spoiler Tanks For The Memories: An Allegory For Something Sadder?

[Grepper 3,193]

An allegory. That explains why it seemed like she was overreacting to her pet temporarily going away.

 

Yes. It you are in a position were you think you can save a loved one, you will move mountains to do it. Not being in a position to move mountains usually brings a feeling of uselessness and longing to be able to affect change.

I would do the same thing as Dash 10 times over.

 

Lots of property damage, huh?

[Pastel 7,630]

It makes this scene a lot sadder when you have this is mind:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L71z7vUsPRo

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,695]

 

Huh? Huh? 

 

Just kidding. I'd better watch the episode first.

[Felix 1,363]

The episode was fantastic. I not only loved it for the message and what it was, seeing the personal side of Dash and whatnot, but also because like many people in this thread it would seem I too have gone through this situation before. More than once for that matter. The episode touched my heart in a way no other has before. The writer really took a step here and I'm glad they did. I can easily sympathize and reach out to what was going on.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Felix

[AmberDust 1,118]

I certainly noticed the five stars of grief, too...and the last scene felt an awful lot like a burial. I mean, it literally was. Not to mention the title.

I really wonder if the younger viewers who watch his episode will catch the theme...it wasn't exactly subtle. I mean, nopony would be so upset about being separated for only a few months.

 

I actually cried at the end of this episode, and I still am. (I just watched it.)

 

I lost my own grandfather recently, (two months, yesterday) and I couldn't help but think about him the whole time. The way RD mishandled Tank throughout the episode really hurt, too...it became hard to watch.

Honestly, I don't think I'll be watching this episode again. It was good, and well done, but it's far to real for me right now. I never really got to say goodbye to my Nonno. He was asleep. I guess that's why I'm crying.

 

 

Sorry for that. I just needed to tell someone I guess.

 

[chirox the pony 1,336]

If they maybe focused on the sadness a little more and less on the moronic antics done by RD maybe this could have been a good episode. 

[immblueversion 331]

So wait wait, Tank is written out of the show now? It did sound like it was suggesting death with the five stages of grief, but it was also outright saying that Tank would be back after winter ends and spring starts. What, that's a lie to the audience and he's never going to wake up?

 

Only if the duration of the series takes place in the span of 2 or 3 months, because I'm pretty sure the episode made it clear enough that Tank is not going to die from hibernation.

[UnknownFry 169]

Maybe. Dealing with a temporary loss is great way to introduce some of the concepts  used in something more drastic.

 

I don't we were supposed to sympathize with Rainbow Dash in her actions but rather more so on the concept of loss, and yes grieving is a selfish process before acceptance is reached.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,359]

Yeah, it seems that a lot of people are making this connection, but coming from someone who has lost the person closest to me (my father), I really don't think it's fair to equate hibernation with death. :/

[immblueversion 331]

Then why is practically everyone and their mother saying in this very thread that it's about death? An allegory implies something else.

 

Because of Rainbow Dash's reaction to the news, and the fact that Tank is buried in the end. It's very much treated like a death, even though Tank is still alive.

[Abia 258]

Because of Rainbow Dash's reaction to the news, and the fact that Tank is buried in the end. It's very much treated like a death, even though Tank is still alive.

The title "Tanks for the Memories" also implies that no more memories will be made.

[immblueversion 331]

Except the episode also clearly states it's until Spring. I think people are reading too deeply into it.

 

Based on this, I don't think it's about death. Rainbow just overreacted and was treating it as such.

 

That's what makes it an allegory for death.

Edited April 26, 2015 by immblueversion

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

Anyone who ever loved a pet can appreciate the deeper message in the episode. Still, I am hoping we get to see at least a couple scenes where Rainbow pauses by that tree and smiles. Maybe even have her take a quick time-out from her Winter Wrap-up duties to eagerly wait for Tank to emerge from his hibernation.

 

"No Fluttershy, gimmie that bell! Let me be the one to wake up Tank! See, I have his propeller and goggles right here. He's going to help me round up the birds and bring them back to Ponyville!"

[Jeric 46,866]

Or people are really just reading too deeply into it. Or I don't understand how an allegory works. Probably the latter. Sigh.

 

No, it is indeed an allegory. Long history of this approach in children's narrative. 

 

Also, this. I really don't see how 'just hibernating' is a bigger message.

[SteffieMusings 295]

I also believe that that was the hidden in the episode, but without having anything bad to happen to Tank.

 

It's a good message for everyone, especially children when it comes to losing/ having lost a pet.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

That actually sounds pretty accurate. It can actually be a perfectly well explanation on Rainbow Dash's behavior. I mean everyone acts out of the ordinary when going through the 5 stages of grief.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,887]

This is one of the only episodes of FiM that has actually made me cry at all and this one in particular hit me pretty hard. Seeing her desperation and sadness at the end was heartbreaking.

 

That's the genius of it though. They were able to convey this message so well without actually dealing with something as grim as death. DHX are extremely crafty and I love them for it, even if they did make me cry. I still get this sinking feeling when I think about those scenes too...

 

All of this really makes me love the episode. I think it is by far the saddest episode yet but that is a part of its strength and it's message.

[Carolina 212]

I definitely got the impression that "hibernation" is a euphemism for "death." Look at that scene where Rainbow Dash is trying to avoid even saying the word!

 

On top of that, though, I also think this episode might be hinting at something deeper going on with Rainbow's psyche. She really hates being along and will do anything to avoid it. It seems to be her trigger/vulnerable point just as much as it was Pinkie's in "Party of One." It made me wonder if she has lost someone else in the past. Or else maybe she dislikes being alone because it forces her to think about things she wouldn't have to deal with otherwise (one of my main characters who is very, very similar to Rainbow Dash has the exact same issue.) I will say that this episode made me like Rainbow Dash quite a bit more than I had previously! She seems like a really deep character and I hope more of this is explored - even if it is at a subtle level.  

 

ETA - on the other other hand (lol), that isn't to say there aren't other types of loss less extreme than death. It can be very hard to have a friend move away, too, even if you still have contact with them. Tank isn't dead, but Rainbow Dash still isn't going to be able to see or talk to him for a long time. Added to that, is of course, that this was a pretty sudden realization.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Carolina

[Red Cedar 1,408]

Unfortunately, I think this was indeed intended to be an episode on grieving.

 

I say unfortunately, because I was really hoping such an episode would have focused on Applejack and her parents.

 

It is still an excellent episode, in my mind, though. Although I question why Dash saw fit to add "Causing millions of bits in property damage" to the five stages of grieving.

[meaples 1]

I think the episode covered all 5 stages of grief quite well but the overall weightage of implied death was IMHO not enough to really strike the heart so to say. The overall message seemed to be more relatable to people who have gone down the same path before but it feels like a somewhat not-quite-there attempt to intoduce the concept to members of the audience who haven't. Maybe it is just me but I was actually leaning towards the following during the episode:

 

1) RD taking a natural occurence and blowing it out of context

 

2) Refusal to listen to advice of friends with credentials (fluttershy is somewhat valid as an anthropologist) and seeking phony corroborative evidence (spike) to back one's false confidence actually flashed more anti-vaxxer/anti-stuff concepts than the grief message of the episode

 

3) Damage to property including causing potential risk of death to the workers at the cloud plant. Being an engineer here really hit some strings that she was not accountable at all for her actions and really put all the plant workers lives at risk. The should make her visit a hospital next episode to show that her actions affected someone else.

 

The episode would definitely be better and much darker than some would like it to be if Tank had actually died as I think everyone would understand the overall message. Then again, this is a kids show with GoT references so maybe I am just looking a little further than usual.

 

+1 because AJ cries inside. We all do AJ.

[Jangocoolguy 433]

Oh yes, it was clear they were dealing with loss.

 

...unfortunately, it's somewhat negated because he'll come back in the spring. People here are saying they've lost pets. So have I, and it's very upsetting. But hibernation is NOT death, folks. More like a seasonal, situational coma used to survive. It's not something to get as worked up over as an actual death. Unfortunately, the creative will never be allowed to actually bring up death, so this as close as they can get. And we're worse off for it

 

Plus...this might make me a terrible person, but I just like Tank enough to care. Sorry, but he hasn't been in enough episodes or gotten enough development for me to be sad to see him go, let alone a temporary absence.

 

Sorry, but that's just how I feel.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Jangobadass

[Grtxkkyz 388]

Why yes, this episode may very well be the closest the show deals about the demise of a loved one. And even if Dash's sabotage was rather nasty, in the end you can't help but feel the pain her sadness causes deep in her heart, which certainly makes you want to give the poor mare a hug. The truth is, we all have acted like Rainbow did in this chapter, each time a loved one has to say goodbye forever, but in the end we learn we just have to let them go, remember the love they had and still have for us, remember the beautiful memories we had with them and hope we will meet them someday again. Yeah, Tank wasn't truly dying, he was just undergoing a natural process for his species, but still, the message's pretty clear. And, as you have said, the way Rainbow reacts to Tank's hibernation certainly adds yet more layers of depth to her character, which hopefully will be explored more deeply in upcoming episodes

Edited April 28, 2015 by Dino-Mario

[Miles 2,513]

I say unfortunately, because I was really hoping such an episode would have focused on Applejack and her parents.

 

Pleeeease noooo...

 

I really would not be able to handle that.  This episode being an allegory worked perfectly.

 

I would go into full fledged dehydration if an episode focused on Applejack's parents...

 

 

 

 

 

~ Miles