Rainbow Dash can be hot-headed, stubborn and even kind of a jerk sometimes, although that last bit is usually by accident. But the thing is, I feel like the writers had been steadily toning down her "b*tch factor", mellowing her out a little more. She'll always be cocky and egotistical but I like how normally she can raise herself on a pedestal without putting others down in the process. It's for that reason that I felt her behavior was out of character. Luckily, it was only Twilight who really got snapped at by Rainbow (though I definitely applaud Twilight for serving her that piece of humble pie). That argument really was her lowest point: "It's all your fault!" -Twilight has graciously taken the time to help her friend study for a test. Rainbow didn't pay attention to a word she said, even going so far as shooting spit-wads at her. There is such a thing as bad teaching, but this time around it was just willful ignorance. This line made me cringe.. Twi: "I've used them to study for many a test, and I passed!" RD: "Yeah right!" -Seriously?..... You know full well that Twilight is Celestia's star-pupil. Test-taker extraordinaire! "Just because you have wings doens't mean you can fly. You can barely get off the ground!" -Twilight is totally hovering right in front of her with no problems as she says this. And then she flies with ease throughout the episode. She's been flying quite well all season actually, only exception being the premier. I know that anger makes you stupid, but come on, Rainbow Good thing Fluttershy was there to defuse her. At least she apologized, that was nice. Though now that she can't go into jerk-mode anymore, we have to watch her go into performance-anxiety mode (one that I don't think we've seen since "Sonic Rainboom"). Actually, I think I like watching her panic this time, I feel like it keeps her a little more humble than she'd like. Then again, watching her throwing herself a pity-party of such magnitude seems unjustified in light of her friends trying so hard to help. In all fairness though, I think the writing suffered for the rest of the mane six at the very end as well. Rainbow finally shows gratitude! (Too little too late, but at least it's something. I'll take what I can get at this point, lol) But then her friends stop her! "Don't thank us, it was all you." Nope. Nuh-uh. They all put on an in-flight, subliminally-educational, borderline-brainwashing performance (employing the help of a couple other ponies we don't even know in the process) all for her benefit. So for them to just shrug off any gratitude as if they didn't do much of anything?... That just seems so wrong. I get that they're trying to be selfless here, but eh.. I like to give credit where credit is due :/ And of course, since Rainbow takes their words to heart, she gets to fly offwith a new-and-improved ego that the universe might not be able to hold. Not trying to be a hater or anything, this episode just felt like a let-down. I liked it a little more after re-watching it, mostly because of Pinkie Pie. Still, I hope next week's is better.
Funny you should say that. I found Dash to be noticeably nicer in this episode than any of the other episodes she's been featured in this season. She's been a full-on jerk most of the season.
Meh, I have a hard time seeing it that way, especially after how great she was in "Flight to the Finish." And what about "Rainbow Falls"? Heck, she knew full well she was in the wrong that time, and she felt pretty guilty about it. Sure, it was pretty groan-inducing to see her hamming up fake injuries, but at least you knew it was because of how guilty and conflicted she felt.
Rainbow Falls was by far her lowest point in the entire show for me. Everything she did in that episode sickened me, and is only made worse by the fact that she's supposed to be the embodiment of the Element of Loyalty. I'll give you Flight to the Finish, though.
I guess I can see where you're coming from, but that was a "Rainbow Key" episode, and those episodes seem to focus on the character in question failing to live up to their element in one way or another. We had to see her fail to be loyal, realize her mistake and then try to make amends. That's why I can forgive her shortcomings in that episode. It's hard to stay upset with her after she's admitted her mistake, apologized, and made an attempt to resolve the matter l-) (Love your avi btw, Twilight's so cute ^-^)
She had to decide between the town where she and her friends live, or the town where she was born and raised. The whole point of the episode was not RD being disloyal, but rather being too loyal.
A very good episode. It had a lot of laugh out loud moments such as Pinkie's rap, Rainbows musical chair and Rarity's face when Applejack insults her charade. There wasn't much story progression to it and the absence of a song was a downer but the general entertainment value was great. Oh and Applejack's role in the episode was sublime. I'll leave the Dash hypothesis to you guys but I'd say her character has somewhat improved from the earlier seasons. Overall 8 Woo'Hoos Out Of Ten.
You and I have different opinions of what it means to be loyal then. I don't feel an obligation or loyalty to a place I happened to be born in by chance, but I do feel loyalty for the bonds I forged with other people on my own. Besides, you know full well it wasn't about choosing between her friends and her hometown. It was about choosing between helping her friends (who absolutely could not do it without her) and hanging with the Wonderbolts (who, by nature of being Wonderbolts, need no assistance).
So apparently, there was a Pulp Fiction reference in this episode. Describe what Big Macintosh looks like!
Loved the episode, and for me it was one of THE most repeatable episode I think I have ever seen on MLP, at least for me!
I loved the episode. Everyone seemed to be in character, the dialog was well done. It really felt like a season1/season2 episode for me.
I would LOVE if this is meant to be a Pulp Fiction reference. They've already done The Big Lebwoski, so if they do something for Reservoir Dogs and Dog Day Afternoon, MLP will have done a clean sweep of my favourite movies. Half way there As for the episode itself, I thought it was brilliant. Plenty of genuine laugh out loud moments, I can't remember the last time I laughed so much at Pinkie Pie in one episode before.
Ah old spazzy nerdy Twilight, how I missed thee. Had to watch this episode again, because the first time around I was laughing so hard. While I'd never claim favorites, this one definitely sits among the top for me, which makes it hard to pick just a few good moments. Everything was done really well, including all the little moments, like the nod at Twilight's size, and her freak out arias, as well as the little sad Spike moment, and Vinyl with her goggles off (first time in show?). What I loved was that it was a really simple story, but it provided a setup for everypony to have a moment that was uniquely theirs, as they all tried to help Dashie. I even liked AJ's little "well your bucked" moment. Also since Rainbow's melancholy half way though pretty much mirrors my personality on a daily basis, it made the ending a bit more personal and touching for me. Finally, once again, I'm glad that they keep continuing these few other story arcs that have been going on.
I happen to have aspergers, maybe that is why I related alot to Dashie in this episode. I really liked this episode by the way. Awesome moral as well that could be interpreted as critique against the standardized nature of the modern education system. Everybody does in fact learn differently and to expect everyone to learn in the same way is foolishness. Rainbow is not stupid, she just have to approach learning new things in her own way. If it was possible in Equestria I would imagine she would learn very well listening to an audiobook while flying. I also need to do something else to actually study, which means audiobooks and going for a walk or doing something else usually works for me.
I have to agree on Darkmoon. This episode did feel like a satire on the education system, I am speaking of the U.S. system of course. With Twighlight's lecture being how most schools teach, and her reading and flash cards how most teachers suggest students how to study. Fluttershy's play and Pinkie's song felt like School House Rock or Bill Nye the Science Guy episodes. Rarity's fashion show being like a bad field trip. And Apple Jack being... Apple Jack. The scene where all these attempts failed on Rainbow Dash and she gave up then blamed Twighlight for not learning seemed pretty realistic. Still being in highschool I see that alot. When my classmates get frustrated with pretty much any class they act similarly to Rainbow. They want to stop trying, blame the teacher, and submit an application to McDonalds.
I was thrilled to see this episode as I think it was the first time I had seen a cartoon touch upon a serious subject as far as education goes: Learning styles. Not everyone is able to just sit down and read and use things like flashcards and it's only been in the last few years that the education system seems to have started to pick up on this (at least from my experience). Watching Rainbow Dash run the gamut of emotions from blowing it off to frustration to having her self-esteem crushed pretty much mimicked the real-world emotions anyone with a non Visual-Auditory learning style goes through when confronted with a text book and a desk. As for the rest of the episode, I loved it, especially the interaction between such polar opposites as Rainbow Dash and Twilight and the attempts of the rest to help Rainbow learn, each with their own particular bend to it. Obviously, there's a reason none of the others are teachers. My only possible logistical complaint with the story is that they didn't try to enlist the help of an actual teacher like Cheerilee, but considering that Twilight had more than a little egghead experience of her own which she thought might help, it's understandable. Great episode all around.
