 |
| You have to assume Fluttershy made that sax, unless the Breezies brought it with them! |
S4E16: "It Ain't Easy Being Breezies"
Written by Natasha Levinger
1 Mar 2014
My original rating: 7.5/10 (=★★★)
IMDb score: 6.8
Thoughts: Not the most popular instalment of S4 with the fandom at large, but Fluttershy's key episode has its interesting points. For a start, it was the first time outside EqG that we'd seen a dimensional portal. Fluttershy's "cruel to be kind" moral is a solid and satisfying one, too, and this is certainly an episode that wouldn't have worked centred on anypony else. It's a rather good ep for her – the problems come with how contrived much of it is, in particular the spell that Twilight just happens to have learnt that just happens to solve the problem. Turning a pony into another creature feels morally iffy, too, especially as the others didn't get told what they were in for. The Breezies... well, Seabreeze is pretty good value, but him apart the creatures don't have much personality. It's also another downswing for Pinkie's characterisation, which as remarked before is all over the place this season. Really, whether accurate or not, this feels like it was made because someone at Hasbro wanted to sell Breezie toys... though in the event we got hardly any. (Blind bags and... er...) An odd mixture, then: some fine Fluttershy, a very good moral, and good visuals and music. However Seabreeze apart it has rather unsatisfying supporting characters and a uneven plot that didn't really fill 22 minutes. I see the flaws a bit more clearly now than I did in 2014. As such, I'm downgrading it a tad from the top-end three it used to have. Even so, it keeps its three-star rating – just – because, well, I'm biased and it's a good Fluttershy episode.
Choice quote: Fluttershy: "Okay... well. A confusing pep talk, but nonetheless..."
New rating: ★★★
Next up is "Somepony to Watch Over Me", and it's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm not especially looking forward to reliving Applejack's portrayal in that one. The ep did hold some appeal for me in 2014, though. How much now? Wait and see.
Personally I think this is the weakest of the key episodes. I know this shows Fluttershy at her best, but why did Twilight need to turn the mane six into Breezies when the quicker option would've been to stick the Breezies into some sort of carry case and have RD fly them back. Basically this episode feels more of a toy advert than your usual one in the show. This gets a 4/10 from me.
ReplyDelete“It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies” - Production Changes
ReplyDeletePREMISE
Natasha Levinger wrote this one right from the Premise, which probably explains its length (over a page long), and being very similar to the final episode. Quite accurate already for a synopsis of that size, just missing a few details (why the Breezies make their trip, what disturbs them). The Breezies are specified to only come once every 40 moons, which carries over to the outline (where it is 40 years), and it's pretty standard for the scripts to remove those kind of time signifiers. Seabreeze is also oddly nicer here than later. Can't flesh out a new character much in one page, after all!
OUTLINE
The episode's outline is remarkably similar to the final episode already - all the differences here (as opposed to not-yet-solidified detail) carry through to the script, mostly in a trio of scenes later fully cut for time. Only notable thing is Fluttershy being less on Seabreeze's side, telling him off for being a Negative Nelly at one point.
SCRIPT
One of the funnier takeaways from the script here is that the role of Flitter and Cloud Chaser in the final episode (though not the Cloud Chaser from Hurricane Fluttershy, the character is replaced with a stallion pegasus) was originally filled by Fleetfoot and Blaze. Yes, the Wonderbolts. This didn't get corrected until the 2nd Polish draft, so it was either an oversight due to the writers not knowing the show character models as much (Natasha Levinger had only written "Pinkie Apple Pie" before) or intended to be placeholders until they found suitable Ponyville Pegasi to use instead.
Originally, more Breezies spoke properly, like Twirly (originally named Ocean Breeze and renamed in the 1st polish, and indicated in the script to be the Breezies leader; visual adjustments omitted this), one called Windfall and another called Breezette (she was mostly in a deleted scene). This didn't get changed until the 2nd Polish draft too.
Mr and Mrs. Cake's parts in listening to Fluttershy's explanation was 2 unnamed ponies in the first draft, changed by the 2nd draft.
As the drafts proceed, there's the usual array of dialogue adjustments in some scenes making them closer to the final episode. Most changes come around Breezie dialogue, mostly to shift more to Seabreeze as the other's roles got diminished. Due to the bulk of this episode's trimming coming from three full scenes, many scenes are intact as they are. One change I found funny was a second Locked Polish script a month later, to correct the journal being called the "Diary of the Two Sisters" to just "the journal" (this is from a cut scene, so it didn't matter in the end).
ANIMATIC & OTHER CHANGES
Because of the dialogue-light migration scenes (as well as the bee action scene) requiring more screen time then is obvious on the written page, about 6 pages were trimmed from the 34.3 pages of script on this one. Most of that is from three full scenes, though there are a few other things of note too.
* After the scene where Fluttershy is convinced to tell Applejack and Twilight that the Breezies aren't ready to go yet, we see Fluttershy at Sugarcube Corner (called the Sweet Shoppe again - maybe that it's production name and it's what the writers documents call it?). Here we get another Sonic Rainbow type scene, of Fluttershy requesting several times for smaller treats from Pinkie with funny sights gags each time, and some musing on the side about whether food will make them well enough to go home. Obviously it's not needed for the story, and cutting to her giving them food in the final episode suffices. About 1.4 pages, or just under a minute of screentime.
[continued below]
[continued from above]
Delete* Like the above, right after the Breezies fake colds, we see Fluttershy getting them things, this time buttons and fabric for blankets at Rarity's place. The dialogue here is more centred on it being late enough that Fluttershy decides to forgo the Breezies napping and just have them sleep for the night. Similarly, largely superfluous to the story, just reinforces what we already know. About 1.8 pages, or 70-80 seconds of screen time.
* Fluttershy's narrated journal entry got a separate scene at the end of her dictating it to Spike, who kept apologising for knocking the leaf that disturbed the Breezies, with Fluttershy using her firm love she learnt to sway him off including that in the journal, and to send him on his way to return it to Twilight. We've seen this kind of cut before, though here they moved the entry itself up to the group exiting the Breezies' home to save it. About 1.7 pages, or 70 seconds, cut here.
* The specifics of some migration visuals and the bee attack differed - the latter partially followed Fluttershy during her pursuit, the former showed the Breezies magic making their antennae and gathered pollen glow before they got disturbed. Complex visuals we don't need, as it's enough to see the Breezies already having gotten their pollen.
* When Fluttershy goes inside after talking to Rainbow Dash, the party was originally a surprise party to thank her, complete with them all posing for a picture. This got removed due to trimming, so in the final episode it was just them relaxing before Seabreeze interrupted again.
* After Fluttershy explains things to the Cakes, she asks a Band Pony to have his band play quieter. Brian Drummond is still credited for the role desire his lines being cut.
Some other tidbits include context for Cloud Chaser being a new pony. The character was written and voiced as a female, but drawn as a male (maybe no one realised it was a callback to a pony from "Hurricane Fluttershy"), and since that meant both Fliter and Cloud Chaser sounded too much like Cathy Wesluck's other roles (Flitter is halfway between Spike and Coco) they decided to pitch it or recast (might explain who his voice is uncredited). The Dr. Hooves cameo took some back-and-forth to settle on an ideal gag too.
The big animatic feedback takeaway is that Seabreeze was a female through all the scripts. It's not clear how Brian Drummond ended up playing the character, but with the first animatic, Hasbro felt, despite the pitch effects and speeding up, that it was still obviously a guy (some others felt the voice was a bit robotic or unnatural, which Jim Miller hand-waved given he wasn't speaking his first language). They agreed to try more vocal adjustments, and then either recast or change the character's gender. Given Fluttershy addresses Seabreeze as "he" (pickups would have been needed), wonder what happened…
OVERALL THOUGHTS
At least the cuts were obvious for the DHX crew, given how superfluous those scenes at Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, and a separate journal scene were. I'm super glad, as the sequences of the Breezies constantly declining to go and convincing Fluttershy to stay longer didn't feel as drawn out as I remembered, but absolutely would have with that bloat (though it does mean we missed Pinkie's only moments that weren't her being shrill and loud, alas).
We can argue the episode should have been improved further (the Mane 6 turning into Breezies was present from the Premise, and Dash's "Can you turn me into a griffin?" gag from the Outline), but every change they made along the way feels right to me. The process works! Plus, Seabreeze clicked for me here, and I cannot imagine the character without that voice or as a she - he just clicks better as a male, you know? The traditional stereotype contrast between his masculine tough family man attitude, and his frail and dainty build, it just resonates on some extra levels. Best I've got, anyway.
Well, it had to happen eventually - a Fluttershy episode I like more then Logan, and not just shaving it either. Were I using your ranking criteria, this would inch into 4-star territory for me.
ReplyDeleteThe one complaint I won't disagree with is the contrivance of Twilight's transformation spell. There's a chance it came from executives, as it was there right from the Premise, but it's equally possible that Meghan McCarthy and Natasha Levinger thought of it themselves. My objection to it comes less from the toyetic nature of it, or even that Twilight has it to hand - on that front, it's no more objectionable then her having Rarity's gem-radar spell in "A Dog and Pony Show", being no exemplar, but ultimately forgivable. No, it's that it robs the episode's character conclusion away from Fluttershy in a rather ungraceful manner. No other Key episode does this, they keep the focus on the featured Mane 5 member and the character(s) they are tested by and have an impact on.
I see the complaint on Pinkie, but it's so less present then the similar moments in "Filli Vanilli" that it doesn't even register on my radar. Worth noting that a scene of her being played more sincerely and less shrill got cut for time (see my production changes comment).
Now I can praise. It's freaky watching this right after "Twilight Time", because it generates an awfully similar reaction for me. Not a whole lot that was hugely captivating to push it to Eagerly Rewatch territory. But its' far more self-contained and the concept - the Breezies and their dependence of ponies - is actually focused on and has meat to it, rather then just being a plot pretext like in Twilight Time. All while also serving as a pretext for Fluttershy's inner conflict - this is how you merge some nifty lore and new characters with an existing lead for a largely satisfying experience.
This was an episode I'd barely rewatched, and I remember the Breezies being kind of annoying (the voices, maybe?). Dunno where that came from, because they didn't grate on me at all this time, and Seabreeze himself was very captivating, what with his attitude coming from a sympathetic place such that we always feel empathy for him - sure, he was harsh about his point, but in a totally forgivable way, and he learns his mistakes. And the voice is perfect, I'm so glad he was changed to a male, even if largely by accident (again, see my production changes comment). Continues he trend of the Key guests starts (the Wonderbolts partially excepted) being really solid and reflecting the Mane 6 really well.
As for the other Breezies, I won't deny they're not characterised much, but the way the episode is structured, this isn't a problem. When you have a new collective like this with limited screentime, you often have to make the choice to have one character stand in for the group as a whole. Indeed, according to the production changes, three other Breezies spoke properly at one point, but this was scrapped as they didn't get much characterisation either way, and it let Seabreeze resonate more strongly. Were they to appear again, or had the episode been longer, it would have been a problem, but this uses the episode's short nature to its advantage.
Interesting you feel the plot didn't fill 22 minutes - I felt the middle sequence of the Breezies constantly wanting to stay ended at JUST the right moment, and most of the time cuts came from extra padding there. A little more trimming might have been nice, but I think the episode was still just about the length.
And rounding it all out is Fluttershy, with a really satisfying and well-communicated arc that feels right for her at this point in the series - her finally telling the Breezies to leave resonated really well with the buildup.
Another Key episode that's risen in the ranks for me - I'd actually call this Really Good! Will "Leap of Faith" do the same? I actually think it might. Not too long to wait to see!
"Shaky" is a good way to describe this, in my estimation. Pretty much agree with all your points. For once. :)
ReplyDeleteBy now I would have thought Fluttershy was smart enough to avoid letting anyone take advantage of her like this. The world building was kind of neat here, but thin on the justification, and there really wasn't much to the plot. Though something at the end of this gave me one of my favorite story ideas, one which I was certain you'd reviewed, but now that I check, you haven't. And I can't tell you which one or it ruins the twist...
ReplyDeleteThere's a story of yours coming up for review quite soon. Unfortunately, for the reason you mention at the end, I can't say which one it is!
DeleteThis is not one of the two I know to be on your read it later, though it may be the story of mine that has the most reviews, so it's not as if it's lacking for such.
Delete