Official Discussion Thread - S05E8 The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone

[tacobob]

I enjoyed the episode...The flashback part probably gave me diabetes....I just have a feeling this would have worked so much better as an two parter...Gilda's voice..It just seemed a bit off...I'm trying to see if she was voiced by the same voice actress (Maryke Hendrikse)..I also liked the other griffon's designs..Especially Gilda's friend to be...She's a cutie.

[SunsetSombra]

It was definitely the same VA if her twitter messages are anything to go by, she probably just didn't quite have the right memory of the voice...it WAS only a one time appearance before this ep afterall.

[tacobob]

Well, it's not like she hasn't used that voice before...She did an anime awhile back and it was 100% Gilda..except lots and lots of cursing.

[SunsetSombra]

Voices get older and change over time, y'know.

[Ciraxis]

Indeed. That's the reason why Morikawa doesn't break microphones anymore or why HIKARI NI NAREEE doesn't sounds like it used to.

[Bramble Rose]

Nnnnngh...

 

This episode was... so very *meh*.  There was nothing to it.

 

The solution to it really was "Come on."  "no."  "Come ooooon."  "No."  "Come oooonnnnnnnnn."  "Oh, good point!  All right, then."

 

I don't like it when the solution is *so simplistic* that it's completely ridiculous.  Seriously?  One day, everyone just spontaneously stopped being nice, and it never occurred to them to try doing so again until somepony comes in and suggests it?  That, bumped up against 'everyone wants money'.  Everyone wants money ... for ... what, exactly?  Very few people just 'want money'.  They want money FOR stuff.  Usually, for security, or for food and health, or more often, for their family... Or even just things like having a nicer home than their neighbor!  But they didn't even *have* nicer homes or anything like that.  Are we to take from this that the gryphons don't actually need money, they've just been racially greedy en masse?

 

Ngh.

[Rosewind]

I don't think a single episode is a good basis to judge a writer. Looking at AKR's portfolio, I think she's done quite well! I've met her personally and I know the passion and thought she puts into her writing -- it's not fair to just write it off because one episode didn't do it for you.

 

Writing for a show like this has to be difficult. You're trying to not only appease the people signing your paycheck, you want to deliver content that is satisfying to one of the most polarizing audiences imaginable.

[DulsetTarn]

Who said anything about just one episode? For the past two years her writing's been shoddy at best.

[SunsetSombra]

That's your opinion - and whilst you're entitled to it...it does NOT necessarily translate into a hard, cold fact - not everyone agrees with that as a statement, and it's not exactly objectively provable.

[DulsetTarn]

And it's my opinion that she should probably not write for the show anymore.

[QuickLime]

I disagree, she's one of my favorites, writing some of my personal favorite episodes such as  A Dog and Pony Show, Mmmystery, and Pinkie Pride (YAY WEIRD AL)

This thread is for discussing the episodes, not for you to be unkind and suggest an author be fired because you don't care for her work~

 

Besides she's leaving MLP for Disney anyways, I'm sad to see her go, but look forward to supporting her new work.

[RarityDash]

The fact that a company like Disney was interested in her in the first place I think shows how capable and skilled a writer Amy Keating Rogers is.

 

Because seriously, the woman has written like maybe two episodes which were less than excellent (three if you count the one where she shared the credit with Lauren Faust).

[DulsetTarn]

Her episodes before season 3 were awesome.

Her episodes since, well... eugh.

[RarityDash]

Opinions will differ then. I'm not huge on Filli Vanilli, but I'd say Ticket Master and Cutie Pox are easily her worst offerings and they're both pre-season 3.

 

Griffonstone, Pinkie Pride and Testing were all brilliant.

[Noedig]

I agree. I thought Filli Vanilli felt a little weird to watch. I mean, Fluttershy was a good singer in the first place. But making her go back to Flutterguy in order to lip-sync? As much as Flutterguy is funny, it was still lame that it had to be part of this lip-syncing idea...

 

But still, she is a great writer.

 

And, speaking of which, she is now already going to finish her business with MLP: FiM.

She will be going to the Disney family. She had fun writing for MLP, now she had decided it was time for her to move on.

[Ashton]

Wow, so much mixed feelings here... 

 

Just to get it out of the way, yes, I really liked the episode. Not at all what I expected, but I really liked it.

 

Am I a little disspaointed that when Gilda stopped being a butt she became excitable and silly an cute? yes. I kinda liked the idea that she was a jerk even after patching things up with the others (fanon) and am I dissapointed that Griffenstone is a rundown dungheap? absolutely.

 

Otherwise, great story, and I liked the misleading macguffin in the beginning.

 

And a shocker: A CONFIRMED DEATH!?!!? Yes, even though it was a one-off historical villian, unless I'm mistaken this is the first and only confirmed death in the series. (discounting the possible "funeral" that the CMC interrupted a few seasons back)

 

Few points to address from above:

-Dash is prejudice against griffens

No, she's not, she's prejudiced against Gilda (for understandable reasons) she's met another griffen without any animosity and at one point idly wanted to be changed into a griffen.

 

-Griffens must want money for something

No, they're just hoarders and bits are what they hoard, it was explained in the beginning and falls into mythology, same as dragons (discounting the 1 theory dragons sleep on gold because's a "soft" metal and it doesnt catch fire)

 

-Chick-guilda is adorable.

This. So. Much. This. 

[MidnightMask]

[Just rewatched this for the first time, felt like commenting]

Message Stuff:

So, it's a pretty simple episode about greed vs. friendship, but really, this is more about social institutions versus unchecked capitalist greed.

So, the Griffons were so greedy, they couldn't unify, not until they gained a treasure that they ALL took pride in (unity). It wasn't the KING's treasure, it was THEIR treasure. There were guards outside, a king in charge, there was a society where griffons worked together to protect... money? Gold? It was to protect that pride and unity, it was the symbol of their nation. They had something greater than pure self interest, working towards a common good. They even had a library, which is typically a public institution, and it's marked by the statue of their king, who seemed to realize that they had to work together, not against one another. Their king made sure the Griffons shared until the treasure was stolen, and the moment it was, it was anarchy again, every griffon for themselves.

The signs of their fallen society includes the wreckage of the old statue and library, because nobody was paying to maintain them. Selfishness to the point of societal collapse.

It's obvious their kingdom is so full of self interest that they shared almost nothing without a cost. Griffon scones are sort of their national dish (contrasting their national treasure), supposedly the best. But Gilda's scones needed baking powder, otherwise terrible and incomplete, but we know they were based on a family recipe. Which leads to two possible conclusions. Either Griffons are so greedy that she simply couldn't afford the baking powder and tried to do without OR her grandmother was so greedy, she left out the most vital ingredient to keep the recipe a secret. It's a pathological level of selfishness, but seeing where she came from, Gilda's bad attitude makes a lot of sense.

This isn't me saying it's a pro-commie episode or something, but I think it is a pro-charity, pro-social services message. If everybody looked out for number one constantly, ironically, we all lose out in the end.

Character & Story Stuff:
The childhood friendship scene was adorable, and honestly, it was nice to see their friendship mended.

I look forward to seeing a rebuilt or rebuilding Griffonstone. Gilda might even end up in charge, which would be rather interesting.