Oh boy, controversial episode ahoy!!! "The Mysterious Mare Do Well"... where do I begin? I suppose I should start by saying that I absolutely adore this episode, but that's not to say that there isn't plenty wrong with it. My adoration largely stems from all of the superhero references: there's (1) at least one Spiderman reference, (2) a very blatant Darkwing Duck reference in the costume design (never watched that show myself but the reference is still awesome), and (3) TONS of Batman: The Animated Series references, from the costume to Mare Do Well posters towards the end of the episode, but most epic of all, Mare Do Well's theme music distinctly resembles the main themes of B:TAS that you would've heard in that gem constantly during the early 90's. So yeah, seeing as I'm, well, me, how can I not love this episode just for that alone???? But that said... where does this episode work and not work?

I feel like I've seen this before.

Well, I'm going to be a bit different and say that... I think the lesson is just fine. Bronies complain all the time that the Mane 6 are extremely mean-spirited in how they teach the lesson, but I really don't think they are. The lesson is this; there's nothing wrong with being a hero, or just helping others out, as long as you don't brag about it. Humility and the contentment one gets from doing something good for others is its own reward. The superhero identity works great with this, because a major result of the secret identity that all superheroes maintain is that they maintain anonymity, and as a result do not usually allow themselves to revel in glory. They do what they do because it's the right thing, not because they want the public's adoration. The girls teach this to Rainbow just fine, especially in their actions in the first half of the episode; it's not like they went out of their way to create those emergencies on purpose or anything, they were just helping resolve crises that Rainbow herself couldn't, showing Rainbow (1) that there are plenty of ponies better than her at certain things, and (2) that a hero does not need to bask in the spotlight. THAT SAID, I will also admit that I understand why people do say that the Mane 6 are douchey in this episode: there are two completely unnecessary scenes in this episode that ALMOST undermine the girls' lesson, (1) when all the girls are talking about how great Mare Do Well is in Sugarcube Corner (yeah, nopony may know they're talking themselves up except for themselves, but the writers still could've just had other ponies in Ponyville doing it instead rather than have the girls make @$$es of themselves), and (2) the parade held in honor of Mare Do Well (yeah, not really not basking in the glory, are we now girls?). Those two scenes are completely unnecessary and almost undermine the Mane 6's lesson, but again, me, I still think the girls teach a fine lesson and get their point across just fine.

Now, I will agree with the majority in this regard... RAINBOW DASH IS COMPLETELY OBNOXIOUS IN THIS EPISODE!!!!!!!! Holy crap, she is bucking annoying!!! She goes from being boastful of her feats (when she's been friends for over a year with five others who she defeated two godlike beings with and are just as awesome as her and better at her in a variety of other activities), to being jealous of somepony doing a better job at saving ponies than she is, to being even more jealous of her, anti-social, and trying to unveil the Mysterious Mare Do Well's identity! So basically, she goes from being a douche, to even more of a douche, to finally reaching Queen of the Douchebags levels!!! Yeah... this is not a flattering episode for RD. What I really think the problem of this characterization really comes down to is timing; if this episode had debuted in Season 1, when RD hadn't known the Mane 6 for quite as long or learned as many friendship lessons, then I think people, myself included, would have less of a problem with it. But instead, we get RD being a completely asinine fool so full of herself it hurts to watch in the middle of Season 2? Ughhh, no, that doesn't work, she shouldn't be this stupid or jerky at this point! Like I said, I like the lesson, I think it's executed fine and that it's one that RD especially should learn; I just think she shouldn't have had to learn it at THIS POINT! She should've known it by now, so instead of coming across as a natural progression in character growth for RD, it's more like she took about 50 steps backwards before this episode and then relearned something she should already know. THAT is a major problem with this episode, and one I completely sympathize with at that.

As for the rest of the episode, the comedy is great (between the amazing superhero references, RD's increasingly erratic behavior, and some of the emergency scenes, there's a whole lot of fun in this episode to be had), the animation is very, very impressive, especially during some of the big crisis scenes (plus I love Mare Do Well's suit), and the music is solid and, for people more around my age, extremely nostalgic. While there may be some things wrong with both the execution of the episode's theme and its characterization of RD (surely subpar to her characterization in her own previous episode, "May the Best Pet Win"), overall I will never be able to not love this episode simply because the superhero references make it for me, and to any other superhero lovers out there like myself, I cannot recommend this episode enough!