It's pretty much episode time again! Tomorrow, our episode is gonna be "A Flurry of Emotions", by Sammie Crowley & Whitney Wetta, who I have never heard of before. I think they write for the Loud House and The Fairly OddParents, but I've never watched either of those, so I don't really know what their writing is like.

The title makes it pretty obvious what this is gonna be about, tho'.

I wonder if being the hero of the Crystal Empire means having to change diapers? Trying to change Flurry Heart's diapers seems like it'd be pretty heroic to me, anyways. I do have to wonder where the "emotion" part of the title comes in, though.

As usual, this is the official thread for the episode, so discussion and spoilers for it for the next week should happen in this thread, and others will be locked or deleted.

Also, you can discuss the episode in the episode discussion channel of the TWG Discord server if you want, too!

--Sweetie Belle

5917059

this is the official thread for both episodes,

Copy-paste error?

Completely blind speculation on the title: Flurry Heart's mother is the Princess of Love. Do we have a baby empath on our hooves? That would be fun.

5917062

Yeah, I copied the bottom two paragraphs to make things easier, and must've forgotten to fix one of 'em.

Flurry being an empath would be pretty interesting, or if she starts randomly zapping passersby and making 'em fall in love...

--Sweetie Belle

5917067

if she starts randomly zapping passersby and making 'em fall in love...

If that's what happens, we'd better hunker down for the crack-ship apocalypse.

I just wanna say that artwork is fantastic!

5917059 The Dark Lord Fury Heart returns. Clearly she wants revenge after her plan to destroy crystal empire has been foiled.

Ok so Loud House writters? That might be a good sign since that could mean they are good at juggling large cast of characters. Only one way to find out.

5917059 Satan Flurry Heart is returning? Awesome.

5917089
I did think that one was pretty good.

Link

5917081
Yeah, that'd be a lot of fun.

5917090
I hope so! New writers could always be pretty good or pretty bad. We'll see which one it is.

--Sweetie Belle

5917059 The episode we all knew would eventually happen is finally happening This should be interesting.

5917059 Hopefully they manage to make Flurry Heart interesting to watch for once.

5917169 I don't think there's anything more interesting than watching a baby Alicorn obliterating everything in her way

5917212 I'm being serious here.

5917214 And I'm not

Well, Cadance and Shining look like they've been through Tartaurus. And just think how low on sleep they must be to think traveling cross-country just to find a baby sitter for a few hours was a sensible idea.

Edit: After that showing, I'm starting to think they haven't slept since the last time we saw them.

We finally have Grogar! It may just be a children's story… or it may be foreshadowing. After all, Nightmare Moon was just a legend.
Wild speculation, activate! He gains power from fear, which sounds like something that could put him in direct opposition to… Flurry Heart? Is the baby going to have a nemesis by the end of the season?

Final thoughts: I think this was a pretty great Spike episode, even though he wasn't technically the focus.

I also noticed Lyra and Bon Bon standing together in the toy store scene. Why would they be in the children's toy mart? Unless… [Insert wild conclusion jumping about Lyra and Bon Bon having a foal here]

5917271 Or they could just be getting a gift for the sick foals like Twilight was doing. Or perhaps one of Lyra or Bon Bon's younger cousins/siblings was coming over for a visit?

5917059
I would have preferred a love-child episode of The One Where Pinkie Pie knows, Baby Cakes, and Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3, whereinby Pinkie is tasked with baby-sitting Flurry Heart instead of Twilight, and teaches the foal the magic of old skool hip-hop.

Much like the aired episode, the only incentive for this hypothetical episode existing would be for the sake of using a pun-based title, in this case, MC Flurry. But I live for pun-based titles, so that's a good enough reason for me.

"The weakness of children's limbs is innocent, not their souls." — St Augustine

Friendship is Magic first impressions review: A Flurry of Emotions (s07e03)
Obake

(SPOILERS!)

The very idea of this episode is fraught with horror: Baby Cakes + Flurry Heart. For those who do not know, I consider Baby Cakes one of the worst episodes of season 2. While I have never hated Flurry, I have never been a fan. Her debut was dull, and no episode since established anything for her besides being an “adow'able” prop. That is why I'm genuinely surprised by how enjoyable A Flurry of Emotions is. It manages to avoid typical babysitting story pitfalls with its own brand of gumption.

That does not always work in its favor, but more on that later. Twilight's promised a day of fun and reading to sick children at the hospital. All she and Spike have to do is buy supplies. Neither expect a visit from Shining Armor and Cadence, who come asking if Twilight could babysit Flurry for a day. Despite already having a full schedule, Twilight agrees. The episode plays the idea that she is super enamored with spending time with her niece. Fair enough, but putting off promises on the fly is uncharacteristically poor decision making on her part, especially as she eventually brings Flurry with her to the hospital. Having an infant in the same room as children affected with potentially contagious hives is a terrible idea, even if said infant has super powers. The visit ends in disaster, with Flurry using her magic to levitate the sick children and hospital staff, causing a scene. Twilight learns she needs to be more careful with her responsibilities.

Unlike Baby Cakes, A Flurry of Emotions has a few things going for it. It is not just the protagonist trying (and failing) to take care of an infant at home. There are several locations: grocery store, hospital, school, etc. While Flurry inevitably creates trouble in each one, the different props and characters keep it varied. It helps, too, that there is a b-story about Shining and Cadence visiting a friend's art gallery. It is nothing great, but it has amusing bits, and it breaks up the monotony of the main story.

Flurry has her OP powers back, despite them having been removed at the end of The Crystalling. While I cannot say I enjoyed her antics here, I was never too bothered, at least until the hospital scene. The interactions between the adults are where the episode shines: Twilight talking to Cherilee about books, the storekeeper's blasé reading of “Things are organized by color”, and Cadence and Shining's small talk with Spearhead. Speaking of which, Spearhead is interesting. He is rather laid back and cool for an artist, instead of a typical snoot. I can see him rubbing people the wrong way, but for me he does not outstay his welcome, and even brings a few smiles (like his painting, “A Thousand Nights in a Hallway”, just a canvas painted black.)

A Flurry of Emotions is not without faults or low points. But despite its problems, it manages to be entertaining, and that is saying a lot for a babysitting episode.

Also, after nearly 150 episodes, we finally have an Earth Pony complaining about doing something with their mouth. Go Cheerilee!

5917325
But… but I like my headcanon…

5917578 You know it would never work. Bon Bon already has to take of Lyra and two kids is too much for her alone.

I'm most surprised about how they managed to make all the modern art hate-jokes pay off in a genuinely sincere moment that felt good.

5917768 There was something very telling about 1000 Nights in a Hallway. So we know this guy has been a Royal Guard for about 3 years (counting training and nights when he was in the kitchen instead). He was probably the one to blame every time Luna and Celestia were taken out of commission. And now that he's been replaced Luna and Celestia will be around to take care of big threats to Equestria.