Rating:
Dragonshy is the first episode since
the pilot to feature the mane six together on an adventure, and unsurprisingly is the best one since then. This is also the
first time an episode focuses on Fluttershy, which is alternately interesting and
tiresome. Even though the rest of the
mane six are along for the journey, we get a pretty complete picture of
Fluttershy’s character here. She takes
care of a number of other animals around Ponyville, has a tough time getting
other people’s attention, is afraid of a whole host of things (not always
irrationally), and has a line you’d better not cross before she gets angry. Seeing her constantly being afraid of
something throughout the episode is a bit arduous, but also probably
accurate. The long hike up a mountain is
just more time to stay afraid and not deal with the fear.
Fluttershy’s pet bunny Angel is
obviously ironically named, since he’s always a pain and extremely
ungrateful. The attitude we see from him
here won’t improve as the series goes on.
Instead of pointing right away toward a cloud of smoke he sees coming
from a somewhat nearby mountain, Angel coughs suspiciously and then throws his
carrot at Fluttershy’s head once she finally sees it. Fluttershy races into town to warn everyone,
but is completely ignored. Fortunately,
Twilight Sparkle is on it since Princess Celestia just sent her a note about that very problem.
It turns out a massive fire-breathing
dragon is sleeping in a cave on that mountain and his snoring is causing
smoke to accumulate around Ponyville.
So, does the lord of all creation go herself or possibly send the royal
guard? Certainly not. She sends her annoying student and her
friends into a life-threatening situation armed with little more than
backpacks, scarves, and apples. The mane six are technically at least somewhat experienced at this point, since they took down Celestia’s
rogue sister with even less than that.
But a dragon is much bigger and stronger than Nightmare Moon, and the mane six
don’t really have any idea how they’re going to convince the dragon to sleep
somewhere else. Twilight’s big plan is
to drag Fluttershy along and hope her ability with animals ends up
accomplishing something. This plan also ignores that Fluttershy has an extreme fear of dragons.
Fortunately the trip up is much more
interesting than the dreaded “rock climbing” of MST3K fame, but Fluttershy tries everything she can
to ruin things. She doesn't want to
start climbing (or to fly up like Rainbow Dash), and has to be dragged around
the long way by Applejack. Then she
refuses to jump a small crack despite having wings to help, which prompts an
annoying yet delightfully out of place Pinkie Pie song. Shortly thereafter, Fluttershy causes an avalanche
when she screams after a leaf falls on her.
Upon finally arriving at the cave, Twilight announces that it’s up to
Fluttershy to work her magic, but she pussies out and slinks off to hide
behind a rock.
Left with no choice, the rest of the
mane six take turns trying to reason with the dragon, but they all fail despite
having different approaches. Rainbow
Dash’s more violent effort brings the dragon out of his cave, and a snort of smoke
knocks the five against a rock.
Fluttershy sees her friends dazed, and decides she can’t let that stand. Despite being only as tall as the dragon’s
eyeball, she verbally accosts the dragon (not with naughty words of course, but
still forceful and angered), and the convincing speech route works. The dragon is reduced to tears for being so
mean (not to mention “…he spoke”), and leaves the cave as instructed. All of the smoke quickly clears, and
Fluttershy is a hero. Now if only she
could get over her fear of leaves.
While it’s much more enjoyable to have
everyone working together in Dragonshy, the characterization is still a bit
raw. Just about all of the ponies seem a
bit over the top in their attitudes.
Fluttershy’s timidness was so much that we have to agree with Rainbow
Dash’s frustration. Rarity won’t leave
the house without a properly shaped camouflage hat, proudly displays the
scarves she brought along, and seems more interested in jewels than saving
Ponyville from the dragon (she also mentions “beauty sleep”, but it seemed to
be a warranted response). Pinkie Pie is
particularly crazy, making up the aforementioned song, doing dragon
impressions, and wearing the most ridiculous outfit she ever will on the show in an attempt to make the dragon laugh. He does not.
These moments aren't perfect, but they work
enough to not hinder the show too much.
Few of the early episodes are as fun to watch as Dragonshy, which
joyfully celebrates the characters on an absurd quest they never should have
been sent on in the first place.
Especially notable are the faux-military sequences after the mane six
receive their quest, which features a freeze frame of each of the five
non-Twilight ponies as they prepare for “battle” (Pinkie Pie has even more fun
with this, “I mean, grr!”). Immediately
after this, Twilight marches in front of her “troops”, which has become a
rather exploitable scene on YouTube to great effect (especially for the
Inglourious Ponies trailer, among others).
Twilight does try to stay serious (with the
life-or-death-100-years-of-smoke thing hanging over them), but the spirit of
these scenes more or less carries throughout the rest of the episode.
Except for Fluttershy, who keeps
announcing she has no desire to go on this foolhardy journey, and causes a
number of serious setbacks along the way (like the avalanche that puts all of
their lives at stake). She’s not very likable at times in this show, and it’s hard not to think “just jump over the freaking crack already!”when we know her wings mean there’s no chance she
could fall (especially since in later episodes she will be called “the greatest flyer ever to come out of Cloudsdale”, and Dash will state she is the “number
one flyer” in front of all the other Pegasi).
But this constant fear is actually well depicted, as I know myself how
much easier it is to stay at home instead of doing something potentially
dangerous. Fluttershy is unable to
express her desires and fears, and she drags down the mood of everyone else. It’s not that she’s trying to, but that she
absolutely cannot stand doing what they are, and has no ability to fake
it. As impossible as it may seem,
Fluttershy is often a very accurate portrayal of an introvert, and it’s true just about any time an episode is focused on her. Fluttershy’s behavior may seem just as silly
as any of the other mane six members, but it was absolutely correct to have her react the way she
does.
Of course, this means her surprising
outburst at the end must surely be out of character. Although one may wonder why Fluttershy doesn't always have the confidence she suddenly musters in front of the dragon,
this is a side of her that is consistently portrayed throughout the
series. There is a certain amount of
crap she absolutely will not take, and y’all better watch out when she finally
stands up for herself. Fluttershy’s
passion when defending her friends in this scene is an unequaled emotional
moment up to this point in the series, which makes it completely justified
despite its unlikelihood. This is something
that probably isn't typical of most introverts, although being one doesn't mean
you don’t get angry. Frankly, it makes
Fluttershy feel like a more well-rounded character, unlike say Gilda or Trixie. She wouldn't be nearly as interesting if she
was just a quiet doormat.
Once again, the cliché bug hits
a member of the writing staff (now "head" writer Meghan McCarthy gives us such gems as “I’ll take that as a yes”, “where there’s smoke
there’s fire”, and “if I play my cards right”), and there are little spotty moments
that prevent a higher rating (mostly with the characterization, although the
ending is kind of silly). But there are
just as many nice touches (a number of already mentioned scenes, just
about anything Pinkie Pie does (including the callback of trying to catch up to
an angry Rainbow Dash), “almost all of us”, the quiet stepping before the avalanche,
Pinkie Pie liking Rarity’s pink scarf, “best of 71”) that show a real
thoughtfulness to the writing, and which make Dragonshy a highlight of the
first half of the season. While it’s
disappointing that not everything came together, and that the mane six were on
a quest they never should have been on in the first place, the spirit of
Dragonshy represents why the show is popular.
It shows six friends (mostly) having a good time, avoids the “journey is
the destination” trope by making them both important, and offers excellent
character development for Fluttershy even if sometimes in painful fashion. Outside of the preponderance of clichés,
there’s little more I can ask for.
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