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How was the episode?  

92 users have voted

  1. 1. How was the episode?

    • Passed the test with life-long friends! (5/5)
      58
    • Passed the test! (4/5)
      29
    • I don't know what lies beneath! (3/5)
      2
    • Bad like Cozy Glow! (2/5)
      2
    • Failed the test! (1/5)
      1


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  On 2018-09-22 at 4:07 PM, PoisonClaw said:

Well, that was a pretty decent episode. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was a nice bit of character development for the Student Six, as well as another reference to the events of the movie. Plus, it was a nice bit of lore with the Tree of Harmony, and set up potential future appearances now that it is able to project itself and says it constantly grows stronger as need be. 

My only real complaint here...

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  On 2018-09-22 at 4:07 PM, PoisonClaw said:

Well, that was a pretty decent episode. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was a nice bit of character development for the Student Six, as well as another reference to the events of the movie. Plus, it was a nice bit of lore with the Tree of Harmony, and set up potential future appearances now that it is able to project itself and says it constantly grows stronger as need be. 

My only real complaint here...

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When I first heard about this episode and started seeing the promos, I thought it was going to be mostly about Silverstream's fear of the Storm King. Setting up a character with PTSD and helping her deal with it would be a pretty bold move for the series. As it is, that was only one element and the PTSD aspect is downplayed for the most part. But the idea of having all the students face their fears to teach they can all reap the benefits of friendship is a great moral.

Also, I really was hoping the broken pieces of the Storm King were being stored under the school, as that would have been delightfully dark without being actually dark. I suppose they gave him a proper burial, even though he was turned to stone.

 

It's funny how much trouble the characters have with the history of the entire series compared to how easy it is for most fans to relate the details of past events. Certainly the question of whether Discord's chocolate rain came before or after the castle is pretty simple. :)

It wasn't until the second viewing that I actually noticed all the stuff with the plumbing book Silverstream was getting so excited about that set up her quote later during her panic.

Wow, this face on Gallus just screams, "Drop dead, bitch." XD
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Also, that smug look on Cozy there is yet another clue she's not really the nice pony she pretends to be. :mlp_wat:

I noticed the Tree didn't end it's statement about failure with the word, "forever." Presumably, then, they would only have had to stay until they all passed their tests?

Gallus' fear could be divided into two parts due to his dialogue: He's not just afraid of tight spaces, but he's also afraid of taking tests and failing them. That's some good insight into why he's often heard dismissing the benefits of learning.

Now Yona and Spike have something in common: They're both afraid of spiders. Well, they were - I guess Yona is cured now. Now help a friend dragon out, maybe? :mlp_please:

The line of Ocellus-as-Chrysalis of, "It's me - I'm hideous!" is the funniest in the episode for me. If the real Chrysalis was that over-the-top dramatic, the ponies might feel sorry for her. XD

Thanks to the Tree, a new ship has set sail:
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The hard-nosed griffon doesn't know how to deal with overt displays of affection, however.    Just roll with it, buddy. :wub:

Ocellus must have done some things in her life before Thorax saved them all that she's not particularly proud of. I wonder if she helped carry out the plan to replace the Mane 6 and princesses? Or the raid on Canterlot? I'm not sure how effective a nymph changeling would be at carrying out attacks. Maybe she was just siphoning love off of other ponies while she disguised herself as a cute colt or filly?

Smolder: "But ever since school started, I realized that sometimes - I kinda don't mind cute stuff."
Guess that explains why her and Spike are hitting it off. :laugh:

There is something gratifying about seeing Smolder smack Cozy's deceptive muzzle to shut her up while Yona inadvertently looks on contently:
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Anyway, another great episode.This one is actually more akin to how I wanted "The Hearthswarming Club" to play out - a story that gives us insight into the inner psyches of the Student 6. "THWC" was still a great episode, but this was even better.

 

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Great episode focusing entirely on the Student 6, better than The Hearth's Warming Club. Again, we get to learn something new about each of these characters, only this time, it's done with a more engaging real-time conflict with a real risk involved. It's weird how The Tree of Harmony is an actual character now, but the much more disturbing aspect of this episode is easily Cozy Glow. It's creepy how good she is at lying and manipulating these kids while pretending to be an innocent child. She got them to doubt themselves by making them believe they couldn't understand friendship because of their species and that one of them was privileged because of their species. And to top it off, she pretended to be a victim so that the others wouldn't inform Twilight about something crucial. What a sociopath. However, it shows how good of a job they've done building up what's yet to come.

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  On 2018-09-22 at 3:43 PM, PathfinderCS said:

The main purpose of the tree, as far as the Pillars are concerned, is the protection of Equestria. Twilight herself believes that by spreading friendship you are benefitting Equestria, and I think the Tree shares that. By strengthening their bond they are potentially inspiring other nations to work together, thereby protecting Equestria in a stronger way.

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When watching the episode I had this image in my head of Neighsay and Twilight being lured down there and sealed in a room with the avatar telling them "I find your lack of friendship disturbing, you two will remain here till you kiss and make up." With them needing to pass through a series of rooms like the puzzle/helper locked room that Twilight took her friends too and they missed out on a record because they sang a song.

  On 2018-09-22 at 4:17 PM, gingerninja666 said:
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I also think part of it is who know's with Starlight and her time shenanigans the only pony who really know's what she did is Twilight and she also know's that when push came to shove and she was shown the consequences of her actions were worse than she ever imagined she stopped herself.

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  On 2018-09-22 at 6:54 PM, Cypherhoof said:
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This is 80% exposition, but it's very cute. The kids are alright. The high stakes kind of annoy me, and it sorta lacks the subtlety of this show's best episodes, but there's enough here that's charming, and the students' personalities shine through. A few points:

  • Well, guess the show's not playing around with Cozy Glow anymore. She's weird and sketchy and everything she says sounds insincere... interested to see what becomes of her. Also, she may or may not be a racist? Not entirely clear to me. 
  • The worldbuilding is neat. I like the idea that the Tree of Harmony is constantly evolving and learning, and this expands upon its seeming sentience in interesting ways. I'm still not that invested in the lore of this show, but this season I generally don't mind its presence, because it's gotten a huge boost in sophistication. With that said, I don't really like the show's penchant to have such high stakes all the time... I feel like that persistent sense of danger diminishes the show's charm a bit. I guess I just miss the relaxed context of the earlier seasons. 
  • This is just me, but Twilight being the form the Tree of Harmony takes reminded me of how little the show has actually done with her this season... if a complete shift in the status quo isn't enough to give the mane six direction, I can't imagine what would be. 
  • The Smolder stuff kind of annoyed me for some reason. There's something about tomboyish characters trying to hide their femininity which just rubs me the wrong way. That, too, is just me, though.
  • I'm not sure testing these characters' friendship is something the show has earned. Season 1, by comparison, spent a lot of time specifically building up the mane six's relationships, so the finale was that much more satisfying; here, it feels like a fairly mechanical attempt to expand on these characters from a show which doesn't have enough space to do it organically. So they're forced by some mystical contrivance to confront their fears, and talk almost constantly about what these quirky scenes mean. For all that's improved about the show this year, its structure is continuing to get worse and worse. 
  • Stuff like Silverstream shouting at the Storm King shadow and Yona befriending a spider make up for all of that, though. This was very pleasant.  

Score:
Entertainment: 7/10
Characters: 9/10
Themes: 7/10
Story: 5/10
Overall: 70/100

 

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Watched this episode, it was pretty good! I never expected the Tree of Harmony having a role here. So much character development, I love it. What Twilight said about the Elements in the beginning reminded me of the existence of the Chaos Emeralds (background info unknown, who made it or where it's from but it plays a role in major events). 

Cozy Glow though. I have a feeling she could be a part of a conspiracy to take down the School of Friendship after all.  

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  On 2018-09-22 at 9:11 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

Oh, and Sandbar is just plain boring. 

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It's funny a pony is the least interesting of the Student 6 in a show titled "My Little Pony." Here, the problem is the stakes don't seem as high for Sandbar as they do for the fears of the other 5 students. At first blush, Sandbar's issue with trying to impress the Mane 6 seems trivial. However, now seeing this episode again after seeing the finale does create a bit of an "Aha!" moment for future events. I hope that's obtuse enough to not be a spoiler.

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  On 2018-09-22 at 9:23 PM, Truffles said:

It's funny a pony is the least interesting of the Student 6 in a show titled "My Little Pony." Here, the problem is the stakes don't seem as high for Sandbar as they do for the fears of the other 5 students. At first blush, Sandbar's issue with trying to impress the Mane 6 seems trivial.

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I wasn't that bothered by his problem or his fear, which both strike me as resonant enough, but his mannerisms just don't interest me at all. 

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  On 2018-09-22 at 3:43 PM, PathfinderCS said:

The main purpose of the tree, as far as the Pillars are concerned, is the protection of Equestria. Twilight herself believes that by spreading friendship you are benefitting Equestria, and I think the Tree shares that. By strengthening their bond they are potentially inspiring other nations to work together, thereby protecting Equestria in a stronger way.

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My understanding: the Tree does have a prediction that the friendship among  Young Six is as important as that among Mane Six. She believes one day they may get an opportunity where they are the only key to save Equestria (we have seen in e25 and e26).

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Thoughts in the spoiler tag.

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  On 2018-09-22 at 10:29 PM, Ganondorf8 said:

Thoughts in the spoiler tag.

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^ What's the point of entering here then, does one expect to read posts and not get spoiled at the same time (if the spoilers are for the same episode)? Anyway, the past 4 episodes this inclusive has been with some of the good writers and made nice episodes, this episodes did not disappoint, it is awesome, have some small remarks. Let's see:

 

An episode focused entirely on the Student Six. I've mentioned it and will again, I find these six sooo adorable and I've been shipping them since the first episodes they had them, they are already much more interesting to me than the CMCs have ever been.

Here comes a little remark, it seems that when someone asks something (in the air), something non-natural around them will always become alive and start speaking and pointing it out. In Shadow Play it was when trying to figure out how to activate the stone pillars when placing items, here it is the Tree of Harmony suddenly can become a ghost and living being speaking to the Student Six, and in some cases the Map will magically point out or notify the ponies. Like really couldn't somepony figure things out on their own? I will accept this because nature or a tree seen as a spirit like nature's spirit has been done I guess.

Cozy Glow is such a lil manipulator, wanting to break their friendship. Does the crystal cave lead to the Tree of Harmony, is it the same cave? Like with the pond of too many Pinkie Pies?

Silverstream's place: The grunts, the face of the Storm King, more and more revealing for the movie, that anyone should have watched by now.

 

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Gallus: TFW he was just about to exit and messed up the last beam to close it entirely, ouch!

Smoulder: I had a hard time knowing she or he, now I know for sure, she has always been cute and my most/2nd fave! Those ponies were right she was cute, before putting on the make-up.

 

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Ocellus: Ahh the flashback of what Changelings looked like and Chrysalis appearance in same episode as the Storm King, feels good! 

So was Sandbar thirsty for leadership? He wants to be more important like the Mane 6.

And there I see two shipping materials that I totally dig! This, and :wub:

 

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this :wub:

 

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And finally, you lil devil Cozy are totally up to something (I dont watch further episodes by this time), I was only expecting this face from her: :fabulous: (no not fab more like green eyes for evil)

 

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  On 2018-09-22 at 11:18 PM, ImpctR said:

^ What's the point of entering here then, does one expect to read posts and not get spoiled at the same time (if the spoilers are for the same episode)? Anyway, the past 4 episodes this inclusive has been with some of the good writers and made nice episodes, this episodes did not disappoint, it is awesome, have some small remarks. Let's see:

 

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My guess is this episode is somewhat pivotal to the finale, and people are sharing their thoughts on how it relates to that. I'm sticking to the official release schedule in watching the episodes, so I don't know that for a fact, but the ending scene in this episode sure was ominous.

 

Definitely much, MUCH better than I was expecting, especially after that dud of last episode. The Student 6 are actually somewhat interesting to me now.

 

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"Let the steel of my resolve be not bested by the sum of my fears."

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