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S02:E22 - Hurricane Fluttershy


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  1. 1. Did you like it?

    • No, I hated it! >:(
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    • I didn't like it.
      0
    • Meh. It was ok.
      2
    • I liked it!
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    • I LOVED IT! <3
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Yes, and how sad. And almost unprecedented shout out to the non-traditional fans of the show (the bronies) was turned into a PR nightmare by, as I understand it, some of those fans themselves. Why they complained about the characteristics of a character they had basically created themselves (and why Derpy is any more offensive than a zillion other similar cartoon characters, or worse) is beyond me.

 

Not everyone enjoyed referring to the character as Derpy. Plenty of people were insulted by the name and referred to her instead as Ditzy Doo. In truth, prior till the her debut in the episode, I was one of those who preferred to call her Ditzy, though in my case it was more due to an excellent fanfic I read shortly after coming into the fandom, Ditzy Doo's Dismally Derpy Day that made me view Derpy as an insulting nickname of hers. Odds are I probably would have stuck with Derpy had it not been for that fanfic. Others have much more grounded, serious reasons for taking offense at the name. Some people are just a lot more sensitive over some issues than they might be others.

 

With Derpy I suspect it was a perfect storm combination of the eyes, her actions, and her voice along with the name. Tabitha St. Germain thought Derpy was a stallion and as such adopted a much deeper voice, a voice that when attributed to a mare makes her sound like a stereotypical complete idiot. Combine that with how she acted and her eyes, and in truth it looked as if she was created solely for the purpose of making fun of the mentally disabled. Had her name been left as Ditzy Doo as was the original intent of the writer of the episode, Amy Keating Rogers, I don't think people would have overreacted nearly as much. Had her voice been much closer to the fanvoice, I don't think people would have overreacted. It was the combination of all the factors that did it in.

 

Let's also be honest and look at the Derpy Debacle from outside the fandom for a moment. Sure, to us in the fandom, Derpy represents a wonderful connection, because we really did pretty much create her by going after a two second animation error from the pilot in such a strong way. She never would have existed otherwise and the model chosen for her would be just another background pony not many people pay attention to. But to those outside the fandom, especially the parents of all those kids of the target demographic--and that target demographic still outnumbers us--she just comes across as something rather insulting. And since My Little Pony's target demographic is little girls rather than little boys, like most other shows that have had characters one would think would get the same sort of reaction, I suspect the reaction of the parents involved was that much stronger as a result.

 

Let us also not forget that even though Derpy had to be altered, the connection she represented isn't lost. The creators of the show still love their expanded fandom, for the most part, and still provide plenty of nods to us in the show. Let's accept those nods for what they are, an extraordinary acknowledgement few shows ever make, rather than asking for even more and sounding like spoiled children.

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Hodgson's Law is in full effect in episodes which involve standard physics. Doing the math is probably more trouble than it is worth.

 

The math guy in me is going to rationalize it to myself by saying that the math involved is exponential rather than linear and leave it at that.

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Not everyone enjoyed referring to the character as Derpy. Plenty of people were insulted by the name and referred to her instead as Ditzy Doo. In truth, prior till the her debut in the episode, I was one of those who preferred to call her Ditzy, though in my case it was more due to an excellent fanfic I read shortly after coming into the fandom, Ditzy Doo's Dismally Derpy Day that made me view Derpy as an insulting nickname of hers. Odds are I probably would have stuck with Derpy had it not been for that fanfic. Others have much more grounded, serious reasons for taking offense at the name. Some people are just a lot more sensitive over some issues than they might be others.

 

With Derpy I suspect it was a perfect storm combination of the eyes, her actions, and her voice along with the name. Tabitha St. Germain thought Derpy was a stallion and as such adopted a much deeper voice, a voice that when attributed to a mare makes her sound like a stereotypical complete idiot. Combine that with how she acted and her eyes, and in truth it looked as if she was created solely for the purpose of making fun of the mentally disabled. Had her name been left as Ditzy Doo as was the original intent of the writer of the episode, Amy Keating Rogers, I don't think people would have overreacted nearly as much. Had her voice been much closer to the fanvoice, I don't think people would have overreacted. It was the combination of all the factors that did it in.

 

Let's also be honest and look at the Derpy Debacle from outside the fandom for a moment. Sure, to us in the fandom, Derpy represents a wonderful connection, because we really did pretty much create her by going after a two second animation error from the pilot in such a strong way. She never would have existed otherwise and the model chosen for her would be just another background pony not many people pay attention to. But to those outside the fandom, especially the parents of all those kids of the target demographic--and that target demographic still outnumbers us--she just comes across as something rather insulting. And since My Little Pony's target demographic is little girls rather than little boys, like most other shows that have had characters one would think would get the same sort of reaction, I suspect the reaction of the parents involved was that much stronger as a result.

 

Let us also not forget that even though Derpy had to be altered, the connection she represented isn't lost. The creators of the show still love their expanded fandom, for the most part, and still provide plenty of nods to us in the show. Let's accept those nods for what they are, an extraordinary acknowledgement few shows ever make, rather than asking for even more and sounding like spoiled children.

 

Your comment about not acting like spoiled children is well-taken, as are your arguments regarding the legitimate reasons some objected to her. If the objections had been limited to the target audience I would have understood. What I didn't get was the bronies who objected to her. Why would the people who created her object to characteristics they had given her themselves?

 

Your "perfect storm" point also makes much sense. I much preferred Balddumborat's fan voice, and, yes, Tabitha gave her a stallion's voice. But "derpy" does not mean mentally retarded. Until I started reading about her, I had never heard the word before. As I understand it, it simply means "clumsy." If anyone were going to be offended by clumsiness it would be me, as I am perhaps the clumsiest person who has ever lived. Furthermore, I have a personality disorder, which means I am technically mentally disabled. But then, I am not the mother of a little girl who watches the show. Again, the objection of that demographic makes more sense than the objection of bronies. But I must ask why making her a stereotypical "dumb blonde" with the name "Ditzy" ("ditzy" being a common adjective to describe "dumb blondes") would be any less objectionable, especially considering that some of the children and mothers in the audience would naturally resent the stereotype.

 

I feel a sort of special connection to Derpy. After discovering the series I began reading fan fics and I encountered her almost at once. I couldn't wait to see her on the show, delivering mail and interacting with the other characters exactly as I had seen her written. It wasn't until after I had watched the entire first season that I found out everything I had read about her had been created by the fans. That's why I was in seventh heaven when she was addressed by name and spoke to us. The entire Internet seemed to explode with joy. The whole fiasco was just a shame.

 

I have no intention of arguing about this (I got in trouble on another forum for doing so). I thank you for your input and hope you will accept mine as well. Other than that, what's done is done, none of us can do a thing to change it.

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One of my friends actually went about calculating the strength of a pegasus' wing power based on some rough estimates and observations. I don't remember the exact number, but I do recall Rainbow Dash's wings displacing several tons of force. I'll have to go and ask him for the stats again.

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Your comment about not acting like spoiled children is well-taken, as are your arguments regarding the legitimate reasons some objected to her. If the objections had been limited to the target audience I would have understood. What I didn't get was the bronies who objected to her. Why would the people who created her object to characteristics they had given her themselves?

Well, as I said, not everyone in the fandom liked her. There were some who disliked the character even outside of the whole Derpy/Ditzy name debate. I honestly have no idea how large a segment of the fandom that really was--probably not a very large group--but there were some who felt that way about her.

Your "perfect storm" point also makes much sense. I much preferred Balddumborat's fan voice, and, yes, Tabitha gave her a stallion's voice. But "derpy" does not mean mentally retarded. Until I started reading about her, I had never heard the word before. As I understand it, it simply means "clumsy." If anyone were going to be offended by clumsiness it would be me, as I am perhaps the clumsiest person who has ever lived. Furthermore, I have a personality disorder, which means I am technically mentally disabled. But then, I am not the mother of a little girl who watches the show. Again, the objection of that demographic makes more sense than the objection of bronies. But I must ask why making her a stereotypical "dumb blonde" with the name "Ditzy" ("ditzy" being a common adjective to describe "dumb blondes") would be any less objectionable, especially considering that some of the children and mothers in the audience would naturally resent the stereotype.

 

Why do Snips and Snails get a pass when Derpy doesn't? Why is Crackles acceptable? What about, for this most recent episode, Roid Rage, another arguably insulting stereotype?

 

Truth be told I don't know the reason. As I said I suspect it has to do greatly with the perfect storm of making her stand out because a great deal of attention was given to her, both in the episode itself and in the explosion of fan support after the episode premiered. In particular the way the episode is set up, it seems as though the events of the episode are her fault. Had she not broken Town Hall, Applejack wouldn't have had to try and compete for money, and so on.

 

As for personality disorders and clumsiness, you're not alone on that one. Funny thing is though...the ones in the fandom itself getting offended by Derpy's appearance are not the ones who possess disabilities. In fact some of Derpy's largest support during the Save Derpy campaign came from people who actually have a real life condition(whose name escapes me at the moment) that resembles Derpy's eye issues. So honestly, I feel safe enough lumping those within the fandom itself that were offended over Derpy as being overly sensitive. And as one of the most sensitive people you'll ever meet, that's quite an accusation coming from me.

I feel a sort of special connection to Derpy. After discovering the series I began reading fan fics and I encountered her almost at once. I couldn't wait to see her on the show, delivering mail and interacting with the other characters exactly as I had seen her written. It wasn't until after I had watched the entire first season that I found out everything I had read about her had been created by the fans. That's why I was in seventh heaven when she was addressed by name and spoke to us. The entire Internet seemed to explode with joy. The whole fiasco was just a shame.

 

You're not alone on that either. In my case, while I wouldn't say I had a special attachment to Derpy herself, I did really love how she represented a connection between us pony fans and the creators of the show. When she was named and spoke, I was a part of that explosion of joy. When she was altered and removed, I too was upset, but because I feared the connection had been lost. It has been made clear since then though, through numerous other nods within the show itself and through what the writer of the episode, Amy Keating Rogers, said in a statement, that said connection wasn't lost. So while I will maintain an outright refusal to watch any version of the episode with the modified Derpy on principle, I've moved on.

I have no intention of arguing about this (I got in trouble on another forum for doing so). I thank you for your input and hope you will accept mine as well. Other than that, what's done is done, none of us can do a thing to change it.

 

Of course. I'm not really trying to argue so much as inform. All input is valid in my eyes anyway.
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Words!

 

You want to know something. I actually studied the, what I called, the "Derpy incident." Truth be told, there is a lot more to it then what we see. I could literally go on an on about what actually went on it, theories, evidence, and all that other stuff. There is a lot to do with why the derpy incident became more worse then it should've been. (If you want to hear my thoughts, PM, this is not the place.),

 

However, I will say this. Looking at the season 2 episodes: "Secret to my excess," "Putting your hoof down," and "Hurricane Fluttershy" made me realize something: Derpy is a much better fan service in the background. Studio B does a great job at doing fan service when they don't shout it out and show it more directly. They have only done this fan service two times, (1 was when they derped derpy's eyes again in the "Feeling Pinkie keen," and the 2nd being last roundup,) and 1/2 of them got them in "Trouble" so to speak.

 

If you look at Putting your hoof down, and look at the background at the right spot, you see Derpy has a muffin pic on her bag. (This is proven to be a muffin and not a random brown thing because Bon-bon has a pic of Lyra's cutie mark on her bag.)

 

When you think about it, Studio B should stop shouting out the fan service and just stick with subtle ones. They should leave huge fan service to Hasbro and the Hub.

 

Some people think Fan service ruins shows. It doesn't. Being slaves of fans does. I personally love fan service, but I know sometimes the risk isn't worth it. I will never forget that moment when they said Derpy on my TV screen. It will always be in my heart. :)

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it seems as though the events of the episode are her fault. Had she not broken Town Hall, Applejack wouldn't have had to try and compete for money, and so on.

 

That's just a bit of an exaggeration, as Applejack was going to compete anyway (the party at which Town Hall was destroyed was to send her off). But true, she did afterwards promise to donate her winnings to the repair job. Whether or not she would have avoided returning home anyway (just because she was ashamed of not winning a blue ribbon, aside from financial considerations) is something the writers didn't tell us. But I understand what you mean.

 

I loved the scene where Fluttershy is training haha I can watch it over and over again

 

Fluttershy in athletic headband and ankle bands...can you say "sockies???"

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Wait, how many characters so far cried? First Pinkie, then Rainbow, then Spike, then Fluttershy, right?

 

There was also Fluttershy causing both Pinkie and Rarity to cry in Putting your Hoof Down. And Rarity was crying over "losing" her ribbon in Lesson Zero, so you should factor those in. And Twilight - she cried in Return of Harmony, Part 2, after losing her friends. (One tear, but it counts ;)) Heck, if you want to be pedantic, both Celestia and Luna cried before Pinkie did, in Elements of Harmony. Edited by SolarPony
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Now, to end with something a little different: Math.

 

Dash's goal was for 1000 wing power, and she specifically asked for a minimum of 10 wing power for each pegasus. For the sake of argument, let's say the average wingpower was 12 by Tornado day. Given this average, there would have needed to be around 80-85 Pegasus (Give or take a few) in the group to meet this goal. On Tornado day however, 8 were sick with the feather flu. Going on the assumption that the 1000 goal was reached, the loss of 8 pegasus wouldn't have accounted for a 200+ loss in power. For this, the 8 missing would have needed a min of 25 WP each, and even with the about 70-72 or so who participated (factoring in the 12 average) they should have reached their goal of 800 with enough to spare. Even if we assume the 1000 wasn't reached, there still should have been enough WP between them to reach 800 easy.

Its a little more complicated than that. The WP would be increased by centrifugal motion. Also, the loss of Thunderlane was a huge problem because weaker fliers couldn't fly in his wake. That would reduce friction, increasing their own WP. Even then, it is a bit of a stretch, but not a bad guess for writers.

 

Somepony at deviantart thinks like i do!

 

 

 

Posted Image

 

 

 

 

Don't you use your fancy mathematics to muddy the issue!

 

Mmmmm. I've got to make a meme out of that one.

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  • 1 month later...

This episode was totally awesome. I really enjoyed watching it. And I hope there are more Fluttershy episodes on S3 :D

 

PS: Sorry for my english... greetings from Chile!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hurricane fluttershy is my absolute favorite episode. The story is so damn awesome and true and everyting. First time i watched it, I had to watch again and again because it was soooooo awesome (normally I only have to watch it around 2-3 times, and then I can take another episode. Yeah, a litte bit weird, I know).

 

But i like it when derpy talks too. I really hope that she will talk to us again i season 3. and 4 and 5 and EVERY SEASON :lol:

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

 

This was a great Fluttershy episode and this episode was a lot better then putting your hoof down. I liked when we looked into more of Fluttershys past and it dealt with a problem that a lot of people have. Also the way Angle Bunny acted was great to.

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This is easily my favorite episode. I love the lesson and honestly, I can relate to the experience from the perspective of both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. I know how frustrating it can be to feel like you're not up to par with your peers, and how it can feel when someone you care about is going through the same thing, but you have problems of your own.

 

Yeah... I really love this episode.

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