S07:E05 - Fluttershy Leans In

[Truffles 2,033]

So I said last week when I watched the early release version, I was undecided as to whether to give it a "meh" or a "like."

Alas, I fell on the "meh" side after seeing it again.

 

The reason? It dawned on me while viewing it that much of what I didn't like about "Princess Spike" is the same for this episode - namely a main character's plot being supported by a bunch of dumb actions by the characters around him or her. In the former, it was the delegates (and Cadance to an extent) acting like morons. Here, it was the experts who had been assigned to her who acted like a bunch of unprofessional noobs.

In other words, this is Fluttershy's Princess Spike - minus any Flutterabuse, as compared to the rampant Spikeabuse in "PS". =P  Which... is probably why I was on the fence over this episode and "PS" was a definite bleh - especially after that last knife twist at the end of that episode. >=(

And it's a real shame too, because she's in good form in several parts of this episode by putting her hoof down when she needed to. But analogous to how Spike went on a power trip and failed his character near the end, her failure was nearer to the beginning - by being so oblivious towards these ponies around her. It was obvious to the audience they didn't understand what they were seeing, and it should have been obvious to her as well. You don't need to be an expert in construction, decorating, or enclosures to read the evident body language from the three of them.

Furthermore, even if she could claim she was too shy to notice them getting confused, Rarity and AJ don't have that excuse. While I give Pinkie a pass because she wasn't nearby when Hard Hat was conversing with Flutters, the others were sitting and standing right next to them! You could tell just by the tone of their respective voices the discussion was falling flat, so why didn't they step in and try to help negotiate the misunderstanding before the work was started? Instead, they just went along with whatever the experts said, even if it sounded totally opposite of what Fluttershy was describing.

Even more so, it's hard to believe none of them have ever heard what an "animal sanctuary" is. I guess if this series is supposed to employ tech from the 18th and 19th centuries, maybe there really is no such thing as Fluttershy seemed to indicate. But to modern-day audiences, it provides just another disconnect with the plot.

Sigh. There's just too many contrivances for this episode to be believable.

Also it's still not clear even after seeing it again whether they were doing all this work for free. I guess I lean towards that being the case since at least one of them is heard stating they love to help animals, and the implication might be that they were donating their time and materials.

Anyway, I still enjoyed all the callbacks (I didn't notice the Canterlot Boutique one until today!) and liked Fluttershy for the most part, but from everything stated above plus the general lack of conflict just makes it so "meh."

Also, is it just me or did crying Angel bunny look more like one of the male LPS characters rather than himself? o_O

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

Man, this messed up airing schedule is screwing me up, and i freaking live in Canada!

Anyway, I adored this episode, seeing the culmination of all the character development Fluttershy has gone through over the last six seasons. The fact that at no point did she buckle under the pressure and give in to other's demands made me smile, seeing the once shy pegasus not even hesitate to stand up for herself. Although... where does her character have to go from here, then? From my perspective, her development seems to have finally reached its peak, which could be trouble for future episodes featuring her. 

Those three ponies she hired to build the sanctuary though... not only were they total jerks, but they sucked at their jobs. When you're employer gives you exact instructions on what to do and how to do it, you're supposed to listen to them. You can offer suggestions or alternate solutions, but one they've put their foot down (or hoof, in this case), not run off and do you're own thing because you think it's better. In the real world, that's a fast track to getting yourself fired. 

9 hours ago, Batbrony said:

Huh... so giraffes aren't sapient in the MLP universe like cows are?  That is so weird, I was sure for a long time they'd be able to talk.  Like, aren't they even in the same family (to some extent) as ponies/equines in general?  I may be wrong about that, but I think they're related to some extent.

My friend and I said the same thing, and he even noticed that the giraffe even had pony-like eyes. I assumed that all hooved animals (or cloven hoofed like the Yaks) were sapient to some degree, though the goats seem to imply otherwise. My belief is she had laryngitis or something.

[Batbrony 15,994]

3 hours ago, PoisonClaw said:

My friend and I said the same thing, and he even noticed that the giraffe even had pony-like eyes. I assumed that all hooved animals (or cloven hoofed like the Yaks) were sapient to some degree, though the goats seem to imply otherwise. My belief is she had laryngitis or something.

I am totally going with that laryngitis theory.  This giraffe has laryngitis and just decided to bum it by passing herself off as a wild animal. 

[Meeps 297]

This episode felt extremely bland to me, although it was an enjoyable enough watch. If I hadn't known that Fluttershy had grown enough to stand up for herself and be more assertive, it might've had more tension. Instead it ended up feeling like something that could've belonged in one of the earlier seasons of the show. I did enjoy seeing new characters introduced, and feel like we may be seeing more of at least a few of them in the future. 

The giraffe being "just an animal" kind of threw me for a loop, as it seems to have done with quite a few others. I can understand the show makers wanting ponies to be the main sentient force in their world, but we've already seen buffalo, cows, and goats that were shown as intelligent beings. It just seems weird to single out and depict a giraffe as being a beast. Not saying that it can't be done, just that... I wonder if it would've been better to just show all hooved animals as sentient/intelligent, instead of picking and choosing.

Perhaps the show should've taken the route that Zootopia did by avoiding creatures that straddle the line?

[Brainstorm 4,095]

I liked the Animal Sanctuary that they made, seeing Starlight and Spike help them was cool, seeing a Giraffe, and the Ponyville Vet again.

[Hierok 11,829]

The best episode of season 7, except for Celestia Advice.

[Sheifa 24]

Fluttershy developing some more confidence in how she interacts with others was nice to see, but I found the whole episode pretty boring. I'm not sure if it was the pacing or the other pony's, but I skipped through parts of the ep just to finish it ;;;

[Zachary 5,517]

This one is The Best Season 7 Episode Ever!

I'll give it a 9.5/10!

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

After a few years or so, i finally watched an Episode again and i thought it was pretty boring. Like, nothing really kept sticking to me and i already forgot most of the Dialog.

I mean, Fluttershy tries to build a sanctuary, the experts do it wrong, then she actually tries it with her friends, like she should have done in the first place and then it works. I mean, im happy that it worked, but there wasnt much here...the Episode was okay...it was just basically, yeah, that happends now and end.

There was no jokes i laughed at and i already saw Fluttershy getting more serious in past seasons, so...the Episode just happened and that was it. I dont know what else to say, i was like completely bored. Maybe that happends, if you watch to much Action Stuff and then go back to a mostly calm Episode of Mlp. XD Maybe i should watch all the rest that i missed and then come back to that Episode, i dont know.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, I think I would describe this episode as aggravating. This episode seems to be on a mission to show Fluttershy as confident and assertive and committed to her dream in the face of setbacks, but in the process, I think it simplistically portrays Fluttershy as essentially completely right and the three contracted ponies (Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur) as completely wrong. It seems to me that all of them needed to have much more communication and give and take about how exactly Fluttershy's abstract "vision" for the sanctuary would be translated into reality, and whether the three contracted ponies' expertise is actually appropriate for the job. I found it offputting that Fluttershy seems to recruit others to help with making the sanctuary using emotional manipulation and generic positive platitudes, rather than being upfront about what exactly her expectations for the sanctuary are and how they might be achieved. Finally, I found it frustrating that the animals are given nothing but the utmost care and consideration throughout the episode, even as it seems they're not faultless themselves.

The first big thing to talk about involves Dr. Fauna's clinic and how the animals are treating it. Is Dr. Fauna running a charity clinic? Did Fluttershy ask any of these wild animals to whom she was recommending Dr. Fauna's clinic to pay Dr. Fauna? Are any of these animals compensating Dr. Fauna at all for her services and for taking her living space and resources? I would suspect not. Even if Dr. Fauna has a charity clinic supported by, say, ponies' donations, there's still a limited amount of space and resources, and a limit to how many animals Dr. Fauna can treat and look after. Part of the problem might be that Dr. Fauna says that "most of [the animals] just have minor ailments - hurt wings, stuffy noses, and such". Do animals with such "minor ailments" really need to stay at the clinic (or even at the sanctuary, for that matter) and be watched over? Couldn't those animals be treated and sent back home? Of course, probably the bigger problem is that Dr. Fauna says that animals won't leave even after they're "all healed up". If these wild animals are preventing Dr. Fauna from treating or watching over actually injured, and perhaps paying, patients, then Dr. Fauna should tell them to leave or else be forcibly removed. Regardless of whether this is a charity clinic, she cannot do her job with so many well animals (and animals with "minor ailments" who could take care of themselves) taking up space and supplies, and they have no right to stay on her property and consume her resources without her consent.

The next big issue is Fluttershy's dream sanctuary and how she talks about it to others when convincing them to work on it. It seems to me that if Fluttershy is going to ask the rest of the Mane Six, or the three contracted ponies, to help her with building her dream sanctuary, then she ought to be upfront about what they would be getting into - what exactly she wants, and at least some idea of how that will realistically be achieved. However, Fluttershy talks about the sanctuary almost entirely in terms of abstract ideals bereft of details or plans to achieve them, and even seems to use emotional manipulation to get others to agree to work on the sanctuary without them knowing what they're really agreeing to.

First, when talking to the rest of the Mane Six, Fluttershy speaks about the sanctuary almost entirely in generic flowery platitudes, with seemingly no details about how those platitudes will be translated into realistic goals. Fluttershy also tells the rest of the Mane Six that Dr. Fauna's clinic is "overrun with adorable critters in dire need of a safe place to lay their heads, and they don't have anywhere to go". But Dr. Fauna said that at least some of them are "all healed up", and that most of them had only "minor ailments". So why can't a lot of the animals just go back home? Are all of their original living locations direly unsafe for them when they only have "minor ailments"? It comes across as hyperbolized in order to convince the rest of the Mane Six to do a lot of work on her behalf. Note that Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity suggest the services of Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur only after Fluttershy gives the "inspirational" abstract description of the sanctuary. At that point, Fluttershy hasn't given the rest of the Mane Six any actual plans or details; they haven't even seen the "dream board" yet.

Next, when Fluttershy is meeting with Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur, Fluttershy shows them the "dream board" which consists  almost entirely of sketches, samples, and pictures of plants, and just a single sketch of the layout of the land for the actual sanctuary. And, again, the very few words with which Fluttershy describes the sanctuary are just generic positive platitudes. So Fluttershy seems to have given Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur almost nothing to work with. Yet she asks them "So, can you build it?", and does the wide-eyed look of innocence (or whatever you want to call it), which is just transparent emotional manipulation. This would be exactly the time for any of them to say that they would need more plans and details to work with, or that their areas of expertise might not exactly fit with what she's trying to do. Yet, despite obviously acting as though they have reservations, the three contractors apparently accept without asking any questions or raising any of these concerns further.

The problems continue when it comes to actually starting the process of building the sanctuary. Fluttershy gives only vague descriptions of what she wants, while admitting that what she wants is unconventional and is outside the contracted ponies' expertise. And all the while, there are lots of indications that Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur are not suited for and uncomfortable with what Fluttershy wants them to do. Hard Hat suggests he could build the Ponyville Hospital again, and says that what Fluttershy wants isn't any structure he's familiar with. Dandy Grandeur is doing interior design of curtains (for an outdoor sanctuary with no apparent buildings) and says the natural look "isn't in" and is drab. Wrangler shows off animal traveling cages and asks if Fluttershy wants something more secure. And yet Fluttershy still just leaves them to try to figure out what to do on the basis of those vague descriptions. Is there any consideration by Fluttershy of how realistic her dream sanctuary is, and whether compromises or sacrifices might have to be made in order to work with these contractors? Is there any consideration of whether these contractors might need to be worked with more closely if what she wants them to do is unconventional and has (supposedly) never been done before?  Fluttershy is shocked and appalled at what the contractors did, and angrily says "My vision isn't the problem here!" and "I told you exactly what I wanted!", but Fluttershy's vision seems to amount to little more than feel-good platitudes and a few sketches, and Fluttershy's descriptions were far from exact. I can't help feeling like Fluttershy put the contracted ponies in a bit of an impossible situation.

At the same time, though, Hard Hat, Dandy Grandeur, and Wrangler have their own issues with how they handled this whole situation. Obviously they shouldn't have "gone behind Fluttershy's back" and done things that she didn't want without her consent. However, the three of them could have headed off potential problems earlier in the process. They could have asked for more concrete plans, and made clear that their areas of expertise might not be compatible, before agreeing to help Fluttershy in the first place. Or, after they agreed to help, they could have asked for more clarification about what Fluttershy's vision is and what they're expected to do, especially in light of its unconventionality and mismatch with their experience. They could have offered to work with Fluttershy more to try to translate her abstract vision into reality. It seemed like there needed to be more communication and more give and take by both Fluttershy and the contracted ponies, but that didn't happen.

One other thing to mention is how Fluttershy says that she wants and values other's suggestions about the sanctuary, but then never actually uses them or seems to seriously considers them. After Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity suggest the services of Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur, Fluttershy says that she "can't wait to meet all of them and hear their ideas". And near the end of the episode, when the rest of the Mane Six start making suggestions about things to put in the sanctuary, Fluttershy yells at all of them to stop, and then says that she appreciates them sharing their thoughts. But those statements come across as insincere and dismissive in retrospect. We ultimately never see Fluttershy use or seriously consider anyone else's suggestions for the sanctuary; in fact, we never see Fluttershy modify, compromise, or sacrifice her vision for the sanctuary in any way. As the conflict with the three contracted ponies was playing out, I seriously thought that the episode was heading toward a moral that it's often difficult to make dreams into realities, and that compromises and sacrifices often have to be made to accommodate real-world limitations. Instead, the message of the episode is...to be assertive and never compromise on your dreams, I guess.

Now for a few other miscellaneous observations:

Fluttershy batters herself against a door that obviously has a doorknob; even if the door were unlocked and unobstructed, wouldn't it require, you know, turning the knob first?

Fluttershy says that she'll fix Dr. Fauna's "big problem", but doesn't give any indication of what her solution is or how long it'll take to happen. Wouldn't tired, overworked Dr. Fauna be interested in details like that? Also, couldn't Fluttershy help give Dr. Fauna a little relief by telling at least the well animals, and perhaps the ones who can manage themselves, to go home?

Hard Hat tells Fluttershy that they're "almost finished with the building already" when all they have is the skeletal structure without, e.g., walls, windows, etc. And the "almost finished" building later collapses when a bear runs into one of the supports.

When Fluttershy dismisses the three contractors, had she already paid them for their work and the materials they left behind up to that point? Or did she essentially get their work and materials while refusing to pay for them at all?

The tire swing that Pinkie made is tied to a log that appears to be just sitting on a rock, partially hanging over a ledge. So how is that log staying in place? How is it not tipping over or sliding off the edge when significant force is put on it?

[Redhatbrony 59]

I think it is a well weritten episode after all.

I mean it is ful of continu...uhm I would rather try to avoid this,

because a way more famous rviewer could be mad at me, if I steal his Meme, right?

Right?

Okay enjoy my review anyway.

 

[ImpctR 155]

With all the new episodes of new ponies and a slice of life with them, I've been starting to miss the Mane 6 episodes where they are the main focus, so an episode like that was good to see again! And I haven't forgotten Fluttershy my most fave of the Mane 6, it is great to see an episode featuring her again. Props to the writer of 'The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows', not seen much of her writings but this one is very nice. Also Fluttershy showed character that I have never seen before and it matches her growing out of all previous episodes and no, it is not too sudden change of her character, nor is she OOC. I loved her new attitude and I'm ready to defend it if some get annoyed by her boldness!

The episode started with a new pony, that vet,which is nice (have I seen her before? idr). It was expected that these also new ponies the constructor, the designer and AJ's worker would not get the things right. Fluttershy's reaction reminded of her behavior in Discord's chaos world but it wasn't that harsh. Some would call this uncalled and sudden but I liked it showed growing out of her shy behavior forever and since it's about animals, showed character. It was nice seeing one of the McColts, if their constructions are considered masterpieces, then it's ok that the one of them was to do that sanctuary.

I cannot say too much happened but what the episode showed is as important new place as maybe Maud Pie's cavern with waterfalls and gems, and Rarity's Boutiques and Rainbow's membership in the Wonderbolts. Finally Fluttershy founded her own place, a Sanctuary and good looking one too! Great animation by the animators after the nice caverns and waterfalls last episode.

I give it a 5/5 but it goes with some bias as Fluttershy's episode, Still a lot of mixed results in the votes.

Edited May 7, 2017 by ImpctR

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

Not my favorite Fluttershy episode.

[Meeps 297]

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Overall, I think I would describe this episode as aggravating. This episode seems to be on a mission to show Fluttershy as confident and assertive and committed to her dream in the face of setbacks, but in the process, I think it simplistically portrays Fluttershy as essentially completely right and the three contracted ponies (Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur) as completely wrong. It seems to me that all of them needed to have much more communication and give and take about how exactly Fluttershy's abstract "vision" for the sanctuary would be translated into reality, and whether the three contracted ponies' expertise is actually appropriate for the job. I found it offputting that Fluttershy seems to recruit others to help with making the sanctuary using emotional manipulation and generic positive platitudes, rather than being upfront about what exactly her expectations for the sanctuary are and how they might be achieved. Finally, I found it frustrating that the animals are given nothing but the utmost care and consideration throughout the episode, even as it seems they're not faultless themselves.

- I agree with this. I didn't like how Dandy, Hardhat, and Wrangler were seemingly labelled as the stubborn bad ponies, because Fluttershy was being just as pushy by refusing to ensure that they understood her idea of the sanctuary before accepting their help. She was very vague indeed in describing what she wanted.

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

The next big issue is Fluttershy's dream sanctuary and how she talks about it to others when convincing them to work on it. It seems to me that if Fluttershy is going to ask the rest of the Mane Six, or the three contracted ponies, to help her with building her dream sanctuary, then she ought to be upfront about what they would be getting into - what exactly she wants, and at least some idea of how that will realistically be achieved. However, Fluttershy talks about the sanctuary almost entirely in terms of abstract ideals bereft of details or plans to achieve them, and even seems to use emotional manipulation to get others to agree to work on the sanctuary without them knowing what they're really agreeing to.

- I seriously thought she was going to have the mane 6 to help her to either give homes to the critters or to come up with a great method to get them to leave and go home. Instead the Mane 6, who probably would've understood Fluttershy's vision the first time around, suggested 3 new ponies... who were dismissed after trying, in their own way, to understand Fluttershy's plans (eg, Wrangler putting a pillow into the cage) but failing.

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

One other thing to mention is how Fluttershy says that she wants and values other's suggestions about the sanctuary, but then never actually uses them or seems to seriously considers them. After Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity suggest the services of Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur, Fluttershy says that she "can't wait to meet all of them and hear their ideas". And near the end of the episode, when the rest of the Mane Six start making suggestions about things to put in the sanctuary, Fluttershy yells at all of them to stop, and then says that she appreciates them sharing their thoughts. But those statements come across as insincere and dismissive in retrospect. We ultimately never see Fluttershy use or seriously consider anyone else's suggestions for the sanctuary; in fact, we never see Fluttershy modify, compromise, or sacrifice her vision for the sanctuary in any way. As the conflict with the three contracted ponies was playing out, I seriously thought that the episode was heading toward a moral that it's often difficult to make dreams into realities, and that compromises and sacrifices often have to be made to accommodate real-world limitations. Instead, the message of the episode is...to be assertive and never compromise on your dreams, I guess.

- The message that came with this episode did bother me a little. It's not that it was bad, and I understand that shows in general love to teach perseverance and such, but I think there would've been much more sustenance had this episode focused on how hard dreams can be to bring to fruition, and maybe even that your plans just don't always work out the way you would've liked. I would've enjoyed seeing Fluttershy come up with another, equally viable solution to the critter issue. Even if the point was here was that she knew she was right and could make this thing happen, she came across more as pushy instead of assertive... almost to the point that she was out of character for me.

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

When Fluttershy dismisses the three contractors, had she already paid them for their work and the materials they left behind up to that point? Or did she essentially get their work and materials while refusing to pay for them at all?

 

- I was okay with this being left out, since a lot of this show dismisses bits and income in general (how the heck does Fluttershy support herself and all those animals, for instance), but I did wonder. Those materials didn't look cheap, and I would've expected more upset from the 3 new ponies that volunteered their time and effort only to be dismissed for not following Fluttershy's vague directions. Dandy in particular clearly didn't seem to know that he wasn't working on an outdoors sanctuary... I'm still pretty surprised that the Mane 6 suggested these friends of theirs to help Fluttershy out.

4 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

The tire swing that Pinkie made is tied to a log that appears to be just sitting on a rock, partially hanging over a ledge. So how is that log staying in place? How is it not tipping over or sliding off the edge when significant force is put on it?

I actually laughed real hard at that, just looked so unsafe haha.

 

In closing, I feel that much of what happened in this episode happened for the sole reason of advancing the plot. Many of the incidences, like Dr. Fauna checking on Fluttershy's progress and wrecking the place/freaking the animals out, didn't feel like organic occurences at all. Sorry for any formatting issues,  but great points.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Meeps
Spelling/grammar stuffs

[Tropico 225]

a very slow paced episode but i really like it! because its the character evolution of fluttershy at 100%. we've seen her more confident and knowing to tell "no" since lots of episodes, but still had that grasp of old ultra shy and insecure part of herself and her dilemma about telling yes/no. in this episode not only she is 100% confident and says "no" various times, also speaks her mind lots of times without problem and literally they say that she evolved thanks to her friends. imo i feel this is the reached goal of herself and is treated perfectly in this episode.

also as a bonus we have a dream goal of hers and she reachs it too. the sanctuary imo is her "job" goal (rainbow had the wondercolts, and rarity opening bussiness).  for real she just reached everything in this episode, i just remember her first apperence at season 1 and look at her now and aw, im so proud

from now on i hope we see this fluttershy, because if not, it would be a step back and involution. also we need diferent plots and goals for her now. like some at the santuary, or finally overcoming her trauma with dragons at 100% and traveling to dragon lands. or more traveling alone to study and discover new magical species.

 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Tropico

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

Finally got to watching this episode and while I didn't think it was particularly great it was still enjoyable overall.

And while we got deer and a deer pun, the deer present were still non-sentient. I still hope for the day...

[Allen 1,371]

I'm sorry I'm late to post my reply here yesterday, so I will say this episode is excellent for Fluttershy's ideas for the animals: the animal sanctuary called the "Sweet Feather Sanctuary"! Dr. Fauna is surprised at this where the animals have more room and as well with the clinic support! 

When Angel hurts his leg, I said "Ow, that hurt!"

Edited May 8, 2017 by Allen
I said "I'm sorry I'm late to post my reply here yesterday"

[azbat 301]

Fluttershy needs to LEAN into it a little more.

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,329]

I love how this episode develops Fluttershy, but I don't like how boring this episode is. It plays the plot so basic with the lowest stakes ever. The conflict of the workers doing everything wrong is sort of waved off quickly because her and her friends just build it her way directly after. Maybe if they played up the workers being slightly more antagonistic (as what the mane six say in the ending implied), then it would of been better, but as such, it ends up being middle of the road. It does what it needs to, just not really interesting enough to warrant a second viewing from me.

[Truffles 2,033]

10 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Couldn't those animals be treated and sent back home? Of course, probably the bigger problem is that Dr. Fauna says that animals won't leave even after they're "all healed up". If these wild animals are preventing Dr. Fauna from treating or watching over actually injured, and perhaps paying, patients, then Dr. Fauna should tell them to leave or else be forcibly removed.

It seems the conflict could have been short-circuited if Fluttershy - instead of jumping straight into realizing her dream of having an animal sanctuary - had simply used her stare to force the animals that were freeloading out of the vet's office to solve the immediate problem. That would have been a more effective solution in the short term, and then she could have spent more time working to get everything straightened out with the plans for her sanctuary for when new groups of animals started needing help. I don't think it would have hurt the episode as far as fitting everything in time-wise, because it seemed like this episode needed more going on in the plot department, anyway.

10 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Yet, despite obviously acting as though they have reservations, the three contractors apparently accept without asking any questions or raising any of these concerns further.

The problems continue when it comes to actually starting the process of building the sanctuary. Fluttershy gives only vague descriptions of what she wants, while admitting that what she wants is unconventional and is outside the contracted ponies' expertise. And all the while, there are lots of indications that Wrangler, Hard Hat, and Dandy Grandeur are not suited for and uncomfortable with what Fluttershy wants them to do.

So you noticed the same problem I had - how dumb/naïve everyone is in this episode. It bothers me with Fluttershy because even though she is reserved, she's really smart and shouldn't have simply ignored how befuddled they all were.

10 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

It seemed like there needed to be more communication and more give and take by both Fluttershy and the contracted ponies, but that didn't happen.

As others have stated, this episode felt like "Suited for Success" turned on it's head, where the experts were in the wrong this time and the pony with the vague ideas was right. But I don't really know if we needed this lesson again, even if it's not quite the same as "SfS". I think a better moral would have been about what you say above - the need for good communication when trying to put a plan into action. It certainly would have made the conflict less black-and-white and more thoughtful in how it would be resolved, compared to her just saying "no" and sending them away.

10 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Fluttershy says that she "can't wait to meet all of them and hear their ideas". And near the end of the episode, when the rest of the Mane Six start making suggestions about things to put in the sanctuary, Fluttershy yells at all of them to stop, and then says that she appreciates them sharing their thoughts.

My take is she was open to suggestions before the failed project and then closed her mind after the fact. I'm not sure it's such a great lesson to teach that if you have one bad experience with others making changes to your plans that you should never accept advice from anyone again!

10 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Hard Hat tells Fluttershy that they're "almost finished with the building already" when all they have is the skeletal structure without, e.g., walls, windows, etc. And the "almost finished" building later collapses when a bear runs into one of the supports.

That scene bothered me a bit too, now that you mention it - though for different reasons. The building looked to be a mortise and tenon structure, and even with just the skeleton (and the floor) built a bear shouldn't be able to collapse it by running into one of the columns. I know, toon physics - lots of buildings collapse in cartoons when a character smashes into them. But I was surprised he managed to wreck what looked to be an already-sound structure so easily!

 

6 hours ago, Meeps said:

In closing, I feel that much of what happened in this episode happened for the sole reason of advancing the plot. Many of the incidences, like Dr. Fauna checking on Fluttershy's progress and wrecking the place/freaking the animals out, didn't feel like organic occurences at all.

Thank you - that sums up a lot of what didn't feel right about this episode right there! XD

Edited May 8, 2017 by Truffles

[Music Chart Fan 818]

10 minutes ago, Truffles said:

That scene bothered me a bit too, now that you mention it - though for different reasons. The building looked to be a mortise and tenon structure, and even with just the skeleton (and the floor) built a bear shouldn't be able to collapse it by running into one of the columns. I know, toon physics - lots of buildings collapse in cartoons when a character smashes into them. But I was surprised he managed to wreck what looked to be an already-sound structure so easily!

Ha ha, it seems you know more about building structure than I do! I would agree that the skeleton of the building ought not to collapse so easily with a single disturbance, but I wouldn't necessarily be able to give any details to back that up. But hey, I'm in polymer engineering, not civil engineering!

[Dowlphin 459]

This episode's theme can be easily summed up: Idiot experts. Or to stick closer to the theme: One trick ponies.

Someone can be very good at what they do due to narrow focus and be completely unable to step outside of their way and be flexible and evolve. The selection process was unaware of that, so all they had in their mind was the idea of "the best". And this works in our world, too, especially in marketing. Someone attains a reputation of being talented, yet all they can do is repeat a procedure until it becomes second nature. Mental flexibility is a trait often outside of a job's skillset, more drifting off into the area of personality traits. Yet, as the episode shows, it can be crucial. ... The selected ponies did know what they can/want to do though. But who wants to admit their limitations? So they accepted the task nonetheless and wasted everypony's time.

Nice to see some character development having been retained with Fluttershy not caving.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Dowlphin

[Truffles 2,033]

9 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Ha ha, it seems you know more about building structure than I do! I would agree that the skeleton of the building ought not to collapse so easily with a single disturbance, but I wouldn't necessarily be able to give any details to back that up. But hey, I'm in polymer engineering, not civil engineering!

Heh, neither am I, but since I'm in a rural area I see a lot of barns go up and I can say with some confidence it would take more than a single bear to push them down, and they have even less internal support than this new animal hospital did.

Curiously, I don't recall seeing a foundation under all that structure, so maybe that was the real problem? I mean, who builds anything larger than a tool shed without a foundation? Even worse, he built it without a foundation on soft, muddy soil right next to a stream. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen! 

What is troubling is it's supposedly the same as the hospital he says he designed and built for Ponyville. Nurse Redheart might want to think about relocating to a new building if he built that one in the same slipshod manner... o_o

Edited May 8, 2017 by Truffles

[ggg-2 3,550]

Okay, can we talk about how weird and nonsensical this title is? "Fluttershy Leans In" What the buck is that supposed to mean?

Edited May 9, 2017 by ggg-2

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

6 minutes ago, ggg-2 said:

Okay, can we talk about how weird and nonsensical this title is? "Fluttershy Leans In" What the buck is that supposed to me?

It is becoming a new age slang for being more assertive.