Rainbow Dash is an incredibly weird character

[Unlikeable Pony 2,699]

I really hope top bolt turns out to be a good episode, because DANGIT, they've done VERY poorly with dash in her Starring roles this season. (Though, at least her co-starring roles have been good in Saddle and row and Flutterbrutter).

 

 

  On 2016-08-15 at 1:31 AM, AlexanderThrond said:

That struck me as the primary theme of the key episodes overall, and in this regard "Rainbow Falls" might have been the clearest of them. 

I'm sad that AJ's episode was so boring; I really feel they could have done alot better showing that her element is difficult for her to live with; Hell, the pigasus IDW comic did that better.

[Megas 27,828]

  On 2016-08-15 at 3:18 AM, Unlikeable Pony said:

I really hope top bolt turns out to be a good episode, because DANGIT, they've done VERY poorly with dash in her Starring roles this season. (Though, at least her co-starring roles have been good in Saddle and row and Flutterbrutter).

 

At least pretty great in STFF too, she's a surprisingly good straight man

[Unlikeable Pony 2,699]

  On 2016-08-15 at 3:21 AM, Bumblebee said:

At least pretty great in STFF too, she's a surprisingly good straight man

Yes, Stranger than fan fiction was great. Its honestly a real breath of fresh air, and was a great episode to start the season back up from  hiatus with.

 

I KNOW she can be a good starring character, since she does it often, its just sad when we get episodes like This episode or Newbie dash that do it poorly

[Thrond 3,263]

  On 2016-08-15 at 3:18 AM, Unlikeable Pony said:

I'm sad that AJ's episode was so boring; I really feel they could have done alot better showing that her element is difficult for her to live with; Hell, the pigasus IDW comic did that better.

I really, really like that episode, actually. Provides a deep and meaningful challenge to Applejack's honesty that I found believable, emotionally compelling, and ultimately satisfying. 

[Unlikeable Pony 2,699]

  On 2016-08-15 at 3:40 AM, AlexanderThrond said:

I really, really like that episode, actually. Provides a deep and meaningful challenge to Applejack's honesty that I found believable, emotionally compelling, and ultimately satisfying. 

I just found it incredibly boring; The fact that a massive focus of it was on Granny, who I find really bland, didn't help.

[Thrond 3,263]

  On 2016-08-15 at 3:53 AM, Unlikeable Pony said:

I just found it incredibly boring; The fact that a massive focus of it was on Granny, who I find really bland, didn't help.

That'd do it, I guess. I happen to find Granny Smith really entertaining. 

[Unlikeable Pony 2,699]

  On 2016-08-14 at 6:14 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

I'm not even gonna pretend that's not what I'm complaining about, but the problem is that Dash so rarely gets episodes that really show off her positive strengths. Dash episodes are at least not repetitive like Fluttershy episodes so often are, but it feels like we almost never get to see her good side, especially compared to the likes of Rarity and Pinkie, whose episodes generally do a great job of balancing their positive qualities with their flaws. RD episodes tend to overemphasize her faults, and while I'm at it, Twilight episodes used to overemphasize her strengths, although lately the writers seem to have her buckling under her own self-expectations. Even Fluttershy at least gets to display her kindness most of the time; any glimpse of RD at her best is a rare treat. 

 

Although, part of the problem is just that the presentation is too simple and doesn't dig enough into the underlying motivations which RD episodes frequently imply. RD episodes are most frustrating because it seems so easy for them to be better. 

 

 

Dash doesn't even have to be shown 100% "good" to be GOOD either, which is really annoying; Like take Stranger than fan fiction. Dash was flawed in that episode too, but they still made her come off very charming and enjoyable without being an absolute douche like this episode.

 

It just seems like the writers like to be lazy with her is all.

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

  On 2016-08-15 at 5:45 PM, Unlikeable Pony said:

Dash doesn't even have to be shown 100% "good" to be GOOD either, which is really annoying; Like take Stranger than fan fiction. Dash was flawed in that episode too, but they still made her come off very charming and enjoyable without being an absolute douche like this episode.

 

It just seems like the writers like to be lazy with her is all.

 

I disagree with you on the last episode, I thought it was still pretty good despite Dash's jerkiness, but I just gotta say. Dash having incredibly inconsistent starring roles is nothing new, in fact it's felt like the freaking norm to me from the very beginning that almost every season Dash would have one great episode, and then the rest would be Meh at best and total trainwrecks at worst, the only exception to this is Season 5 (and 3 but she only had one episode there so can't really count it).

 

Iactually rank 28 Pranks in the upper half of Dash episodes, probably slightly bellow average overall but when it comes to Dash there's so many total trainwreck episodes like Mare-Do-Well, like Newbie Dash, like Rainbow Falls that an "okay" episode is probably above her average.

 

 

Frankly I think flat out she just doesn't have many fans on staff so they tend to put less polish into her episodes, kind of the flip side of Rarity who's episodes pretty much consistently feel the most polished and it's well known  that she's the favorite of quite a few of the higher ups and writers. 

 

O and she's pretty consistently better when she's paired up with someone rather than the sole star of an episode, Wonderbolt's Academy and Stranger Than Fanfiction are exceptions to this. 

Edited August 15, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[Thrond 3,263]

  On 2016-08-15 at 8:46 PM, M said:

Frankly I think flat out she just doesn't have many fans on staff so they tend to put less polish into her episodes, kind of the flip side of Rarity who's episodes pretty much consistently feel the most polished and it's well known that she's the favorite of quite a few of the higher ups and writers.

I believe this, which confuses me, as on paper she's probably one of the best characters in the show. Even weaker episodes like "Newbie Dash" have some interesting subtext, just because she's such an interesting, complex character. No reason she can't be consistent and fun as well, but few writers seem to fully "get" her. Aggravating.

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

  On 2016-08-15 at 8:57 PM, AlexanderThrond said:

I believe this, which confuses me, as on paper she's probably one of the best characters in the show. Even weaker episodes like "Newbie Dash" have some interesting subtext, just because she's such an interesting, complex character. No reason she can't be consistent and fun as well, but few writers seem to fully "get" her. Aggravating.

Yeah I don't know, like with Applejack and Fluttershy I get it, their just  hard to write in starring roles in general due to their archetypes, Applejacks the everyman straightman type character, the least quirky and flawed of the bunch so they ether have the make episodes as much about her family or some other character as about her or throw on some new quirk to make the episode work (which sometimes feels really weird and comes off wrong) 

 

Fluttershy is just an inheirently limited archetype in an episodic show, where yes you can have character development but you can't have a character lose their core, but with Fluttershy most of the main issues she's trying to move part are PART of the core of her character, if was suddenly brave and assertive all the time well, would she really be Fluttershy? Granted Flutter Brutter as a real step in the right direction with developing her but still keeping her feeling like herself. 

 

Dash doesn't have those inheirent problems but her episodes tend to be really mixed anyway.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,699]

  On 2016-08-15 at 8:46 PM, M'gann M'orzz said:

 

Frankly I think flat out she just doesn't have many fans on staff so they tend to put less polish into her episodes, kind of the flip side of Rarity who's episodes pretty much consistently feel the most polished and it's well known  that she's the favorite of quite a few of the higher ups and writers.

 

This is one big reason I miss S1/S2 and the writers, as Larson, Renzetti and faust really seemed to "Get" dash and want to have alot of effort put into her episodes.

 

I kind of wish we could get Kristine songco and Joanna to write some dash episodes, as those two seem to actually put in some effort for dash, based on the clips of LOE I've seen and Dash in rarity investigates. (though that's also probably just because they care in GENERAL about the show. The only bad episode they've done has been hooffields and McColts)

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

  On 2016-08-15 at 10:10 PM, Unlikeable Pony said:

This is one big reason I miss S1/S2 and the writers, as Larson, Renzetti and faust really seemed to "Get" dash and want to have alot of effort put into her episodes.

 

I kind of wish we could get Kristine songco and Joanna to write some dash episodes, as those two seem to actually put in some effort for dash, based on the clips of LOE I've seen and Dash in rarity investigates. (though that's also probably just because they care in GENERAL about the show. The only bad episode they've done has been hooffields and McColts)

Wait you thought S2 Dash was good? I HATED Rainbow in Season 2, like she was far worse there than any other season, even outside of her own episodes she was in show off her worst traits all the time mode, other than Hurricane Fluttershy. I literally cannot think of a worse season for a speific character than S2 for RD, maybe S4 for Twilight and Pinkie I guess would be close though in a different way.

 

Season 1 I don't know, the only particularly memorable thing for me from Dash in S1 looking back is Rainboom.

 

If you want to know, the one person on staff right now who Iv heard really has Dash as their favorite is Vogel, maybe he should try writing another Dash ep, I mean Stranger than Fanfiction was really solid. Lewis and Songco are just great in general, only character I feel they don't get much is Fluttershy, but then most of the staff never has, even Larson's said he always had a hard time writing her. Amazingly for all the bashing he gets over Newbie Dash, David Rapp is in my eyes just for Flutter Brutter the person who's written Fluttershy the best since like freaking 2012. But yeah them and Confalone are the best of the S5 writers, I really hope that they get at least one more S6 episode even with writing EGQ4 and all.

 

Can't really decide on the Fox Brothers yet, I liked Gift of Maud Pie plenty but AJs day off was the worst episode of the season. But then that was a Duesdau story and pretty much everything he touches seems to end up sucking so I can't say how much of that was their fault. Not enough for me to really decide on the writer of the last episode ether yet. Vogel is probably the best of the new S6 writers though, which isn't surprising given he's actually worked on the show for years. Hearthswarming and Stranger Than Fanfiction were great, though Spice Up Your Life was more mixed but not bad.

Edited August 15, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[Megas 27,828]

  On 2016-08-15 at 10:22 PM, M'gann M'orzz said:

 I literally cannot think of a worse season for a speific character than S2 for RD, maybe S4 for Twilight and Pinkie I guess would be close though in a different way.

S6 is getting there for AJ. I'd argue S2 was also pretty awful for Pinkie

 

We need the same effort they used in S3 for Dash back. As far as entire seasons go, I'd argue that was the highest high for any character

[Whirlwind 1,059]

Newbie Dash is my favorite episode of season 6 to be honest.

Can't believe so many people hate it. 

I'm special

Edited August 16, 2016 by Captain Whirlwind

[M'gann M'orzz 745]

  On 2016-08-15 at 10:32 PM, Bumblebee said:

S6 is getting there for AJ. I'd argue S2 was also pretty awful for Pinkie

 

We need the same effort they used in S3 for Dash back. As far as entire seasons go, I'd argue that was the highest high for any character

Pinkie in S2? I don't think she's too bad there, though I guess her own episodes in it tended to be weaker than in other seasons, like Baby Cakes and Mystery on the Friendship Express are throughly meh, and frankly the only reason people remember a Friend In Deed so much is the big song though it's still alright. 

 

And yeah AJ is having issues this season, partially because she's not being given time in the supporting role too, where is where she usually excells. Fluttershy has done almost nothing this season but merely by virtue of Flutter Brutter being the first episode to actually develop her in years it's one of her better ones. I suppose it's better with FS that they only really use her when they know they have an idea for her, rather than just do the same thing over and over or throw gimmicks at her endlessly like they did in S4.

Edited August 16, 2016 by M'gann M'orzz

[heavens-champion 1,905]

At this, point I think they should stop making episode where Rainbow Dash gets a taste of her own medicine. Because they create only thing in the fandom: Drama.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,303]

A brief word on weird:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I don't think "weird" is necessarily a bad thing.  And, while we're on the subject, it's pretty weird that a bunch of teens and adults, male or otherwise, watch MLP:FIM and then scrutinize and discuss the series and the ponies at length.  I'm not saying bad.  I'm not saying good.  I'm saying weird.  So, at worst, we have a case of weird calling the weird weird.

 

 

 

I've been a fan of show-Dash from the start, and that's never wavered.  The same things that other people might have been put off by were some of the things that appealed to me, and Rainbow had development on top of a foundation that I already liked.

 

  On 2016-08-14 at 5:02 PM, 'Ruthborn' said:

I would like to point out that sometimes people do regress to their bad habits IRL.

A friend of mine recently brought up precisely that.  The show's viewers want the ponies to be complex and developed and likeable and believable, but they also expect them to never have moments where they backslide.  Never have moments where they seemingly repeat mistakes or behave in a way that isn't "consistent."  Because, as we all know, human beings never make the same mistake twice, never fall back on what might be perceived as bad habits, and never exhibit behavior that doesn't mesh with what others have come to expect from us.  Actually, it'd be pretty damned amazing if we could all get over a problem or arguable character flaw in the space of twenty-two minutes; or even a few days.

 

I see people criticizing and / or condemning the ponies for some of the most ridiculous and minor things.  Things they themselves might have been guilty of at some point.  It isn't solely the show that's focusing on the negative; it's the fandom.  There will never be a perfect enough episode that perfectly portrays this or that pony to the satisfaction of all.  I enjoyed parts of "Mysterious Mare Do Well," "Daring Don't," "Rainbow Falls," "Tanks for the Memories," and "Newbie Dash," but it's possible that I was looking to those episodes for entertainment rather than life lessons.  And I care about the pony that appears in those episodes; a pony that I've watched for going-on six seasons.  I don't expect her to be perfect anymore than I expect anyone to be perfect, and I know full well that she possesses great and admirable qualities.  Qualities that I sometimes wish that I had.  I don't suddenly lose sight of that because she does something that someone's going to complain about.  I see people who love her one episode and hate her the next.  You know what that is?

 

Inconsistent.

[IsraelYabuki 446]

Just thinking back to the Ticket Master episode can really boil even my O.Cs blood. Rainbow Dash may be cool to some of the bronies, but to me, her ego just makes her so....meh.

[ph00tbag 108]

  On 2016-08-16 at 12:11 AM, Captain Whirlwind said:

Newbie Dash is my favorite episode of season 6 to be honest.

Can't believe so many people hate it. 

I'm special

Many people find that the fact that the Wonderbolts call Dash names and make her clean shit diminishes the import of her finally flying with the Wonderbolts. It's odd because most viewers who are former and current military (myself included) find that aspect of the episode to be the most satisfying part of the episode, because the hazing, to us, is the most salient indicator that she's been included. She's not just wearing the uniform and performing the stunts. She's part of the team. But when we try to point that out, we're ignored. Go figure.

[Thrond 3,263]

  On 2016-08-16 at 2:08 AM, Ziggy and Angelbaby said:

A brief word on weird:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

but they also expect them to never have moments where they backslide. Never have moments where they seemingly repeat mistakes or behave in a way that isn't "consistent." Because, as we all know, human beings never make the same mistake twice, never fall back on what might be perceived as bad habits,

You have a point there, but at the same time, characters exhibiting such behaviour can easily come across repetitive, and that does make episodes less entertaining.

  On 2016-08-16 at 11:51 PM, ph00tbag said:

Many people find that the fact that the Wonderbolts call Dash names and make her clean shit diminishes the import of her finally flying with the Wonderbolts. It's odd because most viewers who are former and current military (myself included) find that aspect of the episode to be the most satisfying part of the episode, because the hazing, to us, is the most salient indicator that she's been included. She's not just wearing the uniform and performing the stunts. She's part of the team. But when we try to point that out, we're ignored. Go figure.

I'm not in the military, and part of me still wishes the Wonderbolts weren't so military-inspired, but hear you. It's also ironic, because her callsign was once used to insult her, but it's now turned into a symbol of a success - a sign that those bullies were wrong, and that she made it.

[Tarnation 142]

  On 2016-08-13 at 4:58 PM, TheAnimatorOfficial said:

She has both the best (Sleepless In Ponyville) and worst (Newbie Dash) episode in the series IMO. She is highly inconsistent in her characterization.

Well, it is strange for you, but in your opinion.

[cider float 2,538]

If they didn't keep bringing back the flaws of the character than they wouldn't have anything to write about them. They do have a defense on this because in real life people constantly get taught the same lesson but they keep making the same mistake over and over in different situations. Let's say all the characters do learn their lessons and they continues to learn different lessons and solving those, if we keep them consistent in that manner (which is unrealistic actually) they will all end up the same kind of character almost and would all end up a Mary Sue. They will all somewhat become streamlined. Let's say Rainbow Dash stops being arrogant altogether and Fluttershy stops having self-esteem issues. Then what happens, Rainbow Dash is more mellow with confidence and Fluttershy is more mellow with confidence... they become almost the same character... except maybe Rainbow Dash prefers to race with people and Fluttershy likes to take care of animals, they stay distinct on their hobbies but when their personality gets streamlined like that, I don't know about you but I prefer them to still have somewhat distinct personalities. I mean that reminds me of the G3 ponies, all the ponies have distinct hobbies but personality wise they are almost all streamlined. And like I said before it breeds new episodes, without their flaws it becomes harder to continue the series or at least harder to make an interesting episode (unless they introduce just another new character to dilute the pool of character quality).

Edited August 19, 2016 by cider float

[Thrond 3,263]

  On 2016-08-19 at 1:39 AM, cider float said:

If they didn't keep bringing back the flaws of the character than they wouldn't have anything to write about them. They do have a defense on this because in real life people constantly get taught the same lesson but they keep making the same mistake over and over in different situations. Let's say all the characters do learn their lessons and they continues to learn different lessons and solving those, if we keep them consistent in that manner (which is unrealistic actually) they will all end up the same kind of character almost and would all end up a Mary Sue. They will all somewhat become streamlined. Let's say Rainbow Dash stops being arrogant altogether and Fluttershy stops having self-esteem issues. Then what happens, Rainbow Dash is more mellow with confidence and Fluttershy is more mellow with confidence... they become almost the same character... except maybe Rainbow Dash prefers to race with people and Fluttershy likes to take care of animals, they stay distinct on their hobbies but when their personality gets streamlined like that, I don't know about you but I prefer them to still have somewhat distinct personalities. I mean that reminds me of the G3 ponies, all the ponies have distinct hobbies but personality wise they are almost all streamlined. And like I said before it breeds new episodes, without their flaws it becomes harder to continue the series or at least harder to make an interesting episode (unless they introduce just another new character to dilute the pool of character quality).

Characters can keep distinctive fundamental traits without needing to learn the same things or seemingly undo character development. If Dash becomes more humble and Fluttershy becomes more confidence, then they still could very easily have recognizable traits which make them distinct from each other. It's all a matter of the writers understanding the existing core of the character and expanding on it so they don't need to repeat ideas, so Fluttershy doesn't need to always be cowardly and Rainbow Dash doesn't need to always be insensitive. 

 

For example, "28 Pranks Later" would have worked significantly better if it had placed heavy emphasis on Rainbow Dash's reason for upping her pranks being to amuse her friends; too often this episode made her seem like she's doing it for her own amusement, and that doesn't feel like a nuanced understanding of her character. If she's trying to amuse them but approaching it wrong, then that completely changes how she fits into the story without needing to alter the moral at all. 

[idunnomaybe 344]

Newbie dash isn't inconsistent its actually pretty accurate to what happens in the Military  

Basically what happens is in the Civilian world you might be the strongest the fastest and a natural leader but when you join the Military you quickly (and often harshly) learn that you're nothing special there's always some one better than you and you often have no idea what you're doing but all that experience comes in time even fitness much much higher standards