Should the show writers respect Faust's decision with Scootaloo?

[ManaMinori 4,145]

This is a topic that has been debated for years- whether Scoots should fly or not. That's not the issue I want to address. At least, not the primary issue. What I want to talk about is if the laundry list of new writers will choose to respect Lauren's decision that she made with Scootaloo long ago, on having her not to fly. Ever. There have been some consistency issues regarding previously established episode canon, with the new writers on board. I completely understand that some may choose to deviate or retcon canon in the episodes that they write, or some writers just might not be too deeply entrenched with what lore that had been existing for 7+ years. It's to be expected, too, that some might miss some lore that had been built, with over 150 episodes to look back on. But lore aside, I recall a tweet from one of the original show writers that said something to the effect of the staff wanting to follow Faust's original intent for the show and its characters (as much as possible without Hasbro or Marketing's say getting in the way), and I don't know if these new writers have the same objective to do such a thing.

 

LF stated, in an interview in EQLA 2015 Creator's Panel, that "-they're all shooting for their cutie mark, they're all trying to find who they are, and Scootaloo- I thought it would be cute if she was a late bloomer, was the first thought. The more I developed it out, the more I thought that in a weird sort of way, it'd be beautiful if she didn't ever get to fly, because everybody has a multitude of dreams that they have in their life, and we don't get all of them. And to show a character who doesn't get that dream, how she deals with it, and how she finds happiness in other areas of her life would be a really beautiful story."

 

What do you guys think? Will the new writers stay true to LF's wishes for her created characters?

[Thrond 3,263]

I hope they do, not out of any loyalty to Faust, but because it’s a good idea.

[Kevin Tang 2,427]

Not all things in our life ends with happiness or satisfaction. I think the idea Lauren Faust had would be much more interesting to watch rather than the Cinderella stereotype on little kids show where everything ends happily, EVERY SINGLE TIME. 0_o

[Guest]

I think they should do whatever they want to do and not give a crap what Faust wanted since she hasn't worked on the show in almost 6 years. The fact that people still care what she thinks is kind of stupid.

[Celli 4,339]

10 minutes ago, Key Sharkz said:

I think they should do whatever they want to do and not give a crap what Faust wanted since she hasn't worked on the show in almost 6 years. The fact that people still care what she thinks is kind of stupid.

This, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about Faust's original plans. Her old opinions are irrelevant to the show.

[Senko 459]

I would probably be ok either way but if they do decide to have her never fly I'd want to see a good reason in show for why an adult pegasus can't. That said there's a difference between adult pegasus can't fly and pegasus growing up hasn't learnt yet. They could easily have her "deal" with frustration at being unable to fly while still leaving the possibility open for later when she grows up some more. Odd but different people develop differently.

[Rawzy 1,302]

I want to see Scoots get wings just because of everyone's reactions to it. If it did happen however, I'd be satisfied even more if they did it in one of the last few episodes.

[Steve Piranha 29,432]

It's interesting to know what Faust's ideas where, but I don't think they should be basis on how the show should progress. I'd prefer for Scootie the Cutie to never fly. Not out of respect for Faust's idea, but because I agree with her it'll make a better story 

[SharpWit 2,709]

Scootaloo already doesn't have any parents and she aspires to be like rainbow dash. No need to take flight away from her absolutely. But if they do choose to keep her flightless, I'd like them to flesh out her mad scooter skills to make up for it. Maybe have her compete in the pony equivalent of the X Games.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

7 hours ago, Key Sharkz said:

I think they should do whatever they want to do and not give a crap what Faust wanted since she hasn't worked on the show in almost 6 years. The fact that people still care what she thinks is kind of stupid.

 

6 hours ago, Celli said:

This, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about Faust's original plans. Her old opinions are irrelevant to the show.

Pretty much this. I give all the respect in the world to Faust for starting it, but I question whether her overall leadership would've benefitted the show in the long run. Considering just how well done seasons 5 & 7 have been, and the relative consistency of season 8 thus far, the show has been in great hands. Really; a lot of the new writers have contributed a lot of good things without Faust, and that's the way it should be in this case.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

12 minutes ago, SharpWit said:

Scootaloo already doesn't have any parents...

When was that stated?

[cmarston1 5,959]

Yes, if only because not doing so would be cheap, saccharine, and make Scootaloo less interesting.

[UglyBTD 589]

Whether they decide to make her fly or not, I just hope they give her a dedicated episode at some point. Stuff like this... 

Spoiler

e.g. Spike getting wings

...proves that the show still has momentum after all these years. If there's one thing we can all agree on [I think], it's that we don't want MLP ending anytime soon.

[honk friend 1,978]

7 hours ago, Key Sharkz said:

I think they should do whatever they want to do and not give a crap what Faust wanted since she hasn't worked on the show in almost 6 years. The fact that people still care what she thinks is kind of stupid.

I care what she thinks because her vision of the show is, in my opinion, a LOT more consistent than what we have now. I don't think that's stupid at all.

[Script Chime 184]

I believe it would be better to make her a weak flier (flyer?) I feel it would help give the message a bit more of a boost to positivity. "You can try and work hard and you might make progress but you might not be able to break the barrier and that would be OK."  If you made it so she can only fly a couple feet off the ground or she's constantly uncoordinated it would be better. Thought I'm sure people would just assume it's a copy issue of Fluttershy from the episode "Hurricane Fluttershy but still."

[ManaMinori 4,145]

9 hours ago, Celli said:

This, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about Faust's original plans. Her old opinions are irrelevant to the show.

I get where you're coming from, but since she constructed the characters and set them up to act a certain way and do certain things, shouldn't her vision be followed as closely as possible (as it can be, without marketing and Hasbro getting involved)? The creator of the Looney Tunes,Chuck Jones, gave life to his characters in the same way, and expected writers that came on later once he departed from the studio, to follow the show bible, as it were, and keep his characters in character, even if he wasn't working alongside the creative team in later years. His vision has been kept all these years (given the exception of Space Jam- which he, himself admitted to not liking because his characters were OOC and Bugs could've handled the entire situation by himself in a matter of minutes, under his direction). Why shouldn't the same respect for the characters she made be applied for Faust, when other writers handle them?

8 hours ago, Rawzy said:

I want to see Scoots get wings just because of everyone's reactions to it. If it did happen however, I'd be satisfied even more if they did it in one of the last few episodes.

Scoots already had wings. It's not a question of whether she has them, because she was born a pegasus.

[Celli 4,339]

@Nightmare Muffin

Except the show has gone against her vision several times already anyway.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

9 minutes ago, Celli said:

@Nightmare Muffin

Except the show has gone against her vision several times already anyway.

regardless, that could've been marketing and Hasbro getting involved, rather than the writers- as many times the writers (like Larson) themselves have stated that they were forced to change things in scripts that they didn't want to do, and weren't happy with the finished product, due to the meddling of the higher-ups on the chain of command. That's inevitable.

But even so, I'm strictly talking about Scootaloo.

[Purple Pharaoh 23]

Considering my favorite episodes are post-Faust, I'd rather let them do their own thing.... However I hope that their "thing" happens to be letting her fly. Some people are late bloomers, or beat all odds even when doctors tell them not to expect it. I think that kind of message is just as important as one to "accept this is how things will always be for you." Not to invalidate that message either, but if they were going to go that route, I'd rather have them conclusively state that she were unable to fly rather than the wait and see approach they have taken with it. 

Edited June 8, 2018 by Purple Pharaoh

[Megas 27,767]

They should only go for an idea if they think it sounds good, not because it was in the plans of someone who jumped ship after two seasons, especially since a lot of Faust’s original ideas was awful. Not to mention, if she stayed I doubt they would have had the RD/Scootaloo dynamic, which she seemed pretty against, and it’s one of my favorite things in the show 

[SharpWit 2,709]

10 hours ago, DonMaguz said:

When was that stated?

It never was stated but it's been the assumption for years now by a majority of the fandom as they've never been seen or mentioned in the show.

[Truffles 2,033]

If they wanted to do something to please the fans that want to see her fly yet still have her as an example of a character who lives with a disability, then they should make her a set of prostetic wing extensions so she can get enough lift.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: if ponies have the tech to make a tortoise fly, then they have more than enough tech to help a pegasus who is just barely unable to fly.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

22 minutes ago, SharpWit said:

It never was stated but it's been the assumption for years now by a majority of the fandom as they've never been seen or mentioned in the show.

Alright, so it's your headcanon then.

 

14 minutes ago, Truffles said:

If they wanted to do something to please the fans that want to see her fly yet still have her as an example of a character who lives with a disability, then they should make her a set of prostetic wing extensions so she can get enough lift.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: if ponies have the tech to make a tortoise fly, then they have more than enough tech to help a pegasus who is just barely unable to fly.

This 100%.

[Singe 2,111]

Some fans probably want to know how Scootaloo feels when seeing certain non-flyer characters get wings and can now fly well.