Ranking the Discord Episodes (From Worst to Best), Version 2

Well this is going to be a harder list to do than probably any other thanks to that poorly handled twist they pulled off with Discord in the finale. I know people are probably getting sick of thinking about it, but it really goes to show how a poorly thought out plot twist can single handedly destroy so much about a character and hurt so many other things unintentionally. In any case, this list is due for an update, and even now that we now "The Best Gift Ever" is counted as an episode the fact of the matter is that Discord came into play a ways into it and his plot was focused on on again and off again (in a way it kind of foreshadowed what they were going to do with him in Season 9). So that means we have six more episodes that focused on him in this season, for a total of 22 episodes. Here's the first version, from March. Let's see what changed and where his new episodes land overall.

22. A Matter of Principals (Season 8, Episode 14 in production order/15 in airdate)
Why it stayed on the bottom: So Discord is mad that he was never invited to the School of Friendship before or made acting headmare, so what do does he do? He delibertly engineers a situation for him to take over and messes with Starlight when she gets the job instead. The episode even points out how they're supposed to be friends, and a "friend" wouldn't do to Starlight what Discord does to her throughout this episode. He even puts the students' lives in danger multiple times and never apologizes, and the episode ends revealing he sent the mane six on a wild goose chase with no regard to their safety, not even Fluttershy's. So he basically proves why he was never invited, if he's going to act this hostile and reckless he doesn't deserve to be anywhere near the school, the students, or Starlight! And unfortunately, this is but one of many episodes where they just couldn't think of anything to do with Discord besides make him a selfish jerk. It was never funny, so why did they keep trying to rehash it in the hopes that maybe once it would work?!

21. What About Discord? (Season 5, Episode 22)
Why it stayed just above the bottom: The only thing that doesn't drop this episode to the bottom is the fact that Twilight chose voluntarily to spend the weekend re-shelving the library in her castle, Discord was never a factor in that decision. But when the episode decides it's done wasting our time trying to explain jokes that aren't funny, it reveals that Discord delibertly excluded Twilight for the sake of teaching her a "lesson" about how she should admit that she's jealous and that's it. He even claims that it wasn't his intent to do what he did, that's what the old him would do. But it's perfectly clear that he acted like an antagonist in all but name, not that it justified having him get a taste of his own medicine (he deserved a more fitting punishment).

20. Three's A Crowd (Season 4, Episode 11)
Why it stayed in the bottom three: Although it's not easy to sympathize with most of the mane six who don't seem to care if Discord actually might be sick, the fact that Discord reveals to have been faking his illness the whole time robs him of sympathy. No matter what he claims it's obvious he orchestrated his "lesson" just to be a jerk to Twilight and ruin her special day with Cadence. His "lesson" was something he could've done at any point if he so wanted, he didn't need to wait until it was most incovenient to Twilight to do so. "Glass of Water" is a great song though, but it shows the big problem with Discord, flashy visuals and clever references can't make up for a badly written character. I can make references and put in flashy visuals too, it doesn't magically make my story stronger or makes me look smarter, it just proves I know pop culture.

19. The Break Up Break Down (Season 8, Episode 10)
Why it stayed just above the bottom three: As bad as Discord was in this episode, at least at the very end it's revealed that he did learn something. Plus, he actually seemed legitimately shocked when Big Macintosh yelled at Sweetie Belle for no good reason. It's just that the rest of the episode has him being a self-centered jerk who doesn't even care about Big Mac's feelings, and basically tells him to break up with Sugar Belle before she can do the same to him. All the while he claims that nothing can hurt you if you only love yourself, the worst possible advice you can give to someone trying to get over a break up. Those few decent moments come too little too late to make up for how bad he is throughout this episode.

18. The Summer Sun Setback (Season 9, Episode 17)
Why it's in the bottom five: Putting aside the twist about Grogar and how that explains why Discord didn't do anything or seem to sense what Tirek was doing (surprised he didn't since that should've tipped him off that the Legion of Doom were up to something and that his master plan might have gotten out of control), Discord is even more of a witness to things than the rest of the mane six. It's now clear why he didn't tell Twilight about all the chaos, but at the time it sure seemed odd given how much he loved to mess with her. They could've played up the role, made him just an observer from above like The Watcher from Marvel. But it feels like they just put him in here to serve as foreshadowing to the twist in the finale, which only becomes foreshadowing in hindsight when you know the twist (further proof of how modern twist villains don't work, you can't retroactively say that you were foreshadowing their reveal if you were so subtle the audience and even probably the writers didn't know what you were going for).

17. Dungeons & Discords (Season 6, Episode 18 in production order/17 in airdate)
Why it moved up: It only really moved up by no longer being in the bottom five. Plus, there is one detail I think needs to be mentioned. Spike and Big Macintosh keep laughing and taunting Discord the whole time he's playing the game, even when he says it sucks. Spike mostly just tells him what he can't do and doesn't try to make much of an effort to get Discord interested in the game, which is what a good game master should do (maybe try a scenario that might be more appealing to a first timer). That's not to say Discord is justified in the extreme measures he undertakes, even if they come from a well intentioned place (many gamers would love to experience the game in real time). What really hurts is how he drags out the apology scene, and how right from the start he claims he has no need to hang out with "sidekicks", which in turn makes it hard to sympathize with him even though he's who the narrative is focused on the most. Plus, this was probably the only chance Season 6 had to have him and Starlight meet and/or interact before the finale when they would end up on the same team, and they didn't take it.

16. and 15. The Ending of the End Parts 1 and 2 (Season 9, Episodes 24 and 25)
Why they're in the bottom ten: The twist of Discord as Grogar is not only poorly done, but the entire two parter never tries to hold him accountable for it. They act like one heroic deed in the heat of the moment is enough to make up for basically dooming Equestria and mind screwing Twilight because he didn't ever think his plan could possibly backfire (nevermind all the times his other plans/lessons did). He keeps insisting that it sounded like a good idea in his mind at the time, and at no point do we learn that he had anything close to a back up plan in case Twilight should fail or even die! And remember how he made it sound like being turned to stone was the worst possible thing you could ever do to someone? Well he's totally okay with having it be dealt out to the Legion of Doom that he brought back and created, meaning he basically stabbed them in the back after using them as pawns for a poorly thought out scheme. It's bad when Applejack suggests that he hasn't learned a thing since being reformed and the two parter just glosses over that. The few good moments Discord has get overshadowed by the sheer stupidity he displayed.

14. and 13. Twilight's Kingdom Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they moved down: This should've been the first warning sign to the ponies that maybe Discord wasn't as trustworthy or reformed as they thought, and that maybe he shouldn't be given so much freedom to do as he pleases. Part of is understandable, his "friends" were still treating him like a menace and talking poorly about him behind his back, of course he was going to side with someone who promised him a chance to do what he wanted and seemed to actually care about him. The problem isn't that Discord sided with Tirek against the ponies, it's that he just agreed on a whim to do so. He does say sorry, but then that's the extent of his apology. Even if him losing all his magic to Tirek is a fitting punishment, it still hurts when he thinks that after all of that he still deserves his own throne because of one contribution he made. Bear in mind that it's never said he knew the amulet Tirek gave him was the final key or that gaining Tirek's trust would lead to that. If he did then maybe it could've all made sense in some twisted way.

12. Make New Friends, But Keep Discord (Season 5, Episode 7)
Why it moved down: Original plans for this episode (surprised they haven't been leaked yet) was for Discord to go back to his old, antagonistic ways and drag Tree Hugger through the portal with him. Fluttershy would give chase in what I believe was going to be an homeage to The Mask. But since this came on the heels of "Twilight's Kingdom" (as in it was Discord's first outing since then), I can see why they changed it to where he almost crosses a line but not quite. If he became an antagonist again it would've made his entire redemption seem questionable, especially when even Fluttershy wouldn't be able to get him to stop. It's understandable why he'd get jealous and not talk to Fluttershy, but at the same time you'd think he would've blown up on her much sooner instead of after Tree Hugger basically impressed everyone else at the gala by calming the Smooze.

11. and 10. The Beginning of the End Parts 1 and 2 (Season 9, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they're in the top half: While I have to ask how letting King Sombra destroy the Tree of Harmony was within acceptable parameters for Discord, at least here even with the twist his actions still seem selfless to an extent. It does make sense now for him not to fight Sombra at first, but at the time it sure seemed weird (if it were Tirek it probably wouldn't have felt as weird given their bad blood). I remember how some thought the vision he showed Twilight in Part 1 was foreshadowing the finale in the sense that Twilight would cross over to the dark side, but I'm glad that didn't happen because that would've been taking the easy route out. However, Discord only really comes to play towards the end of Part 2, and we learn to no one's surprise that he could've taken out Sombra at any point in time. Still, I think the speech he gave while pretending to be injured was sincere.

9. and 8. To Where Back Again Parts 1 and 2 (Season 6, Episodes 25 and 26)
Why they moved down: Discord's interactions with Starlight would be a lot stronger if this wasn't the first time we'd seen them together. I'm still bummed we never got a buddy cop episode of Discord and Trixie having to team up, because their back and forth bantering was hilarious (though Trixie does get one jerkish moment in when she mocks Discord while he's risking his life so the others can slip through). The biggest issue is how easily Discord is taken out of the rescue effort, though he does display a lot of genre saviness in detecting the original trap.

7. and 6. Princess Twilight Sparkle Parts 1 and 2 (Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they moved up: The only time Discord as a trickster mentor worked! You could argue that he'd forgotten about the plunder seeds initially, and it was only at the end that his memory was jogged and he realized they were behind everything. But even if he did know from the start I can see why he withheld the information, the rest of the mane six were ready to turn him back to stone even though they had no way yet to prove he was responsible for everything going on. If he told them about the seeds they would've taken it as vindication of their claim and he likely would've been imprisoned again. And yet even though it benefited him to have Twilight not with her friends, he still in his own way encouraged her to go back to them. There's nothing to suggest he knew Twilight would have to give up the Elements of Harmony, so sending her back only hindered him.

5. and 4. The Return of Harmony Parts 1 and 2 (Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2)
Why they moved down: It really is impressive how quickly they were able to transform Discord given what they were initially given to work with. At first they were just told he was a guy who caused chaos, and Lauren Faust had wanted him to be the final big bad for her adventure series that she didn't get to create. Twilight was supposed to defeat him, an enemy Celestia couldn't defeat, gain her wings, and succeed Celestia as princess right then and there. So with all of that having to be thrown out the window, they were able to retool Discord effectively, thanks in no small part to Lauren Faust drawing inspiration from Q since she was on a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation binge at the time. Despite of all that though, Discord has a couple of problems in his debut. The most obvious is how he just sits there and lets the mane six power up, realizing too late how they're all back together even when they have their colors back. And there's the scene immediately after Twilight is corrupted where it seems like he's actually remorseful about having broken her, but nope he's glad to have her gone (I guess it was too hard to go for a sort of yin/yang dynamic, like how The Joker cannot exist without Batman because as he famously put it: "Without Batman, crime has no punchline."). At times he can also feel more like a playground bully than a true antagonistic threat.

3. The Big Mac Question (Season 9, Episode 23)
Why it's in the top three: Discord does kind of regress a little bit here, now he's a cynic when it comes to love and romantic affections even though "The Break Up Break Down" ended with him revealing that he actually had come to believe in it. It's not too jarring but it does feel like something that should've been caught. For once he's not being a jerk though, he actually does want to help and actually does seem sorry when he messes up. He basically gets volunteered to help out by Spike and no one would blame him for not doing his job at all, but he actually does try and it's more from a lack of care than outright malicious intent that things go wrong. Plus the line at the very beginning of the episode probably explains part of what he was feeling at the time. He gets called not to help with some big baddie but with something as trivial as a marriage proposal, to him he probably sees it as a waste of his powers. Also gotta give him props for calling Spike out on tempting fate by saying things can't get any worse (as the old saying goes: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong").

2. Discordant Harmony (Season 7, Episode 12)
Why it stayed the same: This was the last time Discord truly seemed to care about someone other than himself, the last time it seemed like maybe he understood the importance of not always being a jerk. Perhaps it's because of what this episode revealed about him that the writers kept double dipping into the trickster mentor aspect even when it never worked out. Discord fading away when he's being normal may have been their attempt to explain why he'd keep acting the way he does in all other episodes, but it's a very poor once since he can still be chaotic without ruining the lives of others. There is also the fact that Fluttershy was the one pony he didn't need to go to such extremes for, she's always been the one pony who accepts him for who he is. And I personally feel like if it were Twilight or Princess Celestia, someone he'd have actual need to impress, that would make this episode even stronger than it already is.

1. Keep Calm and Flutter On (Season 3, Episode 10)
Why it stayed on the top: I'm willing to bet that "Most of the time" line was added in at the last minute when the writers learned they were getting a fourth season, so they wanted to make sure they still had wiggle room for Discord to act chaotic past this point. Even if they could've showed a little more of it, it is understandable and believable that Discord has never had a friend before. And once he has one he's not willing to lose it even if he can be free to do whatever he wants. It's also understandable how the rest of the mane six don't trust him right away, given everything he put them through they're right to be skeptical and not want to take chance. They even give reasonable demands. Ultimately, for all those reasons, this episode remains in the number one spot.

And there you have it, come back tonight when we'll update the reformations of the entire franchise, including some newcomers.

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[TheAncientPolitzanian]

"tfw when one of your favorite characters to write becomes hated by half the fandom" –Me, 10/14/19