Fiction vs Reality Anon 10/29/2020 (Thu) 12:01:34 No.6758 del
Let´s put the whole thing in context, Season 7 didn´t deliver any arc that would be shown...in the first half. Unlike season 4, the arc dedicated to the pillars of Equestria (the actual debut of Starswirl The Bearded) would begin with those mythical stories delivered in Campfire Tales (Mistmane, Rockhoof and Flash Magnus), Daring Done (Somnambula), A Health of Information (Meadowbrook) and would finally peak with Shadow Play (Starswirl and Stygian). This arc was much shorter in comparison with the keys for opening the chest of the Tree of Harmony in season 4, so the old fairy tales would work as some kind of plot devices for the mane 6. Except that said fairy tales would turn out to be actually true and bring said characters back to life.

If you are familiar with the style of season 4, this won´t surprise you much. It´s familiar territory for this show but, A Health of Information...deals with a very uncomfortable topic that you wouldn´t want to hear about. In fact, this episode, while not scary by itself, it will remind you of the sad reality. Watching this episode is like trying to extinguish the fire with gasoline or like that person who is drowning, another person appears and is capable to save him from drowning but instead of giving him the hand, the savior decides to put the foot over his head so he cannot reach the surface and breathe again. Perhaps these metaphors will illustrate that MLP here...doesn´t help you at all for trying to escape from reality. It´s like that constant reminder that you have had to face one way or another.

The episode, in less than 3 minutes, will remind you about the sad reality: a rare disease in which a cure hasn´t been found by the health system (only the symptoms) and said disease can spread like wildfire.

Called swamp fever over here, the main plot device for this episode consists in the disgrace that Zecora had accidentally run into a blossom, releasing a powder that would affect her health. Coughing bubbles, causing confusion and what´s worse: grow leaves by turning into a tree. On top of that, said transformed tree would also spread the disease to the rest in the future. This means that the infected becomes a problematic disease vector and later in the episode, Fluttershy recommends to Twilight and Cattail to wear those masks in order to protect themselves from getting it.

I am stopping right here for a second, and ask you: how much of this resembles to reality? Am I describing a MLP episode or the real world? If I didn´t mention neither the characters nor you had any idea of MLP, would you say that I am talking about real life? This should trigger the red alarms and that´s why, while the episode itself doesn´t scare the viewer, thinking about what you have watched, noticing the similarities and the theme going for these 22 minutes, perhaps this experience might leave you uneasy, not giving you enough room to take a break from what you want to escape and forget about. MLP does neither relieve nor diminish the environment that has surrounded the viewer for the last few months. If anything, it can only add more pressure or an unsatisfying pass time that won´t make you forget about what you have been going through.