"Flight to the Finish", our first Cutie Mark Crusaders-centric episode of Season 4, actually surprised me in many ways and was, believe it or not, better than I expected it to be. Maybe that was largely because until today, I kind of expected this episode to end with Scootaloo flying; now, that would've been pretty heartwarming I'm sure, but maybe just a little too heartwarming, a little too Mary Sue-ish, shall we say. Such an ending, in hindsight, might've been too upbeat, especially given that the show has never actually addressed her inability to fly before. So what did we get instead? Well, something much, much more subtle and nuanced than what I had initially expected.

First of all, let's cover the CMC themselves. The lovable trio of blank flanks were adorable as usual, plus it was great seeing that, well, they were actually able to put something together that worked for once! I liked that a lot actually; it shows that, well, they're learning, they're growing as characters and just maturing in general, and since they've been friends for so long, they now know each other's strengths and how to build off of those. It was a bit strange seeing Scootaloo take charge so much, seeing as Apple Bloom has so often in the past been the de facto leader of the group, but I can overlook it here since Scoots was mostly just super motivated by Rainbow Dash and trying so hard to impress her. Apple Bloom was perfectly fine as a supporting character, as she has been in the past, but Sweetie Belle actually felt a little off, at least in how the other two treated her. For some reason she felt like a third wheel here, and similar to "One Bad Apple", it seemed like the other two didn't care about her opinion half of the time, even though she was usually the most rational of them all. She was still the most adorable of the three, but I swear, little Sweetie's gotta start speaking up more! I also can't help but hope she gets an episode of her own soon, since she really hasn't been a starring character since "Sisterhooves Social" way back in Season 2, but still, overall, she and Apple Bloom were fine. They were adorable, funny, tenacious, and learned a good lesson about loyalty from none other than the Element of Loyalty herself.

As for our star, Scootaloo, she most certainly did not disappoint. I loved seeing her throw together this awesome act that the CMC put on for Ms. Harshwhinny (which if you think about it might actually hint quite a bit at just what her special talent might be, at least more than past CMC episodes), and it was really great finally seeing her inability to fly directly addressed. I was a bit surprised that more of the episode wasn't devoted to that, but the pacing was pulled off well enough that we still got a good enough idea for just how much it hurt poor little Scoots that she just can't fly like most other pegasi. One little scene actually stuck out most for me, and it was a great and very effective bit of visual storytelling; right as Scootaloo decided that they needed flying to be a part of the act and she was watching Rainbow Dash coaching a pair of flying pegasi. She didn't say anything about that specifically, but she didn't need to; you could just tell that she desperately wanted to be one of those pegasi, flying in front of Rainbow Dash and, maybe even, getting to take to the skies with her role model. Short scene, but I took a lot from it, and it captured just as effectively, if not more so, her anguish as any of her later scenes did when she started breaking down and accepting that, at least for the time being, she simply can't fly. The entire plotline, however, was handled very effectively, so major kudos to the writers for treating this subject so well, especially in its resolution. As I said earlier, instead of Scootaloo learning how to fly, we got something a lot more nuanced. With Rainbow Dash's guidance, she was able to accept that not only can she not fly (at least for now) but that that's OK, because it doesn't mean she's any less of a pegasus or pony in general. Scootaloo is Scootaloo, and that's just fine, because she's still a very special pony with many wonderful traits and qualities about her. I really loved that message, and I also admired that the writers, at least for the time being, have chosen to respect Lauren Faust's original vision for Scootaloo. Given how the episode ended, I also can't help but think that Scootaloo might actually end up getting her cutie mark first out of the group, maybe even sometime later this season. Who knows right now though? We'll just have to wait and see. Overall, as far as Scootaloo's episodes go, this was worthy successor to "Sleepless in Ponyville", and I actually really appreciated that, in some ways, it focused more on her alone than the former episode did, seeing as that one was so heavily focused on Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash.

Before I move on, I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that we FINALLY know that Scootaloo has a house of her own (even if we didn't see her parents), and I'm quite relieved to know that honestly.

Alright, next, let's cover Rainbow Dash. Really, she was great this whole episode! I actually liked her here much more than I did in last week's "Daring Don't", just because I thought that her better qualities were far more effectively highlighted here, similar to how they were so effectively highlighted in last season's "Sleepless in Ponyville". Interestingly, as ~Chaotic Discord~ himself pointed out (and I know you were kinda let down by this buddy, but trust me, I think it worked to the episode's benefit to be honest), there wasn't nearly as much Scootalove as most of us had expected, but given how much was going on, I didn't really mind that. I think if there had been more than there was, it might've thrown the episode's pacing off. Rainbow Dash's maturity and her loyalty were both on display here, and she actually ended up teaching not one but two lessons. She reminded Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that, no matter what, friends look out for each other and don't let each other make mistakes, even if said friends have good intentions but are still hurting themselves in the process, and on the other side of things she taught Scootaloo a very, very valuable lesson that, just because she can't fly, that doesn't make her any less of a pegasus. She's still a wonderful pony with many great gifts and traits, and that's all that matters in life. Seeing both of those lessons come from Rainbow Dash was really, really something, and not only showed why she hands down embodies the Element of Loyalty, but also spoke volumes about how much she's matured and grown as a character since the series began. Besides her awesomeness with the CMC, Dashie was very cute when she was fangasming over her coaching gig in front of all the fillies and colts (seriously, that was awesome seeing how excited she was about getting to train younger ponies and helping them all do their best to represent their hometown), her rapport with Ms. Harshwhinny was hilarious, and her attempts at maintaining a professional demeanor were very entertaining but also spoke greatly about her character. She took this entire coaching endeavor very seriously, and even though she was rooting for the CMC, I loved seeing RD coaching all of the teams, not just theirs; it's just great when we're reminded that, yes, Rainbow Dash can be a very responsible pony when she sets her mind to it. Overall, Rainbow Dash had a great episode, and I honestly thought it was her best appearance in Season 4 yet.

Rainbow Coach is best coach.

Next, I suppose we should cover Ms. Harshwhinny and the Equestria Games. I really liked seeing this character return and be expanded upon; recurring supporting characters are too rare in this show in my opinion, so it's always nice when they do show up in some capacity. As I mentioned, her rapport at the beginning and end of the episode with Rainbow Dash was very funny, as was her letting down her professional demeanor at the end of the episode. I didn't mind when she was uptight at the beginning though, either, because you could still tell that she wanted these fillies and colts to do their best; she just takes her job very seriously, though, and why wouldn't she? Games organizing is, after all, her special talent! Overall, I'd really like to see more of Ms. Harshwhinny this season, and wouldn't be surprised if we do at some point. As for the Equestria Games themselves, I'm very happy to see that DHX is continuing with this story arc from last season as well, on top of the season-spanning story arc we have from the season premiere already. I wouldn't be surprised, in fact, if we get one or two episodes devoted to the Equestria Games in the middle of the season when our own Winter Olympics role around later this winter, so keep your eyes open everypony!

Finally, we got our first musical number of Season 4, and I was most pleased indeed by this! It wasn't the best CMC number by any means, that honor still goes to "Bad Seed" in my opinion, but it was still a very fun number that I felt really fit the mood and feel of this episode to a T, plus it just had its own unique feel in general, so kudos to Daniel Ingram on another wonderful number (plus it had a hilarious Snowflake cameo, which I absolutely adored ). Overall, it was a very lovely first musical number for Season 4, a great CMC number, and I look forward to seeing what else Daniel Ingram and the music team at DHX have up their sleeves for the remainder of Season 4.

Just a few things left to cover in this review, mostly things that either didn't work or were just silly. The pacing was a little strange at times in this episode, no denying that; overall it worked, but there were still some parts that felt rushed and other parts that felt a little dragged out. How the CMC got to the Crystal Empire was absolutely ridiculous! Apparently Scootaloo, given her lifting both Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom on her forelegs (twice) and dragging them both hundreds of miles on nothing but a wing-powered scooter, has the most freakish strength and stamina of any pony in Equestria!!! But ya know, that bit was so ridiculous that it actually worked; I was laughing too much to be bothered by it, and I knew they had to finish the episode, so overall, despite its ludicrousness, I could accept that plot point, I really could. All in all, this was a very solid CMC episode, especially for Scootaloo, secondarily a great Rainbow Dash episode, had some very nice plot continuity, a lovely musical number, and great animation as usual. Overall, "Flight to the Finish" was a great addition to Season 4, and I look forward to rewatching it.

HOLY CRAP, SCOOTALOO IS FREAKISHLY STRONG!!!

Well, next week we've got a very, very special episode, that being, a superhero themed episode!!! Unfortunately, everypony, I will actually be gone for the episode's premiere, as my family and I will be traveling in Wisconsin to Green Bay for the Packers game on Sunday, but I assure you, I will catch the episode on either Monday or Tuesday and most definitely get a review out! Later everypony!!!