MLP SEASON 6 REVIEW #3: Gauntlet Of Fire

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 16/4/16 - Written by Joanna Lewis & Kristine Songco

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

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After last weeks episode, I knew that whatever followed next would have a difficult task living up to it. Upon realising that this weeks episode was not only Spike-centred, but focused on the other members of his species that made Season 2's "Dragon Quest" so turgid to watch, I felt this was going to be a disaster. Knowing the quality of Spike-centric romps and that certain episode that first aired FIVE years ago, my hopes were not high for it. Even with that in my mind, I had to keep my composure, with all hope that my premonitions would be proven incorrect.

One thing that I want "Gauntlet Of Fire" to do more than anything else, is to do what pretty much every Spike episode since this series inception has failed to do, make him look strong. Not "Roman Reigns" strong where it looks so forced it loses its meaning, but showcasing as more than a weakling who needs assistance to overcome whatever problem he has. After 5 seasons of being displayed as a confidence lacking, self-absorbed and greedy embodiment of negative male characteristics, it would be great that like Apple Bloom last week, Spike is given the progression he deserves. After his mature episode-stealing role in "The Crystalling", I have the confidence that Lewis and Songco will do the right thing.

So here begs the question, can Spike have some positive development and not have it be a tense, irritating watch knowing the other dragons are around? This episode has a lot to accomplish in its 22-minute run-time, lets see if it can pull it off.

STORY AND NARRATIVE

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is a show mostly rooted in comedy. Not matter how action-packed or dramatic an episode can be, there is always a Pinkie Pie or something else to bring the laughs and produce the 'family friendly good time' vibe that this shows morals promote. Sometimes however, just like the original 1988 series, there are times where you have to throw the frivolity of the series cute, cuddly appearance out of the window to produce an episode of quality. In the Friendship is Magic 'verse, you have prime examples in its finales and premieres such as "Return Of Harmony", "Twilight's Kingdom", & "The Cutie Re-Mark" to name a few. Rarely do the regular season episodes pull the same tonal shift but examples such as "Dragonshy", "Bloom And Gloom", "Hurricane Fluttershy", "Bats", and "Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep" showcase proudly that it can be done well. Knowing the danger the characters would be in given the surroundings, the the appropriate decision was made to keep the comedy to a minimum and rarely shift the dramatic tone to keep its head above water, much to this episodes benefit.

While many episodes are forced to balance both tones and genres, this one had no such expectation, and thanks to the use of great continuity with Garble's involvement it drove antagonism and conflict that hadn't been seen along with the tone since last seasons' finale. It was refreshing to see this light-hearted show take a decidedly dark tone at times (one of which we'll get to later) not just in music and colour scheme. However in doing so they balanced them out by playing the thematic character development card by playing off the strength Spike and the newly introduced Princess Ember had to show in order to prove themselves and ultimately survive. While some may not appreciate a Spike episode being usurped by Ember's strive for female empowerment against the draconian views of her father, it provided for me a refreshing change in narrative storytelling as we'd not seen this happen in a show that has long made its male characters suffer for similar reasons. To see SPIKE be the one to help the subverted female overcome adversity was a nice changing of roles that made the episode feel special. Adding Princess Ember's role to the story helped buffer it out and give Spike some breathing room and stretch out the meaning of the themes while allowing the new characters intentions initially remaining unknown, bringing some more indecision and tension to the table. While this may be seen as padding, if it doesn't effect the episode in a bad way, I see no problem with it.

The episode followed Todorov's three-act structure to a tee, which was complimented by superb pacing to coincide with the tense tone exhibited throughout, we felt on edge going through it all. Everything seemed to be going great, right until the last six minutes though. Who thought a wipe transition and a character's change of heart could ruin the flow of what was at that point great on all counts? Well, it could be done. This is where the shortness of time this series episodes are set can hurt its natural progression. If Spike had been left at Flamecano beach by Ember ten minutes earlier, then her alignment shift would have felt drawn out, making you question whether Ember would come back rather than its have it happen after a MINUTE of screen time, thanks to a wipe showing the transition of time compensating for the episodes length, we were robbed of a more satisfying conclusion. With the good pacing's work undone and the ending being made very predictable, they weren't the only problems, especially considering how this episode started. Celestial & Luna, or as I will be calling them from now on: 'The Royal Princesses of Exposition' threw an absolute clanger which irritated me to no end. They stated they knew little about Dragon Culture, but somehow knew about the key plot device that brought this episode to light. It was highly suspicious and in my opinion felt shoehorned and like the pacing fell victim to timing constraints. I could also give negative attention to the Bloodstone Sceptre being a MacGuffin, but at least it mattered to the story and wasn't highlighted before entering the Dragon Lands or I would have been angrier.

As you can see, this episode got a lot right. When it came to story, continuity, themes and tone, they were all executed nicely, but thanks to pacing and timing issues as well as an exposition blunder for the ages, it can't take home full marks despite a glowing resume.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

WRITING AND VOICE ACTING

As you read in the introductory paragraphs, my one worry was whether Spike could be portrayed in a good way. In "Dragon Quest", he was portrayed as an emotionally fraught dragon looking to his species for guidance, only to be showcased as wimp whose social skills were flawed had peer pressure decide his movements and leave him so vulnerable that he had to be saved by his friends rather than fully face up to the problem himself. Going forward four seasons and five years later, I was hoping there would be a massive change reflecting his growth in that time. Thankfully, this was proven correct, and even better, the way in which Spike showed it surpassed ALL my expectations.

Not only did Spike show selflessness by putting his life on the line for Ponykind (which drew a tear from Twilight & Rarity), but he then proceeded to risk his life in saving Rarity, Ember and Garble from certain death over the course of the episode. Now THAT is character development and personal growth on show that I can get behind. For the first time, he has shown fortitude, composure and bravery in the face of adversity in his OWN episode. He also showed fantastic restraint being written to 'sarcastically' respect Garbles' presence which drew some unintentional comedic moments from their conflict thanks to his lack of intelligence. While some would say that like his prior episodes, Spike was helped by Princess Ember to achieve his goal, he did it by showing a great trust in her character and made the decisions for himself, which undermines that negative point completely. When looking at how Spike was written in this episode, Lewis & Songco hit a home-run straight out of the ball park into the sky.

I can also say the same in their writing of Princess Ember, who balanced the alignment spectrum of her species perfectly in being full of herself and proud while also showing compassion that no others dared show. Her 'critique' of typical pony fare was hilarious, showing her social flaws while allowing her to still look dignified and composed. Both dragons came across as a natural pairing despite their differences on said alignment spectrum, both of their scenes were endearing and tense without being overbearing and irritating. I couldn't ask for more there. Garble was written as expected considering his last involvement with this series, as easy to hate and dense as all hell, holding up to the dragon's typical archetype portrayal with a clenched fist. While I was afraid that he would simply be an inflated version of his prior appearance, the fact he stated he would commit mass-genocide on the Pony species if he became Dragon Lord really added a lot of depth to his character, and highlighted how much HE had grown from that prior episode alongside Spike. The outgoing Dragon Lord Torch while unintentionally funny at times with his calls to heed needed to be more present in the episode for me to have his domineering presence be more pronounced. As for Twilight and Rarity, considering how much Spike had done on his own, I'm certain they really didn't need to be in this episode at all as they didn't add much. However I will give them credit for providing the minimal comedy this episode needed to not become overbearing thanks to those random but sublime costume changes.

While writing aspect is glowing, I can't say the same for the voice acting. While Ember's vocal performance as the soft spoken and headstrong dragon was superbly executed, the other characters rarely brought anything to the table. While Torch's booming dramatic voice was nice, the British accent that complimented it was bordering on stereotypical and hurt my impression of his dialogue with every word spoken. Garble and Spike's vocal performances were pedestrian and outside of Rarity's shrieks, neither her or Twilight did enough to make me take notice. When you combine that with two writing irritants such as Twilight & Rarity moving with no explanation and Torch contradicting his own statement by restricting his daughter from competing yet that any dragon has the right to be in the Gauntlet, it proved that even though there was great character development and great action and subtle comedic writing to balance the tone, the voice acting wasn't the only reason this category is stopped from being something to out and out praise this episode for.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

ANIMATION

If you've read the prior reviews thus far, you'll have noted that the episodes have relied on piecing together a portfolio of smaller animation elements, without some 'big set pieces' to make the jaws drop to the floor, mostly due to story and writing weight stopping it from happening. I'm happy to say this time, we got given those set pieces I've been craving, much to this episodes advantage.

Those set pieces start small by taking a page out of the "Gift Of Maud Pie's" minimal good book by using the flurry of bats and a flying rock as ingenious and intuitive transitions before exploding literally with the range of light power emitted by the Bloodstone Sceptre's activation, Torch's hyperbolised design and as you can see above, the detailing on that sublime lava pool shot. The refraction of light changing the colour and the flow of the lava as it fell down was just icing on the cake. Then you have some well constructed camera angles that with some fantastic framing provided scope of size and great distance such as the lava pool shot above, Torch's greeting of the dragons at the start of the Gauntlet and the tense but albeit short Flamecano walkway confrontation between Garble & Spike. Even as the smaller elements proved their worth too, with the opening sequences' lovely showing of light and shadows complimenting the size of the cave and creating nice refractions off the crystals, while Rarity's creative disguises were superbly designed to fit in brilliantly while also being extremely comic in their movement and execution as practical viewing objects. I also have to compliment the seaweed costume looking like Chrysalis, which was an unexpected surprise, which was a nice laugh to get from seemingly nothing. Finally I have to praise Ember's design, which was extremely well done, just like her voice. She's been made to look elegant but still have the menacing look a dragon is expected to have, all in all feminine but not losing any of the qualities that her species and her robust personality puts on show.

While this may not have as many elements as "On Your Marks" or even "The Crystalling" showed, these bigger ones stood out more and had a much bigger impact. While this all sounds like it could get a perfect five, I have to clutch at straws and state that even if they were sublime to see, just like the story, pacing hurt the animation as well. These lovely pieces of quality animating were routinely spread out, with showcases of the barren and lifeless landscape proving not that enticing despite being be nicely designed. While this has limited it away from top marks like the rest so far, I can give the animations credit for stepping up their game for this one.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

MESSAGE

Just like "On Your Marks" last week, this episode had to deal with two separate plot points co-existing and trying to fight to be the best way to draw a moral or message from. Last weeks moral was executed superbly, balancing the plot points and allowing for them to compliment each other on an agreeable message that both could promote without undermining one another. I can happily say for the most part, this episode followed on from its immediate brethren and succeeded just as good.

Spike and Ember wholly lived up to the message that you don't need to be big and strong to be brave and showcase leadership qualities by highlighting their selflessness and resilience respectively. They both showed a willingness to succeed all without compromising anyone else's welfare in the process, and while that does kill the 'spirit of competition' that this show has noted as 'good' in the past, the episodes story didn't contradict their values that held the message up strongly. However even with that being as positive as it can be, inevitably, subtle foreshadowing ruined this message's execution from being flawless.

With Torch's emphasis on the traits needed to be shown by a dragon, it was inevitable once Ember spoke up against them that this episode would be dedicated to subverting and rising up against them. The outcome was easily predictable as noted above in the Story & Narrative section, which lessened its impact. While the shoehorning of the female empowerment angle was nice for the story, it hurt the message by enforcing that foreshadowing and predictability to a higher degree than it would have been if Spike had just been left too it. If Ember helped Spike suddenly, having her qualms about her fathers' morals come to head at the end of the episode it would have played out much better and made the message be robust enough to not fall under the weight of this criticism.

However, with that addition, the message comes across as nicely executed in terms of meaning and layering in the narrative, but it falls at the final hurdle thanks again... to pacing and laboured predictability. Therefore, I have to mark it down, away from the top spot.

RATING: 4 out of 5.

MUSIC

If there was one aspect along with Spike's portrayal in this episode that had me worried, it was the music. As this was an action packed and dramatic episode, I was fully expecting to hear intense orchestral segments to compliment the action set pieces and insight the tension that naturally comes from a challenge of this size in a place full of rocks and fire. It was predictable and repetitive but they were put together well and didn't overshadow the visuals, so I can be happy with it in that regard. While I was worried that this was the only calling card that this episode had in its Rolodex, it surprisingly hit me upside the head with four pieces of music that really caught me off guard, helping this episode look much brighter in an audible sense.

These four pieces were all cut from the same cloth, symbolising the characters that were on screen at the time, adding extra depth and meaning to their presence. Firstly, Torch's segments while short were accented by a booming low tone brass and trumpet section to emphasise his imposing size and power. Secondly Ember's scenes were accented by a woodwind section, symbolising her grace, elegance and intelligence despite her robust and menacing appearance. Thirdly, Garble was accompanied by low tempo brass (mostly from tubas) to inflate his negative presence and enforce his alignment. Finally, the high pitch minimal orchestral cues whenever Twilight & Rarity revealed a new disguise helped as did the writing, to break the tone and give some the moments of brief comedic clarity which the music complimented beautifully.

This episode could have been as dull as dishwater on a musical front, but these four additions did their job to make this episode one that was better than it rightfully should've been. I may be overrating the mark somewhat, but with little room to impress, this category did a lot to grab my attention and as a result didn't need to convince me it was worth it.

RATING: 3 out of 5.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As you've probably been aware of for some time having read this far, "Gauntlet Of Fire" managed to do what I didn't think it could and live up to the quality of last weeks episode. While it may not be at the same level as its predecessor, this episode could have been flatter than a flatfish at the bottom of the sea, but the writers and animators did all they could to grab my attention, and boy did it work.

This episode did EXACTLY what I outlined at the beginning of this article, showcase Spike as a strong character whose development finally paid off while not having it be done in a laboursome environment by providing enough action to stop the tenser moments from being overwhelming. That alone was enough to put it over a certain hurdle, but when you combine everything else together, it goes ever higher, more so than I originally anticipated. It wasn't an episode that did everything by the numbers, as the strong characters, drama, comedy, music selection and animation quality proved. While it did suffer from below-par pacing and voice acting along with some message and story issues, they weren't big enough to overshadow the good that this episode put out in front of me. Those problems may have carried this episode away from what I consider "Wall Of Fame" worthy on my rating scale, but the episode fought back, shrugged them off and proved to be a highly enjoyable watch, which at the end of the day is all I can ask of from Hasbro & DHX at this point.

Next week there is no episode to review, but alas I expect the quality continue. With the synopsis of "No Second Prances" finally being revealed, my excitement levels are through the roof, especially after these past two episodes surpassed all my expectations. I can't wait to see if the consistency will carry forward, but we'll have to wait and see on whether it does.

FINAL RATING: 19 out of 25.

LETTER GRADE: B+

In relation to other Season 6 episodes, it lines up as follows:

ON YOUR MARKS - 22/25, A-
GAUNTLET OF FIRE - 19/25, B+
THE CRYSTALLING - 12/25, C-
THE GIFT OF MAUD PIE - 7/25, D-

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I've been Freddy Thomas, you've been people reading. This has been an MLP Episode Review for The CC Network Blog. I'll see you all in two weeks time for the next review. Cheers!