In Defense of Gilda the Griffon · 4:56am Jul 4th, 2013
This is a rant, that is incredibly nit-picky. If you don't like those two things, you're most likely not going to like this. For those that do read, I thank you for your time.
Warning: It's long, so grab a beverage cause you'll be here awhile.
Now I am well aware of the infamous scene in "Griffon the Brush Off" in which Gilda, a long time griffon friend of Rainbow Dash, roared a lions roar in the face of poor little Fluttershy. This scene has been a large determining factor in the Brony community of our disposition toward Gilda. Needless to say that it has been largely negative. Heck, in a few of the most hated characters in all of MLP Gilda has topped out some lists. So the question is; does Gilda the Griffon deserve all this hate? The short answer is no, why would you blame the victim?
Yes, she is indeed a victim throughout most of the episode.
Let's start with her introduction shall we? Gilda is first seen leaning off of a cloud structure staring at Pinkie similarly to the kids in Jurassic Park being stared at by the T-Rex. Pinkie notes this as cool. Rainbow Dash meets Pinkie along with Gilda on the ground; Rainbow Dash telling Pinkie that Gilda is Griffon. Not knowing what a Griffon is Dash elaborates and says a "Half Eagle, Half Lion."
This is the first tell.
Gilda's kind is so unknown that some ponies can't even recognize the name of her people. This clearly indicates that at least earth ponies (who are predominant in Ponyville) don't even know what to make of Gilda. In the third act of the episode Rarity referenced Griffons, but that might be a result of her learning from Pinkie Pie. There is no way to tell anyone knows what a Griffon is. With this ignorance to your being, wouldn't someone grow at least a little nervous or abrasive to those around themselves. . While it's kind of arbitrary to bring in personal experience, I will say that it does make someone uncomfortable being thrust into a group of people who are ignorant to your race.
Anyways back to the episode.
After a short introduction into Gilda and Dashes back story, they perform the junior speedsters chant/song. After the performance, Pinkie started laughing hysterically at the admittedly funny performance. While Rainbow Dash took that with a bow and pride. Gilda turned her head away and rubbed her head. Two indications of someone feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable. So the first few minutes in a new land she is already laughed at by someone who barely knows her person and knows nothing of her kind until a few seconds ago.
However she still keeps a good character when she politely denies Pinkies offer to go pranking, although admitting that she would like to do so, but her engagement with Dash, her old friend, comes first. At this point she has done nothing rude, just left a conversation fairly hastily. This conversation mind you with a person who just laughed ATher. Dash was able to take the laughter because she knows Pinkie, Gilda doesn't.
As Gilda and Dash fly off and do some playful tricks they take a rest stop at a low flying cloud. Because of Pinkie physics the earth pony of the same name was able to use a trampoline to bounce herself up to the duo repeatedly (since earth ponies along with unicorns can't walk on clouds without the aid of magic). While the encounter was nice at first, as Pinkie began to only address Rainbow Dash.
Now imagine that your in a place where people didn't know that someone like you existed, or was even physically possible. Now think about how you would feel if you had to because your only friend in this entire country requested to perform an embarrassing rendition of a school song, which then got you laughed at. Finally think about if your trying to spend quality time with your only friend, who you care about deeply and the person that just got done laughing at you tried to separate you two, taking all the attention of your friend and putting it on herself. Now I ask you, would you like this person at all? Most likely not, so why would Gilda?
Furthermore people point to how rude Gilda was expelling Pinkie from the group several times. While we've already seen that no one in Gilda's position would really find favor in Pinkie, was what Gilda did mean? For one Pinkie tied herself to Balloons to again interrupt the personal reunion. Gilda popping some of the balloons not only saved Pinkie from floating off Celestia knows where if there ever happened to be an updraft, but from air deprivation. Remember she quickly rose to an atmosphere she, unlike pegasi and griffons, is not use to. This is incredibly dangerous because it puts severe strain on the body and brain, so Gilda's comment about "High altitude is making you dizzy" is an understatement. So her slowly bringing Pinkie down was the best thing that could be done for her health. The next show Pinkie put on, again to the chagrin of Gilda who clearly showed her dislike for Pinkie's presence, was an airborne bicycle made out of candy canes, mints, and a flower.
This thing would've broken in a stiff breeze.
So while Gilda expelled Pinkie again rather unceremoniously, it could have been a lot worse. Again the increase in altitude is terribly harmful to non-flyers. And the way Gilda put Pinkie down was the safest way since it did take circular route down, slowing the overall speed and lessening the impact. Also think about the fact Pinkie was completely unhurt when she made contact with the ground. What would of happened if Gilda just stopped the propellers and let Pinkie fall, I think if she truly wanted to hurt Pinkie that would of been the best method.
Did Gilda do this because she wanted to be nice? No, but she still had the wherewithal to keep in mind the safety of the pony who constantly interrupted her reunion.
Skipping over to the Ponyville scene we see Gilda is left to her own devices while Rainbow Dash clears the skies. Pinkie watches as Gilda plays a prank on Granny Smith, using her tail. Apparently Granny Smith mistook a lions tail for a rattle snake (how you mistake a mammalian tail for a reptiles tail at any age is perplexing to me) and scared Granny into slowly running away. Apparently this is mean since Granny didn't know it was a joke. What's more evil though, I ask you, doing this to a grown woman, or scaring the shit out of a baby? Further into the episode Applejack reveals that "somepony" pranked her. Why would she say "somepony" if she didn't know who? If the person is a mystery are they all the sudden bad? Should their be a punishment party held to embarrass the person beyond any definition of harmless fun?
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Next Gilda swipes an apple from a stand, making her a thief. While most situations don't call for stealing, think about what she stole, an apple. ALL THEY EAT ARE DAMN APPLES! That's like stealing a single straw of hay from a hay farm. Again stealing is not good, and what Gilda did was not the right thing; however her being a meat eater (half eagle, half lion remember) it's really cruel that there wasn't anything she could actually eat there. The fact that a carnivore has to eat vegetarian meal, pay for that meal, and not be able to digest that meal, is a lot more malicious than petty theft. With everypony being a vegetarian, it would look barbaric for her to eat meat. She can't even be her most natural self without standing out. So she has to sustain herself on a resource that can't even do anything for her.
Finally the event mentioned previously the god damn Fluttershy moment. Again what Gilda did wasn't right. She clearly saw Fluttershy, she should've moved. Why Fluttershy was walking down the middle of the road with small animals, even I don't know. I just wish this wasn't the determining factor.
After that we figure out Pinkie is going to use "Extreme measures" because "No one treats Fluttershy like that (yelling in her face)". This comes down to semantics. Extreme means "Reaching the high or highest degree" in this context being a method of approach. So the method of approach being parties, the extreme being. . . What? We'll get to that in a second.
At the actual party Gilda entered and reluctantly shook the hand of Pinkie. Now there was no ill intent on Gilda's behalf, it was an honest albeit reluctant gesture. It was met with a high voltage hand buzzer. Most people say that this wasn't an act out of malice because it was done again, mutually between Rainbow and Pinkie. The difference is that the buzzer was enough to electrocute the griffon to the point where she couldn't stand and her skeleton was view able! The second incident was just a normal buzzer that created a mild jolt and barely ruffled their hair. This when Gilda (who shows a fair amount of intelligence and boldness that's commendable from a third party view) tells Pinkie that she isn't going to let herself be pushed around.
Pinkie feigns innocence. . . (just wait for it).
This brings me to the final part, the party pranks. While it turns out that these pranks normally would be funny and lighthearted they weren't used in a light hearted way. They were in almost rapid succession of each other and looked either painful or embarrassing. Which I want to remind you that this is a foreign land to Gilda and she's being used as the butt of every joke. Finally the straw that broke the camels back, pin the tail on the pony. Now Gilda at this point has been pranked so much, she has become greatly paranoid about everything. Now add to the paranoia by being blind folded and spun. Letting her nerves get to her, Gilda decided to act against the flow to avoid a trick that wasn't there. Doing this she ended up slipping on a cake piece and crashing.
This was not a prank, nor was it intentional by anyone.
YET THEY ALL LAUGHED AT SOMEONE THAT COULD OF LEGITIMATELY BEEN HURT.
Getting pissed off by the overall cruelness of the people around her and the horrible embarrassment she suffered; Gilda snaps and demands that she and Rainbow Dash go away because the pranks are "lame". Dash reveals that the pranks were her idea, and that if they were lame then Rainbow must be lame too. In short Gilda is told that she is not welcomed because of her attitude and needs to leave. Now Gilda enters a country where she knows no one and everyone that knows of her, dislikes her.
Rainbow Dash being the master prankster brings up two possibilities in this situation. Dash is a jerk, or she's lying. She's a jerk in that she continually pranks someone going beyond pranking and harassing her. Or she lied, because really; did she plant the buzzer on Pinkie Pie, or was she the one who planted the candles on the cake Pinkie Pie made? In my opinion no, and that's where this all ties in.
PINKIE PIE PLANNED IT ALL
She said she was going to take extreme measures, a party is not extreme (for Pinkie Pie). A party in which one person is targeted for several pranks in succession to the point they blow their top, is extreme. And she planted everything to get revenge for Fluttershy.
You might be asking why would Dash take the fall? It's simple, she's the element of Loyalty, her friend was being accused so she had to take the fall for her, call it a "Spartacus Reaction". She also was probably told about what Gilda did by Pinkie before the party, hence why she took so much joy in Gilda's punishment. Furthermore, if Rainbow Dash and Gilda are friends from early childhood, why wouldn't Dash put in the effort to help that friend. And why would Gilda be so fervent about keeping Dash as a friend despite the uncomfortable situations she's constantly put in. Could it be that those two were close friends at that young age, and Dash was able to replace Gilda with new friends, but Gilda wasn't able to do the same? Were the friends that Dash made in Ponyville enough for her to banish another friend when she wasn't necessary any more?
Sorry, that's a different part of my head-cannon. Don't know how that got in there. . .
At the end of Griffon the Brush Off, Gilda is now in a country where she has made enemies with the most faithful student Celestia and the rest of the elements of Harmony. To some she is unknown, to the rest she is an unfavorable creature in a foreign land. No friends, no family. All because she had a somewhat unfavorable attitude.
Who's the real victim here? The Ponies or Gilda?
-LivingLie
This is going in my head canon. No idea how I found this blog, but I'm glad i did.
1459156 I'm glad you liked it.
I like this. A little too Pinkie-bashy for my usual tastes, but you do make excellent points.
I totally agree with you. Pinkie was just unbearable in that episode. And then Rainbow proved she is traitor.
Headcanon accepted
1525126
Actually, to me, Pinkie is best pony
. But that doesn't mean I don't see her faults. I watched the episode over and over, and this is the conclusion I came up with. Was one party completely innocent, no. But is another party more to blame, yes. Again Pinkie is my favorite pony, but I will point out when she does something wrong, like in this episode.
1525177
I know she is best pony but even the best has flaws i think if they wanted to have a good moral they could have gone at it in a different way. I dunno i guess i didnt pay that close attention *shrugs* i personally thought Pinkie made bigger mistakes in friend in deed. as much as i don't like donkeys Cranky should have been left alone as a rude person who did not want to be bothered. At least Gilda wasn't rude at first she's a new comer she couldn't have known how to act and how do we know that roaring in someones face when they are in your way isn't a griffon custom? hmm? Honestly sorry for this i get fiercely defensive over pinkie so i apologize for my outburst.
1525302 No problem
I personally think that all the points you made in this 'rant' were valid. Thanks for actually putting it in words. Sometimes it's easier to read about the stuff that you come up with in your subconscious (It's kinda hard for me to grasp ideas like this if I don't read or hear about it).
Well, while I'm not going to take this as seriously as you did, you have several fair points. I refuse to believe that Pinkie did not plan the mishaps, but it's not uncharacteristic of Dash to have planned at least some pranks. My first guess is the buzzers; electric shock doesn't seem to bothr pegasi as much.
I'm an antagonist sympathizer, I can't understand why some of them get such a bad reputation when the majority of them only commit the common sin of arrogance. *cough*
This is certainly an interesting way to think about her character that I hadn't considered before.
I think I'm going to incorporate some of these ideas into my headcanons.
This brings my hatred towards Pinkie and Dash to the highest degree
2122935 HAHA! So I'm guessing you like it?
2123437 Of course. Glad to see someone standing up for Gilda...
This is, like, really legit okay?
And I LOVE RD and Pinkie.
But yeah, this is one of the weaker episodes, since, even though Gilda was a jerk, they could have taken this as an opportunity to help show that just because people can act like jerks at time, they might not actually be jerks, and just having a rotten day. You could argue that they went for the simpler (and arguably more relevant to daily life theme) because it was a better lesson for children (even if you're friends with someone, that doesn't mean you should let them be a bully).
I'd like you to do this from Pinkie's POV, in order to flesh it out a little more or something. Just a thought though.
Of course Gilda's not a complete monster, just a jerk.
2216051'm actually trying to argue that she really isn't a jerk.
2216058 while your opinion is respected, I'd say that Gilda falls into the Villainous Jerk category.
I always kinda saw it like this. I mean Pinkie Pie was being kind of obnoxious, she could hang out with Dash any time. Gilda only did TWO questionable things and for that she was outcasted? Yeah.... Not the strongest episode, but can be looked at from different ways.
Interesting, but I will say I think when Rainbow Dash explained what a griffin was, it was less about explaining it to Pinkie and more of an example of As You Know.
What's a paladin?
Get out of here!
Just found this, and while you do have a few good points, the stuff about how being 'that high up' is dangerous for pinkies health is complete and total bullshit, as A: it was at most 3 stories high in the air for most of it, and B: ponies can go to cloudsale and canterlot and be completely and totally fine, just like humans, it only really dangerous at super high altitudes, where not even birds go, also, the fact that while pinpine CAN visit rainbow every day, it was still extremely rude for her to kick her out every time, especially without even asking rainbows opinion, and the incident with the candycopter could have left pinkie injured if pinkie wasn't pinkie.
As for for the party incident, the joy buzzer was most definitely pinkir, but that other stuff actually makes more sense for Rainbow dash to do it, as there isn't a malicious bone in pinkies body, and rainbow would easily see those pranks as harmless to gilda as she knows gilda is tough.
Now for the stealing incident, it's not
, (and no ponies DONT just eat apples, its only prevalent in the show because Applejacks an apple farmer) it's the exact equivalent of stealing an apple in the real world, not exactly horrible, but still a dick move, and no, griffins are not carnivores, they're omnivores with with a predelection towards meat.
In conclusion, was Pinkie blameless, no she was being rather annoying and bothersome, but is Gilda a victim? No way in hell(please note that I DO in fact like Gilda, I just believe she was kind of kind of a bitch in this episode)
I have a different take. Dash, being Element of Loyalty, is a patriot/nationalist. Hearing a member of another race go on a hate filled rant about her entire people was just too much for her and that's why she reacted so strongly.