YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S9E9 "Sweet and Smoky"

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • In light of Garble revealing that he was doing a Jerkass act in front of other dragons except Smolder, just how sincere was he regarding his past actions?
  • When the bullies sank under the lava upon being told their lava baths are the reason the eggs won't hatch, was it because they were ashamed of the damage their actions have done, or was it because they're realizing just how peeved off Ember is with them and are scared of retaliation?
• Ass Pull:
  • The Reveal that Garble had been putting up a Jerkass act this whole time to fit in among dragon culture and hide his Hidden Depths. In past appearances he's been a Hate Sink who attempted to kill phoenix eggs and chicks and declared he wanted to invade Equestria and burn it to the ground, and neither incident showed any hint that it was bravado or gave us any reason to think he wasn't serious.
  • Dragon fire breath gets hotter when they laugh. This has never even been hinted at before, but is key to the resolution of this episode.
• Catharsis Factor: Garble's "friends" spend a good chunk of the episode mocking Spike and putting peer pressure on Garble, culminating with the reveal that they were (accidentally) putting the dragon eggs in danger by draining the lava from the hatching grounds. Thus, it feels really satisfying when karma catches up to them and they face Ember's anger for their stupidity, and are later immediately shut down by her before they can mock Garble for saving the eggs.
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • With all these baby dragons hatched, how will they be sent to their parents?
  • Garble being Smolder's brother. How will his relationship with Spike be like now? What was life like between the two siblings before the events of Season 8?
• I Knew It!: Back in "Molt Down" when Smolder mentioned her then-unnamed older brother, people began speculating it was Garble. This episode confirmed it.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Torch or any adult dragon were never seen near the dragon eggs until they were called by Ember to heat them up in the climax. You would think that the adult dragons would put more emphasis on protecting their eggs. Not only that, the climax would have been a perfect opportunity to introduce Smolder and Garble's parents, but they were never revealed.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • You would think learning about where the dragon eggs are hatched would be a chance for Spike to learn how Celestia got his egg in the first place. Nope.
  • Ember doesn't think to use the Call of the Dragon Lord from "Gauntlet of Fire" to call other dragons to help warm the eggs. Considering when she initially appeared in the episode, she lamented that being Dragon Lord was a "burn or be burned" kind of gig, it would have been cool to see her take one more step into adjusting to her new role.