User blog comment:B214/Episode 216 rant, review and discussion/@comment-1776824-20150117044144

Hmm, I didn't think it was as bad as what you're saying~ I enjoyed it from start to finish. Were there some parts that could've been done better (like Lucy's super weird clothing change)? Sure, but I mean nothing's perfect. Fairy Tail is supposed to be serious yet light-hearted at the core, so seeing that little Deneb scenario actually made me laugh. :D Juvia though...well, her character is half-half comedy and seriousness, and she displayed the serious parts where it was required and the comedic parts where it was appropriate, so I still see no problems there. =/

Hisui and her family have also dabbled in dark magic, so her having the same knowledge Levy has obtained from a book be stored up in her head seems kinda legit. Last episode, Natsu also calmed down from being sick, and the anime has (oddly) established that a Dragon Slayer can just about turn anything into a mode if it's powerful enough at the core. Dark Regulus was some kind of God Slaying redux so Natsu having access to it separately may not sit entirely well with me, but it is justified, so seeing him whip it out and use it not only offensively, but strategically as well puts my mind at ease.

Also, Ophiuchus' ability isn't a copy of Totomaru's, it's an ability where she can control whatever she wants because they are inside her body. So she is merely controlling Natsu's fire, Natsu's body, Happy's body, etc. to her every whim. Totomaru had pyrokinesis; Ophiuchus has fuck off imma rough you up. :D

What I think everyone's problem with this is is that they just have such a negative opinion of the first half of the arc that they are just overlooking all the good parts of the arc when they are handed to us. =/ You can not like something and still admit that it's better than the material surrounding it, which I think this episode deserves. But, to each his/her own~