Flighty's Plight (The Smurfs, 1981)

Flighty's Plight is a Season 7 episode of The Smurfs.

Summary
Having a hard time making decisions, Flighty gets help from his fellow Smurfs on how to make decisions easier.

Why it Rocks

 * 1) This is Flighty's first major starring role, in comparison to his first supporting role around "Papa for A Day". He is mainly likeable and can relate to people having trouble making decisions.
 * 2) * Towards the end of the episode, he finally makes a decision to save his friends.
 * 3) Brainy is likeable, as he came up with the idea to teach Flighty.
 * 4) Funny moments throughout the episode, such as Brainy, Flighty and Baby being stuck in a maze.
 * 5) Lord Balthazar capturing the Smurfs in the second half is a classic throwback to the earlier seasons, where the adventures were more dark and exciting.
 * 6) Good animation and voice acting, especially Paul Winchell, Don Messick, Brenda Vaccaro and Keene Curtis.
 * 7) Like the episodes prior, it's refreshing to see the Smurfs take care of themselves (without the aid of Papa Smurf).

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Despite how good the episode is, the ending felt rushed as it ends with Gargamel  cursing the Smurfs for foiling his plans (without a certain epilogue on how Flighty returned to the village). This made the episode feel pointless (depending on your view).
 * 2) Papa Smurf and Smurfette don't appear anywhere in this episode. Neither does Grandpa Smurf and the Smurflings (except Sassette).
 * 3) Despite Brainy Smurf's likeability, the cheesy running gag of his self-published books that nobody reads are evident in this episode.

Trivia

 * This is Flighty Smurf's second appearance on the show and first major starring role.
 * As mentioned above, this is one of the episodes not to feature Papa Smurf or Smurfette.
 * This is one of the episodes where Papa Smurf doesn't save the day. Other episodes include "Jokey's Medicine" and "Lazy's Slumber Party".