Episode Review: Make New Friends But Keep Discord

Spoilers. Nopony can stop them, just like nopony can stop the Smooze.

The comedy in this episode was golden, in no small part due to Discord -- any scene that has him is animated seven ways to Moonday, and either hilarious or mindbending. But I was happy to see that, in others' interactions with the former-villain, he no longer seems to be being treated as though his past deeds are the first thing that pops into a pony's mind. It's not like the ponies have forgiven or forgotten, not entirely, but they're ready and willing to move past it now. Time heals all mind screws, I guess.

The episode starts off with some pure shipping fuel as Discord and Fluttershy make it clear for the audience that Tuesday Tea is a regular thing for them. Fluttershy is appreciating Discord's humour (and some of it really is funny), while Discord appreciates Fluttershy's company. Then the subject of Tree Hugger comes up, and you know somebody's going to reference Fluttershy wanting to be a tree back in season 2. It's also crystal clear that Discord wants to go to the Gala with Fluttershy, and that he's jealous that Fluttershy invited her new friend over him. Obvious to everypony but those involved, it would seem.

So Discord goes looking for somepony to share their Plus One. When did this become a thing? Maybe it wasn't included in the last Gala's ticket conditions, and thus the two tickets Tia sent to Twilight didn't actually count for four ponies. Also, the Gala even being mentioned is another way in which the show is letting us know that it has been an Equestrian year since season 1. Now I've started to think that an Equestrian year may not be equal to just two of ours, but maybe even 2.5 or 3. Time just passes differently there, which makes it even more clear that this isn't some post-apocalyptic Earth the way Adventure Time is. It's interesting, if still inconsistent.

Lets take a moment to look into the Mane6's Plus Ones, shall we? Applejack is taking Apple Bloom, Fluttershy is taking Tree Hugger, Pinkie is taking Maud, Rainbow Dash is taking Scootaloo, Rarity is taking Sweetie Belle, and Twilight is taking... huh. I'd have assumed Spike, but his scene makes it clear that he's opted out this time (and who can blame him after the way things went the last time?

It's funny that Discord seems to respect Twilight enough now not to even think about bothering her when she's arranging things for the Gala in Canterlot, even though he can 'port anywhere anytime with great ease. That, or the plot demanded he conveniently forget that he could do all that. I prefer the first theory. Also, we get some humour with Applejack's liquid pride (not crying, not even in the inside. This ain't sadness, you know), and especially with the scene with Pinkie.

I never played Metal Gear, but you'd have to be locked in stone not to get the reference with the cardboard box and discovery exclamation mark. One reason I think Pinkie knew Discord was there (because she did) might be a reference to 'Party of One,' when she disguised herself as another square object (although she was slightly more creative about it than Snake ever was). Like Dash recognized her instantly there, Pinkie instantly recognizes Discord. Both her casual and accepting manner around him, and Discord's initial discomfort are hilarious -- as is Pinkie's camera shake, and then her reaction to Discord's changed plans. This is one scene where the humour was rapid fire on-target all the way.

Next we get Tree Hugger's introduction and Discord acting jealous even while he's pretending not to be jealous. Even he knows it isn't quite working, and yet both Fluttershy and Tree Hugger are oblivious. With the latter I can believe that her brain is simply wired so differently that all of Discord's insults and attempts at sabotage simply roll of her back, but Fluttershy? She's supposed to be the receptive and compassionate one, and yet with all her attention seeming to go to Tree Hugger, Discord's attitude almost seems justified. Almost. Because Fluttershy does pay him attention, just not as quick as he'd like. Still, I enjoy the way Tree Hugger can disarm Discord with her blase, space case manner.

Next we get a look into Discord's dimension, and it's appropriately chaotic. The theme of un-cleaning is a bit repetitive, and follows what he was doing in 'The Return of Harmony' by inverting everything. But the whole place is a visual feast, so I can forgive the writers. Also, that brave mailpony really deserves an accommodation from the Princesses for delivering the invitation, even late: he's just an Earth Pony too, no magic and no wings. Maybe he got chosen because he's got no active magic for the dimension to mess with. This guy really deserves some recognition. We end with Discord deciding on whom to bring to the Gala to show Fluttershy up.

It's pretty clear by now that what Discord is upset about is not that he thought he was not invited to the Gala, but that he would not be going with Fluttershy, his current best friend. It seems he has become very attached to her, to the point where seeing ponies outside of the Mane6 with her makes him burst out in green flame, literally. At this point I still find I have to ask: why didn't he go to Twilight to ask about his invitation, or to be her Plus One? I'd understand it being a bit of a matter of pride because she was the leader of the force that defeated him, but Discord has already gone and asked the rest of the Mane6, so what has he got left to lose at that point? Twilight could have at least informed him that she'd already dispatched a mailpony with his invitation some time ago. But then we wouldn't have gotten the humour of his interactions with the rest of the Mane6, nor the sense that they no longer resent him as a knee-jerk reaction.

Instead, Discord brings the Smooze, who is apparently an old college buddy if one can believe Discord's seemingly tall tail. Well, Discord contacted the Smooze somehow. The duo's appearance immediately causes a disturbance, but not out of any disruptive behaviour on their part, at least not yet. And Twilight, who intercepts Discord, doesn't immediately accuse him of reality warping havoc either, for the first time ever. Instead, she asks about the Smooze as if it is the only possible trouble in the Great Hall. Debatable point, really, as the Smooze likes to eat shiny things, and grows when it eats a gem. Sort of like Spike, but more oozie.

I'd also like to take a moment to point out to two things:
1. Twilight has opted not to wear her crown.
2. Celestia is wearing her crown, but she's also wearing a dress. I looked to see if anypony was getting coronated, but I couldn't find anypony with a new crown on her or his head.
Actually, I appreciated the new outfits for the Mane6, along with their new hairstyles. I like new things, and it's nice to see that DHX didn't just recycle the reminder of the previous year's disaster.

Discord makes numerous attempts to make Fluttershy jealous, and here again I cannot believe how oblivious Fluttershy seems, to the point where Discord has a coughing fit. Wowsers! Tree Hugger actually manages to salvage the scene somewhat by deflecting Discord's anger again. Discord, an omnipotent reality warper, tries multiple angles and seems to fail each time. Meanwhile, he continues to marginalize the Smooze, finally shoving him into what appears to be a treasury room. Why is this locked with a single key, and why is it located just off the Great Hall? I would have expected a secure vault like the one where Celestia used to keep the Elements... oh, not secure against Discord. Well, neither is this place! The Smooze comes out in a reference to The Shining (because this show is for kids), and reduces everypony to being instantly stuck and depowered. It's Tree Hugger who saves everypony, although it's hard to believe she would know that the Smooze would like whale calls. Lucky guess, I guess. I wonder what would have happened if she had chosen... poorly?

Speaking of references, there's a whole bunch more when Discord tries stand-up comedy. At the Grand Galloping Gala. Yeah, by this time we know he's desperate for Fluttershy's attention, and since she's just complimented Tree Hugger's humour, she chose the genre. Only, it didn't have to be stand-up. But it works, in that it shows off Discord's desperation. Especially when Maud of all ponies, zings him. And speaking of fuel for the 'FlutterCord' ship, what about the "we like each other" line? I ship Dislestia, by the way, but this sounds halfway to a confession even to me. Then again, the writers were very careful not to pair any of the Mane6 with a stallion, so I'm sure they didn't have the shipping wars in mind for this episode. At all. [wink wink]

Discord continues to fail, the Smooze breaks out and neutralizes everypony who doesn't have a Maud boat or isn't hovering, and Discord gets pissed off enough to threaten to send Tree Hugger to a dimension with live action puppets. Thank Luna I didn't have any liquid in my mouth, because I would have spat it into my monitor at that moment! And speaking of Luna, why does she keep vanishing at moments like these? I would have liked to see how she parties. Okay, so she's the Guardian of the Night. I hope she starts getting a Day Gala to compensate, because she deserves to party down.

Anyway, Discord's actions force Fluttershy to confront him about what he's doing, and why he's already wrong. The Aesop is a powerful one for people who have a small circle of friends, or are in a relationship where someone is possessive of another person, to the point of unspoken exclusivity: You can have more than one friends, and you can have friends for different purposes. This in no way means you have turned your back on your other friends. Discord finally gets it, after admitting that he's still new to genuine friendship. Hopefully, though, he'll learn. He apologizes to Fluttershy, Tree Hugger, and I think it's most important that he apologized to the Smooze as well, given how he treated it. Also, we see apology flowers again. Or one flower. It makes me wonder what Discord's Scale of Apology is.

We get another humorous moment when the seemingly imperturbable Tree Hugger needs to re-align her chakras before she can hug Discord (and you have to admit that with his body's lentht he somewhat resembles a tree), followed shortly by Pinkie asking the Smooze to dance. The writers cap it off with Celestia pretty much admitting that she'd planned on sabotaging the Gala all along by inviting Discord (man, boredom's dangerous). Celestia is so happy with the outcome she even whoops! Now this part of Celestia I like, given that she seems more relateable. Hopefully more of the fandom feels the same. I've already thought she was a strong character for her wisdom and reigning for so long as a solo monarch without breaking. We've been getting more glimpses into her ponyality (humanity), with her making mistakes, and especially in the Reflections comic. It'll be some time before she can become as popular as Luna, but at least now she's starting to climb, I think.

In all I enjoyed this episode immensely. The humour, callbacks, and references were well integrated. The awkwardness in Discord's jealousy was believable and put to good use. I especially like that this episode does not really have a true villain, with Discord, the Smooze, and even Fluttershy all being misunderstood. It was nice to see both a callback to season 1 and another reference to G1 integrated so well.

Finally, I do want to touch on the subject of teaching Discord friendship lessons, because that's something that came up in an analysis video. My apologies, since I'm forgetting who it was. The analyst said that Fluttershy was teaching the lesson after the fact, which is too late for a reality warper like Discord. The ideal type of teacher for him would be able to stop him from doing the damage in the first place, although this reactive style worked in the crisis setting presented in 'Keep Calm and Flutter On.' The commentator asked who Discord's ideal teacher would be, and I think we've had the answer since the end of season 4: the entire Mane6. In season 4 they spread their friendship lessons to other ponies, and in return they got a key for the chest. Now they have a castle that acts as an array for the magic of friendship against magical and physical threats, and they have a map that sends them into trouble areas to solve friendship problems. But unless I'm off the mark, the Mane6's most important friendship lessons will be delivered in their own backyards, to their friend Discord. I think it's a good possibility.

Since the only real problem I had with this episode was Fluttershy as Captain Oblivious, I am giving this episode a solid A, mostly for its solid execution. Well done, episode.
A / 9*