S03:E10 - Keep Calm and Flutter On

[WildCard 1,037]

I loved the episode.
I always wanted Discord being neutral/good and not evil and in stone and after this episode I feel a lot of sympathy for that guy
Also the first episode where I've really enjoyed Fluttershy and that showes her character really good
And off course a few lines from Celestia that show how awesome she is
 

[Broccoli 127]

I just finished watching the episode. I thought it was pretty great overall, certainly better than the episode before it. From what we have seen of Discord in the past, he's one of those characters who is very stubborn and is impossible to negotiate with. I'm glad to see that he does have some sort of weakness (besides being vunerable to the elements.) Overall a satisfying episode, althought it did seem a little short.

[Fhaolan 4,476]

I think this season is suffering a little with the 13-episode format. There have been points in several episodes that felt rushed, that there was plot/character development that had been deliberately cut to make time. This is one of those episodes.

 

Basically, not a bad episode, but one that feels like there's a 'director's cut' version that we haven't seen.

[moduz94 78]

on a side-note

 

now that discord will use his magic "mostly for good", aren't the mane 6 OP as hell??? 

 

I mean c'mon we got discord on the team now, and we all know what he is capable of XD, what could possibly stop us?

[immblueversion 331]

You know what I loved about this episode? I loved how smart everyone was being.

 

I loved how the heroes took the most obvious and important precautions about dealing with Discord. I loved how they didn't hesitate to try factors that would lead to an easy solution (Fluttershy's Stare, Twilight's potential spells). I loved how on-the-ball and virtually foolproof both Discord and Fluttershy's plans were.

 

It may seem rushed at a glance, and may remain rushed for some, but it's all very tightly written. This is probably the most intricately written episode yet.

[Victor van Dort 202]

WTF? Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity and Gravy Boat?

[crazitaco 596]

i honestly look forward to the future with discord. he's "semi-good" now but there's no way he's giving up his crazy antics. its just who he is. can't wait to see what he does next! i'm also kinda glad that fluttershy agreed not to use her element, because that means no more magic elements of harmony blast of insta win. if the mane six ever get in conflict with him, they will have to think it out and solve the problem on their own. i like the elements of harmony, but i hate when its used to solve every problem.

also, i have to wonder where he's going to live, now that he's free and stuff. maybe he'll make his own chaotic zone in ponyville or something. i also have the feeling he's not ALL good and may create minor conflicts in the future for the mane 6 to fix.

Edited January 20, 2013 by crazitaco

[Veylon 255]

Well. That wasn't the train wreck I was respecting. Discord is treated seriously, he acts like himself, nobody is stupid, and everything feels quite satisfactory. Like a lot of episodes, it suffers for lack of time, but what can you do? I'd mark as one of the highlights of the season. Well played indeed.

 

...

 

Geez, I wish I had more to say, as it was really quite good. I could go on forever about the Crystal Empire opener, but I got nothing on this one. I guess I only know walls of text out of hate.

[DATAIRSOFTBRONY 13]

I had a theory on how this episode would play out. I originally thought the Discord would be calmer and it would be up the ponies to change his chaotic ways. I thought that they each would have their own ways of changing him. When i watched it i knew i was very wrong in my predictions. It turned out that Fluttershy took control of the situation despite her friend’s warnings. I was surprised at the sudden bravery of our dear Fluttershy. Discord didn’t disappoint with his mannerisms and villainous tirade. I knew he would cause trouble for the girls, but his sudden need for a friend surprised me. I think the moral of the episode would be along the lines of “even the most evil of hearts can be vanquished, by acts of kindness” or “forgive your enemies, give them a second try”. I look forward to see how a “cured but mischievous” Discord would be incorporated into later events.

[Two-of-Hearts 168]

An excellent episode overall, possibly one of my favorites. I was VERY apprehensive going into this episode. The synopsis just screamed mine feild from the start, and yet they pulled it off. Everyone including Discord stayed in character to a satisfactory degree, Discord was a riot of comedy, and there was even some heavy philosophical conondrums. My jaw actually dropped open when Fluttershy swore she wouldn't use her element against Discord. Its brilliant because Discord schemed it, and yet he was defeated when his own scheme forced him to look into the mirror and not be satisfied with what he saw. Fluttershy for her part made an increadible leap of faith. Theres more to strength than brains and brawn, Fluttershy is often considered the 'weakest' character, but this episode perfectly illustrated that she is not weak, its just her power is less tangible... she has a strong soul.

 

Flawless? Absolutely not. Tweenty two minutes is NOT long enough to reform a chaos god. They made an awesome attempt, but its just not that easy. It should have been drawn out more, but then this I feel has been a running problem with the show for a long time. Also, it makes me geninuely worried that the show is in fact ending. Instead of bringing villians back they are simply cutting to the end and resolving things with the villians, first Trixie and now Discord. And honestly, now they have Discord as a (perhaps reluctant) ally... that kind of gives the Mane 6 a seriously overpowered weapon to fall back on. Can't defeat the bad guy on our own? Lets get Discord in on this! It creates problems that just reading the synop could have told you and its part of why I was apprehensive about this ep. Discord being a good guy... it can be pulled off, but I think the writers have made things difficult for themselves.

 

Oh but it was a good fun episode. In fact, Ima watch it again right now. XD

[MagmaKnight 17]

Did you know this episode was originally going to be called "Fluttershy's Home for Reformed Draconequi." Got that from Meghan McCarthy's twitter.

[FizzyImp 1,838]

This episode was pure awesomeness. It's got my vote as being the best of the series.
 

I think this episode really could have done with being spaced out across two episodes. It just didn't feel right having a Discord episode that fast paced.

[PrymeStriker 408]

Did you know this episode was originally going to be called "Fluttershy's Home for Reformed Draconequi." Got that from Meghan McCarthy's twitter.

Hmmm.

 

Fluttershy's Home for Reformed Draconequi

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

 

 

Anyway, I loved this episode. And I'm grateful they didn't dump Discord like a bag of garbage at the end of the episode like I thought they would. Best episode of season three by far. 

[SongBrony 419]

I loved this episode. It made me love Discord even more. He wasn't as Chaotic, but he still did some things. (Breaking the fourth wall for instance) and finally showing his feels. Made my feels hurt too :')

[Ezio Auditore 702]

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_gy7-CP_SM

 

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.

[SongBrony 419]

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

[MontagnaMagica 307]

Awesome episode! As expected, Discord's chaos was both unpredictable and hilarious. My only complaint is that the conclusion felt very rushed, but it didn't really detract from the episode as a whole. Nice to see that it's open-ended for another Discord episode in the future! Still holding out hope for a Starswirl/Discord connection (I know, the rumor is from 4chan... Doesn't mean I can't hope)!

[Cantankerous 106]

Huh, it was a good episode...that's unexpected. Or perhaps not so much as it turns out Dave Polsky wasn’t the only writer, the other being newcomer Teddy Antonio. Still, Polsky had every chance to screw this episode over yet no such thing happened. So alright, give the man his due. Teddy Antonio also certainly left a good first impression. There's a lot to like and not much of anything to take issue with that I can see immediately. I especially like all the dialogue that seemed to be there specifically to say "Hey, ByTheTides, we know your worried about this plot point but don't be, we've got it covered". True enough, they did. This is a top-tier episode and the new best episode of season three. I've been quite worried about the show since season three hasn't overall quite been my cup of tea, now comes this episode to give me a lot of my hope back.

Edited January 21, 2013 by ByTheTides

[SUPERFOX5 387]

SPOILER FREE

 

I liked this one a lot.

 

I think it is nice to see Discord have another episode since season 2.

 

I was expecting some things, but not what I expected... I like it.

 

9/10

 

If I wasn't so busy with college, I would give a full review (full of spoilers) on the episode.

[Xievie 498]

After watching this episode, I was left speechless.

It's everything I expected, and everything I didn't expect.

 

I can't really make much of a comment on the episode, but I loved it and left me hanging on to the thought of what Discord is going to be doing.

Flutters also gained a MASSIVE ammount of my respect. She seemed to be smarter and, I guess a decently fitting word would be more mature. Normally shy runs from what she fears, or just be a weeapony target. Airheaded, repetitive, and boring was my thoughts on her before the episode, but this episode surprised me.

She might actually be useful and an enjoyable character.

 

I also got to see another side to Discord. I was surprised, because hatred cannot be happiness, nor can Discord be a part of harmony. Or so I thought.

I always did wonder how Celestia and Twilight could use Tyrant Sombra's type of magic.

I will not question either, but I do wonder...

 

Overall, this may be a personal favorite episode and certainly look forward to more Discord.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Okay, I've stopped raging, calmed down a little bit...

 

I think my problem with it is this:  One of the reasons why I loved Discord and the Return of Harmony 2 parter is the utter depths to which he shook things up. He broke down and inverted the Mane 6 and their Elements by playing cruel mind games with them. And when *that* didn't work with Fluttershy, he just used brute force brainwashing- which suggests to me that he fucked with the rest of their heads just out of preference. That's why to me he was the greatest villain they faced so far, because he pushed them to the brink. Twilight was about to give up on her friends *entirely* until Celestia started to send the letters back.

 

But now for him to decide to use his magic for *good*, even only "most of the time "(which is not* neutral)?  That's too much of a 180 for someone who seemed to enjoy methodically breaking down five ponies. There seemed to be way too little setup for the loneliness angle, and the conversion just seemed to happen way to quickly.  Maybe I would have enjoyed it better if it was a two parter as others suggested it should be- who knows, with more setup, maybe I could have bought the change a little more.

 

I will give this episode another shot in a few days once my head's a little more clear, in some part to try and see what others are seeing, but more to sort out whether the problems are really based in the episode itself, or my own expectations.  Either way, it seems that the manipulative and deceitful antagonist from Return to Harmony is gone for now. 

[Harlequin 17]

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?

 

Either she's trying to train/teach Twilight more, like with the crystal empire, or if she just likes watching her subjects struggle.  My bits are on the second one.

 

Edit - also, what on earth would the "Equestrian Royal Summit" be?  Is it a meeting with the leaders of other nations, a-la-Saddle Arabia, or is it just Luna and Celestia sitting in a room, drinking tea?

Edited January 20, 2013 by Harlequin

[Saeda 19]

Did anypony else think that this was just a mediocre episode in general? I didn't expect them to have him in the finale or anything like that but I expected them to treat Discord with a little more... respect.

 

To start with, Discord wasn't need in this episode. They could have used this plot on almost anypony (even with a completely new character!) and nothing of value would have been lost from the episode. It's actually worse for having Discord in it because its very premise doesn't make sense .Discord isn't evil or malevolent  he is an avatar of chaos and by its nature chaos cannot really be influenced by morality, he just wants to have fun with whatever he does. The only evil thing about him is that he does try to remove order and things that support order. There is nothing (or at least, very little) to be reformed. 

 

MLP:FIM does so well in not going with simple aesops that have been dumbed down for children, and I was hoping they would have a similar message here to how they treat Trixie; some ponies are just like that. 

 

Note I said he couldn't be reformed, not contained or controlled. I would have liked them to have had the characters spend the the episode trying to find a way to control Discord's magic, and have them stumble on the issue of whether or not it would be kinder to keep Discord trapped in the statue rather than force him to go against his very nature. It would have been far more interesting for the story to have been a discussion about a person's desires in life vs. their duty others.

 

And despite how it sounds that isn't too heavy a message for children, every child will be told that they have to put off playing to do chores or something similar, wants vs. responsibilities is something we encounter from an extremely young age and it isn't often addressed in children's media. This episode could have pulled that off.

 

As much as I love Discord, I kinda wish they hadn't brought him back, this episode wasn't good enough for a fan favourite and he is lessened as a character for it's creation.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Saeda

[Starshine 16,333]

I still couldn't believe that all it takes to reform an embodiment of chaos is be his friend :/

Then again, Friendship is Magic is a show that was meant for little girls, not adult fans.

[Lightning Fluttershy 1,844]

No words can describe how I felt about this episode. I loved it. Mostly because it was a Fluttershy episode.

 

It's obviously my favorite episode of season 3 so far and likely will be all the way through. It competently portrayed Fluttershy's nature and her values. She remains her shy and tolerant self yet is determined and sticks to her goal, even if it means disagreeing with her friends. She continues to teach Discord how much Friendship can mean how much pain it brings to lose a friend.

 

10/10 Hasbro.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Lightning Fluttershy