Edit: This episode is now going to air in the rest of the world!
Okay, I'm blaming Canada for this post.

For some reason, Canada seems to think it'd be a good idea to release two episodes a week in an effort to make sure they have a really long time between seasons, and it sounds like they are going to be releasing the next episode tomorrow. So, since we'll be getting a bunch of people watching it early, I figured I'd better put up the discussion thread early, too. I can always bump this thread when the episode is released everywhere else. Of course, odds are if you watch it early, it'll be bad quality, and possibly censored...

Anyways, it looks like "Fluttershy Leans In" is by GM Berrow, who did some books, and that one Pinkie Pie episode. The one where Pinkie Pie knows?

After predicting the last episode far better than I honestly expected, I'm probably due to utterly miss one, and really, all I know about this one is that that Fluttershy's in it, so I'm feeling rather clueless on this one. She "leans in". Maybe she goes on a diet? It could be she's been finding herself sprouting fangs and eating too many apples again or something.

Then again, I'm not totally sure of the meaning of "leans in", so I feel like I'm missing something. Maybe this is more like "How Fluttershy Got Her Groove Back". They keep bringing back side characters and giving them more time, so maybe Fluttershy's having some sort of personal crisis, and gets past it with Tree Hugger's help. Being Fluttershy's friend should mean she shows up in more than one episode, right?

Anyways, let's keep spoilers for this episode here. I'll probably reuse this thread again next Saturday, unless there's a good reason not to.

And you can discuss the episode on Discord too, in the usual channel if you want.

--Sweetie Belle

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Okay, I'm blaming Canada for this post.

Expecting the obligatory music clip to show up in about...ohhh, 10 minutes.

Still, a Fluttershy episode. Color me excited.

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I wouldn't be surprised. Sometimes you know something's going to pop up anyways, so you might as well cater to it. Of course, with DHX in Canada, there's a lot with mlp to blame them for anyways.

But yeah, a Fluttershy episode, and one I really don't know much about yet.

--Sweetie Belle

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After predicting the last episode far better than I honestly expected, I'm probably due to utterly miss one, …
…It could be she's been finding herself sprouting fangs and eating too many apples again or something.

I wanted another Flutterbat episode, and now you've gone and ruined it; how could you?

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Well, it's not like I'm gonna be disappointed if this episode turns out to all be about Fluttershy coping with being a vampire with Tree Hugger's help...

--Sweetie Belle

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But don't you see? You're right: You're due to get the next prediction totally wrong! Which means, since you predicted the return of Flutterbat, you've just guaranteed that it won't happen! You've doomed us all! Or, at least, all of the Flutterbat fans.

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If that was the case, I've only guaranteed that it'll only not happen in the next episode. There could still be more Fluttershy episodes after that.

And Flutterbat has returned once, so it could happen again.

--Sweetie Belle

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Oh, thank Luna! You've saved us!

What time does it start tomorrow?

Also, I'm wondering how this well go, but I hope it's a great episode!

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If you are in Canada watching Treehouse, 11:15 EST +/-15 minutes.

If you aren't in Canada, whenever somepony puts it up on youtube, until Hasbro takes it down (and I bet they'll be doing more of that with early episodes going around). you could always do a dailymotion search.

--Sweetie Belle

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I'm gonna be watching it through Here and they pretty much never get taken down. The guy who does these has friends who live in Canada who are going to try to get the episode for us to stream.

5927763 Ok first things first. I believe Kirito predicted this post.

Second doubt it will be a Flutter Bat but you might be right about Tree Huger. But alas I think you spent all your prophet powers yesterday.

It turns out that Fluttershy's house, despite depictions in previous episodes, is far too small for all of the animals that come to see her. So now she has a secondary property for the animals that can't live with her directly.

We're introduced to three ponies who don't understand that when you're hired for a job, you're supposed to do what you're told. It's like they've never actually worked before.

Most importantly, the giraffe. Is it semi-sapient like the other animals under Fluttershy's care, or is it fully sapient and just playing dumb? Crazy conspiracy time!

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Seems I was about 5 hours off. :/

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It wasn't Fluttershy's house that was a problem. Turns out there's Fluttershy 2 in Ponyville, and she takes care of animals even better than Fluttershy 1 does. When Fluttershy 1 breaks Angel's Bunny leg, she brings him to Fluttershy 2 because she couldn't be bothered to help any animal anymore.

Since Fluttershy 1 is useless, Fluttershy 2 finds herself up to her neck in animals. It is then that Fluttershy 1 decides to shed all of her character traits and become a Boss, which isn't even her final form. She evolves further and employs master-slave tactics to have other ponies build her a Paradise in Equestria. They try their best but it's not good enough for Evolved Boss (former Fluttershy 1). She puts her hoof down and breaks all their efforts, then banishes them out of corrupted Paradise.

Fluttershy 1 in her Super-Sayan-7-Evolved-Boss form gets herself new slaves and brainwashes them to only see the world through her eyes. They build Paradise in Equestria and every animal lives happily ever after.

5927763 What bothered me most about this episode was the part with koalas eating out of a bowl. Koalas are well-documented to be not smart enough to do that. They don't recognize leaves as food unless it's on a branch in a tree.

Fluttershy has grown up a lot since Episode 1, but I think this premise would have been more interesting in an earlier season. She's fully capable of being assertive, and as we see here she's actually quite bold when she's in her element, so I felt there was never any real conflict in this episode.

5928572 Don't you remember Fluttershy 2? She was first seen in the episode from where you got your avatar.

Other than that yeah you nailed it.

5928603 She must have had a small role back then. It was probably because Fluttershy 1 was still Fluttershy in her original form.

5927763 What I learnt today is that your way is the only way and other opposing views are instananeously wrong because your way is the only possible good thing. jk it was fine

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Who's a good boy? It's you Bad Dragon!

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Well, you know, animals are smarter in Equestria. I'm pretty sure bunny's don't do parkour, either.

It's funny, the more I think about this episode, the more I'm reminded of "Putting Her Hoof Down", though it's sort of the reverse. They even both start off because of Angel.

So, who's paying for this animal sanctuary, anyways? Or is that why she went to Twilight, so that it's covered as Princess business by the Equestrian government?

--Sweetie Belle

5928613 And then she was never seen again (until tonight's episode).

5928617 I'm guessing Twilight can authorize building on public land, and most of the materials could have been collected from public land. CMC and Big Mac work for free.

5928617 Oh Fluttershy just used her magical fond she used to buy her own place and take care of all the animals. Same one Rarity uses to open Anti-nudist fronts across Equestria (No, I refuse to believe that making clothes for nudists is that profitable) and Dash uses for pranks and to pay for collateral damage she causes regularly.

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Same one Rarity uses to open Anti-nudist fronts across Equestria (No, I refuse to believe that making clothes for nudists is that profitable)

I don't understand this argument. It's like saying wedding shops can't be profitable, because people almost never wear wedding dresses. In fact, it's pretty much exactly that, except Rarity makes more than wedding dresses.

5928765 It is one to make a profit to live and another to have such big profit that you can buy and expand into bit metropolis and capital. All that from the profit gained by selling clothes in a small town where ponies almost never wear clothes.

So either Rarity generously charges sky high prices or Saphire is very generous with her payment.

5928572 Best way to handle a spoiler.

Anyways, this episode was really good! I'm glad to see Fluttershy grow in the series and hope to see more soon.

For the moment we're the goats that Big Will have smart like ponies or just animals?

5928613 I thought I knew her!

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All the way back in episode 3, when Rarity learns about the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, she says that she ‘designs dresses for the Gala every year’. Clearly, her client base is larger than you seem to think it is.

And yes, it is possible to charge rich ponies large sums for fancy dresses without going against the principle of generosity. As you said, ponies go around nude most of the time; clothing is a luxury good. It is perfectly possible to make money selling luxury goods.

It is one to make a profit to live and another to have such big profit that you can buy and expand into bit metropolis and capital.

Now that objection is just silly. She can make a profit, but she can't expand her business? Why in Equestria not? How does that make sense?

Why are you so Tartaurus-bent on Rarity's business model being unworkable, anyway? Seems like a strange thing to insist on.

5929352 I meant big enough profit. Anyway I am not insisting it was just an observation, which was wrong. No need to get angry.

Okay, it's now time for this post to be the official episode thread for the rest of the world for this week!

Canada's early episode things makes my head hurt...

--Sweetie Belle

Did anyone else think that the voice timing was off? In the beginning of the episode it felt like there was a noticeable amount of dead space between lines.

This episode brought up how much Fluttershy's "assertiveness" grates on me. She was a doormat in the beginning and not-doormat Fluttershy is superior to doormat Fluttershy, but the way they've been handing it is "Fluttershy is shouting now, so we're showing she's assertive" when in reality, an even-hoofed "I wanted x, you've done y, which is the opposite of x, so ypon reviewing your work, I have decided to seek other help. Thank you for your time." without all the yelling would have been more than enough. She's either yelling or craning her neck with her eyes closed like she's in mother-lecture mode. It doesn't feel natural at all, let alone necessary.

Also such unprofessionalism. The episode should have ended with The Harsh stopping by to give them a talking to.

Also also, why are there sloths, giraffes, koalas, and such seeking medical help for colds in Equestria's deciduous forest environment? Do Equestrian biomes not work anymore?

Finally, after two episodes, we get to see Applejack again, even if it's just a supporting role.

Dreadnought

5927763 I have.... mixed feelings about the moral. Yes, everyone's an expert in their own area, and it's important to listen to the experts. But at the same time, even the experts don't always have all the answers, and more often than not you have to kind of settle a bit when you dream, because dreams seldom match reality. It's fine to dream, but you have to know when your dream may be out of reach in its current state. It doesn't really help that Fluttershy didn't have much beyond a vision. That's a fine starting point, but that's usually not when you start hiring, you wait until you know for sure what you're going to do before you do that.

Friendship is Magic first impressions review: Fluttershy Leans In (s07e05)
Obake

(SPOILERS!)

I'm conflicted on how I feel about this episode. On the one hand, it has good character building for Fluttershy, and a few funny scenes. On the other, it is unsure of its message, and is rather slow at points. Overall, it aims high, but does not reach above average.

After Angel Bunny injures his paw in a parkour accident (yes, really), Fluttershy takes him to the local vet, only to find the place swamped. Animals have taken over. The lone veterinarian, Dr. Fauna, is tired and overworked. Fluttershy promises to find a solution. Her idea: build an animal sanctuary.

The Mane 6 are on board, and even refer three friends who can help: Hardhat, a construction pony, Dandy Brandeur, a fashion designer, and Wrangler (what else), an animal wrangler. Fluttershy is sure her dreams will come true. She tells the referrals her plans, how she wants the sanctuary (which is in a small, wooded area) to be all natural, with no walls or buildings. None of her plans are heeded, and construction is started on a rather gaudy building. Rather than shy away, Fluttershy gives them a piece of her mind, calling all construction off. Unwilling to take defeat, she decides to lead the project herself. Her and her friends irrigate the land, plant flowers, build a hammock and tire swing, and put nests into trees, creating a paradise for animals to recover after visiting the vet.

There's a lot to like about this episode, yet a few notable oddities/inconsistencies. For example, Fluttershy tells Hardhat not to build any unnatural structures, yet says she wants a gate. Also, why Fluttershy wants a décor designer to help build an all natural sanctuary is never explained. These may be construed as Fluttershy not having a clear vision, which ties in with her eventually learning that in order to achieve her goals, she has to work on them herself. What cannot be answered is why the episode forgets that Fluttershy's cottage has been used as an animal sanctuary since season one. I don't object to her building an outdoorsy sanctuary, but the episode fails to show one of her most prominent roles, while still mentioning how great her talent as a caregiver* is!

Fluttershy takes no guff in this episode, showing frustration and not holding back her feelings, yet reverting to her soft side once everything is said and done. She realizes her dreams through hard work and standing up for her ideas, something she rarely did in previous seasons. It's just too bad the episode around it isn't that strong.

*I know she takes care of Angel, but he's her pet, so it is expected.

This episode really confuses me. I thought Fluttershy already had some kind of animal sanctuary, but I guess she doesn't?

The entire episode was a train wreck of immense proportions.

Both parties were clearly at fault here, and none of them apologised, or learnt their lesson. Fluttershy had no clear plan. She wanted her sanctuary to be open, and natural, but employed a construction worker who makes buildings, an interior designer and someone who cages wild animals for a living. Fluttershy told the three what she didn't want, but left what she did want vague beyond all belief. She didn't give them a clear remit.

Take for example, Dandy Grandeur's insistence on selecting fabric for curtains. Fluttershy made it clear she didn't want curtains, but we only found out after he presented samples to her. So, here's the thing. What did Fluttershy tell him to select fabric for? At the end of the episode, we saw cushions and hammocks. Did those use the fabrics he selected? We see no evidence of that, and from the way the episode goes, it's suggested someone else selected the fabric for those items. So he didn't select fabric for any of the soft furnishings that did end up in the completed sanctuary.

Hard Hat should have known better than to become the lead architect. You don't make presumptions in the construction industry. If an architect's drawings are unclear, you request more information. There's even an acronym for it: RFI, Request for Information. Fluttershy's vision was so unclear, he should have been submitting RFIs like it was going out of fashion. He should not have done anything without a construction plan.

And Wrangler? My goodness. She shouldn't hve been there at all. The moment she heard what Fluttershy wanted, she should have just walked away.

I understand that Fluttershy didn't know what she was doing, but there was no excuse from Hard Hat and Dandy. And Hard Hat must have been in the industry long enough to know that Fluttershy needed to employ a landscape designer. That's the first pony she should have hired: someone to draw up plans of landscape features, what plants go where, and what, if any, buildings go where.

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They keep bringing back side characters and giving them more time

You totally (partially) called this one, by the way.

I can hardly believe on how bad Fluttershy had been depicted in this episode.
The autors turned her from shy to passive aggressive.
She hired three professionals to do a job. Gave them very vague hints about what she wanted, disinterested about what they were doing until half of the work was done, then returned, saw that their work did not conform to her view, and fired all three of them, even stating to have clearly explained them what she wanted.
Then her friends lined up with her, stating that the professionals (that they recommended to Fluttershy first to disappear, probably thinking to have better things to do than building her sanctuary) had been terrible, helped Fluttershy to build the sanctuary like she wanted and, with her supervising all the work, incredible to say, it turned out like she had imagined.
Yes, the three professionals had not been very professional. But, in a certain way, they were justified. Everyone in their position, sooner or later, have had to deal with some client that couldn't explain what she wanted cause he didn't really know what she wanted, and yet the work had to be done anyway. They could have tought Fluttershy was one of those customers. And they were probably, at least partially, right.
Fluttershy is far less justified.
There could have been a ton of good lessons to learn in an episode like this. "If you wants something to be done your way, you have to be clear about what you want, and maybe control the phases of the work". "If you really want to help your friend, you can do better than offer an advice and the number of someone else".
What came out instead was: "Yay! Fluttershy finally grew up! She learned to be so assertive!"
Yeah. She (and her friends with her) had finally learned to blame the others for her faults.
Yay!

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Upon reflection, I'm not sure the consultants brought in to help were bad, I think it's a common mistake seen in projects:

Having worked on several engineering projects and serving in the military, I can say there's a lot of truth in the above image.

Dreadnought