YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S7 E15 "Triple Threat"

• Accidental Aesop: Thorax and Ember unwittingly teach each other two important lessons about being in charge.
  • Being a leader means putting your foot down when you make a decision or rule, not groveling for obedience.
  • Likewise, talking your feelings through can be more productive than winning an argument.
• Adorkable: Thorax manages to be this in several moments, gleefully greeting Spike, being entranced by the Flame of Friendship, and making himself comfortable in one of Twilight's chairs.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Some have taken Thorax's behavior in this episode to hint he's pregnant. After all, if the changelings function like an insect hive in terms of reproduction, it follows that the "queen" would be the one to produce eggs to be fertilized. He mentions stress, trouble sleeping, constantly has an upset stomach, and his moods are a bit more erratic than in past appearances.
• Fanfic Fuel: The Cutie Map can now call on Spike. Aside from obviously inviting plotlines like that, all bets are off on who else it could potentially call; they don't even have to be ponies now.
• Fridge Brilliance: While the canonicity may vary, Spike's fears become a lot more sensible when you take the IDW comics into play, specificially the issues of the conflict between Yakyakistan and the dragons. To get a sense of how bad it was, Spike was the Only Sane Man amongst everyone, including Twilight.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • A semi-common joke when Twilight got her new castle was the idea of Spike finding it tempting to eat due to it being made out of crystal. This episode shows Ember mistaking the walls for food and happily chowing down.
  • Ember's breath weapon really is pink!
• Ho Yay:
  • The Spike/Thorax Ho Yay is still going—Thorax is very happy to see Spike again and repeatedly tries to confide his leadership problems with him. The last time Spike freaks out and tries to stop Ember from meeting him, Thorax's reaction looks like that of someone who had been stood up for a date, and his reaction when he finds out about what's really going on looks like a bad breakup.
  • Star Bright and Silver Script look like they might be on a date. The heart decor on their chairs and the roses on the table make the setting look a bit more romantic.
• I Knew It!:
  • Between the division towards Starlight and all the general turmoil that caused "A Royal Problem", some people theorized that the map could call other ponies in addition to the Mane Six to solve a friendship problem. This chapter confirms this theory, with the addition that it can also call someone of any species.
  • Many fans theorized that because of his ability to form peaceful connections with dragons and changelings, Spike would be destined to become an ambassador.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Many fans were hoping that there would be a long-standing hatred between changelings and dragons to give Spike's motivation of keeping Thorax and Ember apart some weight as opposed to him just assuming they wouldn't get along.
• The Woobie:
  • Fans felt really bad for Derpy Hooves's muffin after Ember smeared it on the side of a building.
  • Thorax, and to a lesser extent Ember, are both quite upset that Spike wouldn't spend time with them.

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