S04:E11 - Three's a Crowd

[Mintyshy 4]

I liked the episode- not my favorite but it was enjoyable. I always enjoy seeing Twilight fangirling over Starswirl lol. And I caught the fear and loathing reference- anyone catch the risky business's tom cruise slide reference?

 

And finally- would someone explain why a cameo of Flash Sentry is met with hisses and boos? Is it just because he was in equestria girls? Bc personally I was excited to see him....

[Quill 10]

Sadly wont get to live-stream this one which is a shame. I'd really love to see Cadance and Discord interacting. I don't think she's met him before has she? As in on screen?

 

Wait, why is one of Cadance's Royal Guard's still crystallized? Isn't that supposed to wear off once you're outside of the crystal empire?

Untitled-1.png

 

Discord has so much dialogue this episode, wouldn't say I enjoyed the song though, not that I didn't like, it just think they could have put the 2 minutes to better use elsewhere.

 

I always thought discord actually lived with Fluttershy at her cottage but the episode made it seem like he lives elsewhere and keeps in touch with Fluttershy by writing letters, the sound of Discord being Fluttershy's pen pal seems kinda destructive to his character, I have a bit of trouble imagining him being so...cutesy haha. There were a lot of references too, Harry Potter, 2 Disney (very loosely though), Tom Cruise... not sure how I feel about that last one

 

If you're a naturally born Crystal pony, no. I liked the Raoul Duke reference.

[Fluttershutter 2,491]

Great episode, maybe my favorite of the season.

One thing I think would've been better: From the time Discord started bugging Twilight I thought he was actually trying to help by helping her and Cadence have an adventure together that would bring them even closer. I thought that would have been a better ending and a good example of Discord using his powers for good but still being himself.

[Inactive01 5,299]

This was an ok episode for the most part. It didn't have the same thrust as the other episodes, but it was still great, especially since we saw a lot of Discord mischief.

[Radiance64 7,053]

My gods, season four has been great already but this...Wow.

 

- Blue Discor- BLUE APPLEJACK AND RARITY?!

 

- Chaos-inducing sneezes

 

- "Can someone get me a fainting couch?" - Best callback of the entire series, right there.

 

- Cadence!

 

- "Rarity, that looks nothing like a duck!"

 

- Pinkie Pie's totes ADD for balloons. And patio furniture? Weird. :3

 

- Fluttershy and Discord are pen pals? I know he's still a chaotic trickster but AWWWWW, THAT IS THE CUTEST THING EVER!

 

I do love that Discord's reformation didn't kill his penchant for mischief and generally trying to screw with everybody. :3 Screw magic, friendship is emotional blackmail and manipulating favors. XD But that's not a very catchy series title.

 

...I almost forgot. DISCORD SINGS AND IT IS THE GREATEST THING EVER! It sounded strangely like some of Jack Skellington's songs in Nightmare Before Christmas...And is Discord riding a monkey? ALL OF MY APPROVAL.

 

And to people saying RD bailing was disloyal: Loyalty applies to friends, not reluctant and suspicous acquaintances.

 

And what is with people thinking she has to be loyal all the time for eternity anyway? RD is not loyalty incarnate. She can be disloyal. All the element means is that once loyalty is established, it will take a very great deal to make her break it.

 

A very great deal such as the allure of training with her idols and being part of a famous team in a high-profile competition...Oh hey, that happened, didn't it? Huh...

Ah yes, the fainting couch bit, barely noticed that but I did! A great callback indeed, especially when they all looked at Rarity and she said 'What?'

[Koelath 445]

Ah yes, the fainting couch bit, barely noticed that but I did! A great callback indeed, especially when they all looked at Rarity and she said 'What?'

Quoting the entire post just to comment on the couch bit. Nice.

 

Honestly, as soon as he said the line, I cast an expectant glance toward Rarity myself. I half-expected her to bring one out too. XD

[Forlong 1,726]

 

So what exactly was Shining Armor doing that kept him from visiting as well?

Edited January 26, 2014 by Forlong

[Oblivion 20,267]

loved this episode! Discord was amazing, although I can't help but wonder if he was trying to hide something?!

[Forlong 1,726]

loved this episode! Discord was amazing, although I can't help but wonder if he was trying to hide something?!

Does this look like the face of somepony that's hiding something.

 

 

Yes.

 

[Blaze Bronson 343]

Is it just me who found the first joke Pinkie had with the patio, was really bad. It was so not Pinkie.

 

The balloon joke however was spot on in contrast. Despite leaving her more disconnected than ever 

[Oblivion 20,267]

Yea, lol there actually is a theory floating around that.........

 

Discord actually is Starswirll the Bearded!

 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I found this episode mostly unentertaining, for reasons I'll discuss below.

 

The premise of the episode is another variation on "character makes plans, plans are foiled by some means, but everything (more or less) works out in the end". Judging from how many times this has happened in previous episodes, it seems that in Equestria, making plans only greatly increases the chances of those plans being faulty or not working out. How many times do the characters need to learn the same handful of lessons on this topic?

 

I suspect, though, that the premise of the episode was constructed as a vehicle to see more of Discord's shenanigans. I've never been a particular fan of Discord or his behavior, and this episode is no exception to that. It's hard for me to pinpoint why exactly I haven't found Discord funny or entertaining, in this episode or even in general. Maybe it's that I don't like watching characters act like jerks to other characters who don't obviously deserve it. Maybe it's that Discord's antics serve primarily to entertain himself (and only himself) at the expense of others, that is, by wasting the Mane Six's (and, by extension, the audience's) time and by distorting and abusing the concept that Discord and the Mane Six are "friends" and that "friends care for each other." Maybe it's that I haven't watched Star Trek, and so I nothing about the character he's based on. The real answer is probably some combination of all of the above, and maybe more.

 

One thing I particularly disliked in this episode was that Discord felt the need to lie to Twilight and concoct a secret "test" of her friendship with him. If Discord really wanted Twilight to write to him or visit him, why didn't he just see her and talk to her about it openly and honestly? (I do realize, though, that the entire thing very well may have just been trolling on Discord's part.) Maybe, rather than the lesson of the episode being a variation of "go with the flow" or "make the best of a bad situation" or "things often aren't as bad as they seem", it should have been something like "good friends talk to each other about their issues openly and honestly, not lie to each other and devise secret friendship "tests" to see if they pass and are still allowed to be friends." I've seen relationships break up because one person had problems with the other, but lied about it, didn't talk about it, and/or didn't give the other person feedback about how to make it better, so this would be a well-learned lesson, although I suppose it's debatable whether it's one that little kids need to learn.

 

Cadence's reasoning that she didn't need relaxation, and that spending the day doing Discord's bidding was exciting and "just what she needed" seemed rather weak. I suspect that Cadence may have just been trolling Discord back, making it seem that Discord failed at his objective. If so, Cadence was apparently successful, judging from Discord's reaction.

 

Finally, the dialogue in this episode, particularly when discussing Cadence's visit, often seemed canned, forced and unnecessary (maybe even stretched out just to fill up running time). Phrases like "quality time" and "sister-in-law" are overused, and it seems like everyone spends too much time talking about Cadence's visit, and how much Twilight is looking forward to it, and how she never sees Cadence any more, and how she really wants it to go off without a hitch, etc., etc. While watching, I just wanted them to stop talking about it and get on with it. I don't know why Cadence's one-day informal visit is worth discussing so much; in my experience, visits with family or friends are not usually discussed at length, just planned with minimal conversation and, at the most, just a few days beforehand.

 

Now here are a few random odds and ends that I noticed in the episode:

 

Pinkie's flyer about a sale on used patio furniture looks more like broken patio furniture to me.

 

The fact that Pinkie is wholly distracted by a balloon on more than one occasion can be added to the list of symptoms pointing to Pinkie's mental problems, along with apparently thinking that Fluttershy's temporary trip is taking her away forever.

 

Why did Twilight and Cadence need to pick the flower to supposedly cure Discord's illness? I know Discord said to, but his illustration showed brewing the petals to make an elixir, which I wouldn't think would require picking the whole flower.

 

When Discord is complaining to Twilight that she never visits, Twilight claims not to know where Discord lives. But presumably Fluttershy has to send the letters she writes to Discord somewhere. Wouldn't Fluttershy be sending those letters to wherever Discord lives? Has Fluttershy never mentioned where Discord lives to Twilight? I suppose that's possible, given that Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash apparently didn't know that Fluttershy was writing letters to Discord in the first place.

[spacestorm 183]

This episode was a little let down for me.
I really like Discord as a character, but he's too awesome for such kind of filler episodes in my opinion. Discord being ill was too far-fetched, I can't belive that such a powerfull being couldn't cure itself, not saying about catching anything in the first place.  It was quite obvious that he's plotting something. Yeah, Discord and planning, didn't I pointed that once? So he's not so chaotic and unpredictable as he pretend to be.

I didn't found Discord so funny like in previous episodes, his shenanigans were rather weak.
Also, I'm really worried what's going on with Pinkie Pie.

 

The strongest point of the episode was the Twilight-Cadance duo, I wish to see more of them together in the future.

Edited January 26, 2014 by spacestorm

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Three words: 

 

SO 
FREAKING
PREDICTABLE

 

I knew Discord was faking it all along, just so he could have time with Twilight while Flutters was away. Discord was right, staying cooped up in one place ain't always fun. You've gotta expand your horizon, flex your brain a little. Oh sure, Twilight may have been mad, but Cadence took it really well. Looks like Discord teaches Twilight a lesson once again.

 

And also, the first LEGIT belly inflation of MLP, and it happens to be Discord...

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Discord in this episode in a nutshell: 

[Forlong 1,726]

 

Still canon.  What you gonna do 'bout that?

[Stancet 689]

I agree, the episode was quite predictable. It wouldn't have been so bad if there was more of a twist somewhere in the middle. When Twilight was given the pendant I could have sworn that it was one of the keys to the mysterious box they received in episode 2, until I got a closer look at it. Nope! No surprises.

 

Personally, I enjoyed Discord's return. It does seem weird to include him in a slice-of-life story, but I am glad he at least has something to do in this series. Among the episodes problems, some of the conversations felt too long and there was a lot of exposition that could have been summed up with fewer words. However, the giant worm battle towards the end was quite an unexpected thrill. Discord's song seems lackluster but I will admit that there were moments I genuinely enjoyed it.

 

By Meghan McCarthy standards, this was not an impressive episode, which is a real head scratcher. I don't know how to judge the new writer, Ed Valentine, but I do assume he produced of the script's first draft. Still... it's not a bad episode. Towards the end, I think there was some redeeming quality and the story arc doesn't suffer much.

[invadersnes64 2]

New episode? WELL I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING TONIGHT!

[Scion of Arcadia 69]

I felt this episode was... very lackluster. Just a bunch of filler. There was too much Discord with little else. I was kinda hoping to see more Twilight-Cadence or Cadence-Discord. But nope, just Discord, Discord, and more Discord-Twilight. I'm a bit sour about them sending the rest of the cast away for the duration of the episode. And it's clear that Fluttershy is Discord's only real friend. The other 5 are very distrustful, expecting him to be up to something nefarious. And dang it, rightfully so! Judging from his sulk at the end, this had less to do with testing their friendship and more with corrupting it. C'mon, you saw his surprise at not messing up their plan! Plus I didn't really care for the song. Still, it was good to see Cadence in a setting where she doesn't have to act as a Princess. And I did enjoy some of the sight gags, like poor Bon Bon's house floating away after Discord's sneeze and the serious need of a fainting couch. I don't hate it but so far, it's my least favorite of the season.

[iceestarz 5,764]

It was a decent episode. Obviously predictable, but whatever. Wasn't expecting that giant crazy worm thing. xD

 

Each of the mane six had some form of good humor to them. Pinkie and Rarity always entertain me the most on any episode, especially on this one. Pinkie is just...so easily entertained. Those damn balloons, and Tabitha always does excellent voice work with Rarity. :3

 

The song, it was okay. The animation for it was the best part, but out of all the songs so far this season this is

the only one I'm not going to put on my phone. Still a decent episode none the less.

[Bright Honor 2,673]

I liked seeing Flash Sentry soon. So begins the ridiculous "he stole my waifu" stuff.

[Jangocoolguy 433]

"Ed McMane says we have won a million bits! Again!"
Fluttershy's always wanted to work with Generation 3 characters!
FLASH! AAAAHHHH!
"It would be nice to see each other without a crisis, wouldn't it?"
Hi, Dis! Wasn't expecting you until Fluttershy's rainbow item episode!
Discord thinks Pinkie's too annoying to be around? You've hit a new low, honey
Does this look like the face of reformed to you?
Twilight's Nightmare Night Costume is her "special occasion" costume? She really IS still a total geek! And I mean that in the best way possible.
Sweet Celestia, now Discord's singing!
"Never Had a Friend Like Me" is right...
Fear and Loathing in Ponyville("We can't stop here, this is Flutterbat country!")
See, Twilight, you're not the only Alicorn who has trouble flying. Must be a conversion thing.
Admiral Ackbar: IT'S A TR-- *Discord makes his mouth disappear*
Princess Cadence: Counter troll!
"I have been sent by the gods to deliver comeuppance!"
The dragquinace in the plastic bubble

That was interesting. Cadence AND Discord? Now there's a combo I never thought I'd see. I really like that Discord was in full on Genie mode with several movie references, and that he's still a total jerk. Heck, I for don't really believe he's reformed. I also smell connecting episodes with the Breezies episode like with "Just for Sidekicks/Games Ponies Play" last season.

What I didn't like what that--once again--members of the Mane 6 pop up in a story they barely do anything in. Heck, this episode was a text book case of how SPECTACULARLY uneven Pinkie's been this season, with moments of genuine depth an emotion being instantly negated by her doing something annoying/stupid

Edited January 27, 2014 by Jangobadass

[whizzball1 10]

This episode was wonderful! Discord makes everything better.

And Pinkie Pie was born on a Tuesday? To quote my friend, "This changes everything." Used Patio Furniture, Pinkie Pie is so random. Time to rewatch the episode and type up my response to everything!

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

Here is a bit of headcanon that I sort of hope comes true. Discord was testing to see if Twilight really was his friend, right? What if he's on the verge of admitting something to her, if she really is a friend.

 

 

Discord knows that Twilight worships Starswirl The Bearded. What if he reveals his secret identity, and offers to teach Twilight all of his "lost" spells, once he is sure she's genuinely his friend?

 

[MLP Moth 224]

I like the song and I'm not sure if the red balloon was a reference to Red Balloon