S01:E22 - Zipp's Yes Day

[Pentium100 2,122]

10 hours ago, CloudMistDragon said:

If someone you wanted to hang out with was always saying no to something you wanted to do with them, you'd be encouraged to find a way to get them to say yes.

Or find some other activity, something that you and the other person would like (it may not be the same thing that "everybody likes"). Because there are some things that I like that I do not offer someone else to do because I know they won't like them. And then it would become something like politics ("I did something I don't like for you, so now do something you don't like for me"). Consider something like choice of music for a trip. Obviously we could do something like "I play music I want for an hour, then you pay music you want for an hour" which would probably end up being music the other person dislikes, OR, we could find out what we have in common and listen to the music we both like.

While Zipp ended up liking those activities, IMO it was still wrong to force her. Just like it is wrong to shoot a gun in the air, even if the one time you do it, the bullet lands on and kills someone who was in the process of strangling a child.

Then again Zipp agreed to basically a blank list of activities and it is her own fault for doing so.

[Bright Honor 2,671]

Zipp needed this. There's nothing wrong with saying no but you can't grow if you stay in your comfort zone forever. If you wanna maintain friendships you have to do things they like with them.

[ExplosionMare 18,062]

On 2022-08-11 at 11:00 AM, Sparklefan1234 said:

I didn't like this episode very much because I didn't understand what it was supposed to be about. 

In the beginning segment, I thought it was about Izzy not being able to admit that she didn't like smoothies,

then it was actually about Zipp not wanting to do anything and her friends being upset about it for some reason. 

I was confused, too, the pacing was off in the beginning.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Zipp is my favourite because she's the least annoying out of the Mane Five.  This episode only reinforces that notion.  Also, of all the things to bring back...why that song?  I can kind of understand teaching that saying no all the time isn't ideal, and maybe leaving one's comfort zone can lead to having more fun than one thought, and bonding more with friends, but the way the lesson was handled here just...doesn't resonate with me.  Maybe it would have worked better if Zipp's sister and friends weren't being...annoying.  I'd say no to some of the stuff she was asked to do too.  Also, what about the other side of things?  Peer pressure is a real thing, and can lead to someone being pressured into doing something they don't want to do.  I feel like FiM would have handled the lesson in a nuanced way, and taught about striking a good balance.  

Yeah...this one's the worst episode in a while IMHO.  It does star my favourite pony from this series, but even she can't save this episode for me.  I suppose it's still better than most Izzy episodes, and it is definitely better than the episode that infernal song originated from.  

[Misty Shadow 7,866]

So after re-watching this episode and re-assessing it...I have come to the conclusion that it is the most misunderstood episode of the entire series. One of the weaker episodes of the show, I no longer agree with this former opinion of mine. My primary criticism of the episode back when I first watched it was that the plot was too simple and lacking in conflict, but honestly, after re-watching the series from the beginning, I don't feel that's a fair criticism when the motto of this entire series is "simple is best". However, even back then, I didn't agree with the whole "Zipp's a victim" criticism, like she was just being "bullied" by her friends for no reason.

Take a look back at Zipp's behavior in this short. She did a flying move trick right in her friends' path that got Posey hit with smoothies, fled the brighthouse when her sister just wanted her to sing while they were just eating snacks (extremely antisocial), and then had her friends coughing up sand right before the reveal that she had been blowing them off constantly even before this recent series of events. Do you see it now? Zipp acts with a lack of consideration for her friends' feelings so that we don't feel sorry for her when she gets tricked into doing something that ends up being a rewarding experience. They had already tried talking to her and prying for her motive for avoiding them would have just encouraged her to avoid them more, so it makes sense for their next course of action to be trying something shrewd. 

Zipp also does not behave this way without a reason. The reason why she was saying "no" all the time was because it's part of her personality to be an independent pony who likes to do her own thing. Just look at the Make Your Mark opener. Remember when she kept ignoring her mother's calls (rude) because she didn't want to get roped into practicing queenly activities? Zipp's behavior in this episode is entirely in character. 

The pacing of this episode was fine too, even in its opening scene. It's not that Izzy doesn't like smoothies, it's just that she doesn't want to admit she's not good at gulping contests. And the opening scene had a point, it was the setup to Zipp's entrance and to a scene later in the episode. The comedy with Posey getting her karma for being the town Karen is simply a staple of the series too. 

Still not one of my favorite episodes, but it's probably my second favorite "divisive" episode now, first is Dumpster Diving. Not just the MYM opener, but TYT shorts like this were also given a raw deal. 

Edited September 23, 2022 by CloudMistDragon
Minor fix of a sentence.