Deconstruction is Magic: A My Little Pony Retrospective (S1E22) · 2:08am Nov 15th, 2020
Grrrrrrrrrrrrreetings everypony, and welcome back to Deconstruction is Magic, my Retrospective/Review/Analysis of every episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is magic ever. Today, we have another odd episode about animal rescue. It's A Bird in the hoof!l! Without wasting any more time, let's get on with the analysis! I am the Mage of Mind, reminding you, as always, that even a cheeseburger can be deconstructed to its source.
The episode starts off with Fluttershy doing what she does best. No, not panicking, though she does plenty of that. Nor is it hiding from social situations. I am, of course, talking about her animal rescue business. There is a small level of anthropamorphism used to apply human-related treatments, such as wheelchairs and bandages, for the audience to connect to the animals in question. Anthropamorphism may be more commonly understood as making an animal character look humanoid, I.E: making them walk upright, giving them opposable thumbs, etc. But this principle applies to personalities as well. Applying human body language to animals makes it easier to convey emotions to the audience, often without direct dialogue.
Angel is a good example of this. Aside from his big eyes, he is more or less in line for what we'd expect from a rabbit, without going full-on Bugs Bunny. He conveys much of his wants and needs through body language, which Fluttershy translates. This gives us a nice Alice in Wonderland reference, while also showing how Angel can sometimes act in a way that Spike does for Twilight: helping her to remain grounded and not over-think a situation. Fluttershy demonstrates the concept of "cold feet", which is a form of apprehension or anxiety over a planned event. To attend a tea party for Celestia is a big deal for Fluttershy, so it's no wonder she puts off going!
(Tea Parties are SERIOUS business in Equestria!)
It's easy to see Fluttershy's knee-jerk reaction to Phillomena as being a little thoughtless, since she seems to try universal treatments without knowing the reason for the phoenix's feather loss. Typically, birds pluck out their feathers because of either stress, parasites or skin infections. Once it becomes a habitual behaviour, it can be difficult to stop. From a production standpoint, this could be justified to avoid graphic or upsetting imagery. However, I think that having some basis for understanding why a bird is featherless would've helped us to relate to Fluttershy better.
We see that she has helped birds before, and she seems intent on getting Phillomena to tell her what's wrong, or at least take medicine. But since Fluttershy is supposed to be an animal expert, it's odd that she would have no bird-specific knowledge that could be applied to Phillomena. It is explained that she took the phoenix out of concern for its wellbeing, while also being too shy to bring it up with Celestia. Given Celestia's position of royalty, even with her largely benevolent nature, it's understandable that questioning her ability to take care of a bird would draw some ire.
(How it feels to play a fire mage in World of Warcraft...)
Despite her impulsiveness, Fluttershy remains largely grounded about the situation. At least, until Twilight starts to panic, not helped by the constant stoicicism of the guards! Given all available information, it isn't that much of a stretch to see why Twilight would panic, and it does lead into the season's second Benny Hill chase sequence. As funny as it is, it does demonstrate how much padding the episode has. We get a ton of repetition of the same type of joke, with Phillomena's exaggerated illnesses baffling Fluttershy. It's part of what makes this episode such a mixed bag for me.
By the same token, the episode does an excellent job of presenting a nuanced topic for children, which is the show's greatest strength. It isn't a bad thing that Fluttershy felt she needed to help an injured animal. Her problem isn't her kindness, it's deciding not to tell Celestia about it. Celestia could have easily informed her that Phillomena is just a prankster, and her feather shedding is a natural part of the phoenix rebirth cycle. It's easy to jump into a situation, wanting to help, without knowing the background. So talking to an authority on the subject, be it a parent, guardian or animal welfare officer, will help to establish if there is any real danger. This way, we can all get the best of care for any given animal!
(Fooled yooooooou!)
Conclusion
This is another one of those episodes which tries to have its cake and eat it. They need Fluttershy to be impulsive, but empathetic, while also portraying Phillomena as a troll bird, without giving details on how Fluttershy's medicinal attempts are ineffective. Some of this likely comes from my own bias about animal management, but given this is Fluttershy we're talking about? I'd expect some display of expertise. Overall, I give A Bird in the Hoof a final score of 6.5/10.
What did you think of this episode? Was I too harsh? Feel free to let me know in the comments! Until next time, stay safe and take care all~.
