FIM S7 E20 A Health of Information

[Bekuno]

I'm so distracted with the upcoming film I haven't been keeping up with episodes! Whoopsie 

Wow, we see Zecora twice in a row! That's pretty awesome, I love getting to see her. In this episode, Zecora falls ill after being sprayed by pollen from a strange flower. The sickness would eventually turn her into a tree, and there is no known cure. Fluttershy seeks the help of Twilight to find some kind of cure and Fluttershy stays up incredibly late looking for a cure to help her friend. They realize the "mystical mask", a legendary cure, is actually the pony Mage Meadowbrook. Together with the help of Meadowbrook's ancestor, they get to work finding the cure.

Some interesting points about this episode:
- This episode also ties in with the Legends of Equestria comic series by IDW!
- This is the second time the name "Mage Meadowbrook" has been nused in the show. The first time was S5 E2, where twilight claims it to be the name of a magical eastern unicorn. This is a big continuity error in the show.

What are your thoughts? For me this wasn't super memorable, but I appreciate the continued comic tie-ins.

[StarSwirl05]

The ep wasn't particularly that great but at least partially follows a fanfic episode I wrote where Zecora loses her ability to rhyme.

[Safflower]

It was ok, I guess. I found the scenes with Mage Meadowbrook to be fun. There isn't a lot to talk about with this episode.

[TJgamer]

I actually liked this episode quite a lot.   

I really identified with Fluttershy here. If I were in her horseshoes, I'd probably act the same way. No rest until the situation is fixed, especially since I could have helped prevent said situation from happening in the first place. It really felt like an adventure with a situation that had very dire stakes.

On that note, this episode is probably one of the darkest in the whole show. The first few symptoms of Swamp Fever may seem silly enough, but the final result of turning into the very same tree that caused this in the first place is rather horrifying. When you really think about it, that could be considered a fate worse than death.
On top of that, there is the possibility that at least some of the trees in the Hayseed Swamp were previously unfortunate ponies.   

Anyway, I really liked Meadowbrook. She was cute and spunky.  ^^
That being said, why wouldn't she write the answer to getting the honey from the flash bee hive? Feels a bit contrived.

But in the end, this is definitely one of the better episodes of the season for me.
Also I feel like we got two Zecora episodes in a row to help make up for the neglect she's had for the past few seasons (kinda like how we got three Rarity featured episodes in season 4 to make up for her having no episodes in season 3).

[Goanna]

I really identified with Fluttershy here. If I were in her horseshoes, I'd probably act the same way. No rest until the situation is fixed, especially since I could have helped prevent said situation from happening in the first place. It really felt like an adventure with a situation that had very dire stakes.

On that note, this episode is probably one of the darkest in the whole show. The first few symptoms of Swamp Fever may seem silly enough, but the final result of turning into the very same tree that caused this in the first place is rather horrifying. When you really think about it, that could be considered a fate worse than death.
On top of that, there is the possibility that at least some of the trees in the Hayseed Swamp were previously unfortunate ponies.   

Ahhh yes I completely agree with you, this is how I felt as well! Super high stakes in this episode. Although I do like the "self care" moral of the episode, I think it didn't quite fit. They really were racing against time, and it felt a little off to me about just how casual Twilight was being at times. If the disease was just coughing bubbles then sure, it doesn't matter if it takes a little longer to find a cure. But turning into a tree, permanently? Yeah I'm with Fluttershy- do everything you can!

I liked  this episode quite a lot. The swamp/bayou backgrounds were beautiful to look at, and I really liked how determined and brave Fluttershy was as well. And also I really loved Cattail haha! For some reason he was just really cute to me. Must've been his lovely colour scheme I love warm, sunny coloured ponies.

[StarSwirl05]

One thing that bothered me is the idea that you can't take care of anyone until you take care of yourself (which the others were basically hinting at towards Fluttershy) but that's not entirely true. There's also what's called putting others needs before your own.

[Safflower]

Now that you mention it Goanna it is rather strange Twilight wasn't freaking out! The show even has episodes centered around her freaking out, so it is very weird.

[Luxrayx]

This episode would have been so much better if it was sad. Zecora is dying, Fluttershy is dying, and Twilight is just like "yeah ok but friendship lesson first". Sure, you should take care of yourself before taking care of someone else, but you can't take care of anyone if you're dead/a tree... I wonder if that's why the show seems kind of boring sometimes, because episodes that should be emotional just aren't.

[Mermaid]

I thought it was nice to see meadowbrook! Her design is pretty! The trees were spooky though. I hope the one that infected sectors wasnt somepony before!!

[Zapper]

I checked out the comics these new episodes advertise and I can't get into the art style. They look so off model, it's distracting.