Episode Re-Review: Hurricane Fluttershy · 4:06pm Mar 7th, 2021
After several episodes of Season 2 had been less than stellar, capped off by "Dragon Quest" and the ultimate insult to anyone who cared about Spike's character, Season 2 desperately needed something good. A Fluttershy focused episode was on tap and Cindy Morrow was in the writer's seat for it. Given her previous track record it was anyone's guess if she'd be good or bad. So, did Cindy Morrow keep the faith alive or just continue Season 2's skid? Well, let's find out.
We begin with Rainbow Dash dropping flyers and calling a town meeting for all Ponyville pegasi at the library, even saying "Be cool or be mule" before leading into the "No offense. None taken." joke with an actual mule just like in "Applebuck Season". Anyway, that night, all the pegasi have gathered except for Fluttershy. But Rainbow Dash finds her posing as a tree (not sure how exactly she knew).
Then we get an old timey educational film for exposition about "tornado power", complete with a narrator that sounds like it's from the classic The Powerpuff Girls (the narrator is apparently voiced by Trevor Devall). Rainbow explains that Ponyville has been chosen to lift water to Cloudsdale for the upcoming spring season. But she doesn't just want to lift water, she wants to set a new record and tasks every pegasus with building up their wing power for the event. This is also where the character of Bulk Biceps made him debut (though at the time he was officially called Snowflake, and some fans nicknamed him Roid Rage owing to his huge body and tiny wings).
At a track, Twilight brings in an anemometer to measure every pegasus' wing power and Rainbow opts for a demonstration. Then she notices that Fluttershy is absent and decides to find out why. Fluttershy claims to be sick with the pony pox (which would later be renamed the horsey hives, but either way it's apparently the pony equivalent of chicken pox), but of course they're just painted on and wash right off with water. Then Fluttershy claims she's twisted her wing, but Rainbow Dash exposes this ruse too. Opting for a more gentle approach, however, Rainbow decides to ask her friend what's the problem. Fluttershy then reveals that she was constantly pressured and bullied back at flight school over the fact that she wasn't a strong flyer. We even see that one of the grown-ups present basically contributed to the problem and did nothing to stop it. Rainbow initially tells Fluttershy to "suck it up" before realizing that's not the best advice and tries to persuade Fluttershy to give it a try. Fluttershy reluctantly agrees and says she's game, much to Rainbow's delight.
It's during this time that we meet Thunderlane, who appears to be coughing (though he claims it's Blossomforth and when Thunderlane leaves we see Blossomforth start coughing, which could either imply Thunderlane was telling the truth or he's spread his illness to her). Rainbow insists Thunderlane is just making it up to have an excuse to stay in bed on tornado day and makes Thunderlane perform. Soon it's Fluttershy's turn and she quickly tries to get up to speed. But the cloud twins (Cloudchaser and Flitter) start mocking her behind her back, and Fluttershy starts getting flashbacks to the bullying she endured at flight school. She barely even registers on the anemometer and appears to suffer an anxiety attack as she imagines eyes closing in all around her. This is apparently a reference to Courage The Cowardly Dog.
Fluttershy goes off into the woods to sulk to herself, and all her animal friends gather around to cheer her up. Their little pep talk is enough to convince Fluttershy to toughen up and face her demons. Angel Bunny even agrees to be something of a personal coach for her. And then we're treated to a montage of Fluttershy slowly but surely building up her confidence.
We get a brief actress illusion to one of Tara Strong's best roles (Bubbles) when she asks "Do I look like I speak squirrel?" before a new and improved Fluttershy shows up to take her turn. She does improve, but she still isn't able to get above 2.3 and is quite disappointed, convinced she still hasn't overcome her fears. When Rainbow attempts to cheer her up, Fluttershy counters with a proposal that cuts right to the heart, asking Rainbow how she'd feel if she was the weak link in the chain. So it seems Rainbow will minus Fluttershy's contribution for the big day. However, come tornado day, as Spitfire shows up to watch and judge the display, it turns out that Thunderlane is missing. Rainbow questions Thunderlane's younger brother, Rumble, and it's hard to believe he sounds so young here but in a few seasons pony puberty is gonna hit him hard.
It turns out Thunderlane got the feather flu and had to go to the hospital, and he spread it to quite a few other pegasi as well. It's gotten so bad that they may not have enough wing power to even lift water to Cloudsdale. Rainbow insists on trying anyway and they get pretty close, but around 750 wingpower the pegasi fall apart and the tornado disperses. For whatever reason, Spitfire doesn't think to step in despite knowing that the team could use assistance. I understand she may not initially want to take part since that's not the role assigned to her, but you'd think there would be an exception for an emergency like this. Also, contrary to what some believed at the time, Ashligeh Ball does not voice Spitfire here. It's Kelly Metzeger still using the voice she used from Season 1.
Twilight insists that Rainbow call it off because the pegasi are already exhausted and someone might get hurt, but Rainbow insists on trying again anyway. Fluttershy then shows up and learns about what's gone wrong. She initially isn't willing to help, convinced that her wing power won't make a difference. But upon a mention that the pegasi seem to be stuck at about 750 wingpower, Fluttershy is convinced to strap on some goggles and take off. She starts flying, yet again getting flashbacks to her flight school days. But this time she pushes past them and breaks through her limits, inspiring other pegasi to do the same. It's enough to break the 800 wing power barrier and get the water funneled up to Cloudsdale.
When Spitfire expresses her amazement at Rainbow's dedication, Rainbow rightfully gives credit where credit is due and praises Fluttershy. And all the pegasi start cheering for Fluttershy, a triumphant change of the chant she was once taunted with. Fluttershy then mentally narrates the friendship lesson about how you may feel like what you have is too little to make a difference, but if you never give up you'll be impressed by what you can accomplish.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Really, I can't find anything to complain about on a major level. Spitfire not helping is the only thing that comes close and it doesn't detract from the episode that much. This episode really did wonders for Fluttershy's character, having her overcome the other half of her biggest flaw in her own insecurity and low self-esteem. And it also allowed Rainbow Dash to show off a softer side of herself, showing that she can understand the meaning of empathy even if she wants to motivate someone to do their best. Heck, this probably shows the most realistically what bullying can do a person. They always says words can never hurt you, but they're wrong. Words can and very often do hurt, albeit in ways that don't always show. But I also like how this episode unintentionally has a second moral about how sometimes, even if you try your best, you won't necessarily improve dramatically. You can do your best and still come up short, and that's okay. It's always good to do better than you did before. Plus, it shows that sometimes you can be your own worst critic, and that only you have the power to take that first step towards improvement. This episode easily gets an A+, not since "Secret of My Excess" was there an episode where the good outshone anything bad (even "The Last Roundup" had its good stuff overshadowed by Derpgate and the ensuing controversy).
But just as Season 2 seems to be getting back on track we've got another controversial and polarizing episode on our hands with "Ponyville Confidential".
This is definitely one of the best season 2 episodes.
Yeah, I feel like this episode could've easily done with Rainbow Dash what Dragonshy and/or May The Best Pet Win did by making her come off as an unsympathetic drill sergeant the whole time, forcing Fluttershy against her will to take part in the event just so we'd feel more sorry for the latter.