Rating:
Q always had a knack for showing up at a moment where he was
least wanted, but his visits were still generally interesting and improved the
show. Discord usually has a similar
effect, but that streak comes to an end during Three’s A Crowd. An episode that could have been about
character interaction moves into curing Discord of a fake sickness, and nothing
much comes from this development.
Instead of a lesson about friendship, we learn Discord is a child who’s
going to need attention now and then whenever he gets bored. Yes, Q was technically the same way, but his
abilities led Star Trek: TNG viewers
to discover the Borg, learn about Picard’s past, see the Continuum, observe
what Riker would be like as a Q, and have an adventure concerning a paradox in
three different timelines. As an
omnipotent being, Q never got sick though, so clearly this was an area that
needed exploring. I know I enjoy
watching people coughing and sneezing on others in an attempt to pass along
their ailment. Oh wait. Three’s A Crowd is both filler and an
absolute waste of Discord and John de Lancie’s talents. With no lesson or discernible point, the
episode is lucky not to be rated even lower.
At the outset, three events are announced that will
excitedly occupy half of the mane six.
Most importantly is Cadance agreeing to visit Twilight, so the two can
enjoy time together that doesn’t involve a world-deciding conflict (a fact
nicely mentioned later on). Also,
Fluttershy has been given an invitation to observe the magical Breezies, and
Pinkie Pie can’t wait to partake in a crappy yard sale. These last two aren’t shown at all though, so
they’re something of a way to pad the teaser.
This trend continues as the episode proper begins.
Our beloved ponies gather at the train station to usher
Fluttershy off on a trip that must be more interesting than what happens on
screen, and then they stand around discussing how totally awesome Cadance’s
visit is going to be, and that they need to be absolutely sure nothing
distracts the two princesses. Duh duh
duhhhhh! This is called foreshadowing,
and it’s very subtle so you might have missed it. The only good thing that occurs once Cadance
arrives in a billion-dollar train is that her and Twilight don’t do their
stupid little dance. Completely
oblivious, Twilight thinks spending the day at a Starswirl the Bearded exhibit
is something that Cadance (or anyone else) would actually want to do, although
the other princess actually seems to enjoy herself. There wasn’t enough foreshadowing from
before, so Pinkie Pie announces that she’ll absolutely “make sure nothing
spoils their day” as an ominous black disc spins into view.
This can only be Discord, but he is surprisingly feeling
under the weather. His color has turned
almost completely blue, and he came to Ponyville in hopes that Fluttershy would
nurse him back to health. That he
already knew she was out of town is certainly not cause for alarm. From here the episode kind of spirals out of
control, with Discord using his sickness to be as annoying as possible. If only we could join Rainbow Dash bolting
out of the show less than eight minutes in.
After distracting Pinkie Pie with a balloon (she’s so dumb, it’s
hilarious!), Discord sneezes on Applejack and Rarity, which infects them
too. With four of them out of the way,
Discord moves on to the two princesses.
The lord of chaos soon uses his illness to invite himself
over to Twilight’s place. Notably, requesting
a glass of water moves him to sing, as de Lancie nimbly Rex Harrisons his way
through rather complicated verses. While
the lyrics are at least thoughtful, the sequence only increases Discord’s
annoying tendencies. As has been a
constant in the fourth season, the animation department does another phenomenal
job here. Packing a multitude of
references into this sequence is amazing, but what does seeing Twilight dressed
like Harry Potter do for me or the episode as a whole? It’s all show but no substance, and nothing
goes anywhere. With a flimsy plot, this
song is basically just more filler, although rarely has so much thought been
put into it.
Finally, Discord requests the two princesses to retrieve a
leaf from a flower somewhere that will certainly cure his illness. They acquiesce just for something to do,
although the “flower” ends up being a stories-high tree. After using all of their magic to “pick” this
flower, they unearth a Tatzlwurm; an ugly creature greeted with understandable
shrieks. What to do with a previously
unknown species? Kill it, kill it! Ignoring one of the series’ supposed tenants,
Twilight and Cadance literally shoot phasers at this attacking creature until
they are sure it is dead (-ish, apparently).
Then Cadance buries it alive under huge stones. Good thing Fluttershy was out of town for
this part, although I’m sure children will enjoy the wanton destruction of an
animal.
Discord is soon revealed to be faking (what a shock!), but
it’s okay because Cadance really got a thrill out of killing this unknown
creature. Her job is apparently so
boring most of the time, although that’s hard to believe when something
interesting is going on every time we see her. Then the creature reappears and actually
infects Discord, which is both hilarious and something that could actually
happen. With two beings sick from a
mysterious flu now, this definitely qualifies as a happy ending.
Meghan McCarthy presumably did a fair amount of credited
script doctoring throughout the fourth season, but the results have gone as
well as they do in Hollywood. That means
it’s difficult to know who to blame for all the clutter, although Three’s A
Crowd doesn’t feel much like McCarthy’s other efforts. Mostly, the episode is frustrating because it
teases a few good directions it could have gone in while offering more scenes
of Discord sneezing all over the other ponies.
Perhaps we could have gotten to know the retconned princess better so that
her character would receive actual development, or even gone the route of
exploring a dynamic that clearly exists between Twilight and Discord. But nope, we clearly needed more scenes
involving Pinkie Pie chasing a red balloon (it’s just like that one movie, get
it?) or seeing Discord’s snot on screen.
Saying Discord is an embodiment of chaos isn’t an excuse to
throw anything into the episode and assume it will work, but McCarthy and
Valentine apparently thought this was enough justification for the unholy mess
they created. The characterization feels
slightly off throughout (Pinkie Pie is in retarded mode again, while the other
mane six (excepting Twilight) don’t do much), and we don’t learn anything that
wasn’t already known. Fluttershy enjoys
small creatures, Rarity’s a drama queen, Cadance is still kind of empty and
boring, Twilight likes Starswirl the Bearded, and Discord acts as if he’s on a
permanent acid trip. Everything was previously
established, and having Discord make the events a supposed test of his
friendship with Twilight isn’t believable or enthralling. The only thing Discord learns is that he can
get what he wants by being super annoying, but that still doesn’t prove his
friendship with anyone. And if this is
the way he’s going to act on a whim, why would you want him as a friend?
So take note, kids.
These are the lessons this series designed for you offers. If you’re sick, feel free to sneeze on your
siblings or friends. When they get sick
too, move on to someone else. If you
want something from your parents, be as annoying as possible so that they give
in just to shut you up. And if you find
a strange animal outside, use all the power you have to kill it quickly. Because anything unknown is scary and
deserves to die. But hey, we did discover
that Cadance has a fetish. That almost
counts as progress.
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