This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode.
The premise of this story is that Fluttershy tries to help some magical creatures, but soon end up tending to their every need.
The first thing I want to note about this episode is that it has not been long since the last time Fluttershy has been in the spotlight in this show, and at first that was something that worried me. Historically, characters that have had multiple episodes close to one another have suffered due to over-exposure, such as Applejack last season or Rainbow Dash the season prior. As such I was worried that the same might happen to Fluttershy. However, I'm happy to report that this episode does not feel as though she's been used too much this season, and on top of that, it was a great story to give to her.
One of the key recurring themes of this season with regards to the main cast is to show how their various traits, or to be more specific their element virtues, can be put in a negative light. Pinkie's obsession with being the one to make ponies laugh resulting in her risking the exact opposite back in "Pinkie Pride", Rainbow Dash's loyalties being conflicted back in "Rainbow Pride", or Rarity's generosity being taken advantage of back in "Rarity Takes Manehattan". Likewise, we see Fluttershy's primary trait, her kindness, being put to the test, and put in a light that shows that sometimes it can be the wrong thing to be kind.
That in and of itself was a pretty big surprise for me given that this show has always prided itself on teaching kids good lessons. And while I fully understand the angle they were going for here, it still astounds me that the mere notion that kindness might not always be the best option would even be allowed to be aired for younger audiences. Then again, this show has often gone above the standard tropes of children's television cliches, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Nevertheless, it was an interesting premise that puts to the test the very personality trait that Fluttershy has been admired for since the start of the series. It's risky, to be sure, but sometimes a risk is what's needed.
The basic premise of the story has certain shades of the season one episode "Swarm of the Century", in that it's about Fluttershy taking an interest with small flying creatures that the ponies are initially enamoured with before they start to become a larger issue. As I've said in the past, I have no issue with plots and premises being re-used as long as something new has been done with them, and we do have that here. The Breezies do provide a different issue than the Paraspites in that they're more an issue of Fluttershy being taken advantage of. However, one thing that does bother me about it is that it once again speaks to an underlying issue with the main characters and what seems to be forgotten character development on their part.
By that I mean that Fluttershy seems to have forgotten all the lessons she learned about how to stand up for herself. Previous episodes, like in "Dragonshy" or in "Putting your hoof down" all showed Fluttershy getting over her insecurities an lack of confidence and being more of an assertive and confident person. And indeed in many episodes, even ones where she's not the focus, we see that assertiveness shine through, even though she may still retain many of her previous traits when doing so. With this episode however, she just reverts to being her previous demure "doormat" self, having seemingly forgotten those lessons until the end of the story. Its something this season has had a nasty habit of doing with the main cast, reverting them back to square one just so they could make these stories work.
As for the Breezies, I rather liked them. They never seemed malicious in their actions towards Fluttershy, but rather just genuinely content with what she's provided for them, not wanting to go back to what was undoubtedly a difficult thing for them. The leader, Sea Breeze was a character I can relate to, as I've often been frustrated with the inability of others to do what I felt needed to be done. I'm sure many will comment on this, but the Breezies do seem like another attempt by Hasbro to promote a new line of toys, and having the main six become them only adds to that. As I've said many times before, Hasbro makes it's money through the selling of toys, so if we, the fans, want our shows, we're just going to have to put up with stuff like this.
As for the other characters, I thought there was plenty to like. All of them, from Rarity's fashion being an issue, to Rainbow Dash being completely willing to accept Fluttershy's word on the health of the Breezies, were nice touches and I enjoyed those moments even though they only took up a small part of the story. Twilight coming up with a spell at the last moment to save the day did irk me a little as it came out of nowhere and somewhat diminished Fluttershy's role as the one to ultimately help the Breezies. Still, a mention of the old castle was a nice touch to soften the blow of it, and it was nice to know that particular plot thread hasn't been forgotten.
Onto the humour now and this week there's plenty to like. For instance, Pinkie was pretty funny throughout, although she came perilously close to the edge of unbearable, which I was worried for given her portrayal back in "Filli Vanilli". As juvenile as it may sound, I even found the Breezie's high-pitched voices to be rather humourous. There wasn't really anything massively funny about the episode, and there weren't any standout comedy moments, but by that same token there weren't any bad jokes or very unfunny moments to ruin it either. So in terms of humour, this was very middle-of-the-road.
When it comes to the songs of the episode we have none to speak of this week.
This episode's moral lesson is that sometimes being too kind can be a detriment to those you wish to benefit. This is basically advocating the benefits of tough love, that doing things that seem harsh can actually be the best option available to you. This is by no means a bad lesson for kids, and in fact I praise it for being far more realistic with it than a lot of other kids shows would be. Nevertheless I'm still surprised that this sort of lesson would be taught. Even so, it's good to teach that being kind isn't always going to be the best road to go down.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Well, while I can honestly say that I liked this episode, I can't really say that it was anything other than average for MLP. All of the main cast do their part well and provided plenty of good moments to enjoy, especially Fluttershy who serves her role well as the emotional centre as always. The humour, while somewhat lacking this episode, was nevertheless endearing on the whole, and the lesson was a fine one to teach. So, overall, I'd say that while this was by no means a bad episode, I also don't think it had anything in it to warrant going out of your way to see it, aside from it being another entry into the season's overall story arc. It's good, but far from great.
The premise of this story is that Fluttershy tries to help some magical creatures, but soon end up tending to their every need.
The first thing I want to note about this episode is that it has not been long since the last time Fluttershy has been in the spotlight in this show, and at first that was something that worried me. Historically, characters that have had multiple episodes close to one another have suffered due to over-exposure, such as Applejack last season or Rainbow Dash the season prior. As such I was worried that the same might happen to Fluttershy. However, I'm happy to report that this episode does not feel as though she's been used too much this season, and on top of that, it was a great story to give to her.
One of the key recurring themes of this season with regards to the main cast is to show how their various traits, or to be more specific their element virtues, can be put in a negative light. Pinkie's obsession with being the one to make ponies laugh resulting in her risking the exact opposite back in "Pinkie Pride", Rainbow Dash's loyalties being conflicted back in "Rainbow Pride", or Rarity's generosity being taken advantage of back in "Rarity Takes Manehattan". Likewise, we see Fluttershy's primary trait, her kindness, being put to the test, and put in a light that shows that sometimes it can be the wrong thing to be kind.
That in and of itself was a pretty big surprise for me given that this show has always prided itself on teaching kids good lessons. And while I fully understand the angle they were going for here, it still astounds me that the mere notion that kindness might not always be the best option would even be allowed to be aired for younger audiences. Then again, this show has often gone above the standard tropes of children's television cliches, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Nevertheless, it was an interesting premise that puts to the test the very personality trait that Fluttershy has been admired for since the start of the series. It's risky, to be sure, but sometimes a risk is what's needed.
The basic premise of the story has certain shades of the season one episode "Swarm of the Century", in that it's about Fluttershy taking an interest with small flying creatures that the ponies are initially enamoured with before they start to become a larger issue. As I've said in the past, I have no issue with plots and premises being re-used as long as something new has been done with them, and we do have that here. The Breezies do provide a different issue than the Paraspites in that they're more an issue of Fluttershy being taken advantage of. However, one thing that does bother me about it is that it once again speaks to an underlying issue with the main characters and what seems to be forgotten character development on their part.
By that I mean that Fluttershy seems to have forgotten all the lessons she learned about how to stand up for herself. Previous episodes, like in "Dragonshy" or in "Putting your hoof down" all showed Fluttershy getting over her insecurities an lack of confidence and being more of an assertive and confident person. And indeed in many episodes, even ones where she's not the focus, we see that assertiveness shine through, even though she may still retain many of her previous traits when doing so. With this episode however, she just reverts to being her previous demure "doormat" self, having seemingly forgotten those lessons until the end of the story. Its something this season has had a nasty habit of doing with the main cast, reverting them back to square one just so they could make these stories work.
As for the Breezies, I rather liked them. They never seemed malicious in their actions towards Fluttershy, but rather just genuinely content with what she's provided for them, not wanting to go back to what was undoubtedly a difficult thing for them. The leader, Sea Breeze was a character I can relate to, as I've often been frustrated with the inability of others to do what I felt needed to be done. I'm sure many will comment on this, but the Breezies do seem like another attempt by Hasbro to promote a new line of toys, and having the main six become them only adds to that. As I've said many times before, Hasbro makes it's money through the selling of toys, so if we, the fans, want our shows, we're just going to have to put up with stuff like this.
As for the other characters, I thought there was plenty to like. All of them, from Rarity's fashion being an issue, to Rainbow Dash being completely willing to accept Fluttershy's word on the health of the Breezies, were nice touches and I enjoyed those moments even though they only took up a small part of the story. Twilight coming up with a spell at the last moment to save the day did irk me a little as it came out of nowhere and somewhat diminished Fluttershy's role as the one to ultimately help the Breezies. Still, a mention of the old castle was a nice touch to soften the blow of it, and it was nice to know that particular plot thread hasn't been forgotten.
Onto the humour now and this week there's plenty to like. For instance, Pinkie was pretty funny throughout, although she came perilously close to the edge of unbearable, which I was worried for given her portrayal back in "Filli Vanilli". As juvenile as it may sound, I even found the Breezie's high-pitched voices to be rather humourous. There wasn't really anything massively funny about the episode, and there weren't any standout comedy moments, but by that same token there weren't any bad jokes or very unfunny moments to ruin it either. So in terms of humour, this was very middle-of-the-road.
When it comes to the songs of the episode we have none to speak of this week.
This episode's moral lesson is that sometimes being too kind can be a detriment to those you wish to benefit. This is basically advocating the benefits of tough love, that doing things that seem harsh can actually be the best option available to you. This is by no means a bad lesson for kids, and in fact I praise it for being far more realistic with it than a lot of other kids shows would be. Nevertheless I'm still surprised that this sort of lesson would be taught. Even so, it's good to teach that being kind isn't always going to be the best road to go down.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Well, while I can honestly say that I liked this episode, I can't really say that it was anything other than average for MLP. All of the main cast do their part well and provided plenty of good moments to enjoy, especially Fluttershy who serves her role well as the emotional centre as always. The humour, while somewhat lacking this episode, was nevertheless endearing on the whole, and the lesson was a fine one to teach. So, overall, I'd say that while this was by no means a bad episode, I also don't think it had anything in it to warrant going out of your way to see it, aside from it being another entry into the season's overall story arc. It's good, but far from great.
