S06:E07 - Newbie Dash

[Batbrony 15,994]

Good afternoon, everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews."  What's that I smell?  A controversial, polarizing episode you say?  Well now, this should be fun!  Yes, Rainbow Dash has finally joined the Wonderbolts, and as I very much expected, this is going to be a polarizing episode that people either love or hate, so without further ado, let's dive into "Newbie Dash"!

 

First off, let's get the controversial aspects out of the way.  I would describe this episode (as I already did earlier in this thread) as the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice of this season so far.  It's undoubtedly flawed, there's no getting around that, BUT those flaws do not mean one cannot like or even love this episode.  You just need to understand the flaws in order to do so.  So what do I personally think is the biggest flaw?  Well, it's not the Wonderbolts behavior, nor is it the fact that Rainbow Dash freaked out and made some poor decisions.  Both of those can be justified and I will do later in my review.  I think the biggest flaw is that Dash's poor choices came across as too impulsive and reactionary.  We didn't always get great insight into WHY she was doing what she was doing beyond "she's freaking out and wants to make a good impression," so it left us wondering how exactly some of the things she was doing was supposed to make a good impression on the Wonderbolts (most notably her confusingly impersonating her friends).  This made her actions seem stupider and far more cringeworthy than they were, so yes, some of her actions were sloppily executed, there is no getting around that.  Really though, that was the biggest problem in the episode, and it wasn't one which, for me, ruined the episode.  That out of the way, let's get into the good which saved this episode and made it a worthy start to Rainbow Dash's finally fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a Wonderbolt.

 

First of all, the beginning was fantastic.  This felt like a nice balance of how Dash should learn she becomes a Wonderbolt.  Too much fanfare would have felt forced, so it was nice that it was something very much unexpected for her; as far as she was concerned, she was still going to be a Wonderbolt Reservist for the foreseeable future, so to have that suddenly dropped on her made for an elated reaction of surprised shock that was raw and genuine.  The fact that both Spitfire and Scootaloo were there, however, also made it meaningful; Scootaloo looks up to Rainbow more than anypony else, so to have her share in this moment for her was wonderful to see, and likewise Spitfire has long been an idol of Rainbow's, so it was great to see her deliver the news that Rainbow was finally to become a Wonderbolt, and on a permanent basis no less.  Overall, that was really the best way we could've seen Dash learn she was to become a Wonderbolt; nothing felt forced or too overblown, but at the same time it was an undeniably special moment, so clearly the writers put a lot of thought into that.

 

 

Oh my gosh, what's wrong with your face?!   

 

The Mane 6 were really strong here as well, I thought, because they gave just the right amount of support without helping too much.  All they could really offer was helpful advice, but at the same time they could only influence too much since, obviously, they can't be with Rainbow as she was working with the Wonderbolts.  It's a nice sign that the girls continue to get older and won't always be doing everything together as they fulfill their own personal dreams, similar to Rarity opening more dress shops or the CMC pursuing their own personal passions and hobbies away from each other.  But they were still there through thick and thin for Rainbow as much as they could be, especially Fluttershy who, having grown up with Dash and being as sensitive as she is, had to especially understand how hard it must have been for Rainbow to once again get the nickname Rainbow Crash.

 

Rainbow herself behaved pretty much as she should have in this type of episode, some of her SPECIFIC actions aside.  Yes she had cringeworthy moments, but again, they were understandable and justifiable.  This is THE thing she has dreamed of her whole life.  She never dreamed of being a savior of Equestria, she never dreamed of being an Element Bearer or one of the icons of the Magic of Friendship in Equestria, but she has always, always, ALWAYS dreamed of being a Wonderbolt.  Therefore, her having butterflies in her stomach that made her an absolute nervous wreck was plenty understandable.  She tried to be too confident, cool, and cocky, she tried to stand out too much, she tried to do anything she could to make a positive impression on ponies she'd always called her idols who were suddenly her teammates no matter how irrational it might be.  It was her first days at work at what was essentially her dream job, so she can easily be forgiven for doing some stupid things.  Lots of people in a similar position would and have freaked out similarly, because suddenly, the one thing you've dreamed about your entire life is a reality, and that can be mentally overwhelming.  It did not help her nerves that she made such a bad first impression and kept thinking that she was this close to getting thrown right out.  But in the end, Rainbow learned a fantastic lesson because of all of this, one which demands she take what she has learned as a member of the Mane 6 and apply it to her being a Wonderbolt.  Being a Wonderbolt is not and was never about her shining more than anypony else; sure she had to have a ridiculous amount of talent to get there, something the Wonderbolts themselves more than recognized, but once you get there, you have to take that talent and what makes you special and channel it into making the entire group special, not just you.  Rainbow has been learning this ever since she became an Element Bearer, the strength of a team, a group, how much stronger that is than any one single pony.  So it was fantastic to see that she now HAS to apply what she has learned to the thing she has always dreamed of, and that is a lesson worth learning in her first outing as a Wonderbolt.

 

 

Oh Rainbow, you don't have to try to act like an egghead, you were already one   

 

 

The Wonderbolts themselves, I thought, were very strong here, mostly because of the ending.  Some of their hazing of Dash came across as mean-spirited at times, but the end made it abundantly clear that that's just what it was, lighthearted, ritual hazing, nothing more.  Dash was the newbie, and they haze every newbie.  They all have embarrassing nicknames because, in a group of the most talented fliers in Equestria, being reminded of your most embarrassing moments helps both bring ridiculously talented fliers back down to earth and also builds comradery between them all.  They were also very different in their behavior, which nicely reflected their positions.  Some of the regular Wonderbolts were more teasing to Rainbow while Spitfire, being the leader, was far more no-nonsense with her, even if she too still hazed her.  Wonderbolt's who knew Rainbow more closely, like Soarin and Fleetfoot, were also more supportive and encouraging than some of the other ones were, and that was a nice bit of continuity.  The end, where they all explained that they've all been where Dash was, completely justified their actions.  They've all had her nerves, they've all been newbies, they've all had their embarrassing moments.  This changed their actions throughout the episode from being mean-spirited and singling out Dash to simply being a routine part of her initiation.  If they didn't care about her, they wouldn't be singling her out as the newbie but simply ignoring her.  But like any rookie on a sports team, Dash is the newbie, so she has to go through the growing pains of being one as any newbie on the Wonderbolts would.  The nickname isn't meanspirited like when she was bullied as a filly, it's supposed to be something she can look back on and laugh about.  Some day, she'll be doing the same thing to other newbies on the Wonderbolts, and it won't be any more mean-spirited than the Wonderbolts behavior here was.

 

Beyond that, it was very nice finally getting a sense for how the Wonderbolts work.  They take their jobs very seriously because being the best fliers in Equestria doesn't just mean they're show ponies and performers.  They're leaders among ponies and the pegasi, so being able to work together as a unit and team as smoothly as possible is supremely important to them, especially their leader Spitfire.  They may all be special in their own ways, but when you're a Wonderbolt, you're one of many, not just THE Wonderbolt.  Call backs to their history were nice, it was cool getting to see their barracks, training, and performance, and just cool in general getting to see the whole team together, not just one or two of them like we normally do.  The fact that they gave Rainbow a pat on the back and told her to keep her chin up at the end was the icing on the cake, since, once again, it highlighted that they've all been where she was.  They're only ponies, after all.  They've all bucked up as Wonderbolts, they've all been the newbies, so they get it, she's nervous and freaking out.  But that's not going to stop them from embracing her as one of their own, which they're more than thrilled to do; after all, they know she is ridiculously talented, even more so than the rest of them.  She's going to be great someday with them, she just has to get the hang of it is all.

 

 

 

Did... did the show suddenly become self aware of R34 and just decide to purposely give us R34 material?  Cause that's what I'm getting from this episode   

 

Aside from that, there's not too much else to cover.  Seeing Scootaloo get in some nice interactions with Rainbow was really nice, as always.  The humor was a bit hit and miss.  Some of the physical gags (like Pinkie's cotton candy bit) felt a little forced, and some of Dash's freaking out moments could be both cringeworthy but also hilarious (best example being her Mane 6 impressions; the action itself was very confusing, but hearing Dash impersonate all her friends was hilarious and some wonderful voice acting from Ashleigh Ball as well).  I actually thought the Wonderbolt's humor was the funniest, weird right?  I don't want this to sound mean, but some of their hazing was genuinely funny.  Not so much the nickname Rainbow Crash, but the way they started treating it so normally got quite a few giggles from me.  That and how annoyed they got at Rainbow at times, mostly because I never got the sense that they were going to kick her out.  They were just annoyed at her because she was the newbie of the group doing newbie things, so yeah, I thought that was pretty funny.

 

 

That's it, isn't it?  Be honest writers, I mean, what else could it possibly be?!   

 

Overall, this is an episode very much worth liking, with some stuff to love even.  It has a very nice message about what achieving your dream job might actually be like at first and how one shouldn't take ribbing so seriously, while also illustrating how sometimes our nerves can wind up making us our own worst enemy.  Is it flawed?  Yes, it is, mostly in aspects of its execution.  But that doesn't mean I don't like it, nor think this isn't what Rainbow deserved in becoming a Wonderbolt.  I think this is a moment that so many people will have hyped up in their heads that, in many ways, it was always going to disappoint in some way.  It's been built up too much not to.  But for what they did with it, I'm very happy with how Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt turned out.  She had some growing pains to go through, but she made it!  SHE MADE IT GUYS!!!  She's a Wonderbolt, for good, and she knows it!  That's why she was so happy at the end, and we should be to.  This isn't just something that happened in the final episode of the show in some two minute epilogue.  Rainbow Dash is, for good, a Wonderbolt, and we get to see that for as long as the show continues!!!  I don't know about you, but for me, that fact alone is the epitomy of coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness.  Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt now and forevermore; it's canon, won't be taken away, and we get to see Rainbow for as long as the show goes on get to live her dream, not simply achieve it.  That alone makes this episode completely worth it and worthy of Rainbow Dash's dream finally being brought to life.  That's all I got everypony; if you still don't like it even after reading my review, no big, to each their own.  But this is the best I could do to defend this episode.  Until next week everypony, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off! *cue dramatic exit*

 

 

She didn't just achieve the dream; she's living the dream, and we get to see it.  I'd say that's the walking, talking definition of 20% cooler, if I do say so myself   

[weesh 690]

I think this episode's goal is to show that bullying/hazing is bad, and that you just don't know what can REALLY affect someone.

 

my impression was that they JUSTIFIED it at the end.

Rainbow said "wow, 'crash' isn't that bad"

 

If they were trying to show that hazing was bad, they completely missed the mark. 

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

I found myself asking multiple times where this episode got lost in the Season 4 production order, starting between Pinkie Pie's annoying, show-slowing humor, Spike once again being an ignored background gag, and all of the expository dialogue. Lay Rainbow Dash's regressive, boneheaded behavior on top of it and I couldn't get it over soon enough.

 

Rainbow Dash completely ran out of talent in this episode and so did the writers. I couldn't tell she was the best flyer in Equestria if expository dialogue and a paint-by-numbers consolation scene in the end hadn't done that.

 

The shoehorning of the entire Mane Cast, including the Crusaders, was arbitrary, a further anchor dragging down an already stricken ship, as it were. The antics of the remaining characters are wholly reminiscent of the awkwardly-edited look-ins in "Wonderbolts Academy", but at least that episode had a strong message and executed it, too. This one just rehashed, recycled, and repeated, and Rainbow's overcompensation merely bought time for the drawn-out conflict.

 

It sucks that the whole character arc of Rainbow Dash has been so fraught with stalling and poor episodes, especially in contrast to Rarity's. There are many other ways in which Rainbow Dash could have joined the Wonderbolts and told a different story than the same old trick. Instead, this anticipated moment in the show's progression has now been put to sleep as mindless, forgettable filler virtually on par with "Rainbow Falls", sidelined with a terminal case of standard plot, Flanderized characters, telling instead of showing, and stretching itself too thin.

 

File this one under "C" for "Crash".

Edited May 7, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Cirrus. 1,088]

my impression was that they JUSTIFIED it at the end.

Rainbow said "wow, 'crash' isn't that bad"

 

If they were trying to show that hazing was bad, they completely missed the mark. 

 

LOL I forgot about that. Spitfires "bad" nickname.

 

@@Batbrony

 

The animators are definitely trolling in this episode

Edited May 7, 2016 by Cirrus.

[JH24 385]

Anyone else only realized after the episode ended Starlight wasn't in it? I like her as a character but I was a bit surprised afterwards I didn't miss her at all during the episode itself. For me personally it made me realize that it will take a long time before the Mane 6 will ever become the Mane 7 in my mind, if at all.

Edited May 7, 2016 by JH24

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

To be honest, I could see many moments tied back Rainbow Dash's deep-seated confidence issues as established in "Sonic Rainboom", but her overcompensation in this episode really doesn't seem becoming of a character who has gone through the progression she has. In "Hurricane Fluttershy", she was still pushy, but knew her limits and Fluttershy's too.

 

In "Wonderbolts Academy", she knew it was more honorable to back down than to put her dream above anypony else's safety. Unfortunately, since then, she's gone back the other way. She's become more egotistical in her own episodes and seems to have lost her sense of honor; this from whom was once called the Element of Loyalty. She put the safety of the town in danger over her pet in "Tanks for the Memories" and now completely forgot about talent and being a team player in "Newbie Dash" all because of a nickname.

 

Beyond that, the Wonderbolts' practice of using nicknames officially is a stupid, shoehorned addition and makes them look even worse than previous episodes had ("Rarity Investigates", "Wonderbolts Academy"). Nicknames are supposed to be humorous, not legitimate identifiers. I know that real military units do this, but the sincerity with which the Wonderbolts use nicknames seems really dishonorable and like a suicidal poison pill for the team's morale.

 

It would have been more believable for Dash to make a few mistakes because of losing confidence, maybe for her to consider quitting, but for her to wreck the entire show over it only begs one question, and this is for the Wonderbolts, too:

 

Where is your honor, dirtbag?!

 

Edited May 7, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Truffles 2,033]

 

 

Josh Haber's tweets about the nickname were funny. Fake contests are best contests.

 

OMG. I'm so lame! I went and read the suggestions and I should have realized the word that rhymes with "spit" would explain why she had to whisper it to Rainbow Dash on a Y-7 rated show! *facepalms*

 

I guess Spitfire got a REALLY bad case of the nerves on her first day and her breakfast went straight through during practice. Oh, gawd... 

[snowflame 189]

This was not a bad episode but Dave Polsky is certainly the least skilled writer currently still working on the show and he should not have been given such an important episode. This one had little substance and the jokes were mostly flat and were a but cringe like his jokes often are. But there was nothing really offensive and it was great that Dash is finally an official Wonderbolt.

[CT-1138 3,179]

Beyond that, the Wonderbolts' practice of using nicknames officially is a stupid, shoehorned addition and makes them look even worse than previous episodes had ("Rarity Investigates", "Wonderbolts Academy"). Nicknames are supposed to be humorous, not legitimate identifiers. I know that real military units do this, but the sincerity with which the Wonderbolts use nicknames seems really dishonorable and like a suicidal poison pill for the team's morale.

 

 

I heavily disagree. Nicknames are a integral part of sports teams that helps build companionship and familiarity between team members. In fact, this episode reminded me a lot of my time in Freshmen year football. I got saddled with a ridiculous nickname I didn't particularly care for at first, but after realizing it was more of a term of endearment than anything malicious (as Rainbow Dash came to realize), I wore my nickname as a point of pride. Heck, there were some kids in high school that ONLY knew me by my nickname.  

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Damn. Like seriously, this is one of the worst episodes of the series. Just damn.

 

There are few episodes so cringeworthy that you have to turn them off midway through or take a break; This is one of them. Like. Just damn. This is mysterious mare do well 2.0. Its like Rapp looked at that episode and thought "You know what we need?! MORE OF THIS!"

 

Dash is full attention whore the entire episode, comes off as a brat despite the freudian excuse, and is utterly unlikeable; at the same time, she's not even funny, just being PAINFUL to watch. Additionally, the wonderbolts, apart from the end and a couple small times come off as massive unsympathetic dicks.

Like, WTF this was bad. This seriously angers me that they brought in a writer with ZERO experience for pony and virtually No experience for writing IN GENERAL to do this; It'd be like if they gave merriweather the responsibility in S4 of doing Princess twilight sparkle and it was about her Destroying equestria in an OCD freak out about what it means to be a princess.

Like, Damn, this was just bad. Seriously, this is almost amazing in how bad it was. Its at the bottom of all MLP episodes or movies in general.

 

 

and so did the writers

 

Given that this is an episode written by a writer who has a literal "Who" resume and hasn't acted as an actual writer in over SIX YEARS, I think this was fully to be expected. But dang, man, WTF.

This is why you don't just grab a random dude who has no experience, let alone pony experience, to do an episode. Like, For all the people who were arguing at the people doomsaying due to Dave rapp having no experience: Requiring experience is required for a REASON. THIS IS WHY.

 

Its not that the writers ran out of talent but that they brought in someone WITHOUT talent to do this one :/

This was not a bad episode but Dave Polsky is certainly the least skilled writer currently still working on the show and he should not have been given such an important episode. This one had little substance and the jokes were mostly flat and were a but cringe like his jokes often are. But there was nothing really offensive and it was great that Dash is finally an official Wonderbolt.

Dave Polsky? Its dave rapp I thought.

[Kaneki 1,072]

OH LOOK, I WATCH AN EPISODE FOR ONCE.

 

That was a good episode IMO. I think I'm gonna start calling RD "Rainbow Crash" now.

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

I heavily disagree. Nicknames are a integral part of sports teams that helps build companionship and familiarity between team members. In fact, this episode reminded me a lot of my time in Freshmen year football. I got saddled with a ridiculous nickname I didn't particularly care for at first, but after realizing it was more of a term of endearment than anything malicious (as Rainbow Dash came to realize), I wore my nickname as a point of pride. Heck, there were some kids in high school that ONLY knew me by my nickname.

Fair enough, but I meant to the point that the Wonderbolts were revealed to publicly display their nicknames as their identities, which was never established in any previous episodes. Not to mention the fact that some of the nicknames are barely endearing; many of them evoke incompetence. To be honest, is anyone going to want to fly with a pilot named "Crash" who doesn't know him?

Given that this is an episode written by a writer who has a literal "Who" resume and hasn't acted as an actual writer in over SIX YEARS, I think this was fully to be expected. But dang, man, WTF.

This is why you don't just grab a random dude who has no experience, let alone pony experience, to do an episode. Like, For all the people who were arguing at the people doomsaying due to Dave rapp having no experience: Requiring experience is required for a REASON. THIS IS WHY.

 

Its not that the writers ran out of talent but that they brought in someone WITHOUT talent to do this one :/

 

Dave Polsky? Its dave rapp I thought.

I'm not going to go out and fault an inexperienced writer alone yet. I don't know what you think of "Sleepless in Ponyville", but I do think it was a good first impression for Corey Powell, as was "Maud Pie" for Noelle Benvenuti. Even Teddy Antonio can be pegged as serviceable at least for "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and he was 15 at the time and just happened to have a social connection to Meghan McCarthy through his parents. Just because a writer is inexperienced doesn't mean he's going to suck; they all had to start out somewhere, and everyone's going to have bad episodes.

 

To be honest, many of the bad moments in the episode reeked of Dave Polsky influence, from the drawn-out comedy sequences hiding a paper-thin plot ("Games Ponies Play") to Spike as a sight gag ("Rarity Takes Manehattan"), to an insincere cop-out ending ("Appleoosa's Most Wanted") and a barrage of pop-culture humor. The irony being that this episode seems to represent a revival of the worst trends of Season 4 to me, while Polsky was arguably one of the best writers of that season ("Manehattan", "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils").

Edited May 7, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Foliha 395]

Re: the hazing.  Pretty mild hazing to my mind and Rainbow Dash needed taking down a few pegs anyway.  Her head got so fat she was flying blind.  She's flying with the big ponies now and needs to be more heads-up and chill. 

 

As shown before, RD is really solipsistic and needs refinement on her team player skills.  Precision work needs focus, not showboating, and I think the treatment she got from her team-mates brought that front and center.  Let's hope she can keep the lesson in her pea brain.

 

I'm very fond of Rainbow Dash, but her weakness is her tendency to let her ego catapult her into a place of no caution.  Loyalty is her element, and she will always be there in a pinch, but often the pinch comes about when her self-absorption blinds her to the danger she's flying into. 

 

Chiil, Dashie, chill.  And stay frosty!

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

I'm considering dropping the show. If this season is going to have more episodes like this, then I don't want to watch it anymore. 

 

I told you people the quality of the show would go down without Larson, AKR, McCarthy, etc. 

Edited May 7, 2016 by VG_Addict

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

I'm considering dropping the show. If this season is going to have more episodes like this, then I don't want to watch it anymore. 

 

I told you people the quality of the show would go down without Larson, AKR, McCarthy, etc. 

yeah. This episode was really one of the worst I've seen yet. I was pretty amibilent towards this season since it was mostly lukewarm so far, but THIS is just bad bad.

 

 

Fair enough, but I meant to the point that the Wonderbolts were revealed to publicly display their nicknames as their identities, which was never established in any previous episodes. Not to mention the fact that some of the nicknames are barely endearing; many of them evoke incompetence. To be honest, is anyone going to want to fly with a pilot named "Crash" who doesn't know him?

I'm not going to go out and fault an inexperienced writer alone yet. I don't know what you think of "Sleepless in Ponyville", but I do think it was a good first impression for Corey Powell, as was "Maud Pie" for Noelle Benvenuti. Even Teddy Antonio can be pegged as serviceable at least for "Keep Calm and Flutter On", and he was 15 at the time and just happened to have a social connection to Meghan McCarthy through his parents. Just because a writer is inexperienced doesn't mean he's going to suck; they all had to start out somewhere, and everyone's going to have bad episodes.

 

To be honest, many of the bad moments in the episode reeked of Dave Polsky influence, from the drawn-out comedy sequences hiding a paper-thin plot ("Games Ponies Play") to Spike as a sight gag ("Rarity Takes Manehattan") to a barrage of pop-culture humor. The irony being that this episode seems to represent a revival of the worst trends of Season 4 to me, while Polsky was arguably one of the best writers of that season ("Manehattan", "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils").

 

 

but to it wasn't polsky though, It was dave rapp

[TheAnimatorOfficial 566]

Yeah, this is the worst episode of the series. 3/10.

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

To be fair on the nicknames bit, Rainbow Dash could have used her experience with having been called the same nickname before as a motivator, had she been more open about her feelings and not so ready to tear things down because they weren't going her way. The episode needed a bit more moderation and didn't need to cast either side as 100% right or wrong. It just needed to portray its characters a bit more fairly, not make Rainbow Dash into a spoiled, incompetent child and not make the Wonderbolts a group that delights in public shaming and is too blind to notice when one of their own members is underperforming.

 

Having the nicknames is okay as long as everyone learns to live with it.

yeah. This episode was really one of the worst I've seen yet. I was pretty amibilent towards this season since it was mostly lukewarm so far, but THIS is just bad bad.

 

 

 

 

but to it wasn't polsky though, It was dave rapp

Polsky does bear some of the responsibility given that he has a co-writing credit on the story, and considering Rapp was new to the show, either had Rapp finish the script for him or coached him in his own writing style. Otherwise, Polsky may have personally recommended Rapp for the job based on their stylistic similarities. It's speculative as to how exactly Polsky and Rapp worked together, but consistencies in the flaws of this and other Polsky episodes invite the comparisons.

 

But seeing how Rapp isn't on Twitter and doesn't partake in fandom activities, I wouldn't blame him given the reception he's getting. The guy co-writes one bad episode and he's getting crapped on from a mile high over it. On top of that, most of the comments against him simply state that it's because he's inexperienced. To shame the man just because he doesn't have a resume or relevant experience is disrespectful to anyone trying to break into this or any industry, especially considering we have no knowledge of how he got this job to begin with. Inexperienced does not automatically mean untalented. I would be the last one to tell a rookie at anything to quit on day one of their job. Many people struggling to find work deal with that perception every day.

 

Yes, he wrote a bad episode. But he probably has a long career ahead of him and may eventually either mature his writing style to fit this show or find another show whose style Rapp's has better cohesion with.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

This one goes on my "Meh" list. Great to see Dashie as a Wonderbolt...but it was very cringy...I knew it was gonna be cringy...but I didn't think it would be this bad...

[NeonCobalt 256]

I thought this was a pretty good episode. It was great to see Rainbow Dash finally achieve her dream of finally becoming a Wonderbolt. But of course something has to go wrong, or otherwise there wouldn't be a conflict. I'll admit that Rainbow's impressions of the Mane 6 were pretty, um, interesting. Okay, they were pretty funny. Speaking of Mane characters, where was Starlight in this episode? I'm only curious because she seems to be a "part of the group" now, seeing as she went to the Crystalling, and she didn't know what a Wonderbolt was last episode, so this would have been a perfect opportunity for Rainbow Dash to show her what they were all about. Anyway, really not too much to say on this one. Pretty good episode, 9/10.

 

Oh and Spitfire's nickname being "Sh*tfire" will be my headcanon until contradicted.

[twiia 1,842]

5th best episode EVER! I thought it was really funny. I'm gonna call her Rainbow Crash from now on... 

[Cleverclover 1,525]

I can barely get over how terrible this episode was. The very goal Rainbow Dash has been working towards since episode one has finally been fulfilled in the most unspectacular way imaginable, giving a very good example as to why you don't give milestone episodes to new writers. PERIOD. 

 

First off, this episode seemed to go out of its way to imply that the influence Rainbow Dash has had on the Wonderbolts over the last few seasons to change their ways ultimately went nowhere. They're still jerkish and unpleasant, and it seems really insulting that they don't show Rainbow Dash any of the respect we know that she earned from them in the previous seasons. 

 

The fact that they commonly refer to each other by embarrassing nicknames does not vindicate them for running Rainbow into the ground for the entire episode after she made just one mistake. They can't just snap back to saying "Yeah, Rainbow Dash, we totally respect you" after spending the entire episode implying just the opposite. 

 

The imitation scene: pointless and cringeworthy filler.

 

The episode utterly fails to give me any reason whatsoever has to why Rainbow Dash has it in her head that imitating her friends to the Wonderbolts will improve her reputation in any way. Seriously, I cannot even begin to understand the logic behind this, and that's honestly because there is none. This scene was only included because the writer thought it would be funny, I guess, but it's not. It's hard to watch. It's like watching her deliberately injure herself just to get others to laugh. 

 

I'm honestly guessing that the scene was inspired by Dash's brief imitation of Twilight in The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, but there are two very good reasons as to why that scene was actually funny while this one was not: 

 

1. The reason as to why Rainbow was doing it was clear. She was simply mocking Twilight for her attempts to micromanage their mission without even being there. Meanwhile, there is no reason given as to why she mocks her friends to the Wonderbolts. There is no context, no reasoning, no justification, and thus it ultimately comes across as Rainbow Dash acting embarrassingly out of character towards the very ponies she has respected for so long. 

 

2. It didn't go on longer than it needed to. Seriously, if the joke in this episode was funny at all, it certainly stopped being funny after she imitated Pinkie. Everything beyond that was simply painful to watch as well as pointless filler, since we as the viewers know that this is doing absolutely nothing for her but digging her hole even deeper. 

 

Like the last episode, this episode was in serious need of better execution. There honestly was a good premise to work with concerning Rainbow Dash feeling intimidated at the notion of flying with ponies who actually are at her level. This is something we could have gotten had this episode been written for last season while Larson and AKR were still on the staff. With either of them, this could have something thematically meaningful, much like Canterlot Boutique, Amending Fences, and Crusaders of the Lost Mark. I guess we know how much the show is suffering without them...

[Megas 27,052]

But seeing how Rapp isn't on Twitter and doesn't partake in fandom activities, I wouldn't blame him given the reception he's getting. The guy co-writes one bad episode and he's getting crapped on from a mile high over it.

Doesn't really help that his first episode was a milestone episode for one of the show's more popular characters, so expectations were gonna be extremely high. I really have to wonder what they were thinking when they went that route as it can say quite a bit. 

 

I mean Rainbow Dash joining the Wonderbolts is kind of a huge deal, it's something they've been building up since season 1, in this episode she finally achieves that goal but it was given to her so anticlimactically, like literally it was like "Hey Rainbow, guess what, you're in the WB now." "Yay! :D" . It's...a gigantic slap in the face for all of the fans of the character, or for those who were looking forward to that moment, especially considering how grand they've made all of the other characters accomplishments and goals.

 

That opening is looking like my most hated scene in the show

Edited May 7, 2016 by Megas

[Luminance 2,181]

Here's my take. Rainbow Dash's too big to fail mentality got to the best of her when trying to fit into the Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts also didn't really help motivate Dashy by calling her by her haunted filly nickname so both sides essentially don't help. It was nice to see the others mane characters be there for Rainbow Dash when she's down and to cheer her up, like in "Wonderbolt Academy".

 

The thing that got me was the impersonation of the other mane characters. Here we have Rainbow Dash trying to feel accepted but in the same time we see trying to be somepony she's not and I know it's played for laughs, but her very own character what makes her stand out. By being a fraud or being self-glorious grants you instant acceptance then she's wrong, and at the end she learned the hard way. The resolution has a couple of gripes. I don't really see why they awaited the last moment to tell Rainbow Dash that the suppose "nicknames" were to rather not insult you but a attribute to yourself.

 

I feel like it was a good episode for development of Rainbow, but the way it was portrayed and the odd pacing puts it behind the pack.

[weesh 690]

I can barely get over how terrible this episode was. The very goal Rainbow Dash has been working towards since episode one has finally been fulfilled in the most unspectacular way imaginable

 

This is exactly my problem with it.

So much anticipation, so much disappointment.  

[Aurora Glimmer 494]

I liked today's episode. There were certainly moments where I felt for Dash, but it never veered into uncomfortable territory for me. I don't see what all the fuss is about, nor did I see anything wrong with the ending. 8.5/10