Day Two Hundred and Fifty-six - MLP:FiM: Season 3, Episode 5, "Dear Fluttershy... You Complete Me!"

Busy, busy, busy, busy...

Busy, busy, busy...

Busy... busy!

Today was a mess of "Things That Needed Doing..." even more so than yesterday (which was hella-busy in its own right), what with work and advising and paperwork and writing my own fricken job description (which makes me really, really, really nervous). Still, I couldn't let it break the streak... so, while I was scrambling to try and relay to my superiors just what it is, exactly, that I do, I flipped on the Netflix App and queued up My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!

This particular episode marked the return of Trixie, the Great and Powerful Egomaniac from the first season, whom Twilight Sparkle sent into disgrace by defeating an Ursa Minor. It seems that she's thirsting for revenge and has enlisted the help of a cameo pony, the Oriental Mystic Pony named Uncle Wing (GREMLINS!), who sells Trixie a powerful amulet to augment her powers at the cost of her soul being corrupted.

It's a cute little Nemesis Redux episode with plenty of call backs to the original meeting and quite a few new gimmicks, like the shadow play that Twilight and the gang have to put forth to trick Trixie out of her Alicorn Amulet. It's especially fun when the smoke and mirrors corral all of the Apple Family, even Big Mac, to pull one over on the seasoned stage magician. It's actually rather ironic that, in her power mad state, she can't recognize basic illusions and sleight of hand.

I also love this episode due to the simple fact that it has Fluttershy acting her "bravest" while wearing a stealth ensemble courtesy of Rarity. Her sneak suit has to be one of the cutest things I've seen all year and, when combined with her basic moe factor, it's squee overload. So much so that I want to recreate her (and it) in mosaic or perlers.

As far as the weekly moral, it's a simple matter of teamwork, humility, and brains for Twily, et al., as per the norm with the show... so nothing new there. Though, even as cute as it was, it did seem a little out of character for Fluttershy to be THAT timid. She's always risen to the occasion before, and in more dire circumstances, so it felt a little hammy for her to overreact as much as she did during the second act.

While the episode is definitely one of my favorites, objectively it's not the best... especially when you consider how quickly Trixie is forgiven once she's defeated. Way too quick a turn around. Still, lots of great lines and bits for the Mane 6 and a few good ones for the side ponies. Plus, gender-swapped Applejack is hilarious.

Now... to get to work on a design for Sneak Suit FlutterShutter! Gah! The hnnnnnggghh!

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~