MLP:FiM S3 Episode 5 - "Magic Duel"

[J. Allen]

Yeah, I saw that and started giggling. Poor Trixie, even when she's trying to be good, she missteps.

[Gep Malakai]

I agree with everypony else -- "A" here too. First of the season from me, I think. Everything clicked in this one, even when it shouldn't have – which is a good sign of a talented writer.

And, of course, these:

[TrekAlliance92]

That was a really good episode! It had a very atmospheric start, and didn't waste anytime getting into the action.

As others have mentioned, there were many great nods to previous episodes like Pinkie playing instruments, the Parasprites, and so on. And, of course, the return of Trixie.

It was great to see Zecora again, and great to see a Twilight-centric episode to boot. Zecora as Yoda was quite good. Did anyone else chuckle at Twilight constantly spilling Zecora's drink? It was a subtle gag that I enjoyed.

Fluttershy was also great in this episode, first being ignored during the book scene and then making her way to the forest.

The climax and ending were quite enjoyable. When Zecora said "use the six," I thought the Elements of Harmony would be back, but the fake amulet and disguises were a great solution. (Did anyone notice the Mayor locked in the cage?)

Lyra drinking a soda besides Bon-Bon was something I didn't notice until my second viewing--great background gag. Saddle Arabia was another great horse/pony city-name pun.

I was glad to see (mostly) redeemed Trixie at the end, and hope she returns again in the future.

The fourth-wall-shattering ending was a hilarious way to close the episode. (And, the original mouse-removing-mouth gag was delightfully meta!)

All in all, the season continues its good-to-excellent run here. I give this one an A.

Season 3 Episode Ratings
A: The Crystal Empire, Too Many Pinkie Pies, Magic Duel
B: One Bad Apple
C: (None So Far)
D: (None So Far)
F: (None So Far)

[J. Allen]

Agreed. I think this season is already going strong, and I can't wait to see what they've cooked up next!

[Chemahkuu]

The Derpy image is fake, again. Someone manipulates a screencap for every freakin' episode and posts it getting everyone worked up.

She hasn't appeared yet, all the sightings have turned out to be other ponies and in the case of Too Many Pinkie Pies, an earth pony colt lol.

[Gep Malakai]

Well, it's still full of fanservice otherwise.

[Chemahkuu]

Pinkie's dad pays well, me thinks Trixie was performing more services than rock farming if you know what I mean.

[Gep Malakai]

Chemahkuu wrote:

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Pinkie's dad pays well, me thinks Trixie was performing more services than rock farming if you know what I mean.

Oh, that's just nasty. Better to assume that rock farming is really, really profitable.

[Chemahkuu]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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Oh, that's just nasty. Better to assume that rock farming is really, really profitable.

Yes that's much more believeable

[Gep Malakai]

Or Trixie is a penny-pinching cheapskate who saved up for a long time. In all seriousness, there's a lot we don't know about how she found out about the amulet, how long she had her sights on it, and so forth. She could have been saving up for years. There will be plenty of fanfics covering the issue, I'm sure.

[Chemahkuu]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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Or Trixie is a penny-pinching cheapskate who saved up for a long time. In all seriousness, there's a lot we don't know about how she found out about the amulet, how long she had her sights on it, and so forth. She could have been saving up for years. There will be plenty of fanfics covering the issue, I'm sure.

Saving up for years? she was still hitting towns most of season 1 and probably fell into working there early in season 2, the gabby gums thing was everyone else finding out. She would only have been working there the 8 or so months from then until now.

The Pie's didn't strike me as the rich type.

[Gep Malakai]

Chemahkuu wrote:

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The Derpy image is fake, again. Someone manipulates a screencap for every freakin' episode and posts it getting everyone worked up.

I just checked the episode that screencap is unaltered. In fact, she's on both sides since they mirrored the crowd for that shot.

And, hey, what joker voted "F" in the poll? *grump*

[Chemahkuu]

Gep Malakai wrote:

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I just checked the episode that screencap is unaltered. In fact, she's on both sides since they mirrored the crowd for that shot.

And, hey, what joker voted "F" in the poll? *grump*

The altered thing popped up at the Booru, since it's happened before I wasn't sure.

Ugh probably just some idiot 12 year old around here trying to act cool. I don't think we really bother with the rating system anyway, might just start doing it in-thread with the posts from here on.

[Mark_Nguyen]

I guess I'll be in the minority for the whole "alicorn" thing. I grew up with the actual meaning of the word. Never liked how it's misused here or in the general fandom.

Still, a great episode that oozes nods to the fandom. It's great to see a product that isn't just name-dropping, that proves the production team acknowledge a lot of what's gone before. This is one of the few episodes that directly follows on an earlier one, and thus grows many characters and the series as a whole. Since most of the episodes are one-offs with no particular consequences, this more arc-oriented story will surely be a fan-fave once all is said and done.

Mark

[Chemahkuu]