Holy frick I loved this episode.

Takeways:

Luna and Celestia's sibling rivalry is hilarious. Luna's goose-stroking scene was hilariously melodramatic, and I loved those "I'm so pissed at you but we need to keep up appearances in public" painfully fake smiles they gave each other at the end.

The goose thing was genius, because I'll be damned if it wasn't a reference to the geese that saved Rome's collective asses at the Battle of Allia by honking up a storm when the Gauls tried to attack the city at night.

God, Zephyr's a creep.

I think it's pretty clear that that we've got general-purpose models for female background guards now.

Spike. Spike! Spiiiiiike. I loved Spike. I loved his acknowledgment as a Twilight sibling in full (because bite me, "Twilight family" makes a hell of a lot more sense that "Sparkle family" when only one member's named Sparkle and two are named Twilight), I loved the episode's theme about him being overlooked and finally being given credit, I loved him being clever and awesome. I love him.

I just finished "What Lies Beneath." It reminded me of the "What Do They Fear?" Episode of Extreme Ghostbusters. :) Also, sheesh; Cozy Glow makes Pre-Redemption Diamond Tiara look like Little Mary Sunshine.

A new reaction image for you guys from the ep.◊

Edited by Rytex on Apr 20th 2019 at 6:03:41 AM

When did Luna turn into the Queen of Hearts? XD

Those geese do look more like flamingos then geese. I wonder if it was intentional.

Were they called just plain Geese? There's no pun in their name? Because I would have totally expected there to be a pun somewhere.

Next episode is the big 200.

Edited by WillKeaton on Apr 20th 2019 at 5:54:54 AM

Nope, they were just ordinary geese.

What was up with Twilight cutting Spike off when he was talking?

I think it's to emphasize that Spike has a tendency to be overlooked by Twilight at times.

This thread lists what each of the VAs suggested that they wanted their characters to do in this episode.

Post of the Day #2492

Posted by Japanese Teeth on Wed, 28th Dec '11 12:55:01 PM - Post #61429 in the old thread

@Will Keaton

This was the 200th. Next one is 201.

I truthfully don't mind that, especially since the fact Twilight tends to be accidentally neglectful or borderline abusive to Spike despite being her surrogate child of sorts tends to be the one flaw of her's that is almost never delved into. That one brief moment of guilt in "Spike At Your Service" is about the most developed realisation she's had in that regard that I can remember.

Edited by Psi001 on Apr 21st 2019 at 4:12:40 PM

By the way, I generated the next few POT Ds in advance, and Tomorrow's POTD is itself a POTD. I can't believe that has finally happened. I never thought I'd see the day.

Oh, god, everybody get in your bunkers!

Didn't we already have one of those before?

Maybe? If we did, I forgot about it.

Uprooted

Is that... Silverstream racing Rainbow Dash? And outshowing Dash on the landing? That is certainly new. She could make for an interesting rival for Dash this way.

"You're officially the first non-pegasus Wonderbolt." Wait, what? Silverstream is a Wonderbolt, now? When we didn't even know stunt flying was a THING for her? And she's ALREADY accepted? I'm all for character development, but this is way too much of a rush. This 10 second scene could be an entire episode by itself.

And people were complaining about Starlight being a creator's pet.

"I don't know how to thank you, professor Dash." How about addressing her properly? She is not a professor in the Wonderbolts, after all.

"Easy. You're kicking off our show RIGHT NOW!" What, really? When she's literally only just entered the Wonderbolts? Doesn't she need training, practice, a rudimentary routine, even? Being admitted to the Wonderbolts does not mean she is immediately ready for an actual show. It's like someone passing their entrance exam to a conservatorium and immediately being put front and centre at an actual recital. It just does not work that way.

"Wait, I don't have my uniform." Case in point. She hasn't been training AS a Wonderbolt. She has only been admitted as a recruit.

Also, since when is Dash the sole judge of who gets to join the Wonderbolts, anyway? When Dash wanted to join, she had to go through an intensive recruitment program. It wasn't like Dash gave Spitfire a little private demonstration and just joined up on that merit alone.

Then all sorts of weird stuff starts happening, and... this is all a dream, isn't it? Well then.

"Good. You have all answered my summons." Oh, look, it is the slightly creepy Tree Pony. That she summoned the Student Six using their FEARS really says it all, doesn't it?

"More like a nightmare." Yeah, what he said!

"I am not Twilight." How did they even think it was? She doesn't sound anything like Twi.

"The Tree of Harmony needs you." Well, the Tree of Harmony is dead, so I'm curious to see how they will fix that...

"What's wrong? Is the Crystal Empire under attack again?" Honestly, I can't blame Spike for being jumpy. Equestria is under attack! It must be a new moon. Also, this joke just reinfoces just how uninvolved Spike was with the season premiere.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who does that." This coming mere days before the Mueller report was published with color coded redactions. Priceless.

"We're back because the Tree of Harmony called us here." ... Where HAVE you been that you don't know about all that happened last week? Don't these foreigners have newspapers? And Sandbar has zero excuses.

"Can we see the tree ourselves, or what's left of it?" "As long as you promise to stick together." What, you are letting them head into the Everfree, now that it has gone truly wild? That doesn't seem like a brilliant plan. You CAN just say no, Twilight.

"The Castle of the Two Sisters isn't the safest place, as you may remember." Exactly, and it is even less safe now, so why let them head out there by themselves?

Of course they get to the Tree without so much as a hint of trouble.

"If only we hadn't gone home for summer break, maybe we could have saved the Tree." What part about "Sombra" did you not hear?

"How could it talk to us if it was really gone?" Good question. Why did Twilight not ask herself this after the Students came barging in telling her they were summoned by the Tree?

Also, the episode still hasn't told us what happened to the Doom Fortress, or the Map.

The Students try to Friendship the Tree back into existence, and thankfully it does not work.

"I guess the Tree really IS gone." Don't get our hopes up, episode.

"Ocellus! There you are! The hive has been worried sick. Why did you leave without telling us? The last time you and your friends did that, it almost brought our kingdoms to war!" Wow, Thorax has been learning the Power of Anger from Ember, it seems.

"Well, next time, ask before you run off." Conflict resolved! That did not take long.

Then we get a... um... permission-getting-montage. Of all the Students doing some sort of chore to get permission from their kingdoms to stay. It's not even a song, just an instrumental under a montage. This is the definition of filler.

Are those... Are those Changeling babies? Are they Thorax's? Who did he mate with? Who laid the eggs? Or has Thorax suddenly changed gender? Some insects CAN change gender in an emergency, after all. This... raises so many questions.

Oh look, it's the divorced Hippogriff parents. The episode reminding us that Silverstream is THEIR daughter just highlights the oddity of that one episode about her parents not involving her at all.

"Hey, you're back! Great!" This is basically the ONLY thing the permission slip plot needed. An immediate jump to where it was completed. I'm surprised it was even brought up at all, really. Episode is dragging it's heels with pointless obstacles that just serve as padding.

"Sandbar, where is the Tree?" "I got rid of it, to make place for a memorial." There's a cremation joke about the cleaning lady throwing out all that dirty ash so she could polish the urn in here, somewhere...

"How can we remember the Tree if it's totally gone?" I mean... surely he didn't DESTROY the remains of the Tree, did he?

"Oh, it's not gone, look. I planted a new Tree." Sandbar is the ditz of the group now, apparently. Better than the bland sixth wheel pony, I guess.

"This cave was supposed to stay exactly the same, so future creatures could visit and experience the memory of the Tree." So... why ARE these creatures suddenly so concerned with preserving the memory of the Tree? They just went from "maybe it is still alive" to "we must preserve it's memory" out of nowhere. Also, where are the PONIES in this? Why aren't the Mane Six here trying to decide what to do about the dead Tree? This was probably not the best subject to give to the Students.

"The Tree of Harmony is a huge part of Equestrian history. If we're gonna honor it, we need to do better than that." Again, why is this suddenly YOUR job? You were quite literally the LAST to hear about the Tree being destroyed in this scenario. Why is no one asking the PONIES what they want to do about THEIR Tree corpse?

And they start bickering about what this memorial should look like. And we are already halfway through the episode, so... this is it, then? THIS is the subject of the episode? The aesop is going to be that they should just combine all their ideas, and no actual pony with actual personal investment in this Tree and the Elements will get involved.

"Yona like when friends not argue. Maybe friends listen to each other and make it together?" "Nah!" And another Friendship lesson ignored! At least Yona is paying attention. She is still my favorite character amongst these knuckleheads.

Also, I can see Smolder and Gallus reacting like this, but the rest, not so much. This reaction seems overly callous and atypical from half of these characters, and all for the sake of creating a conflict. This is not creating conflicts that flow naturally from the character's personalities, this is bending their personalities to suit a conflict. It is not good writing.

Gallus opens an exhibit in the cave, and suddenly ponies appear to visit. Where did they come from? Where are we, again? I don't remember there being a cave around the Tree, a ravine, maybe, but no cave. Aren't we still in the middle of the Everfree? The Everfree that is going out of control? Or are we going with the lazy explanation of the Pillars keeping it under control?

"It already HAS a great story!" "Yeah, but mine makes more sense." Are we taking potshots at the lore, now, episode?

"Wait until you see the mystical Cave of Harmony." Aren't you IN a cave already? A cave in a cave? Caveception?

"And honestly, I'm kinda having a hard time remembering what the Tree looked like." Again, the episode seems to surreptitiously bash it's own lore.

"I can't believe I'm already forgetting." I mean, you saw it, what, maybe two times? Probably in a great hurry, too? This is not very poignant coming from a character who was barely involved with the Tree to begin with. Again, where are the ACTUAL ponies in all this? Why are we focussing on THESE characters, who haven't even known the Tree for a full season, and not on the characters whose entire lives have been deeply connected to the Tree since episode one?

Again, this is the WORST possible story to pick THESE characters for. This should be a Mane Six episode, pure and simple.

Also, the Tree is getting more attention from the show than the Golden Oaks library did. I suspect most viewers do not care half as much about the actual Tree as this episode seems to assume. It was just a crystal McGuffin in the forest that the characters went to twice a season for their powerups, if that. Does anyone really care all THAT much that it needs it's own sendoff episode?

Silver Stream is making an absolutely glurgy display for the Tree, and Yona is NOT having it. Yona seems to get the best moments here.

And then suddenly the Students are outside in the ravine, and there is no cave in sight. I'm so confused about this setting.

Of course the Students ruin each other's projects, and they have a fight about it. All this seems VERY familiar... I think this episode is cribbing it's moral from Castle Sweet Castle.

"I'm just glad the Tree isn't here to see this." ... What?

And then Yona teaches them all a valuable lesson about Friendship and cooperation, and I think my blood sugar is getting awfully high.

"I can't believe we just got schooled by a Yak." Casual racism! Great job, Gallus. The ponies have taught you well.

So... is the Tree gone, or not? Is the episode implying it somehow lives on in the Student's friendship, or something? That's pretty out there, even for this show.

"The Tree!" "Where did you find it?" "Oh, I didn't move it TOO far." "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot. I'm surprised Sandbar didn't bring it up after his friends tore him a new one over throwing it out.

"And you're just mentioning this now?" Yeah, what he said!

"A treehouse!" "That's a great idea." "I know the Tree would have liked that." Well, that sounds oddly morbid. Like building your house out of skeletons. Skeletons of your former heroes.

And now we get an actual song about... remembering the Tree. Again, I feel the episode is overstating somewhat how much people actually cared about this plot device. Is this why they suddenly gave the Tree a personality? So they could kill it off and give it an emotional sendoff episode like this one? The whole premise of this episode is just baffling.

And yes, they really DO make a treehouse out of the thing. It is a horrible mess. And the characters agree. Yona thinks it's perfect, though. So... are we supposed to disagree that it looks ugly, or what?

And then the Treecorpse transforms into a huge crystal palace. I am not making this up. Again. Not making this up. What the pony noodles just happened?

"How did that happen?" Yeah, what he said!

Notice how this episode is throwing things at us and then self-consciously acknowledging to us that it doesn't make much sense? Pointing out nonsense does not make it go away!

"Because of you." Get my bucket, please. Glurge.

"The spirit of the treehouse would have perished without your selfless deeds and caring. Whenever you seek solace, come here. Your friendship, and the friendship of future generations will always be safe within these walls." Great Celestia, when did this show get THIS sappy?

Also... did the Tree just say "spirit of the Treehouse"? Not the Tree. The Treehouse.

The Treehouse of Harmony. It's like this episode is trying to parody itself.

Also... why does the Tree Ghost (or whatever it is now) still resemble Twilight? What sense does that even make?

"I felt a burst of magic all the way over at the school." Did you, now, Twilight? Since when can you do this? This feels like something the writers made up on the spot.

"Where did this come from?" The Bullshit Tree, where EVERYTHING comes from, Twi. You should know this. You LIVE in a "where did this come from?", and you WORK in another one.

Waaait a minute... This Treehouse... It's a playset, isn't it? That would explain a lot.

"But how? I thought it was destroyed." Silly Spike, you can never really destroy bullshit. It will always live on in new forms.

"The Tree has always been good at surprises." Surprises. Sure, let's go with that.

Man, what even WAS that seed that Starswirl planted? It just keeps growing into one plot-convenient thing after another.

Remember when the Tree was just a magical Tree that dispensed power crystals to worthy ponies? Nothing more, and nothing more was needed. But now, it sprouts castles and schools and whatnot left and right, and it controls the entire Everfree to boot, and it sends ponies on friendship quests. The Tree has slowly morphed into this monstrosity of plot contrivances, and even now that it's dead, it JUST KEEPS ON GOING. This thing will never die.

And on top of that, this is just starting to get lazy. EVERYTHING now happens thanks to that stupid Tree. Can't the show come up with something that does not tie into past show elements? Does every new building really have to sprout from this Tree?

"It seems the Elements of Harmony will still be with us in their own way." Like any good lore tumor, there is always chance of relapse!

"But why did the Tree need our help to become something new?" Because this episode insisted on having you six in it, logic and emotional resonance be damned. If this had happened because of the presence of the Mane Six, it would still not be great, but at least it would make more sense.

Notice also that the Treehouse looks MUCH more inviting than Twi's Doom Fortress. Not that we get to see the interior, mind you. That is for another episode, I guess.

Well... that was something, all right. What more can I say? This episode is a dud if I ever saw one. Only 23 episodes to go. And every wasted episode, like this one, is going to feel twice as wasted now. I hope this episode will not be a warning of things to come.

So, I'm going to finish see the ending two-parter today. You know the one.

So, who else would rather have watched the episode where Silver Stream wants to become a Wonderbolt than this Treehouse shenanigans?

Also, when has something good ever come from an otherworldly entity summoning you through your nightmare? A nightmare focussing on your WORST fear, no less? The writers are inserting some creepy subtext into this Tree lately.

Also, to recap, the Tree is still dead, but it's ghost is capable of growing Friendship Castles through the power of Friendship? Do I get that right? This show is getting so trippy with this Tree.

As for highlighters, I actually think yellow is the worst. It tends to become invisible in daylight, at least for me.

Also, Gallus seems to be the ward of that old bald Griffin now, who now seems to be King of the Griffin Ghetto, or something.

Now that I think about it, the Tree Ghost transforming the rickety but very authentic and personal treehouse into a perfect dream castle seems like a massive snub to the Students. Like the Tree Ghost is saying "nice try, children, now let me show you what it SHOULD look like". In that regard, the episode would have been better off keeping that rickety little treehouse, it would have much more personal resonance with the Student's friendship than that grand palace they had fuck-all to do with building.

Edited by Redmess on Apr 21st 2019 at 2:04:09 PM

"Sounds of Silence" is a very good episode. :)

I definitely enjoyed that episode also. Autumn Blaze was a very fun character.

I agree, that episode was definitely a highlight of the season.

Too bad it took a guest star to enliven the season a bit.

She definitely is. :) "I'd rather SIIING!!!" XD