Friendship is Card Games: Owl's Well That Ends Well · 1:39pm Oct 19th, 2014
When I first watched this episode, as the credits ran, I found myself confused. It took me a moment to figure out why: I didn't like it. It's a plot that hinges on a lack of communication, Twilight making unfounded assumptions about someone she's known for his entire life, and tearing down established characters to make the new guy look good.
I do wish Dash had acted as a booster for Scootaloo, but this is still fairly early in their relationship, so it's not surprising.
So, the peerless unicorn prodigy can't grab a piece of paper with her magic? You really need to work on your reaction times, Sparkle.
Spike's desperation to please Twilight…. yeah, that doesn't exactly reflect well on her. It comes across as less "eager to please" and more "please don't beat me for my indolence." And this is coming from someone who hates the "Spike is a slave" meme.
Let's get this out of the way: the name is normally spelled Aloysius. Ergo, the bird's name is most likely spelled Owloysius. Probably far too late to change anything in that regard, but I just wanted it said.
I admit, we do get a good look at dragon possessiveness here. Spike is actually quite notable for hoarding such intangibles as employment and respect.
"OMG." O. M. G. WTF, Twilight? (Not the last time I'll be asking that this episode.) I'm putting the blame for this squarely on Cindy Morrow's shoulders. Still, interesting to know that there's a "Fairyland" inhabited by ferrets. Related to the Breezie dimension?
When Spike fell asleep on the stairs, I thought that everything that followed was a dream sequence. It made much more sense than it actually happening.
Huh. I didn't realize the enchanted refrigerator was first seen here rather than "Somepony to Watch Over Me." Well, I guess that ketchup had to come from somewhere.
"It's too dark," she says. "I can't see," she says. Again: peerless unicorn prodigy. Can't make her horn glow. 
Right, let's see what I was able to get from this:
Clumsy Flailing 1W
Instant
Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn by creatures with power 4 or greater.
"Alas, we can't all be paragons of grace and beauty."
—Rarity, Bearer of Generosity
Librarian's Owl UU
Creature — Bird
Flying
When Librarian's Owl enters the battlefield, draw two cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.
"He's really helpful when I need something from the high shelves."
—Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of Magic
1/1
Querulous Quail 2U
Creature — Bird
Flying
When Querulous Quail enters the battlefield, choose a letter. Each opponent puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard for each nonland permanent whose name begins with that letter.
Quailing cues quizzical qualms and quandaries.
2/1
Rote Repetition 2UU
Instant
Copy target instant or sorcery spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Retrace (You may cast this spell from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)
"Hoo?"
Quill and Sofa 4U
Sorcery
Choose one —
• Draw two cards.
• Return target artifact card from your graveyard to the battlefield.
Entwine 2 (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)
Villain Couture 2B
Enchantment — Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature is black, gets +2/+1, and has intimidate.
Sometimes you need a cape and a mustache to go with your maniacal laugh.
Covetousness 2R
Enchantment
Players other than Covetousness's owner can't control it.
Whenever another player gains control of a permanent you control, Covetousness deals 4 damage to that player.
For dragons, charity means only burning thieves rather than reducing them to ash.
Dragon Sneeze 2R
Instant
As an additional cost to cast Dragon Sneeze, discard a card at random.
Dragon Sneeze deals 5 damage to target player.
"Um, sorry about that."
—Spike
Frenzied Search 3R
Sorcery
Discard three cards, then draw three cards.
"What am I supposed to do with a quail? I'm looking for feathers!"
—Spike
Star Shower 5RR
Sorcery
Exile all cards from your graveyard. Star Shower deals X damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players, where X is the number of cards exiled this way.
"No remorse. No regrets. Let these be the last tears I shed for my indiscretions."
—Princess Luna
Combustible Rage XR
Sorcery
Target creature you control gets +X/+0 until end of turn. You may have that creature fight up to one target creature you don't control.
Do not anger dragons, for they have quick tempers and long memories.
Spirescale Dragon 4GG
Creature — Dragon
Trample, reach
2GG: Spirescale Dragon gets +3/+3 until end of turn. Untap it. Activate this ability only once each turn.
Dragon growth is as much a matter of mentality as maturity. Some dragons learn to exploit this.
5/4
Party Preparations XGG
Sorcery
Distribute X +1/+1 counters among any number of target creatures.
"Checklists? For a party? Why don't you just have everypony fill out forms the whole time?"
—Pinkie Pie, Bearer of Laughter
Bejeweled Bow Tie 3
Artifact — Equipment
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each other creature you control.
Equip 3
The wearer is armed with admiration.
Jewel Hoard 4
Artifact
Whenever a creature you control attacks, you gain 1 life.
Whenever a creature deals combat damage to you, that creature's controller gains control of Jewel Hoard.
Early Bedtime 1(wu)
Instant
Tap each creature that entered the battlefield this turn.
Draw a card.
"Technically speaking, they were just born. They need their rest."
—Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of Magic
... I don't think I've heard of this episode.
Thank you for that. I could never get it right before...
2543147
Season 1, episode 24.
Yeah, I don't like this episode, either. I started to re-watch it because of your write-up, said "nah," and finished by reading the transcript. I know it would have wrecked the plot--made it non-existent, really--but the whole thing would have been avoided if it was made clear that Owlowicious (is that the technically 'correct' spelling? I prefer yours) is a pet and Spike is not. Almost everyone acts like a jerk in this episode, too. So--not my thing.
On the other hand--proof once again of how heavily the early seasons borrow from Harry Potter.
Querulous Quail shuts down token decks, and probably some tribal decks too (do you know how many Goblin cards start with the word "Goblin"? A lot!)
Would definitely play Party Preparations over Thrive
Star Shower looks like it could be really scary in just about any red deck.
2543222
Hmm. Owls, magic schools, Celestia's sometimes Dumbledorian teaching methods...
I hadn't considered it until now, but yeah, I could see a Potterish influence.
2543262
Querulous Quail and Monkey Monkey Monkey: BFFs for life.
2543642
Be very thankful that Arc-Slogger exiles the cards.
2545138 A heavy Potterish influence. Celestia regularly leaves her star pupil and her five friends to take care of world destroying situations and then comes back and twinkles at them (plus she has a totally unnecessary pet phoenix). Trixie's basically Gilderoy Lockhart. The confrontation scene with Nightmare Moon in Episode Two bears a strong visual resemblance to the climactic scene in Order of the Phoenix.
I did a whole presentation on this at a Harry Potter con once, because there's a constant hunt for "the next Harry Potter," and everyone looks to YA paranormal romance. And I argued that they were getting hung up on medium and (apparent) intended audience, and that its strong fantasy elements and message of friendship saving the day was a lot more like Harry Potter than anything else brought up as an apparent successor.
Its shipping wars remind me of HP fandom too, because objectively, there is very little romance in Harry Potter, and what there is is not very well done. Shipping just isn't the point, and the readers who misread it as a romance novel were bitterly disappointed. So almost as soon as the third and certainly the fourth book, during the long hiatus between books four and five, fan writers scrambled to make up this apparent "lack."
I was satisfied with many of the eventual pairings at the end, because I really am a canon shipper at heart and and romance wasn't the point, so I'd take whatever was given out. Romantics mostly weren't and a lot of them decamped for the Twilight fandom.
Anyway, TL/DR, but I've given this a lot of thought. Now the series is standing on its own feet a lot more and the parallels are not so strong. Harry came back from his out of body otherworldly experience with his sparkly mentor still alive, but facing devastation and still with a major fight on his hands. Twilight came back as a pony princess. You can see how things would develop differently after that. And actually, I like it better this way!
Twilight: incredibly high INT, abysmal WIS. (D&D perspective. This translates to being a very powerful wizard and very smart and all, but an idiot when it comes to basic common sense.)
Frenzied Search is missing a word in the flavour text:
2543202 It's actually something ridiculous like Owlowiscious.
~Vriska Serket
I don't think Twilight had a very strong relationship with Spike before the show. Refer to the wording of Big Brother Best Friend Forever, and her general behavior towards him; namely repeated abuse. FIM: Rips him off a tall ladder, hits him with a door and is unconcerned abiut him in both instances. Literally kicks him off of her to get Flutterbutter to go away...
3270824
We don't exactly see her at her best at first in the premiere. She's short with everyone who stand between her and further research, not just Spike.
3270890 ... and leaving him to possibly freeze to death in Winter Wrap Up.
She rapidly strengthens their bond, in her defense.
3270890
Speaking of the premier. I'm surprised you didn't note that's Twilight's parents house.
Is that supposed to be Jewel Hoard? Because a horde is a rampaging group, while a hoard is a owned group.
4252011
Good catch. Given how these jewels only encourage attacking rather than taking part, I've made the correction.
In silver-border: Querulous Quail (letters)
4253392
Of course. Even its flavor text is an homage to Monkey Monkey Monkey.