Fluttershys character development

[FlutterAdvocate 13]

I've noticed a lot of people have a problem with fluttershy for the reason that she never seems to get over her shyness. 

But I'm here to defend fluttershys honor.

Being someone with social anxiety I can completely understand her fear and why it isn't easy for her to get over it quickly. And even after an episode targeting her shyness she goes back to being shy. I think her improvement is happening at a good pace and if they rushed it and she just suddenly wasn't as afraid that it would be unrealistic.

Maybe I'm biased but I'm curious about everypony else's opinion on this topic.

[javaleen 144]

Dunno, seeing the sanctuary episode, I think Fluttershy is the one pony who actually evolved after all these seasons. The rest of the mane6 seem a bit stagnant and not really acting like they've been through all those seasons still...

Edited June 7, 2017 by javaleen

[CypherHoof 26,479]

21 minutes ago, FlutterAdvocate said:

Being someone with social anxiety I can completely understand her fear and why it isn't easy for her to get over it quickly. And even after an episode targeting her shyness she goes back to being shy. I think her improvement is happening at a good pace and if they rushed it and she just suddenly wasn't as afraid that it would be unrealistic.

Maybe I'm biased but I'm curious about everypony else's opinion on this topic.

I think she is fine the way she is, unless she WANTS to change. Fluttershy has a history of being able to step up and be assertive when it matters to her, and has usually found a way to achieve her goals. even putting the recent S7 episode aside (to avoid spoilers :D) there are lots of examples of this - way back in season one, we see this when she encounters Spike in the very first episode; then we have DragonShy - stepping up because her friends needed her - and again in Staremaster, when there was a threat to the CMC, On the other hand, when she tries the Iron Will assertiveness training, she turns into a thin skinned monster - not really in keeping with her Element there. Besides, she is cute like this, and that's not a bad thing

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

I think its potrayed quite well since shyness and social anxiety are not something you can overcome in a night or two it needs lot of work and building up your self image and  learning. 

I  mean if they discarded her shyness after one episode focusing on it it would be kinda unrealistic and wrong i think because its part of her character and i think it is important that the show teaches that  it is something that you can overcome but little by little. Rushing on things like this doesnt work well i think.

also in this season i think we seen lot more assertive and self preserved fluttershy which i think  is good.

[RulesofRarity 489]

I don't think Fluttershy's social anxiety was portrayed well at all in the first 4 seasons. Any lesson she learned about overcoming her anxiety was promptly forgotten in the next episode she appeared in.

Edited June 7, 2017 by RulesofRarity

[Steve Piranha 28,778]

I think Flutters' social anxiety was ok, and suffering from it as well, I can understand it. But I feel like she'd only showed actual development since last season, as the fact that she was underused in season 5 didn't helped 

[Meeps 297]

 

Just tossing this out there, but its possible it isn't that she never seems to get over her shyness, but that it seems to be her only real focus in many episodes about her. Off the top of my head, RD had a ton of character development, from her finding her love of books, choosing Tank, joining the Wonderbolts and being up to the challenge, etc. Twilight dealt with being insecure, to learning a ton about magic (kind of weird to see her in the earlier seasons now, knowing how adept she's become), to finding her place in Ponyville (I'm thinking more about Winter Wrap Up when I mention this), to learning what it means to be a princess and a mentor.

Fluttershy learned how to be more assertive when the situation calls for it, and then that whole thing with the animal sanctuary came up kind of out of nowhere. That was about it, I think. I really wish she were more of a 3 dimensional character, personally. I feel Pinkie Pie suffers from the same thing, and I'd love to see more development with them. Just my opinion

Edited June 7, 2017 by Meeps

[CypherHoof 26,479]

Maybe another Ponytones episode?

[KirbyFluttershy 2,517]

Well As a Fan of Fluttershy, It doesn't really matter to me how she was developed. What I do know that is fluttershy is being less emotional throughout the season and episodes, but her fears, she can get over that if she tried things out for once although she's not really scared of everything (except big scary dragons for her). Her Shyness, I'm not even sure about that, but she did get over that on certain episodes. Her singing is what I liked the most and it's what she does best. Her Anger management happens on certain episodes even things doesn't go in her way. What most of us fluttershy fans can't resist is her cuteness.

[cmarston1 5,951]

I honestly believe that Fluttershy is actually pretty well developed all things considering.

Over the seasons she has become considerably much more assertive with episodes like It Aint Easy Being Breezy, Flutter Brutter and Fluttershy Leans being pretty obvious examples of that, but even episodes where she has not the main focus has helped shown that as well.

Such as how she gave out tough love to Rainbow Dash in Tanks for the Memories, how she was finally able to branch out and make new friends outside of the mane six in Make New Friends but Keep Discord, and her finally feeling comfortable around her friends to break up the argument between Twilight and Rainbow Dash in Testing Testing 123.

[Thrond 3,257]

3 hours ago, Meeps said:

Just tossing this out there, but its possible it isn't that she never seems to get over her shyness, but that it seems to be her only real focus in many episodes about her.

This is exactly the problem I had. As late as season 4, she still had episodes which were primarily about her learning to be more confident ("Flutter Brutter"), and even in season 5 she still drove conflicts by being afraid of everything ("Scare Master"). She developed a lot with "Flutter Brutter," but it doesn't seem the show knows what to do with a confident Fluttershy, so we get episodes where she doesn't learn anything ("Viva Las Pegasus," "Fluttershy Leans In"). She's just a flat character compared to her friends. 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

1 hour ago, AlexanderThrond said:

This is exactly the problem I had. As late as season 4, she still had episodes which were primarily about her learning to be more confident ("Flutter Brutter"), and even in season 5 she still drove conflicts by being afraid of everything ("Scare Master"). She developed a lot with "Flutter Brutter," but it doesn't seem the show knows what to do with a confident Fluttershy, so we get episodes where she doesn't learn anything ("Viva Las Pegasus," "Fluttershy Leans In"). She's just a flat character compared to her friends. 

Hmmm. While Fluttershy is almost always unassertive and non-confrontational, I would say that isn't shyness, but introversion - she has no problems being assertive and/or confrontational when she feels she needs to, and that's the rub - episodes like Flutter Brutter aren't instances where she changed in some respect, but are completely in character for her. And that is a problem - you are right in that she isn't seeing any development as a character, at best she is learning that a little "tough love" is required from time to time, with the occasional episode (such as Scare Master) where she DOES push her limits, but only to try and please her friends who she feels she let down, and with the understanding that it would be a one-off event.

Except - for Filli Vanilli. In a rare exception, Fluttershy is pushing her limits not because of some external force, but because of a conflict between something she really DOES want to do - sing - and her desire not to have to interact with large numbers of people. I suspect her idea of a dream event would be recording a duet with RaRa for her album... provided she could do it in a studio anonymously and never have to perform it in public

[K.Rool Addict 718]

I just don't like seeing her acting so damn passive aggressive all the time -.-

I'm fine with her getting over her shyness but that doesn't justify her new bitchy disposition.

[Meeps 297]

 

Also, while I do think Fluttershy is very cute, her behavior hinged on that of a doormat, especially earlier in the show. That's no fun for anyone (well, except the one benefiting from the situation, lol) and I know that, from what I've seen at least, most shy people do not enjoy their shyness one bit. I guess I was somewhat conflicted between the how cute the depiction was, and sympathy for her character. This doesn't happen as much since she's been more assertive, however.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

I'm 100% cool with fluttershy's shyness. I just think they need to introduce some character goals and aspirations in addition to her shyness to make hr a more well rounded character with more episode opportunities.

For example, Dash has been greatly helped by having daring do added as a source of additional episode ideas, and pinkie's budding status as an ambassador to other groups like the yaks is actually working out really good for her.

They need to buckle down and think HARD about some extra ways to move her forward and grow her in a lateral direction.

[Partialgeek514 4,920]

I think Fluttershy's developed a lot since season 4, but before that, she didn't change all that much on the outside. I actually kind of like that though. I'm a pretty shy person myself and I've spent years trying to get better at socializing. Shyness can be so overbearing that it is usually the only main roadblock I think about when wanting to do anything that involves even the slightest amount of interaction with people. I think Fluttershy was learning from the lessons in the earlier seasons, it just took her a while to have the strength to actually start applying them in real situations. From what I can tell on tv, most character growth is shown through a variety of emotions and conflicts. Shyness often causes a lack of expression which makes the only apparent weakness the shyness itself. I relate with Fluttershy because I feel my own growth has been as slow as hers.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

On 6/7/2017 at 3:23 AM, FlutterAdvocate said:

I've noticed a lot of people have a problem with fluttershy for the reason that she never seems to get over her shyness. 

But I'm here to defend fluttershys honor.

Being someone with social anxiety I can completely understand her fear and why it isn't easy for her to get over it quickly. And even after an episode targeting her shyness she goes back to being shy. I think her improvement is happening at a good pace and if they rushed it and she just suddenly wasn't as afraid that it would be unrealistic.

Maybe I'm biased but I'm curious about everypony else's opinion on this topic.

No, i mean she did develop character wise over the seasons. I find them using assertive fluttershy a little too much.  Episodes re hit and miss but hey She got her brother to step up and shape up.

[takai 1,060]

I think Fluttershy has had solid development throughout the series, and we've seen her use this experience in actual situations, one of those times being in the current season.

I think her shyness/soft spoken is just part of her personality, and that's ok. Some people are like that. I think my only problem with Fluttershy is at times she's felt out of character. She's a lot less cute than she was back in the day, and I can't exactly put my finger on as to why.

[The Nth Doctor 652]

Fluttershy has spent over three years in-show slowly getting over various kinds of shyness

The fact it took over twenty years before that for ever to ever get any help for it is mind-boggling

Granted, ponies have attention spans that range from 22 to 44 minutes, so it's understandable she keeps forgetting what she's learned...

[Meeps 297]

1 hour ago, The Nth Doctor said:

The fact it took over twenty years before that for ever to ever get any help for it is mind-boggling

I've gotta say, it often takes real people a very long time to really push through shyness! it wasn't until I grew up a little that I realized I was missing out on so much socially. Not twenty years, but still!

[CypherHoof 26,479]

This youtube video has an interesting perspective on this....