Review: It Ain't Easy Being Breezies (My Little Pony, Season 4, Episode 16) [spoilers]
WELL. This episode sure was controversial!
[Review. Spoilers!]Yes.
THIS
WAS CONTROVERSIAL.
OH. MY. GOD.
Colorful candy colored magical ponies became colorful candy colored magical FAIRY ponies! I know, right?
I am filled with disgust. I mean, good Lord, look at those two in the middle! A pink and a rainbow fairy pony? Who does that?
I am going to be really blunt here. It looked to me as though a whole lotta guys suddenly realized they were watching a little girls' cartoon about magical pastel ponies--unicorns, yet--becoming fairies, looked down south, panicked, and had to reach down to see if the old billiards were still there. And then rushed into the kitchen to check. And then came hurrying out, laden with wrath and Doritos, to hit their keyboards. RAAAAGE!
To be fair, it wasn't ALL guys, and it wasn't ALL crazed, but a whole lot of it came from that direction.
I liked the episode. And it wasn't just because I mostly am easy to be pleased by episodes. In retrospect, there are episodes this season that I could take or leave, and I don't care much about other opinions of them, either. Rarity Takes Manehattan, for instance, didn't really grab me then, and doesn't grab me now. I didn't hate it; it just didn't really send me.
I thought the tone and the theme and the subject matter and the main character just all blended together really well. It was very gossamer and gauzy, and worked so well for a delicate yellow Pegasus who loves animals and embodies kindness. Fluttershy's lessons over a few seasons have been really complex ones about balancing compassion and assertiveness, which I'd pinpoint as very much a female-gendered issue. Be nice, and watch as everyone blows you off. She's just too nice. But be assertive, and wow, is she ever a bitch! It's all about balancing the interior and THEN having to manage the exterior, too. I know that in my heart, I don't feel as though I'm a very nice person. I do things because I'm afraid people will think I'm a bitch if I don't, and by the time I sort it all out, I don't really know how I feel anymore. And I think a lot of lady-type people feel the same way. (And MAN do I admire the ones who don't. MAN.) What a great lesson, learning when being "kind" isn't kind at all, and at the same time teaching the actual value of kindness. Dumbledore said it: it's a very underrated quality.
The Breezies (in case you didn't know, and I wouldn't have), are a revamp of something from a previous generation--Generation Three, I think? Anyway, like Pinkie Pie and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, they go back a generation and have been totally rethought. Not only are they super physically delicate, but they also have their own magical world that has a portal which is only open for a very short time. Huh--we've seen that before, come to think of it. So yay, we got a whole new kind of magical pony-like creature. Cries of "they brought it back to sell Breezie toys!" leave me unmoved. This is where we came in.
Anyway, the opening, with Fluttershy teaching everyone to cheer *softer,* and the by play with Sea Breeze, who scolds like a Scots elder but turns out to have a really good reason for doing so, and Fluttershy's genuine sadness at letting them go, and a glimpse at the Breezie homeland and a Breezie foal, ZOMG--those were all really good.
"But, but, but! How did Twilight Sparkle just turn them into Breezies like that? This was never explicitly explained! How could they get all the way across Equestria? Why was her "key" a flower? Flowers go bad! It doesn't make sense! HOW HOW HOW?
Here's how:
Dudes, it is a MAGICAL FLOWER. Please. You have two magical pony princesses who are over a thousand years old running the whole country.
Some legit headscratchers:
1. I wasn't too crazy about Spike being the one to disrupt the Breezie migration and then to have to apologize. It's not bad here, per se, it's just that Spike blowing it and apologizing and then disappearing happens a little too often. Still, something had to happen or someone had to do something, and they picked Spike. It's not as though the others couldn't have been the ones to blow it. Pinkie could hardly hold it together because of the sheer cuteness mass, and Rarity was a weeny bit bright and shiny.
2. The whole "pollen will go bad" thing. They could have left that out. It was more trouble than it was really worth and raised more questions than it answered. I suspect they were trying to sidestep some stuff. The Breezie migration looks a lot like a butterfly migration (and of course Fluttershy is very connected with those visually.) Most migrations of that kind are so that animals can get to their mating and breeding grounds, like salmon or eels, and a lot of them die along the way or die as soon as they get there. "They can't stop because the pollen will go bad" sounds a whole lot nicer than "if they stop swimming, they die."
But those were pretty minor, balanced against a whole lot of pretty and a story that choked me up.
One issue that keeps coming up is that when you point out, "this is a cartoon for little girls," the come back is inevitably, "you must have standards! That is no excuse! It is" (to use one guy's favorite phrase) "objectively bad!" This guy also insists that EVERYONE who watches the show is a Brony. "Objectively." Including little kids. It's so frustrating. Finally, I got tired of it, so I'm rescuing this from EQD, for myself if nobody else.
I try sooooo hard not to copypasta, but I'm going to do it here. This might contain spoilers for the episode, too.
I[It's FOR KIDS. Geez.]
t is for kids. There was nothing wrong with the story. From what I can tell, the whining--and it is whining, though not necessarily from you personally--has to do with the appearance of cute little fairy characters and Twilight's use of magic. And inaccurate physics, for heavens' sake! It IS for little kids, especially little girls. This is not about "therefore it does not have to be good." This is about "this is an element of the GENRE."
Instead of asking "what do I, personally, want? what genre do I want? I want it to be adventure/science fiction aimed at my demographic, and it failed to be what I want," the question needs to be "what type of story is it? what elements is that kind of story supposed to have? Given those criteria, does the story do it well?" Therefore--were the characters in character? Was the storyline believable? Was the pacing good? Did we get new elements to the world of Equestria? Was it attractively designed *for its type*? Did it do what it was supposed to do as part of the main story arc? Was there some sort of emotional heft to the story? The only thing I can fault it on, perhaps, is pacing--there might have been a little too much time in Fluttershy's cottage, but I think that was intentional.
It was a fairy story. Characters being transformed into fairies and traveling to fairyland goes with the territory.
I do think you sometimes mis-hear "this is a show for little girls," as "I am not applying any critical standards." The two are not necessarily connected. What I'm suggesting is that with critical standards, one size does not fit all.
AND
Coming from the guy who insists that even the little girls who watch the show are "bronies," I'm not surprised.
It wasn't an "excuse" or a copout. I was saying that I liked it. I say "genre," by which I mean "fairy story," as in Hans Christian Andersen and James Barrie. You mishear this --and I think wilfully mishear this-- as "audience," and you are the one who is collapsing "little girls" into "low quality." I am not. I teach children's literature, for heaven's sake.
This episode is no more wrong or bizarre than "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and you fail to understand this because you are so wedded to the idea that the show is for you, personally, and that little girls are ride-alongs. This is sad, as there are no rules that say adults can't respond with wonder and delight to something primarily intended for children. I'm inclined to think the world is a better place when they do. I do not expect you to change your opinion, however. In fact, I entirely expect you to respond to what I said in slightly different words.
And then I felt better, except for the part where I don't feel better at all, because I am sick and do not want to suffer fools gladly right now. In fact, I want to laugh at their grief and lamentations, which is why I rubbed my tiny hands in glee when Equestria Girls 3 was announced earlier today.
And that's about it from me!
[Review. Spoilers!]Yes.
THIS
WAS CONTROVERSIAL.
OH. MY. GOD.
Colorful candy colored magical ponies became colorful candy colored magical FAIRY ponies! I know, right?
I am filled with disgust. I mean, good Lord, look at those two in the middle! A pink and a rainbow fairy pony? Who does that?
I am going to be really blunt here. It looked to me as though a whole lotta guys suddenly realized they were watching a little girls' cartoon about magical pastel ponies--unicorns, yet--becoming fairies, looked down south, panicked, and had to reach down to see if the old billiards were still there. And then rushed into the kitchen to check. And then came hurrying out, laden with wrath and Doritos, to hit their keyboards. RAAAAGE!
To be fair, it wasn't ALL guys, and it wasn't ALL crazed, but a whole lot of it came from that direction.
I liked the episode. And it wasn't just because I mostly am easy to be pleased by episodes. In retrospect, there are episodes this season that I could take or leave, and I don't care much about other opinions of them, either. Rarity Takes Manehattan, for instance, didn't really grab me then, and doesn't grab me now. I didn't hate it; it just didn't really send me.
I thought the tone and the theme and the subject matter and the main character just all blended together really well. It was very gossamer and gauzy, and worked so well for a delicate yellow Pegasus who loves animals and embodies kindness. Fluttershy's lessons over a few seasons have been really complex ones about balancing compassion and assertiveness, which I'd pinpoint as very much a female-gendered issue. Be nice, and watch as everyone blows you off. She's just too nice. But be assertive, and wow, is she ever a bitch! It's all about balancing the interior and THEN having to manage the exterior, too. I know that in my heart, I don't feel as though I'm a very nice person. I do things because I'm afraid people will think I'm a bitch if I don't, and by the time I sort it all out, I don't really know how I feel anymore. And I think a lot of lady-type people feel the same way. (And MAN do I admire the ones who don't. MAN.) What a great lesson, learning when being "kind" isn't kind at all, and at the same time teaching the actual value of kindness. Dumbledore said it: it's a very underrated quality.
The Breezies (in case you didn't know, and I wouldn't have), are a revamp of something from a previous generation--Generation Three, I think? Anyway, like Pinkie Pie and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, they go back a generation and have been totally rethought. Not only are they super physically delicate, but they also have their own magical world that has a portal which is only open for a very short time. Huh--we've seen that before, come to think of it. So yay, we got a whole new kind of magical pony-like creature. Cries of "they brought it back to sell Breezie toys!" leave me unmoved. This is where we came in.
Anyway, the opening, with Fluttershy teaching everyone to cheer *softer,* and the by play with Sea Breeze, who scolds like a Scots elder but turns out to have a really good reason for doing so, and Fluttershy's genuine sadness at letting them go, and a glimpse at the Breezie homeland and a Breezie foal, ZOMG--those were all really good.
"But, but, but! How did Twilight Sparkle just turn them into Breezies like that? This was never explicitly explained! How could they get all the way across Equestria? Why was her "key" a flower? Flowers go bad! It doesn't make sense! HOW HOW HOW?
Here's how:
Click to viewDudes, it is a MAGICAL FLOWER. Please. You have two magical pony princesses who are over a thousand years old running the whole country.
Some legit headscratchers:
1. I wasn't too crazy about Spike being the one to disrupt the Breezie migration and then to have to apologize. It's not bad here, per se, it's just that Spike blowing it and apologizing and then disappearing happens a little too often. Still, something had to happen or someone had to do something, and they picked Spike. It's not as though the others couldn't have been the ones to blow it. Pinkie could hardly hold it together because of the sheer cuteness mass, and Rarity was a weeny bit bright and shiny.
2. The whole "pollen will go bad" thing. They could have left that out. It was more trouble than it was really worth and raised more questions than it answered. I suspect they were trying to sidestep some stuff. The Breezie migration looks a lot like a butterfly migration (and of course Fluttershy is very connected with those visually.) Most migrations of that kind are so that animals can get to their mating and breeding grounds, like salmon or eels, and a lot of them die along the way or die as soon as they get there. "They can't stop because the pollen will go bad" sounds a whole lot nicer than "if they stop swimming, they die."
But those were pretty minor, balanced against a whole lot of pretty and a story that choked me up.
One issue that keeps coming up is that when you point out, "this is a cartoon for little girls," the come back is inevitably, "you must have standards! That is no excuse! It is" (to use one guy's favorite phrase) "objectively bad!" This guy also insists that EVERYONE who watches the show is a Brony. "Objectively." Including little kids. It's so frustrating. Finally, I got tired of it, so I'm rescuing this from EQD, for myself if nobody else.
I try sooooo hard not to copypasta, but I'm going to do it here. This might contain spoilers for the episode, too.
I[It's FOR KIDS. Geez.]
t is for kids. There was nothing wrong with the story. From what I can tell, the whining--and it is whining, though not necessarily from you personally--has to do with the appearance of cute little fairy characters and Twilight's use of magic. And inaccurate physics, for heavens' sake! It IS for little kids, especially little girls. This is not about "therefore it does not have to be good." This is about "this is an element of the GENRE."
Instead of asking "what do I, personally, want? what genre do I want? I want it to be adventure/science fiction aimed at my demographic, and it failed to be what I want," the question needs to be "what type of story is it? what elements is that kind of story supposed to have? Given those criteria, does the story do it well?" Therefore--were the characters in character? Was the storyline believable? Was the pacing good? Did we get new elements to the world of Equestria? Was it attractively designed *for its type*? Did it do what it was supposed to do as part of the main story arc? Was there some sort of emotional heft to the story? The only thing I can fault it on, perhaps, is pacing--there might have been a little too much time in Fluttershy's cottage, but I think that was intentional.
It was a fairy story. Characters being transformed into fairies and traveling to fairyland goes with the territory.
I do think you sometimes mis-hear "this is a show for little girls," as "I am not applying any critical standards." The two are not necessarily connected. What I'm suggesting is that with critical standards, one size does not fit all.
AND
Coming from the guy who insists that even the little girls who watch the show are "bronies," I'm not surprised.
It wasn't an "excuse" or a copout. I was saying that I liked it. I say "genre," by which I mean "fairy story," as in Hans Christian Andersen and James Barrie. You mishear this --and I think wilfully mishear this-- as "audience," and you are the one who is collapsing "little girls" into "low quality." I am not. I teach children's literature, for heaven's sake.
This episode is no more wrong or bizarre than "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and you fail to understand this because you are so wedded to the idea that the show is for you, personally, and that little girls are ride-alongs. This is sad, as there are no rules that say adults can't respond with wonder and delight to something primarily intended for children. I'm inclined to think the world is a better place when they do. I do not expect you to change your opinion, however. In fact, I entirely expect you to respond to what I said in slightly different words.
And then I felt better, except for the part where I don't feel better at all, because I am sick and do not want to suffer fools gladly right now. In fact, I want to laugh at their grief and lamentations, which is why I rubbed my tiny hands in glee when Equestria Girls 3 was announced earlier today.
And that's about it from me!