S03:E10 - Keep Calm and Flutter On

[NavelColt 22,877]

I made a decent-enough sized post back on page five, but seeing as how this thread's initial explosion of activity has finally calmed down with the day at an end, I feel like I might as well attempt to make a larger post. Though I may not have much, if any competition, I have a reputation to uphold as Best Discord Fan

 

Discord represents chaos and disharmony. From what we saw in The Return of Harmony, he was a trickster spirit who had next to no morality or scruples. He had fun and if you didn't like his fun you were shit outta luck. He changed the landscape, weather, and even the buildings and animals themselves. Most of all he 'Discordified' the Mane Six. We were generally lead in the direction of believing that he was more or less vacant of feelings. Being a spirit/creature of chaos, that seemed to make perfect sense. When Return of Harmony came to a close, everyone minus people who just don't like Discord as a villain by principle were completely satisfied with the two-parter. They were content and could move on.

 

Now there's this episode. In which Discord, this seemingly un-feeling character who was supposed to be carefree and only interested in his chaotic motives, is suddenly exposed to the idea of 'being reformed', and 'gaining a friend'. Now, I get that the episode felt rushed, frankly I think they could have done a hell of a job if this had been a two-parter and fit more time to develop the 'realization that friendship isn't so bad/sadness at the thought of losing it' theme, but all in all, Discord having feelings, Discord being capable of caring is not at all far-fetched to me. Discord was never a villain like Chrysalis or Sombra, there was in fact an entire side of the fandom who didn't even call him a true villain, but just a chaotic entity that did what it wanted, and everyone who tried to get in its' way got discorded, as the creature's defense mechanism. The idea of him being reformed makes more sense than any of the other main villains we've seen, frankly.

 

When you're a nearly omnipotent being who can warp reality, and are also in the predisposition of enjoying chaos and disorder, something that all creatures generally dislike, you're never, ever going to have bonds, of any kind. Discord had absolutely no contemplation of what friendship felt like due to his nature, so obviously his personality and attitude are shaped to what he was predetermined to enjoy. Since he had no regard for feelings of others or his own, life was a giant plaything, amusement his one and only goal.

 

I guess what I'm attempting to say is the show is giving Discord character development, by way of showing he does in fact have feelings. He just never used them or had any reason to use them before. I get that the show rushed it a bit, and I get that some people are simply not going to like the fact that his character is being developed this way, but again, like I went into detail in this topic, if Discord were to remain a villain, he'd be doomed to eternity, stuck in the same never ending feedback loop until the show decided to not use him anymore.

 

Some may feel some growth pains from how his character has initially taken this rather sudden direction, and that's fine, everyone's got their opinion and preferences. As for me, I will support Discord's character no matter what happens to him, and I'm eager to see what happens next. And, you can bet there will be a 'next'. Part of why I'm not even slightly bothered by the fact that the climax and ending felt a little rushed was because it's plainly obvious to see he's going to show up again. Even if only for cameo appearances here and there, with only one main inclusion in the future, I don't doubt we'll be seeing Discord again. They wouldn't decide to reform him if they didn't have plans for his character in the future.

 

Especially considering Celestia has 'uses' for him and his powers now that he isn't going to try and take over.

[Lightning Fluttershy 1,844]

Now there's this episode. In which Discord, this seemingly un-feeling character who was supposed to be carefree and only interested in his chaotic motives, is suddenly exposed to the idea of 'being reformed', and 'gaining a friend'. Now, I get that the episode felt rushed, frankly I think they could have done a hell of a job if this had been a two-parter and fit more time to develop the 'realization that friendship isn't so bad/sadness at the thought of losing it' theme, but all in all, Discord having feelings, Discord being capable of caring is not at all far-fetched to me. Discord was never a villain like Chrysalis or Sombra, there was in fact an entire side of the fandom who didn't even call him a true villain, but just a chaotic entity that did what it wanted, and everyone who tried to get in its' way got discorded, as the creature's defense mechanism. The idea of him being reformed makes more sense than any of the other main villains we've seen, frankly.

This is nearly exactly what I said in a thread earlier before the episode. Unlike other villains we've seen from season 1 2 and 3, who are all focused on destruction, revenge, or enslavement, Discord always seemed different. Rather than attempting to literally destroy the ponies or enslave them, he was simply amusing himself. This makes him the more logical choice to reform as what he was doing was never really evil, just natural to him.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

Basically, let's call this an 'alternate universe' and say that this story takes place after the episode "Spike at Your Service".

I'd prefer to just call this episode "alternative universe"...

 

 

I'll miss that about him, too But the key difference between Joker and Discord is that Discord isn't a rampaging, mass-murdering clown who has zero empathy for those around him. Discord's actually shown to have feelings in this episode -- feelings that were long-lost over the periods of time which he's caused trouble around Equestria.

Except that he has been established as pretty much that in S2. He might nor be s sadistic as the Joker, but it was pretty clear that he cares nothing for the suffering he causes. Completely changing a character to fit in a plot is not good writing.

And again, we're not talking "person" here, we're talking "Embodiment of Chaos and Strife".

 

What would you think, if at the end of Search for Spock , Kruge was all like: "Hey, I know we hate each other, but if you'll be my friend I'll join you."

Would be a whole new side to that character too.

[H.P. Lance 138]

Brilliant. Utterly brilliant.

 

Discord was everything I expected and so much more besides. You've got to love how he started turning animals into bodybuilding brutes about three seconds after being freed. His antics in Fluttershy's house and the little 'chaotic' things (like using his tongue as a red carpet) nearly had me on the floor laughing. Discord got me bad.

 

For me at least, the best aspect of the episode was that I genuinely had no idea whether or not he would change his ways until the end. After Fluttershy promised not to use her element on him and he immediately starting causing havoc, I thought they'd have to seal him away again thanks to his big speech about himself and also that there just wasn't very long left.

 

What got me the most is that Discord talked himself into being more considerate in his rant. He's been sealed away (twice) for Celestia knows how long - is it so unreasonable to believe that he has feelings and would be tempted by the prospect of finally having a friend? Whether or not this will be a good change for his already winning personality I don't know, but I think it's fairly safe to say we haven't seen the last of him, which certainly is good!

 

My only qualm is that Applejack and Fluttershy's hold up with the troublesome animals at Sweet Apple Acres felt like nothing but a filler. There was absolutely no need for it - they could have been there waiting for Celestia with the other ponies from the beginning. True, Discord did go back and mess everything up there in a similar manner later on, but he could have done that without the previous scene, no problem. Dog Garnit, Applejack, you wasted some time that could have equalled more Discord!

 

Other than that, this episode spelled a triumphant return for Discord with the subtle promise of even more later on. And, let's be honest, you can't ask for much more than that!

 

Fluttershy: "Come on, say it!"

 

Discord: "Ugh...FRIENDSHIPISMAGIC"

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

It's not like he's going to suddenly stop creating chaos wherever he pleases. He's just been tamed. Furthermore you're really underestimating the amount of goodness that can come from efforts of showing sympathy and understanding. Why would he not have any reason to "join the good guys", when he himself felt friendship for the very first time? You might as well disregard Twilight Sparkle being the Element of Magic with that line of reasoning.

How exactly has he experienced friendship? Twilight found out after the others risked their lives for her and helped her defeat Nightmare Moon. Discord had Fluttershy putting up with abuse for a day and then threatening to stop.

 

OK, I'm probably beating a dead...

...tree here, but I've got to wonder:

 

Given how Celestia has all manner of spells - spells like, say, "protecting the elements" --

 

--why on earth hasn't she used them before?

Because they needed a contrived reason for why they'd ever let Discord go. And remember the last time he came back and the Elements were also protected? Didn't that spell just stop him in his tracks?

[Whofch 128]

I was unsure of how I felt after the first watch. Not the biggest fan of Discord so didn't really mind how they handled him. After repeated watches I do find it a reasonable solid episode where it's biggest let down was only the time constraint.

I loved Fluttershy throughout it though, she's awesome and proves she knows what she's doing. Discord was his amusing self.

 

As I say, time was the only issue. It could have used more shots of Discord falling for Fluttershy's friendship before he decided he wanted to keep it no matter what.

 

Also assuming that there is a force greater than Discord going to show up eventually if his powers are needed.

 

I'm satisfied though. Boo for time constraints and boo for 13 episode seasons!

Edited January 20, 2013 by Turpow

[Rainbow Sparkle 70]

lets just simplify this and state that your not going to convince the majority of our side, we're not going to convince you, and we all have better things to do than argue around in circles, because that's what its going to devolve into.

 

Now, I think my favorite part of the episode was Angel's scream as the house was spinning. I lost it at that, laughed so hard I briefly gave myself a cramp 0_0

[The Twilight Zone 15]

I think this episode was fine but far from great. When it finished i had the sensation that something was missing.

 

First, I believe that Discord deserved a 2 episode special more than a regular one.

Then i wanted a more "nutricious" explanation of Celestia about that "sharply" need of getting Discord's magic for good (if some place needs a large amount of magic, getting from a villian like Discord would be the last resort unless there is a huge disaster to be fixed soon).

 

What i really like about this episode was Fluttershy's attitude. There was a huge improvement of her character from the first season to this one, and i'm really proud to have her (and Twilight too ) as my favorite character of MLP.

Edited January 21, 2013 by The Twilight Zone

[Delzepp 2,939]

Anyone else notice it? Just me? Check it out 20:17-20:25

 

Foreshadowing anyone? I think he has ulterior motives. Why would they animate that if it had no meaning?

Of course I could be wrong...or maybe that's what discord wants you to think.

it might be, who knows? only time will tell; for now, it seems that he really turned over a new leaf; personally, I wonder if they're gonna reflect on the friendship between Discord and Fluttershy in future episodes and if the other ponies will start seeing him as less of a threat and more of a new friend;

 

or maybe it's all a well-crafted plan to have the elements near him via Twilight; maybe they're saving him for the last episode and turn him into the ultimate villain with all elements

 

what surprises me, now that I think about it, is how come Princess Celestia gave him a second chance so quickly; took her 1000 years to give his sister a second chance, just saying...

[~Starlight~ 764]

Well this episode is Minty approved, I really like the way they brought back Discord but the problem was though it was sort of predictable because of 'the magic duel' that Discord was going to become good but I really enjoyed it this was mainly because of this relationships between Angel and Discord and I liked the bit  at the end when Discord realises he is Forever Alone and Fluttershy was his only friend. 

 

I love Discord usual tricks for example when he turns posh and says something like, 'I feel good already'. And I also loved the return of the Elements (I was missing them )

 

I give this episode a 8/10 /)

Edited January 20, 2013 by Frozen Mint

[Rainbow Sparkle 70]

I would like to point out to those whoa re saying Discord is 'on our side' is technically inaccurate. Celestia said she sensed a change in Discord, and he isn't always going to be using his magic for good. At the moment, I'd say the only one he's most likely to help, is, well, Fluttershy. He's made no promise to save Equestria should it come under some sort of assault (heck, he'd probably just respond by saying "Use your precious elements") or some such.

 

Discord is still Discord, and will do whatever he wants, but he won't do anything that might risk his friendship with Fluttershy, so that's the only thing limiting him now (and how much it limits him is up for debate). And technically, as long as Fluttershy doesn't find out......

 

I'd say he's more of a wild card when it comes to helping out in a disaster. He may help, he may not help, and he may help in a way that might not actually really help at all (or if it does, it's not immediately clear that it does so)

 

After all, I do believe Discord's magic is somewhat random. I don't think even he has full control of it at all times.

 

There's also something some haven't been considering...he might not end up being a Deus Ex as he begins to develop and act less...disharmonious. His acting more in harmony with things around him could actually end up back firing, draining him of his power or weakening him to the point that he can effect a bit of a local area, but nothing more.

[hawkflame 3,310]

I guess what I'm attempting to say is the show is giving Discord character development, by way of showing he does in fact have feelings. He just never used them or had any reason to use them before. I get that the show rushed it a bit, and I get that some people are simply not going to like the fact that his character is being developed this way, but again, like I went into detail in this topic, if Discord were to remain a villain, he'd be doomed to eternity, stuck in the same never ending feedback loop until the show decided to not use him anymore.

Exactly.  I agree, that would be a problem.  Which is why I think that either A) he should have never returned, or return in one big final attempt at revenge before being defeated for good. 

 

And showing that he does have feelings is one thing, but now he's put on a leash.  That's different from the guy who reveled in free reigning chaos.

[Rainbow Sparkle 70]

Exactly.  I agree, that would be a problem.  Which is why I think that either A) he should have never returned, or return in one big final attempt at revenge before being defeated for good. 

 

And showing that he does have feelings is one thing, but now he's put on a leash.  That's different from the guy who reveled in free reigning chaos.

 

How big and long his leash is up in the air for now. We don't know how much chaos he can get away with at the moment.

 

My biggest problem with the people saying this seems out of character for Discord is that, to be perfectly blunt, I don't think Discord had much character. Sure, he was an awesome big badass embodiment of chaos that did what he wanted, even if it meant mind-raping those in his path (I'd like to point out that its certainly possible Discord might not have done anything to the mane six if they hadn't gone against him.) but we didn't really know much of anything about him. We don't even know for certain what his reign of Chaos was like. For all we know, he simply disbanded the government of Equestria, let the land descend into Anarchy, and then do whatever he wanted with whatever he pleased.

 

I'd like to further add that his first releasing was after lord knows how long being stuck in a stone prison. I'd think he was pretty damn fucking ticked off at being in a "I have no mouth and must scream" style prison for so long. If his imprisonment had been short, he might not have been so ready to go off and start destabilizing the foundations of everything all at once (he might have settled for trolling Celestia for a while) Instead, he's stuck in there for years and years and years, and the onyl clue for a time frame is that it was before Luna became Nightmare Moon (and considering the sisters are seemingly immortal/ageless, who knows how long that's been).

 

In this case, its not a case of Discord acting out of character (except for fanon interepretations of his character, lets all be honest with ourselves on this, that's what's really doing it) so much as acting how we don't think/prefer him to act.S

 

Someone made the mention of its like Converting the Joker to a good guy. The Joker has had numerous episodes to very much flesh out his insanity and depravity, so yes, doing a face heel turn with the Joker would make absolutely no rutting sense whatsoever.

 

Discord? We see him for maybe twenty minutes in two episodes, not even the length of a full episode, and that's it. Nothing more. Everything else about Discord is what we assume or believe him to be like. Sure, some of those assumptions may hit the mark, but until this episode we knew next to nothing about him.

 

Now? Now we know something about him, and there's oppurtunity for him to develop character. Sure, it would have been more fun to develop his character as an actual villian, but quite frankly that was going to be impossible simply because he's an overpowered freaking spirit of Chaos.

[dekutree64 711]

I do believe we will be seeing Discord in a future episode. She wants Discord to use his magic for good. Which must mean that she knows something big is coming. Discord has some pretty powerful magic, so my theory is that at the season finale, he will make a return to use his magic for good. (In a chaotic good sort of way.) But, that's just speculation. Still a favorite episode

Indeed. And don't forget the Crystal Empire, too. Luna seemed pretty concerned with their need for its magic. It seems like the princesses are gearing up for something major. I just can't figure out what it would be.

 

In other news, I just love watching the beavers working in the background throughout this episode Also the fact that the Discorded beavers were using cranes to build their dams.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

How exactly has he experienced friendship? Twilight found out after the others risked their lives for her and helped her defeat Nightmare Moon. Discord had Fluttershy putting up with abuse for a day and then threatening to stop.

 

Discord experienced friendship the moment he realized that Fluttershy was still, despite his constant bashing of she and her friends, willing to be his friend and show him some compassion for a change. When you realize that someone's willing to put up with your shit just to be your friend, you immediately know that that's the mark of a true friend.

 

In the Yu-Gi-Oh anime, Joey Wheeler used to bully Yugi around school and talk shit behind his back. Eventually it got to the point where a "body guard" had to step in and "protect" Yugi but this body guard wasn't much of anything except a bully himself. Without provocation, he confronted Joey and his friend Tristan but Yugi boldly stepped in during Joey & Tristan's beatdown. Joey, realizing that after all this time he'd been bad-mouthing Yugi, there he was, ready to step in and defend him from someone else's wrath. It's not an exact same scenario, but it goes to show you that your willingness to put up with someone's crap goes a long way in being in at least good relations with someone. It's anything but the mark of bad writing. Lots of people in the real world don't even bother doing that - when you show that it can work if you put the effort into doing it, it gives them hope.

 

And that's when the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle stepped in and scared the ever-living hell out of the bully bodyguard.

 

There's more than one way to become friends with someone. It doesn't matter who or what they once were as long as they actually feel friendship for a change, instead of the routine hate that used to drive them to do whatever it is that they were doing.

 

And again, we're not talking "person" here, we're talking "Embodiment of Chaos and Strife".

 

That doesn't mean he's the heartless monster the audience made him out to be during the season two premiere. He is obviously not a one-dimensional character. You can do a lot of good with his character instead of the simple Joker routine and have him start random shit across Equestria.

[Discovery Dream 592]

Discord's tricks were hilarious as usual. The ending was cheesy but in a good way, and now IDK who I ship harder: Diclestia or Discordshy. CRAP, BRAH.

 

If he became a recurring character I would die.

[Princess Sweet Pea 2]

I liked this one. It actually shown Fluttershy's toughness and determination.

[roptiriolg 49]

Wow, amazing episode! Maybe because what happened was totally unpredictable it became more interesting than a lot of others I've seen! Fluttershy has always been my most favorite pony of the Mane Six and out of the Mane 6 as much favorite as Luna, sometimes more. When learning that the episode would focus on her, I was looking forward to watching it.

 

Firstly, it didn't feel rushed at all to me because there was nothing to happen. I don't like spoilers but I learnt it was going to be with Discord. And I thought another time he returns and they stop him. NO:

 

Celestia comes to tell the ponies to reform him?? I thought she may have been under mind control and that's why she gave such an order and that in the end they would stop Discord and Celestia would get off this control. Then when it became clear Discord was to be made good for real, I thought he was pretending and they were to stop him in the end when he turned evil.

 

Strangely, no such thing, Discord was made good till the end of the episode, will he be always like Zecora, a character to appear from time to time? This was quite unexpected and interesting to see/question what will be from now on.

 

And I am glad I am fan of Fluttershy as my most favorite because she showed once again toughness even more than before, I loved it, it was so nice to see her like that and she was even cuter! <3  Lovely episode! 

Edited January 20, 2013 by ImtR

[JH24 385]

That was a great episode, the ending was perhaps a bit rushed, but the realization was executed well.

I liked how Discord was playing Fluttershy, yet in the end it was Fluttershy who had been playing Discord. I also liked how right from the start Discord was planning ahead with the beavers and taking away all the reform/back-up spells from Twilight books.


Awesome episode, and with many great and funny moments. For me personally the best episode from Dave Polsky yet.

 

[Arcanel 3,041]

And so, the short version of a pony drouight was brought to an end... AND HOLY CELESTIAL MOON! What a way to end it!  There's so much to analyze that this is going to be HUUUUUUUGE! I'm going to divide this into two parts so as not to make it WAAAAAY too much of a wall of text. This is part one.

 

First let me talk about the new introduction in this episode. I thought that Corey Powell was going to be the only new writer to be presented in this season....... I was apparently wrong! Enter Teddy Antonio! He was the one who made the story for what Dave Polsky had written. (Also, Antonio happens to be my first name.   But I did wonder, this was the first time I saw Antonio being used as a surname.  Anyway, getting off topic!). I'm starting to see more combos of writers in FiM, and this was another occasion. And again, it was Dave Polsky who wrote it, but another who made the story. I wonder if there's a reason for this.  Regardless, Mr. Teddy had a very important job at making the story for such an important episode like this, and to me, he did fairly well. My congratulations to him, and I hope we can see more of him in other episodes.

 

As for Dave Polsky himself, he too did an interesting job with the episode, and I personally think he pulled it off rather well. You could see this was an episode that could characterize his normal type of episodes, as with Discord, the element of zaniness that he so much enjoys he could use almost as much as he wanted. People saw that as far as Mr. Polsky had written Fluttershy, he had written her out fairly well, and I believe it clearly showed here, especially following the fact Fluttershy should be more assertive in a way, and ESPECIALLY when tasked with such a BIG thing by Celestia herself. Once more, congrats to Dave Polsky.

 

Now, first things first, I want to adress something that has been addressed already by ~Chaotic Discord~ and Dark Qiviut, but I think it's important for people to hear out again. Most have said that the episode felt "rushed". Dark Qiviut said it fairly well. This was a REALLY fast-paced episode. And this is one of those episodes, that MIGHT have worked better as a two-parter, than just with one episode. As CD already stated, watching the episode a second for those that felt it go too fast MIGHT give you a slightly different opinion than you originally believed it was. Some probably felt that they wanted the Discord zaniness to keep ongoing. Others wanted more character development, and I think most wanted an ending that didn't seem so abrupt in their eyes. Regardless, for those that did feel the episode too fast for their own tastes, I suggest doing like CD, and watch it a second time. Maybe the episode will come off as slightly different as it was on the first time.

 

Now let's go at the episode itself!

 

First things first, Pinkie polished her hooves. Pinkie. Polished her hooves. I had to do a double take on THAT. She polished her hooves due to Celestia coming to Ponyville. I'm thinking Rarity was the one that had a hoof in this because otherwise, the whole short scene made me go a big ol' "Wut...?"  I'm thinking this could actually mean that Rarity has been spending more time with Pinkie too (or that Rarity was OF COURSE going to make someone be more "decent to receive royalty" in her eyes XD). Regardless, as small a thing as it is, it might mean something for their character.

 

Then, I am REALLY surprised no one mentioned Twilight's pretty sincere screaming at Princess Celestia. While I obviously laughed my flank off, it also made me think "Well... that's just awesome". Why? Because of a single reason. That scream alone, says that Twilight isn't going to be some mindless drone that will follow all of her mentor's doing without some logical explanation, even if she's basically the pony she trusts the most. And I think this more than great character development, as single as it may be. In "A Canterlot Wedding", something similar could have happened, but she didn't really meet Celestia until the rehearsing (hence all the, justified, paranoia feel on her friends). Plus that with the covering her mouth with her hooves and instantly saying "Your Majesty" honestly made for a very little, but entertaining moment in Twilight's and Princess Celestia's teacher/student relationship. 

 

Next up, the fact about Discord's stone form, and the hearing sense. When Discord got out and mentioned all about getting reformed, I stopped the video, because it made me think. "So he can hear while being a statue? And what else CAN he do as a statue?". I didn't actually expect for him to mention he could hear within the statue, but he did. This makes me wonder. Is chaotic magic in the form of disharmony that he can hear, the one that frees him? Or can something else do so with the same disharmony theme in common? And a previous question still stands. Can he do something else, aside from hearing, when being a statue?

 

Following through, Celestia wanting to get Discord "reformed". Now, there HAS to be a reason why she thought of this. Maybe she started thinking through on the past events... had seen how Twilight had forgiven Trixie... and decided to give Discord a chance, in as much a controlled environment as possible (even though that's fairly difficult, almost impossible). She probably DID know that Discord was not an exact bad being per se, just so uncontrolled and with a "Ponies, please, I don't give a damn" attitude. Now... what would be my personal belief? Well... I know there's the "Q" from Star Trek thing, and I know Discord is based on that character. But other than that, I believe she did it because she felt another ally (for something big that may happen) would be great, especially someone like Discord. Out of all main villains, Discord was the only one that wasn't really evil, ergo, the best with a chance to get it to happen to reform. Plus, I think this was another test to the mane 6. How much was Fluttershy willing to trust Discord in reforming... and how much were her friends willing to trust Fluttershy and do nothing to Discord in the meanwhile. If all happened, Celestia would have a new ally ("For the most part  ), and once more, the friendship between the mane 6 would be strengthened. This is also the reason, as to why Celestia left, in my opinion. She wants to see how much on their own could they do without her needing to supervise or give that ominous presence she might give if being all the way with this whole process. That, and that Celestia probably figured out that Discord would be less... "rebel" without her around. (Which makes perfect sense, given their history of she and Luna trapping Discord to stone for the first time) (Although I have the slight feeling that she did supervise anyway from somewhere in Ponyville).

 

That's the end of part one. (Great now I feel like one of those cassettes for the English class that I used to have back in school  ). Be back on part two!

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

Discord experienced friendship the moment he realized that Fluttershy was still, despite his constant bashing of she and her friends, willing to be his friend and show him some compassion for a change. When you realize that someone's willing to put up with your shit just to be your friend, you immediately know that that's the mark of a true friend.

No, taking abuse from someone, who means you and those close to you harm, is not befriending them, its encouraging them in their behavior. Friendship is based on mutual respect and trust, what we got in this episode was Fluttershy acting like an domestic abuse victim in denial.

 

 

In the Yu-Gi-Oh anime, Joey Wheeler used to bully Yugi around school and talk shit behind his back. Eventually it got to the point where a "body guard" had to step in ..

Oh you mean Ushio? The guy whom Yugi later murdered/lobotomized (depending on the version)?

And how exactly was him beating and extorting Yugi not worthy of forgiveness, when Joey was doing exactly the same? Most shonen series don't make for good moral arguments.

 

 

That doesn't mean he's the heartless monster the audience made him out to be during the season two premiere.

Actually, all what we saw in S2 suggests that he is. He clearly took delight in tormenting the main cast, and wrecking their home.

Fast forward to this episode and he still shows no remorse for his actions, takes advantage of Fluttershy and then suddenly does a 180 when she threatens to no longer consider him a friend (with he up that point did not seem to value at all).  That i not character development, its bad writing.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

So I'm going to be unusual and say very little in my tiny review here, because anything I'd have to say has already been said by everyone else. It was short and rushed near the end, with terrible pacing because it felt like it should have been a two party. Fluttershy came out seemingly manipulative of everyone, as did Discord. Discord's redemption...honestly I have seen fanfics that did a better job with such a plot than the actual show did. I'd have preferred he stay a villain.

But he isn't one, so he's on Equestria's side now. We'll see what happens as a result.

In any event: I am meh on the episode and do not feel like going into further detail. No wall of text from me this time.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

No, taking abuse from someone, who means you and those close to you harm, is not befriending them, its encouraging them in their behavior. Friendship is based on mutual respect and trust, what we got in this episode was Fluttershy acting like an domestic abuse victim in denial.

 

What's important to note that this was a mission orchestrated by Celestia and no one wanted to do it in the first place. Fluttershy already knew she would have her patience tested yet she accepted it anyway. It was a low-risk, high-reward type of scenario where they could have blasted Discord to oblivion again if he started anything... right? There's no reason for somepony like Fluttershy to decline that.

 

The only way to turn a trouble-maker around is to open up to them and give them chances, not shun them even more. Not every friend you'll make will start off easy with you. The question is, are you strong enough to turn their attitude around despite the adversity? Not only was Fluttershy game enough to tackle it head-first but she played her cards wonderfully. Even Discord was impressed and ultimately had the epiphany.

[PlunderSteed 1,251]

To me, the most interesting part of the episode was at the very end, after the famous Friendship is Magic bit.  Look at Celestia's incredibly guilty reaction when Fluttershy says "see...he can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him."

 

http://youtu.be/xMs5QGAQoc8?t=20m47s

 

This one:

 

 

What's that about?  The Mane 6 were actually present for his shenanigans, and could justifiably feel sheepish for treating him the way they did.  But why does the line "once you get to know him" inspire such a guilty reaction from Celestia?

 

I think it definitely lends credence to CosmicUnicorn's oldie but goodie:

 

 

 

 

 

[Floris 287]

I think it definitely lends credence to CosmicUnicorn's oldie but goodie:

 

 

Damn shipping. 

 

 

No! This reaction was for that she felt guilty because she turned Discord into stone for a 1000 years, instead of "getting to know him".

 

Which probably would've been tougher for her.. considering their characters and natures. 

 

 

Please no that; this is what I think.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Floris