[Review] Make new friends, but keep Discord · 8:42pm May 16th, 2015
Can I just begin by saying how much I loved this episode? Like, really, really loved it! A LOT!! Between this and "Tanks for the Memories", the latter is still probably my favourite. But by a comical standpoint, this is fantastic! This is my review of "Make new friends, but keep Discord", like it or hate it. Spoilers are everywhere, so if you're okay with that let's groove right into this, man. Righteous!
First of all, let's talk about the clear thing this episode had going for it: the jokes. The humor in this episode is by far the greatest I've ever seen in an episode, even the ones with Discord already in them. To those of you who don't know, Discord is my third favourite MLP character ever, right under Pinkie Pie and, of course, Rainbow Dash. His scenes are so deviously creative and hilarious, that I nearly piss my pants every time he's on screen. But I personally think they pushed it to the max of what is capable of him, and it's awesome! Draconequui (?) aside, this show has begun being more mature with its jokes, from Rarity covering up her nonexistent breasts and vagina when Discord vacuums up her clothing, to the obvious yet amazing Metal Gear Solid box joke which made me laugh for a good few minutes. Oh, and how can we forget that alternate dimension filled with crayon backgrounds and sock puppets in real life? WONDROUS!! Oh, and Pinkie breaks the fourth wall again. This time though, she talks to you! Better say hi!
Many of the jokes work because of the imagery and animation. This animation is fantastical! The chaos dimension is a joy to look at, what with all of the weird creatures and floating islands, and the Smooze is, um... smoozy, I guess? Turning the camera on the 2D plain is great... and that's all I have to say about that. Yeah...
Writing is good, but not great. I mean don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoyed it, and it was the catalyst for many of the jokes, such as when Twilight is all like:
"I'm sorry, Celestia, that this Gala didn't turn out how it should've..."
And Celestia's all like:
"Are you kidding? This was the most fun I've had in years! Inviting Discord was great!"
To which Twilight responds:
Like I said, I'm sor- WAIT, WHAT?!"
However, I certainly felt as if there could have been a lot more done with it. Though, I understand why it was numbed down a little more than usual; the majority of the jokes were visual based, and sometimes you just need to give your writers a break and make another dimension with a red sock puppet and a crayon background in real life. Yeah, I wasn't kidding about that.
There are only a few complaints I have with this episode. Well, to be precise, two. One very, very, very minor complaint was why would you invite someone you've only met for a short while and not the guy you KNOW is gonna flip when he finds out he isn't invited, Fluttershy?! Yes, I'm attacking Flutters again. But I'll do it a little less this time because I know she's the "best pony ever" or something. Anyway, she knew he was the spirit of chaos and had unlimited amounts of power, and you ditched him for someone else you pretty much just met. This is but a nitpick though as the lesson (you have different friends for different things) works well with this. I don't hate Tree Hugger either, and I while I think she's stereotypical, she works. So, all in all, just a nitpick.
Complaint two, and my major one is that EVERYONE IS AN ASSHOLE!! No, I'm not even kidding here! This doesn't just go for the episode either, as it's prominent in every episode after Discord was reformed. If Fluttershy is accepting of Discord, why isn't everyone else? I understand that he's different, but that's just the point! He's different, and everyone, especially the main six, is just a bully to him for it, always thinking he's being evil when he's just trying to do good and make friends when he doesn't have any experience doing so. And yes, many things he did were uncalled for, like threatening to send Tree Hugger to another dimension. But instead of Twilight saying:
"Discord, wait! Maybe we can talk this through..."
She immediately jumps straight to, with a scowl on her face if I may add:
"Don't worry Fluttershy; we'll stop him!"
It just irks me the wrong way in every conceivable way. I know that doesn't make any sense, but neither does Twilight! I really, REALLY hope they address this in the future. You know the reason Discord agreed to Tirek's plan was because the main six wouldn't accept him right? Well, that IS just a theory, but it's pretty likely! The main six don't want to be Discord's friend, and in turn they nearly doomed everyone. Great job, guys!
Okay, rage gone now. This was a good episode! While that last bit really did piss me off a bit, everything else from the jokes, to the lesson, to even the Smooze was amazing! The animation was great and Discord was as creative as ever, so all-in-all, I liked this!
Story: A-
Writing: B
Animation: A
Lesson: B+
Overall: A-
This has been SuperKamek saying thank you, have a great night, and- What's this? Could it be that Fluttershy is finally developing as a character like the great Joshscorcher said?! Nah, probably not...
Mood: 
Lovely review, and now we all know that because Discord can see sock puppets and crayon drawings, he can see us too.
Look at your ceiling everyone and say hi to Discord!
*waves at ceiling with Discord's head sticking out of it*
-Personal favorites of this episode-
Metal Gear Solid reference
Pinkie 4th wall breaks
Discord is showed to open a dimension hole so image the possibilities
His... home. How did that pony get there?
And other moments that I'm too lazy to type.
3074044
It's ceiling Discord!
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/6/20/11692__safe_discord_artist+needed_ceiling+pony.png
3074079
All that and more on the Daily Show!
3074096
Perfect...
I'm just gonna save that image and use it as my lock screen on my iPad Mini...
If John De Lancie mind-raped you into becoming the opposite of your actual self, would you want to be friends with him afterwards? Aside from your "everyone is an asshole" rant, great review!
3074139
Fair enough, but these are still my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for the complement!
3074183 You're welcome! Honestly, I think it's more realistic and reasonable that they'd distrust Discord than just treating him like a best friend, as Maud Pie showed that not everyone can be friends. It's better than Picard becoming BFFs with Q in The Next Generation.
3074193
Well, we each have our opinions. And you're right; Discord has been rather untrustworthy. But at the same time, the mane 6 know what he can do with a good heart.
Actually, one more complaint and then I'll shut up. Discord gave Twilight the necklace as a sign of friendship, yet she still treats him like horse shit. Why? Bad writing? Maybe. I did say that the writers needed a break anyway.
3074246 Actually, Twilight didn't start being bitchy to him until he acted like a douche to the guards/announcers, like wiping Smooze juice all over that one guy and stealing the other's trumpet. However, to each their own.
I like the Smooze boogie dancing!
3074328
I think everyone did!
3074357 YEAH!
Wasn't it pretty much implied, if not outright stated, that Fluttershy didn't ask him because she figured he would have his own ticket? It's like asking a friend to a concert you won an extra ticket for after already knowing that they bought a ticket beforehand.
Well, as the embodiment of chaos, there's always a fear of...relapse, I suppose you wanna call it.
3074824
Though, the first one is a nitpick and I still hold true to the second one.
Point taken, point taken.
3074139
Thank you, truthfully. If I'm not allowed to forget about this "fact", neither should I forget about Discord being 100x worse. It doesn't help that most people who try to pull the "Discord is so unloved" card forget the reason why he had no friends in the first place. It wasn't just that he wasn't capable of it, he actively pushed everyone who could have tried to break through his hard outer shell away through his actions when he was evil. And telling mean-spirited jokes about how overpowered he is--hell, making the mean-spirited jokes he's done (no, filming your friend crying is not all in good fun if it's not you that's crying; neither is betraying said friends.) endears him to no one. Well, no one who wants his character to grow beyond that stage. Hell, he had to be enabled for an episode in order for someone to get anywhere close to making him admit he needed friends more than to have his way.
Doesn't exactly help that I have no sympathy for Discord. Too many things that try to pull the "Everyone treats him soo badly for no reason" card on his behalf. Utterly soured his character when I finally watched his debut. Because I saw no redeeming qualities there and it felt like they were all tacked on in his initial reformation. I know I'm not in friendly territory here, so I'll just end with that. I just do not like Discord. And I pretty much accept I am the only person who watches MLP on the planet Earth who feels like that.
3077576 I still like Discord for his fantastic jokes, great delivery by John De Lancie, amazing references, and general charm, but I do have to agree that the only time I felt the slightest bit of sympathy for him was when it was revealed that he was conscious while encased in stone all those years. That's horror movie fodder.
3077576
You bring up a good point, but did you ever think about the "Chicken and Egg" theory? Which came first; the chicken or the egg? So, which came first; Discord's cruelty or Discord's lack of friends. I personally think Discord's lack of friends is what drove him to cruelty.
3078140
Even if being friendless came first, it really doesn't excuse the whole "I must be a dick to everything in my line of sight otherwise life is not worth living." I get that it's part of his character arc, but to say that he is utterly blameless and must be given a pass on trying to banish another being to another dimension out of common jealousy... Yes, for Discord (who's ludicrously OP), that is a kneejerk reaction, but for mere mortals like everyone else around him, that probably looks like a gigantic warning banner bordering on declaration of war.
See, that's the issue. Through threads like this one, where people pull the Victim Card to the point it loses all meaning it utterly soured Discord for me. If I'd had a chance of liking such a mean-spirited character, it was soured through these fan interpretations of him being utterly blameless and acting in self-defense. I saw neither of those things. For people that preach the understanding of differences and how by including a Frankenstein experiment like him into your clique it can really change his outlook on life, you sure forget why it is that they wouldn't be so trusting--why they themselves would hold different opinions than you as a viewer. I could list off all of his offenses since his inception, and say why that's a bad thing and not just him acting out for whatever reason. But I won't. It would just waste everyone's time here. I'd be arguing with people who are set in their headcanons and I'm set in my own as well.
Bottom line: if you're not being liked by people, you need to look at yourself first instead of playing the blame game every time something doesn't go your way, and that's a lesson that Discord needs to learn, as well as some fan circles as well. Because, believe me, the blame game gets quite irritating after a while as a spectator.
3078219
That's a lot of words....