"Common Ground" FiM S9 Ep6 Discussion

[StarSwirl05]

I always whine about this but I guess I was just so happy about G2 using the same mold for everyone, this weird sexual dimorphism in FiM is extra jarring to me at times. Although I have to admit, I also never got over the teeny tiny snouts of the female ponies in contrast with the male ponies block heads.

It's like they got their noses stuck in a box or something beforehand

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Yeah, the boys should be part of the usual color scheme too.  Quibble gets a kind of pass, if it's still his Daring Do colors (which ultimately, don't make that much sense anyway...), but it is nicer to balance the boys' color schemes out.  I'll have to check how balanced it actually is.

It would be actually fun to me if Qujbble had a dye job to match his idol. Kind of like the mayor of Ponyville. I think in one episode they "caught" her coloring her hair from pink to grey

I wonder if ponies ever dye their fur colors too in addition to their manes and tails.

[EnaRocketQueen]

Like, ok we saw Sombra, but what about Tirek and Chysalis and of course Grogar? What are they doing now?

I'm not even sure I even want this "League of Villains" to be honest.  I suppose it could work, but the only ones who come close to interesting me are King Sombra and Grogar - I never liked the G4 version of Tirek ever, Cozy Glow is one of the show's least defendable decisions ever, in my opinion, and part of me wishes they'd just dropped Queen Chrysalis after her second appearance (third if comics are included, and fourth if flashbacks are) because even I am having to admit she is being overused, and it's weird having to feel that about my favorite villain.

Respect to those who feel different, though.

I guess I never really thought about whether I liked it in the plot line. I just thought about how they've done it now so might as well stop leaving us wondering with all these filler episodes where nothing really happens

[Harmonie]

IIRC, FiM's seasons have always been set up like this, aside from the first two and the last two episodes, they are "filler" (there may be some exceptions, but I don't remember. I have a horrible memory. lol). If you ask me, if they just went all out and made this season all about struggling with the villains, it wouldn't be FiM. I understand, the current format makes things quite a bit anti-climatic. Especially when they try to redeem villains. It happens in the blink of an eye, and feels forced.

Aside from that, I don't mind the format, though - They just have to make solid slice of life episodes. I thought this one was fine, but it didn't really stand out to me. I did like the last episode with Twilight Sparkle and her overdue library book a lot, though.

[EnaRocketQueen]

It's just that in the past, the two-part season openers have ended and felt finished/resolved. This one really didn't

[MJNSEIFER]

IIRC, FiM's seasons have always been set up like this, aside from the first two and the last two episodes, they are "filler" (there may be some exceptions, but I don't remember. I have a horrible memory. lol).

Some of the seasons have been kind of a mixture, like season four had the key storyline, and season one had the Gala storyline to some extent, plus I tended to get the impression that previous episodes existed and were having a lasting affect, especially in seasons one and two.  The more stand alone episodes could be seen as more filler compared to the ones that are part of an on going storyline, though (even if they do have a lasting effect to the overall show) - I think it's safe to say that the best description for filler is that they don't really move the main storyline forward, if at all (so yeah, it is mostly filler.)

P.S.  That being said, if the main storyline is supposed to be the friendship of the characters, then any of the episodes that built on that might technically not be filler by definition - it's pretty back and forth to be honest.

[StarSwirl05]

IIRC, FiM's seasons have always been set up like this, aside from the first two and the last two episodes, they are "filler" (there may be some exceptions, but I don't remember. I have a horrible memory. lol).

Some of the seasons have been kind of a mixture, like season four had the key storyline, and season one had the Gala storyline to some extent, plus I tended to get the impression that previous episodes existed and were having a lasting affect, especially in seasons one and two.  The more stand alone episodes could be seen as more filler compared to the ones that are part of an on going storyline, though (even if they do have a lasting effect to the overall show) - I think it's safe to say that the best description for filler is that they don't really move the main storyline forward, if at all (so yeah, it is mostly filler.)

P.S.  That being said, if the main storyline is supposed to be the friendship of the characters, then any of the episodes that built on that might technically not be filler by definition - it's pretty back and forth to be honest.

Funny thing is, the story of how they became friends is the most blatant example of bad writing.

[Zapper]

I wouldn't call the Slice of Life episodes filler, either.
I guess some of us would have just preferred an overarching plot (similar to the key storyline) for the last season, especially since the villains banded together. It also feels strange that the entire "Twilight will become ruler" thing hasn't been brought up again.
Buuut we still have over half a season to go. Maybe there will be more story in the second half.

[TJgamer]

I thought this episode was pretty sweet.   
Wind Sprint is so adorable, and I do feel bad for Quibble Pants.
Also gotta give props to Clear Sky for being a very level-headed mother.

Interesting to see Snips return and get involved in Snails' success. I think some of us wanted to see it utilized more in the overall story, but I guess it makes sense for it to just be a matter-of-fact side plot that would be expected from this set of circumstances.

Rainbow Dash is still a moron though (what else is new). But, to her credit, some of her ideas aren't the worst we've seen out of her. And she at least did get called out for her stupidity at the end.
That being said, I didn't like how she suggested to Quibble that maybe he shouldn't have come to her for sports related advice, almost as if she knew the right answer all along. Really, this was just as much her fault as is Quibble's (arguably more).

Now in slight response to Al1701's post, honestly, I found Common Ground to be a little more satisfying than The Perfect Pear. While I think that episode was more "well made" with higher emotions and a more out-there story structure, this episode didn't leave as much left in ambiguity. Sure, we don't know if Wind's father died or was divorced, though I'm pretty sure it's the former for a number of reasons, but that aspect doesn't have as large of a presence in the episode as the parents did in The Perfect Pear. That, and we were only just introduced to Quibble's new love and potential stepdaughter. Whereas we've known the Apple family for years with a large part of their history still left unanswered (not to the characters, but to us the audience).

Anyway, with all that said, this was a decent and cute episode with a heartwarming moral about two future family members learning to find a common ground to bond.