Okay, I'm sorry this wasn't posted earlier; mostly, my time was spent on school work and the review for Journey Beyond Sodor, which is now out on YouTube. Now that I've got it done, let's go back into MLP season seven, resuming with Fluttershy Leans In.
As much as I hated season six of MLP, even I will admit there are some good things about it. The best part about it was, in my opinion, Fluttershy. Following Scare Master, I felt that she was going to backpedal in terms of development like Percy now has done with The Great Race and especially Three Steam Engines Gruff. It's also frustrating when you consider it was in the same season as The Cutie Map. Fortunately, however, Flutter Brutter brought Fluttershy back to form, and it carried over onto Buckball Season, Viva Las Pegasus, and now, this episode.
I'm gonna say it right now; the themes displayed here are amongst the best of the entire of the show. One of them involving Wrangler, Hard Hat and Dandy Grandeur is the theme of communication. Their ideas contrasted sharply with Fluttershy's, and of course, they thought they knew better when it came to animals' needs, but didn't bother listening to Fluttershy.
That being said, I feel there was a bit of missed opportunity for them to stay around and see the animals try out their creations. However, it backfires in their faces and then they realize the error of their ways and apologize, promising to listen to her ideas this time. As it is though, Big Daddy McColt's role was fine.
The other big theme of the episode is one I can personally relate to; don't give up if you don't succeed first time around. I think that's a theme anybody can relate to. After the first attempt failed, Fluttershy tried again with Big Daddy McColt - someone who also understood animals' needs - and succeeded.
Now some of you may be thinking the solution was way too simple and... I partially agree. But I guess it's possible Big Daddy McColt didn't cross Fluttershy's mind the first time around and contacted him when coming up with ideas. There's also a more subtle message within the episode; it's not the destination, it's the journey that really counts.
Which brings me onto Fluttershy herself. I don't think the episode would've been as strong if it took place during the earlier seasons, especially if they contrasted very sharply against Dragonshy and Hurricane Fluttershy. So really, I feel this episode was perfectly timed within the show. Oh, and Rupert the snake butler deserves his own mention.
I'm gonna say it right now; the themes displayed here are amongst the best of the entire of the show. One of them involving Wrangler, Hard Hat and Dandy Grandeur is the theme of communication. Their ideas contrasted sharply with Fluttershy's, and of course, they thought they knew better when it came to animals' needs, but didn't bother listening to Fluttershy.
That being said, I feel there was a bit of missed opportunity for them to stay around and see the animals try out their creations. However, it backfires in their faces and then they realize the error of their ways and apologize, promising to listen to her ideas this time. As it is though, Big Daddy McColt's role was fine.
The other big theme of the episode is one I can personally relate to; don't give up if you don't succeed first time around. I think that's a theme anybody can relate to. After the first attempt failed, Fluttershy tried again with Big Daddy McColt - someone who also understood animals' needs - and succeeded.
Now some of you may be thinking the solution was way too simple and... I partially agree. But I guess it's possible Big Daddy McColt didn't cross Fluttershy's mind the first time around and contacted him when coming up with ideas. There's also a more subtle message within the episode; it's not the destination, it's the journey that really counts.
Which brings me onto Fluttershy herself. I don't think the episode would've been as strong if it took place during the earlier seasons, especially if they contrasted very sharply against Dragonshy and Hurricane Fluttershy. So really, I feel this episode was perfectly timed within the show. Oh, and Rupert the snake butler deserves his own mention.
Final Thoughts
It's very easy to dismiss this episode; the story isn't a whole lot to write home about, but the themes are amongst the best of the show, and Fluttershy's character is at her peak that continues in this season alone, so I feel this episode deserves more love. Well done, Gillian Berrow, for a fantastic Fluttershy episode.
Rating: 10 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment