Afterthoughts: The Times They Are a Changeling · 4:36pm Aug 22nd, 2016
art by Circus-Cinnamon
“The Times They Are a Changeling”… what a great title. Bob Dylan reference for the win. (I felt a Davie Bowie reference within the episode too with “ch-ch-ch-ch-changeling!”) This show has often had fun titles (“Crusaders of the Lost Mark” is still probably my favorite), but Season Six has been extra generous with them.
Like a lot of the brony community, I was excited just to learn about the name of this episode. I’ve been wanting to see the return of changelings for a long time. (The little teaser in “Slice of Life” only stoked the desire for the show to revisit them, as did the alternate timeline in “The Cutie Re-Mark”.) The almost-stealth appearance of the changeling in the background of the premiere had the fandom nervouscited with anticipation. This is possibly one of the most anticipated returns in My Little Pony… and I absolutely wasn’t expecting it to be a Spike episode.
It is interesting that the changeling teased in the premiere came back mid-season like this. It makes me wonder if this is stand-alone episode, or one building towards the finale? At this point, I am expecting the finale to involve changelings, the baby and/or the cutie map. I don’t know which, how, or in what combination. But to quote Spike:
“I don't know if I should be excited or scared to find out.”
And what a Spike episode it was! Season Six has absolutely been the best for episodes focused on his character. We have had two Spike episodes this season, and they have both been amazing. He hasn’t been used as a punchline. There has been real character development. They made Spike’s reputation as a hero and his need for his pony family’s approval an essential element of the conflict. Spike had to put something incredibly important to him on the line to help a friend. He risked everything.
He faltered. That was painful. The scene brought tears to my eyes. But he got back up, and he fought to make it right. He faced the fire, and did what he should have done the first time, with full conviction. And full recognition of his failure.
from DJ Pon3, Fallout: Equestria:
”The true mark of a hero is not that they never fail, never fall down…
No, you know a true hero by what they do after they fall. By the way they pick themselves back up again, shake themselves off, and throw themselves back into that good fight. Despite what they done, and despite the bleak prospects of a happy ending.
Full and complete respect for Spike in this episode.
More thoughts below the break.
“Tear Down the Walls”
art by Jowybean
Spike got a song! A real song, not something just designed for cringe or to make him the butt of a joke. I was quite happy to see that. It’s past time he got a good song (especially after the Equestrian Games).
At the core of the song was the message that we need to remember and believe that people can change. Personally, I found the line “a changeling can change” a little odd with the racial component. But then, this episode, ostensibly about racism and prejudice, managed to present a far more morally complex conflict.
This episode is incredibly timely. Maybe changelings just lend themselves to tackling some of the themes of morality and social mentality that have become so volatile recently. Certainly, when I started “Fallout: Beyond Equestria” several years ago, I couldn’t have known how pointedly it would critique our current political discourse to have post-apocalyptic changelings evolve to feed on the twisted love of nationalism and secretly work to stoke nationalistic culture. I wonder how long ago this episode was planned and if the writers knew how relevant it would be to the show’s adult audience when it aired.
“We're going to build a wall around the Crystal Empire and make Queen Chrysalis pay for it.”
But for all the chords of responsibility and sacrifice, racism and prejudice, the core moral of this episode was exceptionally simple:
Give people a chance.
There is a point when you have to stop giving people chances. But that point should never be before you’ve even met them. Reputation never tells the whole story, a truth we see play out on multiple levels in this episode.
“Defeating a changeling would be brave… but do you know what would be glorious?” I really think Spike hit on just the right play on his reputation here.
The episode touched none-to-lightly on themes of racism and prejudice. The racial overtones of the conflict were driven home with Thorax’s “looks like this” scene.
Prejudice. But not just the blind prejudice of “Bridal Gossip” – here we see ponies who were personally harmed, and who have reason to be suspicious and angry. They are holding the entire species as guilty, and we don’t even know that they are entirely wrong to do so. Chrysalis may be the only changeling queen, and the invasion force may have actually been their entire species. Certainly, Thorax had been part of that attack. IF that is the case and they knew it, one could argue that it is not even really prejudice that the ponies were acting on.
Thorax had been on the side of the villains. He had been an enemy combatant. And you are not excused from responsibility for your actions because you were “just following orders”. Thorax was worthy of a chance not because he was being unfairly associated with the changelings who attacked Canterlot, but because he had changed.
Even his own words, that he couldn't live with his own kind anymore, strongly suggests he is effectively unique. ("Kevin" notwithstanding.)
Still, I would have to argue that the conflict in this episode was clearly one of racism. When Shining Armor made his “no such thing as a good changeling” speech, he listed the villainous actions of Chrysalis. Thorax isn’t Chrysalis. Shining Armor wasn’t against Thorax because of what Thorax had done, but because of what he was. Holding the actions of a few against an entire group, treating them as a homogeneous entity, is prejudice. And when that group is a race, that’s racism. Making judgments about the content of someone’s character based on their ethnicity is always wrong, even if the judgment itself happens to be correct.
I tackled similar issues in Fallout: Equestria. From the first line of the prologue, with Littlepip’s curious use of the word “people” rather than the homocentric “ponies”, we get a hint of the character growth that is to come. Both Calamity and SteelHooves suffer from the xenophobic tendencies that we have seen repeatedly in the ponies of Equestria, although in different ways and for different reasons. And while Littlepip makes several morally dubious decisions, I would argue her most outright villainous moment is when she attached herself to Calamity’s plan on the overpass. Like Shining Armor, Calamity had suffered grievously under the actions of some members of a species, and viewed them all as monsters.
art by Promilie
Like Littlepip with Calamity, Twilight and Starlight were all too quick to fall in line with Shining Armor’s mentality. Twilight had at least suffered under the changeling invasion, and her dear brother had been the focus of their queen’s attack. Starlight, like Littlepip, had less excuse, only following in the example of her mentor and falling into the reigning mentality of the city. It made sense, then, and was really nice to see that, with the exception of Spike, Starlight was also the first to begin to question the way the situation was being treated. Twilight swiftly followed.
It is a common complaint, especially with the best episode concepts, that the episode felt rushed and/or should have been a two-episode story. That is to be expected, as you cannot fully embrace all the potential of a really great premise in just 22 minutes. The closest they have come with this was in “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”, and that achieved a lot of compacting through the format of a musical. This episode tries to compact the resolution the same way, through Spike’s song. It works, but requires a lot more suspension of disbelief than normal. In real life, most people don’t put aside either prejudice or reasonable fears that easily, and certainly not en masse. Problems of intolerance take a lot of time and work to correct.
Successfully pleading your case to the Princess of Friendship certainly helps though. This was possibly Twilight’s best moment as a princess, standing beside Spike and using her position to advance friendship, even with loved ones including her own brother staring daggers.
Personally, I like to imagine what this story could have been if the story had been given two episodes. The beginning did give a lot of exposition that people who missed (or didn’t obsessively remember) past episodes needed, and the ending could have really benefited from a growing-acceptance-and-friendship montage. But, being me, I would have also enjoyed seeing the story get to delve into the darker tones that are hinted at or glossed over. It’s is one thing to see guards running around crazily as Starlight askes, “…but is all this really necessary?” It would be much more impactful to see that downward spiral play out.
It also would have given space for Starlight Glimmer to have a secondary but significant role. It was enjoyable to see Starlight again. Her absence last week was conspicuous. But while she was fun to watch, I feel she could have been better utilized. Starlight would have made a good point of contrast to all the ponies who had suffered from the changeling attack. Especially considering her friendship with Trixie, she should have been the first to find Spike’s assertions persuasive.
Perhaps, if time had allowed, instead of confronting everyone immediately, he could have gone to Starlight, persuaded her, and then she facilitated getting Thorax into the castle and the meeting? Maybe even just a “everypony… Spike’s back, and I think you really need to listen” would have really been wonderful.
Thorax’s suggestion at the end of possibly taking friendship back to the other changelings seemed to come out-of-the-blue considering he was initially just looking for his own friendship and on the verge of starvation. But the idea is quite powerful (although I find myself questioning whether it would biologically work). The idea definitely lays seeds for possible future stories, much like “Gauntlet of Fire” did. I really hope we get to see the potential play out.
(Of course, if this was a chapter in the story of the Equestrian wasteland, you know that Thorax would reappear many episodes later, now leading about a quarter of the changelings as a harried and ragtag force of Freedom Friendship Fighters retreating from the forces of Queen Chrysalis and in need of allies. Cuz that’s how Fallout: Equestria rolls.)
Tidbits:
Ha, ha. 
Okay, yeah, Spike’s questioning a rock. Because this is a Spike episode, and so he has to be made to look ridiculous…
…holy crap! 
Changelings can disguise themselves as rocks! Spike called it!
Changelings can change into non-living objects? Realistically enough that Spike could lift Thorax to peek beneath him without realizing something was off? That's... terrifying. (Also, predicting a flood of fanfics shipping Boulder with changelings to follow.)
I felt Thorax dropped the F-bomb (“friend”, of course) awfully fast. In an otherwise nuanced episode, it had the subtlety of an orbital title drop.
Kudos to the new writers! Also... Tumbleweed??
Nice continuity to see the old “sunshine and ladybugs” rhyme used as an identity test. That's what it unintentionally functioned as in “A Canterlot Wedding” after all.
Starlight was as pointedly observant as ever. She got the best lines in the opening. “Because you’re you.” and “I think it will be pretty easy to figure out who she is.”
Spike has a Rarity plushie!
We got a lot of great information about changelings. We saw baby (larval) changelings, learned that their transformation abilities vastly exceed what we expected, that they have individual free will and that they can talk. Thorax’s voice really threw me. Not the voice I would have expected for a changeling. It’s growing on me with repeated viewings though.
Do changelings have a special mimicry precognition? I know Thorax’s ability to mimic Spike’s actions in perfect sync was a basic comedy routine, but it makes me wonder.
Twilight is best nerd princess.
It is really noticeable and disappointing when they recycle animation during a song. This is the second time they have done so this season, the other being during “Spice Up Your Life”.
Spike’s mad impromptu naming skills continue. Sandy Rockbeach approves. (Good thing Twilight was alone. Starlight Glimmer wouldn’t fall for it!)
Being a friend of Spike the Brave and Glorious gets you all the mares.
The sound Thorax made at Spikes betrayal was made of heartbreaking.
I was reminded strongly of this:
“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?”
art by siggie740
My one complaint was about this episode was the song. In my opinion it was fine, but not good. I would've preferred that Spike make some speech like whenever he knocked sense into Twilight during the first few seasons. I think Spike is a much better speaker than singer. Other than that the episode was nice and pretty cute too. Nice Changelings FTW!
This is quite early for you. Not complaining, mind you; I'm just surprised.
Yeah, either abandoned towns make tumbleweeds spontaneously generate in Equestria, or that one rode the train all the way from the Mild West, knowing it was needed.
As for the episode itself, for me, the best part of the climax is how Spike is a living example of the triumph of inclusion and integration. After all, a dragon can be vastly more dangerous than a single changeling, yet Spike lives in peace with ponies because of the philosophy he's espousing here. He's encouraging the best parts of equinity, the parts that made him into a hero rather than a monster. Kind of like a certain dragon protecting certain virtue-embodying artifacts in a certain story.
I get why the ending was rushed, being only a 22 minute episode, but I have a feeling this will tie in with "Flurry Heart of the Swarm."
Also, the moment I saw the rock thing, I immediately thought of Maud Pie actually having a reason to be all in love with geology.
I liked the episode, but there is one thing I have concerns about as far as its message goes. It's a good message overall, but they basically suggest Thorax is good not because he had a change of heart, but because he was born different. The implication seems to be that changelings are evil, and Thorax is simply an exception to that rule. That sorta left a funny taste in my mouth.
You advocate a lot. While I mostly liked the episode, I had the same most annoying issue with it that I have with the show in general. Spike's betrayal was out of character. He follows the mane six and has a lot of experience in friendship issues. He would truly risk his heroic reputation if he did something bad. But he knew very well that he was actually doing good AND wanted to teach that to others. He's no coward either. So, once again a character is sacrificed to bring up a point. It started ticking me off when element of loyalty and element of truth bearers were both cheating at the race. And scenarists are still at it.
Wait... on a far more serious note, what if the implication was that Boulder was actually a disguised Changeling, and Maud was the first pony in Equestria post-wedding to have a changeling friend? Or that Boulder is a changeling spy, disguising itself as a rock so that Maud would carry him around, letting him spy on Pinkie and the like?
... I'm overthinking this.
4164831 Not his fault the player decided to roll a Perform: Singing check instead of a Diplomacy check. Sometimes players just like to take risks and spice things up in the hopes that the GM gives them bonus points for going outside their comfort zone. :p
I agree that the notion that episode felt rushed in terms of a good storyline, but it's hard to do a good storyline with adult implications with simply a 22 minute format. Star Trek I think did it best with an hour-long format when dealing with such issues, giving them enough time to read into these debates, while leaving the episode with some ambiguity for the audience to mull over.
And, I really hope that Thorax gets another episode that really addresses the nuances of prejudice and racism, because like the 22-min format suffers from, not everyone is just going to let go of racial ideas and join Thorax en masse overnight. It's a process that takes time and trust, which is why I hope that they have an episode on Thorax that deals with the idea that even though Spike, Twilight, Cadence and Shining have accepted him, not everyone will with the switch of a hat, and sometimes people just will hold onto such beliefs.
I think the best episode of an animated series that really addressed this issue and did it WELL, was the episode "Troq" from the original Teen Titans, and this was at least a decade before the movie "Zootopia" came out with similar themes.
Here, the Titans ally themselves with an alien who's pretty much the equivalent of Superman (Awesome, Brave, and Strong), but has a deep rooted racist attitude towards Starfire, calling her race "Troq", which means "nothing" in their language.
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6nyn8pguw1r1yexso7_250.gif
And his prejudice still persists even after Starfire saves him and proves her worth. In the end though, it's her friends that stand up for her to show that they care about her for her being Starfire, not just because she's a Tamaranian.
In the end, the marking of a TRUE friend is one that will stay by your side, not because of WHAT they are, but WHO they are.
And I really hope that Thorax gets an episode like this in the future. Children are a lot smarter than people realize, and it's about time we help them get ready for the uglier parts of the world by showing what it means to BE a TRUE FRIEND.
Nothing to take, nothing to add...
Thorax's voice went about the same for me as Hiccup's in How to Train Your Dragon; When I first heard his voice, I was certain I was going to absolutely hate it forever, a feeling that was completely forgotten within about thirty seconds.
Also, one detail I really, really liked: about halfway through Spike's song, everyone is glaring angrily... except Twilight, who's looking pensive. The Princess of Friendship gets it. Her student caught on pretty quick, too.
4164925 True dat mate. But I've always been a pragmatist
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A possible espionage thriller where Maud has a secret changeling fetish, unbeknownst to the spy she's unwittingly carrying around all the time? I doubt you can overthink this enough.
4164998
Please, this is the Brony Fandom.....
We're all ABOUT OVERTHINKING!
Kkat, after all the stuff in FOE that ended up being supported by the show later...... I am not the least bit surprised at this.
No, it still is, but in that case it is a justified prejudice. But, I could ramble on a LOT about this and get to words out right, short version, and a really good look at this exact type of situation..
Versus how well SF Debris covers it in his review of the TNG ep I Borg.
Very true, but this IS where the nature of the world and the differences kind of make things not fit perfectly, as for all we, or he knew at this point they were just a massive Hive Mind of drones under her command or something. That they could have been one huge homogeneous entity.
I.. dont really see that at all, neither of them ever goes to the level, or even says anything about how Thorax couldn't be legit. All Twi agreed with was that a Changeling being nearby could be a prelude to an invasion, a perfectly justified thought. If a known member of an enemy faction is lurking around outside your city, why would your first thought be they are trying to be friends, or are there as anything other then nefarious purposes when they are lurking and hiding? Further, the first time she sees Thorax.. is him losing is disguise, and thinking that the Changeling had replaced Spike's friend, rather then the Changeling WAS Spike's friend. All justified given what they knew of changelings at that time and the information they had available. And yes she's cautious later, but still, justified, and is the first to side with Spike one someone actually just tells her what is going on.
That is really my only issue with this ep, that at no point did Spike think "Hey, a Changeling wants to make friends with ponies, maybe I should ask the Princess of Friendship for help!" and just explained the situation to Twilight from the start.
People no, Ponies yes. And, his song really did not do anything to get others on his side aside from, as above, finally letting twilight know just what was going on. It was only after she sided with Thorax everypony else changed their minds, and we've seen how much ponies idolize Princesses. Given Princess Cadance was next, yeah, why would they hold any issues? Hell the Crystal Ponies would have even less issue then ever, since they weren't even around for the invasion and have no actual reason to have issues with Changelings, aside from the fact they are seen as a threat. Soon as it was made clear he was not a threat, why would they have issues with him?
Gonna have to disagree with you on that.. it is nice the show can show the more serious sides of things.. but no real need to go getting to dark like that. I really do not see how there is enough here for a full two eps without a LOT of padding or needlessly drawn out conflict and drama.
As to Starlight.. see, this is why your follow ups/reviews are so damn good. You actually think through this stuff and, just, make so much sense. Rather then like so many, just complain about why was Starlight even IN the story (you know, ignoring how she has every logical reason to be there, and would be odder for her not to be) Yeah, maybe giving her more of a role would work, but still.. she had a logical reason to be there, that is really all you need
Yeah.. that did come off more as just a wild, spur of the moment idea.
Don't forget having the seemingly one off, just there for a quick joke scene of Throax mimicking Spike's movements precisely really turned out to be a bit of subtle foreshadowing that gets brought up near the end when it is discovered that Changelings can mic a person so well, they even mimic their brains and thought patterns and so can anticipate how their target will act as fast they can do so.
As Doctor Wolf pointed out..... this raise so many questions about Boulder.....
he's had that for a while, we saw him carrying it around in Castle Sweet Castle. The scene where he showed up at the breakfast.
Same, though I have a headcanon for that.. he so wants to be accept by ponies, and knows how odd regular Changeling talk is, so keeps his voice box shifted to give him a more 'normal' voice.
See told you it would have ended up being a subtle set up of a major plot pint later.
EEEE babyb bug Pone is far to cute for being a baby bug!
But yeah, it was a great ep, bit rushed and with some just averagely done recapping. But still overall solid. Again my only issue is Spike never thinking to go talk to Twilight about the situation directly.
Eh...meh.
I liked it
Good episode. Terrible song. Solid channeling lore.
Chrysalis is best everybody.
4165128 i like the song myself XP.
though i also was itneersted that they had it he had fits where he, for a brief second, became as hostile and aggressive as other changelings seem to be. thoarx own words were 'Sorry, kindness like that cuases it to act up." Like it was some condition.
Could they be leaning towards changleings being cursed, and Thorax is more resistant to it?
Albeit that would definitely be setting it all up for a chrysalis reformation thign
As far as i can tell, its not racist to hate changelings, its like a mutation for them to be good, as we saw all the other hatchlings hated each other and i think that Kevin and Thorax (which is the word for a spiders butt) are a different kind of changeling, i like to think that most changelings, the drones i mean are mindless tools while their is a changeling hierarchy that is more intelligent, i think Kevin and thorax were higher up that hiarky but with a mutation that does not make them evil or follow the hive mind which as far as i can tell, their is a hive mind. now the song a changing can change is cute but thorax and Kevin were both always good, i don't think thy can change naturally. i mean regular changelings have green magic while he has blue which in of itself shows he was a different breed. personally i like to think of it that way, because the changelings in the invasion did not show individualism and never spoke. I think tho that we can learn much more about them along the way, maybe a changing really can change, maybe the queen is just evil and killed the other queen and she made all the other eggs evil, all we know for sure is that thy feed of of love and if that happens to long you could be personally damaged, why not just give them a bunch of puppys! puppy's have so much love to share.
i disagree slightly here. M.A. Larson managed to squeeze in an emotionally heavy moment in the last 5 minutes of "Amending Fences". they should have done the same thing here, as there were only 5 minutes left when Spike started singing and the tension before he started singing were high. see, just cut the song.
not that the ideas you had for a two-parter wouldn't have made this episode EVEN better
4165193 Took it as more, he was SO hungry, that any hints of caring, or sudden displays of affection that caught him off guard, triggered his feeding instincts. That once he has a more regular supply of love from friends to keep him from starving, it wouldn't do that.
4165193 its not a condition, its in stink, naturally thy don't like that stuff,
No ghost town is complete without them?
On a more serious note, I really enjoyed this episode and it's one of my favorite Spike episodes. I'm hoping we get to see more episodes with Thorax before the season ends.
Honestly at first I was worried it would be a typical bad Spike episode featuring him as the village idiot, but once he met Thorax it got really interesting.
The moment where he failed to defend Thorax did a great job of emphasizing what he was risking in defending him later well, and I'm really interested on where they go with this in the future.
You get reformed!
You get reformed!
EVERYBODY GETS REFOOOOOOORRRRRRRMMMMED!
It's just a prank bro, good episode.
KKat
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/163079/fallout-equestria-wasteland-economics
About the biological thingie, there was one idea in this story... I don't want to say anymore because It would be a spoiler. Trust me, it's a fun, quick read and eventually touches on the subject of Thorax's theory and new mission.
'Twas a good episode, even if the plot could've been extended for a bit more time.
Too bad for the 20 min time cap.
Spike and Thorax...... ALL THE FUCKING HOMO! INSERT CLEVER FED EX JOKE!
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the best kind, if the opinion of the two lovely young ladies next door are anything to go by
But seriously mate... I'm probably the last bloke in all of Christiandom who would say this, but thats a little rude man.
Not to trying to start trouble or nothing, and I do hope I haven't caused offense by saying that
One thing I didn't mention at the time:
The Hellhounds are basically Deathclaws. In Fallout history, there's been a grand total of maybe a couple dozen sentient Deathclaws, mostly in Fallout 2, as opposed to the hundreds, possibly thousands of savage Deathclaws all across the country. In Fallout Equestria, while all Hellhounds have some level of sentience, most still insist on killing anything that isn't them. As such, if the scene at the overpass was meant to be seen as morally divided or morally wrong, I feel there should have been more evidence that the Hellhounds would have been up to negotiation, as otherwise, it seems like common sense to fire upon the creatures known exclusively for brutally murdering things.
IMO, the evilest thing Littlepip did during Fallout Equestria was deceiving Spike, and later revealing the truth for her own intentions. Sure, it ended up saving the day in the end, but she and Spike had no way of knowing it would.
Well Kkat... I decided to give this one a second, and then third look... eh, still a good message and episode, but... I do have some thoughts.
SPOILERS AHOY!
I think this should have been more about "trust but verify." if that makes sense. Like, how he was working to earn everyones affection after his reveal, trying to become a citizen of Equestria and people becoming his friends over time, maybe as a season finale. Here the ponies go from an actually effective state of emergency (SEE THEY'RE LEARNING! NO MORE F
CK UPS LIKE THAT DAMN WEDDING FOR THAT WAR MACHINE) to "Here emotivore, hold our infant."
Also, he's apparently an abberation. Changelings apparently are born salty c
nts because... reasons? Better option would have been Chrysalis standing there with a cattle prod and introducing them to Mr Buzzy. They should have shown her making them that way then them just being evil.
Also, constantly birthing bug horse... thank you hasbro, that turkey sub tasted even better coming back up
4169009
Good point, my impression reading that was that any attempts at diplomacy would have been met with attempted murder.
4169644 Thanks!
BTW, did anyone else see the Nuka World stream? Because, spoilers, there's a Raider boss named Red Eye in it. That sold the DLC for me. :P
4169667
See, what I tell you. Kkat's a trendsetter.
Make it happen, Regidar!