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Cuddlepug — MLP FiM: S4 E7 - Bats! Review
Published: 2013-12-28 23:41:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 6270; Favourites: 45; Downloads: 133
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Review of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 4, Episode 7: "Bats!"Final score: C +
Previous review (Season 4, Episode 6):
Next review (Season 4, Episode 8):
These episodes are all rated in the context of the show - therefore, if I give an episode a score, it is in relation to how it compares to the standard set by the show itself and not external factors.
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Comments: 136
i personally feel like this deserves something higher, like maybe b-, or even a b, because it gave fluttershy and applejack great character, and the moral that shows everything isnt black and white was important and well expressed.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
On top of being a pretty whatever episode, I can't help but notice the creators kind purposely do things like this to Fluttershy, most likely because she's a fan fave and people often make comics about her being the complete opposite of her personality. Flutterbat, Flutterhulk, even in the earlier season where she got a humorously deep voice from the poison joke. While in the earlier episodes, they just enjoyed making her shy and timid, in season 4 they seem to have a big thing for pulling her out of her comfort zone. Whenever they do this I can't help but imagine the creators are thinking, "Oh yeah. Do that to Fluttershy! I bet the fans will love that! It could be a meme and everything!" (That sounds really dirty out of context)
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I REALLY didn't like how this episode treated AJ as the antagonist when she was in the right. Those bats had no right to be on that farm, and HELLO! Equestria to Fluttershy, those bats WOULD help the trees grow stronger faster IF there was fewer around. Get rid of most of them, they stole from their own kin.
"They're loyal to their families." Tell that to the one who stole from the other bat. Fluttershy had little issues to send the Parasprites away, but the vampire fruit bats? NO!
Did I forget to mention the not-funny ending with Fluttershy still having fangs?
C
The only reason it's not a D is because of how done this episode was otherwise.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This episode's conflict reminded me of James Cameron's Avatar. I know not everyone likes that movie, and I'm also aware that it is Dances with Wolves in space.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
You forgot about the fact that the Vampire fruit bats actually make the trees stronger in the long-term, which doesn't make them complete pests unlike parasprites for instance.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
But even so, Applejack would have to give up an orchard, and therefore lose revenue, for however long it takes for those trees to bare fruit... considering it's a cartoon, it may not be the several years it usually is, but even a few months to a year of lost revenue isn't good in the longterm for them... It was a gamble for her to go along with it even if it was a viable long term solution.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I thought the episode was pretty cool 
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
I first suspected Crooked Sailor was crooked when I said his name out loud.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Ya, I've liked all of season 4 so far
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I can't help but think Hasbro is politically correct about this topic. I agree with Applejack. To think if the bats weren't stopped, think about Ponyville's economy. Some bakeries depend on the Apple family to produce them. No apples, no business, loss of business, loss of jobs/homes (and the loss of the farm). Fluttershy should have thought about the Acres in the long run. Those bats should have left to a wild apple tree forest. (ANYWHERE BUT PONYVILLE!!!!)
Also, when Flutters said the seeds would be spread to make more trees? The ratio looks terrible. Destroying more of a crop than rebuilding it is more like it. Does anypony know how many years it takes for a tree to grow and produce fruit??? (to be honest, I don't, but I know it takes YEARS....)
Yeah, I think Hasbro's growing soft on our furry intruders.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with trees is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I know right. Nice explaining there!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
It was a fun ride right up to last few minutes that left me scratching my head.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with trees is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I honestly felt that this episode was a bit too...fanfiction-like for me, what with Fluttershy turning into a vampire and all. But that's more of a personal preference than anything. It's another episode that probably wouldn't have flown in the first few seasons along with 'Power Ponies'--which in itself isn't a bad thing, but besides that I took some greater issues with it.
The moral seemed a bit confused. At first the episode had me thinking it would be all about trying to find a solution for the bat problem, like the episode with the buffalos. You see the two extremes during the song; Applejack imagine the bats as monstrous and evil, while Fluttershy thinks that they're all cute and innocent. But then you see that the bats ARE actually monstrous and evil after the rest of the ponies side with Applejack. OK, so the moral must be about how Fluttershy has to learn about doing the right thing and learning that maybe she's going to far with trying to help out the bats, like with the parasprites.
And then she turns into a vampire; the rest of the episode is devoted to catching her, and the moral is now about how you can stand up for yourself against peer pressure if you want to. Now; this could work as a moral to the episode just fine--if the poor delivery didn't hold it back.
The main problem is the confusion involving Fluttershy's plan for a separate orchard. The vampire bats are not portrayed as being very nice. All of the ponies besides Fluttershy take one side, including Twilight, who has shown herself to be the group's voice of reason. The thing is, the audience is supposed to follow Twilight's example. Its not as though the writer's had completely forgotten this, because for the rest of the episode she resumes her leaderly role. So I assumed that the episode wanted us to see the plan as a bad thing, regardless of whether or not it would be realistically useful. But then at the end, Fluttershy's plan is put into motion to set up the flimsy moral. Suddenly, the characters view it as a good idea.
And all because Fluttershy turned into a vampire. Egh.
Fluttershy's interactions with Applejack were spot-on and very enjoyable, though. The song I felt was very well-done and showcases Fluttershy and Applejack's debate perfectly. I was thinking that they could have devoted more time to their dilemma than Flutterbat, but quickly realized that they said everything they could have possibly wanted to say in that song. Although on it's own it's not the best MLP song out there, it could possibly be the show's best example of weaving music with story. The more I think about it, the more I start to appreciate it.
I honestly didn't have a problem with Fluttershy's preachy nature because it works with her character. She always wants to give people the benefit of the doubt, and we've seen before that she can go too far with this--once again, like with the parasprites. And I don't feel as though this is setting a bad example for kids, either, because we see Applejack's point of view as reasonable and fairly justified--and in the end--even if it was poorly done--we discover that Fluttershy's is apparently equally so. Perhaps it'll even spark some lively debates as to which pony was truly in the right, which I am absolutely in support of.
The supposed cliffhanger at the end I'm almost positive was a slightly botched one-shot gag, and will remain that way. Putting dramatic music over zooming in on Fluttershy's fang...I can understand that giving off the impression that it would be a recurring plot point, but after thinking it over, the idea of Flutterbat just doesn't seem to me like an element they'll need to bring back.
But then again, who knows? This season is defiantly deviating from the older episodic formula already. Maybe they'll throw a few more surprises our way. This episode, however, just wasn't one of their better ones.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with trees is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmm...your sarcasm confuses me greatly. Hear me; o mustachioed pony writer! Is your biting wit meant to be read for simple comedy value? Or do you have underlying intents suggesting that, perhaps, one shouldn't leave a long and analytical comment about a show of fluorescent ponies?
Most probably a bit of both--yes, quite.
But if it purely the latter case, I say...good day to you sir! AH SAY GOOD DAY!
...or maybe your just goofing around on the internet and messing with people again. :b
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I Actually found the episode not as interesting as I was hoping. It was okay, but I didn't see anything wrong or really good about it. It's just... average. I'd give it the same grade
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with trees is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I saw the episode and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked how they handled the conflict between Fluttershy and Applejack. In which they presented that neither of them were wrong. Applejack just wanted to protect her orchard and I can relate to that. Even though the way she handled it was wrong.
And Fluttershy knew that the vampire bats were only feeding just to survive not to mention she brought a more smarter solution that was to relocate the bats in a specific sector made for them so they could feed without any troubles.
While I loved some of the comedy bits like Pinkie using her mane as a drill, pinkie's Dracula impression, Rarity wearing a hazmat suit and some subtle references to vampires sucking blood I liked more that they showed the Mane 6(Twilight included) making a mistake and learning from it. I really found it to be very mature and it's something that tv shows don't get to do.
And I know everyone and their grandma said this but I really like Flutterbat. Not only she managed to be really cute her gags really worked. But what I liked more is that it assumes that Fluttershy still has some of her vampiric powers. And I find that kind of interesting. does that mean that she might succumb to her vampire like desires?
Not to mention doesn't that mean that she's already corrupted? I mean we already have two of the bearers of the elements having some corruption. Fluttershy with her vampire like powers and Rarity with the whole Nightmare Rarity situation(It was an arc from the IDW comic book). I really hope that in the near future it addresses that because I think it has some really good potential to bring something thematic in this season.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with [vampire bats] is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I haven't seen the last three episodes... I haven't really felt a desire to anymore, even though I still come here to see your reviews on them, just to keep tabs. I'm actually surprised that Power Ponies got a 'B'. I was expecting... far less.
I want to hope that I might find again the charm I saw in it on the outset. I'm still not sure if it's simply because the charm that I enjoyed from the show is gone, or I'm simply 'growing up' so to speak, and losing interest on something that I am now finally seeing as very childish.
The whole of it seems though, that instead of the natural scenarios that friends run into that it started out with, the show seems to be depending more and more heavily upon out-of-the-blue wacky scenarios to push the characters forward, and then the characters start overreacting to everything or acting in... rather unorthodox, out-of-character manners and that just doesn't have the same charm to me.
I was hoping this would be one of the episodes that might more fully explore the friendship between Applejack and Fluttershy, but it seems that it was only a 'you say, I say' knee-jerk response to a situation that oversimplifies both characters' known archetypes.
A shame, to be sure.
I mean, surely the first season had them. Dragonshy threw a dragon into the pitch, but the Dragon wasn't the focus, it was merely the catalyst, and it was the friends' interactions throughout the episode that made it so great. In the end, Fluttershy didn't try to 'co-exist' with the dragon, but recognized that it needed to find somewhere else to sleep, and so she convinced it to do so. Somehow, these parasites elicit better treatment. Is it because they're smaller and cuter?
The same could be said of the 'StareMaster'. A cockatrice is certainly out-of-the-blue (and admittedly, considering that the Great Princess Twilight Sparkle was turned to stone- and would have sat there beyond the eons if Fluttershy hadn't found her- carries a number of unfortunate implications that certainly make the episode darker when you think about it) and fantastical, but the lesson there was, for the young ones, "Sometimes listening to adults is a good thing to do, because they better know the dangers of any given situation' and for the older ones, 'When people are depending on you, you can find hidden courage to overcome your fears'. And granted, Fluttershy stared down a Cockatrice... as it was turning her to stone! and that's pretty hardcore, but it was the lessons behind the action that brought it home.
This episode, judging from your review (again, admittedly, I haven't seen it yet) just seems to want to create a strange situation, then ramp it up to eleven just for shock value with some half-hashed 'lesson' thrown into the mix (and a rather controversial one at that. I don't recall many lessons in the first season being so... polarizing).
I mean, Fluttershy using her stare powers, and Twilight trying to fix things with magic... sure, that's all canonical and stuff, but turning Fluttershy into a demon bat pony seems a bit... over the top for me.
And it sounds like Applejack was just insufferable, though I would agree that she has every right to feel concerned. I live in an agricultural community. When a damaging species finds it's way anywhere near this place, a heavy quarantine is thrown down, and every action is taken to prevent the spread of the pest. This is a farmer's livelihood, and not something to be taken lightly, as it could damage all crops everywhere. We don't have Fluttershy's apparently ability to guarantee that the critters will 'remain' in a sectioned out little alcove just for them.
It all just seems... well, to use a term rather ironically for this show, too 'fantastical'.
Maybe I need to watch it, but I have no idea what's going on with the writers anymore.
More and more though I see evidence that 'what the bronies want to see' is creeping into the show. Personally... I heavily disagree with most bronies as to what 'I would want to see' within the show, and if I may go so far as to say, because many bronies seem to ignore what it was about the show that they fell in love with to begin with. Many bronies also seem to want to 'adulterize' the show, make it 'darker-and-edgier' or less... innocent.
Really, the innocence of the show was one of the things I so loved about it. It is rare to find something that just feels so... pure, and many bronies seem to dislike that (To name an example: I simply don't understand how people could find a 'crossover' of Fallout and Equestria appealing, as the one completely removes all the charm of the other).
But I digress. I recognize that this last bit of rant was a more personal opinion, and I'm not saying we're about to see a 'Gentlecolt's Club' show up in any episode in the near future. Then again, to be fair, they toyed with the 'Saloon' idea in Appleloosa, and I have to admit, I found that one hilarious. Which also puzzles me, because 'salt' was essentially equalized with 'alcohol' right there, but most of the fandom seems to prefer to believe that they all drink 'hard cider'.
*Sigh*
I digress again, but you get the point, even if I've gone off in a bit of a tangent. Sorry.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I thought this episode was fantastic
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with [Bioscience students] is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
you know when i was very little i actually did that once it tasted awful
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"when I was a wee child, I spent a lot of time climbing trees, until one day I took my love for trees too far..."
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I've lost all faith in the show.
Besides, the writers now like to diss poor FLuttershy
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What did they do to the poor lass?
"Cough cough...ahem...I...um...Mr. F. C. Pug, wish to say that no matter what that heathen [the writer(s)] does, you can always count on me to save the day --stay on, you darned moustache!-- ahem! Ah, mmmyess...good day to you, ma'am!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Please be serious. Plus, I'm not a ma'am.
It's like as if they now hired the writers of the new bad SpongeBob episodes
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I am deeply serious all of the time. I was caught with my pants down and you have every right to be angry. Quite honestly, I would be too.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Could you please respond to what I said that's actually important?
I said: "It's like as if they now hired the writers of the new bad SpongeBob episodes"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It might very well be - I'm not familiar with that show, so I couldn't possibly comment.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
How can you not be? It's one of the longest running animated shows in history, been around since 1999
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Because I'm a terrible person and should be in jail.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Please stop saying such over the top stuff
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I am a product of what you made.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I didn't like it at all. Well, except animation and song, yeah. And Pinkie Pie.
Morals, Fluttershy's "solution", everyone ganging up against her to show how sad and unfairly treated she is - all of it seemed forced
And it made AJ looks like a villain, or a fool
In real life, such things don't work like this. Sad as that, but once a new species enters an old ecological area (made by nature, or humans) it causes chaos. In wild life it is a part of the evolution. in artificial areas this always ends in a disaster
I guess the problem is that Fluttershy being of the most popular (and overrated) characters in the show, every episode with her eventually ends with the other side of conflict apologising and changing their "wrong" opinion
👍: 0 ⏩: 5
"What-what, how perceptive of you, sport! You raise a very good point -- you hear me, a very good point indeed! Why, when I lived at Trumpington Court --stay on, you accursed moustache!-- I found that the only proper way to deal with [retarded yellow hippie ponies] is to lick the bark until a fine sap has caked one's tongue!"
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I guess so XD
...Though I have no idea what you mean...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Here's a few problems I have with what you just said: 👍: 0 ⏩: 1
"everyone ganging up against her to show how sad and unfairly treated she is - all of it seemed forced"
Ganging up on someone? Doesn't that sound like Suited for Success? Was it forced then when all the ponies took advantage of Rarity? I need a distinction between the two episodes.
"And it made AJ looks like a villain, or a fool"
It actually doesn't... at all. Remember, she was told stories that the Apple family had very little food the last time the vampire fruit bats invaded the farm. So, AJ is not being an idiot, she is only looking out for what she thinks is best for her farm's survival.
"In real life, such things don't work like this."
This is Equestria and a cartoon. Not real life. Also, this is a simple criticism that holds no weight without more clarification. Fortunately, you do clarify yourself. So, there's no problem there.
"once a new species enters an old ecological area (made by nature, or humans) it causes chaos."
For someone who just said that things are more complicated than the episode portrays
"I guess the problem is that Fluttershy being of the most popular (and overrated) characters in the show"
1. No. Just no. Fluttershy is just as important of a character as anypony else in the Mane 6. I don't mind it when people say she's their least favorite, but she is not overrated. You wanna know who's overrated? Princess Luna. Because at least Fluttershy has done things like: tamed a manticore so they could make it passed him, protected Equestria from a dragon by intimidation, stared down a Cockatrice to protect the Cutie Mark Crusaders, underwent being a model just because she thought Rarity would be disappointed if she didn't, helped to heal the Devil-Bird Philomena (she failed, but that's because Philomena is a horrid creature), tried to befriend a group of animals in the Grand Galloping Gala, helped Rainbow Dash pick out a new pet, helped to improve Iron Will's assertiveness seminar (it seemed that he took her advice to heart), helped to calm Cerberus when he left his post at Tarturus, helped to bring water up to Cloudsdale by filling the gap in their wingpower, helped to fight against the Changelings, underwent a humiliating jousting tournament against Rainbow Dash just to lift the Crystal Ponies' spirits, gave Pinkie Pie a much needed butterfly massage in Too Many Pinkie Pies, helped to warn Twilight about Trixie and her Alicorn Amulet, reformed Discord, wished to protect a species of bat that could be beneficial to the ecosystem, and became a vampire pony. So, no, she isn't (and will never be) overrated.
2. How the hell does Fluttershy being overrated (which she's not) cause this episode to be called bad? The two concepts don't coincide. Are you saying that you don't like the episode, simply because you don't like Fluttershy? I hope that's not the case, because that would be petty on your part.
"every episode with her eventually ends with the other side of conflict apologising and changing their "wrong" opinion"
Here's a list of episodes with an substantial amount of Fluttershy in them:
Dragonshy
Stare Master
Green Isn't Your Colour
A Bird in the Hoof
Putting Your Hoof Down
Hurricane Fluttershy
Keep Calm and Flutter On
Please go through each of them and tell me when the other side of the conflict ever admitted Fluttershy was right. You did say 'every episode', so I expect you to give reasoning for each and every one of them. To help you out, I will list whether or not that happens in these episodes.
Dragonshy- Nopony believed that Fluttershy could be any help with the dragon, except for Twilight Sparkle. They underestimated her. Simple as that. They could've never had them admit that Fluttershy was right all along, because she completely agreed with their sentiments about her.
Stare Master- Rarity was the only pony who thought that Fluttershy couldn't handle the CMC, but that's because the CMC are a hoof-full, even for her. It has nothing to do with the fact that she thinks Fluttershy is less capable or anything.
Green Isn't Your Colour- Both Rarity and Fluttershy admitted that they were wrong to keep their secrets from each other, since it helped to solve their problems. Rarity did not admit that Fluttershy was in the right, because neither of them were in the right.
A Bird in the Hoof- Isn't this the episode where they basically tell us in the moral that Fluttershy was in the wrong for stealing Philomena in the first place? This is exact opposite of what you said happens in every Fluttershy episode. Fluttershy basically admitted that she was wrong.
Putting Your Hoof Down- This is the episode where Fluttershy has taken her assertiveness training way too far. At the end of the episode, she apologized to Rarity and Pinkie Pie for insulting them. Please tell me when Pinkie Pie and Rarity admitted that Fluttershy was right in this episode.
Hurricane Fluttershy- I don't think there was anyone that was in the 'wrong' here. The conflict comes from Fluttershy's inner turmoil, not from some outside force. Thus, there is no one there to admit that Fluttershy is right about anything.
Keep Calm and Flutter On- Yeah, this does happen in this episode. Agree with you there.
So, basically only Keep Calm and Flutter On has this happen in the episode (along with Stare Master, maybe).
Your move, Bjarru.
You have just wrote a frigging essay on defense of a cartoon horse XD
Which only proves how crazily oversensetive fandom is when it comes to miss Weepy Cardboard. You feel a need to defend her from a simple critique
Dont waste my time, plz
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes. Yes I did write something similar to an essay. I'm proud of that.
What critique? All you did was spout allegations with little to no actual evidence or logic. There's nothing wrong with defending a character from blatant character assassination. Or, if you prefer, defending a character from a 'simple critique', since it was pretty simple.
What does 'miss Weepy Cardboard' even supposed to mean? That she cries more often than other characters or something? May I remind you that every single member of the mane 6 has cried, especially Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, so why is this an allegation apparently only suitable for Fluttershy? And, by calling her cardboard, are you saying that she's somehow simpler than the other characters? If you actually took the time to read my essay above, you would see a list of all of Fluttershy's accomplishments throughout the series. And going back to her crying, since when does crying make someone less of a pony? It isn't a weakness of her character.
All of my points still stand. You failed to counter any of them. The ball is in your court now, Bjarru.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Oh my God, you are hilarious
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
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