Visiden Whines It: Viva Las Pegasus · 1:21am Sep 19th, 2016
Applejack and Saint Fluttershy combo? Because clearly the last time these two played off each other was such a wonderful episode, wasn't it? Fuck off, Saint Fluttershy.
I like the fact that Applejack holds grudges, and she holds them hard. Even to the point that she's glad that Flim and Flam are falling apart and she shows no inclination towards helping them. It rounds her out as a character, especially in comparison to Saint Fluttershy.
I like the pony DDR going on in the background.
The villain is pretending to be friendly and popular while setting everypony against each other? Sounds like Sunset Shimmer in the first EG. So FiM is starting to rip itself off.
Of course, Saint Fluttershy's talk to animals ability is the key to getting to the heart of the issue, while Applejack talking to the ponies themselves yielded jack shit.
I always wondered what happened to the human Sunset Shimmer, but I never expected to see her as a cross-dressing Elvis impersonator.
AJ had plenty of reason to hold a grudge too, since the last time she and the FF Bros. crossed paths, they talked her into keeping quiet about their scheme and Granny Smith almost got herself killed.
Geez, bitter much? You might have missed it, but Fluttershy's ability to talk to animals wouldn't have mattered at all if not for AJ sniffing around for any other friendship problem to solve that wasn't Flim and Flam. Fluttershy was getting nowhere talking to Flim and Flam.
The problem with talking to the ponies was, of course, that they were being conned, and had nothing bad to say about their conman. The pets were able to see both sides because they were literally watching as both cons happened.
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I didn't miss the fact that AJ's grudge actually helped getting a better perspective.
Talking to ponies should not have yielded nothing. There would have been inconsistencies in their tales, things that the other supposedly said but didn't actually say. This could have been used as a way for Applejack to sniff out half-truths and whole lies instead of making the ponies complete idiots while their pets have all the sense.
I am bitter about Saint Fluttershy. Fuck "Bats!".
4216426 Oh, well bats was just a badly written piece of shit. You may as well be bitter about any episode written by Merriweather. Take your pick, she basically fucked characterization every time.
Fluttershy is far from being a saint. She's kind to a fault, but she holds a lot of anger just barely at bay. I'm pretty sure she's always just on the edge of snapping.
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Oh, but I have. I picked "Bats!", a horrible episode that shits on Applejack to make Fluttershy look good, as if Saint Fluttershy isn't already venerated in the fandom while Applejack isn't even the most popular background pony.
Kindness to a fault is a fluff flaw, the sort people would put in their favorite character's list of flaws just to deflect accusations of being a Sue. It goes with other "flaws" like "works too hard", "thinks too much of others", "too humble", and "holds herself to too high standards". Saint Fluttershy's shyness, awkwardness, and excessive kindness, is presented as cute and endearing. It makes people want to protect her, as is the standard tactic of moe blobs. Compare it to a flaw that is treated in a truly negative light like Rainbow being a braggart or Applejack's stubborness.
I acknowledge that it can be done well in a story, but I have yet to see FiM succeed in that regard.
I followed you for your "Tries It" review of Fallout Equestria and Project Horizons... but you seem really fucking salty for some reason.
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First of all, it's one story; Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons. You make it sound like I reviewed the original and PH.
Why am I salty? Because I dislike things? That not allowed anymore?
4216901 See and now you're getting snippy. I thought you had (for some reason).
It's just 99% of the time it's all like popular opinion shit, and you don't seem to want to listen to anything that contradicts your concepts.
Despite my reputation, when it comes to pony I'm pretty live and let live. I like every episode and don't have a least favorite character, and especially don't read someone else's thoughts and adopt them.
4216901 I mean, not liking stuff is fine, just don't stretch for a reason if you don't want to be called out on your bullshit.
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I'm getting snippy. Yes, because I respond to comments and choose to argue or point things out. You're the one coming out of nowhere calling me salty.
I do listen when others present their concepts and interpretations. Listening doesn't mean agreeing. I think Fluttershy is being presented like a saint, Steel Resolve disagrees. The fact that I respond to his response with arguments does not mean that I refuse to take his position into account.
As for thinking that popular opinion is shit. I know what I like and dislike regardless of popularity. I don't hate things BECAUSE they're popular, but I don't owe the fandom anything so that I have to like what it likes.
You may have noticed that I keep all my griping here, in my personal blog. I don't even go to those discussion threads knighty puts up whenever a new episode shows up to tell everyone how good or shitty the episode was. I certainly don't go to other people's blogs to call them salty because they have an opinion I don't like. Apparently, that's not living and letting live enough for you.
How am I stretching? Go on then, attack my reasoning instead of going after me.
4216699 Well, if we're looking for faults, let's list them off.
1. She's a coward.
When presented with confrontation of any type, she either cowers or avoids it at all costs. This is especially bad because we'd seen she's capable of body-slamming a bear. That's not even getting into shaming a dragon and a cockatrice into submission, she's apparently more than capable of physically defending herself and chooses not to time and again.
2. She's incredibly manipulative.
When she wants to, she's been shown to be capable of twisting words and using reverse psychology to get what she wants. I don't even know if she does it on purpose, but she does so with this innocent facade combined with a tone of voice that just screams smugness. The girl has the god of chaos on a fairly short leash.
3. She's a doormat.
When she doesn't actively want something, and is instead being asked to do something, she has very little backbone available. There are very very rare instances in which she can bring herself to say no to something.
That's the three worst ones I can think of. I honestly disagree with labeling her as simply moe. She's capable of more than that, but unfortunately, we need good writers to bring out her best, and we currently have newbies or d-list writers on staff. Our best hope is that the newbies really shine bright.
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Don't forget her rage issues. For a pacifistic coward, she sure is prone to angry, violent outbursts when somebody pushes the wrong buttons.
4217134 Yep, mentioned that earlier. Fluttershy has to suppress, or she apparently will just become a horrible bitch.
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These are all true. I especially wish that people would notice the emotional manipulation more often. Instead, the viewers seem to be just as easily manipulated by the cartoon horse.
However, I would still point out that they are all presented in a way to make her incredibly cute and thus moe or incredibly badass. Her cowardice invites a sense of protectiveness. When she curls into a ball and makes her cutesy whimpering sounds, ponies and bronies alike are compelled to comfort her and offer support. Show me a scene where she's more dirty coward than poor woobie, for example when something horrible happens and she leaves her friends on the lurch to save herself, and I'd be so much more appreciative of Fluttershy's cowardice.
That sounds incredibly badass. She can exert control on a god of chaos, a feat even Princess Celestia cannot accomplish. Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that she can make Tirek roll over and play dead, and I'm supposed to see this as a bad thing. If she got called out on this by, say, Discord, I'd appreciate it more.
As for her anger issues, yeah it sort of showed in the Iron Will episode, but it's still shown as more badass than problem.
4217829 Well of course they are. Villains get their flaws shown in a negative light, it's like displaying weak points as giant red indicator lights. Heroes get theirs shown in a positive light, as if the show is displaying them as areas of possible improvement. Our hero has flaws, our villain is flawed.
I'm super late to this party, but had to chime in after viewing the episode. When I heard the setting was gonna be based on las Vegas, I was pumped.
Honestly I was hoping for something akin to Ocean's 11. Or something involving high stakes gambling, but that was wishful thinking on my part.
Still I was happy to see Flim and Flam yucking it up. No shoe horned redemption arc for these glorious snake oil peddlers.
Overall it was rather by the numbers, but still enjoyable.