S01:E02- Zipp’s Flight School

[CastletonSnob 3,074]

Title: Zipp’s Flight School
Release Date: April 7, 2022
Written By: Tom Gidman
Synopsis: The ponies convince Zipp to train other Pegasus ponies on how to fly.
Note: Alternate title is Zipp Gets Her Wings

 

[The Recherche 29,967]

Another alright episode. A bit too similar to the first, though; just with Zipp in Sunny's place as the mentor figure. I will say that I do appreciate this series trying to have "moments," like Zipp remembering Haven teaching her to fly; they are small and arguably cliche, but they go a long way in making the series not just feel like mercilessly zany, saccharine rubbish. I also appreciated Zipp's "enthusiasm" at the beginning of the episode.

[Dark Qiviut 22,379]

This was kinda cute. It’s one thing to want to fly yourself. It’s another to teach others how to fly. Zipp’s clearly had no experience with the latter, and it showed. Watching that mom teach and encourage her kid how to fly reminded her of Queen Haven teaching her, and it helped her develop as a character herself.

[Ganondorf8 11,288]

This one definitely reminded me of the episodes from G4 that focused on the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash. While that five minute time limit is likely to be a point of contention as this series progresses through its run, the staff make sure to utilize every last second. Also nice to see Zipp reminding herself of when she was a filly.

[Fluttershutter 2,419]

This is probably my favorite of the four. Decent character stuff for Zipp and not as zany as the first.

[Misty Shadow 7,846]

Pretty decent, loved the message of how you need to have patience and empathy with people who aren't as skilled at something as you. They milked that running gag with Hitch and the fruit though, wish they had put some kind of twist on it at the end after they had repeated it so often. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by CloudMistDragon
Sorry, got the topic confused with another episode topic initially.

[Splashee 28,563]

Again, quite good episode. Hitch is being the clown though, and I think he deserves a little bit more than that!

Zipp does look and sound pretty cool (why is her body 90% legs???).

 

 

Having episodes that are 5 minutes on a platform like YouTube really isn't suited for me. I need content that is at least 15 minutes.

[Rushing cash 836]

Out of the 4, this one was by far the best in my opinion. It had some misses (pretty much everything regarding Hitch) but the humor overall was pretty good, it had me chuckling every so often. The side characters were entertaining, with the pegasus similar to derpy and windy's issues. It was nice to see the royal guard duo again as well. 

[Landi 600]

Out of the four episodes, this one is probably my favorite. While my overall thoughts on TYT episodes being too short and fast paced remains the same, though this episode at least has an interesting premise.

This episode's premise of Zipp teaching some other pegasi how to fly is not only an intriguing concept, but also a consistent one. Consistency is not something I expected this series to have (and for the most part I was correct on that) but this is a case where some continuity is preserved. While the exact time after the movie this series takes place is unclear, I assume that it isn't much. That would mean that pegasi are still very new to flight, therefor it would make sense for most to be fairly bad at it (ignoring the fact that they somehow knew exactly how to fly immediately after flight was restored). Seeing both this concept and how it makes a lot of sense was an appreciated surprise. Another aspect of this episode I enjoyed were the side characters in it. They each have good reoccurring side character potential, and I'd be interested to see if they make an appearance in MYM (especially Fifi).

All this being said, the length really is this episode's biggest flaw. With a premise and collection of characters like this, this episode could have easily served well as a full 22 minute episode. If it had been a full-length episode, I think it could have been able to compete with some of FiM's good episodes. But unfortunately it is only five minutes, leaving very little room for character development for Zipp and especially for the side characters. Even though it has a premise reminisant of FiM episodes like Hurricane Fluttershy and Wonderbolts Academy, it is nowhere near as good thanks to the short runtime and constant gags. Jokes and gags can be great when used properly, but when the episode (and series) is almost completely made up of that, it becomes a major detriment.

To wrap up with some additional thoughts, I think the Zipp flashback scene was both good and bad. I appreciate what the writers were trying to do with it, but the episode's run time caused it to be both rushed and abrupt. It was a good concept, but the execution could've used some work. Also, while my opinion on the character designs in this art style being bad has not changed, the side character Fifi looked fairly decent in it. Overall this is a pretty decent episode for TYT terms, but it falls short when comparing it to full-length episodes.

[OptimisticNeighsayer 471]

This one was cute and a lot of fun, though I wish that Zipp’s return was motivated by more than a “don’t give up,” because that didn’t seem to be the core problem. She wasn’t involved in the creation of the school, so it’s no wonder she didn’t have any empathy for the flyers at first. Even though it’s a good message to have empathy when teaching, I can’t get past her being basically forced into teaching in the first place, and that just sours the message for me. 

[Toastypk 923]

Side note: Someone on derpibooru may have found a match for Windy- looks like she is in the movie!

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

I thought this was a cute episode. Having most of the canon so far focusing on ponies learning how to use their special types of magic after not having it for so long is very neat, and it makes sense too. I like how Zipp decided to set up a workshop since she’s the most experienced due to that humongous fan she practiced with.

I also thought it was funny though how the smoothie delivery pony was the G5 Derpy. She’s got the blond hair and the bad flying. The other background characters were neat too and I’m glad the episode used pre-established characters with pre-established personalities rather than selecting random characters (well the red one is random, but she’s cute so she gets a pass). Although the G4 background ponies are much more memorable, I’m glad G5 is trying to make enjoyable and unique background characters.

It was also very very cute to see little Zipp practicing with her mom!  I hope we get more foal-parent dynamics in future episodes, especially with Sunny and Argyle.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,006]

I like the part when Zipp said "When crabs fly" only to show the seagulls grabbing the crab and flying with them right afterwards. However, I thought the fear of daisies was just a bit too random for me.

[Casey Pones 82]

I guess Fifi's the new Derpy.

I love Zip's expression when she's hearing "Don't give up"

However it does raise the question of how Zip got so good at flying when she's never had any kind of instruction or practice in her life, nor has any living pegasus.

I would have like this better if there had been a full length episode on pegasi learning flight for the first time in generations.