Ahhhhh, "Putting Your Hoof Down", or as I like to call it, "The Return of Flutterb*tch"!!! Come on, you know as well as I do we all had a deliciously gratuitous chuckle when we saw that side of Fluttershy return in this episode. Alright, in all seriousness, there's a lot of good to be said about this episode, so let's get right on down to the meat of this review.

So "Putting Your Hoof Down" is the first Fluttershy-centric episode of Season 2, the first actually since "A Bird in the Hoof" back in Season 1. While I don't consider it to be the best of her episodes, I'd say it's definitely in my top three Fluttershy episodes, for a couple of reasons. I guess let's talk about Fluttershy first; in short, she's got a confidence problem. Wait a minute... haven't I seen this episode before? Yes, as those of you well acquainted with this episode may know, one of the frequent criticisms of it is that we'd seen this lesson before for Fluttershy. More than once in fact. In fact, I will certainly admit that, on the surface, this episode is dangerously derivative of past Fluttershy-centric episodes, even if it's not entirely the same. That said, though, how does this differ from past appearances from good ol' Flutters? Well, in "Dragonshy" she had to overcome a fear of an actual, physical being, a dragon. In "Stare Master", she had to learn that she shouldn't underestimate how much work certain responsibilities require, not really so much about confidence besides that she shouldn't be afraid to be assertive for the sake of others who are her responsibility (which we'd already seen a lot in "Dragonshy"). In "Putting Your Hoof Down" however, Fluttershy learns how to be assertive, and not for any other ponies' sake, but simply, her own. At the beginning she's a bit of a doormat, as the episode goes on she goes way too far the other way and ends up becoming a raging terror, but by the end she's struck a nice balance, learning how to be assertive and stick up for herself while remaining her sweet self. It's a good lesson, the execution and pacing of Fluttershy's learning it is quite excellent, and Fluttershy displays a nice bit of character growth in the process. While the lesson she learns may seem a bit redundant on the surface, it is subtly different from those she's learned in the past, and for that reason along with everything else in the episode I'm pretty forgiving of it.

Fie to all those people who say that Fluttershy is cutest po- HNNNNNGGGGGGG, heart attack!!!!!!!!!

So what else works in this episode? Well first of all, Rarity and Pinkie Pie are a blast. I love that only a few of the Mane 6 are involved in this episode instead of the whole group, just because that's a nice change that we didn't always get in Season 1 but saw more and more in Season 2 on a regular basis. In addition, they're simply hilarious both of them, especially during the market scene when they're trying to teach Fluttershy how to be assertive. Pinkie Pie's haggling bit with the tomato stall owner (and later haggling with Iron Will) always leaves me in stitches and is an epic send up to one of the greatest Looney Tune's bits ever, the legendary "Rabbit Season/Duck Season" bit. Finally, they're just great friends throughout and remain at Fluttershy's side through thick and thin, even when she's treating them terribly. Kudos to both of them on being a couple of upstanding ponies!

Next, Iron Will, the new supporting character of this episode, is a hoot and a holler! Honestly, I love this guy, and who wouldn't; I mean, he's a Mr. T parody for crying out loud! He even says "I pity the pony", how amazing is that?!?! Besides his over-the-top, hilarious behavior, the guy's just an interesting and unique supporting character. I mean, he's a freakin' motivational speaker for crying out loud and a minotaur; no one could honestly have seen this guy coming even in MLP, and it just goes to show how creative Studio B's writers were by this point. Finally, I have to take issue with how so many bronies contend that Iron Will is a secondary antagonist, because, to be frank, he's not! He's quite polite at times throughout the episode, and while he teaches a flawed method of being assertive, he still has good intentions; he wants to teach ponies, probably far more timid than minotaurs are in the MLP universe, how to be assertive, that's hardly a bad thing! Heck, he even learns a little something from Fluttershy at the end, and certainly doesn't cause her any more trouble when she makes it clear that she hasn't been satisfied by his services and won't be paying his fee. Overall, Iron Will's not really a jerk, he just has a big personality and is a bit too aggressive for his own good, but as Fluttershy puts it best, "Iron Will's not a monster. He's a minotaur." Me, I like the guy; always have and always will!

Well, that about does it for this review. Not much else to say other than what I've already said. Between nasty Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie/Rarity, and Iron Will, the episode's very funny, has a good lesson for a Fluttershy episode (even if it's a bit redundant on the surface of past lessons), and is all around just a good Season 2 episode. Certainly not the greatest episode in MLP, but definitely a noteworthy one with its own unique feel, and always fun to rewatch that's for sure!