SPOILERS? Mariusioannesp Reviews: "Dungeons and Discords"

WARNING!!! The following contains SPOILERS for the latest MLP episode “Dungeons and Discords”.

Now, without further a-tabletop-RPG-do, here is my review of “Dungeons and Discords”.

Discord is left on his own when Fluttershy and the rest of the Mane 6 have to on an unexpected trip. Fluttershy suggests he hang out with Spike and Big McIntosh who like to get together for a guys’ night when she and her friends go out of town. Discord balks at this suggestion, believing hanging out with Spike and Big Mac is beneath him. Still, he ends up going to their guys’ night anyway but finds it not to his liking. So, Discord tries to liven things up in his own Discordian sort of way. Will Discord learn not to be so self-absorbed when it comes to doing things with new friends?

So, what’s the verdict?

Alas, the dreaded Spike episode yet again. This could be either really good or really… Wait, this isn’t a Spike episode; it’s a Discord episode. Is it? I don’t know what this episode is….. But I do know that I did enjoy it. What can you expect? It’s got Discord in it. You can never go wrong with a little Discord.

So yeah, I liked it!

Let us begin once more from the beginning. Fluttershy is packing for a trip when Discord shows up for some tea. You know, like they apparently still do every Tuesday as mentioned in “Make New Friends But Keep Discord” last season. Continuity! Anyway, Discord sees Fluttershy packing and presumes she’s planned a trip for just the two of them. He conjures a beach and mentions that some place called Puerto Caballo is lovely this time of year.

Puerto Caballo. I wonder if that’s like Puerto Vallarta or Puerto Rico or some kind of ponified generic Latin American tropical vacation destination.

Anywho, Fluttershy explains how she and the rest of her friends were called by Princess Celestia to go with her on an overnight goodwill tour of Yakyakistan. They’re going to Yakyakistan! How come members of the Mane 6 are going to places like Griffonstone and Yakyakistan and we don’t get to see it?! Oh well. There’s Discord! Moving on, Fluttershy suggests that if Discord is looking for something else to do, he could hang out with Spike and Big McIntosh. Apparently, they have a top secret get together every time the Mane 6 leave town. It’s not much of a secret since every pony seems to already know about it. Discord finds this suggestion ridiculous. Discord would never deign to hang out with mere sidekicks, like Spike and Big Mac. That’s kind of meta. She must think they’re in a dimension where everything is the opposite. So, Discord makes everything opposite.

Sassafras! Tee hee. That’s my new favorite thing Fluttershy has ever said.

And let’s get a closer look at Fluttershy, shall we.

Look how embarrassed she looks from what she said as Opposite Fluttershy!

Despite Discord’s reticence, Fluttershy still thinks it’s a good idea if Discord expands his circle of friends. Then, she kind of needles Discord with the possibility that he’s afraid they won’t like him. But Discord isn’t falling for such reverse psychology.

Discord says that he’ll at least consider it, but he still ends up poofing a miniature version of himself in Fluttershy’s bag, begging to go with her.

Later, Discord has escorted Fluttershy to the train station, where he makes one last ditch attempt to prevent Fluttershy from leaving on her trip. He alters the train route so that it goes into an active volcano.

Soon enough, they are joined on the train platform, by the rest of the Mane 6 as well as Spike and Big Mac. They think they got everything they need for the trip, but they double check with Pinkie Pie, their resident Yakyakistan expert. How is Pinkie their Yakyakistan expert? She was only there for a second before she slid back all the way back home in “Party Pooped”. Either way, Pinkie says she’s got everything because she’s even got yeti food because of the yeti that lives on the glacier outside of Yakyakistan.

So we now have confirmation on the show itself that this thing, christened by the fandom “Snowbutt McTwinkles”, from “Party Pooped” is in fact a yeti.

Moving right along, the train arrives, and Big Mac actually pushes Applejack onto the train. She and Twilight Sparkle subtly allude to Spike and Big Mac’s plans for the evening, but Spike can neither confirm nor deny it as he cannot discuss it around all these girls. Once the Mane 6 leave on their train, Big Mac and Spike are left on the platform with just Discord. They start whispering to each other. Discord conjures a magazine to hide behind, pleading with the universe that Spike and Big Mac don’t come over and talk to him, but they come over and talk to him anyway.

Discord says he wishes he could talk to them, but he doesn’t want to. Still though, Spike tries inviting Discord to hang out with him and Big Mac, but Discord pretty much blows them off. However, when he finds out they’re having a guys’ night, he’s suddenly more interested. He asks if it’s a night of revelry involving zoot suits, fedoras, and swing dancing. Spike says that it’s sort of like that and invites him to join. Discord quickly clears his schedule.

I don’t know if this is a reference to something; I feel like it is. Also, Discord refers to Princess Celestia as “K.K.” for some reason.

Discord accepts their invitation and assures them that it will be the best night of their lives, but not only because they get to bask in his inherent greatness. He is told to be at Twilight’s castle promptly at sundown as that’s when the fun begins. He assures them though that the fun doesn’t begin until he gets there, which will be at sundown. Later, it’s sundown, and Spike and Big Mac are quite excited for the official beginning of guys’ night.

Discord, of course, has to make an epic entrance. He has duplicates of himself to serve as trumpeters, a tiny version of himself to herald his arrival, and then he bursts onto the scene like a star professional basketball player.



He has come prepared with a list of the rowdiest establishments in Ponyville.

It’s not a particularly long list; Ponyville’s not really a rowdy town.

Spike explains that they were actually going to stay in and play games, and Discord suggests they play celebrity charades. He conjures a whole sitting room with a bowl of suggestions. He picks one and changes his whole face into the pony they’re supposed to guess.

I think Discord has an unfair advantage in this game.

Actually, this wasn’t the kind of game Spike had in mind. Discord suggests trapping best friend ponies in a hedge maze and turning them against each other. Wait, like he did in “The Return of Harmony”, Discord’s very first episode. That’s not a game, Discord. Games are supposed to be fun; that wasn't fun at all. Anyway, Spike goes to set up the game he and Big Mac had in mind. It’s the fantasy role-playing game Ogres and Oubliettes.

Wait a minute! Ogres and Oubliettes! That’s that role-playing game mentioned in the MLP comics! The one Shining Armor would play with his high school friends. So, the comics are a little bit canon it seems. The only thing that would make this better is if it’s mentioned that Shining was the one who introduced Spike to it.

….

No. No, they’re not going to say that. Well, that’s going to be my headcanon anyway.

Moving on, Discord reacts accordingly to this unexpected turn of events.

Either way, Spike explains what the game’s all about to Discord. They’re a noble band of warriors whose objective is defeating the dreaded Squid Wizard, or Squizard as Spike and Big Mac like to call him.


Wait, a magical cephalopod. Could this be a slight reference to Squirk, an evil octopus sorcerer from G1 MLP?

Anyway, The Squizard has laid siege to the last free city in the land of Spiketopia and has kidnapped the beautiful Unicorn Princess Shmarity. Spike embarrassedly explains that this is a totally common name in Spiketopia, and it shouldn’t be thought about that much. Discord totally sees through it.

Discord tells it like it is.

First thing though is that Discord has to create his character. Discord suggests using his own name because it’s the best name in the universe, but Spike wants him to be more creative. He goes into detail about his and Big Mac’s characters. Spike is Garbuncle, a well-respected magician, and Big Mac is Sir McBiggen, a Unicorn black knight. So, Big Mac’s character is a Unicorn. Remember how in “Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sleep” Big Mac dreams that he’s a Unicorn. Does Big Mac want to be a Unicorn or something? I might say something about internalized oppression, but I’m not a liberal so I don’t care.

Discord meanwhile insists he’s listening to Spike explain all this, but he clearly isn’t.





He’s magically doing everything but actually listening. If only he was taking a shower too like in “Princess Twilight.”

Spike prompts Discord for a name for his character once more, and Discord sarcastically suggests “Captain Wuzz.” So his character name becomes Captain Wuzz. Captain Wuzz. That sounds like a reference to something that I don’t know. When prompted for a character class, Discord suggests they take a break and go out because somebody has to paint the town red…

Literally.

Spike suggests he be an archer, and Discord settles on that. Spike prepares a character card for him, and with that the game is begun.

Spike sets the scenario. They’re all trapped in the dungeon of the evil Squizard. Spike explains that the bars exist in their imagination.

I almost expected this to happen. You know like on that one episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Spike has Discord make the first move. Discord demands the guards release him, and Spike rolls the 20-sided die to see if he succeeds. He doesn’t and the guard gets mad. Discord consults the game manual and demands to cast a spell to turn the guard into a parsnip. Spike tells him he doesn’t have enough intelligence points to cast it, but he insists on casting it anyway because this game is stupid. The spell predictably backfires causing Captain Wuzz’s claws to turn into parsnips. This gets a good laugh from Spike and Big Mac, which Discord doesn’t take kindly to.

He insists on sealing Sir McBiggen in a magic bubble until he stops laughing, but Spike reminds him that he can’t do magic. Discord gets so angry his eyebrows burst into flames!

Why does this look familiar?

Once upon a time, there was Draconequus with GREAT FLAMING EYEBROWS!

Then Discord really seals Big Mac in a magic bubble.

Frustrated with the game, Discord decides to show them what a real guys’ night looks like, and transports them all to some kind of 1920s jazz club.

He’s even wearing a zoot suit and fedora like he thought would be involved in guys’ night earlier.

Oh, look! Mobster ponies.

Discord tries to convince Big Mac and Spike to take part in his version of guys’ night. He tries getting them drinks. Not real drinks, mind you. Just chocolate milk because he’s Discord. He tries a dance contest. He tries to get them to play poker with some dogs.

You know, it’s like that famous painting, Dogs Playing Poker.

I wonder though if this is a real place somewhere in Equestria or did Discord just conjure it out of nowhere.

Spike is not having any of it though. He just wants to play Ogres and Oubliettes, and if Discord doesn’t want to play, he can sit and watch. Discord relents in his seeking of fun but becomes all dark and scary as he asks Spike if he’s ready to enter the world of Ogres and Oubliettes.

Spike and Big Mac suddenly find themselves in a fake-looking fantasy world dressed as their Ogres and Oubliettes characters Garbuncle and Sir McBiggen. Big Mac gets to live out his dream of being a Unicorn! They are quite excited by this turn of events.

However, they become concerned when Discord appears in a cloud, continuing to use his scary voice.

Discord is the Game Master now!

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Suddenly, Garbuncle and Sir McBiggen are attacked by The Squizard and his minions.

I like how they’re just giant cards that move. They’re barely real! Even the trees are same way in this world!

Garbuncle and Sir McBiggen run, but suddenly they come face to face with a barrage of arrows that then just stop in midair.

I like how even the arrows are painted on pieces of papers on sticks.

Discord rolls a giant 20-sided die to determine if they survive the onslaught of arrows. They end up being lucky. They take refuge in a cave where Discord appears, warning Sir McBiggen to cover the entrance for The Squizard has caught up to them. The Squizard zaps them with his magic, and Spike comes to the realization that it actually hurts!

Discord is actually having them feel real pain in this fantasy land! That is kind of pushing it.

The Squizard then accidentally says Rarity instead of Shmarity. That was funny.

Spike complains that Discord is the worst. If he's the worst, Discord asks, then why did Spike invite him. Spike admits that they only invited him because they felt bad for him. Discord is shocked at this admission and transports them all back to Twilight’s throne room where their game is actually set up. Spike says they felt sorry for Discord because Fluttershy had told them how he practically begged her to stay, and then they saw him at the train station just standing there all alone. Spike adds that they were just trying to be nice because Discord is kind of a weirdo. Discord’s embarrassed that he ruined their evening, and they don’t even think he’s cool. He conjures a paper bag for his face.

Discord decides that it’s probably best that he leaves to hang out with his other friends. You know, the ones that don’t exist. He also admits that Spike and Big Mac’s game doesn’t seem that bad when he puts it the right way. With Discord gone, Spike and Big Mac try starting the game again, but immediately feel bad that they forced Discord to leave. They decide to give him another chance. Spike calls out for Captain Wuzz and Discord appears, assuming that they realized how amazing he was and how he makes them all cooler just by being around him.

Spike and Big Mac are not amused.

After some struggle, Discord apologizes for ruining their game and thinking he was better than Spike and Big Mac. In fact, Discord’s initial attempt at an apology reminded me of that SpongeBob SquarePants episode where Squidward struggles to apologize to SpongeBob. There’s a lot of similarities in this episode to SpongeBob SquarePants for some reason. Anyway, that’s a lesson I can stand behind…. I think. Discord even conjures up his Captain Wuzz card as he's ready to play the game for real this time.

However, Spike and Big Mac have something else in mind. Despite how horrifying it was for Discord to throw them into a “real” version of their game, they admit it was pretty cool as well. They were hoping Discord could do it again, albeit a bit more toned down.

The next morning, the Mane 6 return to Twilight’s Castle after their trip to Yakyakistan. They’re quite surprised to see Spike, Big Mac, and Discord playing their real-life version of Ogres and Oubliettes in the foyer of her castle. They manage to defeat The Squizard by what appears to be Captain Wuzz and Garbuncle shooting an arrow into his behind.

Twilight decides that they should leave while the guys finish whatever it is their doing. Rainbow Dash however finds these goings on rather appealing.

Yeah, Rainbow. I imagine Big Mac has quite a big sword.

Rainbow and Pinkie want in and rush in to join them.

Rainbow appears to be some kind of Rogue. And Pinkie’s a Bard. Everyone thinks the Bard is lame, but you should never underestimate the Bard…. Or so I’m told. And that’s pretty much how it ends.

And now for another installment of amusing background pony moments!

This pony appears to be a ponified version of Josephine Baker. If you know anything about her, than you’ll know why bananas are her cutie mark. If you don’t know of her, Josephine Baker was a famous burlesque dancer in the 1920s. In fact, she was one of the first real celebrities of African-American extraction. Although, that was mostly in France. Speaking of burlesque, did you know that according her Twitter bio Ingrid Nilson, the voice behind Maud, Limestone, and Marble Pie, is also a burlesque dancer.

Never mind the context! It was a totally normal context!

This episode was written by Nick Confalone. As I have said before concerning his previous episodes this season, Mr. Confalone has a particular brand of humor that I happen to find rather amusing. This makes him perfect for writing Pinkie Pie episodes. His brand of humor is also perfect for a Discord episode, just as it was here. There was also a number of mentions of Yakyakistan from “Party Pooped”, which was also written by Mr. Confalone.

This episode was also notable for being MLP’s first real male-centric episode. The the members Mane 6 appear in the beginning and very end, but for the most part, this episode focuses on Discord, Spike, and Big Mac. And they're all male obviously. This is certainly something that has never been done before. It kind of goes to show you how much attention the show is now willing to give to its secondary characters. In particular, this is also the first time we really see Big Mac and Spike interact a lot. To a certain extent, the fact that Big Mac and Spike sometimes hang out was hinted at back in the last season premiere “The Cutie Map”, where Spike mentions plans to get together with Big Mac to talk hoofball and trade hoofball cards.

Discord was great as always. This is pretty much the series’ second Discord-centric episode, the first being last season’s “Make New Friends but Keep Discord”. Speaking of “Make New Friends but Keep Discord”, this episode also has Discord take another rather minor stab at villainy. Do not doubt it was villainy. Discord has Spike and Big Mac experience real pain and danger in their fantasy game. Just like in that episode, it’s also over a rather mundane thing. The last time it was jealousy over Fluttershy having a new friend; this time, it’s because he’s not that into Spike and Big Mac’s kind of guys’ night. It seems Discord’s got a bit more to work on when it comes to that friendship thing. He probably doesn’t develop as much because we only really see him once or twice a season.

Of course in an episode like this, there’s going to be a lot of references to role-playing games, fantasy, video games, and other stuff. Now, I admit, I’ve never done role-playing or anything like that. However, I have watched the web series TableTop on the YouTube channel Geek and Sundry where host Wil Wheaton would sometimes play role-playing games with other nerdy celebrities of TV, the Internet, and other stuff. Also, I have watched Geek and Sundry’s other web series Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana, which features a group of nerdy notables playing a role-playing game created by Wil Wheaton himself. So basically, whenever Spike is talking about the mechanics of the game, I can sort of understand what he’s talking about. The only thing though is that Spike appears to be serving as the GM, or Game Master, while also simultaneously playing the game. From what I understand, the GM is generally someone separate from the players of the game and is responsible for bringing to life the NPCs, or Non-Player Characters.

Not only that though, there are clearly references to things related to fantasy gaming. Spike and Discord’s characters Garbuncle and Captain Wuzz are clearly evocative of Gandalf and Legolas from The Lord of the Rings, respectively. Big Mac’s character Sir McBiggen is also a reference to Dovahkiin from the role-playing video game Skyrim. Rainbow Dash’s Rogue character also appears similar to the assassins from the video game series Assassin’s Creed. The Squizard's skeletal pony minions seem to allude to the Skeletons that appear in the video game Minecraft. Also, there's the possibility The Squizard himself is meant to be a reference to the Mind Flayer from the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons and Dragons I remind you is owned by Wizards of the Coast, which is in turn owned by Hasbro.

As for what I didn’t like, I found that the episode was a tad too discordant. But shouldn’t an episode featuring Discord be discordant? Well, yeah. Still, I think I was expecting that there would be more of a focus on Spike, Big Mac, and Discord in this fantasy world based on their game, and that would be the center of the episode’s problem. I was expecting something more like the Gravity Falls episode “Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons”. Instead, there was a lot of things going on here that I did not expect, such as the brief trip to the Roaring 20s jazz club. The real-life version of their game actually takes up a much smaller portion of the episode than I had anticipated. In the end though, this is more or less a personal nitpick, and this was for the most part a very well put together episode.

Where’s Starlight Glimmer in all this anyway?

Overall, “Dungeons and Discords” was a fun episode. It’s great to have an episode after all this time that focuses almost exclusively on some of the male characters, especially when one of them is Discord. You can never go wrong with a little Discord, and I always look forward to it whenever he shows up.

What did ya’ll think of “Dungeons and Discords”?

God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.