S04:E14 - Filli Vanilli

[Winger7632 124]

Great episode. I like how there are no dislikes yet. At first when I read a tiny bit about it, I was not sure how great it will be and the start with the song confirmed that until the rest of the program. Well constructed and good humor as well as a flashback to bridle gossip with flutterguy. Everyone played their part well especially pinkie. The wall climing, I laughed. Anyway loved it

 

Not to mention the call backs to hearts and hooves day, fluttershys assertiveness training (her simply saying no) from putting your hoof down, and rarity not making her sing from green isn't your color when she had fluttershy model and learned not to make your friends do things they didn't want to do.

[InkyJay 21]

This episode was mediocre at best. It was already off to a pretty bad start by having the other five ponies act like they've never heard Fluttershy sing in their lives, even though I could make a sizable list of the songs she's sung along in. There was literally no difference between how she sung in the opening and in any other song.

 

Then, for plot convenience, Rarity and Big Macintosh are all of sudden part of a quartet. While I thought the song was pretty groovy, it's probably the episode's only strong point. The episode's use of old plot devices was okay, but the problem is that I had predicted this during the commercial break. I knew by the time Big Macintosh lost his voice that Fluttershy would infect herself with poison joke and during a performance kick down the curtain and reveal herself. The latter is an overdone concept with fiction in general. But, no! Everyone cheered Fluttershy on for committing a total fraud and deceiving everyone. The 'love and tolerance' in Equestria can sometimes make absolutely no sense. At the end of the episode, the status quo is reset by telling everyone that she must take baby steps, rather than having some sort of commitment to performing in front of a bigger audience to fully overcome her fright in the future. 

 

Unlike Simple Ways, I could make it through this episode without palming my face in disgust and grief. Doesn't mean this episode was very good, either. I thought it was cliché and predictable.

 

Nah. The regular cliché is that someone is a terrible singer entering a contest where they're singing, and their friend is a great singer that is lip-synching with them (sometimes against their own free will) in that contest so that the bad singer doesn't embarrass themselves completely. This episode did a subversion of that since Fluttershy was fine with doing the lip-synching behind the scenes, and was becoming even more excited and spirited when she got to do more singing for her friends so long as she wasn't up on stage.

 

Speaking of the stage, though, that scene where everything goes black and white was pretty...dark. Is it weird for me to say that it was one of the highlights of the episode for me?

 

Anyways, considering that Fluttershy is making strides towards taking care of her stagefright issues, I'd say that, in the MLP timeline, this episode takes place before Rainbow Falls. It would certainly explain why she wasn't freaking out so much over participating in the games themselves.

 

Amy Keating Rogers...why must you disappoint me with your depiction of Pinkie Pie in this episode? You did such a great job in portraying her in "Pinkie Pride", so how could you make her so insensitive towards Fluttershy's feelings in this episode? Maybe you were thinking back to when Pinkie had Flutters carry all of her stuff in "It's About Time", but still, how could you?

 

Overall, I'd say this episode was pretty good. Chalk up another point for Amy Keating Rogers on the "Good episodes written in Season 4" scoreboard.

[PrymeStriker 408]

Nah. The regular cliché is that someone is a terrible singer entering a contest where they're singing, and their friend is a great singer that is lip-synching with them (sometimes against their own free will) in that contest so that the bad singer doesn't embarrass themselves completely. This episode did a subversion of that since Fluttershy was fine with doing the lip-synching behind the scenes, and was becoming even more excited and spirited when she got to do more singing for her friends so long as she wasn't up on stage.

It's the same situation with different stakes. That doesn't make any kind of excuse, or change that this episode's plot line was predictable.

Edited February 16, 2014 by PrymeStriker

[Rainboom Dash 1,055]

Another great episode. Loved the return of Flutterguy. I was expecting this to be Fluttershy's key episode, but I guess the Breezies episode will be it.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Rainboom Dash

[Kulstor 254]

It was neat hearing Big Mag sing, though it wasn't for to long.  Funny how when Applejack questioned him she was able to guess so much so all he had to say was his classic word.  

[Singe 2,111]

There was a good amount of Fluttershy shaking her flank. Especially at the school, mooning the class. lol

 

Somehow it's like the writers are implying that underneath, Fluttershy is a very frisky pony. Especially when she's ramming herself into Big Mac and the stage curtain.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Singe

[Forlong 1,726]

Seems I'm going to be in the minority here.  I think this is a bad episode.  Continuity is disregarded on a whim, Fluttershy and Pinkie are dipping out of character, and it's just like five episodes about the exact same character.

[hawkflame 3,310]

I have to say I wasn't expecting much going in. I put up a video last week on my youtube channel (http://m.youtube.com/channel/UCS6fSgqY0aBziQVs6TqH2fw) basically explaining why I'm not a huge Fluttershy fan. One of the big reasons is that her issues are rather repetitive. I'm a bit tired of seeing her scared or sad or nervous. So when I saw the preview I just saw more of the same.

 

But then the actual episode came, and it did things right. It didn't dwell on her weakness. In fact it showed her passion and love for singing, and I love it when we see a different side to her like that. Generally my favorite Fluttershy moments have been when she's excited, and we saw a lot more of that here.

 

It also has Rarity coming off great as usual. What a season for her, huh? I like how she encourages Flutters to come out of her shell. And once again, she proves to be one of the most perceptive ponies when she clues into how much Fluttershy secretly loves performing.

 

The only real knock on this episode is Pinkie. With exceptions like Pinkie Pride, she just seems to becoming more and more of an insensitive spazz as the season continues.

[Spartan 433]

After some thought, i think Big Mac and Zecora are better couple than Cheerile and Big Mac.. i dont know, it seems like Zecora does more for the apple family, than Cheerile, whos just a teacher.. whereas Zecora is more of a herbalist and has saved the Apple family in one way or another..

[hawkflame 3,310]

Oh, and the people who go on and say "OMG Flutterguy is Canon!"-

 

... Guys, it was *always* canon. It wasn't the fandom that came up with that name, it was Spike in Bridle Gossip.

[Its Rainbow Dash 151]

I enjoyed the episode and what caught me off guard was I enjoyed Fluttershy.

 

Coming out of her shell even if little by little were big steps for her plus singing backstage reminded me of a classic episode of the andy Griffith show classic.

 

Fluttershy reminded me of how I used to feel in front of crowds scared and frightened the crowd would eat you alive.

 

Con's for me were Pinkie in this episode she came off as kinda petty and mean this episode not once but twice., purposely scaring Fluttershy and knowing her purposely over doing it in the turkey calls to make Big Mac lose his voice.

 

She felt OOC and again mean if even in a bubbly way.

 

IMO props to Fluttershy for showing she is just a free loving pony underneath the fear., and never be scared to let your Voice be heard!!

Edited February 16, 2014 by Its_Rainbow_Dash

[InkyJay 21]

I enjoyed the episode and what caught me off guard was I enjoyed Fluttershy.

 

Coming out of her shell even if little by little were big steps for her plus singing backstage reminded me of a classic episode of the andy Griffith show classic.

 

Fluttershy reminded me of how I used to feel in front of crowds scared and frightened the crowd would eat you alive.

 

Con's for me were Pinkie in this episode she came off as kinda petty and mean this episode not once but twice., purposely scaring Fluttershy and knowing her purposely over doing it in the turkey calls to make Big Mac lose his voice.

 

She felt OOC and again mean if even in a bubbly way.

 

IMO props to Fluttershy for showing she is just a free loving pony underneath the fear., and never be scared to let your Voice be heard!!

 

You could always interpret the turkey call thing as Pinkie being a master planner. If she hadn't made Big Mac lose his voice, Fluttershy would've never sung in the first place and have her fun.

[Budding Night 1,043]

I didn't like the episode. Pinkie Pie was overbearing towards Fluttershy throughout this entire episode, I especially didn't like how she made her cry at the end.
 
Fluttershy though.. Her voice at the start was lovely, it was very powerful, very much so like a Disney Princess I thought. Though near the end I felt it was a little more diminished. She seemed quite a bit out of character in this episode, I don't know if it was just meant to be her new found love of 'performing' or just bad writing, but either way I felt she could've been pushed into line a bit more.
 
I seriously thought the rainbow-eye thing was going to happen with Fluttershy when she realised she loved performing and her bowtie would be her object, but guess we'll just have to wait.
 
I don't have much to say about the episode apart from "I don't like it", but this...
 

 
..this will get some headcannons going in some people. And that includes myself.
 
So, *ahem*, if'll you excuse me.
 
*woosh*

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

Sure, this episode has its flaws but like many other episodes, I got so swept away that I didn't really care. XD

 

Fluttershy is more of a free spirit than what we see, isn't she? It's great that we see a new side to a character. The lesson at the end is also something I can relate to so it impacted me more.

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

People are being so mean to Pinkie in all the comments I've read on here and other sites. I thought she was so hilarious! Also, let's not forget that Fluttershy did the exact same thing to Rainbow Dash in Sonic Rainboom, she's just getting a taste of her own medicine. 

[TomorrowJoes 14]

I love Flutterguy's voice. Hope to hear it in remixes

[Ianpiersonjdavis 512]

Overall, I thought it was just okay, it could have been better-but, Pinkie really dragged it down by messing with Fluttershy and instead of just getting annoyed or being unfazed by her antics-I was actually starting to get really angry.

 

I was pleased with a Jackalope appearing (the bunny with antlers) at beginning showing more mythical creatures existing that aren't just restricted to one regions mythology.

 

It was nice to see Zecora again, along with her sage-like wisdom and continuity nod along with having the name 'Flutterguy' used in canon.

 

Personally, I found it strange that after all of this time the revelation of stage fright was such a shock to everyone when every single one of the mane cast has known her for at least a year and the fact that performing in front of large audiences is something that she is not a fan of (which makes 'Rainbow Falls' even weirder with her volunteering).

 

The fact that Pinkie was so out of character was also something that irritated me quit a bit as she seemed intent on tormenting Fluttershy, which is the exact opposite of what Pinkie is supposed to be and it has been shown that she has a large amount of consideration for her friends as seen in 'Pinkie Pride' and that they are the center of her universe in 'Party of One'-not to mention her Smile Song.

 

What makes this even worse is back Season 1, she is infuriated by Gilda reducing Fluttershy to tears and proclaiming that 'NO ONE TREATS FLUTTERSHY LIKE THAT! NO ONE!', yet she does the very same thing in this episode, making her seem like a hypocrite.

 

All of this makes Rarity smacking her early on quite satisfying as she certainly deserved it with her actions.

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

Also, was Fluttershy out of character in this episode to anyone else?  :okiedokielokie:

 

[Spinelspike 78]

I certainly enjoyed it, as I believe it was a great Fluttershy story, and one I didn't expect to see. As always, the songs are always top notch, and the numerous throwbacks and references to the show's past is always welcome. Not only that, but we actually got some character development for Big Mac, which again, is always welcome. 

My only issue comes from the fact that after about a quarter of the episode has gone, the plot does become fairly cliche and predictable. certainly still enjoyable, but I think its moral and message was a bit too easy to see coming. Not a major issue, only a nitpick really, but the show has surprised me before in many ways, and while this storyline did have cliche elements, the spin and use of characters still made it enjoyable enough to watch.

One thing that bothered me though was that Fluttershy claims to have stage fright......even though she acted and sang beautifully during the hearth's warming eve episode from season 2. Yes, she was scared before she went on, but she acted and sang pretty flawlessly, and that event proves that she has had experience on stage before, and so has sort of faced her big 'nightmare' already. I don't know, maybe she was okay because there were 6 of them all on stage (7 plus spike), but I'm surprised that they didn't at least bring that episode up in this one.

But overall, I think it's a triumph of a story, and probably one of season 4's best so far.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

 

 

I seriously thought the rainbow-eye thing was going to happen with Fluttershy when she realised she loved performing and her bowtie would be her object.

 

But... that has nothing to do with Kindness.

Also, was Fluttershy out of character in this episode to anyone else?  :okiedokielokie:

 

Pony!Flutters and Human!Flutters are two different people.

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

Pony!Flutters and Human!Flutters are two different people.

But it was still supposed to be the same character just with a different body and different experiences. So it's still inconsistent. 

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

But it was still supposed to be the same character just with a different body and different experiences. So it's still inconsistent. 

 

I think it's a better example to use the other times Pony!Flutters has sung.

However, some have pointed out that in those cases, the character possibly didn't see it as singing. Like from their point of view it was just a discussion or it was break from reality to give exposition to the audience. In this episode though, it was performing played straight.

Edited February 16, 2014 by ShadOBabe

[Singe 2,111]

Pinkie Pie has always been that way. This is the first time she's being called out on it.

[Paradise 1]

I think it's a better example to use the other times Pony!Flutters has sung.

However, some have pointed out that in those cases, the character possibly didn't see it as singing. Like from their point of view it was just a discussion or it was break from reality to give exposition to the audience. In this episode though, it was performing played straight.

Well that's how most tv shows with musicals view their musicals. If these ponies actually heard these songs Queen Chrysalis would have been found out long before that farce of a marriage ceremony.

[My Little Mandy 838]

I thought the episode was adorable!