S08:E15 - The Hearth's Warming Club

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Maybe I am looking too far into it, but I feel like there are even more hints about Gallus than we thought in the episode. When Twilight walks up to the students and says "I think you will all enjoy the time off to be with your families." she puts her hoof on Gallus's arm and looks him in the eye.

Feels like subtle foreshadowing for the reveal later on in the episode.

[FirePuppy 621]

I can't believe Pinkie Pie wasn't at all in this episode. That was something I did not expect to happen – ever.

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

I just finished watching the episode and I really liked it. It's interesting to see that we get another Hearth's warming episode, but I can understand why. It's a nice way to help the viewers get to understand the student 6 a little more. Plus, with the meaning of hearth's warming. It's a better way to get to know them on a more personal level, instead of other holidays that Equestria celebrates. At first, I thought the cloaked pony who made the mess was a random student. That, or possibly a villain that's yet to be presented in this season. While it was cool seeing Twilight, Spike and Rainbow being involved on seeing who had made the mess. I honestly would have expected to see Starlight and the others being involved on what was going on. Each story of the students was pretty interesting. My favorite would probably have to go to Ocellus. While it was cool how we get to see how Yona got her braids, I liked how the changelings got instructions on how to celebrate the holidays. While the changelings were somewhat off on how to celebrate the holidays, I thought it was funny, yet really adorable. I also thought it was pretty interesting how the hippogriff's and sea ponies celebrate the holidays. I like how they celebrate both sides and how they celebrate the defeat of the Storm King. I was surprised to know that it was Gallus who had made the mess, but I understood once he explained his backstory. I was really shocked when he told the others that he didn't really have a family. It honestly makes me wonder if any of the Griffin's in Griffnstone have family, or if they just grow up for a certain amount of time. Then they are forced to fend for themselves, or something along those lines. I liked how the rest of the students stayed with Gallus. It really shows that they care for their friend and are there for each other like true friends and like a family. All in all, I found this episode to be enjoyable. I look forward to learning more about the student 6 this season.  

[JH24 385]

5 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

If the situation was something like what the Wonderbolts did to Dash in Rarity Investigates, I'd agree with you. But there are some really key differences here.

1. Right off the bat, Dash, Twi, and Spike knows that one of the Student is is the suspect. Every student who lived in Ponyville already left their quarters for the break. They're the only ones left. And the back door to escape was already locked.
2. To the teachers' point of view, no one admitting guilt is the same as admitting guilt. Someone from the group is lying, and no one else cooperating means they're all covering up for each other and sabotaging the investigation.
3. Unlike the Wonderbolts, Dash, Twi, and Spike had the evidence and saw the culprit. They just had to bide their time for someone to fess up. Given the school's nature and the stakes, it wasn't going to take so long.

Ahh, that makes much more sense and makes me feel better about the entire episode. Thank you. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood when I first watched it. I think it came down to it that I wrongly assumed RD was too stern/"aggressive" in her approach. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

Edited August 4, 2018 by JH24

[CastletonSnob 3,024]

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I want the Student Six to get more focus episodes and more development. 

[YoshiAngemon 223]

Spoiler

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If Discovery Family were still the Hub Network, this would air close to December, after it premieres in the Summer. At least the hiatus wouldn't have lasted as long, but the waiting would be killer. Still, the episode was good.

 

[FirePuppy 621]

2 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I want the Student Six to get more focus episodes and more development. 

They will at least two more times this season.

But for Season 9, at least once with Fluttershy and Pinkie and definitely not with Rainbow Dash.

[Brainstorm 4,092]

Can't help but feel sorry for Gallus, he messed up the tree on purpose cause he didn't wanna be alone for the holidays. Like he said, "He didn't have anyone back home."

So he did it cause he didn't want to be lonely.

It was pretty cool how each creature shows how they celebrate the holidays, interesting seeing Storm King, Queen Nova, Gabby, Gilda, make an appearance, maybe they'll show again along with Tempest/Fizzlepop and Grubber, showing what they've learned during their travels.

Also, would be cool seeing Terramar, Skybeak, and Oceanflow again one day.

[cmarston1 5,951]

Alright, so if having two episodes that aren't a season premiere wasn't weird enough, we are getting a Christmas episode in August.  You guys could have at least aired it last month, for Christmas in July.  But with that out of the way, I thought the episode was decent.  Seeing the student six bond over holiday traditions was pretty cute.  Also the rest of them being underwhelmed by Sandbar's story was amusing.  We got some pretty good character development for Gallus, and some funny lines such as "so it wasn't Ocellus" or "except for your's Smolder" and "does it have a depressing ending?  I'm not sure that's how pony stories work."

Edited August 4, 2018 by cmarston1

[ggg-2 3,550]

Love how Sandbar is the kind of guy to be incessantly happy during the holidays. Of course, being a pony, Sandy's the only one to properly celebrate Hearth's Warming so it makes total sense.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

That was a SPECTACULAR episode! The sharing of stories, the twist at the end, it really felt...well, heartwarming. Just makes me love the Student 6 more and more.

[RulesofRarity 489]

I’ve never liked this show’s depictions of the other non-pony races and their culture/societies, pony society & culture is still depicted as the best and the one that these “creatures” should be following. With that being said, I appreciated this episode’s attempt to showcase the other species’ traditions particularly with the Yaks. I liked seeing that the braiding of a Yak’s hair is a special moment spent with family and that their culture is a bit more than just smashing things.  

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

6 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I want the Student Six to get more focus episodes and more development. 

Me too. Also, Nickelodeoen slime!

Edited August 4, 2018 by Buttonmash1973

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

*AHEM!*

Polls are up! Happy choosing!

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

I liked this episode a lot. It was a good lesson about understanding and respecting others holidays and cultures without being heavy handed about it. It reminded me of when my friends from other cultures and countries taught me about their religions etc in an organic way. I liked Ocelious the Changeling’s story and Sliverstream’s stories the best. Sliverstream’s is basically a huge “My Little Pony The Movie” spoiler LOL. Smolder’s made me laugh since its the opposite of Pony culture LOL. I knew right away the student who did the prank was a flying student but they did keep me guessing as to which flying student it would be. I liked how Twilight gave them time to tell the truth instead of assuming automatically.

Edited August 4, 2018 by StitchandMLPlover

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

7 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I want the Student Six to get more focus episodes and more development. 

Well we just got one and I know What Lies Beneath is another one.

[BrawnyCharger 511]

"Carols, Carols, Carols, Carols, Car-olllls." LOL

You got to give credit to Ocelious and the changelings for trying.

[twilightsparkle3562 144]

Good episode, but I do have one criticism (and please hear me out):

I think Twilight should have chosen a better punishment for the young six.  I get the extra lessons as a punishment, but keeping all of the young six at the school for 2 whole weeks to learn those extra lessons? 

Sure, she would have notified all the familes, perhaps inviting them to stay with the students at the school, but still...maybe it should have been to have the culprit (Gallus) be given detention after the holiday break was over and learn those extra lessons then.  You can't keep someone from their familes even if they did something wrong, especially if they had been away from home for an entire semester.  Besides, we all know that Twilight would have gotten on Novo's bad side again had Silverstream not been with the Hippogriffs for the three day celebration.

Personally, I felt that the punishment was a BIT too harsh because that would have been interfearing with personal matters.  

Or...

Maybe have the culprit (Gallus) go home for the holiday and THEN come back to the school early for the extra freindship lessons.  That would have been another route Twilight would have gone with.

...

Not a bad episode aside from that.  Just offering a bit of criticism.

[KH7672 1,604]

Definitely going against the grain for that second poll. I am serious when I say Sandbar's is my favorite story. I absolutely love the "anti-climactic story" cliche not just for the passion he put into the story but the reaction from everyone afterward was the best especially Smolder's fake enthusiasm and the fact they brought it back at the end. Kind of like a good "Rashomon" story. Completely unimportant to the topic at hand because of the biased perspective but still entertaining none the less.

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

26 minutes ago, twilightsparkle3562 said:

Good episode, but I do have one criticism (and please hear me out):

I think Twilight should have chosen a better punishment for the young six.  I get the extra lessons as a punishment, but keeping all of the young six at the school for 2 whole weeks to learn those extra lessons? 

Sure, she would have notified all the familes, perhaps inviting them to stay with the students at the school, but still...maybe it should have been to have the culprit (Gallus) be given detention after the holiday break was over and learn those extra lessons then.  You can't keep someone from their familes even if they did something wrong, especially if they had been away from home for an entire semester.  Besides, we all know that Twilight would have gotten on Novo's bad side again had Silverstream not been with the Hippogriffs for the three day celebration.

Personally, I felt that the punishment was a BIT too harsh because that would have been interfearing with personal matters.  

Or...

Maybe have the culprit (Gallus) go home for the holiday and THEN come back to the school early for the extra freindship lessons.  That would have been another route Twilight would have gone with.

...

Not a bad episode aside from that.  Just offering a bit of criticism.

I must disagree here. One of the Student Six poured goo powder on the Fire of Friendship to sabotage the room and decorations. They intentionally ruined all the hard work put forth by the students and teachers in that room, going against the roots and spirits of the school. Staying at the school as punishment fits the crime. The same goes for the rest of them; to the teachers, not cooperating with the investigation means they're covering for each other, even for a really awful thing to do. Someone had to fess up.

[gingerninja666 487]

3 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

I must disagree here. One of the Student Six poured goo powder on the Fire of Friendship to sabotage the room and decorations. They intentionally ruined all the hard work put forth by the students and teachers in that room, going against the roots and spirits of the school. Staying at the school as punishment fits the crime. The same goes for the rest of them; to the teachers, not cooperating with the investigation means they're covering for each other, even for a really awful thing to do. Someone had to fess up.

Also, the end of the episode showed that they were pretty sure the culprit was Gallus, meaning the stated punishment was probably just a way to get him to confess on his own.

[Ganondorf8 11,118]

I definitely didn't expect that to happen at the end. Throughout the episode, I assumed that the one responsible for the mess would be Cozy Glow given she did something similar in her first appearance--also because of what we know is going to happen in the future. Who would've guessed that Gallus was the guilty party. I was genuinely saddened that Gallus turned out to be an orphan--this might not be the case as we didn't get to see too much of Griffonstone--but it was funny knowing that Grandpa Gruff is just called that. I also appreciated the different ways the students celebrate the holidays--Ocellus was the best one because of sheer absurdity.

[Thrond 3,257]

This was cute and sweet. More like the charm of early MLP than the neuroses of The Breakfast Club, if I'm remembering the latter right, but that charm is very much welcome; my main apprehension is that dragons and yaks seem a little too one-note. Otherwise, I found this very pleasant, and then the twist at the end won me over even more. I don't have that much to say here, but point by point:

• I think it's cute that changelings are learning about and adapting pony holidays. Their culture to this point was defined so much by obedience to Chrysalis before, but now they're finding their own identity. And that story was appealingly silly. Shout out to Twilight giving them a heckin' Christmas instruction manual. 
• Sandbar cannot sing. 
• Sandbar's story was funny but kinda underwhelming. He's probably the least interesting of the student six to me right now. 
• Silverstream has grown on me, but I still find her enthusiasm annoying at times. She's sweet and that's a likable trait, but it's still a bit too much. 
• I wish the yaks had more to their culture than just destroying things. I feel like the show has missed an opportunity to flesh them out a bit. Also, does Yona just not remember the yak song? Surely those aren't the actual words. 
• We've seen a nice griffon, so I'd like to see more friendly individuals from the dragon culture. Spike doesn't count, because he was raised as a pony. Given Smolder's story, nice dragons must exist, but we've never seen any. 
• The dragon story was unexpected. I was expecting something sweet, but nope, it's just cruelty. It’s funny, though.
• What I like most about Gallus's story is that they didn't shy away from the fact that he's an orphan. Even more than "The Perfect Pear," this makes it very clear that his family is gone, and at least in this case it makes sense that we don't know if they're alive or dead, because maybe Gallus doesn't know either. I still think more specificity would make this even more powerful, but I feel the implication here is that he was abandoned. Unlike the Apples, there's no other family to take care of him. I didn't see any of that coming, and it's really nice that this show can still catch me completely off guard. 
• If we take Princess Cadance's backstory from that one book as canon, the show's orphan count is now at 5, counting the Apples separately.

Score:
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Themes: 10/10
Story: 7/10
Overall: 83/100

Edited August 4, 2018 by AlexanderThrond

[gingerninja666 487]

2 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

This was cute and sweet. More like the charm of early MLP than the neuroses of The Breakfast Club, if I'm remembering the latter right, but that charm is very much welcome; my main apprehension is that dragons and yaks seem a little too one-note. Otherwise, I found this very pleasant, and then the twist at the end won me over even more. I don't have that much to say here, but point by point:

• I think it's cute that changelings are learning about and adapting pony holidays. Their culture to this point was defined so much by obedience to Chrysalis before, but now they're finding their own identity. And that story was appealingly silly. Shout out to Twilight giving them a heckin' Christmas instruction manual. 
• Sandbar cannot sing. 
• Sandbar's story was funny but kinda underwhelming. He's probably the least interesting of the student six to me right now. 
• Silverstream has grown on me, but I still find her enthusiasm annoying at times. She's sweet and that's a likable trait, but it's still a bit too much. 
• I wish the yaks had more to their culture than just destroying things. I feel like the show has missed an opportunity to flesh them out a bit. Also, does Yona just not remember the yak song? Surely those aren't the actual words. 
• We've seen a nice griffon, so I'd like to see more friendly individuals from the dragon culture. Spike doesn't count, because he was raised as a pony. Given Smolder's story, nice dragons must exist, but we've never seen any. 
• The dragon story was unexpected. I was expecting something sweet, but nope, it's just cruelty. 
• What I like most about Gallus's story is that they didn't shy away from the fact that he's an orphan. Even more than "The Perfect Pear," this makes it very clear that his family is gone, and at least in this case it makes sense that we don't know if they're alive or dead, because maybe Gallus doesn't know either. I still think more specificity would make this even more powerful, but I feel the implication here is that he was abandoned. Unlike the Apples, there's no other family to take care of him. I didn't see any of that coming, and it's really nice that this show can still catch me completely off guard. 
• If we take Princess Cadance's backstory from that one book as canon, the show's orphan count is now at 3. 

Score:
Entertainment: 8/10
Characters: 8/10
Themes: 10/10
Story: 7/10
Overall: 83/100

I found the Yaksong adorable, personally. I read it more as a silly song among family members than something that's supposed to be serious.

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

17 minutes ago, gingerninja666 said:

Also, the end of the episode showed that they were pretty sure the culprit was Gallus, meaning the stated punishment was probably just a way to get him to confess on his own.

Great point. The Mane Eight were involved in many massive arguments in the past, both participating in them and watching from the background, including one earlier this season. Going by their experience, it wasn't going to be long until someone breaks it up.

---

The Hearth's Warming Club has so many fantastic moments, but I wanna talk about my most favorite of the episode: their fight.

Every time we see them as friends, they're usually very cooperative with one another. They shared a close bond both in the foreground and in the back, sometimes proving to be better friends than those teaching them friendship *cough*Complete Crap Clause*cough*. This is the very first time we saw their friendships truly tested, and the way Hohlfeld experimented with this is excellent.

1. Disagreed with one another, sometimes rather passionately.
2. Passively-aggressively insulted their friends' holidays in favor of their own comparison.
3. Sarcastically remarked at some of their friends occasionally.
4. Accused them of sabotaging the HW decor and sometimes put some pressure on them to admit it.
5. Pushed conspiracy theories.
6. Insulted them to their faces.

All this culminated into one of the biggest arguments of the entire series, and this fight carries a lot more weight than in School Daze, Part 1 (Act 2), because they weren't friends until one act later. So much is at stake here, because the culprit's deception was forcing them to stay behind.

Their massive argument reminds Gallus of what he went through back home. The ReYoung Five are lucky to be able to get along, celebrate, cheer, and tell stories that dignify their cultures and histories; Gallus has none of those luxuries. Watching the only family he has act like they hate each other pained him. Their argument accentuated the guilt he felt for what he did.