This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode of MLP.
The premise of this episode is that Fluttershy resorts to extreme measures to support a band named the Ponytones when one of it's members, Big Mac, loses his voice.
As you've probably gathered, this is a Fluttershy focus episode and for that reason it's another that I've very much been looking forward to. Much like Rarity, Fluttershy is a character that, save for one episode, received very little attention during the last season, and even earlier in this season, "during "Bats!" her character had to share the spotlight with Applejack. So having her come back for a full episode of her own was something that appealed to me greatly. Recent episodes always seem to cast her in the light of how she first appeared in the show, the shy and timid pony, which always bugged me given that this was something she was supposed to have grown out of at this point. But even though this episode still falls into that trap, there were things about it that I liked.
The idea of being nervous when doing something publicly is an issue that I can relate to a great deal. Throughout my life, and I'm sure many people's lives, doing anything in front of groups of people has always been a difficult experience due to nerves or some fear of embarrassment, and as such I praise the episode immensely for making me relate to Fluttershy during this story. Every time her fears or nerves comes up is a moment that hits pretty close to home for me. However, that point also brings up perhaps my biggest issue with the episode, and that's the fact that this is something Fluttershy should not have any trouble with at all.
It's actually a continuation of a major problem I've been having with the characters throughout this season, and that's a lack of consistency regarding stuff they've already been through. Fluttershy's problem of singing in public is certainly understandable as I've said, but it makes no sense when you consider everything else she's done in the past. Getting over her fears of performing in some way in front of people was the entire basis for "Hurricane Fluttershy", which was one of my all-time favourite episodes to feature her. On top of that, there have been many moments when she's had to do some sort of performance or song in front of others, like "Hearth's Warming Eve", that she got over just fine. So while I still appreciate her struggle here, it really seems like it just resets her character development to zero again just so they could make this story.
Nevertheless, the story had several aspects that I very much enjoyed. The first was the call-back to season one and the poison joke. Having them go that far back into the series history in order to provide them with a central aspect of this story was a very impressive feat, especially since I always suspected that episode would have little impact on future episodes outside of Zecora's introduction. The second aspect I liked was that, in the end, Fluttershy didn't perform in front of crowds. In stories like this in other shows for kids, this fear would have been removed entirely by the end, with the main character completely okay with performing. By not going down that road, and by having Fluttershy still unwilling to sing to anyone beyond her own circle of friends, they made this story a very realistic portrayal of how people would cope with this sort of fear. And for that, I salute this episode.
As for the other characters, I find it's a very mixed bag for me. On one hand, there were plenty of moments that I liked about them, and Rarity's subtle attempts to make Fluttershy more comfortable with performing seemed a nice act on her part without her seeming like she's not considering her friends' needs. On the other hand, we have Pinkie Pie. I know I said in past reviews that she's been great this season, but here, I just couldn't stand her. Every time she opened her mouth she made things worse for Fluttershy, who was already terrified enough. Given how long the two have been friends, and how clearly she made her stage fright known, it astounds me that Pinkie could have been this insensitive to her about it. It's a problem that's made all the worse when you think that she never even had to apologize for it by the end. As for the other characters, they were fine, and it's always nice to see Zecora, especially since having her be the one to suggest the poison joke was a nice touch, considering her introductory episode.
Time to talk about songs now and this week, as you might expect from an episode like this, there's plenty to speak about. Our first number is sung by Fluttershy at the start of the episode, a brief one but nevertheless very pleasant to listen to. It seems a bit "Disney" overall but that's not real strike against it. After the first few moments of it however, it isn't really a song but more of a hum, but I'm going to count it anyway because I like it so much. Her voice actress does a wonderful job of showing what's supposed to be a beautiful voice, and it's clear how so many of the characters can become as impressed with it as they are.
The second song is the main number sung by the Ponytones during their performance, which is repeated several times throughout the episode. It stands out not only in the episode but in the series as a whole, as this is very unlike the other songs we've had so far. Barbershop is not a style I would usually associate with children's entertainment, given how old a style it is, but I still enjoyed listening to it. The voices they got really sounded like they had great harmony together and, being a fan of that style myself, I'm glad to see it be featured as prominently as this. Plus, it's one of the few times when we can hear the singing voice of Big Mac, and that's a pretty rare thing in and of itself. The final rendition of this song at the end of the episode was a bit too pop-song for me, but the addition of Fluttershy's true singing voice helped a great deal.
Onto the humour now and many of the episode's funny moments stem from Fluttershy. Some of the ways in which she was trying to hide whilst singing very much brought a smile to my face and there was plenty of her character moments, like some facial reactions, which also seemed amusing to me. Pinkie Pie, despite usually being a source of humour for me, was actually counter to that this week because of the reasons I stated earlier. But the funniest moment by far was the brief exchange between Applejack and Big Mac towards the end. Their quick back-and-forth about what was going on, and the complete deadpan way in which they said it, had me in absolute stitches. It was both out-of-nowhere and yet still completely in-character for both of them, which is a very hard thing to pull off.
Talking about the moral of the episode, it seems that this week the lesson is that while fear of doing something is not inherently bad, you should never allow it to stop you from doing something you're good at, as that would basically be denying the kind of person you are. Facing one's fears is a lesson that has been taught many times and as always I agree with the moral. As I said, before, this is something that's been covered several times in the show, but that does not diminish the value of the lesson. In some ways I wonder if it's a message to the shows older fans, those among us who hide our love of the show because of similar fears, though that's pure speculation on my part.
So, how did this episode fare overall? In truth, I really liked it. While there were a few issues here and there that bothered me, this episode still endeared itself to me. Fluttershy's plight was a very heartfelt one and made her an emotional centre throughout, so I was easily able to be completely on her side throughout this story. The songs were fun to listen to, there were plenty of great moments with the rest of the cast and the ending moral was a good one to teach. While I don't think this episode ranks as highly as some of my favourite Fluttershy stories, it's nevertheless a very good one. Definitely worth watching.
The premise of this episode is that Fluttershy resorts to extreme measures to support a band named the Ponytones when one of it's members, Big Mac, loses his voice.
As you've probably gathered, this is a Fluttershy focus episode and for that reason it's another that I've very much been looking forward to. Much like Rarity, Fluttershy is a character that, save for one episode, received very little attention during the last season, and even earlier in this season, "during "Bats!" her character had to share the spotlight with Applejack. So having her come back for a full episode of her own was something that appealed to me greatly. Recent episodes always seem to cast her in the light of how she first appeared in the show, the shy and timid pony, which always bugged me given that this was something she was supposed to have grown out of at this point. But even though this episode still falls into that trap, there were things about it that I liked.
The idea of being nervous when doing something publicly is an issue that I can relate to a great deal. Throughout my life, and I'm sure many people's lives, doing anything in front of groups of people has always been a difficult experience due to nerves or some fear of embarrassment, and as such I praise the episode immensely for making me relate to Fluttershy during this story. Every time her fears or nerves comes up is a moment that hits pretty close to home for me. However, that point also brings up perhaps my biggest issue with the episode, and that's the fact that this is something Fluttershy should not have any trouble with at all.
It's actually a continuation of a major problem I've been having with the characters throughout this season, and that's a lack of consistency regarding stuff they've already been through. Fluttershy's problem of singing in public is certainly understandable as I've said, but it makes no sense when you consider everything else she's done in the past. Getting over her fears of performing in some way in front of people was the entire basis for "Hurricane Fluttershy", which was one of my all-time favourite episodes to feature her. On top of that, there have been many moments when she's had to do some sort of performance or song in front of others, like "Hearth's Warming Eve", that she got over just fine. So while I still appreciate her struggle here, it really seems like it just resets her character development to zero again just so they could make this story.
Nevertheless, the story had several aspects that I very much enjoyed. The first was the call-back to season one and the poison joke. Having them go that far back into the series history in order to provide them with a central aspect of this story was a very impressive feat, especially since I always suspected that episode would have little impact on future episodes outside of Zecora's introduction. The second aspect I liked was that, in the end, Fluttershy didn't perform in front of crowds. In stories like this in other shows for kids, this fear would have been removed entirely by the end, with the main character completely okay with performing. By not going down that road, and by having Fluttershy still unwilling to sing to anyone beyond her own circle of friends, they made this story a very realistic portrayal of how people would cope with this sort of fear. And for that, I salute this episode.
As for the other characters, I find it's a very mixed bag for me. On one hand, there were plenty of moments that I liked about them, and Rarity's subtle attempts to make Fluttershy more comfortable with performing seemed a nice act on her part without her seeming like she's not considering her friends' needs. On the other hand, we have Pinkie Pie. I know I said in past reviews that she's been great this season, but here, I just couldn't stand her. Every time she opened her mouth she made things worse for Fluttershy, who was already terrified enough. Given how long the two have been friends, and how clearly she made her stage fright known, it astounds me that Pinkie could have been this insensitive to her about it. It's a problem that's made all the worse when you think that she never even had to apologize for it by the end. As for the other characters, they were fine, and it's always nice to see Zecora, especially since having her be the one to suggest the poison joke was a nice touch, considering her introductory episode.
Time to talk about songs now and this week, as you might expect from an episode like this, there's plenty to speak about. Our first number is sung by Fluttershy at the start of the episode, a brief one but nevertheless very pleasant to listen to. It seems a bit "Disney" overall but that's not real strike against it. After the first few moments of it however, it isn't really a song but more of a hum, but I'm going to count it anyway because I like it so much. Her voice actress does a wonderful job of showing what's supposed to be a beautiful voice, and it's clear how so many of the characters can become as impressed with it as they are.
The second song is the main number sung by the Ponytones during their performance, which is repeated several times throughout the episode. It stands out not only in the episode but in the series as a whole, as this is very unlike the other songs we've had so far. Barbershop is not a style I would usually associate with children's entertainment, given how old a style it is, but I still enjoyed listening to it. The voices they got really sounded like they had great harmony together and, being a fan of that style myself, I'm glad to see it be featured as prominently as this. Plus, it's one of the few times when we can hear the singing voice of Big Mac, and that's a pretty rare thing in and of itself. The final rendition of this song at the end of the episode was a bit too pop-song for me, but the addition of Fluttershy's true singing voice helped a great deal.
Onto the humour now and many of the episode's funny moments stem from Fluttershy. Some of the ways in which she was trying to hide whilst singing very much brought a smile to my face and there was plenty of her character moments, like some facial reactions, which also seemed amusing to me. Pinkie Pie, despite usually being a source of humour for me, was actually counter to that this week because of the reasons I stated earlier. But the funniest moment by far was the brief exchange between Applejack and Big Mac towards the end. Their quick back-and-forth about what was going on, and the complete deadpan way in which they said it, had me in absolute stitches. It was both out-of-nowhere and yet still completely in-character for both of them, which is a very hard thing to pull off.
Talking about the moral of the episode, it seems that this week the lesson is that while fear of doing something is not inherently bad, you should never allow it to stop you from doing something you're good at, as that would basically be denying the kind of person you are. Facing one's fears is a lesson that has been taught many times and as always I agree with the moral. As I said, before, this is something that's been covered several times in the show, but that does not diminish the value of the lesson. In some ways I wonder if it's a message to the shows older fans, those among us who hide our love of the show because of similar fears, though that's pure speculation on my part.
So, how did this episode fare overall? In truth, I really liked it. While there were a few issues here and there that bothered me, this episode still endeared itself to me. Fluttershy's plight was a very heartfelt one and made her an emotional centre throughout, so I was easily able to be completely on her side throughout this story. The songs were fun to listen to, there were plenty of great moments with the rest of the cast and the ending moral was a good one to teach. While I don't think this episode ranks as highly as some of my favourite Fluttershy stories, it's nevertheless a very good one. Definitely worth watching.
