• Member Since 13th Mar, 2012
  • offline last seen Jan 31st, 2020

Kirb


Evil beware, we have waffles.

More Blog Posts264

  • 284 weeks
    An update.

    Hello.

    Read More

    4 comments · 666 views
  • 393 weeks
    Still On Hiatus

    Yeah, what I wrote last time still stands. So stop asking me when I'll be back on, everyone. I'll tell you when I'll be back.

    0 comments · 550 views
  • 394 weeks
    Hiatus

    I’m going on hiatus because I have some personal business to take care of. I’ll make a big announcement when I’m back. Until then, you can message me but don’t expect an immediate response.

    -Kirb.

    4 comments · 465 views
  • 395 weeks
    Song of the Day: August 31 (Gary Clark Jr.)

    Song of the Day: “Ain’t Messin’ Round” by Gary Clark Jr.

    Thus we have come to my final Song of the Day! It has been a lot of fun taking you guys through my widely varied and eclectic musical tastes this month. I might continue posting songs once in a while, but it won’t be daily. Have a good one!

    0 comments · 408 views
  • 395 weeks
    Song of the Day: August 30 (Gene Wilder)

    Song of the Day: “Pure Imagination” by Gene Wilder

    R.I.P.

    5 comments · 417 views
Jun
10th
2015

Everything Wrong with Make New Friends but Keep Discord · 12:15am Jun 10th, 2015

Hey guys, only a few more days until the big move, and I’m hyped! I’m fuckin’ pumped to be getting out of Uncle’s house and moving away to a whole new town! I’ve already started packing and we’ve settled on a potential place to stay. But I do realize that there are some things that I must do and that I owe the audience, such as finally write chapter 17 of Of Night and Stone, finally figure out how to block anonymous commenting on Tumblr... and write the reviews for the two most recent MLP episodes.
It seems that I’ve been spending so much time planning for the move, healing from the recent hornet attack, writing fics, entering contests, removing fics, revising them, and dealing with some seriously fucked up people on Tumblr, that I missed not one, but two episodes. I was considering doing a double review like how I reviewed both “Bats!” and “Rarity Takes Manehattan” back in 2014, but I decided against it due to lack of time and general laziness.
So let’s get started with the episode, “Make New Friends but Keep Discord,” and I wonder what character stars in it? My bets are on Chrysalis.

It starts off with Fluttershy having a conversation with Discord. I don’t really know what they’re talking about, but Fluttershy seems to enjoy it.

By the way, did I mention that the alternate title for this episode was “Shipper’s Paradise”? It might as well be, there’s so much unintentional ship-teasing here that it might as well be... uh... that it... um... that I can’t come up with a good comparison for it.
Anyway, Fluttershy mentions her new friend Tree Hugger. Discord is skeptical, and I would be too, because I hear she has a dangerous cousin named Face.

Thirty seconds in and our plot is already rolling, as Discord seems jealous that Fluttershy has a new friend, which makes me wonder why he hasn’t been like this all along. Fluttershy has at least five other friends! Why aren’t you jealous of them, too?
The big difference here, however, is that Fluttershy invited Tree Hugger to the Grand Galloping Gala, but never invited Discord, which makes him really jealous. Why didn’t she invite Discord? I think the better question is, why was she ever invited back? Didn’t anypony learn from last time?

Fluttershy and Galas DO NOT MIX.

Getting back to the episode. Spike wakes up the next morning to encounter a... creepy visitor in his bed.

“Oh god, what did I do last night?” Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time John de Lancie has appeared in someone’s bed.

It turns out that all of the main 6 are bringing a guest to the Gala: Fluttershy is bringing Tree Hugger, Rainbow Dash is bringing Scootaloo, and Rarity and Applejack are bringing their younger sisters. Though why are any of them going back at all? Last time they went to the Gala, it was really disappointing for all of them! And yes, I know Celestia had fun during it, but none of the others did, and I think we all know by now that Celestia has weird definitions of “fun.”
But they seem to have high hopes about it this time, and Applejack even shows some liquid pride!

Nah, she won’t be grown up until she gets her cutie mark. And besides, I thought you cried on the inside. Grrrrrrr...
Discord asks them very rudely if they have any tickets, but they don’t, of course. Next, he goes to Pinkie Pie, but she’s already taking someone to the Gala with her.

That’s right, she’s taking the camera. Was there really any doubt?

We do finally get to meet this Tree Hugger, and I’m guessing that her human name is Mary Jane, because...

That’s right, we stoners finally have representation in MLP! Though I’m still not sure about her. On the one hand, she is really quite cute, and I’d love to pick her up and hug her. On the other hand, her dialogue comes off as less “60’s hippie” and more “member of the Ninja Turtles.”

We also get to see this world’s equivalent of the Q Continuum.

Doesn’t seem like the most practical place to put humanity on trial, but whatever.
And the next scene consists basically of John de Lancie doing what he does best: chewing the scenery. Yeah, he does that a lot in this episode. In fact, he does that in pretty much every episode he’s in. It was amusing when he first appeared and it still is today. If you’re not a fan of that, I’d advise not watching this episode, though you probably guessed that based on the title.
But luckily a mailpony somehow managed to get there, bringing Discord a ticket to the Gala.

Wow, with all the effort it took to get there, I’m sure Discord will be sure to help this guy back home!

...or he sends him to his inevitable death. Bogus, dude!
By the way, this stallion? Voiced by notable male voice actor Ashleigh Ball, proving that even in a TV show with a mostly female cast, male characters are still voiced by chicks. Not radical, bro.

Well, in addition to Tree Hugger, this episode also signals the debut of another new character, Smooze! Yeah, yeah, I know he’s based on a character from g1, and I know I’ve been skeptical about bringing in characters from previous generations into this one, but who knows? The Smooze could be a worthy addition to the series. Let’s see what he was like back in g1.

...let us never speak of this again.

Huh. Well, it seems he got a makeover. And it’s also the long lost cousin of B.O.B. from Monsters vs. Aliens. He’s not the only one to get a makeover, though, as Fluttershy is rocking Princess Leia hair!

Discord tries to talk to her, but she ignores him. Wow, rude. The only thing he can do to get her attention is sound like he’s coughing up a hairball. What, is Fluttershy’s rude behavior just then not going to be acknowledged? Discord tried talking to her, but she just ignored him. Maybe she couldn’t hear him--that hair does look like it’s blocking out a lot of sound from her ears.
Tree Hugger doesn’t seem to remember him when he reintroduces himself, probably because she’s so stoned, but again, I don’t know about her character. It seems like the writers are trying to go for a female Tommy Chong, but the way she talks makes her sound more like a phone sex operator, and why am I complaining about this again?
But no time for that, we have more important things to do, like chew the scenery and mug for the nonexistent camera again, and with the help of Smooze!

What college? Monsters University?

Unfortunately, Discord has to part with Smooze, and leaves it outside so he can spend more time with Fluttershy.

Aw, sad Smooze is sad.
I have to admit, I find part of this Smooze’s appeal to be its utter lack of dialogue. Apart from an occasional burping noise, it never really says anything and only expresses anything with his mouth, which makes it a lot more entertaining and less annoying than THAT OTHER SMOOZE.
But I think it’s been a while since we’ve had a shipping tease.

But enough of the love triangle. Time for fanservice!

Wow, between this and getting repeatedly humiliated by Prince Blueblood, Rarity just can’t get a break at these Galas.

Why are you covering up? You don’t even have any privates! Though fanart will fix that. And what’s with Twilight afterwards?

Thank you? For what? For giving yet another pointless scene of fanservice? Or is it for making Rarity naked? Because if so, I think we’ve spied yet another ship tease.
Discord locks Smooze away in the room with all the royal jewelry.

Which grail is the correct one? Doesn’t matter, Smooze will just eat all of them, and for that, he has chosen... wisely.

So Discord overhears Fluttershy totally not hitting on Tree Hugger again, and she even cops a feel!

This makes Discord so angry he starts to turn into the Incredible Hulk.

So he tries standup comedy, and he’s surprisingly not very good. Still better than Dane Cook, though. But hey, at least Celestia likes it.

Wait, when did Rarity get a new dress? Did she just create one offscreen in a few minutes?
But this is followed by the return of a character who the MLP world has badly missed.

Oh, friend, it’s been too long. And she manages to deliver a nice comeback.


DAMN, YOU JUST GOT MAUDED, SON!
I think the real reason Discord’s jokes bombed was because he invited Fooby the Kamikaze Watermelon to the Gala. But this comedy routine is cut short.

Last time I saw any liquid oozing from a door like that, Jack Nicholson started chasing after Shelley Duvall with an axe.

So the Smooze pours out and starts eating everyone. Even Princess Uselesstia can’t stop it. I think the obvious answer is to freeze it to death and then send it to the north pole where it can’t hurt anypony again. Haven’t you seen The Blob?
Also, it turns out Maud makes a pretty good canoe.

By the way, for those of you who read Of Night and Stone and are wondering why Brooklyn didn’t show up, well... Maud didn’t have an extra ticket for him. Plus, there’s so much craziness here already that the gargoyles showing up might even calm it down a bit.
There’s only one thing to calm Smooze down, though, and that is Tree Hugger singing like Yoko Ono!

But Discord is so angry with her that he threatens to send her away to an alternate dimension!

The Muppet Show? Okay, that is SO not the worst dimension you could send her too.

Yecch.
Finally, Discord and Fluttershy get into a huge argument, and Discord realizes that he’s wrong, apologizes to Tree Hugger and says he’s new at friendship. And... apparently that’s all he has to do! Yup, no punishment or anything, just “Sorry.” Okay, with him and Sunset Shimmer, this is the third time a villain has just gotten away with terrorizing everybody by simply apologizing. Please tell me this isn’t going to become a repeating pattern.

Smooze is certainly quick to forgive Discord, and even gives him a big, sloppy kiss!

Now why doesn’t anyone make shipping out of THAT?
In the final scene, Twilight apologizes to Celestia for not keeping the Gala under control, but Celestia says that it would have been dull if she hadn’t invited Discord, and this was the most fun Gala in years. Though this leaves me with several questions. If Celestia is so bored with the regular Galas, why does she keep holding them year after year? Why doesn’t she replace it with an annual rave or something? And why does she suddenly sound like Cheerilee?
And I think we all know where this is going.

Nope! No more! Between Fluttercord, Flutterhugger, Spikecord, Smoozecord, Treecord, and Raritwi, this episode already has too much unintentional shipping fuel, thank you very much!

So what do I think of this episode? Can a snark like myself enjoy a little wacky comedy once in a while? Well, I did put Pinkie Pride as my favorite episode of season 4. This was a pretty damn enjoyable episode. Some of these episodes, I watch and hate at first, and then they grow on me, like Power Ponies, but this isn’t one of them. I like so much about this. Discord is hilarious as hell, and we have the antics of Tree Hugger, Smooze and Maud to balance it out. The one part that I did feel was a little rushed was the ending, but that wasn’t enough to make me hate it. Overall? 4.5/5.
But this does leave me with one question: where the hell was Luna during all this?

-Kirb.

Comments ( 9 )

Oh Kirb :rainbowlaugh:

I never really thought of Yoko Ono when you got to Tree Hugger's 'Sonic Bliss' technique :derpytongue2:

I think Celestia only held galas as a city tradition of sorts, and just grew bored with the monotony until 'Best Night Ever' and this episode started.

3135773 I was trying to think: "Hmm... hippies who make those sounds... I GOT IT!" :rainbowlaugh:

Yeah. Hopefully she learns her lesson, though, and reinvents the Gala next year as a giant rave! dl.dropbox.com/u/21167245/FiMFiction/Emoticons/misc_Viny.png

Glad you read this review. By the way, if you look really closely you can find some foreshadowing for the next chapter of ONAS. :pinkiegasp:

-Kirb.

3135868 Oh, you meant partaking in the gala?

That's something to look forward to :eeyup:

But I'm also looking forward to episode 100 :rainbowkiss:

What I want to know is when Discord's trial was, because apparently, I missed it. :twilightangry2:

You forgot the metal gear reference. So funny.:rainbowlaugh:

You missed a sin: When Celestia said "she invited Discord to cheer the Gala up" TROLLESTIA FOR REAL :trollestia:

So, what do you think the 100th episode. I thought it was ok.

3135879 Ssh, no promises. I don't even know when, after moving and getting a job and all, I will be able to finish said chapter. dl.dropbox.com/u/21167245/FiMFiction/Emoticons/misc_Spit_sad.png

3135896 What, his trial against humanity? You didn't miss much. It ended with him starting the apocalypse in response to Nicki Minaj :rainbowlaugh:

3136288 I don't play video games, so I wouldn't know. :twilightsheepish:

3136550 A sin? This isn't Cinema Sins, dude. :derpyderp2:

3144877 Haven't seen it yet. Too busy moving to a new location.

-Kirb.

3147156 Ok, I can't wait to see your review! :D

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