I found AFR a bit lackluster, but I don't think that Applejack's personality is the reason. The problem I saw was that no-one really reacted to her very strongly. They basically tried to build an entire episode around "Applejack mildly annoys her family" when they needed to up the reactions and have the rest of the Apple Clan actively rebel against AJ's plan rather than basically going "Eh, this is kinda boring, but whatever". The fact that they basically go along with her plans despite finding them boring doesn't really make for an exciting episode.

As for best and worst Fluttershy episodes, I think "Hurricane Fluttershy" and "Green Isn't Your Color" are the best. The "worst" (comparatively) is probably "Stare Master", which is still a decent episode.

edited 18th Jan '13 12:40:07 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Stare master gave us "Scootaloo is a chicken" (even if you hate the meme, the joke was still one of the funniest and most memorable in the entire show), Twilight Sparkle turned to stone. Dragonshy, on the other hand, didn't really do much for me.

edited 18th Jan '13 12:48:26 PM by CDRW

I thought that too, I'm just inclined to fault AJ more strongly.

Fluttershy episodes in general are great due to how much I relate to her. My favourite is Hurricane Fluttershy which had me in tears and re-evaluating my life. My least favourite is A Bird in the Hoof, which is still pretty fun.

Stare Master was good, but I don't think it quite edges out Dragonshy. The latter did a bit more to establish Fluttershy's relationships with the rest of the cast.

'Hurricane Fluttershy' was almost forgettable, at least from my point of view. Interesting to see a Hard Work Hardly Works message from a kids' show, even one as mature as FiM, but that was about it.

Stare Master suffers a bit from being partly a Crusaders episode where they're at their crusadingest. Those three are best when not obsessing over cutie marks.

Wait how am I posting I'm supposed to be dreaming

Oh well. Hurricane Fluttershy more showcased how much Dashie has grown since season one.

@Wryte: That's a nice-looking login screen you've got there. But not what they're going for, I think.

Frak.◊

@Red: Honestly, I liked the way they handled the training. It would have been far more unrealistic for Fluttershy to suddenly become a competent flier after a few days of practice. Let's face it, sometimes you can work really hard at something and still fail. The whole point of the episode was that just because you aren't very good at something doesn't mean that you can't still contribute. Not to mention that most of the issues were less due to Fluttershy's physical ability, and more due to her stage fright.

Although I admit that I mostly like the episode for how much it developed Rainbow Dash.

Also, I agree with what Crow said about Stare Master. The CMC are rather one-note in that episode. Granted it still works better than it does in some of their other episodes, but still...

edited 18th Jan '13 1:08:03 PM by JapaneseTeeth

But she's just annoying for 90% of the episode. Stare Master is much better. Even the Fi W version of Dragonshy wasn't that great.

Her physical ability was still pretty bad, though, considering that even after removing her mental blocks and pushing herself to her limits, she still only managed to squeeze out about 5.0 wingpower.

Which is still about five times greater than her initial attempt, which is still a marked improvement. It's like a non-athlete attempting to get their mile run time from 15:00 down to 8:00 over the course of a week. It's probably not gonna happen. But the same time, getting your time down from 15:00 to 11:00 is still an improvement.

Hrricane Fluttershy is an episode which has a lot of personal meaning for me. The thing is, when I was younger, I got to the point that I believed thatI had no redeemable qualities, was of literally no benefit to ... anyone and was at best a drain of resources, at worst a malevolent force. Either way, that I was actively detrimental to the world. It has taken a lot for me to ... not so much overcome that, but to at least gain some sense of hope that can be overcome. I was Fluttershy in that episode. Usually I'm similar to Fluttershy, but there I was her. And the demonstration thtat even those who's apparent contribution seems insignificant are still important really helped me. A lot.

EDIT: If Fluttershy had reached anything close to what the others managed after her training, it would have taken away a lot of the meaning the episode had for me. I know what it's like to work very hard and still feel utterly incompetant.

edited 18th Jan '13 1:24:13 PM by Sereg

Wait, wasn't she still suffering from mental blockage the second time she came around?

Return of Harmony 2 proves she can get some significant raw power (in extreme cases).

No, her training before the second run was specifically to help increase her wing power and simultaneously overcome her fear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMXwjSeeiyY "Build A Sentry"

@Kuroi: It's worth noting that the only times Fluttershy is ever portrayed as a competent flier are when her friends are in immediate danger.

Although she is not always a competent flier when her friends are in immediate danger and that would help.

Also notable is the fact that Discorded RD is pretty lazy, so she obviously wouldn't be giving anywhere near her all during that chase.

Teeth: Thus why I said extreme cases.

Lurker: Fair point.

Dragon: Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, that training only worked partway. Sure she could overcome masks, but when the real deal came around, she still couldn't fully put herself out there.

I think Kuroi's recollection is correct. I also recall Fluttershy's initial training was not successful in helping overcome her anxieties. It was only during the second attempt that she was able overcome her insecurities. Of course I may be misremembering the episode.

Funny. I found the message in Sonic Rainboom worked better for me. Even when I share a lot of things with Flutter Rainbow fears struck me harder. It must be because I was never bullied in school so Flutterhsy memories simply didn´t work for me.

"I thought I'd gotten over my nerves, but they still got the best of me. There's no way I'll fly with 10.0 wing power tomorrow."