a redemption.

Edited August 4, 2018 by Allen

[FizzyGreen 908]

okay....

what.

OKay, sweet episode, as in yeah we all love each other but... hm.... this isn't a good example for how
Yeah sure it was cool seeing chrysie and seeing them all together having fun but... eh. Yeah "We all know each other so let's forget random breakouts?" yeah i guess that's okay.
It was kinda cool 4/5

[heavens-champion 1,893]

Well, at least we know Twilight doesn't have a symbiotic link with the Tree of Harmony, otherwise she'd have felt the Mean 6 pounding on it.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Dammit Hasbro, quit stealing my ideas. XD 

Btw, the episode was alright but I think they could have done much more with the concept than they did.

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

OMG was this a great episode, I loved Chrysalis throughout the whole thing, and seeing how crazy she's become after being defeated by Starlight, man she's snapped. The overall plot was interesting and I sort of figured Chrysalis's plan would backfire, but it was awesome seeing evil versions of the mane 6. I do find it funny that the mane 6 didn't notice the clones and they seemed to time it so that they were never aware of the situation. Starlight was great in this episode and I felt so bad for her after she was ridiculed by fake Applejack, the scene at the end with the Tree of Harmony scared me and the image of the mean 6 melting oh man is that traumatizing. 10/10!

[Denim&Venöm 16,450]

Yeah, not a fan of this. 

The Mane 7 reconciling was a strong affirmation of their friendship and I enjoyed chrysalis's screentime, but the whole episode was anti-climactic, every action and interaction being meaningless and nonsensical. 

I initially voted that I liked it but on second thought it was meh. For some reason I can't change my vote though. 

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

Y'know, this episode got me wondering. Could Queen Chrysalis take pictures of the Elements of Harmony, along with pieces of them to make the Elements of... CHAOS?! Sounds like a cool idea, IMO!

[qwerE 95]

This episode was so funny!  I was a bit disappointed that no one found out what actually happened, but it was still really entertaining. My favourite of the mean 6 was Rarihoard. I liked her golem-like greediness, because it kind of felt like real Rarity, when she was being hysterical. Also, maybe I'm weird but I thought Flutterbrute was cute, too. She was being mean but all she did were petty things like stomping on flowers...ha! 

Edited December 20, 2018 by qwerE

[TBD 17,228]

Love the episode and Queen Chrysalis with her new minions. I just like it how these scenes with them just reminded of me the relation between Zim and Gir. 

[bigbertha 410]

I'm not going to say this episode has no point because that's not true. This is showing just how powerless Chrysalis is now that she's been defeated, her crave to have power over anything, and her thirst for revenge. This is obviously going to come into play in season 9 so yeah. Not pointless. I actually really like everything about Chrysalis discovering the elements and trying to maintain control over the mean six. I'm interested in what she's going to try next.

The problem is that the episode focuses on comedy that doesn't really land for me. The comedy is supposed to come from the misunderstandings between the main and mean six, but most of them are so basic. Fake Rarity keeps stealing stuff while Rainbow and Applejack are confused. Aside from some mildly amusing facial expressions, this isn't funny. Fake Applejack tells a bunch of lies to Starlight and Rarity. Again, this isn't funny. It's just one gag repeated over and over again. The mean six in general are too one note to be really entertaining. The only one who got consistent laughs out of me was mean Fluttershy, but that's more because of Andrea Libman's delivery than the writing. There are some other scattered jokes here and there I like, but they're not consistent in the slightest.

Speaking of the writing, it's not very good. Especially for mean Twilight. All of her lines are so one-note and there's a lot of her talking about her feelings to nobody for the sole reason of letting the audience know what's happening. And aside from mean Twilight, I really dislike how the main six. The jokes with them interacting feel like they were written by a computer and their roles in the episode are meaningless since their falling out doesn't effect them in any way by the end. I get that this is just a set up episode and the main six are supposed to be unaware of what Chrysalis is doing because dramatic irony and suspense for the next episode in the arc and whatever. The issue is that it makes this episode feel incomplete. It feels like the episode is saying, "Sure the main six didn't do anything in this episode, but just wait until Chrysalis comes back. That'll be the interesting one". Who knows? Maybe that will be the interesting episode, but even if it is, that makes this episode lose value, at least for me since I don't find it funny. This is like a trailer, and unless the trailer is amazing, who rewatches the trailer after the movie comes out?

So overall, I'm not a fan. Sure, Chrysalis's continuing efforts to enact her revenge are somewhat interesting, but most of the episode is about the main six and comedy. Since those are the two things I don't think work, I don't think this episode works.

Score: 3/10

 

[Rushing cash 824]

Not what I was expecting when I heard chrysalis returning here but it was fun nonetheless! Her plan was not bad, she couldn't know the tree could deafened it self if provoked and the elements can't be corrupted, or the fact her minions would betray her, again(well the last part was kind of predictable). Her going slowly crazy is a bit sad but watching her monologing to trees was hilarious.

Mean twilight stole the show through, she was smart and powerful, a shame she got eliminated(brutally, I might add) here, but the tree payed the price later on. Mean rarity and her faces. 9/10

I wonder how starlight survived after her village was taken away from her when she escaped. I guess she found a home or hotel to live in for a while(without mony) or she was so bent on revange it didn't bother her. 

 

[Senko 459]

3 hours ago, Rushing cash said:

Not what I was expecting when I heard chrysalis returning here but it was fun nonetheless! Her plan was not bad, she couldn't know the tree could deafened it self if provoked and the elements can't be corrupted, or the fact her minions would betray her, again(well the last part was kind of predictable). Her going slowly crazy is a bit sad but watching her monologing to trees was hilarious.

Mean twilight stole the show through, she was smart and powerful, a shame she got eliminated(brutally, I might add) here, but the tree payed the price later on. Mean rarity and her faces. 9/10

I wonder how starlight survived after her village was taken away from her when she escaped. I guess she found a home or hotel to live in for a while(without mony) or she was so bent on revange it didn't bother her. 

 

Quite easily I'd imagine even laying aside the fact she may have had money stashed away somewhere being a pony any handy tree or field is a meal and as a unicorn said tree branch could be transformed into a nice cake or similar going by their transformation magic.

[Totally Nyx 35,455]

I finally got around to watching this episode. I'd heard good things about this episode and was looking forward to it, even considering I haven't enjoyed a single season 8 episode yet. But honestly, I'm lost. It had so much potential for a lot of different directions it could've taken, but it's like they just got bored 2 minutes from the end and said "Meh, let's retcon everything and pretend this episode never happened." I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but this episode was an incredible disappointment.

[Thrond 3,257]

The "mean six" personalities never get old to me. The real mane six get some nice moments too - the part with Rainbow Dash and Applejack trying to figure out why Rarity is acting weird especially stands out, but Pinkie Pie's silliness and Twilight being a dork are always welcome, and the subplot about Rarity desperately trying to survive without all her things leads to some great moments. But the mean six really do steal the show; their bad attitudes are just so silly, and Chrysalis getting mad because she can't do anything is a blast as well. I feel like some of the mane six make questionable choices - I would like to think that Fluttershy would remember to tell her friends where she's going, for example. And I kinda wish they figured out something weird was going on, as I feel like they were too quick to turn on each other, especially given that most of them initially seemed confused by the mean six. But I think the stuff about how their friendship can survive anything is cute, and I think it's really funny that they never meet the mean six - though maybe it would be even funnier if they knew something was weird but never figured out what. In any case I still find this one delightful.

Also, Starlight Glimmer MVP. My favourite Starlight moment remains "Marks for the Efforts," but I don't think I've ever found her more relatable than in this episode. Camping: it's no good. 

Edited February 15, 2020 by AlexanderThrond

[bigbertha 410]

These can't be the same characters who went through Return of Harmony. The fact that none of them recognize each other is too absurd for me. Like, if you're going to rip off Return of Harmony, it would help to actually watch the episode and remember that the mane six didn't forget what was happening while they were Discorded. I guess not recognizing Applejack is one thing since she's kinda different in the sense that she's more antagonistic, but not recognizing Rarity makes absolutely no sense. And you'd think that Twilight would recognize "the grump", but I guess not. Even if she doesn't recognize Pinkie, seeing Rainbow Dash fly off right after should ring some bells. 

And one other bit that annoyed me was when Rainbow Dash suggests Poison Joke for why Rarity is acting Discorded Rarity. Like, guys, you know what happens to Rarity when she's hit with Poison Joke. You were there. 

[Moony the Cat 3,695]

This one is one of my favorites of Season 8 so far, not only does Chrysalis return and is again a great and menacing villain, the mane 6 and their interactions with each other and the main 6 is just delightful. I like the mean Twilight the most.

I was entertained the entire time. I was however surprised by the dark ending, which was a bit gruesome for a kids show ( even though still not as horrible as some episodes of Spongebob ) .

But i am confused why Chrysalis just left at the end...she searched for something and once she finally found it, she just leaves?...did i miss something?  Probably. 

[Allen 1,371]

The Mean 6 were just flawed pony designs than the real Mane 6, opposing to the real ones in terms of behavior. Their artificial models were color-contrasted and cutie mark differences that we recognized them as cursed created by Queen Chrysalis to serve as her minions.

In my opinion about the Mean 6 ponies: Mean Rainbow Dash doesn't care about things as laziness. Mean Applejack lies that weren't true for us. Mean Rarity was being greedy, especially for things that she stole from Applejack's wagon as an unintentional act. Mean Fluttershy was being a bully, which she likes to hurt animals' feelings; a little similar back in the second season premiere "The Return of Harmony" where the lost-colored Fluttershy stomped on bushes; Mean Fluttershy was as similar as Nighlok Negatron in Samurai. Mean Pinkie Pie was being bored at things, who she also doesn't care of things like Mean Rainbow Dash. And finally, Mean Twilight Sparkle was a little intelligent at things.

Well, when the Mean 6 tried to get the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony, unfortunately, the tree recognized them as fakes, and therefore, it disintegrated them to a chunk of woods. This taught Queen Chrysalis a lesson for that than she actually created the Mean 6 and unintentionally turned against her.

In an alternative scenario in this episode, I would like to see the real Mane 6 confront the Mean 6, which that may lead to their confusion. If the real ponies see Queen Chrysalis, they think she's back for revenge.

[phantompone1148 125]

IDK if this is gonna be and unpopular opinion but, i do not like this one. It goes among the line of Great concept, poor execution. 

 

4/10

[Rushing cash 824]

Watching Chrysalis talking to herself in the beginning and during the episode slowly losing it was more amusing than it should have been.