Top 25 Episodes of MLP: FiM Season 1 – #20 – Episode 17: The Stare Master
Summary
The episode opens with Sweetie Belle destroying Rarity’s boutique with a physically improbable chain reaction when she tries to help Rarity with her latest project.
*CUE OPENING*
After Rarity cleans up the mess, Fluttershy drops by to bring back Opalescence after her grooming. Rarity expresses her amazement at how well Fluttershy is able to handle the cat and inquires if Fluttershy had to use “The Stare” on her. Fluttershy responds that she didn’t and that she’s just really good with animals. Rarity can’t entertain Fluttershy anymore because of her order and claims she’s bitten off more than she can chew, to which she explains to Sweetie Belle is a figure of speech for “Taken on more than she can handle” (Haho! I predict the moral!)
Fluttershy is about to leave when the other two members of the Cutiemark Crusaders zoom in and together the three loudly announce their excitement over having a sleepover at Rarity’s. To celebrate such a grand occasion, Sweetie Belle made capes for each member of the Cutiemark Crusaders, which she lined with gold silk that Rarity was using for her commissioned outfits. Rarity isn’t very happy about this and informs the CMCs that because she’ll be too busy having to make more gold silk she can’t afford to have the three over for a slumber party. Fluttershy, ever the kindhearted individual, volunteers then to take the three back to her cottage for the night to get them all out of Rarity’s mane.
As the CMCs and Fluttershy head back to her cottage they run into Twilight, who’s on her way to Zecora’s to get some of her favourite tea. Fluttershy bids her a safe trip and then continues on with the CMCs. Once they arrive, the fillies, of course, start causing mayhem for Fluttershy. They run around, continuing to flap their gums about their Cutiemarks, they suggest trying to go into the Everfree Forest to try catching the creatures that lurk within, eventually breaking one of Fluttershy’s tables only to try putting it back together and instead make a modern art masterpiece.
Fluttershy eventually convinces the three to go to bed and tries to sing them a lullaby when they claim not to be tired. Fluttershy gets only a couple lines of the sweet, sort of soothing melody before Sweetie Belle pipes up that she knows this lullaby, and after Fluttershy invites her to sing it with her, Sweetie Belle bursts out into this gospel sounding, high energy song that sounds nothing like a lullaby and instead it wakes up all the chickens in the coup next to Fluttershy’s house. The CMCs race out of the house and start trying to round up the chickens that are now running around unattended. Fluttershy’s had just about enough of this and raises her voice to get both the Chickens and the CMCs to stop running around, and then she uses “The Stare” to get the chickens back in the coup before finally shooing the CMCs off to bed.
The trio don’t stay in bed for long before they decide to sneak out of the cottage and run headlong into the Everfree Forest when they notice one of the Chickens got loose again and thought it would enjoy a nice nightly stroll through the evil forest of evil. Fluttershy eventually wakes up and realizes what happens and follows the runaways’ tracks into the forest. The Cutiemark Crusaders are tossing some humorous banter between each other while they look for the Chicken, but Fluttershy meanwhile has found Twilight, who’s been turned to stone (because that won’t traumatize the target audience at all).
Fluttershy races off to find the girls before they meet the same fate and eventually catches up to them. She tries to explain that there’s a Cockatrice in the area (cue snickering from immature internet junkies) but the CMCs just shrug it off when Fluttershy describes it as a creature with the head of a Chicken and the body of a snake. They eventually find the missing Chicken and, because this is Everfree and we’re not allowed to walkthrough it without being attacked by some mythological monstrosity, the Cockatrice shows up too and demonstrates its power to turn other creatures to stone by staring into the eyes of the runaway chicken.
The trio panic and start running away before they trip over Twilight the Statue, and then they start to panic and scream some more even after Fluttershy catches up to them again. The Cockatrice also catches up and Fluttershy puts herself between it and the Cutiemark Crusaders, and then she proceeds to read the riot act to the Cockatrice, using “The Stare” to force it to change both Twilight and her Chicken back. This miraculously works on the Cockatrice (I mean who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits if Fluttershy threatened to tell their mother what they’ve been doing?) and it does what it’s told before it slithers off with its tail between its legs.
The CMCs are impressed by Fluttershy and start offering apologies to her and promise to listen to her from then on. The next morning, the CMCs, Fluttershy, and Twilight are all back at Fluttershy’s cottage, Fluttershy and Twilight discussing what happened last night while Twilight writes her letter to the princess, just before Rarity arrives to pick up the CMCs and inform the other two that she managed to get her commission done and delivered on time.
Artistic Design and Animation
The usual great animation all around, the cockatrice provided something new but even though it was designed like a traditional Cockatrice, it felt a little too simplistic. The only other stand out bit of animation I should mention is, honestly, the facial expressions, this episode was basically the 4 cutest characters of the main 10 being at their most adorable, and I’d be lying if the constant big eyed wonderment wasn’t a contributing factor to that.
Humor
You’re not going to find much in terms of comedy in this episode. There’s no Pinkie Pie to liven it up a bit, so we’re mostly left with Fluttershy and the CMCs to pick up the slack and, let’s be honest, Fluttershy is only funny when she’s being unreasonably afraid of every little thing or when she’s flipping her lid to the point of being a completely different pony. It is rather funny seeing her give the Cockatrice a stern talking to like she did to the Dragon in “Dragonshy” but it doesn’t really work so well here because this episode suffers from an “Everfree Third Act” so we get no build up to the confrontation between Fluttershy and whatever she’s staring down this week, ergo the payoff turns out much weaker.
Continuity and World Building
I wouldn’t say that “The Stare” comes completely out of nowhere, as we do see a hint of it in “Dragonshy” but it feels a lot like “Pinkie Sense”. It’s a fitting ability for the character to have, and it doesn’t change the character in any drastic way, but I just wish the writers would have thrown in a few nods to these powers before hand and afterwards so that they don’t seem to be just plot convenience.
The Cockatrice makes an interesting addition to the Equestrian Bestiary, but like the Hydra I didn’t find too much to like in its design and I wish it had been introduced in an episode that didn’t suffer from an “Everfree Third Act”
Moral
Much like with “Over a Barrel” and “Green isn’t your Colour” the moral, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” is good (and something I personally should probably take heed of), but it’s pushed down our throats over and over and over again.
Story Structure
I’ve said it before and I shall say it again, if you want to have a big climax in the forest with a monster, you have to build it up or it just becomes something that comes right the hell out of no where and is only there because the plot demanded it. Thankfully enough, this is the last time we have one of these “Everfree Third Acts.” I just felt that several times throughout season 1 the writers used Everfree as a copout to the end of the episode, or they just wanted to include a monster. If the latter was the case, what was stopping them from doing more episodes like “Dragonshy”?
Overall Feelings
This episode is cute. Sometimes unbearably so. But to some extent it also felt like nothing was really accomplished at the end, other than the Cutiemark Crusaders having newfound respect for Fluttershy. The stare isn’t really used ever again, save for a short return in “Putting your Hoof Down,” but we’ll get to that. So what did this episode give us BESIDES cuteness? I mean if you’re just looking for something really adorable and can handle the antics of 8 year old girls with ADHD, this is the episode you want to go for, but the adorableness card is played much better in other episodes and the CMC can get grating if you’re, like me, not a big fan of little kids.
All in All, an Okay episode, not bad but nothing that special either, Cutiemark Crusaders have horns holding up their halos, why the hell do cockatrices feel the need to turn people to stone, and OMG TWILIGHT GOT STONED LOL!
Summary
The episode opens with Sweetie Belle destroying Rarity’s boutique with a physically improbable chain reaction when she tries to help Rarity with her latest project.
*CUE OPENING*
After Rarity cleans up the mess, Fluttershy drops by to bring back Opalescence after her grooming. Rarity expresses her amazement at how well Fluttershy is able to handle the cat and inquires if Fluttershy had to use “The Stare” on her. Fluttershy responds that she didn’t and that she’s just really good with animals. Rarity can’t entertain Fluttershy anymore because of her order and claims she’s bitten off more than she can chew, to which she explains to Sweetie Belle is a figure of speech for “Taken on more than she can handle” (Haho! I predict the moral!)
Fluttershy is about to leave when the other two members of the Cutiemark Crusaders zoom in and together the three loudly announce their excitement over having a sleepover at Rarity’s. To celebrate such a grand occasion, Sweetie Belle made capes for each member of the Cutiemark Crusaders, which she lined with gold silk that Rarity was using for her commissioned outfits. Rarity isn’t very happy about this and informs the CMCs that because she’ll be too busy having to make more gold silk she can’t afford to have the three over for a slumber party. Fluttershy, ever the kindhearted individual, volunteers then to take the three back to her cottage for the night to get them all out of Rarity’s mane.
As the CMCs and Fluttershy head back to her cottage they run into Twilight, who’s on her way to Zecora’s to get some of her favourite tea. Fluttershy bids her a safe trip and then continues on with the CMCs. Once they arrive, the fillies, of course, start causing mayhem for Fluttershy. They run around, continuing to flap their gums about their Cutiemarks, they suggest trying to go into the Everfree Forest to try catching the creatures that lurk within, eventually breaking one of Fluttershy’s tables only to try putting it back together and instead make a modern art masterpiece.
Fluttershy eventually convinces the three to go to bed and tries to sing them a lullaby when they claim not to be tired. Fluttershy gets only a couple lines of the sweet, sort of soothing melody before Sweetie Belle pipes up that she knows this lullaby, and after Fluttershy invites her to sing it with her, Sweetie Belle bursts out into this gospel sounding, high energy song that sounds nothing like a lullaby and instead it wakes up all the chickens in the coup next to Fluttershy’s house. The CMCs race out of the house and start trying to round up the chickens that are now running around unattended. Fluttershy’s had just about enough of this and raises her voice to get both the Chickens and the CMCs to stop running around, and then she uses “The Stare” to get the chickens back in the coup before finally shooing the CMCs off to bed.
The trio don’t stay in bed for long before they decide to sneak out of the cottage and run headlong into the Everfree Forest when they notice one of the Chickens got loose again and thought it would enjoy a nice nightly stroll through the evil forest of evil. Fluttershy eventually wakes up and realizes what happens and follows the runaways’ tracks into the forest. The Cutiemark Crusaders are tossing some humorous banter between each other while they look for the Chicken, but Fluttershy meanwhile has found Twilight, who’s been turned to stone (because that won’t traumatize the target audience at all).
Fluttershy races off to find the girls before they meet the same fate and eventually catches up to them. She tries to explain that there’s a Cockatrice in the area (cue snickering from immature internet junkies) but the CMCs just shrug it off when Fluttershy describes it as a creature with the head of a Chicken and the body of a snake. They eventually find the missing Chicken and, because this is Everfree and we’re not allowed to walkthrough it without being attacked by some mythological monstrosity, the Cockatrice shows up too and demonstrates its power to turn other creatures to stone by staring into the eyes of the runaway chicken.
The trio panic and start running away before they trip over Twilight the Statue, and then they start to panic and scream some more even after Fluttershy catches up to them again. The Cockatrice also catches up and Fluttershy puts herself between it and the Cutiemark Crusaders, and then she proceeds to read the riot act to the Cockatrice, using “The Stare” to force it to change both Twilight and her Chicken back. This miraculously works on the Cockatrice (I mean who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits if Fluttershy threatened to tell their mother what they’ve been doing?) and it does what it’s told before it slithers off with its tail between its legs.
The CMCs are impressed by Fluttershy and start offering apologies to her and promise to listen to her from then on. The next morning, the CMCs, Fluttershy, and Twilight are all back at Fluttershy’s cottage, Fluttershy and Twilight discussing what happened last night while Twilight writes her letter to the princess, just before Rarity arrives to pick up the CMCs and inform the other two that she managed to get her commission done and delivered on time.
Artistic Design and Animation
The usual great animation all around, the cockatrice provided something new but even though it was designed like a traditional Cockatrice, it felt a little too simplistic. The only other stand out bit of animation I should mention is, honestly, the facial expressions, this episode was basically the 4 cutest characters of the main 10 being at their most adorable, and I’d be lying if the constant big eyed wonderment wasn’t a contributing factor to that.
Humor
You’re not going to find much in terms of comedy in this episode. There’s no Pinkie Pie to liven it up a bit, so we’re mostly left with Fluttershy and the CMCs to pick up the slack and, let’s be honest, Fluttershy is only funny when she’s being unreasonably afraid of every little thing or when she’s flipping her lid to the point of being a completely different pony. It is rather funny seeing her give the Cockatrice a stern talking to like she did to the Dragon in “Dragonshy” but it doesn’t really work so well here because this episode suffers from an “Everfree Third Act” so we get no build up to the confrontation between Fluttershy and whatever she’s staring down this week, ergo the payoff turns out much weaker.
Continuity and World Building
I wouldn’t say that “The Stare” comes completely out of nowhere, as we do see a hint of it in “Dragonshy” but it feels a lot like “Pinkie Sense”. It’s a fitting ability for the character to have, and it doesn’t change the character in any drastic way, but I just wish the writers would have thrown in a few nods to these powers before hand and afterwards so that they don’t seem to be just plot convenience.
The Cockatrice makes an interesting addition to the Equestrian Bestiary, but like the Hydra I didn’t find too much to like in its design and I wish it had been introduced in an episode that didn’t suffer from an “Everfree Third Act”
Moral
Much like with “Over a Barrel” and “Green isn’t your Colour” the moral, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” is good (and something I personally should probably take heed of), but it’s pushed down our throats over and over and over again.
Story Structure
I’ve said it before and I shall say it again, if you want to have a big climax in the forest with a monster, you have to build it up or it just becomes something that comes right the hell out of no where and is only there because the plot demanded it. Thankfully enough, this is the last time we have one of these “Everfree Third Acts.” I just felt that several times throughout season 1 the writers used Everfree as a copout to the end of the episode, or they just wanted to include a monster. If the latter was the case, what was stopping them from doing more episodes like “Dragonshy”?
Overall Feelings
This episode is cute. Sometimes unbearably so. But to some extent it also felt like nothing was really accomplished at the end, other than the Cutiemark Crusaders having newfound respect for Fluttershy. The stare isn’t really used ever again, save for a short return in “Putting your Hoof Down,” but we’ll get to that. So what did this episode give us BESIDES cuteness? I mean if you’re just looking for something really adorable and can handle the antics of 8 year old girls with ADHD, this is the episode you want to go for, but the adorableness card is played much better in other episodes and the CMC can get grating if you’re, like me, not a big fan of little kids.
All in All, an Okay episode, not bad but nothing that special either, Cutiemark Crusaders have horns holding up their halos, why the hell do cockatrices feel the need to turn people to stone, and OMG TWILIGHT GOT STONED LOL!
