Season 6 Discussion Thread

[Icy Shield]

You realize new york wasnt built overnight,  right?  Thats how it looked in the 1800s. Just because a city has skyscrapers doesnt mean its super modern.

Furthermore,  if anything ponyville is even more modern than manehatten.  Just because they have more traditional architecture doesnt mean anything,  havent you noticed how usonian the interiors of their houses look?  Modern furniture?  Ceiling fans? Electric lighting? 

Come on, man. Even since season one weve been seeing factories with assembly lines and robotics,  hospitals with telemetry and x ray,  theatres with modern sound equipment and stage lighting,  modern coffee shops,  bakeries,  and restaurants....

If youve been thinking this show was set in the rennassance era all this time then you havent been paying much atrention,  im just saying...

I know...It's hard to explain, but i just don't feel that magic and atmosphere that I ussualy get from different episodes. Like some gray dull walls squeezing me. I don't think I like this 

[Stardust Dragon]

Today's episode:

Spoiler: show

 Am I the only person who saw/heard Princess Ember and immediately had this come to mind?

[LostSanity]

Hi. Yeah it's me again. You should all know the mantra by now. So here come my thoughts for S6E5.

Spoiler: show

This is starting to become a trend now. I'm unsure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Either way... I once again don't really have much to say about this one.

First off, it may have only been for a few moments, but, I liked seeing Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. BEST. 

Now... on to the episode...

It was good to see the Dragonlands again. Twilight may... get giddy when to comes to stuff she doesn't know and the idea of finding out more (which is always funny  ) but she was right. There isn't a lot known about dragons and it was good to see it expanded on further.

Of course... that also meant jerk Garble again. 

But stuff kept happening to him in this episode that was freaking GREAT. He kept getting hurt and stuff. 

Let me talk about Ember for a moment now. That name is actually familiar. Because it was used in the Spyro series. She also reminds me of a Spyro character as well. Named Cynder. (Yes, I'm aware of the Spyro series because I pretty much watched all of the games on YouTube in Let's Play format) which I actually kind of liked... 

This episode was actually pretty decent. It's rare to get a decent Spike episode and this was one. It was good to see more dragons and their 'characters.'

It became cute with the relationship of Spike and Ember and Ember not wanting to be friends but not reporting Twilight and Rarity to the other dragons.

I mean it wasn't 'outstanding' or 'amazing' or 'extraordinary' but I still quite liked this episode.

SPIKE WON. ALL HAIL DRAGON LORD SPIKE.   

GARBLE HUMILIATION. That one dragon liked the hug too. 

NO WAIT. DON'T LEAVE THE GROUP.   :'(

The ending wasn't exactly surprising but still good.

A decent Spike episode IMO. But that's just me.

[wingedpineapple]

Spoiler: Episode 5 • show

Seems like many people liked it, at least compared to other spike episodes.
My only complaint is that Rarity and Twilight scenes in the episode felt awkward.

Spoiler: Next episode • show

I heard next episode is not coming out this week but the next one, it also seems like something important is happening, the writer wanted to the synopsis to be a secret and so far, we haven't gotten anything but the title and we already have the synopsis up to the episode 11.

Edit: lel we got the synopsis just today and I can already see certain someone ranting :v

[Howitzer]

Spoiler: show

Pretty good, compared to the other Spike episodes, but I was really wanting to know how Twilight and Rarity got through the rooms so easily until they HAD TO INTERRUPT IT!

[Stardust Dragon]

Spoiler: show

Pretty good, compared to the other Spike episodes, but I was really wanting to know how Twilight and Rarity got through the rooms so easily until they HAD TO INTERRUPT IT!

Spoiler: show

Offscreen teleportation.  Twilight Sparkle.  I wasn't surprised, though I did laugh at Ember's reaction to it.  I'm just glad that Spike didn't ask, or Twi didn't offer, to port them all closer to the staff during the competition.  That might've messed up the episode for me, but otherwise I really liked it.

[Dawnstar]

Spoiler: show

Definitely a good episode in my opinion, and probably my favorite of the season so far. Not to mention it was probably one of the best Spike episodes to date.

I'm always excited to learn more about parts of Equestria we know little about, and while I wasn't quite as giddy as Twilight was to learn more about dragons I was still thrilled to see the episode focused on them.

An interesting thing to note: no full-sized dragons answered the Dragon Lord's summons. We know they're not feral since we've seen two of them hold conversations with characters. So I have to wonder if they just go rogue once they reach a certain size, or if they get too greedy to bother caring about such a summons.

Speaking of the Dragon Lord. I really liked his characterization. Plus I couldn't help but think he sounded orky with that accent.

Of course I've seen a few people elsewhere in the fandom say that Twilight and Rarity were out of place in the episode and didn't really serve a purpose by being there. However, I have to disagree with that since if they had not been there then Spike would never have been able to convince Ember that having friends could make you stronger than doing things alone. If the two of them hadn't worked together, then neither of them would've made it to the scepter before Garble and Equestria would probably have faced a dragon invasion.

On that note, it really makes me wonder how dragon culture is going to change with a leader like Ember in charge who not only knows the value of working together, but also knows more about ponies and pony culture than most dragons could claim. Not to mention she'll be in direct contact with the princess of friendship which makes me think that the attitude of dragons towards ponies is going to change in the future.

Can't say I'm too surprised to see that Twilight didn't fight back against Garble either. She may have a lot of power, probably more than enough to take him on, but she tends to panic in hostile situations unless something angers her enough to give her focus which didn't happen here.

It was also fun watching Garble as well. While he was used as comic relief a lot he also had the most serious agenda of the dragons and was certainly a threat when he needed to be. Of course the punishment Spike gave him was funny and the reactions of both the first dragon Garble hugged as well as the face of the previous Dragon Lord were hilarious.

On a final note I am hoping there are more episodes like this in the season. Five episodes in and we're only just getting to the "explore" part of the "explore Equestria" theme for the season.

[spoiler]Also hoping for an actual Celestia episode for once and they're just hiding it from us. At this point she's pretty close to becoming the least developed princess of Equestria even though she's been in the show since the beginning, and that's just not right.

[/spoiler]

[LostSanity]

You rang?

[LostSanity]

I did watch the episode.

But I need some time.

I seriously don't know what happened. I really don't. This is literally the first time I've been in a situation where I have no idea what to do.

I'll be doing some serious contemplating. Hopefully I can post something tomorrow. But it may take longer. We'll see.

That's about all I can say.



Now's your chance.

Argue your case to me to possible embrace the GlimGlam.

Yes I just said that. Don't have a heart attack.

I just ask you do it via PM.

Thanks.

Contemplating Things LostSanity.

*Reaches Out To The Truth?*

[wingedpineapple]

Spoiler: show

Twilight is a silly pony.
That's literally everything I got to say about the episode.

Spoiler: show

Embrace the sanity.

[Dawnstar]

Collected all of my thoughts on Saturday's episode in the followup on EQD so I'll just copy/paste what I wrote there.

Spoiler: No Second Prances • show

Honestly, I thought the episode was OK at best. Not a bad episode, but it wasn't that great either.

The interactions between Starlight and Trixie were probably the highlight of the episode for me. The two of them really did work well together, and I can see those two staying friends in the future.

However, there was a lot in the episode that I thought fell flat. Twilight and Trixie really seemed to have put things behind them at the end of Magic Duel, but in this episode they seemed to have backtracked considerably. I can understand a little bit of suspicion between the two of them but nowhere near to the degree that they showed in this episode.

I'm a bit on the fence with Celestia's appearance too. On one hand I'm happy to see her making so many appearances in the season so far, however, I was disappointed to see it limited in this episode to her sitting around looking extremely bored and appearing to have a distinct lack of patience that I found, quite frankly, rather jarring for her character. I hope the desire to see more of Celestia isn't causing the writers to find ways to push her into an episode even though they've admitted they don't know how to handle her character very well.

One theme that seems to be getting a lot of reinforcement though is that Twilight is not a great teacher. She was a top-class student, is an excellent planner and does know a fair amount about being a good friend, but she is awful at teaching things (with a couple exceptions). I think I actually want to see an episode where she becomes aware of this shortcoming.

But honestly? Twilight didn't really feel like Twilight in this episode. I'm not entirely sure why, but something just felt off about her character in this episode, and it smells like plot convenience.

Also, if we're being perfectly honest here? The manticore bowing at the end of Trixie's act was the only thing that stopped that from being a blatant attempted suicide scene. For the entire lead up to it I was thinking: "Wait, what's up with Trixie? She's not seriously doing what I think she's doing? Is she?" etc. In hindsight of course I realized that somepony would have saved her, but still, the implications are there whether you want see them or not.

Seriously, if the manticore had roared at the audience rather than take a bow that scene would have been a lot darker. Think about that.

On a slightly more upbeat note: I laughed so hard when Starlight asked Rainbow who the Wonderbolts were. Not to mention Rainbow's faces that accompanied her reaction. Plus that shock wave. I'd bet Rainbow was halfway to Canterlot before she realized Starlight wasn't with her.

Still though, as I said, while the episode wasn't that bad I didn't think it was all that great either. I still like Magic Duel better as far as Trixie episodes go, and something really felt off about the way both Twilight and Celestia were acting to the point where it felt a bit jarring.

However, the friendship connection between Starlight and Trixie did feel genuine at least, and I truly do think that they will remain friends for the forseeable future.

[LostSanity]

Hi guys.

So... I'm finished contemplating things. I know it's only been a day, but, I was off from work this weekend so I was able to stay up until 3 a.m. watching Toonami stuff and, as I stated, I didn't do this half-way. I spent all of last night and some of today thinking about it.

I've made my decision. Whether people choose to accept it... will be entirely up to them. Because there are going to be those who refuse to hear what I have to say because of what I've previously done. Which is fine and I understand that. There are even those who will think this is some sort of ruse and that there won't be any change and I'll eventually go back to my 'old self.' Which is fine too.

I won't change their minds but I assure you this isn't a ruse. I wouldn't concoct something like this to fool people. That's not something I do.

Anyway since I don't know who will actually take the time to see what I've decided, I'll post it in spoilers as always. It will be entirely up to you whether you choose to read it or not. Here goes...

Spoiler: show

Let me get the negative stuff out of the way first. I'll end with the positive stuff. See? That's different isn't it? Anyway, I'm not going to completely change. Because I don't really see a reason to do that. There are some things when it comes to this that more than likely won't be changing. For example, my opinions on the Equestria Girls movies are unchanged and will remain so. Sorry? 

Also... I still can't bring myself to like how Starlight's redemption was done or even her motivation for everything she did. I'm sorry but I just can't. I still feel like both of those things weren't very well done at all and were bad/made no sense at all. (I'm legitimately trying to use nice words here. More shocks I know)

I can't really change who I am as a person because I don't really see a particular reason to do that. It's not something I can think I can do. So there are aspects of me that more than likely won't change.

Now...

This episode effected me. A LOT. Why? The content. Giving second chances. Now at first... as I watched this episode I was kind of going 'lolnope.'

But as the episode progressed... and I saw Starlight's (yes I just used her name don't have a heart attack please) struggle and even Trixie's struggle to a degree. I was speechless. Quite literally actually.

Second chances...

I don't tend to give these out. It's not something I normally do. Ever. Which is the truth as I'm sure you all have seen and know.

But I don't know... it's just everything that occurred in this episode. It was almost like Starlight and Trixie to a smaller degree were speaking directly to me specifically. Now obviously that isn't true but it's what I felt at the time.

I can't give second chances? That is true. Most of the time I can't. When someone does something wrong I tend to just immediately assume that they're a bad person and just continue on that assumption to the point where I just outright ignore them and don't even allow them to show me that they're not. Is this bad? Honestly... it probably is. But I'm not sure this is something I can change either.

Now... I still am unsure of Trixie. Because of what she did and flat out admitted where she used Starlight just to beat Twilight. But her struggle at the end got to me too.

What effected to me to the point where I didn't know what to do was this episode and this episode alone. I legitimately thought the show would never effect me this much again and I have once again been proven wrong.

Second chances huh?

To me... my second chances are more like 'last chances.'

If they do anything else similar to what they originally did... then that means they are rotten to the core. For me anyway. Is this true? Again probably not but it's just the way I handle this. Whether you want to accept that or not is also your choice.

Alright fine.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I really can't. But this episode effected me too much. It really did. This isn't a joke and I'm being 100% serious.

I will give Starlight Glimmer and Trixie a second chance. HOWEVER... they aren't my favorite characters and I don't think they ever will be. Keep in mind though that my 'second chances' are more like 'last chances.'

But a word of caution guys... I will be keeping an eye on them very closely. If they do anything else that's similar to what they did... then that proves they really are bad. To me anyway.

That's just my thinking on all of this and the decision I've made. Which is obviously final.

Whether you choose to accept my thoughts/my decision on this... is also entirely up to you.

So there you go.

No heart attacks. 

P.S.: I LOVED the blabbing Big Mac part and the Slice is Life-like Vinyl Scratch, Cranky, and Derpy part.  :tongue:

Decent episode.

Yours truly,

Second-Chance-is-Last-Chance New (?) LostSanity

*goes to sulk in a corner over everything I've done*

:')

[Naura]

Spoiler: show

An interesting thing to note: no full-sized dragons answered the Dragon Lord's summons. We know they're not feral since we've seen two of them hold conversations with characters. So I have to wonder if they just go rogue once they reach a certain size, or if they get too greedy to bother caring about such a summons.

Spoiler: show

I am thinking it is because they want a young leader, giving every dragon only one chance at proving that they are able to be the dragon lord. Also, if they just choose another old dragon they would have to switch soon again.

[LostSanity]

In summary...

It's less of a 'second chance' and more like a 'I'm keeping an eye on you so don't pull this crap again' sort of thing.

Take that however you want.

[Howitzer]

Spoiler: show

That is all

[LostSanity]

S6E7 thoughts below:

Spoiler: show

Unfortunately... I don't really have much to say about this one.

It certainly wasn't the greatest episode.

Dash achieved her dream, however, bad memories came back with the nickname. At first it seemed like the Wonderbolts were being out of character from what I've seen from them in the past.

However... the Dash imitations of the rest of the Mane 6 was FREAKING HILARIOUS. 

She kept trying so hard to stand out in a different way and it failed so many times.

In the end apparently the Wonderbolts give everyone slightly mean nicknames because of stuff that happens to them on their first day? I'm a little unsure about what the 'moral' of this episode is supposed to be honestly.

I wouldn't call this a bad episode but it wasn't the greatest either.

Mediocre episode with occasionally funny Dash antics.

I want to say something real quick about the premier now. Get that below.

Spoiler: show

My thoughts on this one haven't changed much despite my changed perspective honestly.

About the only thing that's changed is that it being the WORST PREMIER EVER was clearly an overreaction.

However it wasn't exactly strong either. Mostly mediocre.

Flurry Heart is still cute and that was basically the only reason I looked past it being an alicorn. The rekindled friendship of Sunburst and Starlight was okay and they were able to overcome their uncertainty of being honest with each other about what happened to them and being worried what the other would think of their current status and/or pasts.

Either way the resolution was still somewhat predictable with Sunburst coming to the rescue and all.

Clearly it wasn't the worst premiere ever but I'd still say it was weaker than other premiers.

So basically my perspective on the premier has only changed from 'WORST PREMIER EVER' to 'Mediocre'

[Dawnstar]

Spoiler: My thoughts on Newbie Dash • show

I really liked that Scootaloo was there when the news was announced to Rainbow. Especially with how excited she was while Rainbow was in shock.

Also, noticed the additional cloud structures near Rainbow's house. Ponyville has been steadily growing over the seasons and I guess they've recently gotten a boost in cloud-loving pegasus population. Of course that just makes me wonder all the more about how wealthy Rainbow might actually be.

Aside from her house seemingly being one of the fanciest in town the decorations inside it hardly look cheap either. And with her house having been the only cloud house in town for the longest time it is probably a landmark in its own right now even with the new houses.

I can't say I was surprised by the shared locker room though. Ponies have never displayed the same modesty issues that humans have because, as has been said "they almost never wear clothes." Rarity is really the only one we've seen make an issue of it.

Also, Rarity would probably be jealous of Rainbow's quick mane swaps: Rainbow has actually said she takes pride in her appearance so I'd be willing to bet she takes a lot better care of herself than you would assume at first glance and probably has more skill in it than she lets on.

On another note: that picture in Soarin's locker looked a lot like Rainbow's father. Wonder if they have a history or if it was just coincidence.

It was also interesting getting a general idea of a pegasus skeleton. The bones in their major feathers certainly make pegasi feathers very different from normal bird feathers, and would explain how dexterous their wings are.

Also, I have to wonder if that cloud-shaped bone at the base of their spine above the pelvis is where their pegasus magic is generated.

-------

Definitely looking forward to where they take Rainbow from this point onward. One chapter in her life has ended and another is beginning.

I was actually worried that Rainbow being a full member would take her away from Ponyville for long periods of time, but this episode stopped that worry in its tracks. Not only did Rainbow say she had no intention of leaving Ponyville, but she seemed perfectly capable of flying back and forth between her house and the Wonderbolt HQ in a matter of hours.

S6E7 thoughts below:

Spoiler: show

In the end apparently the Wonderbolts give everyone slightly mean nicknames because of stuff that happens to them on their first day? I'm a little unsure about what the 'moral' of this episode is supposed to be honestly.

Spoiler: show

Passing out nicknames like that is something that happens in the military so I think they were drawing on that particular parallel of the Wonderbolts. It is really only coincidence that the nickname they gave Rainbow was the same as the one she had as a filly.

Not really sure about the moral myself, but I think it was supposed to show that there is such thing as friendly ribbing between team mates and friends and not to take such teasing personally as it is very different from bullying and bad forms of hazing.

Rainbow thought that they were actually teasing her since her screw up was very similar to how the bullying started when she was a filly, but in the end she found out that they really did respect her.

[Stardust Dragon]

Spoiler: show

One thing I wish had been a little more involved with the moral is Rainbow's history with the nickname "Rainbow Crash".  She seemed very clearly disturbed to hear that childhood nickname come back into her life, which to me suggests she wasn't entirely over that bullying from her fillyhood.  I'd have loved for her to at least mention that to the Wonderbolts at the wrap-up, and just how much it hurt her.  It seemed a little insensitive by just sweeping it in with "haha, we all have embarrassing names"; it certainly wasn't intentional to open those old wounds on the Wonderbolt's part, but I feel like it still could have been part of the lesson that sometimes the past can still hurt.

I even think that RD could have said "you know, it's cool.  I'll take that nickname" by the end of it, to show she had worked through her history with it.  But what we got makes me think she just swept the issue under the rug for it to surface again later.


Besides that one issue of mine, loved this episode.  It's funny we get an episode focused on flight the same day my Aerialbots arrived in the mail.  Coincidence! 

[McClaw]

Spoiler: show

Passing out nicknames like that is something that happens in the military so I think they were drawing on that particular parallel of the Wonderbolts. It is really only coincidence that the nickname they gave Rainbow was the same as the one she had as a filly.

Spoiler: show

Military nicknames in general and "call signs" in particular. The traditions I've heard for the USAF is for small ceremonies where the rest of the pilots (and even support crews) pick call signs for the new pilots. And don't complain about your call sign or you'll get a worse one.

[LostSanity]

Here come thoughts for S6E8:

Spoiler: show

I wish I had a lot to say about this one. I really do.

But I really don't. Unfortunately, I'm not too keen on 'musical episodes.' (See Crusaders of the Lost Mark and the S3 Finale) I'm not saying the episode was bad though.

It was pretty much yet another rehash of 'A Christmas Carol.' Except with ponies. I've never really had a firm opinion one way or the other when it comes to that story either. However, it did remind me and make me realize that A Christmas Carol is pretty much the most well known 'redemption story.'

I liked the Derpy antics and seeing Vinyl Scratch and Octavia together in the background a lot though.

Also I think they broke the 4th wall with that 'voice actor' thing. Does Tara do Pinkie's singing voice? I honestly don't know as I don't really know all the voice actor stuff. 

ALSO LUNA. YAY LUNA.

Her music part was probably my favorite. Not because it was Luna (though that didn't hurt) but that song I actually somewhat liked. LUNA IS APPARENTLY GOOD AT EVERYTHING.

That's about all I can say. Sorry. I'm not a big fan of musical episodes. 

So I'd say it was a 'somewhat okay' episode.