S02:E01+E02 - Return of Harmony

[blackstarraven 142]

Hmmmmm... I.. ~Ducks~ Tought it was O.K...

Like 4 out of 5 for a ponies episode. (Which is like a 9 out of 10 for a normal cartoon)

I get that every one likes this set of episodes. But I just think its good. not great. But I think this episode just comes down to Discord.

And the fact of the matter is, Discord like Q... Is just not that interesting a bad guy. He's a GREAT Anti-Villain/Anti-Hero. And to that end I like Discord later more then at the start. even when he kind of messes up later I still enjoy it. Becuase "BHAHAAHAH! I'M ALL CHAOTIC AND WHAT NOT YO!" Is... really lame.....

 

The same thing goes with bad guys like the Joker. They are fantastic when you give them just a little bit of depth, that make you think "I wonder why they are doing this." But they are just lame when  you just have them be out there like a force of nature..... Hurricanes are not interesting characters.... People with the force of will of a Hurricane are. And that is a very hard to manage difference.

___________________

Now all that being stated....

There are a few things I do love about this episode.

#1: Twilight dealing with her grey friends is pretty funny.

#2: Fluttershy making discord mad without meaning to is funny.

#3: Spike is great.

#4: The bit with the rock and rarity is great.

and... that's about it. Other then that its a solid episode, its just not great for me.

Because.

#1: Most of the grey ponies.. are not interesting at all. RainbowDash/AJ/Pinkie are just kind of meh as grey characters. Actually none of them where funny/Interesting. They where just funny when interacting with twilight.

#2: Discord man... I mean just.. what? I get that people like bad guys. (I love a good villian) But there is a difference between enjoying the dynamic that a bad guy brings and actually liking the bad guy. Its like people who enjoy the joker as a bad guy (Me) And then people who try to make the character more then they are. No. Discord is basically just a comic book villian. He's not really all that likable in this 2 parter. He's actually more of the more evil bad guys we get...

#3: Stupid... Just stupid. My 9 year old Niece looked at him while watching this the first time as Discord was about to get blasted and was like "Is he that stupid?" And I was like. "yes.. Because there is no deep thinking going on inside that mind."

I mean think about it.

_________________________________________

Nightmare Moon: Actually a pretty tragic character, with a lot of think about with the entire narrative.

Discord: Meh. A "Force of nature" Bad guy.. More or less center of the pack. He does what he does because he enjoys it. This actually makes him one of (If not) the cruelest bad guy on the list. But also... kind of the dumbest one. Discord is a child with a magnifying glass. He's to ignorant of how things work to actually consider that the ants are living creatures and that what he is doing is evil. - That makes him scary in a way. But not really interesting.

Sombra: Even more a blank evil thing then Discord. To the point of being such a weak bad guy that they would have been better off just making him literally a giant mindless evil cloud.

 

T-rex: (I don't even remember how you say it) - Like Sombra, only with more of a personality. but still basically just "I WANT POWA!" Boarding, the only reason that Discord is better is because you have John Delancey behind Discord.

Cheese legs: Actually way more interesting then most of the others. (Up there with Luna/Nightmare moon) Because they are actually building her into a kind of shakespearian bad guy.

______________
In closing.

Discord is the Joker.

Only interesting if the person playing him is. (Which john delancey is)
 

[Hierok 11,831]

On 7-4-2017 at 2:58 AM, blackstarraven said:

Discord: Meh. A "Force of nature" Bad guy.. More or less center of the pack. He does what he does because he enjoys it. This actually makes him one of (If not) the cruelest bad guy on the list. But also... kind of the dumbest one. Discord is a child with a magnifying glass. He's to ignorant of how things work to actually consider that the ants are living creatures and that what he is doing is evil. - That makes him scary in a way. But not really interesting.

Discord is a smart character, but he underestimated the mane 6 and that was the only factor why he lost. And he is a kid, I don't deny that, but if you were always alone, would you have learned how to live like an adult? And he isn't that cruel. He just wants chaos. He doesn't hate the ponies and it's fine for him that they are around, but it has to be in his picture and they couldn't live with that feeling. So stone it is.

[blackstarraven 142]

6 hours ago, Hierok said:

Discord is a smart character, but he underestimated the mane 6 and that was the only factor why he lost. And he is a kid, I don't deny that, but if you were always alone, would you have learned how to live like an adult? And he isn't that cruel. He just wants chaos. He doesn't hate the ponies and it's fine for him that they are around, but it has to be in his picture and they couldn't live with that feeling. So stone it is.

Actually. Not to nit pick. but..(Well I teach conversational English)

cru·el

ˈkro͞o(ə)l/

adjective

 

1. willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it.

    

   ma·li·cious

   məˈliSHəs/

   adjective

    

   1. characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.

       

       

       

      Discord is by the very definition of the word... Cruel...

      He's just not Malicious.

       

      The fact that he is causing pain and suffering is not the end game for him. He just does not care that he's doing it.

   In short. Discord is a sociopath. He lacks empathy. (At first)

    

   Now the thing is, that's fine for a bad guy. But that does (For me) Mean that he's just not going to be that interesting at first. I'm liking the character as he develops but in this episode. He's just kind of a middle of the road. Definitely more interesting then Sombra and Treck. But still less interesting narrative wise then Queen cheese legs or Nightmare Moon.

   But just like Nightmare Moon and Cheese legs, Discord is getting fleshed out pretty well. And the more we get about them, the more I like them.

[Hierok 11,831]

16 minutes ago, blackstarraven said:

Actually. Not to nit pick. but..(Well I teach conversational English)

cru·el

ˈkro͞o(ə)l/

adjective

 

1. willfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it.

    

   ma·li·cious

   məˈliSHəs/

   adjective

    

   1. characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.

       

       

       

      Discord is by the very definition of the word... Cruel...

      He's just not Malicious.

       

      The fact that he is causing pain and suffering is not the end game for him. He just does not care that he's doing it.

Thanks. Helps me with English.

16 minutes ago, blackstarraven said:

1. Now the thing is, that's fine for a bad guy. But that does (For me) Mean that he's just not going to be that interesting at first. I'm liking the character as he develops but in this episode. He's just kind of a middle of the road. Definitely more interesting then Sombra and Treck. But still less interesting narrative wise then Queen cheese legs or Nightmare Moon.

   But just like Nightmare Moon and Cheese legs, Discord is getting fleshed out pretty well. And the more we get about them, the more I like them.

Comes later

Yes, you're right. He becomes better with every episode. But he is interesting because he is different from the stereotype villain.

Edited April 25, 2017 by Hierok

[bronyboy824824 2]

I loved the first two episodes.

[Larrydog 320]

Discord is 2nd favorite villain so this episode was great and I LOVE the trope of people being the opposite of who they are and the chaos was great to look at and Big mac acting like a dog was also funny.so overall think it was a solid two-parter 

[Thrond 3,263]

Oh, to watch this with fresh eyes again. I have most of this committed to memory, and its endless creativity has just come to be something I take for granted. Most of the suspense is in the second half, as the first just serves to have Discord quickly invert all of the six's personalities, but maybe I'd be feeling differently if I didn't already know everything which was going to happen. It's hard to say anymore. Mostly it's just so funny; there's a reason so much of this has become iconic within the fandom. Too bad about the final quarter, though, which is definitely fun but doesn't have much buildup. Twilight just gets those letters from Celestia, and nobody really explains why. The storytelling here is decidedly impersonal, though, so I guess I couldn't ask for too much more. It's just fun, and nothing quite like it had been done in the show before this point - and honestly, there hasn't been anything quite like it in the series since. Not much of a moral here, and even the mini-morals that one could take from it are sorta flimsy, but when it's this consistently funny, who cares?

Score:

Entertainment: 10/10

Characters: 9/10

Themes: 6/10

Story: 7/10

Overall: 80/100

[Meushell 52]

Aw, gray ponies. I wish Pinky’s hair had deflated when she turned gray though.

Fluttershy is hilarious when she’s mean. It’s also funny that Applejack is still a lousy liar when she’s been twisted. 

Poor Spike in the end. For the greater good...I guess? Celestia didn’t have another method? Maybe she didn’t realize how bad it would be for him.

[bigbertha 414]

 The story has a lot of things that don't make sense. Like in the first part where Twilight is wondering what happened to the others and it's obvious that Discord did something to them. And in the second part where Twilight thinks using the elements could work when they obviously wouldn't work. And the anticlimax.

There's also some bad dialogue especially in Discord's introductory scene where he names off all of the mane six's elements... for some reason? 

However, all of this is saved by how entertaining the episode is. Discord is a great villain and John De Lancie brings a lot of charm to the role. There's also a lot of great jokes with the opposite mane six. And the New Hope reference at the end was cool too.

Score: 8/10

[Buttonmash1973 1,026]

And so fan favorite Discord was made appearing in a fan song and several episodes thereafter.

[Nye 1,652]

I like how Twilight Sparkle and Rarity

Spoiler

Lose their horns

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy

Spoiler

Lose their wings

But Applejack and Pinkie Pie are untouched.

[bigbertha 414]

There are some serious pacing problems here. The entire first part and the first half of the second part are just the mane six becoming discorded and failing to defeat Discord. This means the episode has 11 minutes to un-discord everyone and defeat Discord. Needless to say, it's extremely rushed. Twilight conveniently has a spell that can defeat Discord's magic even though in the beginning of the episode, it's shown that she can't beat Discord's magic. And there's a very drawn out sequence in catching Rainbow Dash, which definitely doesn't help the pacing even though it's very fun. And everyone already knows how contrived and anticlimactic the fight with Discord is. 

This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the episode was really fun, but it's not that good. It's charming and somewhat funny, but the comedy isn't great. Discord is a lot of fun, but not enough to make up for the first part mostly being the mane six being discorded in similar ways. The only discording scene that feels different is Fluttershy's and that's the best one. 

I will say that the animation is notably improved from season 1. The shots are a bit more dynamic, with a great transition in part one and the awesome chase scene in part two. The lighting is a lot better and movements are much smoother. The creativity in the visuals is really great. Some are repeated, but many are very fun.

But all of that is mostly just the style. This two parter fees like style over substance. It looks nice and feels a lot grander than any previous episode, but the pacing problems really hold it back.

Score: 4/10

[Rushing cash 836]

Great episode. Discord was a very entertaining villain but at the same time not exactly evil. The episode had great comedy and suspense. The only thing bothering me is that they made him to powerful and the resolution felt kind of rushed to me. 9\10.   

[SunburstRainbow2019 3]

Season 2 premiere. I absolutely ADORED Discord, I won't go into specific reasons, but I honestly think that his hypnosis powers would be used too control the ponies and make them his slaves and do his bidding, but aside from that. Great second season premiere.

[Lucky Bolt 35,062]

I give this two parter a solid 10/10 it was amazing. Discord back when he was badass. 

[luvvva.bxbymiyah 210]

Honestly, one of the most intriguing episodes of the series. If I were to force my judgemental cousin that misjudges hates MLP, I’d make him watch this episode in handcuffs and force him to open his eyes or there’ll be serious consequences after he made me play fort nite with him. bleh

[Reality Check 631]

Aight, here we go again... Time do do some reviewing that I do simply cause I want to. Also, something tells me the animators had a field day with this one.

Simply put, there's a lot to like about this episode. The main focus/villain for this premiere is Discord, the spirit of chaos and disharmony, which needless to say, is a bundle of fun to watch. I'd say the visuals are the best part about this two-parter, though I think this is because of the very idea of chaos, where the sky's essentially the limit when it comes to its presentation. There's a lot to spot out in this episode that really plays into its favor. I also like how it highlights the negative side of each element, showing that none of them are without their downsides, like the truth being painful sometimes, and prioritising where one's loyalty should lie at a time of crisis. Adds a bit of realism that I can appreciate.

There's very little to like about this episode, the visuals were great, the characters were fun, and the elements having two sides is something I think is good to know. Though I think my only gripe is that the dialogue in episode is a bit.. heavy and unnecessary. There are parts of dialogue where I feel like are forced in there just to get the runtime to exactly the amount a typical two parter would have. Every time I come across them, I'm just compelled to press the skip forward button just to move on with the plot, regardless of what it has to say, like Discord taunting at the mane 6 and Celestia, and Twilight vocalising her realization and just wasting explaining it to us.

This episode is great for many things. The only thing that bugs me is the dialogue, though it's usually gotten over with quickly before it could do any further damage. Aside from that, it's fun to see a villain that embodies pure chaos placed among the cast of charming characters, so yeah, something to look out for.

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I liked the wordplay of how Twilight told Applejack to lasso the high strung clouds down to earth, and I liked how the apple monsters were designed and animated.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Rosy Moonlight

[mlploverlizzy 291]

I recently rewatched this episode with my boyfriend. We both really enjoyed it. I remember when it first came out seeing discord was such a shock  I love mean Fluttershy so much. Even though Return to Harmony is an old episode, it made us chuckle at some parts. 

[The Nth Doctor 662]

Been rewatching MLP and noticing all these fun little details, like when Fluttershy asks Rainbow Dash "Is it okay if I hold you down against your will?" (for kids!) the "My Little Pony" jingle plays in the background

This was a fun premier and it was nice seeing things ramp up from S1

[StarHeart333 1,764]

I feel like Discord much like Pinkie is fully aware of us and all this including his defeat is just him toying with us.

[Cash In 22,232]

This might be my favourite season premiere in the entire show!

Discord is a fantastic villain and steals the show in every scene that he's in. His chaotic nature works very well in the context of him messing up Equestria and toying with the Mane 6.  I love the fact that he isn't taking over Equestria just because he's evil, but because he's chaotic by nature and wants to turn it upside down. I love it when the villain's goals break away from tropes. John de Lancie did a great job in the voice department.

I liked how the main obstacle was the Mane 6 basically transforming into the anti-Mane 6 and having them turning against each other. It's an interesting dynamic in the sense that it causes the group to fall apart and I thought that was a rather neat way of creating a group conflict without resorting to tropes.

Discord's antics allowed the animation to really shine here. Most of it is abstract randomness, but it's striking and is something different to look at. Even in certain parts where there's a lot less colour, everything still looks amazing. The episode is serious in a lot of places, but since Discord isn't supposed to be taken too seriously, there's still a lot of levity and all the jokes are really good. Spike becoming the new Rainbow Dash was probably my favourite.

Love this episode. Manages to perfectly capture everything I love about FiM.

Edited February 27 by Cash In
Updated thoughts

[Hadrien 950]

Discord is the best villain of the serie, no contest. His shenanigans are just great, he's super interesting (where does he come from, why is he in Equestria, has he conquered other world in the name of Chaos ?).

I like how he turned the Mane Six against each other by reversing their own elements, very cunning and mischievious. I really enjoyed seeing all our favorite ponies switch sides :
Fluttershy was great as a meanie.
Insane Rarity is super stronk
Applejack lying face is 10/10 meme worthy
Paranoid Pinkie is not as good as Insane Pinkie from Party of One
*poof* just like that, Rainbow's gone !

Discord's also the only one that almost had them, if only Celestia didn't sent all those letter back to Twilight ! Poor Spike, he must've felt like garbage for a week after throwing up like that.

The fact that the Mane Six defeated another bad guy with the Elements of Harmony is a bit redundant, but the show is called "Friendship is Magic", not "Zapping Bad Guys is Magic".

Overall 9/10 better premier than S1.
 

[Antiyonder 1,118]

YouTube upload of the episodes: