Episode 5: Griffon The Brush Off.... Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

HELLOOO and welcome to Cultures Compendium of Reviews! As always I am Culture Shock. Your guide to all things cultural in Equestria and beyond. Today we have another adventurous review of MLP. Before we continue let me lay out the ground rules. Firstly, all content in this blog is the express opinion of its author. It does not nor should it ever reflect the overall opinion of the fandom. Lastly, if any of notice any mistakes, be it typos or otherwise, don't hesitate to let me know. With that said let's move on, shall we?

Season 1 episode 5 entitled Griffon the Brush Off. An episode dedicated to know your true friends from the fake ones. A major life lesson for anyone suffering with social anxiety. I myself suffer from antisocial behavior. While I may be very sociable online its not exactly a healthy lifestyle.

This episode focuses mainly on the budding friendship between Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. And que the shipping sign. Things start to pick up nicely as the two find a common interest in pranking of all things. Ah pranking. Nothing says friendship like a whoopie cushion in someones chair.

Everything seems to be going okay till an unexpected visit derails it. Enter Rainbow's childhood friend, Gilda the Griffon. For those unaware griffons are a mythical creature said to be half eagle and half lion. Judging from the episode title its obvious the writer is new to the concept considering "griffon" is actually spelled "grYPHon" in reality.

On the outside Gilda seems like your typical tough girl. However, on the inside she's a bird of a different color. Deep down Gilda represents a possessive type of friend. The type who usually think you belong to them.  And they'll go to any lengths to keep it that way. Like how Gilda used her stature to scare Pinkie away. Definitely not a cool thing to do to somepony with mental issues. *cough* Pinkemena *cough*.

Speaking of mental issues. Another problem with possessive friends is their attitude. While a true friend usually cares about others a fake friend only looks out for themselves. For instance, when Fluttershy accidentally bumped into her Gilda should have politely apologized like Shy did. However, instead Gilda bit the poor dears head off. That's both offensive and can psychologically damage characters like Fluttershy.

After witnessing Gilda's less than friendly outburst Pinkie decides to throw one of her signature parties in the gryphons honor. Gilda however believes Pinkie to have ulterior motives. After several hilarious mishaps Gildas true colors are revealed and her secret gets out. To her dismay, Rainbow Dash reveals it was her who set up the pranks. This is one of my favorite Rainbow scenes too because it shows the real Dash. Not the cocky, egotistical, and attention hungry pony we usually see. I also like the ending because of the kharmic message it sends. Treat others fairly or kharma WILL get you in the end.

Alright! That's my review on s1e05. Definitely one of the best episodes so far. I do reccomend this episode to anyone suffering with a social phobia or disorder. I give s1e05 a surprising 9.5 / 10. I hope you guys enjoyed this review. Be sure to leave a like if you did and feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments for a future review. Also, be sure to subscribe for more updates. This is Culture Shock, your guide to all things cultural in Equestria and beyond, saying KEEP CALM AND BRONY ON! PEACE!

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