PSF
The Lounge => Television & Film Discussion => Topic started by: Darrin on 2016-08-16 20:40:14
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"The Times They Are A Changeling" is the 17th episode of season six, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
SYNOPSIS: When Spike travels with Twilight and Sunburst back to the Crystal Empire to visit Flurry Heart, they discover the entire empire in a panic due to the reported presence of Changeling spy.
It will air on August 20, 2016.
The writers are Kevin Burke and Chris Wyatt who are known for writing Spiderman and Avenger's cartoons.
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This episode has a lot of potential honestly and based on the spoiler filled synopsis, it sounds like, if done right, it can be super exciting. Reminds me of the Cold War spy tactics. :) Consider myself actually really excited.
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That does sound very exciting. I hope they present it well and follow up with a strong story. I am worried that these are new writers and they will screw things up, but it will be awesome to see a certain character return. Hopefully they keep his image well and don't make him worthless. I love spy thrillers.
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I ain't losin' hope. The 2-3 previous episodes may have been a bit... dumb, but I ain't losin' hope. I'm sure this'll be a GOOD episode. ;) :D
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I'm pretty optimistic too based on the synopsis. Sounds like a totally different type of story that has never been done in this series.
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I'm hyped.
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Hyper-hyped.
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Consider myself hyped too.
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Here we go. Setting aside time to watch the episode today. Fingers crossed.
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Fingers crossed indeed.
Hope it isn't just fanfic put to animation.
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Saved the video, and will watch tonight.
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Just watched it. SO bribed me into it. Getting a body pillow, and now I will let the shame flow through me.
And it was alright. It had some issues, and it brought up some very interesting thinking points for me. I'll talk about them in a different post because I'm at a party right now.
8 out of 10 for now right off the bat. Also, lesson of this episode? You can make friends with Elijah Wood in any form. (I say that affectionately, not spitefully). Oh and the special snowflake part. I think I died XD
Also, I might write a fic for this.
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Oh wow, that is a good score coming from you, LP. Makes me even more excited to watch it.
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It does have really really REALLY cliche changeling backstory, but
Elijah Wood Thorax's voice is adorable. He sounds like Elijah Wood doing an imitation of Kermit. It's so un intimidating and dorky.
This is the episodes MLP should be doing. Expanding Lore and the world and the characters.
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Kyle Rideout is the voice behind Torax.
I would have actually enjoyed this episode to be longer and pan out more in depth. It was not what I was expecting again, and this series does a good job at that. Two new writers did a fine job. I would give this episode a 8.9 out of 10. I wish it was longer as I said, but I truly enjoyed it. I would have liked to have seen them not be so sure to accept him right away, because looking at everyone's expressions even up till they switched, non were too happy. Even watching Twi stand up for this Thorax fellow, she cringed.
I wanted to learn more about the Changelings and their kingdom and way of life, but we got a snippet. It is very interesting and could be dug into way deeper then this went. Also, Spike did a good cheesy song that I love. If the lyrics were actually legit, it could be a real good love song or something.
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......I can't wait for covers of this song....... I feel like such a chump for saying that.
9/10 for the episode. F me...
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Good link you posted. Everyone look at the 2:00 minute mark on the video Wolf posted. Look at Starlight, see that? She came to a realization. She just learned the depth in all this, and it was when she learned her lesson on this journey. Great subtle nod the animators snuck in there, most won't notice.
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I know the actual VA isn't Elijah haha. But that's who he sounded like to me haha. It became a bit of a joke between my SO and I haha.
I didn't really like Spike's song. Wasn't very original in terms of lyrics and you could tell that his VA is a girl. Since Spike's actual singing voice is pretty crap, she had to drop most of his voice to make the song sound nicer. Exactly like Ball had to do with Applejack on S1.
The ending felt rushed. Like... Why did they switch so fast? Especially when Cadance and Shining have every right to be afraid and wary. They just.... Accept. Like, I know it's obviously not what happened but what if Thorax was just using Spike. Fed him a sob story to get close and now that he has everyone's trust, he can let his colony in. Obviously not what's really going on, but still.
Also, changeling into rock. That's just. I died haha.
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Great episode. Worth the wait.
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I would have actually enjoyed this episode to be longer and pan out more in depth.
I have to agree. This was a really great episode, but would have been better longer to see characters have to warm up to the idea of being friends with a group that is known to be traitors.
This episode came at a unique time in race relations in this country.
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Oh gosh, plz. I actually liked that the episodes moral wasn't about race. It was more about just giving people a chance. At least, that was the jive I got. And I like that. SU did something similar in a recent episode and of course all the SJW's jumped on it saying it was an allegory for BLM and I just... No. Just no. It wasn't, stop projecting your agenda on an innocent kids show.
I do find it funny how it did come out at a time when similar things are happening here, but I liked that the moral wasn't really racey. At least, to me it wasn't.
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Yea I agree, I didn't see any sort of race relations undertones. If it was, they were poorly done because at no point did they dismiss the idea that most changelings are bad. Just that a handful might be good/can stop being bad.
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Changlings are a race, are they not? I doubt this was related to those movements going on, but I think the message was just because someone looks different or you have a certain perception on them, doesn't mean you can't trust them. Give them a chance.
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Finally got to watch it! ;D It was great, really great.
I think the song was one of the best I've heard this season.
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Srs? Even better than Luna's song in the Christmas episode!?
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@Silver. The problem is the episode wasn't talking about ALL changelings, just the single one. Even Spike's song boiled down to "they can be good if you give them the chance to prove they're capable of it". It's more akin to advice for dealing with a strange dog (assume all dogs are aggressive till they prove they aren't). If you apply it to race relations, its actually pretty awful.
It had nothing to do with looking different (They covered that in the Zecora episode) and everything to do with him being the exception to the rule.
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Srs? Even better than Luna's song in the Christmas episode!?
I didn't say "THE best", I said "ONE of the best". :P
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I enjoyed this episode.
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I actually enjoyed this episode
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This was the best song of the season in my mind. Cheesy, oh yes. Cheesy makes fondue!
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Was a good episode. 8/10.
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I want to see this episode, it sounds like it was good.
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I really liked the song. I think it was my fav song in several seasons. Also the episode itself was really enjoyable. I was so happy to see it, especially coming off the last two episodes which were pretty bland.
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I thought this episode was pretty fun to watch and it seemed to have quite a bit of foreshadowing for the season finale. I still don't trust Thorax to the extent that he could have a significant role in the finale so I'll just have to wait and see. I am probably looking too deep into this.
Starlight stood around Sunburst a lot. ;)
Spike proved once again that he can be taken seriously.
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So why did Thorax act all weird around love to begin with, then by the end of the episode not?
Did he feed off the love? Is that bad, or are they just gonna let him do that? I'm confused.
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Nyeh... Should I copy paste my response from the other thread?
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Kyrl's crazy headcanon time (Cause he's using this for his story with the changeling spy)
Thorax was canon-fodder. He was never taught how to really control his urges so he could properly infiltrate things or do much other than snarl and be scary. Changing into stuff is something all changelings can do, so he could still do that, abet he wasn't the best at mimicry.
So what changed? Well, he got used to the regular levels of love from Spike and the rest over the course of the episode. The baby Alicorn had an absurd amount of love, and he reacted because it was like there was prime rib dangling in front of his face and he'd been eating nothing but crackers for a week, and that's after not eating anything for who knows how long.
But, he spent time in the general area with the baby so, maybe he just adjusted to the love levels?
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Okay, so I feel the difference is, like how I briefly mentioned in my other comment is that they were giving the love to him. He was like, it was consensual love giving (Aaawwww yeaaaaah). While other Changeling steal love. Taking it away from other ponies, tricking them into giving them their love under false pretenses. Under disguise. While he's just there as a changeling, being given the love with no tricks. They know who he is, they know what he is. And they're giving him a chance.
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Both of you guys had good responses. I might have to take aspects of both and piece together my own puzzle.
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Sort of like Monsters Inc., where laughter is found to be ten times more powerful than fear, and much more fun and easier to elicit.
Okay, Ponies and a Bob Dylan-inspired title. Cue fanboy "squee"... followed by hacking cough, because I'm too damn old to squee like a schoolgirl.
Did the gang (or the writers) forget about the changeling who was a guest at Cranky Doodle and Matilda's wedding? They know that at least one can be trusted.
It's been a while since we saw Twi and Cadence perform that silly nursery rhyme. I guess our little Princess of Friendship isn't too dignified for childhood silliness after all.
If magic can be studied and recorded in books, then it must, to some degree, obey the laws of science. Perhaps not our human science, but there must be some basic rules of physics, chemistry, and mathematics-- be it a changeling assuming a disguise, or turning lead into gold.
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It's been a while since we saw Twi and Cadence perform that silly nursery rhyme. I guess our little Princess of Friendship isn't too dignified for childhood silliness after all.
Dignified enough where she barely shook her booty. I was so disappointed in Twi's booty shake. She didn't even try.
Did the gang (or the writers) forget about the changeling who was a guest at Cranky Doodle and Matilda's wedding?
I thought the same thing.
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there must be some basic rules of physics, chemistry, and mathematics-- be it a changeling assuming a disguise, or turning lead into gold.
Everything that happens in the show supports otherwise. I don't think the writers are too concerned with physics, human or otherwise.
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As much as we would like to over analyze things, I am pretty sure the creators of this show don't. They don't get much deeper on topics then what we often see, it is a kids show.
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Well... That's the point of us doing it. They leave it so empty that it lets us deeply analyze it whatever we want.
Saying we shouldn't just because it's a "kids show" is lame. Yes the show writers don't care as much and don't put that much thought in. But it just makes it more fun for us. Because we can use or imagination.
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So I guess it is a good thing. I wonder if the fandom would be is big if they just explained it all and left nothing for us to discuss?
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It would still be as big.
Because even when things are fully explained there are dumbasses who ignore it in favor of their headcanon. Like the stupid Lunar Rebellion thing.
But yeah, most shows do that in a sense. Not explain everything right away or just leave it up for the viewers to think.
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My comment was more to mean there isn't enough consistency to say 'x will always equal x'. The show's use of magic to do stuff changes as often as AJ's intelligence.
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Pffff. Poor AJ.
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Well, science evolves-- just ask Pluto (the dwarf planet/ice giant, not the dog). I suppose magic must also move forward. Spells Starswirl the Bearded would never have performed back in his day are now being cast without a thought by these millennial magic-makers, who are always stretching the boundaries of god and Pony.
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That's not what I meant.
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Nostradamus is a wordsmith.
I hate how Applejack's intelligence varies. She used to be one of the most popular characters on the show, based on polls. I bet she isn't in the top two like she used to be.
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Applejack used to be the most popular? Ahahahaha, that's funny APD. Wait seriously? I thought she always was "background pony".
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Applejack used to be the most popular? Ahahahaha, that's funny APD. Wait seriously? I thought she always was "background pony".
She used to be a top 3 fav pone at least.
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Just about 270,000 viewers turned in to watch this episode. 4th highest this season. :) Ratings just came in.
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Really good episode. I loved how it was done and the ending when the characters started to realize what Spike was saying. Very good episode that tested the Princess of Friendship not to judge.
9/10.
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So I actually enjoyed this episode. I thought it was good and I didn't know how they were going to cover all these issues. They did a nice job. 8/10.
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Extremely powerful scene at the end with trying to convert people over. I loved that. Great episode. 8.
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A really good 9 for this episode. I really liked it, and we really get to see how Spike can handle something.