MLP:FiM S3 Episode 5 - "Magic Duel"

[DarkHorizon]

Derpy?

And Zecora is Yoda!

Derpy? Where?

One of the pegasi hanging the banners up in the town hall looked an awful lot like her - althought it might have been Cloud Kicker, looking at the wiki.

Corrupt the user? really? how can it corrupt a completely moralless soul anyway?

Trixie wasn't moralless, just boastful and conceited. The clear indication here was that using the amulet leads the user to become tyrranical and entirely heartless.

That, along with the name, suggests it could be a relic from the war with Nightmare Moon...

EDIT: Right, time to have Xyro's stream in the background whilst LPS is on at HaxMega!

 

[Peach Wookiee]

^Edit @ Chem: Ooooh, I like that idea. Sounds rather like the FMA idea to use 99 human souls to make a Philosopher's Stone!

 

[DarkHorizon]

The end was a bit odd - I sort of expected the duel to be in front of Celestia and the Saddle Arabian ponies, which is what I thought based on the promo. Still, Twi found a very clever way to get the amulet off Trixie, and everyone worked together to get it right. Best episode of the season so far, I think. Plus: Fourth wall breaking by Pinkie and Twi!

 

[Gepard]

Yup. Best episode of the season by far. Proof positive that fanservice can be a good thing!

I think the Saddle Arabia thing was mainly to explain why Twi couldn't go to the Princesses for help. Would have been nice if it tied into the story more, but eh. Nothing's perfect.

It's too bad there's no Derpy cameos any more, because I thought of a good use for her: when Trixie was being cruel to the mane 6 in the beginning, she could have zapped Derpy and straightened her eyes out. Monstrous!

 

[Kemaiku]

Yeah that was some oversight, Luna and Cadance should still be around. Luna has missed out on 1000 years of magic and Cadance being mortal may have far less experience so maybe that's why.

But the 'pony playing 10 instruments' is where me and everyone in chat caught on it was an act, Pinkie already did that.

 

[Count Zero]

Great episode with a lot of content stuffed into it - I think it could have also been made into a great two-parter. I loved the involvement of Zecora for a change and her Yoda-like instructions. Fluttershy was great in this episode, too. It was nice to see her being supported so strongly by her animal friends.
I'd like to see more of Saddle Arabia and I also think that the amulett might make a second appearance in the season finale.
Some great animation in this one - the reflection in the water was already mentioned, I liked the scene at the end with Twilight and Pinkie and there were also lots of great ponyfaces.

I do think a lot of ponies must be pretty traumatised by Trixie's cruel magic tricks.

 

[smiki]

I really loved the episode, best one this season. Easy A. Tons of good stuff in it. Funny magic, reestablishing pony lore (s1 reappearances), great pony faces/expressions, Fluttershy was great, all the mane 6 in it, Zecora as Yoda, nice pace, generally felt like a season one episode for some reason, I also liked the line: "That's not magic, that's just Pinkie" and the fourth wall breach at end, etc...

I liked Trixie as the villain in the episode. Half of her behavior was her personality half was the "evil" amulet. Which wasn't evil in itself IMO but was more along the lines of "power corrupts", particularly that things can go messy, and that power corrupts especially when it's beyond one's own abilities (as was in this case) not just one's moral standing.

That's why she was forgiven (although not completely like: "aww, we forgive you, group hug", but more like: "hmm, we'll give you a second chance, don't mess it up"), without the amulet she wouldn't have been this big evil mean meany, but just the petty and boastful fraud meany. As far as the apology at the end, I think it was true to her character because it wasn't really an apology, even within it she stayed petty and boastful still trying to be the best at something, being the most humble... Oh wait, paradox...

I did predict Twilight's and Zecora's deception idea as soon as the second duel started but it was executed really nicely and a great idea involving "the power of friendship", so...

Awesome episode.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

^And Zecora quoted Yoda! That means she'll be around a thousand years. YAY!

And Trixie wouldn't be Trixie without the arrogance. Also... did she work for Pinkie's dad?!

 

[Amaris]

Loved it. It's an easy A for me as well.

*Trixie Returns
*Rule 63
*Snips and Snails comment about preferring Trixie when she was a fraud (that had me rolling).
*Twilight standing on water, levitating water spheres while Zecora balanced on a staff. Come ON that was awesome!
*Fluttershy. All of her appearances this episode were awesome.
*Breaking the 4th wall at the very end. Epic!

Also, "Saddle Arabia"!

 

[Kemaiku]

 

[Amaris]

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

 

[Gepard]

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)

 

[Amaris]

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

 

[Kemaiku]

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.

 

[Gepard]

Well, it's still full of fanservice otherwise.

 

[Kemaiku]

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

 

[Gepard]

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.

 

[Kemaiku]

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.

Yes that's much more believeable

 

[Gepard]

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.