YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S4 E14 "Filli Vanilli"

• Accidental Innuendo:
  • It only lasts for a few frames, but during the performance at the school Big Mac can be seen staring and sweating^note More likely due to the fact he's having trouble keeping up with Fluttershy's ad libbing at Fluttershy while she's shaking her butt.
  • While this isn't the first time a mare has been pinned on her back in the show under another pony, the shot of Pinkie Pie over a sobbing Fluttershy could easily be interpreted very badly if viewed out of context.
• Base-Breaking Character: Zippoorwhill is either the most adorable filly, or a level of annoying similar to Navi.
• Broken Base:
  • Pinkie's insensitivity towards Fluttershy. It's either funny and over the top, or it's an extremely unfunny part of the episode that sours the whole experience. Pinkie's behavior has been a point of discussion about whether it's in character, completely out of character, inconsistent with past Pinkie characterization — eg: "Griffon the Brush Off" shows a Pinkie much more sympathetic to Fluttershy's fragile nature — or even the fact that Fluttershy effectively does the same to Rainbow Dash in "Sonic Rainboom". Another group argues that regardless of whether or not it's in character, it was still wrong because not only did it indirectly cause all the conflict in the episode, her behavior was never properly addressed in it; such as by having Pinkie realize she crossed a line and make a genuine apology, or by having others call her on her actions in a meaningful way.
  • "Find The Music In You" is either an amazing work of quartet singing, or the same sort of lazy writing.
• Canon Fodder: The Ponytones' back story - both individually and as an ensemble - is well worth exploring.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Zippoorwhill is fairly adorable.
  • Torch Song and Toe-Tapper are sure to get their share of fans.
• Fanfic Fuel:
  • Ponies willingly using Poison Joke for certain effects; could it have the potential to become addictive?
  • Only one Ponytones song was presented in this episode. Expect the fandom to quickly give them an extensive songbook.
  • Who else in Ponyville do we know that's shy about singing on stage... and is rumored to be so good that it might earn her a cutie mark?
  • The fact that Pinkie Pie's outright horrid treatment of Fluttershy — and to a lesser extent, Big Mac when he loses his voice, thus starting off the episode's conflict — was never properly handled.
• Fan Nickname: "Pegasus Dad" was given the name "Nightjar" (the family of birds that includes whippoorwills) by Reddit users.
• Mis-blamed: Fans were very quick to jump on writer Amy Keating Rogers's twitter and mail to start threatening her due to the Pinkie scenes in this episode. Eventually she revealed on Twitter that Pinkie's scenes were added by request to her original script, and many people had to approve it before airing, not just her.
• Overshadowed by Controversy:
  • It's not easy to discuss this episode, which won Andrea Libman an award for best voice acting, without bringing up the debate over Pinkie Pie's Characterization.
  • Similarly, it’s almost hard not to talk about the episode without discussing the harassment writer Amy Keating Rogers got from some fans.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: Fluttershy's showboating during the Ponytones' performances at the elementary school and Sugar Cube Corner sounds a lot like the gospel hymn "Deep Down in My Heart". Her improvised lyrics even include the phrase "deep down in your heart."
• The Woobie: Fluttershy's Stage Fright makes her look very sympathetic in this episode. Anyone in Real Life who has Stage Fright could relate.

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