I don't think too many kid's shows ever tackle the issue of not choosing not really being a choice. It's a lesson I think many adults need to learn as well.
I for one loved this episode. Yeah, in my opinion Rainbow did a really admirable thing here. You must also consider that Cloudsdale is just as much of a home for her as Ponyville as she grew up there. That combined with the Wonderbolts wanting her to join must have made that decision difficult for her. This is not really the same lesson as Wonderbolt academy, but showcases the same point, Rainbow will do what's right even if she has to sacrifice her life goals and dreams to do it. By this point I feel that Rainbow should not look up to the Wonderbolts as I feel she already supassed them, maybe the Wonderbolts will grow to become more fans of her than the other way around. Yeah, and of course... ALL HAIL DERPY!
I liked this episode. I liked Bulk Biceps and his interaction with Fluttershy (even though it's odd to see his flying prowess being retconned out of existence). Always nice to see the main characters interact with ponies out of their inner circle. Derpy returns and is prominently featured all through the last minutes of the episode. Nice! :derpe: More griffons! That's pretty neat, too, I guess. Rainbow Dash's conflict, even though it might not have been particularly new, was handled pretty nice. So far, this season does a pretty good job of making her likable. To those who say that the conflict was pretty much the same thing that already happened to RD in the second episode of season 1 I'll just say: Really? Come on, helping your friends save the world VS. hanging out with a flying team you've never even heard about wasn't really much of a conflict for her. Now if it had been the Wonderbolts back in that episode, things might have gotten a bit more interesting... and more meaningful. But back to the episode at hand. Let's talk about the things I didn't like about this episode. Applejack was really annoying. Rarity was... just sort of there. Too bad she apparently left her fashion sense at home. Seriously, what was up with those outfits? At least Pinkie being a cheerleader made somewhat sense. If only she would stop screaming. And then there were the Wonderbolts. Okay, so I actually enjoyed Fleetfoot and her evil raspy voice, but Spitfire? What a jerk. And this is supposed to be the team's captain? No wonder they are so incompetent at everything they do. I wonder what Rainbow Dash sees in them. But at least Soarin' was okay. And speaking of him... Is it just me or does he now have a different cutiemark? It's kinda hard to tell as it's obscured by his wing, but it seems to be different than the generic male Wonderbolt cutiemark he sported before. Interesting.
This one kinda just fell into "okay" territory for me. I did love Bulk Biceps and Soarin in this, and even Applejack's scarce few lines were great, but otherwise it seemed pretty uneventful to me. As [MENTION=6391]Xander[/MENTION] mentioned, the message of "not choosing isn't really a choice" was a very mature thing to address, and I'm glad they did so.
I just realized why this episode seemed so very familiar. [video=youtube;94XO8X-S7pw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94XO8X-S7pw[/video] Even the dialogue is practically the same.
I think Rainbow Dash was being extremely disloyal to her true friends and her own city. Sure, she was born in Cloudsdale, but the only reason she wanted to fly for that team was because the Wonderbolts are supposed to be 'Super dooper awesome cool' 'best flyers' and not because they were representing her hometown. I think her actions were kinda selfish. She could have done worse by choosing Clousdale in the end, but choosing 'not' to choose and then only joining with The Ponyville team after she found out that they wanted to replace Soarin(?) was too little too late for me. But still, it was a great episode!
Remember what the Wonderbolts mean to Rainbow, it has been a dream for her to join them ever since she was a filly. They are not only the best fliers but her personal heroes as well. I think her being torn on the issue is understandable, I think most of us would be tempted if we were offered a chance to hang out with our idols. I think Rainbow may have been a bit disapointed with the behavior of her idols in the end though, and she had the guts to tell her own heroes that they were acting like douchebags. She could have her dream fullfilled of joining the Wonderbolts right there, but she chose to support her friends instead, I am disapointed that not all people seem to understand the sacrifice she made. For a brony I think an analogy to her situation would be if you were offered a position as a writer on the show, but you had to skip working on a fan project with some friends. Or better yet, to spend a day with your favorite ponies instead. Don't tell you would not be tempted.
One very good logic question... Why in equestria would ponyville choose the two weakest flyers (aside from scootaloo) to try out for the games? I mean... Seriously... Ok so the two on the train had already competed in an event... But still... Surely there were more capable flyers in ponyville...
Sorry, you make a compelling argument but Dash has done and said a few questionable things in my book. She's often whined and said some selfish things. Maybe it's strange that I would MUCH rather prefer to put my effort and trust into friends rather than 'idols' who are for the most part complete strangers or at least lesser known to me. I think anyone that would have even considered abandoning their friends in that situation to be selfish. Then again, that is me, not you, not Dash, so my opinions of course are bias. Friends are all I have and I would never envision abandoning them for my favorite actor, musician or any celebrity that I admired. Even if I received fame in the process. I just wouldn't do it. That's different. This is the real world, not Equestria. In the real world, you need the money and the opportunity and your friends would tell you that work and money are more important than a fan based project and you can always reschedule or postpone it. I don't think that was a good analogy, you can't really apply them to the same situation. Though I do understand what you were trying to explain, and I appreciate your opinion. I understand that you admire Dash and are protecting her character, but as I see it, she just isn't the same to me as she is to you. I hope you understand, I'm not trying to impose my opinion on you.
Who cares? Flutterbulk Shyceps otp. - - Auto Merge - - Just want to say I think you explained your opinion quite well, and that I agree with you. Dash already knew that the Wonderbolts weren't quite the heroes she had thought them to be by her experiences in Wonderbolt Academy. It's like she forgot that lesson which, while perhaps not totally eliminating the difficulty of the decision she had in this episode, should have at least reduced it and made it easier for her to choose her friends. Imagine that instead of faking an injury, she specifically went to visit Soarin' in the hospital to see how he was doing and maybe talk about her dilemma, discovering that he was perfectly fine that way. It was a great episode, and the lesson that choosing not to choose isn't a choice at all is a decent one - I just feel that they could have gone for making it a little more believable and maybe had the lesson be that sometimes our heroes aren't what we make them out to be.
Overall, I liked everything about this episode except the Wonderbolts (excluding Soarin), RD, and the interactions between them. The WBs were unbelievable douchebags, knowing full well what what they were doing would do to Ponyville's team. And RD giving into temptation was really disappointing to me. I mean, way back in episode 2 of the first season, she didn't even hesitate to side with her friends. I know the WBs are a bigger deal to her than the Shadowbolts, but it kind of feels like she's regressing rather than progressing. I mean, she learns almost the same lesson in every episode that stars her. You'd think it would be hammered into her now. It was painful to watch her in this episode, in my opinion. That said, everything that wasn't RD and the WBs saved it from being one of my least favorites. Twilight being awesome and mature, Bulk Bicep being just...just wonderful, DERPY, and cheerleader Pinkie and especially Twi were the best things ever.
Thats fine, Dash is a mortal with flaws and not a perfect goddess, even I can admit that. However Dash did in fact do what you would have done in the end. However you can think what you want. I am definatly biased though, I like Dash to the point I am in love with her. I do not only admire her virtues, I sympatize with her flaws. Note taken, that would have been awsome seeing Rainbow visit Soarin. About the lesson, that was partly what was in it for me, Rainbow loosing some of her admiration for the Wonderbolts and instead she showed them a better way.
