It’s been two weeks since Spike at Your Service. Now the show is back with perhaps its most highly anticipated episode ever. Why? There are two reasons. One, it features the return of the fan favorite villain Discord. This guy (or rather draconequus) appeared in the Season 2 opener, ‘The Return of Harmony.’ He was the first villain since Nightmare Moon. (If you want to count Trixie, that’s fine.) Unlike Moon, this guy just wasn’t the usual ‘Ha ha ha, you shall all perish fools!’ villain, he was a reality warper inspired by the character Q from Star Trek. (And he’s voiced by John de Lancie, who actually plays Q!) This guy is the master of chaos and disharmony, he was such a blast to watch on screen. We all knew someday he would return, and this episode was it. The second reason was controversial, for the description said Fluttershy would try to reform him. I repeat, reform him. Now that was interesting, the most popular villain and he might be reformed. So yes, this episode was really anticipated  It’s definitely one of the season’s best. I think the outcome was kinda forced, but it’ll be interesting to see where it goes in future episodes.

Here’s the official description from The Hub:

Princess Celestia tasks the ponies with reforming Discord, a mischievous spirit of disharmony, but Fluttershy is the only one who is willing to give him a chance.

It starts out with the Mane 6 (minus Fluttershy and Applejack) whom are awaiting Princess Celestia and an ‘important visitor.’ Rainbow Dash brings in Flutershy and Applejack just in time for the Princess’s arrival. They’re shocked to find out that she has brought Discord. (Whom is still frozen in stone.) She explains to the Ponies that Discord’s magic could be put to good use and puts Fluttershy up to the task of reforming him. But is reforming a master of chaos even possible? First off, after Princess Celestia’s dire words of how sinister Discord was back in Season 2, she seems awfully fine with bringing him back to life. And then she leaves him with the Ponies. (They have their Elements, but it’s still quite risky.) I do love the dialogue between her and Fluttershy, a great heart-to-heart moment. I also like their reactions to when they see Discord, from Twilight’s shouting to Pinkie Pie saying that he made chocolate milk rain but no whip cream, good stuff. Now obviously the highlight is Discord himself. Every scene he’s in it’s great. From pretending to be frightened by Fluttershy’s ‘Stare,’ to breaking the fourth wall, he’s definitely one of the greatest characters in the show. This episode did him right, except for the ending.

While this is Discord’s show, it’s also Fluttershy’s, who demonstrates why she’s my favorite Pony. Kindness is her Element, she displays that throughout the episode. It’s also nice to see her come this far as a character, not showing really any kind of fear and holds her ground. That’s not to say the other Ponies don’t get some great character moments. Rarity saying “This evening is sure to be a disaster. Glad I didn’t bother wearing my fanciest outfit” when she’s walking to Fluttershy’s cottage while wearing an exquisite dress is priceless. Applejack arguing with a beaver and Fluttershy being peace mediator between the two was also fun. One of the best parts was when Angel is desperately trying to tell the Ponies something. He brings an apple and points to Applejack, and the Ponies shout “Applejack!” then he gets annoyed, I got a good chuckle from that. Now the outcome. No one knew if Discord would truly reform or troll everyone…turns out he actually does reform. It’s a controversial decision, and it was played a little cheesy. I mean, this guy has never showed at all that he cares about friendship, he’s the master of chaos. So to see him tear up and and say “Friendship is Magic” (though it was funny when he said that) is a little off. From a story perspective it’s interesting, he’ll make a cool chaotic good guy. On the other hand, now that he’s good, there’s going to have to be some powerful challenge to be able to match him.

Overall, Keep Calm and Flutter On was a very entertaining episode. Discord and Fluttershy are the stars, each get pretty great scenes throughout. In the end, the moral is that even the baddest of bad can turn from their evil ways when they see that friendship is magic. It’s a nice moral, but the show lost its greatest villain. It’ll be interesting to see what the series does with him now that he’s on the side of the Ponies.

That, or he’s just trolling everyone yet again.

4.5/5

My name is Daniel (@Destroyer_199), the main guy for comic reviews here at Unleash the Fanboy. I was born in 1995 in the Big Apple, spent my formative years in Staten Island, and currently reside in the awesome state that is New Jersey.