Official Discussion Thread - S04E16 It Ain't Easy Being Breezies

[brianblackberry]

It is that time of the week again when we all huddle around our computers and televisions and watch adorable ponies do adorable pony things. In this week's episode, our favorite background pony, Fluttershy will once again get the focus. Here she is off to some distant location (or nearby one) to observe the Breezies. One may remember the Breezies from the last generation of ponies. Well they are back and they are adorable, but that is all I am going to tell you. Find out more in just a few hours! Please discuss the episode, but remember to keep the spoilers in the spoilers bracket. Episode airs Saturday 10:30 AM EST on March 1st.

Fluttershy reveals her secret:

She is the writer of steamy romance novels under the nom de plume of Purple Prose

[Bluelight]

Flutters is a writter?

[QuickLime]

Flutters is a writter?

It was a joke XD

[Bluelight]

lol I knew dat

[CaptainMcDerp]

This episode is written by the same writer as Pinkie Apple Pie so I'm looking forward to this one.

[DarkSideBrony]

I'm curious to know, is this a spinoff of Three's a crowd when Fluttershy went to see the Breezies? Kinda like Games Ponies Play and Just for Sidekicks was

[SunlightHeart]

Whenever fluttershy gets that brazen look on her face shenanigans are afoot.

[RarityDash]

Woo, Flitter had three lines! She's so adorable.

But no, this episode was just not good at all. I apologize, Filli Vanilli. You weren't so bad. You had charming songs and more than enough fun moments to merit your existence. In retrospect, I was entirely too harsh. Now I've seen how much worse Fluttershy episodes, and in fact episodes in general can get.

It was awash with somewhat interesting ideas, some of which could have been fun if executed well. I was actually excited by the Breezies themselves when I heard about it. A new species of cute little mini ponies sounded kinda fun. But no, they're presented in a way where they don't add anything to the world and in fact belong to a separate world all together. They're also kind of useless, unable to do things on their own without endangering themselves. Moreover, they're just... kind of annoying. I'm sorry, the voices just grated on me whether they were speaking breezy language or not. I did find it kind of amusing that the males and females were so indistinguishable, but all in all there was very little about the breezies that would make me want to ever see them return. The other interesting idea was magical transformation. It was mildly interesting to see the mane six get transformed into breezies themselves... but the designs looked awkward and the whole thing seemed rather contrived. I don't know.

I don't really know what else there was to say. The episode had such a rail thin plot it's hard to think up things to say about it. I don't demand super involving or complex plots, but seriously, for most of this, nothing happened. The conflict was presented awkwardly and was impossible to buy into. Fluttershy was okay, I guess. I prefer when an episode is about her kindness and such instead of her and her fears... but the episode still needs to be good itself. This just lacked substance, which when combined with the more clear than usual notion that what I'm watching is trying to sell me on a new toy line, just makes this episode seem cloying. I kinda feel bad for Fluttershy that this is her rainbow key episode. I know that I'm not her biggest fan, but it doesn't seem entirely fair that Rarity and Pinkie got such awesome episodes for theirs while she gets stuck with this.

Seeing this one in a vacuum, I think I would assume FiM wasn't so far removed from its immediate predecessors. Aggressive cuteness was traded for the shows usual smartness. All of the incredible promise that Natasha Levinger displayed with the excellent Pinky Apple Pie is now muddled for me. I don't even know what to say. I genuinely don't like when I have such bad things about an episode. I love the show and I want to enjoy each episode as much as possible... but this, I just couldn't handle it. Low point of the season so far and only episode since season 2 that I couldn't bring myself to watch again after the initial airing.

[Mojo]

Still trying to recover .....

Unless I pick up something when I watch the reruns of this ep, I have to say this was by far THE worst episode of S4, if not the entire series. The Breezies were supposed to be cute and adorable, they were neither led by a very arrogant leader Sea Breeze. It was a MAJOR disappointment, I truly expected better. I never thought I'd see an episode worse than Mare Do Well, until now...... This ep doesn't even rank a '1' on a scale from 1 to 10! Sorry, but that's my opinion, folks.

[kunio18]

this episode for me had so many hhhhnnnggg moments, i love sea breeze, he was rad, super family man

[Lux]

Why is it that Seabreeze sound like Foamy from Neurotically Yours a little? I really didn't like this episode much. I guess I expected the Breezies to be like faeries, creatures that while smaller than ordinary ponies were still strong. This episode showed them as basically everything but that, as these weak creatures who couldn't really do anything for themselves and how they seemed to be comfortable living at Fluttershy's cottage since she protected them. It only took Fluttershy to force them out for them to actually convince them. The end scene of the Mane Six guiding the Breezies to their home was ok, but the whole thing felt weak.

I know Hasbro is trying new things and trying to modernize the previous Breezy ponies from previous generations, but this just didn't work. Still I like seeing Fluttershy in a role of being caring but strong rather than being afraid, but sadly her episode of getting her key really lacked luster. This was probably my second worst episode, first being The Mysterious Mare Do Well.

My only redeeming fact is this: at least Hasbro didn't bring back the sea ponies. (shivers)

[Bluelight]

All in all it was pretty bad. Most of the time it didnt even look like the breezies flapped tneir wings!

-9999999999999999 out of 10

[QuickLime]

While some of you seem to have an issue with SeaBreeze try to see where he is coming from? He's got a wife, and a small child, and a limited amount of time to get home. Sure he was a jerk but when you consider all that he has to LOSE from them wasting time then his actions make more sense yes?

Overall the episode is really MEH though :I

[YourLittleBrony]

An alright episode. Not my particular favorite, but yay Fluttershy key! I honestly didnt care for the look of the Breezies. This is my first experience with them and they look like super deformed ponies with fairy wings. They just look odd. And how in the world can you tell the difference between male and female breezies? When Seabreeze was addressed as male, I was like "that's a male?" And anyone else besides me kinda lifted their eyebrows at Fluttershy...appealing to the bees in the bee suit? Maybe its just me, but I thought it was rather a...curious moment. o .o

Im gonna call it right now. Applejack, then finally Twilight.

[brianblackberry]

I'm sorry, but I actually liked the episode. Bramble and I watched it together and we both enjoyed it. Sure it isn't an excellent episode, nor was the story particularly good; in fact it was pedestrian. That being said, I didn't find anything really egregious about the episode either.

First off I am glad that if they were to do a Fluttershy episode, they focused on her kindness rather than her shyness. She learned that true kindness - caring about someone and trying to help them - doesn't always mean making sure their feelings aren't hurt. This doesn't mean, they also were careful to show, that you go too far in the other direction and just ignore people's feelings. Sometimes you just have to be firm when you know it is the right thing to do morally and especially in critical matters.

I understood Sea Breeze's anger in the episode. He just wanted to return home successfully, and more importantly, not be separated from his home and family (including wife and child) for a year. Who could blame him for being upset in such a situation? Can you imagine being forced to be separated from your children because your companions were being spoiled and or lazy? The fact Sea Breeze managed to come around and learn that encouraging, and thus inspiring, leadership is often caused for, in my eyes, made him a developed character.

I liked that they spoke their own language and honestly, I didn't find their voices annoying.

Now there are issues with the episode, no doubt. They didn't explain why the Breezies do what they do adequately, and thus it felt they were just shoehorned into the FIM Universe. The final part, where the mane six are transformed into Breezes, just felt like a convenient and out of place deus ex machina, that to be honest, didn't make much sense and added nothing to the story, as cute as it was.

Sometimes I think Rarity isn't a real Equestria wide success is because for every hit she makes in fashion, she seems to have a miss, like those overly bright sequin jewelry outfits she made. She is too inconsistent when it comes to quality fashions and hence why she asn't really elevated beyond Ponyville dressmaker.

yay Flitter got a decent role! Oh, and Thunderlane too I guess.

Doctor Whooves with Rose with 3-D glasses; how many people will get that joke? Only for the dedicated fans.

3 out of 5 for me, good, not great or exceptional, but decent.

[Bramble Rose]

I really liked the episode, and it really hit a poignant note with me.

1. First thing to remember is that these are not a representative sample of all breezies. These are, specifically, the slackers who took the job but were lagging behind. And the only reason Sea Breeze was back there and separated from everyone else was because he was trying to help them.

Imagine being in that position - you lost your chance to go home with the group because you were trying to help a bunch of people who suddenly STOP TRYING and want to just fool around, unable to see the long view even though their lives depend on it. And your life, and possibly the life of your child, depends upon them doing their job.

Yeah. Little bit of anger there.

2. I really, really like the lesson Fluttershy learned here. I feel a lot of people really don't ever learn that lesson. I often see myself surrounded by people whose first priority is "Are people mad at me?" and "What if I hurt their feelings?" ... when the real first concern should be, "Am I doing what's best for them?"

It goes back to Dale Carnegie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," where he taught people that it's better to let someone make a fool of themselves in public than to point out that they're doing something wrong and let their anger fall on you. Don't make waves! Don't hurt feelings! Just make sure everyone likes you!

No. I really am glad that they showed that TRUE kindness is about making sure you do what's best for everyone - even if that means they might not like you so much. It's one of those lessons that kid's shows virtually NEVER display, and I'm surprised as heck to see that they went there. But then, MLP frequently surprises me with how well they do things.

3. The fact that they were careful to temper it with Sea Breeze's lesson is ALSO a very well-done bit of storytelling there. They had two lessons in one - either extreme of the spectrum is bad. You need to be firm without being cruel. Be balanced.

4. On a more minor note - did anyone else feel like the Breezies were speaking Simlish?

[QuickLime]

I thought I was the only one!

[Rabukurafuto]

Doctor Whooves with Rose with 3-D glasses; how many people will get that joke? Only for the dedicated fans.

Well, isn't anyone going to ask, 'What is it with the glasses?'

This is one I was waiting for, and I was was not disappointed. This might be my favourite Fluttershy episode now, and certainly one of my favourite friendship lessons. Finally, a little variety from Fluttershy! I was beginning to think the writers had forgotten she was anything other than being fearful.

[rjrgmc28]

As with last weeks episode, this post episode write up is going to be short and sweet and might be a little off course from my usual fare.

To sum up my tweet from this morning:

"Wow! They promised cute, and we got cute! Cuteness overload all round! An outstanding episode!

As always, the thoughts of the episode are spoilered below:

What can I say? The hype and anticipation for this episode was spot on when they promised "cuteness overload" and they were right, everything from Fluttershy to the Breezies really sums up this episode as a whole for me.

I went into the episode knowing nothing about the Breezies or what they do in the world of Equestria, so this was a crash course for me and seeing them for the very first time produced many a D'Awwww moment throughout, especially towards the end of the episode where the mane 6 take on their form to assist them getting home.

The episode also saw Fluttershy at her very best despite being under pressure from the Breezies trying to stay over at her cottage due to their confidence being shot down and also seeing her assertive side when took charge of the bees situation was a bit of a mood booster for me.

Apart from that, there isn't much else to cover this week.

I also have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog, which can be viewed here.

Also as a side note, It seems Spike has been on the short end of the stick as of late and I think this episode might have been the breaking point for him. Why are they doing this?!

[FrankT]

Sad Spike and sad Fluttershy make me sad.

However... hearing the Mane 6's squeaky voices was somewhat amusing. Also: Dr. Whooves has anaglyph glasses now!

[MetalBronyATL]

This episode was dumb. DUMB. I've done my best to try and defend Flutters as a good character and not just the show's source of cuteness, but this is not justifiable at all. I kinda wanna go watch Power Ponies, because clearly that is no longer the worst S4 episode. -15/10 will never watch again.

[Rosewind]

I like how polarizing this episode is. I thought it was fine. It wasn't amazing, no, but I thought it was above-average for a Fluttershy episode. I think repeated view-throughs will probably make it more appealing. Yes, the presentation and lax story are a bit of a shock to a dedicated fan of the show. Episodes come in all shapes and sizes; I like the random aspect as we never really know what to expect next week, and often times we build up to expect something else with our personal headcanon and end up disappointed with an episode that wasn't that bad, otherwise.

I think my only gripe is yeah, this was a key episode, and "key" episodes so far have been pretty robust. This one was rather breezy in plot and presentation, which is just as well considering the title. 6 out of 10.

[RarityDash]

You know, I can kind of see it. I can see where this episode might be redeemed in some eyes. There are things that sort of make sense. Sea Breeze's motivation is sensible, respectable and conveyed well enough, and I definitely agree as I said that I like when they focus on this kind of thing with Fluttershy as opposed to her shyness. I was actually less annoyed with Fluttershy than most things in this episode. Very rarely was it that she was my problem with anything. There are a fair number of things I want to give it credit for, even though my reaction to actually watching it was so negative. It's just no, whatever good there is, it isn't enough to carry it past its flaws for me.

The Breezies add nothing to the FiM world. They are fragile to the point of being unable to do anything on their own. There is no real display of anything they can do that would make them an interesting addition-- we see nothing of the breezy magic mentioned early on. All we get is obnoxious voices and an overload of super saccharine cuteness before they get shoved back into breezy land. So much more could have been done to make them stand out and be interesting and worth existing in FiM lore. There was just nothing until the very end, after the conflict was already well resolved, to make me want to become invested in their situation one way or the other. What we were presented with was just so empty.

Which extends to the episode as a whole. That's really the biggest fault of the episode for me; it was just so slow moving and lacking in a story worth telling. So much time was spent with the laborious setup and really what was it all for? Like Rarity's scene, what was that about? it wasn't funny and it added nothing, save a certain level of doubt regarding some of Rarity's design choices (kind of like her awkward scenes in Rainbow Falls). All it really seemed to do was further emphasize how hopelessly helpless the breezies were. The same could be said for most of the opening bits; I don't even believe anyone used that cheer they worked on in the pre-credit scene, making it useless for anything but a blatant callback to the fans. Then we had some of the worst usage of Spike I've seen in a while to force the plot to actually begin before it slows to a crawl as we have Fluttershy interact with the breezies. It didn't really pick up until Sea Breeze tried to return on his own, the sequence of which was perhaps where it got the closest to being interesting. But then there was the ending sequence which was so utterly contrived. Suddenly the Breezies can't even return on their own even? Why? It was just so obvious in its want to shoehorn into the plot a reason for breezy versions of the mane six to be able to exist on store shelves. They still could have showed breezy land and the reunited families without all that.

So yeah, I can get it to an extent, but for me, I stand by this being a not so good episode. Possibly the worst I can think of. it had Flitter and maybe one or two good lines (Rainbow Dash at the end, for instance), but I can't think of anything else in it I really would want to even remember. It was just a lot of ideas that added nothing peppered into an all but humorless, barely there plot.

[SteelEagle]

5/10. Not a big fan. Some good ideas poorly executed and some bad ideas executed decently, which isn't a positive. Least favorite episode of the series.

[CaptainMcDerp]

It had a few good moments and I didn't particularly dislike the episode but it was pretty lackluster at best. Especially when compared to Pinkie Apple Pie. The Doctor Whooves reference was neat though and it was cool to see Flitter get some lines. Hopefully next week will break up the recent pattern of "meh" episodes.