S03:E10 - Keep Calm and Flutter On

[NavelColt 22,877]

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."

 

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:

 

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. I'm curious to see if that gets explained as well.

 

I feel like people should hold out their absolute judgement on characters until we see a follow-up. The ending was rushed but it also left things completely up in the air. We have no concept whatsoever of what will happen next with Discord, precisely.

[King Tryndamere 100]

Remember, although he's the master of chaos, chaos doesn't follow one path. Chaos is neither good or evil. 

 

I think Discord is more childlike than anything. Which is why he's so mischievous to begin with, he's easily bored.

[Zennistrad 33]

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.

 

You seem to be forgetting that that friendship is the central theme of the show. The entire point of the episode is to show that even the most seemingly evil people can be eventually redeemed through friendship.

 

Teaching children that some people should not be forgiven, no matter what is not only a horrible life lesson, but it completely contradicts the message of friendship that serves as the very basis of the series.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Zennistrad

[Arcanel 3,041]

Alright! I'm back with part two of all this! Let's go!

 

ANother thing I forgot to mention about Celestia, was the famous "spell that won't allow him to take them himself". Now... I'm surprised anyone didn't even think that it could have been crafted after the events in "The Return of Harmony". Discord was trapped 1000 years ago. And for all we know, he didn't even consider the Elements of Harmony back then, so, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna trapped in stone. 1000 years later, he returns and, of course, takes the one thing away he KNOWS that can undoubtedly stop him. The EoH. Celestia didn't really think he could return so, why think of such a spell like the one used in this episode? She, on that time, underestimated his powers to enter even very closely guarded and almost impossible to enter places (something Discord laughs at). So, when he was trapped again, she was NOT going to take another chance, and probably crafted the spell afterwards. While she originally didn't even intent to let Discord out to be reformed, she would not risk it. Now she had a perfectly good reason to use this spell.

 

Now, let's take a look at the two main characters of all this.

 

First, Discord. Now, do I believe that he was completely kept in touch? Yes. Hell yes. Because barely did he get out of his chaotic attitude, which is what we know him for. Now. Why didn't he try to make MORE chaos than he did? Well, he may be chaotic, but, like Pinkie, he's not an idiot. He DOES know that the moment Fluttershy says "enough", back to stone he goes. So he tried to play along as much as he could without doing anything that would be... well... dangerous or that Fluttershy didn't think he'd have in control. Then, of course, if he couldn't take the Elements of Harmony himself, then he knew he'd have to make the ponies take them out themselves. And he knew that just one less would be enough for him to go back to good old bad great chaos. HE even ate the pages that would have the reforming spells from the in case of emergency plan (which like someone mentioned, could have easily being heard by him), in advance. So, during the episode, he took advantage of the fact Fluttershy wasn't exactly going to say "Stop" and tried to make her believe her friends were wrong and that if she really trusted him, then she can promise never to use her own Element of Harmony. Of course, he never expected to be part of the one word he always made fun of. Friendship (TASTE THE FRIENDSHIP MOTHAFUCKA!  ). Someone out there mentioned, (Sorry bro, can't remember your name  ), something similar to "What if lack of friends was what made Discord use his powers to do bad?". And THIS is very important. Discord, for all we know, probably never HAD any friends, never considered making, and probably thought he'd never be able to make friends. So, when suddenly the one pony he's trying to endlessly manipulate showed him friendship EVEN AFTER ALL THAT, well... we said that Discord wasn't an evil character. That should probably, well, hit him. Pretty damn hard if I say so myself. And in the end, Fluttershy relied on that hit to make Discord change his opinion. In Discord's mind, this was like a play in chess. Ergo the "Well played Fluttershy... well played". But this is something that he would say, in my opinion. And finally, just like Trixie in "Magic Duel", he became "good" (AKA, not exactly per se), but he never lost his own character. The phrase "I'll my powers for good... most of the time" proves it. Especially his disappointed face as in going all "Awwww... I can't do as much chaos as before...", but hey, in the end, if causing the bad guys some chaos if he actually helps out is just as fun, then the whole thing remains the same, and he can enjoy himself doing chaos as always! Just not quite the same as before. He likes chaos. And chaos comes in many, many ways. This is something everyone should have in consideration.

 

And then, Fluttershy. Now, like others said before, this is the first episode that shows her trait of kindness much more than her fears. In fact, they weren't shown at all! Well, except for the "Oh dear" at the first commercial, but that's completely understandable. Here, we her determinated and assertive side, PLUS her infinite kindness, which she probably thought was going to need every single drop of them to accomplish the task given by Celestia. Help reform Discord. Now, the moment she saw just how much confidence the princess had in her (which seemed to be just as much as if she was Twilight), she KNEW she was going to have to use every single ounce her assertiveness to make this happen. And she wasn't going to quit. She was going to change Discord, even if it meant suffering all of his chaos. Even if it meant Angel Bunny not receiving his usual preferred treatment. Even if it meant going against her friends thoughts. And THIS is the kind of determination we have seen from Fluttershy before, which can grow to be just as big as Twilight's, Applejack's or Rainbow's. And she also went with her own plan through the whole thing. She KNEW Discord was going to be as rebel as all hell. With this, she knew she'd have to give him every chance possible. The moment she saw she actually DID struck a chord with Discord, she used that to try and change him as much as he could. She is innocent yes, but she wasn't an idiot. This was going to be a testament to just how kind she could be able to be. And she did it. There wasn't a time where she struck as out of character. Trust everything she believed, be kind even in this kind of situations, and let the good side of someone come out after all of what they may have done. When the whole Sweet Apple ICE happened, she saw everything was coming down. So, she finally gave on what was going to be the last thing she could do. End her friendship with Discord, and see if he actually realized what he was going to miss. This was all not consciously of course, Nobody just goes and directly thinks that. After all, she WAS mad. Just her growl made it realize. She promised not to use something against him, but that didn't mean she'd have to like him. In the end, this worked. And for all we know, this might end up in a friendship with Discord like she wanted in the beginning. Who knows?

 

Now, for some smaller stuff. Angel's punishment... oh, how I thought so much of "Karma's a bitch!" when I was seeing it through... seriously. I enjoyed that. After all he puts Fluttershy, he gets something of his own medicine. HAH! TAKE THAT YOU DEVIL BUNNY!  Then, all of the gags. Completely PRICELESS. The animation is marvelous in all this. The EoH ray, and the turning cottage were certainly good and/or hilarious (just as the rest of the Discord gags anyway  And the bad-mouthed beavers. That was LMAO worthy). Next, the "Oh alright... friendship is magic". I honestly had to hear it again to see if I had heard correctly. When I was sure, I run to my balcony, and screamed "UNHOLY MOTHER OF CELESTIA AND LUNA!" (true story. I actually did all that). Slight paraphrase, but oh well.  Seriously, I did not see that coming. All of the mane 6 reactions and words were definitely in character as well (especially Rainbow being the most untrusty of them all).

 

Another thing was, that not one but TWO deux ex-machina were there... but never used. First the EoH. If all went wrong, BOOM. Back to stone. Nope, didn't happen. If all went wrong, use reforming spell. Nope, got eaten by Discord from beforehand. And so, they were left behind.

 

And finally, the last thing I want to address, is the distrust of everyone but Fluttershy, that the latter's words about Discord. From first to last, the mane 6 didn't really trust Discord, and it will probably take a mighty while before they do. Celestia is also another case. Like others said, she too was distrustful (after all, her serious face when telling to Twilight to keep the elements was more than enough). However, the question still stands for many. Did the princess of the sun have any past relationship (OF WHICHEVER KIND, if I may add), with Discord? And hell... maybe even Discord knew Luna in a similar relationship too? Did any of this involve in Discord going rebel in the past, or in Celestia giving him another chance? We certainly don't know, and I wonder if the writers are ever going to answer that same question. But, it is a nice thing to think about.

 

Well, and that's the end of this huge thing! I LOVED this episode very much, laughed a lot with it, and was very, VERY enjoyable, one that closes in to my favorites.

 

Next up is "Just for Sidekicks" which will be a Spike episode mainly for the most part, BUT with the addition of the pets in what will seem to be an adventure, written by Corey Powell!... I CAN'T WAIT!

Edited January 21, 2013 by Arcanel

[Tacutiemark 27]

So far, this has personally been my favorite episode of Season 3 so far

 

Well, for one thing it has discord with that condescending evil voice and tripping reality.

 

But I really like how it didn't take just one thing to reform Discord and he kept mocking everyone in unconvincingly pretending that he was reformed throughout. It was very clever

[Rainbow Sparkle 70]

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

I believe, as I've stated, that what this comes down to isn't the actual character that's been shown, but how we as the fans have interpreted his character.

 

Some of us saw Discord as nothing more than a Heartless Monster, whereas others saw him differently (I personally like to think of him as acting alot like Trelane from Star Trek TOS.)

 

In other words, since this debate isn't likely to end, I should state that you shouldn't be trying to convince them about Discords character in this episode, you need to get the other person to reconsider their interpretation of Discord back in Return of Harmony.

[irobern2857 95]

So personally i like the idea of changing Discord into a "good guy". Now I still want to see them use his classification of good guy loosely. I don't want a full on 180 deegre turn more like a 100 degree turn where he will not use his powers for evil but more of a reble  with out a cause. Like he would help but only if it is good for him. 

 

And to be honest by now when the characters break the fourth wall im not even surprised, but FCK YA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M9jPvjOBuQ

[Cantankerous 106]

I love characters that straddle the line between being good and bad. Hopefully Discord will never be fully either as it's the grey areas in the middle that make for the most interesting material. I'll conceed the transition was rough (although it's hard to imagine it being pulled off better within it's time frame) but Discord has more potential as a character now than ever.  

[Heart's Desire 181]

I enjoyed this episode a lot. I absolutely loved Fluttershy being right, and seeing Celestia have faith in her. I do think Discord's realization was a little quick, but it's nothing compared to the story line butchering and plot holes of the cartoons of my childhood. If anyone was going to turn him it had to be Fluttershy, as she was the only one he couldn't trick in his last appearance.

 

Also, I love that he chose to be good of his own free will, and more importantly that he muttered that he would only be good most of the time so we know he'll always be the trickster regardless of who's side he's on.

 

He reminds me even more of Q now. He's not evil, he just likes to have a good time. I think he and Pinkie Pie may have some interesting parties in the future.

 

(oh, and Angel SO deserved that treatment!!)

[XMark 18]

So... at the very end of the episode Fluttershy says "See? he can be a real sweetheart once you get to know him!"

And then Celestia reacts with kind of an embarrassed look.

 

I think a whole bunch of fanfics just got confirmed right there.

[Floris 287]

I think a whole bunch of fanfics just got confirmed right there.

 

Again, I don't think so..

 

She just feels guilty for turning him to stone for a 1000 years, considering it could be solved like this..

 

So that is why she avoided eye-contact, imo.   

[Budding Night 1,043]

Two words after watching that episode: Too CUTE!! *squee* Although, there are a lot of moments I saw coming, like Discord making Fluttershys house all werid and him making the water worse after her promise. BUT! I loved it It was on the season 3 bingo that Discord was returning, AND IT HAPPENED I really want too see what Discords Magic will be used for.. Maybe Alicorn Twlight? Bbbuuttttt that goes to another topic, So BYE!!

 

~Crystal

[Sky Warden 2,243]

Two words after watching that episode: Too CUTE!! *squee* Although, there are a lot of moments I saw coming, like Discord making Fluttershys house all werid and him making the water worse after her promise. BUT! I loved it It was on the season 3 bingo that Discord was returning, AND IT HAPPENED I really want too see what Discords Magic will be used for.. Maybe Alicorn Twlight? Bbbuuttttt that goes to another topic, So BYE!!

 

~Crystal

Actually that part made my head a little dizzy.

 

This is personally my favourite episode in season 3. Discord is my favourite villain (I like his personalities) and he turned good! What a surprising plot line.

 

Again, I don't think so..

 

She just feels guilty for turning him to stone for a 1000 years, considering it could be solved like this..

 

So that is why she avoided eye-contact, imo.   

Also, trying to turn him to good is also a better way than turning him into stone for another 1000 years, and he will take a revenge when he's finally free.

 

Well played Hasbro, well played.

[Petitor Y. 7]

Hey...I've watch and download it... It's so cute...

Oh Fluttershy... you're really the cutest... and if I may say...the firmest one too...

You kept your word... Cool

[Chickey 383]

This has been the only episode I've had a big problem with.

 

This is probably the most dreadful episodes to me because of the ending in my opinion. 

Discord is the god of chaos. He's supposed to be chaotic and constantly screw things up. 

The whole 'Reforming Discord' I find bogus and doesn't even make sense. He's practically the main villain. In my mind it doesn't make any sense for him to be good whatsoever.

His name is Discord. Not General Fluffykins. It's even in his name that he's supposed to be bad

I understand the message it was supposed to put out to kids but come on. If they wanted it to look like bad guys can become good they should of used Gilda.

Now who's supposed to be the villain? Nightmare Moon is gone, Chrysalis only has the very intimidating power of 'looking like someone else'. And background ponies have more lines than Sombra.

Discord was the real OG villain and now they made him good, and practically rushed it too.

[NavelColt 22,877]

This has been the only episode I've had a big problem with.

 

This is probably the most dreadful episodes to me because of the ending in my opinion. 

Discord is the god of chaos. He's supposed to be chaotic and constantly screw things up. 

The whole 'Reforming Discord' I find bogus and doesn't even make sense. He's practically the main villain. In my mind it doesn't make any sense for him to be good whatsoever.

His name is Discord. Not General Fluffykins. It's even in his name that he's supposed to be bad

I understand the message it was supposed to put out to kids but come on. If they wanted it to look like bad guys can become good they should of used Gilda.

Now who's supposed to be the villain? Nightmare Moon is gone, Chrysalis only has the very intimidating power of 'looking like someone else'. And background ponies have more lines than Sombra.

Discord was the real OG villain and now they made him good, and practically rushed it too.

 

Aren't you one of those guys who never leaves the RP section? Whatchu doin' in this neck of the woods? xD Not that I'm complaining Coming out of a recluse to post around in different sections is awesome.

 

Honestly, all I can do is shrug to your opinion. If you really seem so baffled at the concept I suggest reading through some of the responses in this thread in support of this episode. Wanting Discord to remain a villain is understandable, but at the same time, he is, by no sense of the word, 'General Fluffykins' now :3 Realizing that being alone in the world sucks, and agreeing to not try and take over the world doesn't make him a push over, a wimp, weakling or any other adjective one can think of. He's simply gained character development, and isn't the emotionless monster some people perceived him to be in The Return of Harmony.

 

As for villains. Welp. They'll probably, you know, make a new one as they've always done :3

[brian577 120]

So the lesson for this episode is "Let someone walk all over you and they'll be your friend"?  Are you fucking kidding me?  It's bad enough that Discord's heel face turn occurred so fast it made my head spin but he spent the entire episode taking of advantage of Fluttershy.  Yeah that's a friendship with a great foundation.

Edited January 21, 2013 by brian577

[Chickey 383]

Aren't you one of those guys who never leaves the RP section? Whatchu doin' in this neck of the woods? xD Not that I'm complaining Coming out of a recluse to post around in different sections is awesome.

 

Honestly, all I can do is shrug to your opinion. If you really seem so baffled at the concept I suggest reading through some of the responses in this thread in support of this episode. Wanting Discord to remain a villain is understandable, but at the same time, he is, by no sense of the word, 'General Fluffykins' now :3 Realizing that being alone in the world sucks, and agreeing to not try and take over the world doesn't make him a push over, a wimp, weakling or any other adjective one can think of. He's simply gained character development, and isn't the emotionless monster some people perceived him to be in The Return of Harmony.

 

As for villains. Welp. They'll probably, you know, make a new one as they've always done :3

Nuh-uh

That's usually true, but I always do want to post at other sections but never get around to it. 

My stack of 8k+ Rp and OoC posts tells me I should post somewhere else sometime.

 

I never said he was weak or something, I was just saying the it's even in his name to be chaotic.

From the original episodes Discord was seemingly created just be be chaotic and a villain. His whole 'deal' was causing havoc.

But now they basically just made it so he can't do what he was practically made to do. And that just doesn't make any sense.

But then again Discord usually doesn't make any sense.

 

Having the season finally with Sombra coming back and letting him have some actually lines and character development would be nice.

 

I'm not entirely turned off or 'baffled' by his change, but it's just something I wasn't a fan of.

They just better not have Twilight become an Alicorn or something. 

Edited January 21, 2013 by Hypno

[Floris 287]

They just better not have Twilight become an Alicorn or something. 

 

'Ere we go again. 

[poniesforfun 716]

I'm sure this is on everyone's mind but.... what did Celestia need Discord's power for? Tune in on the final episodes of Season 3?

[moduz94 78]

Again, I don't think so..

 

She just feels guilty for turning him to stone for a 1000 years, considering it could be solved like this..

 

So that is why she avoided eye-contact, imo.   

To me It looked like she was thinking about how strange it is to may even THINK that discord would be a sweetheart, but whaterver XD

 

 

"I'm sure this is on everyone's mind but.... what did Celestia need Discord's power for? Tune in on the final episodes of Season 3?"

 

I repeat, to me now the good side is pretty much OP unless the finale of season 3 is something bigger than chaos ( yeah good luck beating that )

 

Edited January 21, 2013 by moduz94

[Rainbow Sparkle 70]

This is nothing more than a theory and some semi-possibly-coherent thought processes (I thought it up while at work, not sure if it all translated over to text) but I figured I'd share.

 

 

Let me ask a question. Why is Discord called a Draconequus. It can’t be because of his body, after all his body is a mishmash of things, and only one of them fits an equestrian while two (maybe three) really fit the dragon bit.

The reason I think he is called a Draconequus is also linked to why he is considered the Spirit of Disharmony. The reason I believe he is called a Draconequus is because he has the natures of an equestrian and a dragon.

And this is why he is the Embodiment of Chaos and Disharmony-Because he quite literally is.

We all remember the dragons we’ve seen, how they acted, especially those younger dragons. Compare that to how Discord acts, and you should see some similarity.

Now, where might you ask, is the Equestrian nature? It was shown in the episode Keep Calm and Flutter On, and it might even have been hinted at during Return to Harmony Part 2. The reason we haven’t seen much of it is liable to come down to what happened in Discord’s past.

The point is, the two natures conflict with each other so much that it could be enough to drive one insane (which is certainly possible in Discord’s case) especially if they’re constantly asserting themselves. I theorize that something happened in Discord’s past that resulted in his draconic nature effectively taking control of him. I’ll be honest here and further add to this theory that his Equestrian nature is what has contributed to him not actually literally doing anything that could, well, cause mortal injury or real permanent damage.

Think about the chaos he causes. Compared to the dragons, he’s certainly not as brutal they are, and the trouble he can cause is rather tame to what they could do if allowed to rampage (harder to fix too) Discord could certainly cause some damage if he felt like it, but I think his Equestrian nature keeps him from going too far unless irritated or agitated.

Think of Spike for a moment, and imagine how Spike would have grown up as if not raised by Ponies. Now picture Discord in the same fashion, only with no support, no one to be his friend, and everyone either thinking him a freak or being afraid of his powers.

 

Discord may actually be the most emotionally scarred character in the series, if you think about it.

[dad george 105]

daddaddaddaddaddaddad

Edited September 5, 2015 by Kahr Kunne

[Emcmillin09 22]

I can't help but think that something big is going to happen in the Season 3 finale. I mean, Celestia and Luna both hinted at Twilight being special in some way in the opener. Alicorn Twilight is inevitable. What if Celestia wanted Discord reformed to be ready for some unknown threat to Equestria? Regardless, I'm looking for the finale. 

[Discordian 6,013]

I can't imagine the whole "turning Discord good" went well with some people. It kinda clashes with the "chaotic evil" alignment but at the same time chaos, by definition, is never consistent. He even said to Celestia that he'd be using his power for good most of the time so we know he's still gonna cause some mischief here and there.

 

As long as he keeps his witty charm I'm all for Discord being a good guy.