Frenemies/A Friendship is Magic Season 9 Review

*A figure lies with his head on the desk snoozing, when an alarm clock goes off*

Alarm: Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom… Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom… Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom…

*After a couple times, the figure slams his fist on the clock destroying it in the process. The figure turns up to the screen, we see only the backside of his head, a reminder comes up saying that the ‘Villain’ episode is up for discussion. He proceeds to crack his hands*

Let’s do this…

GOOD AFTERNOON, FIMFICTION FANATICS!!! This is the Dramamaster829; Critic, Actor, Writer, Motivational Speaker, and Occasional Singer, keeping you up to date with the latest news for the final season of MLP! You know it’s not often when we have an episode on this series that wasn’t fully ‘centered’ on the Mane Six (We get a few Spike episodes and some featuring the background stars) and even more ‘rare’ is when the show gets an episode in which the ‘villains’ are the main stars (Not just the driving part of the plot, but ‘the’ plot). This season highlights a big first for the series, though I’ve had to avoid a ton of ‘Italian Releases’ posts just so I can see the episode on it’s official release date (Course being nowhere near a computer or a television channel, I had to make due with what I could). Now while some fans would’ve wanted to see more episodes like this (Which I’ll get into later), at least this final season gives us a chance to see three egos butting heads all the while attempting to please their master with a specific task.

So, without any further delay, we dive into a ‘Three Stooges’ scenario with Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and… Cozy Glow in the episode appropriate titled:

Frenemies

Warning: The following review contains spoilers, if you haven’t seen the episode please skip now.

The Story

Almost like every group meeting at any workplace.

As the story progresses, it becomes very clear that the initial run of the plot will focus on Grogar’s assembly of villainy. Though judging by Grogar’s annoyance with the constant interruptions and his own cohorts making snappy remarks about each other, you start to wonder if Grogar is immediately regretting his decision. Still, while Cozy Glow is making the upmost effort to make this alliance work out, Tirek and Chrysalis can hardly stand being in the same room together (It’s kind of like putting an ex-couple together in ‘couples therapy’). Still, Grogar is making it very clear that in order to defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends they HAVE to work together no excuses.

Yeah, I’d keep that spell on the little one.

Now I should be going through her character a lot more during the ‘character’ sessions but as mentioned before Cozy Glow is trying to please Grogar (Perhaps too hard). Some fans have had questions as to why Grogar would include this pony in the League of Villains, but we’ve seen how manipulative and passive aggressive when it comes to getting what she wants. Though to some fans it’s just her acting more of a spoiled brat than Diamond Tiara (Does anybody even remember that she was on the show?). Anyways, she certainly has a way of making a dark atmosphere look… Cute…

Insert ‘Three Stooges’ theme here.

As if that wasn’t enough to get the team together, she tries to get the team together with cupcakes (Though how she managed to get the ingredients is beyond me).

Suddenly I’m having ‘KND’ memories involving crumbles and pink eye.

But you know, this is the thing about this episode as the story in general is pretty much an ‘Anti-Friendship is Magic’ episode as the villains spend the majority of their time arguing. Which all the more justifies their portrayal in this story, as opposed to ‘Non-Compete Clause’, because as the villains they are not expected to get along as each member is clearly looking out for themselves. Even Cozy, for all the times she tries to encourage them working as a team with sharing a common enemy, let’s face it she’s only doing it so she can be the boss. You think this is hard to watch, their trust exercises don’t do any better.

And to think this guy used to be scary.

Why you little!!!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it!!! Okay, okay, okay!!!

*Shaking stops, rubs his throat, catches his breath*

*Sighs* Moving forward…

To be fair, the major villains are not even anxious to work with Grogar is that we barely know what his plans are or why he’s waiting so long just to attack the ponies. I mean Grogar is clearly powerful enough to trap the bickering trio effortlessly…

That's just a 'fraction' of his power!

But it’s at this stage when we finally get to hear Grogar’s motivation dating back to a time when he was considered the ‘legend’ of Equestria. For as it turns out, for all the power Grogar has left and for all his mind has been set on regaining his place as ‘The Father of Monsters’, there’s one thing Grogar needs in order to see his plans through: His Bewitching Bell, a talisman containing the majority of his magic. And you know what that means?

History lesson:

This animation would be perfect for a book cover or a poster for a horror movie.

Anyways, once again making a reference to this story WAY back in Season 7, we reflect back on Grogar’s loss of his power when that very bell was stolen by “Gusty the Great”…

No, not “THAT” Gusty (But props on the reference to G1) … No, I’m talking about… Actually, I don’t know what I’m looking at:

On one hoof it looks like a normal unicorn, but I can’t help but think it’s a Kirin for some reason.

Anyways, taking a pause at this point, I should be discussing this character more in the next section but it’s vital to get to learn a bit about Gusty. Though we mainly know her from the 1984 ‘My Little Pony’ movie, Gusty has been shown to be athletic and brave, using her horn to summon wind, but tends to have an impatient streak and is rather grouchy. Now I don’t know for sure if she’ll be the same character or having the same manestyle, heck we barely have a rough idea on what or who she appears to be. And while we may question just how Gusty even managed to get Grogar’s bell, if it’s essentially the most important treasure in his life, we know that even though Gusty cannot destroy the bell herself (Makes me think ‘The Black Cauldron’) we can assume that so long as the bell as kept as far from Grogar as possible he won’t have the means to conquer Equestria.

Which leads to part of Grogar’s assignment to the trio: To the top of Mount Everhoof, return with the belt in their grasp, and prove to him they can work together. I will admit this part of the plot surprised me as I looked at this episode very differently. Here I was assuming Grogar’s assignment was for the group to work together, but the moment he saw they were actually becoming ‘friends’ he’d try to break them up. We’ll get to the ‘real’ story later, but as far as scaling Mount Everhoof…

Like Disney’s ‘Expedition Everest’ but without the ride… Or a Yeti.

Again, Cozy Glow at this point is the only member of the three who understands Grogar’s understands. She knows that in order to get the Bell and defeat Twilight, they ‘need’ to work together because there’s strength in numbers. But leave it to the two experienced baddies to ignore the idea.

Chrysalis: First to the top of the mountain gets to eat the pony.
Tirek: Deal.

Who needs you, not me!

So, everyone is pretty much out doing their own thing, Chrysalis still proving she’s the scariest living being to walk Equestria…

This creature had no idea who it’s messing with.

To be fair, Chrysalis seems to have this voyage in the bag when she draws close to the mountain. But Gusty seemed to know what she was doing to ensure nopony (Or monster could reach the top) as we see she must’ve deployed that wind magic I went over to prevent the Queen from going any further. Slowly does it dawn on Chrysalis the faults in her ways to achieve her goal.

GOOD LORD HOW YOU FRUSTRATE ME MOUNT EVERHOOF!!! *Echoes*

Meanwhile, Cozy Glow is her natural environment when she discovers an old pony, ‘Rusty Bucket’, guarding the way toward where the bell is kept and of course Cozy tries to warm up to the old pony to let her pass.

The fact this Geezer could say ‘no’ to that face shows he has guts.

Now first off, we may tease how ‘Granny Smith’ would keep that name especially when she was younger (Though to be fair it’s also the name of an apple). But imagine just naming your kid ‘Rusty Bucket’ because you assume it’s cool for a younger age, next thing you’re older and literally wearing rusty buckets while guarding a joint in solitude… Yeesh. Clearly, we know he has no idea who Cozy Glow is, nor would he be aware of what she almost attempted to do last season. But things take a 180 turn when Cozy realizes she can’t seem to get through to this guy, even when she offers to be friends.

You can just tell Cozy hates being told ‘no’.

Yet just when it seems Cozy is able to butter up on the fact it gets lonely up in the mountains, Rusty does point out helping ponies is essentially in the book Twilight put together on ‘Friendship’:

I even got the Princess to sign her autograph. Wanna see?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?

You know all those ‘contests’ going on about all the crazy faces the characters make? Well, Cozy delivers just for her frustrating attempts to get up the mountain:

I feel sorry for her parents, if she had any, if they had to put up with this.

And while all of this is going on, for all the frustration these ladies went through, how do you think Tirek has been making progress during all this?

The fact I’m right and you’re wrong puts a smile on my face.

In a way it’s a subtle way of the writers having Tirek sticking the middle finger to Cozy’s face and essentially knew Grogar was right that he couldn’t make it to the top on his own (Nor anyone for that matter). Instead, he did what any sensible villain would do: Sit back and let the ‘lackeys’ fail in their endeavors just so he’d learn what went wrong. And it’s here that thin rope finally snaps as they finally admit how they feel about each other, with Tirek exceptionally wise that Cozy’s manipulation tactics prove that she is NOT the Angel she’s making herself out to be.

I AM an angel! I… Am… An Adorable… Little… ANGEL!!!

Nevertheless, Cozy’s not holding anything back even insulting Tirek’s pride by bringing up his ‘GramGram’ whom he mentions in his sleep.

LEAVE GRAMGRAM OUT OF THIS!!!

For me, what really ties this episode together is the fact that these villains ‘hate’ each other. Anyone growing up watching the old ‘Siskel and Ebert’ reviews when it seemed like the two legitimately didn’t like each other, especially when they argue about their viewpoints on movies, this is just what I expect with these two villains in this case (Three when we count the moments with Chrysalis). In a way it’s better when it’s the villains arguing more so than the heroes because going in we already ‘know’ they don’t get along which is why it’s tough with the Mane Six considering all the times they supposedly learned the same morals. For all the setbacks the villains have at retrieving a bell, you can’t imagine it gets any worse.

I really should stop saying that.

I always love the subtle touch with inserting mythological creatures, given the fact this series is based off Greek plot devices. Such as the introduction to this creature the Ophiotaurus, whom we don’t see in a ton of material but man the design is just thrilling to watch. I can already hear Greek Mythology fans geeking out over this one sequence alone. Course Tirek ‘could’ attempt to match power with the beastie, but considering he has a kid to keep out of harm’s way essentially this doesn’t bode well for the two. Or so we think…

Oooh, you can feel the beast’s heartbreak with this revelation.

At this point, it was interesting to see that Chrysalis would not use her disguises to lure the beast away from the others but the fact she ‘saved’ them whether she admits it or not (She’d say she only needed some food). After all, as a former Queen, Chrysalis prefers to give orders rather than take them from other villains. She even made it clear that she’d prefer to reach the mountain by herself and leave the others to rot. But it is in this moment that she must swallow her pride and admit the hard truth: Chrysalis does NOT work well unless it’s with a team and she NEEDS their help.

Cozy Glow: Does this mean you’ll actually wear the friendship bracelet I made for you?
Chrysalis: Don’t push it, squirt.

Granted, as much I would’ve liked to see some development as far as their backstories go and ‘why’ they chose to take this road, for the short period of time they spend camping it’s their chance to learn from one another. For example: When Cozy asks that question why she Chrysalis chooses to cocoon her prey, as disturbing a topic as this may be.

I eat what I need, then consume the rest later.

It’s funny how disgusted Cozy is and Tirek’s just like, ‘You signed up for this, kid.’

And for all the times that they get on each other’s nerves, there is that ONE thing that the villains admit they can agree on: Twilight Sparkle is the ‘worst’ pony they ever met.

All my plans, my hopes and dreams, ruined… RUINED!!!

Okay, so Twilight Sparkle doesn’t actually ‘make’ an appearance (More of a reference), heck search the casting list and you won’t see Tara’s name on there. But with all the roasting Twilight has received this entire season, the villains take it up to a whole new level. They may not see eye-to-eye as far as how to get the job done, but they do agree that when they ‘do’ get the bell and finally see the end to Twilight and her friends… Then they can go back to hating each other. So, in a way it shows that the three are capable of working together, yet remaining acquaintances at the same time. But you can’t help but wonder: Are they unknowingly learning friendship?

Cozy: Should we be worried he’ll send word for help?
Chrysalis: Nah, we’ll destroy him later.

You can’t honestly look at this scene and can’t admit its kind of heartwarming.

Another note to admire about this episode is that it shows that it’s not taking one villain to get the job done, especially when they get to the top. Plus knowing she doesn’t have the power or magical properties much like Tirek or Chrysalis, she does make up for it by coming up with the plan to combine their talents to get the bell. As a matter of fact, it’s Cozy’s idea for Chrysalis to allow Tirek to absorb her magic (Which he attempted to do early in the episode) and use it’s power to form an opening so he can give the magic back once they get the bell. But that doesn't mean he won't enjoy this moment while it lasts.

“The universe is mine to command… To control!!!”

Even when Tirek’s added power isn’t enough to fully destroy the force shield guarding the bell, leave it to the pint-size sociopath to fly through the tiny opening and secure the prize for the team.

*Insert Zelda treasure finding music here*

Now it’s just a matter of whether Tirek will stay true to his word and return the magic… Or ultimately betray his allies like he did with Discord (Because Tirek is known for doing that).

A very heavy scene even for a villain.

Surprisingly enough, Tirek does return the magic much to her surprise (Just not as surprised as Tirek). And when it comes down to it, even for a villain episode, this episode has surprised the three during this journey. Chrysalis could’ve allowed the beast to eat the two villains, but instead chose to save them. Cozy Glow could’ve flown away with the bell herself and leave the others to freeze atop the mountain but chose to say. Tirek could’ve kept all the magic for himself to retain the physique he wanted yet chose to give it back. In a way, it’s like the villains ‘did’ learn the joys of teamwork, friendship, and…

NO!!! FRIENDSHIP IS A DISEASE; WE MUST NOT SUCCUMB!!!

And we get a reminder that this is the ‘Anti-Friendship is Magic’ I was talking about, that despite learning a lesson they remind themselves they are the villains. Chrysalis herself saw what friendship did to her hive and refused to take part of it, knowing how it affects everyone around them. Still, they do keep in mind that they do have the most powerful item in Equestria and considering how well they’ve done ‘why’ should they take orders from Grogar? We can see the early stages of a mutiny form, thinking they have the leverage to hold against Grogar but at the same time they don’t want him to get suspicious. So, what do a trio of natural leaders do to prove they don’t take orders lightly?

Lying out their flanks and feigning failure.

I will admit a slight nitpick for me is that these three didn’t even hide the bell that far (Practically inside his own lair) and somehow Grogar is buying their story… Or so I’m assuming he is. After all, we’ve seen how merciless Grogar is when he allowed Sombra to fade from existence and for all his magic and time spent ‘observing’ the trio at work you’d think he already have ‘known’ what they were planning. Nevertheless, the deal was that if they could somehow work together, they’d be the team he expected them to be. In a way, Grogar’s minions failed yet succeeded at the same time even if it means he faces a bit of a delay with his plans. Now we know it’s only a matter of time for the villains to keep up this charade for long, either the trio or Grogar are bound to make a move. In a way, there’s a false sense of security at work and some foreshadowing is at play before we get to the true heart of this season’s arc.

One bell to rule them all, one bell to find them, one bell to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

The Characters

Pros:

As a rare episode in which the three villains are the stars from start to finish, these three pulled it off nicely. Individually they each have their own memorable moments, but together each sequence they share makes us laugh. And ironically enough, we almost want these villains to succeed because they’ve proven to be entertaining to watch them roasting each other yet working together to achieve a common goal. While we still know very little about their motivations as to why they refuse to embrace the true meaning of friendship (Or that Cozy doesn’t know as much as she claims to) we see that these villains carry a bit of weight on their shoulders.

I’m gaining those extra muscles, even if I have takes till the season finale!

It’s funny how back in the 80s, Tirek was just the straight forward ‘Lord of Darkness’ with barely any personality apart from being the ‘Behold the Power of Darkness’ guy, but this series has taken a few extra steps to expand on his personality. Whether it’s having a part in a villain song (Which I’ll get into later) to his bits of comedy whether it’s trying to take Chrysalis’s magic or defending his ‘GramGram’. The little details seem to indicate that Tirek is still stinging from the fact his ‘brother’ betrayed him after he embraced friendship and even though we know nothing about his family (Only because I don’t count the comics) we are still left to wonder where his relationship stands. And whether he admits it or not, these two ladies have been the closest to a family he’s got further adding to the fact he’d be willing to give up what would make him happy.

What are you looking at?

The bits where we see this bug going crazy definitely gains a few chuckles, but all laughing aside we can see the irony of how she says it’s unhealthy to hold onto negative emotions. As proven in the episode, Chrysalis prefers working with a team and seeing her own hive turn on her (Like children turning their back on their mom) must’ve hit quite a strong nerve even if she won’t show it. Even after the minions she created tried to betray her in their attempt to destroy the team, the fact she still carries that piece of wood (Mean Twilight’s in this case) must indicate she truly longs to have someone to bark orders to. Heh… ‘Bark’… *Clears throat* Like the other villains she has her memorable moments, from scaring away the shadows or seeing her absorb the love out of a monster and even her arguments with Tirek. Almost like watching divorced parents bickering with each other. Chrysalis may not be as entirely frightening as she was in her initial debut, but she all the more proves that she won’t stop until she gets what she needs to achieve her goal.

Good night, Andy.

Now I admit Cozy Glow still eludes me as far as her status as a villain. Apart from the fact we still don’t know her origins or motivation for turning evil, while we don’t know if she’s truly just a grown pony with a growth defect or just a spoiled child, Cozy proves that what she lacks in power she makes up for it with cunning. Every face she makes demonstrates that under that cute façade is a little monster trying to get out. All the more reminding us that even children containing a dark side that if left unchecked can prove it only gets worse. In a way, Cozy Glow is like the Harley Quinn of this ‘Suicide Squad’, a sociopath with cunning and brains.

I don’t care if you were the first MLP villain, at least my role took more than one run.

While I almost thought to put Grogar in the ‘Cons’ section, considering the question if he truly ‘has’ a plan to attack Equestria or if he’s just preferring to hang around his castle, Grogar proves he can be all powerful but everything he does is for a purpose. He knows he cannot trust his own minions, hence why he’s spent a millennium planning every course of action. Yet, at the same time, he knows he needs a team to put an end to the Mane Six hence why rather than go for the bell himself he decides to test his team to determine if they ‘can’ work together. While we’d think Grogar seemed foolish to just assume they ‘failed’ to get his bell (Since he makes a habit of observing the villains at work), I think it’s safe to assume he knows more than we are led to speculate and considering we’ve barely reached the halfway point who knows what more Grogar actually knows? Plus, we’ve seen how easily he overpowers the group with what little magic he has and when the time comes, and he manages to get the bell… Look out.

Cons:

When even children don't respect you... Ouch.

While there’s not really anything wrong with Rusty Bucket personally, he does have a few bits in the episode that are enjoyable (Especially seeing Cozy Glow fail to pass him) the bottom line is he’s pretty much a throwaway character. Someone put in the story to state that despite all the magic guarding the bell itself, there’s still some pony who serves as the guardian to make certain no one attempts to hike the trail. We barely know how long he’s done this job, but clearly he’s been up in the mountains for so long he hardly keeps track of what’s going on outside his post (Hence he’d have known about Cozy Glow’s true character). Unless at this point he tries to relay a message to the princesses that a trio of villains have indeed made a move for the bell and possibly took it, Rusty Bucket pretty much disappears after the avalanche (Which is the one recurring element with this character).

So ‘technically’ it wasn’t the actual ‘Twilight Sparkle’, but this one instance just goes to reflect on how the fans perceive Twilight during the whole run of the show. That the villains capture how she freaks out over anything that goes wrong, thinking she’s suddenly a failure, and proving it’s not just her own friends making fun of her. Which leads to this desire that something in Twilight’s character definitely needs to be changed or addressed to prove she’s more than just the pony who freaks out (Even more than Rarity, admittingly). And yet at the same time, that moment ‘did’ get a laugh especially when it’s the villains poking fun at their worse enemy. So in a way it still gets a pass, but it definitely reflects that the writers seem to display Twilight as the princess who has a problem when it comes to stress.

The Music:

Forget the Tango Maureen, the Tango Villain is where it’s at.

“Better Way to Be Bad” marks a long time coming for a good villain song, since we’ve haven’t had one of those for a while (Unless you count all the Flim Flam numbers). Initially it’s Cozy trying to rally the group together with trust exercises and encouraging them to see eye to eye, while Tirek and Chrysalis are at each other’s throats. And it’s amusing how even in song they still argue all the way to the end of the piece or when it turns out Cozy is realizing these villains are taking the spotlight from her. In a way, the overall tone of this song reflects something we’d hear in a ‘Tim Burton’ production with three bitter enemies who clearly hate each other yet admit seeing their enemies crumble is what ultimately brings them together. And while they may not entirely be friends (Although they almost did by the end of the episode), this villain song they pulled off together proves itself to be a fun and entertaining segment to watch.

Tirek: Who decided we were bad anyway?
Cozy Glow: I blame the screen writers.
Chrysalis: What else is new?

Overall, this villain episode was fun to watch from start to finish. In a way, it’s a breath of fresh air to have an episode when it’s not all about the ponies but rather seeing the story through the perspective of sinister, yet comically hilarious, villains. While we enjoy the moments of watching them roast each other back and forth, we can see the foreshadowing in how they are slowly understanding the value of friendship (Though many fans will groan if they end up reforming). Thus far the episode introduces a vital piece to the arc as well as Equestrian history that’s assuming to play a huge factor in the remainder of the season and if there’s one thing to note when a historic element is included it usually indicates it’s bound to be fully addressed later on. Though it seems the villains have the leverage over Grogar, whom we hope is aware of what they’re attempting to do, though we still know very little about Gusty the Great, the episode proves that even villains have their own charm as I look forward to what the remainder of the season has in store.

But the big question remains: What did YOU think? Be sure to leave a comment below at your earliest convenience.

Until next week, this is the Dramamaster829… Signing out!

Cozy Glow: Who wants Cupcakes?
Chrysalis: Only if you’re baking.
Tirek: For once, I agree on that.