Text Review Roundup: "A Matter of Principals"

I'm going to give continuing with Text Review Roundup a go and see how well it works. Given that I'll be reviewing episodes on roughly the DF schedule (once I've caught up!), it shouldn't be impossible. However, I don't think I'm going to be able to add in late reviews any more, as the timetable would just get too confused. We'll see.

A pretty full slate of reviewers this time, and there's a running theme: Discord's sometimes startlingly unpleasant characterisation was generally very unpopular, with the vast majority of reviewers disliking it.

Cuddlepug – very negative (graded D-; "the episode actually rewards Discord for being an asshole")

Dark Qiviut – rather negative ("[Starlight was right to apologise but] the story lets [Discord] off without any level of consequence and rewards him for it [...] almost all the jokes fall flat [...] watchable mediocrity")

Derpy News – mixed (graded B; "Some of the gags were funny, some of the cameos were great, but the episode does suffer a bit from Discord’s antics.")

The Dragon Warlock – negative (graded D; "The character bonding with Spike and Starlight is fun and reminds me of the early days of Spike and Twilight. However, as soon as Discord shows up, things start falling apart.")

JDPrime22 – positive with reservations (rated 7/10; "I'll admit that while I did enjoy the comedy in this one (the whole bit with Trixie and Iron Will was great) we see Discord being unusually cruel to the students")

Louder Yay – mixed (rated 3/5; "This could have been a four-star episode, but Discord's characterisation – the Yona scene in particular – leaves a sufficiently sour taste for me to knock off one of those stars.")

Mega Sean 45 – generally very positive ("Discord is an immature baby [but] a very impressive episode!")

MLEEP Reviews – mixed (rated 7/10; "great getting to see the many different cultures of Equestria explored [but] felt like [Discord's] character had regressed")

The Railfan Brony – very positive (rated Excellent; "[Starlight and Discord's] characters make sense, the third act is one of the funniest of the show, and the twist at the end was rather unexpected.")

Rainbine – mildly positive (rated 3.5/5; "Starlight Glimmer once again proved that she's a great character [but] Where did the hell did [Discord's character development] go in this episode?")

ShutterflyEQD – positive with reservations ("I sure wish I could favorite more from this episode, but Discord really got on my nerves.")