Episode review: S5E22: "What About Discord?"

I can't help thinking of "Too Many Pinkie Pies" here...

I've been reading InquisitorM's long and interesting Fimfiction blog post on Fluttershy's psychological makeup, and I recommend you do the same. It reminds me that I've wanted to do my own post about how I see (and indeed write) Fluttershy for ages and ages now, but been too lazy to make it happen. I'll probably get it done eventually, but don't hold your breath.

All right, episode review time. This week's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was written by Neal Dusedau, which did leave me a little apprehensive, since he was responsible for the teleplay of the pretty uninspired "Princess Spike". Still, plenty of writers have written a clunker and then a great episode, so let's see whether "What About Discord?" can live up to its promising title – and a brief preview clip that promised a lot of fun.

No, not really. This, as you will have noticed, is a very short review. The reason for that, I'm afraid, is that not a lot actually happens. That's right: we now have proof that a Discord episode can be boring. It feels like a fanfic, actually, in that there's one central idea stretched to breaking point. That sort of thing often works in fanfic, and indeed it can work on screen (see "Applebuck Season"), but I found my attention wandering this time even before the end of my first viewing.

"And that orange book is the one you're going to get for me, Spike"

There are some nice touches in here, admittedly. Twilight remains the lovable book-nerd she should be; I can absolutely believe her spending three solid days reshelving books just because she likes it. Discord's little comment about there still being the "old Discord" inside him rings true, too. The ending sees Discord get his come-uppance – though not the other ponies (more on that in a minute). And the Bob Ross joke is fairly amusing, though not to the extent that much of the fandom seems to think.

Twilight's friends behave like jerks to her almost throughout the episode. We're told that she's jealous, but to my mind, a much better word would be "excluded". The other ponies repeatedly giggle over in-jokes right in front of their one close friend who wasn't there. I've been in Twilight's position in the past, and it's a horrible experience. It's borderline cruelty, and I'm especially disappointed in Fluttershy going along with it, even considering Discord's involvement.

And... that's about it, really. After the first few minutes, this episode bores me to an extent unmatched since, ooh, probably "Owl's Well That Ends Well" right back in season one. I really don't see myself going back to this when I want a quick pony fix. Now, "Owl's Well" was written by Cindy Morrow, who went on to create "Read It and Weep" and "Hurricane Fluttershy", so Neal Dusedau may well produce a great Pony episode in the future. This is not that episode.

Even if we do get another tiny glimpse of Starlight Glimmer...

If only Twi had really cracked up, this would have been so much better

Best quote: Applejack: "What kind of fertiliser have you had your nose in, Twilight?"

Yays

• Discord eventually does have the tables turned
• Twilight's book obsession is always funny

Neighs

• Twilight's friends treat her really badly
• The episode is one joke stretched out way too long
• As a whole, the episode is just... dull

★★