S03:E10 - Keep Calm and Flutter On

[DerpyFanatic 114]

JOHN DE LANCIE IN A GOODGUY ROLL IS LIKE USING SNOW TO COOK PASTA!!!  IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!!!!

 

He DID play one of the Elders in Charmed, so it's not like he hasn't played a good character before (albeit in a supporting role).

 

Considering the fact that Discord was a stoner loner

 

Oh, you.

 

EXACTLY!!! The spinning house, going round and round and round sealed that thought for me. This episode was freakin' amazing.

 

That house made me nauseous.

 

 

The part that grabbed me was Fluttershy openly threatening to use the Stare on somepony! She couldn't bring herself to use it on Opalescence no matter how bloody spoiled that cat is and only used it on a cockatrice as a last resort, but Discord's all like "Beavers go RAWR" and all of a sudden Flutters Takes A Level In Badass? Twilight said it best in Lesson Zero: "Of all the times she had to stop being such a scaredy-pony..."

 

 

EDIT: Rainbow Dash said Dick-cord. She DEFINITELY said Dick-cord. I'm amazed the soccer moms haven't gotten revved up about it by now. Or maybe they care more about cross eyed-ponies than they do about foul language.

 

EDIT2: Is it just me, or does there seem to be an inordinate amount of times when the ponies are flashing their plots at the audience?

Edited January 21, 2013 by DerpyFanatic

[Phaeston-e12 173]

Fair amount of people having trouble with Discord was to be expected. But the manner in which Discord was introduced at the beginning of the second season is vastly different to the vision shared by the current group of story-writers. Back then, it was quite apparent that Discord was going to have a very dark background story (as indicated by the window pane depicting him toying three ponies like a puppet while everything around it surrounded in a fire.)

 

This original concept was most likely done by Mrs. Faust as the series of interviews done with her strongly indicates that she had an influence in the overall story up to the Canterlot Wedding at the end of the season two.

 

Right now it was quite clear to see the noticeable difference in how the storyline is being directed, the way they are being presented and how each episodes are being ended. It is very likely that the third season is where the show is now largely independent from the original vision created by Mrs. Faust.

 

So considering all those factors, it would be more appropriate to judge Discord in a way he is presented from this episode and from now on rather than basing our opinion on the initial appearance involved with him. (Regardless of our preference.)

[BlossomBloom 48]

I really loved this episode! Discord just stole the show!

 

BUT

 

The ending was really rushed :/ and actually didnt like the ending. I don't like that Discord turned good in the end. I actually liked him better when he was bad. But you know, it's for the good of the show. So I liked it but I didnt.

[NavelColt 22,877]

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. 

 

I don't think we can -truly- give judgements about Discord until we see him again in the future. Celestia said, and I quote, "Get him to use magic obediently, of his own free will." Ergo, they're not going to 'have him on a leash' as some of the episode haters thus far have said. All this boils down to is them making a relationship with Discord, so that he'll stop attempting to take over Equestria with chaos. That doesn't for one moment mean he's going to stop pulling pranks, stop being reminiscent of Q from Star Trek or stop being chaotic. Chaos is inherently neutral, it doesn't have to be one or the other.

[LostWalker 4]

I'm down with love and tolerate, but are they going to do this with all the villans? Are the changling queen and Sombra going in for bad guy rehab next? 

[Susieboo 23]

This was easily my favorite episode of season 3 thus far. Does this mean we'll be seeing more Discord soon?

[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.   

[RESHFF 12]

Ah, I really loved this episode. I almost forgot how epic voice Discord has!

[Starshine101 3]

This was easily my favorite episode of season 3 thus far. Does this mean we'll be seeing more Discord soon?

I hope so. Now that he is "good" now and not a big statue, we'll probably be seeing much more of him.

 

 

 

The reason I like Discord:

Because I like him.

[Susieboo 23]

I hope so. Now that he is "good" now and not a big statue, we'll probably be seeing much more of him.

 

 

 

The reason I like Discord:

Because I like him.

 

I hope they still have him be his mean, snarky self, though. Except for Fluttershy, of course. The token evil teammate.

[Thundershock 310]

i saw this episode, and im gonna say its pretty good.with discord turning good,it almost looks like he's gonna become an original character in the show

[RoseLaflesh 38]

Now that there's this promise for Discord to appear in future episodes, this episode is making me wonder if we might just get an episode where Discord sings. I would love to hear Discord sing. I was initially hoping for a villain song, but I'll take anything.

 

I for one think that the ending wasn't rushed. Anyone who's spent long amounts of time alone or felt as if they were friendless knows how painful it is, and I can see why Discord would change his mind so quickly when he realizes that he could lose (possibly the very first) pony who showed him patience and kindness, a pony who wasn't threatening him with imprisonment for doing what comes naturally to him. Considering how long Discord's lived, I'm sure he's aware that a life with restrictions is much preferable than living with the pain of loneliness.

 

Also, right now I really want to know what Celestia's relationship with Discord was like before the whole turning him to stone thing. Maybe I'm just over analyzing, but at the end, while the others were showing embarrassment, Celestia seemed to be expressing guilt. I know I'm not the only one who noticed this, and I don't think she's showing the same expression as the others. It makes me wonder if Celestia was once in the position to have been Discord's friend, but rejected him.

[Heart's Desire 181]

Just a couple of things I wanted to note.

 

1. Neither Chaos nor Discord mean "evil". They are simply words stating disagreement, disharmony, and disorder. All things which can be good or bad depending on the situation. 

 

2. Discord is not a villain, he is a trickster. In mythology a trickster is neither good nor bad. They often use their tricks for their own benefit, but many of them have helped humanity as well.

 

3. Q in Star Trek was not a villain, therefor John de Lancie has played non-villains before. Q was a trickster/Anti-Hero. He used the guise of a villain to push Picard through the "trial of the human race" that actually took place over the entire 7 years, as was shown in the finale. In the end he saved humanity by helping Picard.

 

4. I kinda feel like Discord becoming "good" due to becoming friends with Fluttershy is like an homage to Star Trek where Q says Picard is the closest thing in the universe that he has to a friend.

 

5. I understand how weird it is that Fluttershy lets him walk all over her and that this is not how a friendship should be, but I do not think it will be that way going forward. Fluttershy knew that he would do everything in his power to push her away and she simply refused to let that happen. That's why he learned in the end that he would have to consider not always doing things his own way if he wanted to keep her as a friend.

Edited January 22, 2013 by MoonFeather

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, this episode was rather "bleh" to me - not awful, but not entirely believable and a little hard to watch at times.

 

I was never a fan of Discord, and I was surprised when first reading about the fandom to see that hardcore fans of Discord existed. I know basically nothing about Q (and very little about Star Trek in general) so any such references go right over my head. But also, I don't like watching characters flounder in drawn-out awkward situations or be repeatedly embarrassed for no good reason, which are things Discord does in this episode.

 

I agree with everyone else that the episode seemed rushed. I think perhaps too much time was spent on set-up; Discord wasn't even released until about 5 minutes in. Also, the resolution (i.e. reforming Discord, which was not expected to be an easy task) all occurs in the last 1.5 minutes or so, without much of any foreshadowing or indication of the resolution beforehand.

 

I again agree with many people that Discord's "reformation" wasn't very convincing. I think the problem with Discord agreeing to use his magic for good at risk of losing his only friend is that we get basically no indication that he wanted or needed a friend prior to that point. Sure, we have Discord's initial reaction to Fluttershy calling him her friend, but when I first saw that, I assumed that he was just being sarcastic and messing around, since that was all we had seen Discord doing the whole episode. We also did have other indications that Discord was just playing along to trick Fluttershy and the others into not constraining him. I guess I don't know WHY Discord would need a friend given his past behavior.

 

Just how powerful was Fluttershy's friendship to Discord anyway? What had Fluttershy done for him as a friend up to that point? Tried to act nice, let him take advantage of and play some tricks on her and her friends, called him a friend a couple of times? How did Discord know that Fluttershy meant any of that as a genuine friend and wasn't just faking it as part of her duty to reform him?

 

On a related note, how much progress did Fluttershy actually think she was making prior to Discord's realization at Sweet Apple Acres? She chides the rest of the Mane Six for thinking she's a silly, gullible fool, but she acts as though she's making progress when there seems to be no such indication that she actually is. For example, when Twilight comes over to Fluttershy's house when it's spinning in the air, she acts like she's making progress despite no real indication of having done so. Did she think that Discord was listening to her conversation? Was she trying to give Twilight (or herself) false hope? Or did she actually believe what she was saying?

 

Finally, on a random note, what exactly did Twilight mean when she said to Fluttershy "If you need us, all you need to do is whisper 'Help' and we'll be back here with our elements"? If the rest of the Mane Six went their separate ways, how would they hear Fluttershy whispering "Help"? Or was that whispered word a trigger to some kind of spell that Twilight cast?

[NoirX 4]

Watched the episode a second time today. And read a few of the posts here...

 

Discord, chaos, disharmony...they are not "evil" things at the etymology and definition level. It's like saying Death is "evil." It's not. It's just neutral. Not good nor bad. And when it comes to My Little Pony's Discord, he wasn't evil to begin with. He just caused chaos and was a nuisance. Like how MoonFeather said, he was a trickster god. He destroys order and when order is destroyed things that are silly or bad or confusing tend to happen.

 

As for the whole Fluttershy letting him walk all over her, it didn't really seem that way to me. She still ended up putting her hoof down when it came down to Discord having gotten her to not use the Elements of Harmony against him and trying to get her to have fun with him. It was a whole "give someone everything in the world, take it away, and now they're left to appreciate it more." Whether that was Fluttershy's plan or not, it's pretty much what happened. And with something as awesome and special as a friendship, of course he'd miss it and feel lonely. I know a lot of people, including myself, who have experienced the loneliness of not having a friend. Once you have one, no matter how much you lie to yourself that you don't need friends, losing a friend is scary and the thought hurts.

 

Anyways, to me the episode seems to not have been too clear with Fluttershy's intentions in reforming Discord, and I feel they could of probably made a two-part episode out of it instead. But for it to fit into a 20 or so minute time slot, it wasn't too rushed.

 

 

Finally, on a random note, what exactly did Twilight mean when she said to Fluttershy "If you need us, all you need to do is whisper 'Help' and we'll be back here with our elements"? If the rest of the Mane Six went their separate ways, how would they hear Fluttershy whispering "Help"? Or was that whispered word a trigger to some kind of spell that Twilight cast?

 

I was confused about that part, too. At first I didn't know if it was a joke at how she can't really yell when she should and most likely would whisper like she tends to do with Twilight knowing she'll whisper. But my main theory after was a spell. Twilight cast a spell on all of the Mane6 in case they need help and to keep them from not separating like what happened when they first met Discord. Fluttershy's trigger word could've been to whisper "help." But who knows. Anyone else have theories on this?

[bcd34a 51]

Thoughts on it:  Am I the only person that thinks in another episode or season, Discord will go back to chaos and evil again?

 

This episode was great episode. Just like the rest of the episodes of the series. (10/10)

[Heart's Desire 181]

Finally, on a random note, what exactly did Twilight mean when she said to Fluttershy "If you need us, all you need to do is whisper 'Help' and we'll be back here with our elements"? If the rest of the Mane Six went their separate ways, how would they hear Fluttershy whispering "Help"? Or was that whispered word a trigger to some kind of spell that Twilight cast?

 

As soon as she said it I assumed it was a spell, but I found it odd that it never happened and it was never elaborated on. They really shouldn't have put it in there without some explanation, it just feels forced and confusing. I do, however, assume it's a spell.

[Harlequin 17]

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.

 

w/e discord still awesome.

 

 

Although knowing the outcome of "Keep Calm" may have affected my views/judgment--

 

After watching the Return of Harmony episodes again, I think that Discord is less "chaotic evil" than "chaotic neutral" - he never actively does anything solely out of spite in the Return episodes.  His character then - and even now - was chaotic and self-interested, not actively evil; with that in mind, Discord doing good to keep his friends (and, I imagine, performing quite a bit of non-destructive chaotic magic: "Most of the time" ) now seems a good deal more "OK" to me.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Harlequin

[King Tryndamere 100]

About the whole dick-cord thing, some people believe she said "dipcord", not dick-cord". Which would make a lot more sense because I doubt Hasbro wants to risk the wrath of the soccer moms again.

[RoseLaflesh 38]

Thoughts on it:  Am I the only person that thinks in another episode or season, Discord will go back to chaos and evil again?

 

This episode was great episode. Just like the rest of the episodes of the series. (10/10)

 

I don't think he was that evil to begin with. I don't think he's ever going to be fully controlled and he'll still have his moments of chaos, which may or may not affect other ponies, but unless Fluttershy does something to betray him (which I doubt unless there's a really good reason for it) I doubt Discord would do anything to push away the only friend he's had in his immortal life.

[Gone Airbourne 21,971]

Discord has got to be one of the best characters and the most awesome villain of any show. It was great to see a comeback from him and he had all of the ponies playing through his fingers. Sadly he did not have a friend for all that time . Reminds me of how luna was banished to the moon. Well at least now he's got a pretty awesome friend at that!

[bunnybuzki 45]

I love all the ponies wearing their elements. I'm normally not a Fluttershy girl but she looked so so so especially cute with her necklace, and I was very sad when she took it off. I wish they just wore them all the time. 

 

The episode was predictable but I liked it, and it didn't disapoint. Now we may get more Discord!

[DerpyFanatic 114]

About the whole dick-cord thing, some people believe she said "dipcord", not dick-cord". Which would make a lot more sense because I doubt Hasbro wants to risk the wrath of the soccer moms again.

 

 

I watched that part of the episode again at quarter speed with the volume turned up to check for certain what RD said. My bad, she called Discord "Dip-cord". It sounded like "Dick-cord" at normal speed, though. Maybe it's yet another case of Getting Crap Past The Radar?

[bunnybuzki 45]

 

 

5. I understand how weird it is that Fluttershy lets him walk all over her and that this is not how a friendship should be, but I do not think it will be that way going forward. Fluttershy knew that he would do everything in his power to push her away and she simply refused to let that happen. That's why he learned in the end that he would have to consider not always doing things his own way if he wanted to keep her as a friend.

I agree, and in the end she did put her hoof down and say "I am not your pal!" or whatever it was she said. Besides, a lot of motivation for DIscord is to push limits, so when there are none there is nothing to push, thus you kinda fall on your face. But she was still there after that happened as well. 

[MK15 68]

Easily one of the my favourites episode ever. A LOT of humor in most of the episode but... the scene I just loved most, was the ending. 

Yup, even if it was rushed and a little bit hated, the ending was my favourite scene in the episode, it was one of the most cute, heartwarming and tearing scene in the whole series for me. 

 

I just loved this episode. 10/10

(I know I will be killed for what I said...).