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| This may just be my favourite single moment in the entire damn show |
Written by Cindy Morrow
24 Mar 2012
My original rating: N/A
IMDb score: 9.0
The one with Spike's alpenhorn
Thoughts: Best episode. Thanks for reading; see you next time! Oh, all right... this is a Fluttershy episode, which gets us off to a fine start. It's by Cindy Morrow, usually a good sign for character writing, and so it proves in spades this time. This is the very best depiction of Fluttershy's friendship with Rainbow Dash found anywhere in Friendship is Magic. It's pretty much perfect, summed up by a single moment: when Rainbow catches herself in the middle of her "Suck it up, Fluttershy!" speech. You really can tell these two have known each other for longer than most of the Mane Six, and Rainbow gets some welcome character depth out of it, too. The scene after Flutters runs away is excellent also: Dash's frustrated buck says it all. And when 'Shy comes back after that wonderful training montage – Angel demonstrating that he does care deeply about her – does our heroine triumph with 10.0 wing power? Oh no. That's much too obvious for Morrow; what happens here is so much more fitting: Fluttershy does better than ever before, but realistically so. (She breaks her PB again in the tornado, of course.) Add in some fun comedy with the film strip and Fluttertree, a decent amount of Derpyness, some very interesting – if hereafter barely used – world-building about water supplies, the feather flu and Spitfire in her gentler, pre-drill sergeant mode. And the eyes, of course. On top of everything else, this is a perceptive portrait of a pony with anxiety. At its heart, it's all about the character moments. See the screenshot above for yet another. I'm not a big fan of Bulk Biceps, but that doesn't matter. For its hugely satisfying depictions of both Rainbow Dash and especially Fluttershy, this episode was, and remains, a triumph.
Choice quote: Twilight: "Do I look like I speak squirrel?" [No. But Timmy Turner does!]
New rating: ★★★★★
Next up is "Ponyville Confidential", a CMC episode that I really rather enjoy. At least, I have done so in the past, with the odd reservation.
5 stars for sure. :D Easily one of the top five episodes of all time.
ReplyDeleteI only wish it had laid the ground work for Rainbow Dash's character in later seasons. :/
Gotta agree with the rating. Delightful from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteI liked Bulk Biceps in this episode. He was new and a great visual and tonal joke. It was only when subsequent writers decided they couldn't be bothered with originality and dragged him back over and over again that the character got tiresome.
And the Tunnel of Eyes... both funny and a great visual metaphor.
Yep, this is one of the best.
In line with my being strange, I actually like BB more in a couple of other episodes -- including one that isn't very well thought of by the fandom as a whole. I'll say no more for now, but I'll be interested to get there and see whether I still like it!
DeleteGosh, yes. There is so much to like about this one.
ReplyDeleteTo start small: this was the episode where pegasus background characters started to diversify more and boast unique designs. Not just Bulk Biceps, but Thunderlane, Rumble, Cloudchaser, Flitter, and Blossomforth joined the ranks of popular characters based on a few seconds of screentime.
Throw in some pegasus hydrodynamic lore, the build-up around Tornado Day (that old-timey film, the general training, and Spitfire's guest appearance as supervisor), and the spectacle of the whirlwind creation itself, and it's a really good episode for the pegasus ponies. With a nice dose of worldbuilding and even a bit of pegasus competitive spirit thrown in. A good complement to "Sonic Rainboom" from last season.
I also think this is one of the best-paced episodes of the series. Unusual thing to comment on, but often you can tell in some episodes where things got squeezed for something else, or a scene just goes on too long. This ep, though, I don't recall a single instance of that happening. Even the workout montage felt very natural for the story without being distracting.
And yeah, the little dives into Fluttershy's perspective (with the multiple eyes, echoing laughs, and floating heads) convincingly gets across her anxieties. Nice artistic touches there.
Less often remarked-upon: kudos to Fluttershy's friends for that scene where they give Fluttershy some much-needed confidence, and Twilight and Spike work well playing off each other (the anemometer scene, for instance, but also their reactions to Fluttershy's less-than-stellar performances).
(That said... "accelerative velocity"? I swear that's technobabble gobbledegook: acceleration and velocity are as different as "go faster" and "stay fast").
Cute little internal parallel: Fluttershy fakes being sick (with pony pox) to get out of hurricane duty. Thunderlane is accused of doing the same, but ends up actually being sick (of feather flu).
Minor detail: I've always found it interesting how Cloudchaser and Flitter seem to be most often associated with Fluttershy's bullying throughout, and yet deliver two lines of praise at the end.
Ultimately, it's Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash who make this episode. Being super-relatable and understandable in their frustations and upsets pretty much goes without saying, but I love how the episode refuses to give either of them an easy ending and they both still have to work hard to make progress. Not just Fluttershy's performance anxiety and bully trauma, but Rainbow's record-seeking and desire to include her in the team. Showing off Rainbow's determination after the first collapse was amazing, a truly exemplary classic moment for her.
It's an episode that doesn't shy away from failure, and that's what makes the sweet ending that much sweeter. Against the clearly defined odds alongside easy-to-root-for heroines, it feels totally earned and celebratory of their efforts in scraping victories out of a tough scenario.
Plus, as you say, it's one of those episodes that emphasizes how these two have indeed known each other for a long time, and I wish more eps had capitalized on that, or even just not forgotten it. They're probably the oddest of odd couples among the Main Six, which makes their mutual support and determination all the more interesting.
"kudos to Fluttershy's friends"
DeleteOops, I meant "Fluttershy's animal friends".
Also, another minor point: second appearance of the "none taken" mule joke. Weird how that was a once-a-season thing in the early offing.
And another: you mention Fluttertree, but the more out-of-nowhere one for me was Rainbow-Tree. God, that had to hurt if her face went that far through a solid trunk.
I also miss mellow Spitfire pre-Season Three. Love her reaction when the water shoots out of the tornado at last. Lower the goggles, indeed.
Filly Fluttershy remains one of the cutest things in the show, and that's some stiff competition.
Twilight uses an abacus in this episode. Did anyone make much of that, or does it only apply to Luna?
Funny bit for me: Thunderlane gets a 9.3 and a big fuss is made over it (of course, Rainbow gets 16.5 and is untouchable), but a quick blink-and-you'll miss it moment before Fluttershy's turn reveals the pegasus she bumped into in the queue got 11.0, which is already over the 10.0 target required by the training regimen. All he gets is a mild "impressive" from Rainbow. (The pony wikia mlp.fandom.com indicates his name is "Star Hunter"). So who's singing his praises, huh? :P
Love how Fluttershy's still going even after everyone else has stopped flying. She's just that determined. And then she and Rainbow give each other a hug and a high-wing. I cannot state enough how much I love this episode.
People think Flitter and Cloudchaser bullied Fluttershy? o.o I've never heard that before, what the heck?
DeleteThey laugh when Fluttershy flies past slowly. That's the only example I can recall offhand, though.
DeleteMostly they're associated with it because, on at least two occasions in this episode, their laughter results in Fluttershy getting anxious. Once the first time Fluttershy takes the anemometer test - they're the only ones actually laughing - and then again when the ghostly heads circle Fluttershy in the tornado before she screams, "NO!"
DeleteI'm honestly surprised more people haven't pounced on the association, to be frank. It's an interesting fan theory. I've used it myself for at least one fic involving Flitter, especially when other parallels between her and Fluttershy become obvious (similar names, three flying insects as cutie marks, more effeminate-looking than most pegasi, hangs out with someone "cooler" i.e. Cloudchaser/Rainbow).
"They laugh when Fluttershy flies past slowly."
DeleteThey laugh and that causes Fluttershy to fly past slowly. She's actually not doing badly until the laughter triggers her anxiety, and then she visibly slows down at the finish line.
The story that I most associate with Fluttershy and Flitter together is Estee's Five Hundred Little Murders. I don't think I really considered the similarities between the two of them. Interesting.
DeleteI think it's basically just PTSD: laughter of any kind causes Fluttershy to freeze up. It would make sense that if they'd bullied her in the past, they'd have a particular effect on her, but I always took it as a generalized thing. :B
DeleteGood episode this week.
ReplyDeleteOh, you. :P
DeleteI do like this episode, at least in that there really wasn't anything objectionable in it, but neither was it a standout for me. It falls in the ground of pleasant but not great for me. My favorite parts were probably the world-building and how we got to see so many background ponies with active roles. I agree it's the best episode at showing a nuanced dynamic between Shy and Dash, but that's not a relationship that's ever interested me much, so it's not one I go out of my way to watch again.
ReplyDeleteThat last comment is the key, really. I love that relationship, so this is a very important episode to me.
Delete