S4:E7 Review "Bats" · 5:00pm Jan 17th, 2014
I've fallen a bit behind in my episode reviews... and story updates... Rest assured I'm attempting to make inroads where possible. To that end, here's an episode review. It's not exactly what you'd call timely at this point, but I still figured some people would be curious as to my opinions. So without further ado, here's a review of Bats.
So, what did I think about Bats?
In my Power Ponies episode review, I talked about how nonpony races in the show are often depicted as inferior. I called it racist, but speciest is probably a better term. I was excited by the premise of this episode, since it seemed prepared to address the intolerance which has festered beneath the surface of this series since season one.
(For those wondering, I don't really think the creators of MLP are trying to promote racism. Some of the episodes just have unintentionally unfortunate undertones.)
I enjoyed seeing more of Applejack's love of apples. The fandom has a way of over-exaggerating certain traits, so it's always refreshing to see them reinforced in the show itself. I also found the reveal of the Giant Apple to be hilarious.
So what's the premise of the episode? Vampire fruitbats have invaded Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy defends the vampire fruitbats' right to exist, while Applejack is ready to eliminate them. We even get a song which pays musical tribute to The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Fluttershy is in the clear minority, since all her friends are prepared to commit vampire fruitbat genocide. This is exactly how Nazi Germany started!
"Hey Celestia, maybe Twilight isn't ready for more responsibility if she's going to be so easily swayed by an angry mob." It seems our newest alicorn princess still has a lot to learn about leadership.
Some of the song lyrics raised an eyebrow.
Sin? Apparently Equestira has sin.
"Conversations about sin are inherently religious in nature," Scott McConnell, Director of LifeWay Research, said. "Merriam-Webster tells us the use of the word 'sin' is religious or moral and often specifically refers to a 'transgression of the law of God.'
This feel appropriate, since partaking in "forbidden fruit" is synonymous with sinning against the Will of God.
This isn't the first overtly religious reference in the series. Remember Father Waddle? 
Makes you wonder what religious services are like in Equestria. Do they worship Celestia and Luna, or a higher authority?
The design of the vampire fruitbats was pretty extreme for this series. They have Nosferatu fangs and are decidedly a lot scarier than their nonvampire fruitbat brethren.
In spite of my constant whining for equality amongst species, is it bad that I want to side with Applejack on this issue? She’s sunk a ton of effort, time, and money on that farm. Letting the bats destroy her crops would annihilate her livelihood, and with Applebloom still a dependent, the situation could get ugly fast.
It doesn’t matter how cutely Flutters squeaks; Applejack has the right to stand her ground.
Fruit bat round up! Fruit bat round up!
The similarities between Applejack and Bruce Wayne continue to grow. I'd love to see a fanfic with Fruitbat Mare. Applejack dresses as a vampire fruitbat to frighten the superstitious criminal mind.
Also, in this episode Fluttershy says she only uses her stare in "dire circumstances." Dire circumstances? She didn't have any problems using it to keep chickens in line.
I loved Rarity's hazmat suit.
This may have been a possible reference to the Alien films.
In this episode, Twilight tampers with the balance of nature by altering the the vampire fruitbats. Remember when she tried to change the diet of the parasprites?
Which brings us to most memorable part of the episode: Flutterbat.
Vampires are often seen as creatures driven by their lustful instincts. 
One can only imagine the story possibilities for Fluttershy when she's a vampire, unfettered by qualms or conscience.
Since this episode aired, Fluttershy has seen a sharp increase in fanart...
...including Rule 34.
A Flutterbat plush sold on eBay for $1,100!
I also found a Venn diagram of vampires, bats and ponies on derpibooru
Between the Flutterhulk and Flutterbat, season four seems to have a strange recurring theme...
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. Based on the ending, I hope Fluttershy is still a partial vampire.
This episode was written by Meghan McCarthy.
Merriwether Williams?
In spite of what many people think, I don't have a total hatred for the writing of Merriwether Williams. I think how she's treated Spike is inexcusable, but I can acknowledge her skills in other areas. The Hearth's Warming Eve episode that she wrote is one of my favorites of the series.
Bats succeeded where Spike at Your Service failed. While Spike's personality flaws were egregiously exaggerated for comedic effect, Fluttershy's transformation at least made some sense within the context of the episode. Fluttershy turning into a vampire fruitbat pony may not have given us new insights into any of the characters, but at least it was entertaining without being offensive.
If anything, this episode reinforced the fact that most ponies look upon other species with contempt. Whether it's dragons or fruitbats, Merriwether Williams likes to include conflict between ponies and other species in her episodes. We also saw that Twilight learned nothing from the last time she tampered with nature by altering the parasprites.
While not as good as Hearth's Warming Eve, Bats is still one of the better Merriwether Williams episodes.
Rarity Takes Manehattan review coming soon!
Duuuude...
That Black/White/Red gif...
Where did you find that one?
~Skeeter The Lurker
Flutterbat was okay, but the song was the lowest point of the season at this point, and the lowest point among songs as well.
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copy.com/4T0SzndnAERKawiv/540.gif
The gif was made by stoic/5
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Sweet! Thanks chief!
And nice review! Looking forward to the next one.
~Skeeter The Lurker
That part with the bat on Rarity's visor reminded me more of the autopsy scene in Independence Day, but maybe that's just me.
Oh good. No one else ever compared the hazmat scene with Aliens. I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who made that connection.
Also, to be fair, at least this time the unforeseen side effect of Twilight tampering with the natural order was much less disastrous. Imagine if the vampire fruit bats' appetite was inverted and they wanted to suck the juice out of all non-fruit objects.
Also also, it's fascinating to note that Fluttershy's cutie mark was transformed into a trio of pink bats. There could be deeper ramifications there.
Also*3, no mention of Twilight's visual aid spell? (Which she clearly cribbed from Trixie's flashback screen.)
Glad to see you're still doing the reviews, which is actually the only reason I'm following you on here, since I'm not actually a fan of clop personally. Enjoyable as always dude, keep it up!
The challenge is NOT hearing this in Basil Fawlty's voice!
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I'm glad someone pointed out the reference!
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