Talk:What Lies Beneath/@comment-4531340-20180925084924

This was a really great episode, definitely among my favorites of the season (if not my favorite). Since I knew it would be so Young Six-centric, I had higher expectations for this episode than for practically any of the other early-release episodes (except for, perhaps, the finale). It managed to live up to those expectations completely, actually, which is rare (usually when I get my hopes up this high, I'm at least a little bit disappointed by some aspect of the episode.

As the Young Six continue to get more characterization, more depth to their characters, I just love them more and more. They're all so very charming (even Sandbar, who I think is the blandest of the Young Six - though I appreciate his role as the glue holding together the disparate personalities of the group). I really like the development for Silverstream (she was adorable in this episode, even moreso than usual, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we saw a side to her we really hadn't seen before, or had perhaps only seen hints of - namely one that wasn't so energetic and happy-go-lucky) Smolder (it makes sense that she would have either developed a side like that, having been in Equestria for so long, or else was able to nurture that latent side of her - and if it's the latter, that could very well be one of the reasons Ember chose her to go to the school), and Ocellus (I wonder, if Ocellus has that sort of fear in her, what might a changeling who actively participated in the invasion of Canterlot - since I assume she was too young for it at that point - feel? Like, as an example, Thorax - especially since he's the new ruler of the changelings? It also went to show how smart she is that she's leading the study group alongside Sandbar, though she doesn't have his advantage of being around ponies her whole life, and so not picking that sort of stuff up through osmosis). It was also cool to see how much Sandbar seems to look up to the Mane Six, as well as Gallus's and Yona's fears, even if theirs were the most basic (though they got development in a couple earlier episodes, so it's forgivable that their fears didn't develop them as much as the four I listed above).

The episode kind of reminded me of Vogel's previous ep, The Mean 6, in that it follows different character threads, cutting back and forth between them, until they finally intersect in the end, except that I like this one more because it feels more significant.

Also, I don't think there's any doubt anymore - Cozy is definitely up to something. And I'm not pretending I haven't already seen images from the finale, no sir Such a manipulative little filly.