"Fluttershy Leans In" with an alternative approach

[KH7672 1,604]

APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG TOPIC BUT I'VE BEEN SITTING ON THIS FOR A WHILE:

As we get closer to Season 8 and also closer to an upcoming Fluttershy episode as well, I've been noticing more the "unpopular opinion" that "Fluttershy Leans In" is fantastic and it saddens me that this is not a well liked episode (even by me) when it really could have been a fantastic episode for all involved especially Fluttershy. Now if you only watched the episode for Fluttershy than of course you will love it. She develops beautifully into a better character, but for many others Fluttershy is not the problem or at least the main one. There are problems with the other characters involved, the stakes of the episode, and for me the actual moral delivered by a character who didn't "earn it" for being right all along. So with those issues in mind here is how I would approach the episode WITHOUT touching the "Flutter-bold" others loved from it:

It starts the exact same up until Fluttershy reveals the initial plans. However her friends only say that they are happy to help and Fluttershy tells them to meet her in the morning and to feel free to bring along anypony else to help. In the morning Fluttershy is in the clearing figuring out what to do with the trees and Pinkie aproaches with her friend, Hard Hat. Fluttershy explains the plan and Hard Hat looks confused and tries to suggest an alternate building method pulling out a blueprint explaining the structural design that has benefitted PONY buildings. Fluttershy immediately declines and reassures her plans. Hard Hat dismisses himself annoyed at the mindset of the project.

Time passes and the land has been partially dug up and looks like a mess as Rarity approaches with Dandy Grandeur and comments on his help to beautify the sanctuary. Fluttershy thanks and explains her desires. Dandy seems confused and comments on a more appropriate eye catch his clients would normally love. Fluttershy explains these animals aren't like his normal clients and reassures the design. Dandy dismisses himself doubting the fashion expertise.

More time passes and with crude layout, Fluttershy, looking a little tired, comments on creating living quarters. Applejack approaches with Wrangler and Fluttershy expresses her gratitude. Wrangler comments on the best way to contain the animals to not be in ponies ways (noticing a pattern here). Fluttershy explains the animals needs to be free roaming to enjoy the sanctuary more. Wrangler dismisses herself and whispers to Applejack that she's going to need a better plan to control those animals and Applejack looks back at Fluttershy corncerned.

Even more time passes with a crude infrastructure and living quarters made, Fluttershy looks even more tired and defeated but smiles and keeps at it as her friends and approach expressing concern in her plan with and wondering if she's going about this right. They bring up a concern for Dr. Fauna's situation and express a desire to bring back the experts. Fluttershy, even though she is tired, asserts herself to her friends that while being experts in their fields she is the expert on animals and that she knows what she is doing and expresses a stern desire to continue helping her because they are her friends and should trust that she knows. (Pinkie comments on Flutter-bold here) Twilight asks then who they should get to help seeing as none of them are experts on animals. Fluttershy thinks for a moment and lights up declaring she knows and will be right back.

Time passes as her friends make little progress on the sanctuary but Fluttershy returns with Big Daddy McColt and the episode continues as normal with the montage. After the sanctuary is built and Dr. Fauna expresses her gratitude, Hard Hat, Dandy, and Wrangler approach in awe commenting on how she really did know what she was doing. Fluttershy gives them a gentle but slightly smug smile and delivers a well earned moral of following your dreams.

There you have it. Fluttershy was still in the right the entire time and still her newly confident self. Except now the experts aren't the antagonists here, they are just ponies dealing with things out of their element, smart enough to know when they're not needed but also smart enough to acknowledge when they were also wrong. The rest of the Mane 6 were the problem recruiting experts that were not going to be of much help with the main field, but again not in the entire wrong because they just wanted to help. Here they learn to assess the situation and trust the desires of their friend. Finally Fluttershy herself even has some subtle stakes as we see this task take more and more out of her but she keeps going and keeps following that dream. This makes being a precursor to "A Health of Information" even better as the low stakes don't make Fluttershy in the wrong for pushing herself too much and instead completely exemplify her determination, and truely does follow her dreams until the very end. That is how I would have done "Fluttershy Leans In." Of course this is all just alternatives as nothing is going to change the episode but I hope that we get more of that kind of Fluttershy in Season 8 with more of this kind of characterization for everypony else in her episodes. So what do you think?

[ShootingStar159 2,157]

While, yes, this would go a long way towards addressing the problems I have with the episode, that doesn’t mean it would make for a better story. The whole purpose of the story wasn’t just to build a sanctuary, it was also to show how much Fluttershy has grown. This alternate version would have fewer problems for me, but the result just comes across as... boring. And that’s a way bigger problem for me than the problems that are already there.

[Denim&Venöm 19,274]

The problem with Flutttershy Leans In was that it was kind of a dull episode. There was little conflict or character growth. Fluttershy was right all along and fixed things with Mccolt ex-machina. And this re-write takes out what little conflict and drama there was. 

A combination of both would help. Keep the experts going their own plan, but have them learn that they were out of their element, not Fluttershy. Also, I would've swapped Mccolt for Dr. Fauna, since the project is to her benefit, she should lend some help in it's creation. 

The fact that Fluttershy is so steadfast and certain kinda kills the intreague of this episode for me. Maybe if she had her vision and ideas but didn't knwo how to go about them and through her experiences with the experts learns what not to do, it would've made for a better episode. Fluttershy, and the viewer, learns a lesson. That while we all have dreams, we may not all have the knowledge on how to go about them. It's not a bad thing to o ask for help or outside opinions. But if you see something that doesn't fit your dream, don't be afraid to say no. You're seeking help on how to fulfill your dream, not on what everypony thinks your dream should be. 

[Thrond 3,263]

I'm not sure how this episode could have changed while still being recognizable. It's so fundamentally predicated on the idea of respecting Fluttershy's expertise that adding any real conflict would be a pretty significant change, and arguably even alter the moral. And like @Denim&Venom, I find this episode dull mainly because of that lack of conflict; Fluttershy is not only in the right from start to finish but also knows it, and your rewrite doesn't do a whole lot to address that. I don't really have a solution, unfortunately. 

[Total Lunar Eclipse 516]

The others were wrong to not communicate with her and start the project against her wishes, however, Fluttershy is also wrong. She claims to be an animal 'expert' and yet her ideas are terrible for animals. She tells us she wants sick animals to all be together outside with no walls. No quarantine, no regard for predators. We see racoons and ducks frollicking together at the end. She says she wants it to be safe, but she doesn't want to provide any of the things that would make them safe. Walls aren't meant to be restrictive, they're meant to keep animals safe. That's why wildlife rehab centers wait until the animal is fully recovered before releasing it. And they use quarantine, and keep most animals separated so they don't get stressed out by each other. 

 No animal 'expert' in their right mind would do what she's doing. 

I know it's just a kid's show, but wow. This is something they should be teaching kids about. Kids love animals. 

I think what she wanted was a landscaper, btw. She could have just said so. I do like her sanctuary idea, it just doesn't make sense as a place for sick animals.

[Dark Qiviut 22,445]

11 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

The whole purpose of the story wasn’t just to build a sanctuary, it was also to show how much Fluttershy has grown.

Unfortunately, FLI shows that very poorly by putting her in the right the entire time when she earns a large share of the blame for being a terrible communicator and client.

---

And, OP, I'm not a big fan of your idea. It still doesn't resolve the episode's central flaw: the lack of conflict. Your rewrite sanitizes the conflict further and removes whatever there is left, turning it into a duller story. The designers may no longer be one-dimensional antagonists, but FS remains in the right when she shouldn't.

Here's an impromptu idea of an FLI rewrite I have, using ideas @KH7672 and @Denim&Venom posted before me here:

1. Remove the Suited-vice-versa client/customer allegory altogether. It doesn't apply at all here, and inserting it holds the story back.
    
2. Instead of FS claiming the sanctuary's what she wanted to build the whole time, turn it into an idea communicated between Dr. Fauna and FS. How? Maybe FS remembers visiting one while on her trip to see the breezies.
    
3. Fluttershy and Dr. Fauna initially hire Wrangler, Hard Hat, and and Dandy Grandeur (recommendations from the RM5) to help build the sanctuary. Unfortunately, their ideas to help build the sanctuary conflict, causing communication problems and confusion from the contractors. As the episode (and days in canon) goes along, both of them begin to intrude on parts of the project they assigned themselves to. What one client wants may contradict what the other wants, leading to the contractor to probably decide what works best for the project for them, turning it into something neither Fauna nor FS want. At this point, the contractors grow completely frustrated and tell them to give them a single plan, or they'll quit.
    
4. Next morning, FS and Fauna realize they were trying to turn what's supposed to be a collaboration into their own projects, which in turn was hurting the animals they promised to take care of. They apologize to each other for being poor teammates and to the contractors for giving them bad instructions. They start over from scratch and share their best ideas to create the sanctuary. What goes too far get discarded or reworked to make something within their budget and time.
    
5. After they have everything ready and planned, construction is underway, and episode ends with it being built. Future episodes would show its progress, completed fully either by the end of S7 or to start S8.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[ShootingStar159 2,157]

2 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Unfortunately, FLI shows that very poorly by putting her in the right the entire time when she earns a large share of the blame for being a terrible communicator and client.

Agreed, and it also continues the horrible trend that ‘being assertive’ = yelling at people, but that doesn’t really change my point. Just because they did a bad job at showing her growth, again, doesn’t mean that part of the story should be removed.

[Dark Qiviut 22,445]

15 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Just because they did a bad job at showing her growth, again, doesn’t mean that part of the story should be removed.

Honestly, for a story like FLI's, I think that part should be completely thrown out, because it doesn't blend well at all with the setting and conflict. A Health of Info balanced her assertive nature with the setting much better for other reasons.

20 minutes ago, Total Lunar Eclipse said:

I know it's just a kid's show, but wow. This is something they should be teaching kids about. Kids love animals. 

I don't think the animal behavior and standards in FIM apply to RL that straightforwardly. The animals in Equestria are semi-sapient, so you easily tell what they're feeling, saying, and behaving by their expressions and voice range. For example, in Keep Calm, Fluttershy scolded a beaver for profane language.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Dark Qiviut

[Total Lunar Eclipse 516]

7 minutes ago, Dark Qiviut said:

Honestly, for a story like FLI's, I think that part should be completely thrown out, because it doesn't blend well at all with the setting and conflict. A Health of Info balanced her assertive nature with the setting much better for other reasons.

I don't think the animal behavior and standards in FIM apply to RL. The animals in Equestria are semi-sapient, so you easily tell what they're feeling, saying, and behaving by their expressions and voice range. For example, in Keep Calm, Fluttershy scolded a beaver for profane language.

That's true. It excuses all sanctuary/hopsital thing.

 

Here's an idea for an episode where Fluttershy becomes more assertive without yelling or changing her core character. Let her open up to animals first, then ponies. She could discover that Snowball bosses her around because she's insecure and he feels like he has to take charge, and it actually makes him nervous/tired. Animals are super in tune with that sort of thing. If she realized how her insecurity affected her animal friends, she'd be determined to overcome it, and her love for animals would keep her from going on a 180 yelling spree.

In the end, she becomes a more balanced Fluttershy, showing more compassionate confidence towards her animal friends.

She'd still be shy around ponies, but when she's alone with the animals, it's a whole new Fluttershy.

Personally I never understood why they didn't write her like this before. I though her shyness would just be around other ponies when I first watched MLP =o 

[Singe 2,111]

49 minutes ago, Total Lunar Eclipse said:

The others were wrong to not communicate with her and start the project against her wishes, however, Fluttershy is also wrong. She claims to be an animal 'expert' and yet her ideas are terrible for animals. She tells us she wants sick animals to all be together outside with no walls. No quarantine, no regard for predators. We see racoons and ducks frollicking together at the end. She says she wants it to be safe, but she doesn't want to provide any of the things that would make them safe. Walls aren't meant to be restrictive, they're meant to keep animals safe. That's why wildlife rehab centers wait until the animal is fully recovered before releasing it. And they use quarantine, and keep most animals separated so they don't get stressed out by each other. 

 No animal 'expert' in their right mind would do what she's doing. 

I know it's just a kid's show, but wow. This is something they should be teaching kids about. Kids love animals. 

I think what she wanted was a landscaper, btw. She could have just said so. I do like her sanctuary idea, it just doesn't make sense as a place for sick animals.

What passes as animal expert for Fluttershy, tends to be more of an animal hoarding character trait.  

I think the main issue is Fluttershy's communication and missing steps before starting the project. Her words doesn't come across to the other experts when she tries to describe things to them, there is really no planning stage which Twilight could have helped with, and she doesn't interview them before hiring them to see if they could do it. The bad thing is that it wasted the experts time and damaged their relationships with the Mane(s) that recommended them. 

One of them is an interior decorator and she really wants a complete outside landscape project. Frankly she should have ran the whole thing by her friends first before they thought of recommending experts.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Singe

[Total Lunar Eclipse 516]

5 minutes ago, Singe said:

What passes as animal expert for Fluttershy, tends to be more of an animal hoarding character trait.  

I think the main issue is Fluttershy's communication and missing steps before starting the project. Her words doesn't come across to the other experts when she tries to describe things to them, there is really no planning stage which Twilight could have helped with, and she doesn't interview them before hiring them to see if they could do it. The bad thing is that it wasted the experts time and damaged their relationships with the Mane(s) that recommended them. 

One of them is an interior decorator and she really wants a complete outside landscape project. Frankly she should have ran the whole thing by her friends first before they thought of recommending experts.

Agree completely. She failed at communication from the very beginning. It would be cool if they did an episode on how to communicate properly! (unless they did that already and I forgot hehe)

[KH7672 1,604]

I really appreciate the feedback but one thing I should have made clearer was that I was still keeping the moral and message of the episode intact.

From the characterization it was clear the conflict was as so: When you follow your dreams, others are going to get in your way and discourage that passion (and it's true it happens) hence why the episode characterizes the experts as the condescending doubters of success and claiming to know better. However, in reality you only run into those kind of people when they are legitimate jerks or when they are used to being the ones in charge and don't usually work as a group. So either the episode wants us to think these characters are jerks or that these ponies who work for clients normally can't work with THIS one for some reason.

I don't see why Fluttershy can't be in the right, (Applejack is in SSCS6K) I just don't want her dragging other character's established charactization down to build her up. It's clear that many of you want to change the entire ending and even the moral but I still think the moral can work. When others question your dreams, not in a jerky or condescending way, but in a misunderstanding way you have the choice, fold to their objections or assert your passion and expertise (I mean Starlight does that a few episodes later).

Also for @Total Lunar Eclipse, I appreciate and do not doubt your expertise in the slightest, however this is a fictional show with fictional animals who definitely act with a little more sapience than real life animals. Until the show physically claims this is how one should take care of animals, I apologize but I don't find issue with that opinion.

[Total Lunar Eclipse 516]

8 minutes ago, KH7672 said:

I really appreciate the feedback but one thing I should have made clearer was that I was still keeping the moral and message of the episode intact.

From the characterization it was clear the conflict was as so: When you follow your dreams, others are going to get in your way and discourage that passion (and it's true it happens) hence why the episode characterizes the experts as the condescending doubters of success and claiming to know better. However, in reality you only run into those kind of people when they are legitimate jerks or when they are used to being the ones in charge and don't usually work as a group. So either the episode wants us to think these characters are jerks or that these ponies who work for clients normally can't work with THIS one for some reason.

I don't see why Fluttershy can't be in the right, (Applejack is in SSCS6K) I just don't want her dragging other character's established charactization down to build her up. It's clear that many of you want to change the entire ending and even the moral but I still think the moral can work. When others question your dreams, not in a jerky or condescending way, but in a misunderstanding way you have the choice, fold to their objections or assert your passion and expertise (I mean Starlight does that a few episodes later).

Also for @Total Lunar Eclipse, I appreciate and do not doubt your expertise in the slightest, however this is a fictional show with fictional animals who definitely act with a little more sapience than real life animals. Until the show physically claims this is how one should take care of animals, I apologize but I don't find issue with that opinion.

I'm not an expert, I just have animals and am involved with other people who do. It's really basic stuff. And yep, fair enough! I guess it's a personal peeve of mine =D