So, I heard you didn't like The Mysterious Mare Do Well. And you heard that I liked it. And you said that it was a bad episode. More specifically, an episode that was bad for Rainbow Dash. Now, if I were the high-flying pegasus myself, I'd say this in response:

However, I'll be a wee bit more diplomatic about it. I find a lot of validity in the claims criticizing the actions of the rest of the Mane 6 here, so you aren't going to see me defending that. My main focus is to argue that not only was Rainbow Dash characterized well in this episode (hehe), but it was one of the best characterizations of her.

Let's get down to our first order of business. I haven't seen any complaints for the cold open, so I'll just echo everyone else and say that it was sweet, funny, and maintaining continuity. It also introduced RD as a celebrity, which is obviously further developed later into the episode.

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asdasdasdsdaasdadadllddddddOkay, seriously, who could hate this?

After the theme song, we find Dash lazing around in the clouds. Yet another example of character continuity (RD's laziness), check. Not so OOC now, huh? But when she hears a little filly in trouble, she doesn't even hesitate to dash and save her. I love this scene, and the animators deserve pats on the back for their work here. Her expressions say everything. She is surprised and even a little uncomfortable confronting such a large crowd of spectators, but they press on that she is totally awesome, despite her humble dismissals. And with a blush and a smile, Rainbow Dash begins her fall. In the moment where she flies away, she realizes that she likes this attention. When she deliberately seeks it next time, she's richly rewarded. And again, and again. It's an addiction of sorts. By the time the titular Mare Do Well show up, it's completely consumed her. Rainbow Dash, the hero, is gone. Enter Rainbow Dash, the tragic villain. Tragic, you ask? Why tragic?

Because, as she gets worse and worse, I still felt sympathetic for her. It was really more of the unwitting crowd's fault that Rainbow Dash became such an arrogant jerk. Whenever she acted attention seeking, they loved it. They showered praise on her and they seemed to love her even more. Is there any wonder why she became so egotistical and so desperate to get noticed? The love of Ponyville made her feel like the best pegasus in the world.

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asdasdasd dddlllPictured Above: Beloved episode, beloved episode, not beloved episode.

And if there's any pony who would desire that ego boost, it'd be RD. Sonic Rainboom, sometimes considered to be the definitive Dash episode, displays Rainbow Dash's hidden insecurity. So does Read It And Weep. People loved her in both of those episodes. Why not this one? Everything about her behavior in The Mysterious Mare Do Well betrays a clear lack of any true self confidence and a need to have it be validated. This is part of the reason why her friends' choice to create a persona who exists to make Rainbow Dash feel inferior was kind of a jerk move.

Fast fowarding to her monologue on the cloud now. This was a real moment for me. Ashleigh Ball gives a great performance, and through almost the entire sequence, you can hear that RD is on the verge of crying. I felt really bad for her. Did she bring it upon herself? Yes, technically, but how would you feel if everyone was your biggest fan, everyone loved you, and then suddenly some new person comes in and your adoring fans treat you like a waste of space? And furthermore, Rainbow Dash has no idea how this happened. All of her attention seeking before made everyone love her! What changed? Rainbow Dash is not exactly someone who has a high level of self awareness. When she tries to figure out why, she lists off only the surface aspects. There's something sad about how shallow she thinks the appreciation of her is.

This scene only became better upon rewatch, now that Rainbow Dash has become a much more mature character. There's the answer right in front of her, but she can't quite reach it yet on her own. If this were Season 3, she'd have a moment of realization right there. It took the whole Mare Do Well thing for her to do it here. I just like being reminded of how the characters have grown and changed.

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So, I think that while The Mysterious Mare Do Well has its flaws (namely, that it makes you root for the wrong side), it's an episode that really shines a light on some of Rainbow Dash's flaws and her fears. An episode doesn't have to be good all around to have something to offer, and Mare Do Well proves it. Since I was being all serious-y and stuff for most of this blog post, I neglected to mention a few other things I liked about this episode:

• It's still a visually and audiorially impressive episode even in light of the amazing art quality of Season 3. There are a few odd faces, as the animators were experimenting with some new types of expressions at this point, but you have amazing vistas and some excellent camera angles and framing. The music is also top notch, with little trills and touches to enhance each scene.
  
• It's hilarious, one of the funniest episodes in the series. "Another great feat of heroism! I have just saved this grass!" gets me every time. Everyone in the cast was really hamming it up.
  

So, yeah, that's why I liked The Mysterious Mare Do Well. And if I were Rainbow Dash, well, now I'd say this on behalf of the episode, with Amethyst Star/Sparkler featured as most of the rest of the brony fandom's reaction to it and perhaps this whole analogy: