Fillies, Gentlecolts, and foals of all ages, welcome once again to another edition of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Recap/Review. Last week’s episode saw the return of one of the most beloved background ponies. It’s only fitting we continue this trend of bringing back beloved characters. So, what insanity will go down when one of those characters is the living embodiment of chaos itself? Let’s find out with “Three’s a Crowd”.
Twilight and Cadance meet again
We open the episode at Twilight’s library as she learns that Princess Cadance will be able to spend the day with her. This means that finally she can spend some quality time with her sister-in-law. It appears to be a good day for everypony as Fluttershy learns that she’s been invited to study Equestria’s smallest, most magical creatures, the breezies. And Pinkie gets an exciting flyer for used patio furniture, which makes her happy. Then again, everything makes Pinkie happy in this season.
As they see Fluttershy off at the train station, Twilight fills her friends in on her plan to take Cadance to the Starswirl the Bearded travelling museum. She also hopes this day will go off without a hitch since every time Twilight and Cadance have reunited, the fate of Equestria has hung in the balance. Twilight’s friends assure her they’ll do their best to ensure a fun day for the sisters-in-law. Cadance arrives in her crystal train (being seen out the door by Flash Sentry of all ponies), and the two make their leave. So, it looks like it will be a worry free day.
A healthy Discord is trouble enough, but a sick Discord is even worse.
That is until a sick Discord shows up at the train station looking for Fluttershy, only to remember that she’s off to see the breezies. The other mane six try their best to get rid of him, but he manages to eventually get rid of the other four while learning of Twilight’s day with Cadance. He bothers the two sisters-in-law, asking for them to take care of him while he’s sick, claiming that he’s a friend of Twilight. When he guilt trips the two into an act of charity, they eventually give in, and take him back to the library. However, Discord ends up being more of a nuisance while sick, even requesting a glass of water through one of the craziest songs ever.
Twilight is sick of this, and tries to find a cure, which Discord tells her that there is only one known cure for his ailment. At the very edge of Equestria is a flower that has to be picked while the petals fall. Make the petals into a drink that will cure his blue flu. Since he’s far too sick to go himself, he has the two princesses carry him on a giant gold chariot. They arrive at the edge of Equestria, only to find the flower they’re looking for is gigantic. Cadance and Twilight use their combined magic to lift the flower out of the ground, however this only ends up releasing a giant monster known as a Tatzylwurm.
Tackling the Terrifying Tatzylwurm
After battling with the Tatzylwurm and managing to bury it back into the ground, they carry the flower back to Discord, only to discover that he was faking his illness the entire time. Partially as a test to see if Twilight would go to the ends of Equestria for him as a sign of friendship, and another to try and ruin any chance of Twilight and Cadance having a chance to bond. Cadance however tells Discord that he didn’t ruin their bonding, as while the Starswirl museum would have been fun and relaxing, relaxation is the one thing she doesn’t need, and it was nice to have some excitement for a change. In the middle of this sisterly bonding, the Tatzylwurm appears again and sneezes on Discord, causing him to really be sick. The episode ends with him being bubbled up in Fluttershy’s cottage, being taken care of by the cute little pegasus.
So, this chaotic episode definitely is deserving of some pros and cons.
PRO
Discord was in top form in this episode. Many people worried that his “reforming” would mean that he would be a good guy through and through. However, it’s becoming more clear that while he respects Fluttershy most of all, he has no problems messing with the rest of the mane six.
And that includes one heck of a crazy song. Everything about Discord’s glass of water song is perfect. John De Lancie’s singing voice, the visuals, the great animation, the breakneck speed that everything seems to move in. It’s disjointed, it’s odd, and it’s definitely chaotic. Definitely fitting of a character like Discord.
This episode reminds me of why I like Cadance over the other princesses. She reminds me a lot of Twilight, and her relationship with the newly made princess is definitely adorable. Although not really a con, I think this episode could have worked just as well if it was about Twilight and Shining Armor trying to spend the day together. We’ve had plenty of bonding with Cadance and Twilight, but the show could stand to have some brother and sister teaming.
And my last real pro is I have to give props to DHX. They were in top form in their animation department with Discord in this episode. Lots of craziness in the backround, a great design in the Tatzylwurm, and most importantly nothing ever felt boring. It was a fun watch from start to finish, and the animation for this episode was definitely a major part of that.
CON
Honestly, any cons would be minor nitpicks. Pinkie acting too goofy would be one, but she’s been this way practically all season. Flash Sentry? Yeah Meghan said he wasn’t appearing this season, but he never said or did anything for it to be a real problem. The story taking a while to get into? I think it was paced well enough, giving enough time to set up the conflict, and to resolve it. So I can’t really find much faults that really warrant a con.
Three’s a Crowd may be one of the best episodes in a long time. It’s funny, wonderfully animated, and amazingly chaotic. Whenever Discord’s around, you’re almost always guaranteed some fun, and this was definitely a fun time. In fact, it’s so fun, it gets my first perfect rating of the season.
RATING: 10 out of 10
Next week, My Little Pony goes from chaotic to weird. Weird Al that is. When Rainbow Dash’s birthday is on the horizon, Pinkie plans to make the best party ever for her friend. But when an even crazier party planner named Cheese Sandwich (Voiced by Weird Al Yankovic) arrives in town, his antics overshadow Pinkie’s. Can Pinkie Pie reclaim her Pinkie Pride? Find out next week.
Until next time everypony!