My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Season 8 Episode 22: "What Lies Beneath" (SPOILERS) · 4:00pm Sep 22nd, 2018
In which something lies beneath...something.
So Twilight's giving her students a test on Friendship History, with focus on the Tree of Harmony.
Cozy Glow's back. The students have a study group, with Ocellus making everypony laugh by impersonating the professors. Cozy, however, is weaving nefarious little seeds of distrust between the Student Six.
Cozy's bullshit disrupts the harmony between the Student Six, making them turn on each other in frustration and annoyance. While they're busy getting on each other's nerves, they find a strange glowing magical cave underneath the school. There, they encounter a magical hologram of Twilight who, upon seeing the disharmony between them, traps them in the cave, giving them until sunrise to find a way to escape. The six are split up, each finding themselves in a different environment, each with a different fear to face. I won't bother going into details except that Smolder's personal hell is the best.
The Student Six face their fears and overcome them, then find each other, and escape together, their friendship restored.
Oh, and the magic hologram of Twilight was the Tree of Harmony. Tons of fanon confirmed there.
Aaaand the episode closes on Cozy being a creeper.
Hmm. Eh, 8/10. It's a decent, solid episode.
And the award for least ominous statement goes to...!
Congratulations to
ChrysalisCozy Glow!Give it a millennium or two and Castle-chan will be tsundere-ing it up.
4941931
I know right, it's giving Chrysalis way too much credit that she would go from evil clones to an actual subtle infiltration plan.
4941931
Especially makes no sense after the Chrysalis episode where she had her own seperated plants for the tree of harmony.
This episode reaffirms my opinion that magical artifacts are jerks.
I enjoyed it. One of the better episodes of Season 8. I'm not a fan of the New 6, but this one proved more entertaining than I thought. 3 hooves out of 4.
4941941 I prefer the term Student Six myself.
Cozy Glow = Demon!
IMHO this episode should have been in the front half of the season for giving the Student Six badly needed character development and depth. Why was an episode like this shoved at the very end of the season?
4941940
One of the traps involved Gallus being compacted under some rocks. What if he couldn't overcome his fears would the tree of harmony kill him? That Tree is kind of ruthless when it comes to keeping harmony isn't it.
4941977
actually no not all the tests were in a way like teen titans episode where raven watched a horror movie they wernt in any actual danger "harmony" could have stopped at anytime I mean this is the tree of harmony she ? is kinda I don't want to say onimpitant or all knowing or anything but she kinda had some sort of knowledge theyd pass …...but now....she can make holograms of the m6.....and its possible as she grows I belive as she said grows stronger....its possible shes close to getting her own body....now wont that be intresting
4941977
Exactly. Artifacts with intelligence have a purpose, and they're usually very single minded about fulfilling that purpose.
4942000
You'd think that wouldn't be the case since it posses kindness and loyalty.
I think that she's something far worse than Chrysalis. I think that she's a bargain basement Princess Morebucks with hooves.
10/10 character development for characters who just seem to be props in the season also birb hugs are best hugs seriously every time gallus is on screen I just wanna hug him.
I have soooo much catching up to do.
I want Cozy Glow to not be evil so badly. If only out of pure spite for all the obvious set up of her being evil.
4941926
Tree of Harmony's pony OC, Treelight Sparklebark (donut steel!) still needs a little work. I mean, she's got the overreacting down, so that's something, but that smile is just creepy.
By the way, I've seen commenters try to explain the tests the youngsters went through, and a lot of them miss just how close those tests were aligned with Cozy's bullsh*t.
Smolder and Gallus had to prove they actually want to be around cute ponies (Smolder) or anyone (Gallus) and wouldn't just abandon their friends as soon as it suits them. Silverstream and Ocellus had to show they could trust their friends despite their heritage (Ocellus) or a lifetime of hiding in the depths (Silverstream). Yona had to make friends with creatures any Yak worth their salt would consider "beneath" them—it didn't help that she was deathly afraid of them.
And Sandbar? Well, this is stretching it a little more, but I believe his test was about his status as the one pony in the group. Hear me out.
Sandbar is an Earth Pony, with a chill, easy-going personality. One might even call it... a little boring. Just remember his Hearth's Warming story, it was almost painfully unexciting. And I think he's somewhat aware of that. As an Earth Pony, he can't fly, and he doesn't have magic like a Unicorn. He's not all that strong, like Yona, or smart, like Ocellus. He doesn't even have Gallus's wit. So what does he have? He's a pony. An Earth Pony. That's it. An Earth Pony pony among a group of exotic, powerful, important creatures.
His test shows he obviously wants to be special. He wants to be called upon. He idolises the Elements more than any of his friends do. His test came down to being the Chosen One, or going back to find his friends, acknowledging that he's not any more important than they are.
I actually think there's an interesting story hidden in that last possibility.