Was Discord more trouble than he was worth?

[BrawnyCharger 511]

Let's be honest. Yes, Discord is the "Master of Chaos". Yes, he has been reformed. But more often than not he still causes a lot of trouble for the ponies. After all he did pretend to be Grogar in while uniting Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Tirek and Sombra and had them attack Twilight just to boost her confidence. He almost ruined Big Mac and Sugar Belle's proposal with that apple monster. Not to mention a number of other moments. So even though at the end of the episodes things all worked out, the fact of the matter is that the ponies wouldn't have been in such chaos if the "Lord of Chaos" had behaved himself.

Which leads me to asking if Twilight and the other ponies befriending Discord was more trouble than it was worth, or was he well worth the trouble. If it's the latter, then you're certainly going to have to endure a HUGE LOAD OF IT! 

Your Thoughts?

[Will Guide 21,325]

I thought this topic was already asked months ago when the final season ended.

As for me, my short answer is no, he wasn't that much trouble at all. And despite what you think about Discord himself, his actions indirectly led to all the races in Equestria coming together to save our heroes from the terrible trio. In a way, he helped solidified the friendships between all races.

 

At the start of the series the ponies would only get along with each other but not with any of the other non-pony races. But now at the end of the series we see dragons, Changeling hippogriffs, griffins, and yaks hanging out with each other in Canterlot.

[Bastian 13,319]

I think he could have been just left as stone, he was never there when equestria was in danger and he could have solved everything with a snap of his fingers, buy my toys!

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,279]

Yes, mostly. Besides his well done friendship with Fluttershy, his redemption was handled very poorly in my view. Most of the time I couldn't even tell what their goal with him was. Then there was the whole thing with Grogar, which I didn't watch season 9 but I know what went on with that and it is...kinda dumb. What was the point? Starlight had the most idiotic and unjustified redemption, but Discord's felt like the biggest waste of time.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

Redundant, unfunny bait for those few Star Trek fans who watch Pony. His worthlessness goes beyond the scope of the story itself.

[Megas 27,064]

He was always just terrible to deal with ever since his reformation. When he wasn't a pop culture reference assembly line, he was a massive douchebag who'd always treat everyone like garbage whenever he didn't get his way, and the last two seasons were easily the worst for it, especially with that god-awful Grogar twist rendering that entire bloody season moot. And what gets me is how everyone bitches about Celestia making the fate of the Crystal Empire a test for Twilight, but Discord does it in the finale and it's passed off as "Discord helping in his own special way!" "lol Discord being Discord!", fuck off with that garbage. Only reason they kept him around for so long was because they wanted to milk De Lancie for all his worth

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

I liked him a lot until the end. The only thing that sullies my enjoyment of the finale is not Discord's folly, but the lack of real payoff from it. Like, there should be something deeper behind him basically screwing everyone over that should reveal something more about his character (for example, the Yin-Yang philosophy implied by Twilight's speech tying into how him trying to do good can only lead to chaos), but instead...it's just there. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Well, he is the reason the tree of harmony being destroyed in the first place and no pony has anything to say about that.  If you take “the mean justified the end” to heart then Discord is a good thing in the long run because he helped every kingdoms united. Discord always has a jail-free card that once called “its Discord!” so he can be immuned to criticisms. 

For the greater good, i guess.....

[Goat-kun 2,498]

8 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

Well, he is the reason the tree of harmony being destroyed in the first place and no pony has anything to say about that.  If you take “the mean justified the end” to heart then Discord is a good thing in the long run because he helped every kingdoms united. Discord always has a jail-free card that once called “its Discord!” so he can be immuned to criticisms. 

For the greater good, i guess.....

There are always a few basic tragic past bitches crawling around Equestria at any given time so releasing old villains does seem like just hastening the inevitable Anyhow, you can't really play the greater good card if Mane 6 were already in the process of unifying the unwashed creatures ever since the introduction of the Map. Greater good can be played if you are aware that what you are doing is messed up but don't see a better alternative.

 

Let's make a comparison between what "Q" is doing and what Raymond Reddington (Blacklist) proposed to the FBI in regards to his cooperation. The already reformed & befriended "Q" is doing things cause some simps and wine moms think they're funny and inventive. Plus they needed to wrap things up in a few short episodes and that's, like, such a pain. Moreover, one can argue he's as retarded as Starlight and honestly believes his actions are those of a good person. I mean, they never punished him for any of his actions before so why start in the finale of finals? On the other appendage, the FBI accepted Reddington's proposal in order to hunt down some of the most notorious criminals the world has ever seen by using the connections and experience of one such notorious criminal. You could play greater good if, instead of Discord, Twilight would ally herself with someone like the Real Grogar in order to bring down other villains.

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

It gets really dull being an omnipotent god without playthings. And much like Q, Discord is like a child playing with toys.

Also, pinkie pie is an hypective annoyance, then there is the princess stereotype, or the overly competitive lesbian, the drama queen, and applejack... is applejack. Poor discord, having to put with them because he wants to get some with fluttershy. But my guess is they get along VERY well once she drops the innocent act.

[ChB 18,532]

I have mixed feelings about Discord. I always loved him, reformed and unreformed, but the way he acted from Celestial Advice and onward started to get old on me (though some of his later episodes, like Dungeons and Discord, were good.) The worst for me was the season 9 finale plot twist...it nearly ruined him for me. Was he more trouble than he was worth? I'd say, plot-wise, yes he was. Because he's a parody of Q though, he will always have a special place in my heart.  

[Thrond 3,257]

He helped save Equestria that one time, but there were also those two times he was helpful to the villain. And he's a jerk to everyone so I don't see why some of the characters like him so much. I like him, but that's because he's not real and so I don't have to deal with him in person. We know that he wouldn't stay turned into a statue forever, though, so maybe it's better that he merely annoys everyone around him. 

[Thrond 3,257]

16 hours ago, Will Guide said:

I thought this topic was already asked months ago when the final season ended.

As for me, my short answer is no, he wasn't that much trouble at all. And despite what you think about Discord himself, his actions indirectly led to all the races in Equestria coming together to save our heroes from the terrible trio. In a way, he helped solidified the friendships between all races.

At the start of the series the ponies would only get along with each other but not with any of the other non-pony races. But now at the end of the series we see dragons, Changeling hippogriffs, griffins, and yaks hanging out with each other in Canterlot.

Consider the following: this was already happening due to the efforts of Twilight and her friends, and Discord only contributed to it by messing up catastrophically. 

14 hours ago, Megas said:

And what gets me is how everyone bitches about Celestia making the fate of the Crystal Empire a test for Twilight, but Discord does it in the finale and it's passed off as "Discord helping in his own special way!" "lol Discord being Discord!", fuck off with that garbage.

Which is funny because that episode mostly treats what Discord did as a serious mistake. Honestly, it's hard to get that mad when I don't expect anything better from him, whereas I don't think we were supposed to think the Celestia stuff was messed up. 

 

[Will Guide 21,325]

39 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Consider the following: this was already happening due to the efforts of Twilight and her friends, and Discord only contributed to it by messing up catastrophically. 

I know that. I was just saying sometimes seemingly bad things at first can work out for the better in the long run. Turn a disaster into an opportunity to improve something. For example, a home being turned into a mess is an opportunity for remodel. See what I mean?

[Thrond 3,257]

20 minutes ago, Will Guide said:

I know that. I was just saying sometimes seemingly bad things at first can work out for the better in the long run. Turn a disaster into an opportunity to improve something. For example, a home being turned into a mess is an opportunity for remodel. See what I mean?

I just think maybe we could have gotten to multicultural harmony without Discord jeopardizing the whole thing. 

[Latecomer 438]

18 hours ago, BrawnyCharger said:

Let's be honest. Yes, Discord is the "Master of Chaos". Yes, he has been reformed. But more often than not he still causes a lot of trouble for the ponies. After all he did pretend to be Grogar in while uniting Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, Tirek and Sombra and had them attack Twilight just to boost her confidence. He almost ruined Big Mac and Sugar Belle's proposal with that apple monster. Not to mention a number of other moments. So even though at the end of the episodes things all worked out, the fact of the matter is that the ponies wouldn't have been in such chaos if the "Lord of Chaos" had behaved himself.

Which leads me to asking if Twilight and the other ponies befriending Discord was more trouble than it was worth, or was he well worth the trouble. If it's the latter, then you're certainly going to have to endure a HUGE LOAD OF IT! 

Your Thoughts?

Well part of that really depends on the available alternatives. If he could have been premenatlu locked in stone, depowered or even killed, that might have been preferable - but then, if he escaped on his own when there were no Element Bearers to oppose him, that could have been disastrous.

You also need to bear in mind that we've only seen his actions over a fairly short timescale, during which he's been a mix of annoying, helpful and disastrous. In the long run he could save ponykind or end it, based on how his life was changed in these years. But I do admit it would be a lot easier to believe he'll be good for Equestria in general if not for that big last-second twist which he didn't really have time to recover from.

 

[Goat-kun 2,498]

1 hour ago, Will Guide said:

I know that. I was just saying sometimes seemingly bad things at first can work out for the better in the long run. Turn a disaster into an opportunity to improve something. For example, a home being turned into a mess is an opportunity for remodel. See what I mean?

But you forgot to tell us that your home was turned into a mess by a junkie hobo who pissed all over your living room, stole all your cash, broke all your wooden furniture and set it on fire. See what I mean? Discord is not a natural disaster nor is he a gas leak or faulty wiring.

[Tao 6,724]

I feel Discord is worth it if the writers had written him a different way,   they often used him as a escape goat and just keeping him from evolving in the right way.  But they also did the same things with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie also many many times. 

[Sparklefan1234 161,860]

While I know a lot of people like/love Discord, I felt like his "reformation" was pointless because he still acted like a jerk to his "friends". 

 

It didn't help that he put their lives in danger on more than one occasion under the guise of "tests" for Twilight Sparkle.

 

Plus, I felt like he was overused to the point where I disliked episodes simply because he was a part of them. 

[JH24 385]

I think it was worth the trouble. Yes, there were lot of problems along the way (Despite his knowledge and powers Discord was mentally still a kid who had a lot to learn about social interactions) but I feel befriending Discord was also a way to keep future generations safe.

Fluttershy will be gone one day but she will leave behind a more mature Discord. A Discord who can make new friends on his own and can be an ally to Twilight/Spike and future rulers.  

Princess Celestia knew that Discord would escape his prison again one day. I think this was something she did not want to burden future generations with.

Edited March 10, 2020 by JH24

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

You know, with all this criticism towards Discord since his reform in Season 3, I'm surprised that alot of you haven't criticized Princess Celestia for wanting to reform him in the first place.  Back when Celestia chose to visit Twilight and her friends to help reform Discord, believing in her student and her companions, and yes even getting an earful from Twilight over this idea.

And the funny thing is, had Discord not been released from stone for his reform, alot of what he did wouldn't happen.  But at the same time, things could have been worse.  But then again, there is rumors that Celestia may have been responsible for freeing her sister from the moon.  So there's more to that than meets the eye.

[Thrond 3,257]

22 hours ago, SaburoDaimando said:

You know, with all this criticism towards Discord since his reform in Season 3, I'm surprised that alot of you haven't criticized Princess Celestia for wanting to reform him in the first place.  Back when Celestia chose to visit Twilight and her friends to help reform Discord, believing in her student and her companions, and yes even getting an earful from Twilight over this idea.

 And the funny thing is, had Discord not been released from stone for his reform, alot of what he did wouldn't happen.  But at the same time, things could have been worse.  But then again, there is rumors that Celestia may have been responsible for freeing her sister from the moon.  So there's more to that than meets the eye.

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. 

[Latecomer 438]

10 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. 

And a lot depends on stuff we don't know, like if the events of the S4 premiere would have released him anywau.

[Rumpelstiltskin 45]

I liked Discord but I thought the whole affair with season nine kind of made him look like an ass. I mean, he was an ass before that, but I always interpreted him as being an eldritch being who's understanding of mortal concepts was hampered by his very nature. Having near-unlimited power makes it hard for someone to learn and grow emotionally. 

Having said that, I didn't like how he turned four broken and defeated villains into dangerous threats again, bullied and lied to them, and then turned them to stone out of what seemed to be spite. I tend to think all of this was more due to sketchy writing than anything else. 

[JH24 385]

Although it does seem irresponsible in a sense to willingly release someone like Discord, I honestly do think Celestia believed this was the right choice in the end. She truly believed the Mane 6 could do it, and I doubt she would have considered it in any other situation.

The alternative would have been to keep Discord locked up but then he would have inevitably escaped one day. 

Edited March 15, 2020 by JH24