S08E16: Friendship University

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S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Wayoshi (?) » Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:20 pm

When Twilight discovers there's another school of friendship, she and Rarity go to investigate and are shocked to discover that Twilight's idol and Pillar of Old Equestria, Starswirl the Bearded, is enrolled at Friendship U!
This thread is for discussion of the episode. This episode airs at 8:30am AEST on Sunday, August 5 / 6:30pm US EDT on Saturday, August 4 on Boomerang in Australia!

Official preview clips and images are okay to post, as is speculation about the episode.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Wayoshi (?) » Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:52 pm

Enough of Flim & Flam, they were an old act back when they were in the AJ/Fluts S6 ep.

the Chancellor continues to be a straight up dick. He can join Chrysalis in the non-redemption pile.

the whole disguise thing was complete idiotball tier. I hate "dumb disguises actually work" trope.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by PonyHag714 (?) » Sat Aug 04, 2018 7:00 pm

Decent episode. Flim and Flam with another catchy song.

Neighsay was a surprise, I wasn't expecting to see him before the finale. But he's as bigoted as ever.
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Applepie2017 (?) » Sat Aug 04, 2018 7:17 pm

I also say decent.
But...
This one's too young

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by The Doctor (?) » Sat Aug 04, 2018 7:56 pm

Other than "Plain-ity", I didn't really like this one. :pinkieshrug:

I miss when Flim and Flam were just shrewd businessmen, rather than outright crooks.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Adiwan (?) » Sun Aug 05, 2018 1:23 am

F U Flim and Flam.
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Aramek (?) » Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:03 pm

Wayoshi wrote:
Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:52 pm
Enough of Flim & Flam, they were an old act back when they were in the AJ/Fluts S6 ep.
I am so incredibly disappointed. :flimflam:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Highbrow Dash (?) » Sun Aug 05, 2018 6:41 pm

Aramek wrote:
Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:03 pm
I am so incredibly disappointed. :flimflam:
I'd agree if it was yet another AJ vs Flim and Flam episode but we got a Princess Eyepatch and Plainity episode instead :allears:

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Niels Olof (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:02 pm

It is has been long since I have laughed as hard at MLP, as I did when 'Eyepatch' stepped out of that door. Rarity is truly a master of disguise.

Other than that, it was a pretty standard episode.
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:17 pm

The Doctor wrote:
Sat Aug 04, 2018 7:56 pm
I miss when Flim and Flam were just shrewd businessmen, rather than outright crooks.
As I saw it, they're less crooked here than they have been in the past. They were at least selling something legitimate; compare to Leap of Faith, where their tonic "worked" only off of the hopes of the pony who drank it. At the very least, they feel to me a little nicer than back when we first met them.

If I was groaning at anyone here, it's Twilight. I would hope for her to have learned at least a little more grace over the years than what we saw with her with her constantly and openly calling Friendship University a scam. Though, I wonder if that says more about me, that I'd rather bite my tongue and find a subtle way of affecting change for good instead of risking my own reputation in a bold move to do what's right. I guess Twilight isn't necessarily wrong in her methods, per se, but... perhaps she and I are just different kinds of people.
Wayoshi wrote:
Sat Aug 04, 2018 6:52 pm
I hate "dumb disguises actually work" trope.
That's the beauty of it, the dumb disguise didn't work. :allears:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Wayoshi (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:21 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:17 pm
That's the beauty of it, the dumb disguise didn't work. :allears:
Plainity's did.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Void Chicken (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:45 pm

Two little things about the plot I noticed:

First, the argument that Twilight is only upset that the new university is poaching her students doesn't hold water. A good 80% of Twilight's students aren't ponies and wouldn't be accepted.

Second, what exactly is the difference between how Twilight feels about the university and how Neighsay feels about Twilight's school, besides the audience knowledge that Twilight has pure motives? Isn't he "standing up for what he knows is true," just like the episode taught?

And yes the disguise gags were good.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 4:03 pm

Wayoshi wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:21 pm
Plainity's did.
Because her disguise was seriously fresh, of course. :vogue:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:08 pm

I don’t know anything about this episode. Going in cold. :pinkieshrug:

• Don’t leave the letter with Butterbur, Starswirl, it’ll arrive too late! :flutterdear:
• Was that Tree Hugger he was rafting with?
• wish you were here in beautiful WIZZ TOR
• Corn sarn it, I pay my pony taxes and for what? Sewin’ machines??!? :applejargh:
• A rival school! This can only lead to kung fu battles in the streets!
• Even before they said Las Pegasus, my brain was already thinking these guys —> :flimflam:
soooooong
• What kind of jobs out there for a doctorate in friendship
• Maurice LaMarche returns to menace all and sundry.
• Rarity investigates! Again!
• Plainity best and plainest pony.
• Twilight’s in a bind! I think we all know the solution is to send Starlight, with orders to leave no survivors.
:-o but - but - but -
• “who?”
• Ooh, and an unresolved mystery to carry over! I wonder who the hidden snake in the grass could possibly be, COZY GLOW.
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:25 pm

Where I thought this was going was, Flim and Flam were assigning homework to Starswirl (who though he's technically a student, is still really smart), then using his answers to make the lessons for everyone else. Their actual plan is less :effort: and maybe that's all the work they wanted to put into the scam.

I hope Cozy Glow's deal isn't something dull, like she's the Chancellor's daughter and spy. She needs to be an ancient abomination from beyond the gates of time, or no sale, pony show. :rainbert:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by The Doctor (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:32 pm

My money is on Cozy Glow being his niece.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Octavia (?) » Fri Aug 17, 2018 3:10 pm

So is Scientology gonna sue Hasbro over this one? :ponder:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by SlateSlabrock (?) » Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:54 am

Classic Flim and Flam, although Twilight needs to get better at spotting plagiarism.

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Swift (?) » Wed Sep 19, 2018 9:04 pm

Void Chicken wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:45 pm
Second, what exactly is the difference between how Twilight feels about the university and how Neighsay feels about Twilight's school, besides the audience knowledge that Twilight has pure motives? Isn't he "standing up for what he knows is true," just like the episode taught?
To me, this felt like a redux of the Canterlot Wedding moral of "persisting in the face of doubt" and trusting your instincts. Both are similar, with Twilight suspecting something is fishy about the situation despite lacking concrete evidence. So "what she knows is true" specifically refers to her suspicions about Flim/Flam. And yeah, both assume that "what you know is true"/"your instincts" are based on a reasonable/accurate foundation... which is often not the case with people. In both cases we're supposed to assume that Twilight's past experience has provided her with good judgment too, I suppose.

This was pretty good, I think. Twi/Rarity was a fun combo. I liked it more than I expected, since I was pretty tired of Flim and Flam and haven't really cared for their appearances past their debut. Having the conflict between them and Twilight rather than AJ helped, and the disguise stuff was dumb but pretty funny.

It's weird seeing Star Swirl as an actual character on the show after all this time, and I like that they're continuing his "doesn't understand friendship" thing from a continuity standpoint. But he's still quite boring... and strangely gullible for a centuries-old (I think?), time-travelling (also, I think? I've got his show/comic/Journal of Two Sisters continuity mixed up in my head) wizard. I miss quirky Cook/Price Star Swirl from the mirror universe comics.

So wait, how many students are at Twilight's school? I thought it was just the six? Are all of those ponies going to enroll now? They can't possibly have the staff for that... Of course, I don't understand how the staff they have now has time to teach in the first place. The logistics of this school are confusing. :v:

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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by SlateSlabrock (?) » Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:36 pm

Void Chicken wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:45 pm
Second, what exactly is the difference between how Twilight feels about the university and how Neighsay feels about Twilight's school, besides the audience knowledge that Twilight has pure motives? Isn't he "standing up for what he knows is true," just like the episode taught?
The crucial point was that Flim and Flam were just teaching straight from (half of) Twilight's curriculum. If Neighsay accepts it from them, why not from her? Plus, charging through the nose to "get to the next level" shows they're not sincere about the subject.

But if Flim and Flam had genuinely turned over a new leaf, Twilight wouldn't have been blackmailed for snooping around. They wouldn't be trying to poach her students by throwing shade at her school, either.
Swift wrote:
Wed Sep 19, 2018 9:04 pm
So wait, how many students are at Twilight's school? I thought it was just the six? Are all of those ponies going to enroll now? They can't possibly have the staff for that... Of course, I don't understand how the staff they have now has time to teach in the first place. The logistics of this school are confusing. :v:
They have lots of normal ponies on campus who just never get any focus. There were about 40 total when Starlight called everyone together for the spellvenger hunt a few episodes ago:
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Re: S08E16: Friendship University

Post by Mr. Big (?) » Mon Oct 29, 2018 8:50 pm

Wayoshi wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:21 pm
Plainity's did.
Rarity's disguise worked because Flim and Flam didn't remember who she is (note that they said "Who?" when she took off her disguise in the end). Which is justified: they only met her once before, all the way back in season 2.

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