Episode Review - Make New Friends but Keep Discord

Fluttershy and Discord? How can this episode be anything but awesome? I don't know. Remember when they finally aired an episode at the Equestria Games, and it didn't feature anything involving sports, just centering around Spike? Yeah, this is kind of like that. But with more obvious signs that the writers want us to know they know.

We start at Fluttershy's cottage, where she and Discord are having Tuesday Tea. And Fluttershy is legitimately enjoying Discord's company. I always figured that Fluttershy was kind of faking it, just to keep Discord in line. But it seems she really likes him. Tea goes sour when Fluttershy mentions her friend Treehugger. Now let's stop there. First, Treehugger? As we'll see throughout this episode, this name is spot-on. But it's just so...obvious. Couldn't you have been a little more subtle? Like, oh, Tree...warden? Ok, that may not work, but it's more subtle than "Hey look at me, Eric Cartman wants me DEAD!" Second, Discord is almost immediately pissed at the fact that Fluttershy has a new friend, even before she mentions that Treehugger is her "plus one". But why? Discord knows Fluttershy already has other friends. Aside from the mane5, Spike, and I'm sure all of Ponyville, there are woodland critters to account for. What's so bad about this ONE MORE that makes Dicord so jealous?

So we leave the opening theme to a disturbing scene with Discord making sure that Spike never has another good night's sleep ever again. Then, off to Rarity's shop, where the crusaders are all going to the gala as the adults' plus ones. Yep, that includes Rainbow Dash taking Scootaloo along. How nice. How...pointless. See, as with Equestria Games, this could have been a story itself, with the crusaders doing what they do best at the most formal ball in Equestria. Instead, it's barely referred to again. The first gala episode featured six different stories, one for each character. We were used to seeing a lot of stuff going on at the gala ( At the Galaaa~ ). Rainbow Dash and Applejack are playing what appears to be poker. But if you'll notice, the cards' images are the ponies cutie marks. I can't imagine what kind of game this is, but I'm sure shippers will put something together. AJ gets teary-eyed at Applebloom's outfit. Is it me or all they all kind of similar and...bland? Discord the creeper shows up once again, and scares the bejeebus out of the kids. I think they may have to send him to court after the gala. Which is made worse by the fact that Discord had no reason to even intrude upon the group. He asked if they had tickets. Did he think he could con one of them into taking him? Isn't there someone else he could try to con? That's just...weird. His next target is Pinkie Pie, who notices him immediately hiding in a box. I think that's the...second...Metal Gear Solid reference in this series? Somebody's a fan (hey not me!). We get a new fourth wall act from Pinkie as she shakes the "camera". Sounds like Pinkie just wants to make a sale instead of dealing with Discord. I think this might need to be looked into more, perhaps in a future episode. Pinkie is a remarkable salespony. Turns out Pinkie's taking Maud to the gala. Because...ugh. I'm all for seeing her again, but it just feels forced. In an episode that is already too much about references and in-jokes.

So then we, and Discord, get to meet Treehugger. She...um...she sounds like her name. She's so incredibly stereotyped that even as not-a-hippie, I'm offended. It's bad. I mean, I got annoyed by the name Cheese Sandwich. But at least there, it's not really clear what his purpose is. He's a Pinkie clone, and you wouldn't guess that by his name alone. This pony oozes hippie, and her name is the most obvious you can get. Hell, her cutie mark is even a tree sprouting into a heart. Discord acts jealous again, and it's at this point that I would expect mature, adult Fluttershy to realize that he might be a little jealous. I expect it, therefore it doesn't come.

And now we're treated to a nice scene in Discord's realm. At least, I think it's his realm. It's A realm, at least. D&D fans (hey, that IS me), go crazy with the comparisons. I won't. At this point, we see Discord stop being jealous and start being crazy. Like actually crazy. He makes dust bunnies, talks to them, and gives them voices. Remember Party of One? I guess Discord wasn't around for that. He's gone nuts. It's ok though, because as it turns out, Equestrian mail services deliver to...whatever this dimension is. And Discord gets his invitation. Which...huh. Does Celestia WANT him there? It would make sense, since she's does love it when the party goes crazy.

So, to the gala we go, where Discord gets his own introduction? Wow. Don't think the mane6, who saved the world multiple times, even got one. Discord brings his guest...The Smooze? Ok, so I already knew, but still. Talk about another reference. I don't know it well, but he's basically a giant ooze thing. Almost like a Flan from Final Fantasy games. Twilight gives Discord a warning to keep it under control, and that's pretty much all we see from her. Again, why don't we see what's actually going on at the gala ( At the galaaaa~ )? Where...is...everypony? Oh, well, there's Fluttershy, acting all prim and proper. Is that the term? In any case, she's not acting like herself. Because if it's a Fluttershy episode, you know she has to act like not her. Whether it's turning into a bat, turning into a dude, or telling off her friends, Fluttershy can't be herself when the focus is on her. Actually ,I give her credit here. Discord is making it painfully obvious that he's jealous, but Fluttershy at least takes the time to act interested in what he's saying, and admiring Smoozinator a little. But Discord ditches Smooze in order to embarrass himself more, and of course that's when things get bad. It's...um...oozed...all over Rarity. I uh...don't take that out of...you know what, never mind. Apparently the thing likes gems and shiny things, which makes him grow. So Discord gets mad at him and locks him in a room. Full of shiny things. Because of course. Discord gets the idea to do...stand-up? It's not even funny. Ok, of course it isn't. But the best part is Celestia laughing at the joke about Twilight's flying. Hey, she's gotten good at this point. At least, as far as we know. She doesn't really show it much anymore. Also, more shipping fodder for Celestia/Discord pairing. Ugh. Although, nice Gallagher reference with the watermelon smashing. No tarp for the front row. And the best joke of the night goes to...Maud? Ok, this is almost a little insulting. "This is the most basic of jokes" "You're the most basic of jokes" It's such a cliched, memetic response. It's almost like at this point, Maud is a joke on internet people. It was already...suspect, but at this point, it might be a little unfair.

And then Smoozy gets too big for the crown closet (I mean, what else is it?) and explodes through to the main hall. Pinkie rides Maud like a boat, because of course she does. Smooze is immune to Twilight ex machina spells. Applejack once again makes fun of Rarity for being worried about her outfit, and all the while Fluttershy and Treehugger are stuck on the wall. Treehugger has an auditory idea, and...it works? On second thought, yeah, Smooze ought to react to sonic damage. I think. Discord gets so pissed, he decides to send Treehugger to another dimension. Because reasons. Oh, and that dimension is apparently more puppet playtime with the animators. Fluttershy, in a rare case of assertiveness, actually yells at Discord. And drops a logic bomb on his multi-species ass. So, apologies abound, and the party continues. Oh, and I was right. Continuity for the win. Celestia enjoyed the idea of the chaos. Which, really, makes me wonder why nobody else realized that in the first place. Let a few things go to hell, and Celestia is happy. Maybe that's why so much bad stuff happens in Equestria. It's all...planned.

So, last things to mention really. The mane6's gala dresses weren't the same. They were similar, but not the same. This is probably the most Discord-heavy episode, including his premier in Return of Harmony. He only shows up once or twice a season, but I think he might be making a bigger impact on the show. Somebody in Ponyville has to keep learning about friendship, and it's clear they want Discord to keep leaning that way. Also, this episode featured a lot less of his catastropic magic. Sure, he used it to make a lot of convenience for himself, but wouldn't you? The portal to throw Treehugger into aside, he seems to have learned well enough to keep his magic from being too annoying and world-changing.

So, hey, there's some character development right there. Also Pinkie Pie. She was entertaining this episode. Again, I think they finally figured out where she needs to be in her humor. Yeah, she shook the camera, but that's ok. It wasn't annoying enough because it wasn't just absolutely random. What I did notice about her, though, is that she took to Discord well. She didn't bat an eye at him when he came into her store, unlike the others who shooed him away. Applebloom who blew raspberries at him. Even more so than Discord though, she took to Smooze. It's weird. She's the party girl, but...Smooze? Fluttershy's love of creatures, or Twilight's love of rare and strange creatures would have made more sense, but Pinkie? Don't get me wrong, I like it. I just don't understand it. I guess that's Pinkie Pie in a nutshell. Good episode all around. It just could have used more. More, everything. except less references. Outside of the ones I noticed, there were plenty more I didn't. It's ok to not feel like you have to do that constantly. Unless they just decided to throw them into this episode because it was supposed to be a "fun" episode. But, not as awesome as I expected with best pony and one of the humor generators on the show. Still better than most this season.