S09:E08 - Frenemies

[Loyal Defender 4,111]

On 5/18/2019 at 11:16 AM, Will Guide said:

 

 

Besides, showing an entire episode of what the villains are up to after about 5-7 episodes is a nice change of pace. Plus it was one of the best interactions I've seen.

@FirePuppy I have to agree with Will here. If you had actually read the synopsis of the episode you would understand what it was about, and you wouldn’t have had a reason to complain about the episode. Seriously Hasbro is not going to bend to your whims so whenever you want them to. I think this episode was a delight because it shows that villains can be villains a while still getting along with each other, and it created a new story arc that involves then betraying Grogar. It wasn’t simply just an episode of them going on a mission and failing, it was them learning things about each other that could possibly be used against Equestria. You really need to learn that not every single episode is going to feature characters that you like. It’s going to eventually divert from the main points and shine a light on the subject of what other characters that haven’t been seen in a while are doing. 

Edited May 24, 2019 by Loyal Defender

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

Such a great episode! I mean seriously...so entertaining to see villains form friendships and then deny the magic of friendship. 

[Rushing cash 824]

The song tune sound kind of similar to another but I can't really point to which other villain song. Some aspects of the song were similar to "it feels so good to be bad", slightly better though. The fact the belle glowed in the end, means that grogar will find it if he doesn't already know about it, I'm really intrigued in how this will play out. 

[Sh Pie 65]

When I saw the title, I presumed this episode was going to focus on the dynamic between Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust as I mentioned frenemies in a post for Season 8 episode 20:

On 9/21/2018 at 9:46 PM, Sh Pie said:

My only minor disappointment was Lightning Dust not getting redeemed yet. Couldn't Rainbow Dash or Twilight have given her the friendship speech just before she rocketed away? However, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash declared themselves rivals for life in that moment, which gives me hope. Rivals are somewhere between enemies and frenemies, a relationship founded on mutual respect for each other's talents despite not liking each other very much. It would be cool if they became frenemies, that kind of dynamic hasn't really been tackled in this show. It's actually quite common in real life as well as other franchises.

But an episode focused on unredeemed villains forced to work together is just as cool! It's like the S6 finale which focused on former villains, except this is better in my opinion. Here, the Mane 6 aren't reduced to unnecessary background ponies who serve no purpose. They're simply not here. They're irrelevant to the plot and so their absence is acceptable. Take them out of the S6 and S8 finales and nothing changes. That's why I thought this episode was pretty great. It shows that the Mane 6 don't always have to be involved, especially if they don't do anything important. They may be the stars of the show, but the Legion of Doom were perfectly capable of carrying this episode all on their own and they almost redeemed themselves without intervention from the good guys. I guess the good side can be just as tempting as the evil side. It certainly has a higher success rate.

I'm sure the redemption of these 3 are inevitable now. They get along very well and of course, Tirek and Cozy have history before they were drafted by Grogar. Nocreature besides Cozy wants to admit it though since that would count as friendship which Chrysalis compares to a disease. Cozy was always supportive of friendship as means of villainy. And now her way of thinking has started to infect her fellow bad guys. Not sure about Sombra and Grogar though, they haven't displayed any redeemable qualities. Grogar apparently has been terrorizing Equestria for centuries and he's probably still keeping Sombra on standby in case the others turn on him, and we already know they're plotting against him. They could be the final villain duumvirate. Or Doomvirate since puns are cool.

[Senko 459]

11 hours ago, Sh Pie said:

When I saw the title, I presumed this episode was going to focus on the dynamic between Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust as I mentioned frenemies in a post for Season 8 episode 20:

But an episode focused on unredeemed villains forced to work together is just as cool! It's like the S6 finale which focused on former villains, except this is better in my opinion. Here, the Mane 6 aren't reduced to unnecessary background ponies who serve no purpose. They're simply not here. They're irrelevant to the plot and so their absence is acceptable. Take them out of the S6 and S8 finales and nothing changes. That's why I thought this episode was pretty great. It shows that the Mane 6 don't always have to be involved, especially if they don't do anything important. They may be the stars of the show, but the Legion of Doom were perfectly capable of carrying this episode all on their own and they almost redeemed themselves without intervention from the good guys. I guess the good side can be just as tempting as the evil side. It certainly has a higher success rate.

I'm sure the redemption of these 3 are inevitable now. They get along very well and of course, Tirek and Cozy have history before they were drafted by Grogar. Nocreature besides Cozy wants to admit it though since that would count as friendship which Chrysalis compares to a disease. Cozy was always supportive of friendship as means of villainy. And now her way of thinking has started to infect her fellow bad guys. Not sure about Sombra and Grogar though, they haven't displayed any redeemable qualities. Grogar apparently has been terrorizing Equestria for centuries and he's probably still keeping Sombra on standby in case the others turn on him, and we already know they're plotting against him. They could be the final villain duumvirate. Or Doomvirate since puns are cool.

I'm now picturing a series finale where the villain doesn't confront the mane 6 because they were off on a friendship camping trip when the attack happened. So thank you for that amusing image.

[The Nth Doctor 652]

On 5/18/2019 at 12:37 PM, Mesme Rize said:

Lamias are canon, don't need more. 10/10, 100/100

I hope Gen V has a crossover with Them's Fightin' Herds, or even better: has the region the game takes place in as a location the main character visit and interact with on a regular basis

[Fhaolan 4,468]

On 5/18/2019 at 4:34 PM, ImpctR said:

What kind of mythical creatures is THAT?

 

  Hide contents

 

Ophiotaurus (Οφιοταυρος), literally 'Snake Bull'. The only thing we have left about it a Roman writer Ovid who mentions it in reference to a lost Greek epic Titanomachy. Supposedly it's a singular creature (like most Greek monsters), and if you toke on it's entrails it will give you the power to kill immortals. No mention of any horrors it performed; it just got killed to make sausage-smokes for the giant Aigaios, which got bogarted by Zeus to keep Aigaios from snuffing the Greek pantheon.

 

[Senko 459]

The things you learn watching this show, interesting info there.

[Rixton 1,105]

Oh man...I realized today something:

Spoiler

This species looked familiar from somewhere...

(zerg hydralisk)

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Rixton

[bigbertha 410]

This episode is fine. None of the villains (aside from Chrysalis) are that enjoyable, but some of their interactions are funny and this is a nice change of pace. I'm still not invested in this story, but this season is doing better than every other one with a story arc so I'll give it that.

The problem is that a some of the stuff here is pretty dull. Since most of these villains aren't interesting on their own, the stuff with them trying to climb the mountain alone is boring and some of the interactions are pretty meh. 

Score: 6/10

[Allen 1,371]

This episode is the only episode throughout the series with the main focus of one of our villains, and to be known as the Legion of Doom, for the trio of our past villains. Those three are just playing around, with Grogar only to be strict for them and set up their mission to retrieve his bell at Mount Everhoof that was stolen by Gusty the Great. Eventually, the trio got the bell from Mount Everhoof for Grogar. When they're up to this for his mission, that was a brilliant scheme for them when bringing home that bell but hidden from view at the conclusion, think that Grogar will be powerful with that. I will say this episode is good despite that I don't like villains.  But from the polls, many of you voted 5 out of 5 for this episode, I rate this episode great too!

Also, the song in this episode is good, but for our villains singing it was a brilliant scheme. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by Allen
More comment.

[Cash In 21,515]

A very different kind of episode, but hey, it payed off, because it gave the villains actual depth. I don't think Grogar will go out without a fight, but I'm very curious on where this whole plot thread will lead and I think it'll lead to something pretty awesome.

EDIT: Oh, for fuck sake.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Cash_In

[Splashee 28,537]

Absolutely one of my top 3 episodes of the entire show (below 'A Royal Problem' and 'Forgotten Friendship'). Just focusing on the villains like if they were the stars of this show is the best thing this show has ever done. It also shows how much a character like Cozy was needed to make this happen (having a pony as a villain is required in this case; cannot have an episode without a pony in a show called My Little Pony).

The song was absolutely up there with the greats, and the visuals and animations made it almost ridiculously good!

I also liked the flowy hair and new cutie mark for Gusty, as a nice inclusion into G4.

Now, the question remains, can the remainder of season 9 beat this episode? If we take away the episodes required to complete every character for the series ending, there aren't many episodes available.

Good job from the writer Michael Vogel. I have been somewhat skeptical about his work before, but he is now my favorite after Nick Confalone (not counting staff that has left the show).

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

On 5/18/2019 at 12:56 PM, RyanMahaffe said:

Sometimes a villain just needs to stay who they are, "development" in the way Siege did completely ruined Sombra for me. 
We got development of his personality in TBOE and I adored what they did with him and happy they chose to off him instead of going the reformation route like the other villains.

Except that, even if you ignore the comics and just go by The Crystal Empire and The Cutie Re-Mark, he didn't "stay who [he'd been]" -- as this guy explains.

And the "development of his personality in TBO[T]E"? Same boat as Snoke in The Last Jedi.

Edited July 7, 2019 by Anti-Villain

[Splashee 28,537]

How come everypony that is reviewing this episode get so surprised/upset about where they hide the bell in the end? It is so obvious to me when the episode is like 3-5 seconds from end credits that it is no other way to show their intention to keep the bell hidden but to have the camera pan just behind them.

Any other solution would mean they would have had to cut important and fun moments in the episode just to make the viewer understand the bell was properly hidden, maybe even cut the song out!

[Dragonite 16]

Somebody drew attention to the fact that Lord Tirek is not weak grew by Queen Chrysalis.

[Here No Longer 5,270]

This episode is... quite mediocre. it had a very solid payoff, but getting there was challenging. 

 

Good:

• Chrysalis was really good here. I found her characterization to be on point with exactly what I'd expect from Chrysalis, and I just found the performance on her part really good.
• As I said, the conclusion of the story is solid, and it actually left me with questions about Grogar's intentions. I already know the spoilers at this point regarding him, and the conclusion of this episode really backs that up.
• The campfire scene and the part where they finally worked together was admittedly enjoyable.

 

Bad:

• I find the song to be a bit grating... Especially when Cozy Glow was singing.
• I HATED Cozy Glow. Not as in the way I should, but as in the way I SHOULDN'T. Tirek's right, she's annoying and irritating. I never really liked Cozy Glow as a villain, but this episode solidifies my opinion that she's now EASILY my least favorite of the series.
• I'm very lukewarm on Tirek's characterization as well.
• I really, really did not like the way this episode started at all... At that point found Cozy Glow to be at her absolute most irritating (and everyone's frankly), Tirek to be slightly obnoxious and arrogant, and even Chrysalis to be a little too arrogant as well.

 

I will give this episode a 5.5/10. Not that good, but not really a particularly BAD episode. As of now, She's All Yak is still barely the worst of S9.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Angus Delaney

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

This Episode was really entertaining and really funny. I also liked how Chrysalis was the most fearless one. Also its sets up a very interesting new plot. 

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

This is one of my favorite episodes of the show. I really liked the song and the montage of failures.

[Sweet Sweet Dreams 49]

It was quite possibly my favorite episode of the whole show to be honest.

It's not as heartwarming as "The Perfect Pear", nor as exciting as "Twilight's Kingdom".

But it certainly is the most I've ever laughed at a Friendship is Magic episode!  On top of just being just a fun ride that of getting an episode finally not having the main cast in.

I love The Mane Six with all my heart as much as the next guy, but I just wish we had episodes like this way more often in the show.

Plus, seeing Chrysalis do an impression of Twilight cracks me up to the core! <3

[GloryForShame 26]

Literally peak villain interaction.