S01:E22 - A Bird in the Hoof

[kelseymarie805 301]

I liked this episode, although I was thinking Princess Celestia was gonna be kind of ticked off at Fluttershy, I would been a little bit, haha but oh well. She knew Fluttershy had good intentions.

 

Also, I loved Twilight's approach to helping heal the bird lol. xD

 

Phoenix's are amazing as well!!!

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

This was an average episode. It involves Fluttershy trying to take care of Celestia's pet bird when she leaves her behind at brunch. I'd say it's one of the more dull episodes but the highlight was the part where Philomena is reborn. It would be nice to see Philomena more throughout the series.

[Tameless 979]

**SPOILERS**

 

This episode was very funny. I loved how Philomena was a phoenix all along. Thought she was just very sick and always looked like that.

 

I found twilight especially funny too. She always thinks of what Celestia will do to her/them if they do something wrong. One of the lines that Twilight said that got me laughing very hard was: "Thank you ever so much for keeping us in the loooop, byeeeee." Goodness that was funny.

 

Overall very good episode, Loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snowcone 12]

I loved this for the sole purpose that it was about Fluttershy and her little antics that make her so famous   <3 I feel that this was the best episode to completely describe Fluttershy's character in depth through a situation that she should be so akin to, i felt as if the episode was VERY well executed (Like most other episodes) but personally, it was one of my favorites because THE CUTENESS!         

[Rohinar 72]

This is probably my favorite Fluttershy episode!  XD  Everything is so funny, from the horrifying bird cough sounds to the fact that the bird was just messing with poor Fluttershy.  Plus I love the moral that you shouldn't assume things about people's pets without finding out more information first.

[RainbowTashie 378]

Ah yes, "A Bird in the Hoof"!    This episode is special to me really for one reason and one reason only, but we'll get to that in a moment.

 

When you get down to it, this episode is a pretty silly and nonsensical filler episode with some adorable, full-on animal caretaker Fluttershy, some panicky, OCD, "OMG Princess Celestia gonna banish our flanks!!!" Twilight (again, foreshadowing far greater things to come in "Lesson Zero"), and the two most devious, cunning trolls Equestria has ever known (  well, perhaps just next to Discord, or at the very least on par)!  Still, it does have some serious merits.

 

Perhaps the best positive character trait on display in this episode is Fluttershy's qualifications as an animal caretaker.  In all honesty, despite the fact that we've seen plenty of times just how good she is interacting with and caring for animals, I cannot think of any other episode where her abilities to take care of animals is so full on display or heavily dealt with.  It's kind of ironic, given that everything she attempts with Philomena completely and utterly fails, but still one can't help but be impressed with everything Fluttershy's got up her sleeve in this episode.  The patience she displays as well is extremely commendable and just further goes to show that Fluttershy easily embodies the Element of Kindness more than anypony.

 

Twilight, although as earlier stated hilariously freaking out throughout the episode, does show how close she's gotten to her friends at this point in Season 1 in one really big and notable way; she doesn't just tell the Royal Guard where Philomena is.  Granted she partly doesn't want to get in trouble with Celestia herself, but it seems that she's more concerned with ensuring that Fluttershy stays out of trouble and doesn't suffer any punishment for her well-meaning but misguided royal pet "abduction".  She certainly shows how much Fluttershy means to her as a friend in that she sticks with Fluttershy every step of the way till the very end.

 

The lesson at the end, while simple, like so many of Season 1's lessons also has quite a bit of merit.  The entire episode is essentially one wild goose chase, or rather, phoenix chase, as it were, and it all could've easily been avoided if Fluttershy just asked Celestia what was "wrong" with Philomena in the first place.  A simple but novel lesson that many people should take to heart, as too often trouble or conflicts arise simply on account of miscommunication, or even something as simple as just not asking important questions to the right people.

 

But enough about that, let's talk about what really makes this episode special!  This episode cemented one thing as being canon as far as I'm concerned: Trollestia 

 

Prior to this episode, fans may have begun to notice that it seemed that dear Princess Celestia sometimes did things that were simply unnecessary and sometimes even amplified problems, and at that point we were just beginning to suspect that it might not just be dumb luck or coincidental.  After all, this was the wise and benevolent Princess of the Sun who'd ruled Equestria for over 1,000 years!  Surely this couldn't all be happening on accident, right?

 

 Well this episode threw whatever doubts we had right out the bucking window!  Well, more like sent them straight to the moon!!!   The depths of Celestia's trolling in this episode are simply unfathomable and all over the bucking map!  She starts by playing some innocent pranks on the Cakes, but then, THEN things get downright cruel.  When Fluttershy, who the princess knows very well by this point is obsessed with caring for other animals, shows up, she witnesses on full display Celestia's pet bird Philomena looking crappier than a manticore with a case of the Mondays (don't look at me like that, it's all I could come up with  ), who Celestia just so happened to decide to bring along on THIS particular trip, and then FAIL to explain to "OMG I love every animal in the world" Fluttershy is a phoenix going through a normal part of her life cycle.  But does the madness end there, oh no, not by a long shot, for it is here that we are introduced to Trollestia's partner in crime, Philomena herself!  This bucking bird drags Fluttershy through a frustrating day of fruitless endeavors that eventually culminates in what could've easily been an experience that left the poor pegasus scarred for life, and DID leave her in tears thinking she'd somehow been responsible for killing the troll-phoenix for at least a minute or two.  And what does Celestia do when she shows up?  She plays it completely straight for a minute or two before openly admitting that Philomena is screwing around with Fluttershy!  SHE FLAT OUT ADMITTED THAT THOSE TWO JUST TROLLED HER!!!!!!!!   

 

Since this episode, I've never been able to look at Celestia in quite the same light.  I love her dearly, believe me, I do, she's a great mentor character, but I'm forever convinced in my head-canon that despite all her positive traits she still goes out of her way to troll her subjects when she can, to my eternal delight!!!    Of course, this is half-joking of course, and probably wasn't the writers' intent in any way, shape, or form, but the evidence does appear to be there, plus it just makes for some great memes and running-gags in the fandom!  Whatever the case, there is no denying that Trollestia has become one of the dearest and most prolific fanon gags to spin-off in the fandom, and this episode largely confirmed the idea of Celestia as the royal trollness for thousands of bronies such as myself.  For that, it forever has a special place in my heart, and ranks up there as one of the most subtly hilarious episodes of Season 1, and the show as a whole for that matter, to date!

 

ALL HAIL HER ROYAL TROLLNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

Best meme ever! it was creepy though sorta looks like CN style :S

[KeithDJohnson 40]

One of my favourite episodes so far especially since I like birds so much. Love the coughing noises, bird falling on its head, then it turns into such a cool bird. No wonder it's Celestia's pet. Also Fluttershy is my top fav pony, so that only adds to my liking.

[Wicked Funky 2,955]

Sure pheonixes are cool and all, But i didn't like it... It was almsot hard to watch.... Fluttershy was trying so hard, But the bird never got better and I felt so bad for her untill I found out it was pheonix.... Then the episode just kind of died to me.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

This episode would have been a "meh" for me if not for the same music as was in epsiode 3 of Season 1 when Twilight was running away, it cranked me up . So I liked the episode 

[Lexamena 391]

I liked this one alot. I was genuinely surprised at the end. Everybody was perfectly in character. Great episode. 

[Dowlphin 463]

...never mind - can be deleted...

Edited September 1, 2015 by Dowlphin

[Mesme Rize 15,683]

Average. Seriously, this episode is so average it's quite astounding. I barely seen anything so Average.

 

Fluttershys struggles to take care of Philomena is very in character for her, eventhough some people think that her stealing something is OOC. Fluttershy is a very kind pony and a pony who loves animals. She wants to make Philomena better, even if that means getting into trouble.

 

It's also nice to see Celestia have a nice role in this episode. It shatters for me the illusion, that she is some kind of goddess.

 

I don't know though, why they are so scared of her, especially Twilight. She of all ponies should know that she is a very kind and understanding pony.

 

Moral is very standard. Always ask your elders before you steal cookies from the jar.

 

Overall, nice episode, nothing special though.

[ponylaces 1,870]

I actually really like this episode. Not one of my favorites or anything, but you get what I mean. The humor was what made this episode shine. So many funny moments, I can't list them all. I also like that the ending was totally unpredictable. Who knew Celestia's bird could do that?

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

i recall not liking this episode in many levels. first off. fluttershy shouldve asked celestia to take care of her sick bird. before the episode ends. that bird was a total jerk

[HolyCelestia 8]

Need more moments with Celestia trolling other ponies

 

That was one of the best moments in the show

[Teavvi 627]

Meh, it was okay. It kinda ruined Fluttershy. I think she should get along with every animal so it was kinda good.

[blackstarraven 142]

5 out of 5...

Conflicted...

Hero of Eqestrian Empire Commits HIgh Treason in Collusion with future PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!

-

But in end... Was actually being trolls by jerkflank bird..

So.... Umm....

 

Uh...

Off with birds head.... Wait... Wait... Crap... Its a Phoenix.

[Flutter~Sparkle 7]

Am I the only person who recognised the Harry Potter reference here? You know, when Harry is left alone in Dumbledire's study with his pet bird who is looking very ill. The bird then bursts into flames and Harry panics, worried Dumbledore will blame him. But, then Dumbledore returns and reveals that the bird is a Phoenix.

The moment I saw Philomena I was sure she'd be a phoenix as the Harry Potter thing came to mind, I guess because Celestia and Dumbledore are similar authority figures.

Edited September 12, 2017 by Flutter~Sparkle

[CypherHoof 26,482]

1 hour ago, Flutter~Sparkle said:

Am I the only person who recognised the Harry Potter reference here? You know, when Harry is left alone in Dumbledire's study with his pet bird who is looking very ill. The bird then bursts into flames and Harry panics, worried Dumbledore will blame him. But, then Dumbledore returns and reveals that the bird is a Phoenix.

The moment I saw Philomena I was sure she'd be a phoenix as the Harry Potter thing came to mind, I guess because Celestial and Dumbledore are similar authority figures.

It's a standard trope in pheonix stories though - not original to HP.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

I liked this Episode and i thought it was pretty funny, even though Celestia could have said at the beginning, that they shouldnt worry about the fact, that the bird seems to be sick, but okay.

[Thrond 3,263]

Yeah, this one's great. All the Philomena hijinks are funny enough, but we also get at least one great moment from each of the mane six, plus it's the first time we see Celestia's prankish side and Twilight's tendency to overthink and stress herself out. And then there's Fluttershy just being so sweet and so cute, altogether the nicest creature on earth, and that just ties this episode up together into something really splendid. 

Score:

Entertainment: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Themes: 8/10

Story: 8/10

Overall: 88/100

[Meushell 52]

I enjoyed the episode, but it kind of dragged. Unfortunately, I saw the ending beforehand, so that kind of ruined it for me.

Celestia letting Fluttershy worry a bit longer than necessary is hilarious. She does deserve it for the birdnapping.

Does Twilight think Celestia have an evil side? Her punishment ideas were way over the top. 

[bigbertha 414]

Wow. What a snorefest. The first act at SugarCube Corner was mildly amusing, but everything else just dragged on and on. The Benny Hill gag was already done better in "The Ticket Master" and no other jokes stick out except Philomena bursting into flames. That was hilarious.

Score: 5/10

[Dabmanz 2,139]

Philomena was such a troll in this episode Fluttershy did the best she could though. Also Rarity with her dress and Pinkie eating the cakes to make sure it is fit for the royal tongue was pretty funny.

[bigbertha 414]

Philomena being a dick ruins a lot of this episode. The parts with just her and Fluttershy are the worst because it's both boring and annoying. It gets a bit better when Twilight is added to the mix, but it's still not that good. At least the first act is pretty fun, even if it's not connected to the rest of the episode.

Score: 5/10