Moviefan12: Hello & welcome back to Trotting Through Life. Man, it feels good to be back in our world, and could we please just go one review without anything weird happening. Because I don't think anything can top being turned into Diamond Tiara and then becoming a Power Ranger, though admittedly that was pretty cool.
*ding dong*
When we did get a doorbell?
Oh, you must be the pizza delivery guy. I hope you don't expect a tip, I ordered the pizza three hours ago and you just now got here. I should've had Rainbow Dash pick it up.
*figures moves in and tries to bite neck*
Hey, what are you doing? Look , I'm flattered you find me attractive but I'm not interested.... Ah.....
The Second Opinion: Hey, make sure it's still hot before you let him leave! (I told him he shouldn't have tried to convince me Fluttershy was best Pony in the middle of ordering. This was probably the best service we could've hope for after that. Even if I did kinda start it...)
Okay, today's episode is Bats!, a respect for nature vs. need for progress story that puts Fluttershy and Applejack together in one of the few main character pairings that hasn't happened yet. Now we just need Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and that should pretty much be all of them (unless Spike is really supposed to count).
And lo, light finally meets dark. Alright, not really.
RRRAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!
What's the problem, Moviefan? Hold on, *cracks back* I'm still sore from last time, after that sword handle to the spine.
Okay, what's going on in hereeeWHOA! Hey pal, where do you think we are, somewhere in California?! Get your face off his neck, before I...
On second thought, I might need you to take another moment or two. Hey, stay back, I'm armed! Just let me find the right pocket...
Okay, disappearing into thin air is probably a sign nothing good. You alright, Moviefan? Moviefan...?
Moviefan12: Vhy, I am just vine but I do have a craving for something red and juicy. Close ze curtains, it is too bright in here. Vet's begin, the review but my do you look tasty, tell vhat is your blood type?
The Second Opinion:
Ahem, uh... type AB... garlic positive?
Moviefan12 Drat, no matter, I vill find someone else to drain.
Ze Plot
Moviefan12: It is Apple Bucking Day at Sweet Apple Acres , and ze orange pony known as Applejack is excited to get started bucking her trees but she notices that something that is wrong with her red, delicious, mouth-watering, succulent blood red apples. They are rotten and mushy thanks to a colony of vampire fruit bats. She then summons the rest of the ponies known collectively as ze Mane Six to ze farm to help figure out a solution. Where ze Yellow one named Vuttershy suggests that they ask the bats nicely to stop but one of ze bats spits an apple seed in her face. Ve then find out that Vuttershy has never talked to bats before and this leads to the song of episode that pits ze Mane Six against Vuttershy.
The Second Opinion:
…
Oh, uh, it’s my turn? Right, heh, um… just let me see where I left my notes here…
So while Fluttershy sings about the basic concepts of nature and how vampire fruit bats fit into its equilibrium, Applejack counters with the points that they look creepy, and they eat apples, and she doesn’t trust them not to suck the giantplot device apple she
grew to win an upcoming fair. Everyone decides that Applejack has made
the better case, because… she uses the phrase “mean as sin,” I guess.
I’m sensing you don’t think too highly of these things.
But regardless, they form a blood-hungry (!) er, I mean, juice hungry mob – y’know, because apple juice is the only thing being consumed in this episode, I mean – and set out to round up the bats. Fluttershy makes one last try, proposing a sanctuary instead to give them their isolated space and let them spit their seeds to grow even more apple trees, but this apparently happened to Granny Smith before (who’s been written out of the episode with Big Mac and Apple Bloom, to keep things simple), leading to an apple-light winter with no cider, so everyone is too worried not to try a short-term solution. Twilight then proposes a spell to take away the bats’ desire to drain the fruit, suggesting Fluttershy’s stare when she reads that it requires the bats total attention. Depriving vampire bats of the one thing their instinct leads them to consume via magic? Not that I wouldn’t otherwise think this will work without a hitch, but, well, remember what happened with the parasprites, Twilight?
Moviefan12: Ze Mane 6 head back to the farm to use ze spell, ze Alicorn Princess uses ze spell while Vuttershy uses ze Stare and ze bats then refuse to eat ze apples. The next day, ze Cowgirl pony goes to buck ze trees again but the apples are still rotten. Ze pruprle pony asks Vuttershy if any other creature could've done this but she has no answer. That ze ponies plan a stakeout to capture the culprit.
The Second Opinion: Let’s see, this spell can change him to any alternate form he took for a long enough time in the past. So I could change him into Diamond Tiara, assuming I’d rather review this episode with her than a vampire who could decide to kill me at any moment...
Sorry I stepped out there, Count Moviefan, old buddy, where were we? Okay, later that night, the ponies prepare to split up and search for the culprit, when Fluttershy proposes calling it off, as she’s just so hungry. They wander the orchard, stumbling with their flashlights, mistakenly tackling the scarecrow, and each almost running into a shadowy figure flying overhead. Finally, Applejack signals the others, who come running only freeze at the sight of what she’s found. There, hanging on the branch of an apple tree is Flutterbat, the fruit-sucking vampire pony!
...Wait a minute, that’s not scary at all.
While Pinkie Pie turns into Pinkie Mole in attempt to get away, and Twilight figures out that Fluttershy’s eye contact with the bats must have caused her to gain what they lost when Twilight hit them with the spell. As Fluttershy is much bigger than a bat, she may well be able to get through Applejack’s entire crop, but the remorseful farm pony says that’s the least of her worries, compared to the friend she may lose here. But it’s this becomes the key to their solution, as Twilight can reverse the spell. All she needs is a way to lure in Fluttershy and get her attention.
Fear her mildly creepy harmlessness!
Moviefan12: Vell, that isn't the most sissy thing to call itself a vampire.
One, One Twilight joke Ha Ha Ha Ze Purple Pony theorizes that when she cast her original spell, it must have reflected onto ze yellow pegasus and ze pink earth pony makes a comment about ze power known as The Stare and gives ze purple princess pony an idea. Ze orange earth pony decides to give up one of her prized apples to lure her friend into a trap.
The Second Opinion: Hey, that’s not fair Moviefan! You can’t just say anything that happens to survive by sucking something like a leech is a more masculine vampire than Edward Cullen. I mean, if that’s all it takes to qualify, even Paris Hilton is a more masculine vampire than Edward Cullen.
Anyway, if, in theory, I had a friend who didn’t like Applejack and had just undergone a dangerous persona change while gaining the power to kill me, I would probably be too afraid to ask him to concede that the farm pony just did something pretty darn noble about now, but that aside; after Flutterbat gets a whiff of the recently-picked apple and its juice, she lunges for it, but at the last second, Applejack kicks it away, revealing a mirror. Flutterbat is shocked and tries to flee, but the others hold up more mirrors, and finally, apparently not used to seeing such a less-than-cute reflection of herself, the Flutterbat stands transfixed. Twilight reverses the spell, taking the nature of the vampire bats away from Fluttershy and giving it back to them, and Pinkie Pie helpfully fills her in on all that happened.
I knew that apple juice was bad for my complexion!
Anyway, Applejack apologizes for pushing her shortsightedness on Fluttershy and opens up a sanctuary for the bats. For some reason they repeat the logistics of doing so from before, except now we’re supposed to think the idea is a godsend, so easy you have to wonder why they didn’t love it in the first place. (Rainbow is now over the moon that the trees the bats will grow by spitting seeds means even more apple cider – in however many years it takes apple trees to grow at least – which kind of puts in perspective that all she did this entire episode was help push whatever the show was setting up for less-than-justified reasons.) They write their journal entry about Applejack’s moral, in addition to Fluttershy’s, about not letting your friends pressure you into something you think is wrong. Pinkie Pie fits in one last gag with plastic fangs, and everyone laughs it up. But as we zoom in on Fluttershy’s open mouth…
Forget it honey, we’ve already got a mysterious shadow on the wall at the end of episode 2 waiting for a payoff. Get in line!
Overall, this episode is another slight step down. It has its moments, particularly in the visuals and the gags created from them, and overall it’s okay, but it’s a little forced and cheesy in how it lumps the 5 friends into an angry mob, and it just didn’t build to anything all that effective or convincing. So it’s certainly not my favorite version of this plot, but if it’s not the best I’ve seen from this show, it’s not the worst either.
Anyway, great review and all, but I think I hear my apple juice boiling, er, apple cider I mean, because, uh, I like it hot, so I’ll just go home and take care of that, and… did I just hear someone behind me?
Moviefan12: Vell, Second Opinion, this was indeed a great review of ze ponies but I need something to suck one. And ze blood dripping from you looks mighty tasty. Vhat is that?
Moviefan12: Hey Second Opinion, you ready to review Bats! Huh, what the heck just happened? Did I just turn into a vampire? How did this happen? And well, I guess Fluttershy being reformed turned me back into a pony Sorry, you had to deal with that.
The Second Opinion: Uhhh....? Oh, well I'm you for happy, Faniemove, but I've just been room across the thrown by that guy who kinda looks like... Boris Karloff or something... and... (woo, I'm gettin' light headed...) and I think he's gonna eat us
Moviefan12: Wait, did I just turn into a pony again? This gives me an idea. I hate doing this as the results may vary but this potion will allow me to turn into any character from MLP and there is one in mind that I think could be helpful here. *drinks potion*
Let's see who I become first.
Sweetie Belle: THIS IS AMAZING!!! OH My goodness *shakes violently and turns back into Moviefan*
Moviefan12: No, this won't do. Try again.
Flim: Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town *shakes again*
Moviefan12: Yeah, that's not going to help, either. One more try.
Discord: Oh, do those princesses need saving now? Well, it looks as though there is a good bit of chaos going on here and I wasn't invited. I'm insulted. Oh yes, you the vampire. Don't you know that it's not very polite to attack people or ponies. I mean sure, it's fun and does bring joy but there are other things, you could do. And well, I don't have to save this person as I only promised Princess Celestia that I'd be kind to the ponies from now on but Fluttershy is my friend and she probably wouldn't like it if I let you kill this human. So *snaps his figners*
There you are, this citron won't give you anymore trouble.
He shouldn't give you any trouble from now on and if you don't mind me, I'm going to get a glass of water and crystal cruet, Ciao.
Oh, and here's a little something to remember me by. It really livens up the place, doesn't it?
*shakes again*
Moviefan12: Remind me to NEVER Turn into Discord ever again. I saw things that no one should see. Including Discord dressed up as Marylin Monroe. WHY?
The Second Opinion: Huh. Yeah, I don't envy you always turning into unpleasant characters (although it's probably less painful than where I seem to end up in times like this), but I will give you points for creativity on that solution.
Okay, just let me stand up nice and easy here... okay, I'm good. Now, you evil creature, I sentence you to being thrown in the closet and listening to this song for all eternity, to rub in the fact that, as a stuffed animal, you can't even enjoy the best part about being the count!
Alright then, we pretty much finished the review with you as a vampire, but there's still time for you to summarize your thoughts on the episode if you'd like, so what do you say?
Moviefan12: I have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of this episode. In all honesty, I find this episode to be too reference heavy and I feel like Rainbow Dash was a bit flanderized here as the only thing that she seemed to care about was cider and not actually save Fluttershy. And I do have another issue with how Twilight Sparkle joins in on ganging up on Fluttershy in the song number. I just don't know, I can't say this episode has much going for it.
The Second Opinion: Huh. Well, I wouldn’t feel quite right criticizing it for being too reference heavy, for one reason or another, but otherwise, “overall it’s okay” probably doesn’t put me at the front of the line to defend this one, especially when I agree with some of those points. (And you know it’s not every day Moviefan is persuaded to turn down a Fluttershy episode.) Still, on my card, it’s not even the lowest scorer of this season to date, so our notes in this next portion may differ a little.
*ding dong*
When we did get a doorbell?
Oh, you must be the pizza delivery guy. I hope you don't expect a tip, I ordered the pizza three hours ago and you just now got here. I should've had Rainbow Dash pick it up.
*figures moves in and tries to bite neck*
Hey, what are you doing? Look , I'm flattered you find me attractive but I'm not interested.... Ah.....
The Second Opinion: Hey, make sure it's still hot before you let him leave! (I told him he shouldn't have tried to convince me Fluttershy was best Pony in the middle of ordering. This was probably the best service we could've hope for after that. Even if I did kinda start it...)
Okay, today's episode is Bats!, a respect for nature vs. need for progress story that puts Fluttershy and Applejack together in one of the few main character pairings that hasn't happened yet. Now we just need Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and that should pretty much be all of them (unless Spike is really supposed to count).
And lo, light finally meets dark. Alright, not really.
RRRAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!
What's the problem, Moviefan? Hold on, *cracks back* I'm still sore from last time, after that sword handle to the spine.
Okay, what's going on in hereeeWHOA! Hey pal, where do you think we are, somewhere in California?! Get your face off his neck, before I...
On second thought, I might need you to take another moment or two. Hey, stay back, I'm armed! Just let me find the right pocket...
Okay, disappearing into thin air is probably a sign nothing good. You alright, Moviefan? Moviefan...?
Moviefan12: Vhy, I am just vine but I do have a craving for something red and juicy. Close ze curtains, it is too bright in here. Vet's begin, the review but my do you look tasty, tell vhat is your blood type?
The Second Opinion:
Ahem, uh... type AB... garlic positive?
Moviefan12 Drat, no matter, I vill find someone else to drain.
Ze Plot
Moviefan12: It is Apple Bucking Day at Sweet Apple Acres , and ze orange pony known as Applejack is excited to get started bucking her trees but she notices that something that is wrong with her red, delicious, mouth-watering, succulent blood red apples. They are rotten and mushy thanks to a colony of vampire fruit bats. She then summons the rest of the ponies known collectively as ze Mane Six to ze farm to help figure out a solution. Where ze Yellow one named Vuttershy suggests that they ask the bats nicely to stop but one of ze bats spits an apple seed in her face. Ve then find out that Vuttershy has never talked to bats before and this leads to the song of episode that pits ze Mane Six against Vuttershy.
The Second Opinion:
…
Oh, uh, it’s my turn? Right, heh, um… just let me see where I left my notes here…
So while Fluttershy sings about the basic concepts of nature and how vampire fruit bats fit into its equilibrium, Applejack counters with the points that they look creepy, and they eat apples, and she doesn’t trust them not to suck the giant
I’m sensing you don’t think too highly of these things.
But regardless, they form a blood-hungry (!) er, I mean, juice hungry mob – y’know, because apple juice is the only thing being consumed in this episode, I mean – and set out to round up the bats. Fluttershy makes one last try, proposing a sanctuary instead to give them their isolated space and let them spit their seeds to grow even more apple trees, but this apparently happened to Granny Smith before (who’s been written out of the episode with Big Mac and Apple Bloom, to keep things simple), leading to an apple-light winter with no cider, so everyone is too worried not to try a short-term solution. Twilight then proposes a spell to take away the bats’ desire to drain the fruit, suggesting Fluttershy’s stare when she reads that it requires the bats total attention. Depriving vampire bats of the one thing their instinct leads them to consume via magic? Not that I wouldn’t otherwise think this will work without a hitch, but, well, remember what happened with the parasprites, Twilight?
Moviefan12: Ze Mane 6 head back to the farm to use ze spell, ze Alicorn Princess uses ze spell while Vuttershy uses ze Stare and ze bats then refuse to eat ze apples. The next day, ze Cowgirl pony goes to buck ze trees again but the apples are still rotten. Ze pruprle pony asks Vuttershy if any other creature could've done this but she has no answer. That ze ponies plan a stakeout to capture the culprit.
The Second Opinion: Let’s see, this spell can change him to any alternate form he took for a long enough time in the past. So I could change him into Diamond Tiara, assuming I’d rather review this episode with her than a vampire who could decide to kill me at any moment...
Sorry I stepped out there, Count Moviefan, old buddy, where were we? Okay, later that night, the ponies prepare to split up and search for the culprit, when Fluttershy proposes calling it off, as she’s just so hungry. They wander the orchard, stumbling with their flashlights, mistakenly tackling the scarecrow, and each almost running into a shadowy figure flying overhead. Finally, Applejack signals the others, who come running only freeze at the sight of what she’s found. There, hanging on the branch of an apple tree is Flutterbat, the fruit-sucking vampire pony!
...Wait a minute, that’s not scary at all.
While Pinkie Pie turns into Pinkie Mole in attempt to get away, and Twilight figures out that Fluttershy’s eye contact with the bats must have caused her to gain what they lost when Twilight hit them with the spell. As Fluttershy is much bigger than a bat, she may well be able to get through Applejack’s entire crop, but the remorseful farm pony says that’s the least of her worries, compared to the friend she may lose here. But it’s this becomes the key to their solution, as Twilight can reverse the spell. All she needs is a way to lure in Fluttershy and get her attention.
Fear her mildly creepy harmlessness!
Moviefan12: Vell, that isn't the most sissy thing to call itself a vampire.
One, One Twilight joke Ha Ha Ha Ze Purple Pony theorizes that when she cast her original spell, it must have reflected onto ze yellow pegasus and ze pink earth pony makes a comment about ze power known as The Stare and gives ze purple princess pony an idea. Ze orange earth pony decides to give up one of her prized apples to lure her friend into a trap.
The Second Opinion: Hey, that’s not fair Moviefan! You can’t just say anything that happens to survive by sucking something like a leech is a more masculine vampire than Edward Cullen. I mean, if that’s all it takes to qualify, even Paris Hilton is a more masculine vampire than Edward Cullen.
Anyway, if, in theory, I had a friend who didn’t like Applejack and had just undergone a dangerous persona change while gaining the power to kill me, I would probably be too afraid to ask him to concede that the farm pony just did something pretty darn noble about now, but that aside; after Flutterbat gets a whiff of the recently-picked apple and its juice, she lunges for it, but at the last second, Applejack kicks it away, revealing a mirror. Flutterbat is shocked and tries to flee, but the others hold up more mirrors, and finally, apparently not used to seeing such a less-than-cute reflection of herself, the Flutterbat stands transfixed. Twilight reverses the spell, taking the nature of the vampire bats away from Fluttershy and giving it back to them, and Pinkie Pie helpfully fills her in on all that happened.
I knew that apple juice was bad for my complexion!
Anyway, Applejack apologizes for pushing her shortsightedness on Fluttershy and opens up a sanctuary for the bats. For some reason they repeat the logistics of doing so from before, except now we’re supposed to think the idea is a godsend, so easy you have to wonder why they didn’t love it in the first place. (Rainbow is now over the moon that the trees the bats will grow by spitting seeds means even more apple cider – in however many years it takes apple trees to grow at least – which kind of puts in perspective that all she did this entire episode was help push whatever the show was setting up for less-than-justified reasons.) They write their journal entry about Applejack’s moral, in addition to Fluttershy’s, about not letting your friends pressure you into something you think is wrong. Pinkie Pie fits in one last gag with plastic fangs, and everyone laughs it up. But as we zoom in on Fluttershy’s open mouth…
Forget it honey, we’ve already got a mysterious shadow on the wall at the end of episode 2 waiting for a payoff. Get in line!
Overall, this episode is another slight step down. It has its moments, particularly in the visuals and the gags created from them, and overall it’s okay, but it’s a little forced and cheesy in how it lumps the 5 friends into an angry mob, and it just didn’t build to anything all that effective or convincing. So it’s certainly not my favorite version of this plot, but if it’s not the best I’ve seen from this show, it’s not the worst either.
Anyway, great review and all, but I think I hear my apple juice boiling, er, apple cider I mean, because, uh, I like it hot, so I’ll just go home and take care of that, and… did I just hear someone behind me?
Moviefan12: Vell, Second Opinion, this was indeed a great review of ze ponies but I need something to suck one. And ze blood dripping from you looks mighty tasty. Vhat is that?
Moviefan12: Hey Second Opinion, you ready to review Bats! Huh, what the heck just happened? Did I just turn into a vampire? How did this happen? And well, I guess Fluttershy being reformed turned me back into a pony Sorry, you had to deal with that.
The Second Opinion: Uhhh....? Oh, well I'm you for happy, Faniemove, but I've just been room across the thrown by that guy who kinda looks like... Boris Karloff or something... and... (woo, I'm gettin' light headed...) and I think he's gonna eat us
Moviefan12: Wait, did I just turn into a pony again? This gives me an idea. I hate doing this as the results may vary but this potion will allow me to turn into any character from MLP and there is one in mind that I think could be helpful here. *drinks potion*
Let's see who I become first.
Sweetie Belle: THIS IS AMAZING!!! OH My goodness *shakes violently and turns back into Moviefan*
Moviefan12: No, this won't do. Try again.
Flim: Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town *shakes again*
Moviefan12: Yeah, that's not going to help, either. One more try.
Discord: Oh, do those princesses need saving now? Well, it looks as though there is a good bit of chaos going on here and I wasn't invited. I'm insulted. Oh yes, you the vampire. Don't you know that it's not very polite to attack people or ponies. I mean sure, it's fun and does bring joy but there are other things, you could do. And well, I don't have to save this person as I only promised Princess Celestia that I'd be kind to the ponies from now on but Fluttershy is my friend and she probably wouldn't like it if I let you kill this human. So *snaps his figners*
There you are, this citron won't give you anymore trouble.
He shouldn't give you any trouble from now on and if you don't mind me, I'm going to get a glass of water and crystal cruet, Ciao.
Oh, and here's a little something to remember me by. It really livens up the place, doesn't it?
*shakes again*
Moviefan12: Remind me to NEVER Turn into Discord ever again. I saw things that no one should see. Including Discord dressed up as Marylin Monroe. WHY?
The Second Opinion: Huh. Yeah, I don't envy you always turning into unpleasant characters (although it's probably less painful than where I seem to end up in times like this), but I will give you points for creativity on that solution.
Okay, just let me stand up nice and easy here... okay, I'm good. Now, you evil creature, I sentence you to being thrown in the closet and listening to this song for all eternity, to rub in the fact that, as a stuffed animal, you can't even enjoy the best part about being the count!
Alright then, we pretty much finished the review with you as a vampire, but there's still time for you to summarize your thoughts on the episode if you'd like, so what do you say?
Moviefan12: I have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of this episode. In all honesty, I find this episode to be too reference heavy and I feel like Rainbow Dash was a bit flanderized here as the only thing that she seemed to care about was cider and not actually save Fluttershy. And I do have another issue with how Twilight Sparkle joins in on ganging up on Fluttershy in the song number. I just don't know, I can't say this episode has much going for it.
The Second Opinion: Huh. Well, I wouldn’t feel quite right criticizing it for being too reference heavy, for one reason or another, but otherwise, “overall it’s okay” probably doesn’t put me at the front of the line to defend this one, especially when I agree with some of those points. (And you know it’s not every day Moviefan is persuaded to turn down a Fluttershy episode.) Still, on my card, it’s not even the lowest scorer of this season to date, so our notes in this next portion may differ a little.
Characters
Fluttershy voiced by
Andrea Libman
The
Second Opinion: Honestly, Fluttershy
was almost the only one you can appreciate for most of the episode.
She’s still
cute enough as the animal-loving element of kindness, and she manages to
be
likable in how she stands up for the bats, sweet in her delivery but
also not
inane in the points she makes. The episode, granted, doesn’t put an
overwhelming amount of intelligence or insight into either side of this
debate,
but at least Fluttershy can’t be accused of taking stupid pills. And, of
course, there's the fact we get to see her as a vampire bat.
Moviefan12: Flutterbat is adorable. Hasbro needs to make toys of Flutterbat and Flutters was the only character I found myself rooting for and I get what the show was trying to go for by giving us two reasonable arguments but I'm sorry, the way, AJ's was presented, made her come off as a jerk. Maybe it's my disdain for Applejack, but she seemed really jerky in the beginning of this episode and the rest of the Mane 6 didn't help matters much either.
Applejack voiced by Ashleigh
Ball
The Second Opinion: For all her warmth
and relative maturity, Applejack the farm pony has always had another side as
the traditional, uncompromising, somewhat close-minded one. She sort of fits as
the one who wants her property back to the way it was without losing time
namby-pamby defense arguments for the vampire bats, but adding that she’s
fear-mongering and utterly dismissive towards Fluttershy makes it annoying.
It’s not unbearable, but it’s forced, again pushing the story the writers want
to tell into alignment at the expense of a character. Admittedly, this makes it
register when her noble side reemerges, and she disregards her concern for her
apples, making a big sacrifice for her friend. This, even more, is the
Applejack we all know, so it’s both believable and encouraging. But since both
the wrong turn and the redemption were sort of spontaneous, for no particular
reason, it’s not all that resonant. In the end, to my relief, she came out
okay, but in the context of the show, it’s kind of disappointing that the
character who seemed like a favorite of the writers back in season one is now, for
the umpteenth time in a starring role, just okay.
Moviefan12: Applejack really annoyed me in the beginning of this episode, I get she is set in her ways but the way, she wrote off Fluttershy at the beginning was kinda rude and condescending. This episode does not help to improve my opinion of the cowpony. I still think she is the weakest member of the Mane 6 and this outing here is probably her worst one yet.
Twilight
Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie & Spike voiced by
Tara Strong, Tabita St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball Andrea Libman & Cathy
Weseluck
The Second Opinion: Now, I can’t say one
pony siding against Fluttershy bothered me more than the other, because I
really thought they were all in the same boat here, pushed into the aggressive,
short-sighted viewpoint for the sake of the plot with little regard for their
personalities or character progression. I could probably picture all of them
getting there with the right coaxing, but instead they just fell for
Applejack’s cheesy ooga booga song, so there’s no real reason to differentiate.
Actually, I take it back: Pinkie Pie used the opportunity for great gags about
how she’s still all smiles even when she’s part of an angry mob.
But I do have a few
comments on their moments in the spotlight: I have to agree with Moviefan on
Rainbow Dash and the cider thing, which seemed like a cheap attempt to make
this relatable for the younger crowd. Rarity was solid support, at
least taking a moment to give some
explanation for siding with Applejack to Fluttershy and giving some
genuinely funny reactions, and Twilight used what she’s good at to move the
plot along. Pinkie Pie, like I said, fit in some decent gags, all well and
good, and Spike… was there.
Moviefan12: I already went over my issues with Dash in this episode but the rest of the Mane 6 are no better. Yes, Miss Rarity does attempt to explain why she sides with AJ but the way, they gang up on Fluttershy is a little disheartening and makes me despise the song in this episode especially this sequence.
I truly get what they were going for but showing this face makes it seem like Pinkie is enjoying taunting Fluttershy. I know that isn't what they were going for but that is how it comes across.
Music
Moviefan12: It's clear that Daniel Ingram took inspiration from Danny Elfman and in particular his work from The Nightmare Before Christmas for this song. And well, that's already working against the song as I HATE that movie and pretty much anything Tim Burton has ever done but that's a subject for another day. I have another reason to hate this song, the other ponies are NOT giving Fluttershy a chance to defend the bats and are instead ganging up on her and making her feel as though she is the wrong and it just come across as bullying.
The Second Opinion: Wow, and I thought I was
a big Tim Burton cynic. But that's a subject for, uh, a previous day.
Like everything else, I'm a bit more middle of the road here. The song
is about Applejack convincing the others to rally behind her points over
Fluttershy's, but since it's, well, unconvincing, the idea comes off as
corny. Like the rest of the episode, any appeal to this song is in how
it fits with the sort of gothic, Victorian era horror tone they're going
for. It's like a rally to take down Frankenstein's monster (with
Fluttershy bearing its ferocity only because she just happens to have
positioned herself on the other end of it), with shadowy visuals and a
mob chant for a refrain. And for that, I kinda love the shot of Pinkie
Pie's face, as though joining in with a Victorian mob is just the latest
thing to do for entertainment, as she doesn't have a vengeful bone in
her body
Our Final Thoughts
The Second Opinion: I appreciate some of
the moral this episode was going for, but the delivery is, like I said, kinda
cheesy, and I can’t really tell how much the writers cared about it themselves.
Instead, it’s the simpler pleasures that carry more weight, such as the
atmospheric visuals, the camp creepiness and sheer novelty value of Fluttershy
becoming a vampire, and the steady stream of jokes. It all goes by agreeably
enough without leaving the biggest impact, and by the end, you’re not unhappy
to have seen it (or I wasn’t, anyway), but against the standard it maintained
for almost three seasons, it’s like the show came into this episode out of shape.
Not only does it still seem to be coasting on its haunches a bit, its technique
is starting to seem a kinda clunky and shallow.
Moviefan12: I gotta be honest, I really don't like this episode. To me this is one the of worst MLP episodes of all time, ranking up there with the likes of Owl's Well That Ends Well, A Bird In The Hoof and yes, even The Mysterious Mare-Do Well as the one time worst episodes of My Little Pony. It just doesn't have enough going for it to make it a good episode. It could've been good but the Mane 5 ganging up on Flutters makes them look like bullies and not to mention that the song is just wretched. I don't know, I think this episode may be worse than Owl's Well That Ends Well and that's saying something as that is my most hated episode of MLP. The more I think about this episode, the more I'm infuriated by the bullying from the other ponies towards Flutters. The end with them using on The Stare on Flutterbat is a great touch and almost saves this episode and Flutterbat is the best aspect but she isn't enough to save this episode. This is just a terrible, it's bad. It's terribad. Ah well, join us next time as we look at my favorite season 4 episode as...
Rarity Takes Manehattan
