Discord's Redemption - Good or Bad?

[Kitty Cat Moonshire 629]

Don't get me wrong, 'Keep Calm and Flutter On' was a great episode, and it's great that discord's a good guy and all... Or is it?

Discord was, undoubtedly, the best villain ever. Not just of the show, but of all of entertainment. 

A bit psychotic, completely random, and with no regard for anything but his own personal enjoyment made him one of the most entertaining and interesting villains ever.

Plus his voice is just fantastic.

He goes right next to Vaas Montenegro in terms of total badassness as an evil guy.

 

And they made him a good guy.

 

So what now? If they bring discord back, then they have a few options, none of which are as good as the original.

 

1. He comes back and helps them out with his magic. It would follow the line of the show, yes, but it would be no where near as fun as when he was evil.

 

2. He turns evil again. This would be entertaining, but horrible, because it would show that 'friendship,' the key thingy in the show, is not as important or effective as previously portrayed.

 

3.He completely disappears. That would be just lame.

 

So what do you think? Has Hasbro ruined the best villain of all time, or could something be done to continue making him a stellar character without conflicting with the running themes in the show?

 

[Thundershock 310]

I was thinking that discord may have turned good,but maybe he has a brother who takes over equestria and only Discord can stop him.That would be so cool,and the brother can stay evil .

[Shanks 10,816]

Celestia may have for all we know tried to reform Discord to help deal with a huge threat, yes Discord may be the most powerful being revealed so far but there may be someone even more powerful out there for all we know. But no I don't think Discord has been ruined although honestly I would rather have had him be evil for a little bit longer before reforming as his reform felt a bit awkward and abrupt story wise even if the episode was a good one.

Edited February 15, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Addem Up 246]

I'm still hoping that Discord goes evil, but makes friends with the other villains. That way, we can maintain the value of friendship and still have one of the best villains doing what he does best. Plus, how awesome would it be for, say, the mane six to rush up to him, needing his help, and receiving this response: "I've made some new friends." Cut to villains, duhn duhn duuuuuuhn.

[Millfox 28]

They've obviously freed him up for a reason. Making this a once time deal would be just not using the potential they just created. 

[Princes Cadance 345]

I think leaving Discord where he is now (agreeing to be good) can take a lot of different paths in the future, as you mentioned. I think if he turned evil, yes that would ruin the whole friendship theme but I think you can always work your way around it such as 'dear princess celestia, I learnt making friends is great and we should try to be friends with everyone' <--bad example, but something along those lines

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

Abandoning Discord would be ridiculous, since I'm assuming that the entire point of reforming Discord is so that they could bring him back.  Also, if we wanted to see Discord again, I don't really think that the writers had any other choice but to reform him.  He was still trapped in stone, which is something that it took him over a thousand years to get out of before.  Sure, the CMC could break him out again, but then we would basically just be seeing the same episode over again.  It's also a little be early to determine Discord's character as 'ruined'.

[himanuts 165]

They can take a similar route with him to that of the character he is based on, Q. Q was more of a neutral entity from what I recall, and usually trolled the Enterprise Crew. Put them through situations that tested them. Discord could do the same and basically be a selfish jerk who isn't evil but mostly shows concern for those he considers really close or have grown on him. 

[Limey 524]

Maybe, a more manipulating entity (but not nessicarily stronger) sees him working with the ponies. This guy mocks him, and in an attempt to prove he isnt a laughing stock, Discord goes on another rampage, eager to gain his respect.

[100 beasts kaidou 321]

Discord geting his ass whooped by a villain to hype that villain might happen soon.

Discord should make an illuminatai in MLP and keep it a secret and make chaos

[Akihiro 90]

"Has Hasbro ruined Discord ?"

 

"Hasbro"

 

...

Well, never mind.

In my opinion, this is an interesting character development. If he stayed "evil", (if he truly was in the first place) we wouldn't have seen him again. Now there's an high probability that he's gonna have a role very soon (like, tomorrow ?)

Anyway, he's still kinda the same, he's still funny that way.

[Leafeon 2,702]

Well, no. I doubt Discord has been reformed, honestly, as well as best pony. Simply, it was too quick. I think it was Discord for the sake of Discord. Not to mention, it was written by Polsky, and he seems to hate continuity or something...

 

"Has Hasbro ruined Discord ?"

 

"Hasbro"

 

...

Well, never mind.

This.

[Circadian 1,273]

Wouldn't you rather have Discord be a recurring character in the show? I mean, if he turned completely evil again, they'd no doubt have to lock him away again.

 

By turning him "good" I think the writers have established a way to bring a much loved character back to the table for long term use. We still don't know how "good" DIscord has become, only that he isn't going to sink Equestria into eternal chaos. 

 

Look at Bloo in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. He's the main character, cares deeply for his friends, yet is often portrayed as an antagonist in the show. I think Discord will be given a similar, albeit smaller role.

 

That leaves plenty of room for less destructive chaos.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Circadian

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

Ever hear the phrase "good is not nice"? Just because he becomes good doesn't mean has to stop being Discors, he could easily just  transfer that mean streak "pay evil onto evil" and screw with the the other villains instead, and keep pranking the heroes on a more harmless scale.

 

Could you imagine him and Pinkie having a prank war? 

[Veylon 255]

Ruined? Absolutely. He's effectively in the same situation as Celestia now. He can't actively take part in the show (as the show isn't about him), but can only dispense advice or be knocked down so that the heroines can do what they do. For him, redemption is the end of the plot arc.

[PoniesPlease 365]

No, Discord hasn't been ruined.

 

I'd like him to help Celestia and Luna beat a massive villain; i'm talking world domination villain here, and then revert to evil again. 

 

Maybe in the style of a TV Movie???

[Betez 1,734]

He said he'd use his powers for good "Most I the time", so he'll still be able to entertain us wih his chaos. I personally like the idea of Discord as a good guy, I just hope they do more with him now.

[MurderousLord 2]

I was more dissatisfied with the fact that it was done in such a short time, it seems that it should have been over a longer period, like 2 episodes instead of one. Instead, he changes in an instant, and its stupidly sudden.

[MurderOfAKiller 0]

I kinda hate how mostly every villain in the series has been reformed. Nightmare Moon became Luna, Discord became nice, and Trixie denounced her evil ways. The only villain who hasn't became nice was that changeling queen, whose name I always forget, but I doubt changelings will reappear in MLP ever. Villains can't be easily changed in real life, so how come they can in Equestria?

[NavelColt 22,880]

If I took a drink for every time I've linked to this topic of mine because it's relevant to the present discussion, I'd die from alcohol poisoning.

 

The above are my thoughts on why Discord changing from villain/antagonist to neutral/good is a good move, character-wise. No, I don't think he's ruined, I think he's evolving as a character. Now that he's broken out of the 'muwahahaha, imma turn yur world into chaos' role, and is thus no longer in imminent danger of being petrified over and over again for all eternity in this never-ending storyline device, his character is free to move on to all sorts of things. Sure he's not going to transform the world into chaos and try to take over now, but that doesn't make him less of a character. I doubt his personality will change, I doubt he'll stop being a world-class prankster, and I doubt we won't see him again.

[decoherence 183]

Ruined? Nonono if anything they've added more depth to his character! As was previously mentioned, he promised to be good 'most of the time' and on top of that, Celestia left the Elements with Twilight 'just in case.' This, my little ponies, is what we call foreboding!

 

I can't wait to see his next appearance. 

 

That said, I do wish Keep Calm and Flutter On was more 'in depth' -- the rehab process should've been more difficult -- but I guess that's hard to do in 22 minutes. By the same token, I think it will be a challenge for the writers to do a proper treatment of this new 'deeper' Discord. I may have to look to fan made work to get satisfaction there.

[Scootalove 10,689]

No, Hasbro did not ruin Discord. Discord decided to no longer be an  antagonist, because he never had a friend. His personality as a troll and prankster is still intact. The thing is, most villains that I've seen turned back to good in movies and in comics. So, Hasbro probably hit a home run with this one he is still the good character we all know and love. Personality does not change even when, your eternal complex is changed from protagonist to antagonist.

[Crispy 5,563]

Honestly, every time I see a thread that has the words "Hasbro" and "Ruined" in it, I die a little on the inside.

 

Please.  Have.  Some.  Faith.  In.  The.  Writers.

 

They'll make things work.

[Commander Urdnot 2,680]

Well of course he's ruined. Everything Hasbro touches instantly becomes ruined.

 

Since Lauren Faust is no longer on the show's cast, Season 3 instantly becomes ruined.

 

Since Discord is good now, and his character developed, he is instantly ruined.

 

People are just jumping to conclusions. Things are NOT always as they seem, and just because something is different does NOT mean it's inherently wrong or bad, it simply means it's different.

 

Stop jumping to conclusions. Stop succumbing to these irrational, illogical emotions. Take a step back and think.

[Loriem 639]

Discord wasn't the BEST villian ever in my book, but he had a very good personality of a villain  such as toying with the protagonist to make the viewer want to see him beaten. 

 

There were other villains out there that are better in my book though, Like Porky Minch from Earthboung and Mother 3. Not too mention Gruntilda from Banjo and Kazooioe is up there with him on having a lot of personality.

 

But I guess my main point is his personality wasn't completely evil, more of the wanting to keep himself entertained type. He did not want to rule everything as much as he wanted to F*** with the cast, otherwise they would have been turned into pie before they had a chance to find the elements.