Thoughts On The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone · 4:23am Jan 13th, 2023
This episode is very intriguing as we delve into the history of the griffons. This is one of the other races we see rather often in the show besides dragons before season 7 and the 2017 movie. So seeing them flesh out their history more was something to behold and has captivated my imagination for years. But besides that, we finally get to see Gilda come back after her debut in season one, and it's great to know why she acted like such a bully seeing the horrible state Griffonstone is in. The Griffon society is one based on looking out for yourself. This fosters a somewhat hostile environment, with the griffins constantly at each other's throats and not trusting one another. We learn that their sense of unity was shattered hundreds of years ago, and its the reason why Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are looking for the idol of Borias to help restore the kingdom of the griffons to its former glory.
The story starts with a Griffon named King Grover using an idol to unite his empire, much like how the dwarves used the Arkenstone to crown the king under the mountain from The Hobbit. However, like in The Hobbit, the Arkenstone and the tresure, the dwarves hoarded drew in Smaug, which caused them to lose The Lonely Mountain. The Griffons lost their idol and their will to unite after a monster called the Arimaspi (a giant bipedal one-eyed goat-like monster) stole the treasure.
Besides the fascinating history lesson, we also get to see Rainbow Dash meeting Gilda for the first time seeing how Rainbow Dash helped her fend off some bullies when she attended her flight school. It was sweet and showed how Gilda seemed to have a soft spot for ponies despite her apparent outward behavior. Near the end of the episode, Gilda is ecstatic when a fellow griffin expresses an act of kindness toward her and how nice it was. Despite how she treated others, like with Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie in season one, she seemed to be raised to act this way and didn't know how else to act. Gilda shows her kindness when she helps one of her friends when they are knocked out of the sky and accepts Pinkie Pie's help to make her scones taste better. This is such a welcome change to the bully we knew in season one, and it's great she made a comeback in the show. So when they fail to get the treasure at the end of the episode, they return, learning that they should instead teach griffons to be much more helpful to each other. Overall a decent worldbuilding episode and one that has made me think a lot about my headcanon on the history of the griffons.
Random Thoughts
I said in my main post that the story seems to borrow many elements from The Hobbit, seeing the treasure was more of a burden and not the solution to the issues at hand.
Baby Gilda is so adorable.
Gummy can't bake. I hope Pinkie Pie learns this lesson.
You posted it twice