S07:E05 - Fluttershy Leans In

[Dark Qiviut 22,275]

I spot Starlight in the background.

FINALLY! They actually have her as part of the crew!

[Sly 236]

1 minute ago, Dark Qiviut said:

I spot Starlight in the background.

FINALLY! They actually have her as part of the crew!

Technically already in Top Bolt they gave her a background non-speaking appearance, but yeah, this time, they Are handling her better.

[Ganondorf8 11,202]

I had to wait until about an hour before I could watch this episode and I have to admit that it was handled pretty well. Fluttershy has proven that she can be pretty assertive when she needs to be given the situation, and when she sets her sights on something, she won't accept anything other than what she envisioned. Granted, you could tell from a mile away that she would lose her temper against those other three ponies--I'm trying to figure out who voiced them--yet they deserved her harsh criticism since they did go behind her back and made choices Fluttershy didn't want. I definitely wasn't expecting Big Daddy McColt to make an appearance near the end and I was surprised that he would be the right person who could bring to reality the kind of sanctuary that Fluttershy desired.

Dr. Fauna got a new voice this time around compared to what she had before but I guess it had been some time since she last had a speaking role. Finally, who knew there were so many exotic animals that served as pets in addition to there being so many pet owners who rely on Dr. Fauna. If there was one criticism I would give to this episode, it would be that the three ponies Fluttershy dismissed just disappeared from the story and weren't given any further presence, not even a chance to apologize for going against her wishes.

[Thrond 3,260]

I have absolutely no idea what you people see in this. New characters driving the plot is already one of my pet peeves, but they don't even have a hint of depth to them. They're just arrogant and act poorly, and we don't even see them apologize or anything. And Fluttershy doesn't even learn anything! There's no internal conflict and no character development, just a shallow plot which doesn't even appear until late in the episode and which is preceded by mountains of exposition with very few attempts at humour. I like Fluttershy's continued assertiveness too, and the moral's nice (though poorly built up), but this is barely a story.

Full review over at my offsite blog. 35/100, for those who didn't click. Terrible.

Also, that title just annoys me. I feel like the writers were going for something vaguely progressive with the whole episode, which I appreciate, but I dunno, there's something vaguely pandering feeling about the use of "Lean In" specifically. Maybe if the episode were better it would have felt more fitting. 

Edited May 1, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[chaosprincess 1,064]

9 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

am I the only one wondering why the owners of these animals dropped them off at the vet and never came back for them? And why the animals aren't going back to their owners?

 

though I did like Fluttershy's character in this episode. It's a bummer that we never really heard about her dream until now, but since she, too, cres for animals, I can sort of see why she thought a sanctuary would be a good idea. Pleasantly surprised at seeing Big Daddy McColt return. I thought she'd call for Treehugger.

And I like that Starlight wasn't the focus of the episode. Hell, I didn't even mind the very tiny cameo she had in the background, at the tail end of the episode.

I would not be surprised if the owners grew tired or could no longer afford the animals so they dropped them off at the vet like how in real life people would just leave them at shelters or vet offices some people informing that they want to give up the animal and others just dropping them off and leaving and of course the vet was not going to just abandon them as Fluttershy would not within the episode Fluttershy did mention that, that pony was the best vet so word got around and the owners could have seen that as a way to abandon or surrender their animal to a pony who knew how to care for them and there is also a possibility that some could be wild and was seeking help just as in real life sometimes animals will seek out human assistants when injured either way it was nice seeing them cared for and given a home as well plus it really showed character growth with Fluttershy so this was one of my favorite episodes.

Edited May 1, 2017 by chaosprincess

[Thrond 3,260]

Also, was it just me, or was the colour palette particularly muted in this episode? Didn't help the overall drab tone. 

[Dark Qiviut 22,275]

Fluttershy was absolutely on point here. Since her disastrous performance in Rainbow Falls (then again, everyone there was disastrous ;)), her characterization has gradually improved with little flanderization and/or out of characterization. Even in bad episodes like Flutter Brutter, she was the highlight. While she was still sweet and caring, her entire goal for this project is to care for and respect the animals and will do everything in her power to make sure they were given the proper treatment.

While those "experts" had their vision, it was clearly not the one she was looking for. No, she's a very bad blueprint planner, but she clearly has a pictorial idea of how she wants the sanctuary to be developed. Not only does she clearly understand how the animals behave. She understands they need the right habitat to thrive, rehabilitate, and survive. All three "experts" clearly betrayed her by not only doing what they wanted, but doing it right behind her back, even though she flat-out said "No!" Three words: "No means no!" While it was surprising to hear her shout and yell at them, she's well within her right to do so.

There was some criticism of Fluttershy for hiring Hard Hat, Wrangler, and Dandy Grandeur and for the RM5 for recommending them to her. That criticism makes no sense. Like a building itself, animal sanctuaries require design and construction. According to her friends, they were experts in their fields and worked with them during their spare time, so Fluttershy trusts their instincts. The construction worker would plan and build the sanctuary. The interior designer would lay out the sanctuary and make the enclosures fit in each of their environments. The wrangler would help build the fencing so no animal can either escape or invade in other animals' spaces. In short (and credit to Maud Pie for this), the three occupations make a whole lotta sense. Unfortunately, each of their recommendations are reliant on word and mouth. While it's understandable in Fluttershy's point of view, having flashbacks of these three showing showing us how well they craft their work can lend in some extra credibility to their work. How? When people see how well they work, then we as an audience can believe them better and trust AJ's, Pinkie's and Rarity's advice. All of the characters were never even heard of until here, so this doubles the important. Moreover, when the audience can see how well they work, yet betray Fluttershy's vision, that betrayal can sting more to the audience.

It's a little detail, but it's also important. One big flaw from last season is how Starlight wasn't treated as an actual part of the cast, but was thrown in whenever the episode needed her. Even if she didn't have to speak and could be included as some cameo like Dungeons, she was absent. Here, she was directly involved in building the sanctuary. Little details like these further establish her as an organic part of their world.

As I think about this episode, some issues definitely crop up.

The biggest one is how simplistic the plot is. If you read G. M. Berrow's books, simplicity in plot is what she tends to write. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well in a 22-minute plot, which makes the conflict drawn out overall and overlooked on some key things, particularly in one scene. Like any form of construction, building a sanctuary is really complex and requires a lot of planning. Despite clear understanding of how Fluttershy wants the sanctuary laid out, there's a big difference between drawing a landscape and designing/planning one. There's no blueprint in the literal construction of the place. She showed Hard Hat the drawing and notes, told him very clearly what she wants and doesn't want, and it was off from there. When you don't have a blueprint, nothing truly gets done, much less get started, and you risk major mishaps along the way. It's very important in any job to have clear and concise direction and communication. Clarity on both sides was semi-absent. The conflict would be given much better justice had there been some development of a blueprint for the sanctuary. Sadly, DHX skips over this really important level of detail, and it hurts the conflict. Credit goes to EQD's Seraphem and Sirius Face for pointing this out.

The language of "sanctuary" could've been clearer, too. Traditionally, animal sanctuaries are built so they live there for the rest of their lives. From what Fluttershy suggests to the audience, no one in Equestria has done this type of project before, which is why it's treated as so ambitious. In real life, sanctuaries exist throughout. Now, before we get further, not all sanctuaries are equal. Some sanctuaries are treated as rehabilitation centers or temporary homes for animals, where the wild is treated and will either be released or relocated to a new home. Here, the show exclusively treats an animal sanctuary as a physical rehab place, and as the animals here show some level of sapience, it makes sense. Could've been better if there was…I don't know…another word or phrase.

Fluttershy's goal is very sudden, too, but it's more of an issue with the show itself (in particular its on-the-fly canon) rather than the episode itself, so I hold nothing against it. That said, she does show some understanding of building the right environments for specific animals, as evident by Bats's ending, so there's some credit to continuity here. It could've been a better if it was hinted early in the episode to lead her goal in better.

While there are some issues here, it doesn't change the things it does right. As far as character and progression is concerned, this is some of Fluttershy's best characterization. She had the right idea on what the animals need and is absolutely in the right to call out the people she hired for betraying her word. And despite not having a blueprint, she does know what she's doing, and she's assertive without crossing the line. It's a good episode, but could've done better if the plot was quicker.

---

ETA: Things have changed a bit. Read my follow-up why.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Dark Qiviut
ETA added, last paragraph crossed out.

[PacificGreen 1,163]

While it's great that they're maintaining Fluttershy's characterization, she just came off as kinda...how do I say it? Suddenly shouting a lot in this ep? It made her come across as a little too demanding, but maybe that's just because we haven't really seen her be this vocal. Not even in Flutter Brutter. It really surprised me.

She was also rather harsh with the experts, but, of course, it was completely justified, and she did try to speak as politely and clearly as possible with each of them.

It pains me to say this, but I feel like the "experts" were kinda wasted characters. I felt like they could have reappeared in the end and learned a lesson about respecting a project head's original design while still being able to contribute and give input, but in the end they were kinda written off on too much of a sour note.

On the bright side, it was cool to see Mr. Big Daddy McColt again.   I love the fact that they're bringing back old (and in some cases underappreciated) characters.

Overall a solid ep, albeit with a somewhat unclear moral (sticking with your dreams? asserting yourself? a mix of both?). Can't really say it has much rewatch value for me, though.

1 hour ago, AlexanderThrond said:

There's no internal conflict and no character development, just a shallow plot which doesn't even appear until late in the episode and which is preceded by mountains of exposition with very few attempts at humour.

Yeah, I also felt like the conflict in this episode was rather lacking, to be honest. I was hoping there would be some more tension involving the experts and Fluttershy, but it was mostly just her firing them, and then determining to build it true to her original plan (with the help of Mane Six, Starlight, CMC, Big Mac and McColt, of course). So Fluttershy didn't really learn anything in this ep (kinda like AJ in the SSCS6000, I guess ?)

Edited May 1, 2017 by PacificGreen

[GrimGrimoire 4,972]

2 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I have absolutely no idea what you people see in this.

That it is good. Pretty obvious.Just because you can't appreciate it doesn't mean it is the same for everyone. In fact the whole season has been great so far. Sorry you can't get on board the happy train with us for it.

 

46 minutes ago, PacificGreen said:

So Fluttershy didn't really learn anything in this ep (kinda like AJ in the SSCS6000, I guess

Why does she have to learn something? That was not what the episode was about. It was about her standing up for her vision and not backing down, which in most of her history she does do in some form or another. Even in Flutter Brudder she caves a couple times before buckling down. This time she stood up to those who were trying to tell her what they wanted, and even to her friends who she often bends before. No one was trying to teach her anything, nor was she trying to learn anything. All of the morals in this episode have been done already previously, but as I said in another thread, that is fine, as long as they can put new spins on them I think it is great. This episode really just showed exactly how far Fluttershy has come as a character since her beginning, and yet still be herself through and through.

And no, it did not have a lot of tension, and it should not have. If I hire a guy to build a fence and tell him what I want, and he does something completely different and then wants to argue with me about it, he is out of a job, it is that simple.There is no tension or back and forth and all that crap. She told them what she wanted, they gave their opinions, and she listened, and then kindly repeated what she wanted and why. They totally ignored her for their own reasons... and even when she confronted them about it, instead of realizing she was the boss, they wanted to argue... no more tension was needed. They were fired, as most people that don't want to listen are from a job that gives them direction. The only tension that could have added was making her cave into them... again.. which would be not showing any sort of growth at all.

It would have been nice if at the end they had come back and admitted they were wrong. But honestly, very few ever come back and do that.

 

[PacificGreen 1,163]

35 minutes ago, GrimGrimoire said:

That it is good. Pretty obvious.Just because you can't appreciate it doesn't mean it is the same for everyone. In fact the whole season has been great so far. Sorry you can't get on board the happy train with us for it.

 

Why does she have to learn something? That was not what the episode was about. It was about her standing up for her vision and not backing down, which in most of her history she does do in some form or another. Even in Flutter Brudder she caves a couple times before buckling down. This time she stood up to those who were trying to tell her what they wanted, and even to her friends who she often bends before. No one was trying to teach her anything, nor was she trying to learn anything. All of the morals in this episode have been done already previously, but as I said in another thread, that is fine, as long as they can put new spins on them I think it is great. This episode really just showed exactly how far Fluttershy has come as a character since her beginning, and yet still be herself through and through.

And no, it did not have a lot of tension, and it should not have. If I hire a guy to build a fence and tell him what I want, and he does something completely different and then wants to argue with me about it, he is out of a job, it is that simple.There is no tension or back and forth and all that crap. She told them what she wanted, they gave their opinions, and she listened, and then kindly repeated what she wanted and why. They totally ignored her for their own reasons... and even when she confronted them about it, instead of realizing she was the boss, they wanted to argue... no more tension was needed. They were fired, as most people that don't want to listen are from a job that gives them direction. The only tension that could have added was making her cave into them... again.. which would be not showing any sort of growth at all.

It would have been nice if at the end they had come back and admitted they were wrong. But honestly, very few ever come back and do that.

 

Fair points. But because of the lack of tension, really, it wasn't a very interesting episode. I can definitely see people praising this episode for Fluttershy standing up for herself yet again, but other than that, new ponies, and Big Daddy McColt's reappearance, I just feel like this episode didn't have much else for me to like. But of course this is just me.

This season's been OK so far. But as a whole isn't really leaving as strong of an impression on me as Season 5 or Season 6 did.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,815]

Amazing episode! Totally love the lesson and can I just say that Fluttershy's assertiveness level was over 9000?

And that's another dream checked off in the books. Great to see Big Daddy McColt reappear.  I wonder if we will see a Hoofield reappear...

Edited May 1, 2017 by C. Thunder Dash

[Techno Universal 2,575]

I think the episode has just been taken down as the video link doesn't work. Probably the episode is still prohibited to be on YouTube until the US airing date.

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

Not my favorite episode of the season but goddamn it cements Fluttershy's improvement for me in the last 2 seasons. She's probably my third favorite now, which is impresssive as hell since if you asked me like a year and half ago id say she was my least favorite. 

It was kinda weird since it was very S1y but with S6 onward Fluttershy but hell that worked so whatever. 

[Hierok 11,829]

It was amazing!!!

Second best episode of season 7 so far. Felt a little bit short though

[Oleks 1,983]

In my view, this episode was something opposite to Suited for Success – in season 1 we were shown that clients don’t always know what they want and it’s better to leave it to the professional, and now we see that it can be vice versa. 

In general, it was just another assertive Fluttershy episode, but with one considerable difference – she was assertive from the beginning here. We can call it the result of character development, I guess.

My favorite part was the sloth – my “spiritual animal”. And I’m glad that Fluttershy’s dream came true, even with the help of such an unexpected pony as Big Daddy McColt (for a moment, I thought Fluttershy would call Discord, and it’d make everything even worse).

Spoiler

Also, deer and giraffes are confirmed “animals”. And this fact is already stirring… substances in the fandom.

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Oleks

[PerlsteinProps 26,490]

Fluttershy episode. Meh. But at least its not a pinkie or rainbow dash one. 

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

To be honest, i don't know why people praise this episode so much. It's not bad, infact i really like this episode. But i wouldn't rank it higher then a flurry of emotions or even rock solid friendship.

 

I guess it's mostly because i didn't found the episode very interesting, rather then that the story had problems. Something just didn't click with me and the fact that we all of sudden get Fluttershys dream, which is resolved in the same episode, instead of building it up the entire season.

 

Again, the episode was okay in my opinion. i thought the butler snek was a really great gag:

 

[Goat-kun 2,522]

17 hours ago, A.V. said:

Admittedly, with her anthro-like design, I was expecting her to be a sentient character.

It is my philosophy to expand the world. To make it more intriguing. To weave an illusion of a story where there is none. This goes against what I think is best for future development of such an IP. Imagine if this giraffe was instead casually introduced as a mute background tourist admiring the sights in Canterlot or Ponyville. Think of all the buzz this would cause. You need no story, just a simple giraffe, and you've effortlessly expanded the world. Damn shame.

[Truffles 2,033]

I was trying to hold out on watching this episode till it's official airdate, but I failed.

My main takeaway from it, however is:

What a bunch of a-holes those new characters are. =/

 

However, Fluttershy is partially to blame, and this has been brought up excellently here:

10 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Like any form of construction, building a sanctuary is really complex and requires a lot of planning. Despite clear understanding of how Fluttershy wants the sanctuary laid out, there's a big difference between drawing a landscape and designing/planning one. There's no blueprint in the literal construction of the place.

Bingo. Fluttershy really needed a proper set of plans if she wanted these ponies to understand what she wanted. I like to dabble in home improvement projects. Even the simple water feature I built years ago needed a concise set of plans with dimensions and schematics for all the piping and electrical, even though I built the thing myself and knew what I wanted.

Instead of Hard Hat sitting there befuddled with what he was looking at in the renderings of the project, he should have sat down with Fluttershy and worked with her to come up with an actual set of blueprints. But he didn't do that; he decided instead to basically rebuild Ponyville hospital,  which doesn't make a lot of sense. And the other two pretty much followed suit with their parts in the episode.

So while I partially blame Fluttershy for not having proper plans, I mostly blame the three of these contractors for not trying to help her come up with them. And then being a-holes by completely going against her wishes. (Though I suppose if they were doing all this work for free, I might lessen my stance on their attitude. But I can't remember and won't find out till the episode airs proper next weekend.)

One thing that won't change is the loss of all the trees that were used for the lumber to build the not-needed hospital structure. =/

 

17 hours 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?

Hopefully, the lesson Fluttershy learned in "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" has stuck and her now-apparent assertiveness she has will come in handy. I imagine any animals who try to loaf around after they are healed will get to know The Stare up close and personal.

 

12 hours ago, Dark Qiviut said:

I spot Starlight in the background.

FINALLY! They actually have her as part of the crew!

It's great to see characters that don't have speaking roles in an episode at least get silent cameos. We saw that with Spike in the Maud episode and he's present again along with the CMC, Starlight, and even Big Mac (who makes PERFECT sense to be a helper with the construction).

 

11 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Also, was it just me, or was the colour palette particularly muted in this episode? Didn't help the overall drab tone. 

I don't know, it could be the way Treehouse TV broadcasts their episodes. I wouldn't make any final decisions on the brightness of the colors until it gets it's official airing on DFC.

 

I'm undecided on how I feel about this episode at the moment. It's hovering between a "meh" and "liked it." I'll decide after I see it again. One nice thing was getting a throwback character and official name for the Ponyville vet. She sure was a lot nicer than their pediatrician, although somewhat condescending:

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Truffles

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

59 minutes ago, Truffles said:

Hopefully, the lesson Fluttershy learned in "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies" has stuck and her now-apparent assertiveness she has will come in handy. I imagine any animals who try to loaf around after they are healed will get to know The Stare up close and personal.

That answers it quite nicely. Thanks.

[Dsiak 4]

The end made my tear up.

It also made me question yet again time lapses in the show / Earth Ponies can shape the Earth like the Titans did.

[sweetolebob18 724]

Your link is shut down, but you can still get the episode on Dailymotion.

Fluttershy has come a long way from S2 Putting Your Hoof Down.   Just hope she remembers what she learned in S4 It Ain't Easy Being Breezy.

Further plusses: Angel Bunny got hurt. This episode gives me hope for the rest of the season

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

13 hours ago, Mesme Rize said:

To be honest, i don't know why people praise this episode so much. It's not bad, infact i really like this episode. But i wouldn't rank it higher then a flurry of emotions or even rock solid friendship.

 

I guess it's mostly because i didn't found the episode very interesting, rather then that the story had problems. Something just didn't click with me and the fact that we all of sudden get Fluttershys dream, which is resolved in the same episode, instead of building it up the entire season.

 

Again, the episode was okay in my opinion. i thought the butler snek was a really great gag:

 

It's not my favorite episode but I can explain it pretty easily, it's a very season 1 feeling episode, more chill and down to earth, some people really like revisiting that style of the show once in a while, afterall isn't that what probably drove a lot of them to it in the first place? 

[shy0wl 484]

20 hours ago, PacificGreen said:

 

While it's great that they're maintaining Fluttershy's characterization, she just came off as kinda...how do I say it? Suddenly shouting a lot in this ep? It made her come across as a little too demanding, but maybe that's just because we haven't really seen her be this vocal. Not even in Flutter Brutter. It really surprised me.

 

I was looking for exactly this.  I completely agree.  I get that the writers want Fluttershy to show that she has progressed as a character and is definitely more confident than she used to be in the beginning of the show, but I felt like she was too harsh on this episode, especially after the first conflict with the builders not building what Flutters had in mind.  She immediately got mad and told the workers they weren't needed.  I would have expected something more along the lines of a gentle "I asked for this, not that, but I appreciate it" or something.  

It upsets me a bit because I relate to Fluttershy a lot and it seemed like she was really out of character in this episode.  Maybe she was just so caught up in herself that she wanted things done.  However that's out of her character too.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,293]

On 4/30/2017 at 5:04 PM, 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. 

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. 

I never could figure out why transporter technology can't replicate "Gold Pressed Latinum" Whatever the heck that is!

I always figured Twilight was rich, from a rich family. Rarity has her stores. Applejack has her farm. Pinkie works for the Cakes, and freelance party plans. I know Rainbow worked in weather control before becoming a Wonderbolt. That leaves Fluttershy. How did she get by before her short career as a super-model? My guess? Fluttershy writes romance novels under a pen name.

I was going to put a proposed title, but it was a but too risque! I don't want to get in trouble again!