S07:E05 - Fluttershy Leans In

[Sly 236]

2 minutes ago, Jeric said:

Another solid episode! I have so much to say about this one. We finally get Fluttershy's 'dream episode', a punctuation of sorts on Flutters character growth over six seasons, and a moral that operates as nice counter point to Suited For Success. 

I love when they nail legacy episodes like this!

Yeah while Lauren Faust never stated this specifically, I pretty much consider this episode for Fluttershy whether MMC plus Twilight's Kingdom were for Twilight, Canterlot Boutique plus the Saddle Row REVIEW were for Rarity, COTLM was for the CMCs and Newbie Dash was for Rd: her ultimate dream achievement......... althought I'm glad that Songco and Lewis had the GOOD SENSE of giving the episode from someone who already GOT the characters in past, unlike what's happened with the latter I mentioned. 

[FirePuppy 731]

Looks like with this episode, Fluttershy now has made her own successful goal, after Twilight becoming a Princess and getting her own castle, Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt, and Rarity opening her store in Manehattan.

Leaving Applejack and Pinkie with NOTHING!

But what I'm also a little concerned about is because this happened, will Fluttershy still have more potential for bigger roles later this season? I know Rainbow and Rarity still do. If they can, then Fluttershy can too!

[Sly 236]

2 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

Looks like with this episode, Fluttershy now has made her own successful goal, after Twilight becoming a Princess and getting her own castle, Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt, and Rarity opening her store in Manehattan

Don't forget the CMCs getting their Cutie Marks!

3 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

 

Leaving Applejack and Pinkie with NOTHING!

Yeah, about that: Twilight's, Rarity's, RD's and the CMCs' destinies were mentioned in an interview by Lauren Faust, but she hasn't stated anything about Pinkie, Fluttershy and AJ, so their final achievements were pretty unpredictable. But while Fluttershy's wasn't much hard to guess (of course it would have been something animal related), for Pinkie and AJ I have no clue of what their final achievements could be..... especially for the latter since, you know, when a character's destiny is to stay in you farm in Ponyville forever and when its element is honesty, you can't see much things of what her ultimate goal could be....

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

2 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Note: Although the U.S. won't air it till next week, Canada aired this episode today. Be prepared for spoilers!

Title: Fluttershy Leans In

Air Date (Canada): April 30, 2017
Air Date (U.S.): May 6, 2017

Writer: Gillian M. Berrow

Summary: "Fluttershy is determined to make her career dreams come true with the help of some very special ponies. But when her true vision is not being executed properly, she must find a way to stand up and fight for her ideas."

 

---

Canada aired this episode earlier this morning. For those who want to see it early, I'm linking to the video (the audio's a little fuzzy, though):

 

Thank you so much for the link, as I don't live in Canada. Besides, I don't get the channel on my cable system, and refuse to pay extra just for one channel. If it wasn't for YouTube, I'd have to go ponyless!

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

I couldn't help but be a bit confused. There are episodes that have hit really close to home for good or ill but this is the complete opposite. The entire premise felt dubious from the outset. At first these animal appear to be mooching off the vet and displacing care from the animals who actually need it. Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way is how the point of the sanctuary was about making the animals comfortable. The thing is, if you were to do that, they'd never leave because they get comfortable staying there.

The thing is, I've come to see comfort as a vice. It's nice to have it at times, especially when one must focus their attention and resources elsewhere but both mind, body and character will begin to wither as soon as one becomes chronically comfortable.

Despite this, the episode was relatively painless to sit through. The cognitive dissonance just ruined it for me.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

1 hour ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

Fluttershy said "Don't worry Doctor Fauna, you're the best vet in all of Equestria. At least that's what I've been telling everypony." EveryPony. Which I thought implies that these animals were owned by ponies. Why would a wild animal in Equestria go to a vet, when even normal pets hate vets?

Everypony is all encompassing. Spike is always included in "Everypony" as are the various other sapient species the ponies relate to. It also includes pets and critters. I get the feeling that Fluttershy told her wild animal friends that Doctor Fauma was a pony they could trust in.

Edited April 30, 2017 by cuteycindyhoney

[Firedog 320]

1 hour ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

how is she supposed to turn a profit from taking care of wild animals?

Half the time equestria doesn't make sense financially. Like how does fluttershy make money? Where does twilight make money from? Some ponies seem to have no job, but yet are financially fine. 

 

Things really dont make sense

[Dynamo Pad 11,195]

I thought this was a pretty good episode. It's interesting to see that Equestria has parkour events. I wonder if the contest was for animals, ponies, or both. Either way, it's pretty cool how parkour is canon to MLP. Some parts of that scene reminded me the show, Ninja Warrior. It was cool seeing the veterinarian pony. I don't think we seen her since the episode, "Secret to my Excess." It's also nice to know that she has a name. Dr. Fauna sounds pretty fitting for the pony. It was cool to see the raccoons from "The Saddle Row Revew." It was also pretty neat to see Tank yet again in the episode. I found it pretty funny how the bear was using the vet as a home or a bathroom, or something along those lines. I like how Fluttershy told her friends how she was able to build up her confidence. It's pretty great to see how far a character has come over the years in this show. Seeing the ponies that were helping Fluttershy had interesting character designs. The outfit that Wrangler was wearing reminded a bit of Indiana Jones, which I thought was a pretty cool reference. If not, then it was still a pretty cool outfit. I liked how Fluttershy had a plan to make the animal sanctuary. It was nice how she wouldn't change her mind from the experts point of view. It was also pretty nice how Fluttershy could stand up to the experts and told them to leave. However, I was hoping they would come back to apologize, or to at least help Fluttershy finish it the way she envisioned it. It was great to see Big Daddy McColt again after not seeing him for a few seasons. All in all, I thought this was a pretty nice episode. A lot of character growth for Fluttershy and it's nice to see her career dreams come true. 

Edited April 30, 2017 by Dynamo Pad

[FlareGun45 2,221]

54 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

Looks like with this episode, Fluttershy now has made her own successful goal, after Twilight becoming a Princess and getting her own castle, Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt, and Rarity opening her store in Manehattan.

Leaving Applejack and Pinkie with NOTHING!

But what I'm also a little concerned about is because this happened, will Fluttershy still have more potential for bigger roles later this season? I know Rainbow and Rarity still do. If they can, then Fluttershy can too!

So that leaves Spike and Starlight for their dream goals to be fufilled!

[ManaMinori 4,145]

12 minutes ago, Firedog said:

Half the time equestria doesn't make sense financially. Like how does fluttershy make money? Where does twilight make money from? Some ponies seem to have no job, but yet are financially fine. 

 

Things really dont make sense

Twilight's family is rich, (to be able to put her in Celestia's school, pay for an alicorn foalsitter, put her brother in the royal military, pay for their daughter's coronation, have 4 princess royals in their family. No doubt they're loaded). Fluttershy, on the other hoof.....maybe her parents send money from time to time

[Jeric 46,850]

33 minutes ago, Liquid said:

 Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way is how the point of the sanctuary was about making the animals comfortable. The thing is, if you were to do that, they'd never leave because they get comfortable staying there.

A line at the end of the episode added additional information "comfort ... while they recover."

So the vet is about triage and treatment, and the sanctuary serves as a recovery area for injured or sick animals while they heal, and since they focused on how far some of the animals traveled in dialog and visually) it makes sense this was main part of the mission statement of the sanctuary. 

17 minutes ago, Firedog said:

Half the time equestria doesn't make sense financially. Like how does fluttershy make money? Where does twilight make money from? Some ponies seem to have no job, but yet are financially fine. 

 

Things really dont make sense

And gems are food, decorations, and currency. Yeah, I have to ignore the economics of the show because it can't stand up to real scrutiny, but as a Trek fan I'm used to that. 

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

16 minutes ago, Jeric said:

A line at the end of the episode added additional information "comfort ... while they recover."

So the vet is about triage and treatment, and the sanctuary serves as a recovery area for injured or sick animals while they heal, and since they focused on how far some of the animals traveled in dialog and visually) it makes sense this was main part of the mission statement of the sanctuary. 

I just couldn't buy that, unfortunately. What's to stop them from simply staying just to get more of that comfort?

[Firedog 320]

1 minute ago, Liquid said:

I just couldn't buy that, unfortunately. What's to stop them from simply staying just to get more of that comfort?

Lol, now you're highlighting the problem with welfare in america

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

Just now, Firedog said:

Lol, now you're highlighting the problem with welfare in america

Heh. That was fast. Suppose I can talk about it at length but this isn't the place for that. Feel free to PM me if you do, though.

[Jeric 46,850]

1 minute ago, Liquid said:

I just couldn't buy that, unfortunately. What's to stop them from simply staying just to get more of that comfort?

If this was in our world I would say 'Science probably'.

I don't look at the worst case scenario. It's silly for me to do so in a show with this type of thematic direction. At least that's how I see it. While your interpretation imbues the characters with laziness, mine would see them as homesick. 

Ne'er the two shall meet, right?

 

 

My personal cognitive dissonance is related to feeling empathy toward Demon Bunny. O.o

His whimpers broke-a my heart

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

8 minutes ago, Jeric said:

If this was in our world I would say 'Science probably'.

I don't look at the worst case scenario. It's silly for me to do so in a show with this type of thematic direction. At least that's how I see it. While your interpretation imbues the characters with laziness, mine would see them as homesick. 

Ne'er the two shall meet, right?

Science, you say? Now I want to hear you out.

[Princess Book Horse 352]

Damn. Fluttershy might end up being my new favorite character one of these days. Also, I like that they threw a Starlight cameo in at the end there, that's always an easy way to make me happy.

 

P.S. BIG DADDY MCCOLT!! Between his appearance here and Maud's flashback where she accidentally helped evil Starlight in the last episode, it really feels like they're having a lot of fun with the surprise factor in this Season.

[FirePuppy 731]

1 hour ago, MegaSean45 said:

So that leaves Spike and Starlight for their dream goals to be fufilled!

Actually, Starlight's dream goal is already crossed off. Remember in Celestial Advice?

And Spike, I'm not so sure about him.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

7 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

Actually, Starlight's dream goal is already crossed off. Remember in Celestial Advice?

And Spike, I'm not so sure about him.

Starlight might've graduated, but she still didn't fufill her destiny yet, I know she's got one, and Spike too. I know DHX wouldn't just waste their characters like that. At least I hope not. 

[theonenamedDJ 37]

There was something about this episode that was "off" to me. The plot felt very thin and meandering, like there was no conflict in it. Now that I think about it, the core conflict is presented about 9 minutes in and solved like 5-6 minutes later with a good 6-7 minutes left. This is also compounded by the fact that this episode has the least surface-level entertainment.

Fluttershy's characterization was pretty good but this leads me back to the whole "thin conflict" part. She barely struggles or doubts herself, there's no progression or flow or arc to her characterization, even the experts leaving is not really considered a big deal. Even Rarity had to give up on her dream after it had creatively and emotionally drained her in "Canterlot Boutique".

With the experts, I'm conflicted. On one hand, I'm not sure if simply discounting the expert opinions presents a good message. Then again, they were presented as going behind Fluttershy's back and not following her vision and I suppose this "never done before" idea was something they weren't willing to experiment with. Then again again, this could be a missed opportunity to bring up a more realistic moral, like if you can't put ideas onto solid clear plans, then they might not come into fruition. This would make Fluttershy have to rethink her plans and work better with the experts.

I just don't know about this episode...

 

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Why does Berrow keep getting SoL episodes? I think she’d be better suited for something like a Daring Do episode, or some other adventure episode.

[FirePuppy 731]

2 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

Why does Berrow keep getting SoL episodes? I think she’d be better suited for something like a Daring Do episode, or some other adventure episode.

Oh brother... we already had a Daring Do episode last season. I'd rather not see another one THIS season.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

2 hours ago, Firedog said:

Half the time equestria doesn't make sense financially. Like how does fluttershy make money? Where does twilight make money from? Some ponies seem to have no job, but yet are financially fine. 

 

Things really dont make sense

They use Bits, but also take gems. Gems that anyone can go dig up. Gems that Spike eats. Gems that Maud stated are the most common. I'd like to see how the ponies run their stock market!

2 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

Twilight's family is rich, (to be able to put her in Celestia's school, pay for an alicorn foalsitter, put her brother in the royal military, pay for their daughter's coronation, have 4 princess royals in their family. No doubt they're loaded). Fluttershy, on the other hoof.....maybe her parents send money from time to time

We're al forgetting something. Fluttershy's modeling career was short, but how many bits did she accumulate by being spokes pony for so many different products?

Edited April 30, 2017 by cuteycindyhoney

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

5 minutes ago, cuteycindyhoney said:

They use Bits, but also take gems. Gems that anyone can go dig up. Gems that Spike eats. Gems that Maud stated are the most common. I'd like to see how the ponies run their stock market!

Yeah, imagine if all we needed to do was go out into the woods and start digging to find dollar bills every time we needed to go to the grocery store. It would put a whole new spin on how economy works and the term earning your money.

 

[Dark Qiviut 22,378]

A little over halfway through.

And Hard Hat decides to go against Fluttershy's wishes to constructing the sanctuary. Uh-oh.