S07:E20 - A Health of Information

[Jeric 46,850]

1 hour ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Is that because Zecora taught magic to Twilight? Zecora seems like an outlier because as far as Twilight goes, Zecora is the only Zebra in Equestria, maybe the whole planet, I would think anything on Meadowbrook could at least mention shes a pony or have it be obvious

Yep. The main lesson was that there are other methods of magic, also curious because Zecora and potion making were prominent in this particular episode, so obviously by now Twilight doesn't think that's so much of an outlier that she showed shock at magic potions being made by an Earth Pony. At present I'm willing to wait until the finale and see if they make a passing comment. So far it's been ignored. 

All I'm saying is, it is an inconsistency, and something far easier to address than the effort of asking the fans to do mental hurdles to excuse the goof. It's either a mistake, or the Cutie Map had bad phrasing. Either way it's not the best writing no matter what angle you look at it. 

One casual line fixes everything. Not a superhuman feat of rewriting. 

[Ganondox 899]

Loved this episode. Quirky Fluttershy is best Fluttershy (even if half of it just exaggerated due to sleep deprivation, but hey, I'm in the same boat). Also I was not expecting Meadow Brooke to be Cajun themed. 

[Jeric 46,850]

4 minutes ago, Kyoshi said:

FLUTTERSHY: "I cross-referenced books and discovered that ancient thing is real."

TWILIGHT: "Suddenly I am very attracted to you."

Yep, that's definitely a keeper!

35 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Additionally, the moral is much more clearly expressed, too.

Definitely better the second go around and one of the best elements of this episode. It's a good moral in general, not just applicable to bring sick or caring for someone who is sick. Often times the best of us ignore our own health to accomplish a goal. Sometimes we don't like focusing on ourselves because we view it as inherently selfish. Whether it's health, work, school, family, or handling complicated emotions -- you have to account for yourself or at some point you will feel the impact of ignoring your own needs. 

 

[Brainstorm 4,106]

I'm glad Zecora appeared twice in S7, helping Rarity and Fluttershy helping Zecora, Zecora is one of MLP's best characters. Also, glad Spike appeared as well. I also liked the morals in this episode

Edited September 25, 2017 by Brainstorm

[DonMaguz 1,023]

I loved almost everything about this episode, Fluttershy's determination, Twilight's concern about her friend, Zecora's confusion leading to non-rhyming speech, the swamp fever gave me chills (even when I knew things were gonna work out at the end), and the way they came into Mage Meadowbrook's legend was so organic (I still like Mistmane's legend a bit more, but in presentation Meadowbrook's takes the cake).

The way Fluttershy was determined to help Zecora to the point of recklessness reminded me of Applebuck Season, with the difference that AJ was focused on her pride and keeping to her word to finish the harvest alone and Fluttershy was focused on the goal of finding the cure. I don't think Fluttershy would've been so reckless if she hadn't felt so guilty though.

Twilight and Zecora filled their support roles amazingly, pushing the plot forward and being funny at the same time.

This has become my favorite episode this season with a 10/10, beating the Perfect Pear only because this one didn't let me calm down until the end and had me thrilled since Zecora fell into the swamp. It has also beaten The Stare Master as my favorite Fluttershy episode.

I don't know what else to expect from this season so, I'll just enjoy the ride because the last episodes will most likely have a few more surprises to be amazed at.

[Thrond 3,263]

1 hour ago, Jeric said:

Yep, that's definitely a keeper!

I had such a good time live-tweeting this. Not sure how you wound up attributing it to @Kyoshi, though. 

 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,309]

2 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I had such a good time live-tweeting this. Not sure how you wound up attributing it to @Kyoshi, though. 

 

I don't either. :| I saw that and was endlessly confused. XD

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

1 hour ago, Jeric said:

Definitely better the second go around and one of the best elements of this episode. It's a good moral in general, not just applicable to bring sick or caring for someone who is sick. Often times the best of us ignore our own health to accomplish a goal. Sometimes we don't like focusing on ourselves because we view it as inherently selfish. Whether it's health, work, school, family, or handling complicated emotions -- you have to account for yourself or at some point you will feel the impact of ignoring your own needs. 

That's something the moral and episode deserve credit for: not treating this quest as selfish. Fluttershy's reason for sacrificing her health is justified. Throughout, she felt incredibly guilty for Zecora getting ill and would do everything she can to save her, even if it kills her. Imagine if Zecora died; she won't ever forgive herself!

Yet, she can never take her health for granted. It is completely okay to rest: It benefits everyone better, including herself.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Dark Qiviut

[Truffles 2,033]

It's curious both of Fluttershy's focus episodes this season made callbacks to the characters from "Secret of my Excess," even though they were all written by different people. Maybe it's just because a lot of Fluttershy's life revolves around caring for the sick (in her case sick animals), but other than it being a coincidence I can't think of a good reason they would end up in both of her episodes. 

 

3 hours ago, Music Chart Fan said:

Furthermore, later in the episode, Fluttershy and Twilight appear to be reading directly from journals that Mage Meadowbrook wrote herself. But if Mage Meadowbrook lived 1000+ years ago, then we would probably expect that she would have written in Olde Ponish or some other language that would need to be translated, but we don't see Fluttershy and Twilight doing that.

Good catch, it never even crossed my mind that the books in her house would be written in the same language she had to do a bunch of research to translate. I like @Jeric's idea though that Fluttershy might have a knack for it once she learns how due to her ability to talk with animals.

 

3 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

What, was slowly being turned into a toxic tree for the rest of your life, hopefully losing all sapience in the process, not dark enough?

Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term, "Getting wood." 

 

2 hours ago, Ganondorf8 said:

Swamp Fever... Such a terrifying disease especially that last part where you are turned into a tree. I wouldn't that to happen to anyone, even if they were the worst character in the show.

While Equestria might be better off if Spoiled Rich were a tree, I admit sacrificing Diamond's mom and Filthy's wife is a pretty steep price to pay for the two of them.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

This was a really good adventure style episode, but man lol, this season lately has enjoyed the idea of making some main characters seem weak

Starlight can't defeat a Bear mole, even though she can

Twilight cant just, stun the bees or freeze them all and get some honey

Rainbow Dash can't fly away or take on some Hench poniess.

Edited September 24, 2017 by Ryanmahaffe

[Jeric 46,850]

53 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I had such a good time live-tweeting this. Not sure how you wound up attributing it to @Kyoshi, though. 

 

 

That has to be a glitch. I literally highlight and click quote. 

16 minutes ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Starlight can't defeat a Bear mole, even though she can

Twilight cant just, stun the bees or freeze them all and get some honey

You know, it kinda makes sense in a way. In a world that is so steeped in magic that it's a normal phenomenon, some creatures and animals would may have evolved natural resistances to magic and magical attacks. 

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

18 minutes ago, Jeric said:

 

That has to be a glitch. I literally highlight and click quote. 

You know, it kinda makes sense in a way. In a world that is so steeped in magic that it's a normal phenomenon, some creatures and animals would may have evolved natural resistances to magic and magical attacks. 

Sure, it just seems weird to hype these characters up so much (mainly...only Starlight and Twilight) then having them kinda fodder. I mean it's just a little odd, but I don't think it makes Starlight weaker, more so she just doesn't want to be violent these days.

Although, I don't think these bees should be able to resist Twilights mass freeze spell or you know, lasers that are bigger than they are. I don't let things like that hurt the episode though. Twilight could have been under a lot of stress because Fluttershy was nearly in a coma.

[Aethylynn 45]

People have covered the major points of this episode pretty well. There is little I could add to the discussion. So I will just list some of the things I thought added extra spice to the episode.

- Zecora's rhyming being shown to be fully in-universe, and other characters being aware of it.

- Zecora's hearbeat (although I would have made it African drums. The jazz/swing style would be more of a Pinkie Pie thing.)

- Twilight and Spike's bakeoff.

- The Cajun setting

- Meadowbrook's house resembling Zecora's, drawing attention to them both being potion makers and healers.

 

[Ganondox 899]

On 9/18/2017 at 6:08 PM, Dark Qiviut said:

Talked with @King Clark and @Jeric separately about the episode, and told them about a major continuity error here:

  Hide contents

Twilight in TCM2 described Meadowbrook here as an Eastern Unicorn. Yet, she's an Earth Pony here.

That could affect the rest of the Legends arc this season, especially the finale.

 

Sounds like somebody (maybe Twilight, maybe show staff) mixed up Meadowbrook with Mistmane, as Mistmane IS an Eastern Unicorn. 

10 hours ago, jackfettgames said:

*Insert Nostalgia Critic memes here*

I really liked the episode.  While the overall plot wasn't the best, it was good.  However, the music, references (like Twilight actually cooking and getting tired of books), and theming were great.

Also, swamp fever seems to have a Discord-esque flair too it.

What were the references to again? 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

7 minutes ago, Ganondox said:

Sounds like somebody (maybe Twilight, maybe show staff) mixed up Meadowbrook with Mistmane, as Mistmane IS an Eastern Unicorn. 

To be fair, iirc, Twilight herself said that she wasn't as well versed in eastern magic, so I could see that working out well as an explanation.

[Ganondox 899]

9 hours ago, StitchandMLPlover said:

Anybody else think the turning into a tree is a way of talking about death without saying the word "death"?

Maybe, but in actuality it's far more sinister. 

9 hours ago, Jeric said:

Funny thing is that isn't a joke. That's literally verbatim what Physicians say after advising a patient of a poor prognosis with little to no viable Tx options. 

This is how it goes and how they are trained. Showing empathy throughout is crucial. 

> Look patient in the eye. Advise simple description of Dx and outcome likelihood as to not set up false hope. If terminal, do not beat around the bush.

> Scan to ensure all family and friends present understood. 

> Determine if family or friends will be able to offer emotional support to your patient

> Encourage support and offer to have social work staff see the patient

> Open up for any questions maintaining eye contact with patient. 

> State that you understand that it is a lot yo process and that you will leave the room for them to be alone and discuss as a unit. 

> Confirm that you will be available for any questions

> Leave room gracefully

 

They skipped a few steps and messed up the exit, but his dialog was appropriate. I actually didn't take it as a joke, just par for the course and something I've heard more times than I can count. 

The only part that was really a joke was him leaving the room rapidly, which given the end of the episode I take as an attempt for him to avoid getting the swamp cough himself. 

6 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

What, was slowly being turned into a toxic tree for the rest of your life, hopefully losing all sapience in the process, not dark enough? 

I think this is the one time I've seen someone use the word sapience when they probably should have used sentience, usually it's the other way around. 

[Ganondox 899]

Regarding the Old Ponish thing, I have two explanations. Either A. Twilight was already fluent in it and Fluttershy got a good enough grasp of it from using the dictionary the night before to read the journal or B. The ponies don't actually speak Ponish, and Fluttershy just happened to be fluent in it. I think the first explanation is more likely. 

Also, I've further developed.my theory that the 8 magic items actually belong to Mistmane, not Meadowbrooke. It was Starlight Glimmer who initially said it was Mage Meadowbrooke, not Twilight, and there is a greater probability Starlight didn't know what she was talking about, she just mixed the names up because they start with the same letter, but people believed her because she spoke with confidence. Twilight only used the same incorrect name because Starlight bamboozled her, the fact it took her so long to realize that Starlight referred to the wrong number of items supports that Twilight couldn't be taken as reliable for that bit. I'm sure if you took asked Twilight under normal situations she would recall that Meadowbrooke was the swamp sorceress, not the Eastern Unicorn with the magic items, but it's easy to same something dumb when under a lot of stress and when you've already been fed false pretenses. 

Edited September 24, 2017 by Ganondox

[Luminance 2,186]

When Zecora contracts a fatal disease by accident, Fluttershy goes out of her way to find a cure for her friend. Fluttershy's determination and drive in this episode reminded me of the episode, "Fluttershy Leans In" when she strived and pursue on what's right in order to help the animals for her sanctuary. Same ideal and certainly this episode continues on that momentum.

I can see Fluttershy developing into a pony that can stand up and fight for what's right. Her courage and strength within herself really shows, even when she took on the fight against the bees despite her weakness from contracting the disease in order to help her friend in need. It wasn't until she realized that her very own health wasn't looking great, then she possibly couldn't help Zecora too. This shows that in order to help others, you must first be the best of your own abilities. 

I enjoyed every last bit of this episode. With the additional inclusion of Zecora(twice a week!), Twilight's support for Fluttershy's goal and the introduction of Meadowbrook as an historically tied character, this episode is a definitely a good one. 

 

 

[Thrond 3,263]

2 hours ago, Ganondox said:

I think this is the one time I've seen someone use the word sapience when they probably should have used sentience, usually it's the other way around. 

Maybe I'll just go with "consciousness" or something like that in the future to avoid showing my ignorance. 

[Cirrus. 1,089]

10 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Looking back, the tree in "Perfect Pear" doesn't look much like the tree in "Health of Information" either, so I guess that's one bit of dark silliness debunked. 

LOL, I caught that you turn into the same kind of tree after I watched the episode again. That may be even worse if you think about it though.

 

1) You get infected by a horrible parasitic tree and basically die.

2) You drop those flower "bombs" and subject others to the same fate.

3) The insidious cycle continues...

 

 

I wonder what other messed up shit is in the forests around there.

So far we got timberwolves, poison joke, hydra, cockatrices, chimeras, and now evil parasite trees.

 

 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Overall, I'd describe this as a solid middle-of-the-road episode; there's nothing particularly wrong with it, but I'm not sure it'll have much long-term appeal or impact for me. The moral about not working yourself to exhaustion and taking care of yourself is well-taken (if rather reminiscent of "Applebuck Season", but see below). The cook-off between Twilight and Spike is amusing and nice to see. And there's a bit of somewhat interesting lore building about the pony equivalent of bayou culture, along with a few other bits and pieces.

One thing that I noticed throughout the episode is that it seems like none of the characters take any significant precautions to prevent themselves from contracting swamp fever - either from already-sick ponies or from the flowers themselves. The doctor examining Zecora says that very little is known about swamp fever; does that include how contagious it is and how it can be transmitted from pony to pony? We repeatedly see ponies standing and talking to infected ponies within a couple of feet or so of them, and not really protecting themselves as sick ponies cough and sneeze in their direction. Mage Meadowbrook and her mother experiment on the flowers that cause swamp fever, but seem to take no particular precautions when doing so, which leads to Mage Meadowbrook's mother coming down with swamp fever herself. It seems like significantly greater caution would be warranted, considering the rather dire consequences of swamp fever if it isn't cured.

The other main thing I noticed was the setup for Fluttershy's moral of the episode to take care of herself. As Fluttershy insisted more than once that "there's no use trying to talk me out of this", I was just thinking that collapsing and passing out from exhaustion will take her "out of this" sooner or later, and that's basically what happened. In stating the lesson learned, Fluttershy does allude to the idea that going without sleep doesn't just affect motor skills or awareness of one's surroundings - eventually you won't even be able to think straight. And, of course, the moral here is reminiscent of the moral way back in "Applebuck Season". I suppose, though, that "Applebuck Season" seems to say "Don't work yourself to the point of exhaustion - ask your friends for help!", whereas this episode seems to say "Don't work yourself to the point of exhaustion - you have to take time to take care of yourself!".

That's about it for bigger-picture observations (other than ones I made in a couple of previous posts), so here's the rest of my miscellaneous observations:

Twilight tries to recruit Fluttershy to give a second opinion for the cook-off between her and Spike, but who was the first opinion - each other? Can Twilight and Spike trust themselves and each other to objectively judge whether their own food or their competitor's food is better?

Also, it seems as though, to be fair, Twilight and Spike should cook dishes in the same category. After all, don't most cooking competition shows have the chefs all make appetizers, or all make main dishes, or all make desserts, etc.? Twilight's sweet potato muffins are probably closer to a dessert item, whereas Spike's cauliflower bites are probably more like a vegetable side dish or appetizer.

Why is Spike oblivious to Fluttershy's not choosing a winner, and Twilight's and Fluttershy's leaving? The two of them were just talking in the same room as him.

How does Fluttershy manage to rapidly flip through the pages of a book while holding the book in a reading position and not touching the pages at all?

I feel bad for Twilight; she didn't necessarily sign up to search every single book in her library, but then that's essentially what she ends up doing.

Twilight mentions a "9-by-13-inch pan" - so the imperial and/or U.S. customary system of measurement is in use in Equestria?

So Cattail has no particular reaction to Twilight and Fluttershy entering his home? He doesn't ask why they entered without permission, or welcome them and ask why they're there, or anything else?

Fluttershy says that the male flash bees "aren't aggressive around the queen bee, and this mask has the same stripes that she does", but it's a little weird that that translates in practice to the flash bees leaving their hive and flying off somewhere. Are the male bees supposed to be attracted to the mask? If not, why wouldn't the male bees' not being aggressive just mean that they won't attack, but they'll otherwise stay in the hive and act normally?

Isn't it convenient that the flash bees' honey not only cures swamp fever all by itself, but tastes great, to boot?

Swamp fever turning ponies into trees if it isn't cured reminds me of seeing Harold in Fallout 3, a character who had kind of fused with a tree and is unable to move, other than looking with his eye and talking. He asks the player to euthanize him and put him out of his misery, which is understandable, since he's been stuck like that for decades and would stand to live for decades more in the same state.

Finally, the mention in Mage Meadowbrook's story of the bayou makes me want to listen to some Creedence Clearwater Revival. It also makes me think of the 1963 Roy Orbison hit song Blue Bayou (which was also a big hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1977).

[Ganondox 899]

2 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Maybe I'll just go with "consciousness" or something like that in the future to avoid showing my ignorance. 

Hey, at least you know the word sapience, that puts you leagues ahead of most people! 

[LeafFerret 3,382]

I guess I was wrong about Twilight, I thought that she was only using her Alicorn status to act like a snob and look good on the camera, but now I guess she has sort of listened to what I said and led like what a leader should, Fluttershy should've listened to what Twilight said and it could've gone a different way, I guess this is a first time in a while that I'm actually looking forward to her episodes since 2013.

[jackfettgames 50]

10 hours ago, Ganondox said:

What were the references to again? 

Looking back, they're probably coincidences.  I thought they were references to popular headcanons.

[Phirun Natela 77]

The Guinea fowl flies through the air with all the grace of a turtle.

Edited June 26, 2023 by Phirun Natela