The Times, they are a changelin' (and other assorted stuff) · 8:52pm Aug 20th, 2016
Good lord have mercy, if I never saw so much damned negativity on this site.
After a quick trip to the episode discussion site post, I've officially decided that it was a bad idea. Some people were literally going through and downvoting every single positive opinion on the episode, and that leads me to hope they see this blog.
Can't downvote a blog post, suckers!
Spoilers!
I freaking loved it! I've always had a soft spot for Changelings (among my many, many other soft spots. I'm easily pleased, gimme a break), and Thorax was just lovely. While I sort of hoped he'd have some sort of a different voice as Chrysalis did, it's not something that detracts from the episode. If anything, it only worked to show that they aren't mere monsters. Thorax was wonderfully characterized as scared and alone, and while I do wish they'd gone deeper with his backstory and made the overall tone of the episode heavier, we have to remember that this is My Little Pony, and that we are not the target audience. This is just a jumping-off point for us fanfiction writers to make things as heavy as we like.
And speaking of fanfiction, holy crap! This episode reminded me so much of Into the Fire (nobody read that story, by the way. It isn't good). I mean just look at this screenshot!
Guard patrol: Check.
Frozen tundra surrounding the Crystal Empire: Double Check.
Looking for Changelings: Triple Check.
I'm absolutely stunned with the similarities here. So stunned, in fact, that I'm honestly feeling some inspiration to pick that story back up. I don't know if I really should, because that thing is crazy flawed, but I feel a bit of a pull for it.
Overall, the episode was great, if a bit cheesy. Spike was in top form here, and it looks like the writers have finally figured out what to do with him after that slump in seasons 4 and 5. The story was good, but a little underwhelming considering how much was really at stake there. Despite the flaws in it, I wholeheartedly give this episode my stamp of approval. Probably the best Spike episode yet.
And given that it was such a good Spike episode, I wonder what FamousLastWords is going to say. We should probably get ready, because his hype will cause nuclear fission.
And while I'm here, I'll give a quick writing update for those concerned. I've been lacking inspiration to write for the past few weeks on account of many factors, but I've been recovering some as of late. There won't be any updates for a while, but I'll be working on getting things written soon. I promise!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you all next time!
Same here. Sadly, I had a feeling that there would be a shitstorm given the premise.
And yes, I also enjoyed the episode.
I enjoyed the premise because no one trusted him at first, even when Spike was like, "Stop being stupid hypocrites!"
That's why I didn't agree with the ending. I wanted Shining and Cadance to be apprehensive of trusting Thorax at all since he's a Changeling and the only other experience that they have with their kind is literally an invasion of their wedding day.
I'm still not changing the canon on Changelings in my stories, though. Not yet, at least.
Bruh, you know I'm gonna go hype when I get a chance to post a blog.
Loved the episode.
4161342 I fully agree with you on it. The fact that they accept Thorax so wholeheartedly in only minutes raises some red flags and probably should have been done with more apprehension, but again, kid's show. We have to remember that happy endings are mandatory in this series.
But that doesn't stop me from theorizing! There's a possibility that everyone accepting Thorax quickly is mainly a way to keep Twilight from raising a fuss. Twilight would definitely be one to accept Thorax immediately, but the guards and the royal couple? It could be that they were just keeping up appearances.
Or I'm just grasping at straws.