Poll MLP:FIM S7E17 - "To Change A Changeling" Grading & Discussion

[Amaris]

Episode Title: "To Change A Changeling"
Air Date: September 2nd, 2017, 11:30 AM Eastern Time (3:30 PM GMT/UTC)

Summary: ""Starlight Glimmer and Trixie visit Thorax at the changeling hive where they meet his brother, Pharynx, the only changeling still unwilling to share love and transform. Worried that Pharynx’s bad attitude will undermine Thorax’s leadership, they work to get him to accept that love is a strength and not a weakness.""

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Ruminations:
CONTINUITY! This episode deals with the lessons that Thorax was learning from Ember two episodes back in "Triple Threat." We'll see that not everyone in the changeling hive is all friendly and willing to listen. It looks like Starlight will be tasked with helping Thorax work this all out with his brother. Onward to the episode!

 

[Amaris]

Ah, a slice of life episode with Starlight, the Changelings, and THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRRRIXIE!

This was a fun episode. We get to see Starlight and Trixie team up again, which is always fun. Aside from the Mane Six, I think these two have some of the best chemistry in the series. It's fun to watch them interact because you don't quite know how things will work out, since neither come from well-adjusted childhoods (I'm speculating on Trixie). So ant Trixie / Starlight pairing is going to be fun.

So we see both of them arrive at the changeling hive, and their first encounter with a changeling happens to be Thorax's brother Pharynx, who captures them in a bag and deposits them in front of Thorax, who is happy to see them. This annoys Pharynx, because unlike his brother, and the rest of the changeling hive, Pharynx has no desire to become a lovey dovey changeling, even keeping his classic black changeling form due to his lack of transformation.

Thorax is worried because Pharynx's behavior is undermining his authority as the leader of the Changelings. Several plans gone awry later, Pharynx decides he can't stand being the only changeling who hasn't embraced friendship and love, and leaves. Thorax, along with Starlight and Trixie, hurry to find him, and do so, as he's fighting a giant creature that is threatening the hive. Thorax, Trixie, and Starlight work to bring down the creature, but it's too powerful. Fortunately, the rest of the Changeling hive arrives and works together to bring him down.

In the process, Pharynx realizes that he doesn't have to resist friendship and love in order to be an effective warrior, and transforms from the classic black changeling to his new form. Lessons learned, the episode ends with laughs and a story about Pharynx and Thorax's childhood together.

This was a sweet little episode. It continues the theme of the season, and I like that continuity, because it leads to more worldbuilding. The changeling hive is an entirely different place compared to how we saw it last season, and clearly Thorax has been at work. I like the new changeling community, but I understand why someone like Pharynx would fear the loss of their identity because of those changes. So the troubles that arise out of this mix of old ways and new ways emerges organically, and I think it works.

The jokes in the episode are great, and I'm starting to think of Starlight and Trixie as the new Hope/Crosby duo. For those of you who don't know, they were two famous comedians/performers back in the 50s and 60s who made a number of "Road" films that were immensely popular. The way these two play off of each other works so very well, and I hope to see more of it in the future.

This would be something like a bottle episode, because even though it's in the hive and not in Ponyville, everything still occurs in one location for 95% of the episode. It is dialogue heavy, compared to other episodes, but I didn't really notice it during the episode itself. Putting it all together, I gave this one an "A" because it sums up the essence of MLP:FIM in a fun, breezy way, and it manages to do so without the Mane Six appearing at all this episode. I never thought I'd like an episode without at least one, but this one worked for me.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Worked for me too! Solid A!