MLP Marathon Bonanza S6 E16-18 · 3:52am Nov 27th, 2017
The Times They are a Changeling
Whaaaaaaaat? A changeling episode? This oughta be interesting.
Y’know, I’ve always liked the way the crystal ponies look. They’re just slightly more fashionable than regular ponies. I can see why Rarity likes them so much. In the very beginning of this episode, Cadence talks about how changelings haven’t been around since Chrysalis, and I realized that, damn… they really haven’t done anything with changelings in almost half a decade. With that being said, I really like what they did with Thorax in this episode. He’s actually really likeable and sympathetic.
Are there any Spike x Thorax broshipping fics?
As for the actual episode, I quite liked it. It’s nice seeing an episode about Spike trying to make friends, and he finally gets a song which is kinda neat. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke, but I thought it was funny when they’re saying in the beginning of the episode that a changeling can look like anyone and all the guards look the fucking same. If it wasn’t a purposeful joke, then it was great unintentional comedy. It’s also a pretty good moral about not judging a book by its cover. Yeah, not exactly groundbreaking, I know, but it’s a fine message anyway. I also like that Spike uses his position to help give Thorax a chance. It’s kinda sweet and cute. Hope there are episodes in the future where we get to see more of the changeling lore.
Dungeons & Discords
Fuck yeah, another broshipping episode. I’m totally down for this. Also, I’m really liking that Discord is a semi-regular character now. So, before I get into it I just want to say that I kinda fucking loved this episode. It’s not amazing, I don’t think. In fact, I was pretty disappointed that the game world stuff was so little of the episode, but I so thoroughly enjoyed Big Mac, Spike and Discord’s broshipping that it was totally fine.
I wish this stuff was the entire episode.
I should confess right now that I’ve never played D&D or really any game like it. I almost did once but spent so long on the character creation that we never actually got to the game part. But, I’ve always wanted to play it and just never had friends who were into it. So, there’s a part of me that’s really envious of Spike and Big Mac in this episode, but the rest of me really enjoys all the silly things. The fact that Big Mac’s character is “Sir McBiggin’” is so stupid that I love it. This is one of those episodes that, had I watched it at the time when it came out, probably would’ve inspired me to write a comedy adventure fic.
I couldn’t get Cherry Poppin’ Daddies out of my head watching the whole beginning part.
So, all in all, I think objectively this is an episode that could have been so much better if they focused on the game world stuff more than they did, but what is here is really enjoyable and fun. I’m not expecting it, but god I hope there’s another episode about this game where RD and Pinkie join in, because jesus christ I would love that. If that doesn’t happen, then hopefully there’s at least a fic about it somewhere.
Buckball Season
Okay, so the last episode was about Dungeons and Dragons, which I don’t know much about, but this episode is about sports… which I know even less about, so this should be fun.
I may not know anything about sports, but I do know that this episode is pretty fun. I liked that inexplicably three of the unlikeliest of ponies are excellent at buckball, especially Snails. The thing that threw me off about this whole sport though is that even though I think it’s really cool that all three types of ponies have their role to play (and so it makes it uniquely a pony sport as opposed to a ponified human sport) the unicorns basically do fuck all. They stand around with a bucket and catch balls, a job that is literally accomplished by a stick during the practice sessions. So, uhh, what’s the point of unicorns again?
Fuckin’ Snailsyatta over here.
Other than that complaint about the logistics of the sport, I generally enjoyed this episode and thought it was pretty fun. I think there’s a good message in here about not playing to win, but to have fun, but it’s somewhat undercut by the fact that they also win anyway because they’re magically good at a sport they’ve never played. It’s a bit of a mixed message when you’re saying that not trying is the best way to succeed because that feels kinda lazy and is pretty much against everything that RD and AJ are for… which I guess was the point now that I think about it. Touche tiny horses.
Lotta good Flutterfaces in this episode as well.
I’ll tell you what though, this episode really makes me miss Fighting is Magic. I may not be a sports guy, but I love competitive fighting games, and FiM was one that I really enjoyed before it was murdered in a back alley by Hasbro execs. All the buckball kicks just made me nostalgic for AJ’s ridiculous buck combos.
There are quite a few from what I remember, but regardless, I enjoyed that episode a lot and thought it handled the moral in an effective manner. Thorax is one of the show's more underrated characters, and I can't help but find him absolutely adorable. As for "Dungeons and Discord" and "Buckball Season," they were also fun stories and provided lots of great character interaction. Those episodes and more are part of why I remember Season 6 more fondly nowadays.
And now you're closing in on the season finale too where they take that wonderful "Don't judge a book by its cover" moral from The Times They Are A Changeling and immediately shiv it in a dark alley for marketing purposes. Seriously the 180 after only 6 episodes is enough to give someone whiplash.
The thing I like about Buckball Season is that RD and AJ, the two most competitive ponies of the group, immediately recognize the superior talent and yield to it. Rather mature of them.
4735726
That is a really good point and something I thought about watching, but didn't bring up in the review.
4735731
Yeah. It's a subtle way to show how they've grown, back in like, S1 or S2, this would be an episode about the two of them being jealous and trying to keep playing despite the others being better.
I think most of us did. I know I do.
On playing D&D itself, you might benefit somewhat from this video. Or you may not. Either way, I like the guy's channel.
Roll for Initiative focuses a lot more on the RPG itself, both before and after the events of "Dungeons and Discords."
Had one attend a wedding, but that's basically it.
4735850
Sweet, that sounds pretty fun. I'll check it out.