episode S07:E18 - Daring Done

[Sly 236]

I gotta admit thought, the weak story of Rockhoof in Campfire Tales, as well as the big writing (or better storyboarding) problem in this episode, made me scared for the finale. We know that the legendary ponies will have something to do with the S7 finale, since the seventh issue ties in with it, then we know that Twilight will fight with the Pony of Shadows in it, and of course while I can't be sure about it for now, there is the possible foreshadowing in Mirror Magic (Starlight mentioned that Twilight and her friends were called away to solve a friendship problem). I think that all these clues make things clear about the story arc of this season, which is builden especially for the finale, but frankly unlike the keys' one in S4, I'm not liking too much how is turning out, or better I am but not how I expected to. So far the episodes of this arc were close to be great but were heavely penalized by a single but BIG flaw (Rockhoof's story in Campfire Tales, and RD's ponynapping in Daring done) and were both problems that could  have been easely avoided.... I really hope the finale manages to not screw things up even worse...

[Dynamo Pad 12,001]

I liked this episode and found it enjoyable to watch. I laughed when Pinkie talked about the parasprite infestation in Fillydelphia. I remember that had happened back in season 1 in the episode, "Swarm of the Century." I wonder if that took 6 seasons to get rid of the parasprites, or the creatures came back now and again. Either way, it was pretty funny and a nice callback. It was nice to see Daring Do's home after not seeing it for a couple of seasons. It was really cool to see a new location in Equestria. When they said Southern Equestria, isn't that the general location of where the movie will take place? I'm not entirely sure if that's true, but it's pretty cool that we're getting more world building in Equestria. I really liked the legend of Somnambula and it was great to see another pony legend. It was surprising to see Daring Do feel sad and disheartened, but I can somewhat relate to that. This year hasn't been the best with a lot of stuff going on in my life. There are times I feel down and want to give up hope. I like how Pinkie and Rainbow were there to help Daring Do become hopeful again and to not give up. It made me realize that I shouldn't give up on myself, or lose hope. When Pinkie talked about the muffins at the inn, I honestly thought that Derpy would be at the inn, as well. Even though she wasn't, that would have been pretty cool if she was there. I also thought Twilight, or even Quibble Pants would go with Rainbow since they've met Daring Do. However, I feel that Pinkie was a pretty good fit for this episode. I liked how she helped Daring Do remain hopeful when Daring lost hope in herself. As well as showing restraint when Daring Do felt uncomfortable about talking about her retirement. All in all, I really enjoyed the episode. I hope we get to see more Daring Do episodes in the future.  

[Ganondox 899]

Well that was a surprise. I found it kinda meh. Interesting idea and enjoyable to watch, but the moral seemed to be a little bit jumbled (seems like they couldn't decide on hope or righting wrongs and failed to properly do either), and they could have took more risks than they did. I did like the Somnambula part though, definitely one of the better legends. 

Edited September 5, 2017 by Ganondox

[DonMaguz 1,023]

I found this episode very entretaining, it had a good premise, Pinkie and Dash were endearing on their support to A.K.'s hard time, the city and legend of Sonambula were greatly shown as ancient/modern Egypt societies, but I didn't feel too moved or excited about it.

Maybe I was not in the mood, but with everything that was going on in the episode I felt like I should have been more excited at their travel to Southern Equestria or thrilled about Sonambula's story or Rainbow Dash's kidnap, but I really didn't feel it. I knew it was entretaining enough for me to watch the episode without distractions, but it failed to lure my emotions out as I would have expected.

Overall I think it is a good episode (probably even great), just not the type of episode I invest myself too much on.

I'll give it a biased 6/10.

Edited September 5, 2017 by DonMaguz

[Ganondox 899]

On 9/3/2017 at 9:12 AM, Jeric said:

 

Everytime there is a Daring Do story at least one character drops a few IQ points though. Everyone watching likely knew that was the good Dr.

This further confirms my theory that all Daring Do episodes are actually fanfiction written by Rainbow Dash. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Just now, Ganondox said:

This further confirms my theory that all Daring Do episodes are actually fanfiction written by Rainbow Dash. 

You mean this episode is not REAL!? Thanks god. 

 

[Ganondox 899]

1 minute ago, Lambdadelta said:

You mean this episode is not REAL!? Thanks god. 

 

Of course not, and neither is Daring Don't. If both were real and this took place after Fame and Misfortune, then there would be a contradiction. Now, the Stranger than Fiction One IS real, but that's only because Rainbow Dash did in fact take the deluxe adventure pack at the convention. 

Also, am I the only person who had problems with the episode, but didn't mind Rainbow's capture? Like, it's such a minor and irrelevant detail. Just stretch your imagination a bit to find an explanation. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Just now, Ganondox said:

Of course not, and neither is Daring Don't. If both were real and this took place after Fame and Misfortune, then there would be a contradiction. Now, the Stranger than Fiction One IS real, but that's only because Rainbow Dash did in fact take the deluxe adventure pack at the convention. 

What a crazy headcannon  I just hope it was true, because i cannot accept RD being capture by those thugs without any resistence at all, I could argue RD was being sudden attacked in Stranger Than Fanfiction and she was busy trying to prove to Quibble that Daring Do stories were real, but in Daring Done, she looked like a helpless girl and screaming for help, without any fight at all, that role should belong to Rarity, not RD.  

[Ganondox 899]

Just now, Lambdadelta said:

What a crazy headcannon  I just hope it was true, because i cannot accept RD being capture by those thugs without any resistence at all, I could argue RD was being sudden attacked in Stranger Than Fanfiction and she was busy trying to prove to Quibble that Daring Do stories were real, but in Daring Done, she looked like a helpless girl and screaming for help, without any fight at all, that role should belong to Rarity, not RD.  

Oh, I can accept that just fine, mainly I just accept not every scene in a given episode as canon as it's a means to tell the story, not a documentary. Also, she could have just have had a massive brain fart.  The reason the Daring Do episodes must be fanfiction is because Daring Do cannot be real, just nope on so many levels. 

[Hierok 11,833]

4 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

What a crazy headcannon  I just hope it was true, because i cannot accept RD being capture by those thugs without any resistence at all, I could argue RD was being sudden attacked in Stranger Than Fanfiction and she was busy trying to prove to Quibble that Daring Do stories were real, but in Daring Done, she looked like a helpless girl and screaming for help, without any fight at all, that role should belong to Rarity, not RD.  

This was also one of my concerns. Also the story of the sphinx was a little dumb. I mean, cross this bridge blindfolded and I will leave. Couldn't it be a little bit challenging. 

[Ganondox 899]

On 9/3/2017 at 7:51 PM, Lambdadelta said:

Daring Done, another super 'meh' episode of S7, written by the G.M Berrow, the same writer who wrote FLUTTERSHY LEANS IN  After The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, there is no DECENT episodes i got from this writer. Visually amazing but shallow stories, kudo to the animators but a thumb down to the writer. I just got a good episode after one 'meh' Spike episode then i got this, that quality control right there, people shitting on Josh Haber as story-editor but our lady story-editor didnt do their job that well (i love their eps but what wrong with the inconsistency this season?). 

Thanks to early release, i dont have to wait for this episode.

Worst Daring Do episode.

Didn't realize she wrote that one, I thought it was new writer sister-pair. Well then, she is definitely the worst writer of this season. Pinkie Pie Knows wasn't that great either, just okay. Still found this episode to be better than Daring Don't, which I place as one of the worst episodes in the series. 

Edited September 5, 2017 by Ganondox

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Just now, Hierok said:

Couldn't it be a little bit challenging. 

Even Dragonshy look more challanging than this...

 

[Ganondox 899]

3 minutes ago, Hierok said:

This was also one of my concerns. Also the story of the sphinx was a little dumb. I mean, cross this bridge blindfolded and I will leave. Couldn't it be a little bit challenging. 

Yeah, I liked the idea, but that challenge was really easy. Just be careful were you step and you'll be fine. If you get scared you might lose your balance than just crawl.  

Edited September 5, 2017 by Ganondox

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

6 minutes ago, Ganondox said:

Didn't realize she wrote that one, I thought it was new writer sister-pair. Well then, she is definitely the worst writer of this season. Pinkie Pie Knows wasn't that great either, just okay. 

At least, the episode is pure fun, good pacing, the keyword is "FUN", which the others two didnt have.

I cant believe one writer can write 2 bad episodes in one season. Even Kevin Lappin wrote one 'meh' Honest Apple and comeback with 'Good' To Change a Changeling or Fox Bros comeback with the great Discordant Harmony. Berrow should get back to her books and stay away from the show, she is worse than Merriwether Williams.  

Edited September 5, 2017 by Lambdadelta

[Ganondox 899]

Just now, Lambdadelta said:

At least, the episode is pure fun, good pacing, the keyword is "FUN", which the others two didnt have.

I can believe one writer can write 2 bad episodes in one season. Even Kevin Lappin wrote one 'meh' Honest Apple and comeback with 'Good' To Change a Changeling or Fox Bros comeback with the great Discordant Harmony. Berrow should get back to her books and stay away from the show, she isnt worse than Merriwether Williams.  

Yeah, but I found this episode a little bit fun, at least with the Sphynx part. 

Are her books good? Maybe she just isn't good with the episode format because of the timing. 

Merriwether Williams isn't actually a bad show writer, she did a great job on other cartoons like Adventure Time. My Little Pony just doesn't fit her style at all. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Just now, Ganondox said:

Are her books good? Maybe she just isn't good with the episode format because of the timing.

I dont know her books are good or not but i know she is a regular book writer for the company with a ton of books with her name written on it, include Daring Do adventure book collections. And i see some people happy to see her writting for show due to her books so it means her books are not bad, come on, she wrote a lot of books, at least she should have some experiences... and her first episode made me like her in the first place...

5 minutes ago, Ganondox said:

Merriwether Williams isn't actually a bad show writer, she did a great job on other cartoons like Adventure Time. My Little Pony just doesn't fit her style at all. 

Only episode i hated from Merriwether until now is Spike At Your Service. Her Hearthwarming Eve, Putting Your Hoof Down and Wonderbolts Academy are amazing, her tributes to lore-building and characters development deserved a praise, even Dragon Quest is not as BAD as people made it out to be.

Recently, i finally FORGAVE Mare Do Well episode, its no longer in my black list, i find it more ten times enjoyable than 2 last Berrow's episodes COMBINED. 

 

[DJ_Bonebraker 183]

11 hours ago, Dynamo Pad said:

It was surprising to see Daring Do feel sad and disheartened, but I can somewhat relate to that. This year hasn't been the best with a lot of stuff going on in my life. There are times I feel down and want to give up hope. I like how Pinkie and Rainbow were there to help Daring Do become hopeful again and to not give up. It made me realize that I shouldn't give up on myself, or lose hope. When Pinkie talked about the muffins at the inn, I honestly thought that Derpy would be at the inn, as well. Even though she wasn't, that would have been pretty cool if she was there. I also thought Twilight, or even Quibble Pants would go with Rainbow since they've met Daring Do. However, I feel that Pinkie was a pretty good fit for this episode. I liked how she helped Daring Do remain hopeful when Daring lost hope in herself. As well as showing restraint when Daring Do felt uncomfortable about talking about her retirement. All in all, I really enjoyed the episode. I hope we get to see more Daring Do episodes in the future.  

This is probably why this episode really spoke to me:  I've been having a really rough time of it over the past year, where it seems like life has repeatedly knocked me down & took my lunch money (metaphorically speaking), and I've lost most of my self confidence as well as been constantly struggling against just giving in to the gaping abyss of despair that is constantly pulling at me.  So yeah, I can definitely relate to how Daring Do feels during this episode (particularly with how my ex-wife did her best to smear my name after she left, which is basically what Caballeron did to Daring Do).

[Sly 236]

*sigh* 

I kinda admit that the infamous scene wasn't really pleasing to watch, and it alone kinda prevented this episode from being in my "rewatch list" (the list of episodes I like to rewatch more and more). After that forced abomination that was TWABA, it isn't that pleasing for me to see one of the Mane 6 treated like this, and while she got rescued by another Mane 6 (and that made the whole thing more standeable compared to TWABA) the way RD got kidnapped was just horrible and stupid, and it heavely penalized what was and otherwise GREAT episode. Normally I would blame Haber and his return as story editor for this but for this specifica case i will blame the storyboarders instead, because if they boarded the scene more smartly I would have been much more easy on it (it isn't like it was that hard you know, they should have just made her caught on surprise or throwing a net on her. And if DD and Pinkie were more distant and only HEARD her screaming then the scene would have been done better). Even the scene of the rescue in a certain sense, I wouldn't say it was bull**** like people claim it to be but.... was really that hard to put the smoke pyramids in all the previous scenes as well? If Pinkie saw them before jumping then the scene would have been more sensical. So all in all, I believe that this time is not the writer to be blamed but the storyboarders and the directors. 

[Truffles 2,033]

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 10:10 PM, Jeric said:

That's the job of an editor. This was barely touched.  And no, I am not saying that all of the above were problems, but that is what a content editor would be considering. Haber just isn't that good at that particular role. He really is better at just handling writing assignments. 

If he's the one who was responsible for Spike not having a single bad appearance in S6, then as far as I'm concerned he can stay on as editor forever if that was the case. Of course, I have a personal bias in that judgement. 

As to who to blame for the various issues present in the few S6 and S7 episodes (in fact, all seasons for that matter) is difficult to say. I feel uncomfortable pinning it down on just one person since there have been a fair share of content problems evident in both seasons whether Haber's been at the helm or not. Songco, Lewis, and Haber were all (presumably, if the credits are to be believed) editors on this episode, so with all that brainpower between them it's still a mystery how the capture scene made it through like it did.

[Jeric 46,894]

54 minutes ago, Truffles said:

I feel uncomfortable pinning it down on just one person since there have been a fair share of content problems evident in both seasons whether Haber's been at the helm or not.

That's fair and you are right. Some editors and writers tend to gel better. Some editorial styles don't work with a specific writer's tendencies. He definitely knows how to edit as some episodes last season were well structured and focused. TWaBA is an example of that, though he shared a writing credit. 

I am actually curious why it needed double duty on story editing. We can only speculate, but it's possible that the team is spread thin so he could have been like a relief pitcher. 

[Zel 56]

Yeah. A really meh episode. If the legends are the common theme of this season and Campfire Tales and this episode are meant to built to the finale I'm afraid the writters did a very bad job about them since Campfire Tales was a bland and overall pretty meh episode and Daring Done too. I watched Daring Done some days ago and have pretty much no memory of it which isn't a really good sign since I usually have a pretty solid memory... guess Daring Done was just very forgettable and uninterresting.

What I remember about it : I found it meh and boring and was glad when the episode ended since it was so painful to watch this story unfold. Pinkie wasn't written bad. The fact that nobody recognize Cabalerone was so stupid it hurt... either make it clear that the characters weren't fooled by the silly disguise, either make the disguise better to not insult the ones watching the episode please. The kidnapping of RD was... a really stupid scene. The kidnapping in the precedent Daring Do's episode was much more convincing than this poor excuse. The moral around hope seemed rubish and too direct to be a really good moral for anybody (yeah we need to have hope to advance, but it's not a miracle solution for everything). The story ov Insomnia had good design choices. And finally the fact that Daring Do had done nothing and it was all the fault of Cabalerone was a really big misopportuniy I think... It would have been cool to have a moral like "Sometimes in triying to do something good we can inopportunely do something bad at the same times. It's good to recognize that and to try to repair the errors we could have made... but we can't always think about everyone and how our actions would impact them or else we can't live our life" or something like that. Instead this story is about hope and Rainbow was right from the start to idolize Daring Do and think Daring Do can't do anything bad even by accident... and it pisses me off. Oh and the fact there was some sort of... blowing plateforms in the green liquid to allow Pinkie and Daring to save Rainbow was... dumb. I think it was my most hated scene of the episode.

Yeah. I didn't really like this episode. The story of Insmonia wasn't that great even, probably my third favorite behind Mist Mane and even the pegasus one which wasn't even that well written. Yeah... not really impatient to see all of those legends returns in the last episode since the writter sold them very poorly to me...

[Dark Qiviut 22,681]

21 hours ago, Truffles said:

If he's the one who was responsible for Spike not having a single bad appearance in S6, then as far as I'm concerned he can stay on as editor forever if that was the case. Of course, I have a personal bias in that judgement. 

You have a point here. S6 has its problems, but Spike ain't one of 'em. Haber knows how to write and edit Spike better than anyone.

On 9/5/2017 at 1:34 AM, Lambdadelta said:

Recently, i finally FORGAVE Mare Do Well episode, its no longer in my black list, i find it more ten times enjoyable than 2 last Berrow's episodes COMBINED. 

Eh. Neither of her episodes were too good, but compared to Mare Do Well and its broken storytelling, they're more than passable.

4 hours ago, Zel said:

The story of Insmonia

I think you mean "the story of Somnambula."

That tale was fine, and it gave the town a real reason to commemorate her.

[Steve Piranha 29,504]

On 9/4/2017 at 1:14 AM, Jeric said:

 

I really wanted to like this one a lot. I really enjoy Rainbow Dash and her appearances this season have been superb. As it stands, there were a few problems I had with it. Did it ruin the whole thing for me? Not at all. I loved seeing the new lore. I wish the biggest gripe I had was that I have to learn how to spell a new character's exotic name.

 

I don't use the Fame and Misfortune card lightly. If you look a what post I've quoted, you'd see that the poster was expressing distaste about the overly whiny and negative criticism about Dashie's inability to fly in that particular scene, and by extend, the rest of the frequent negative overreaction the fandom has on both big and little things. You see, there's a difference between the comment I'm highlining of yours, and something like "I really liked that episode, but I think it was dumb for Rainbow Dash to not fly away from Caballeron and his goons", or even something like "Well, I can say with property that how RD was captured was pretty dumb ". Those opinions are valid, but  comments like: "HOW CAN RD DID GET CAPTURED LIKE THAT? WORST EPISODE EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF CARTOONS  ", that where I believe it needs some dose of Fame and Misfortune 

[Jeric 46,894]

On 9/3/2017 at 10:42 AM, Truffles said:

Not too bad of an episode, I'll say more after it airs properly. Rainbow and Pinkie pairings still work out great. A few rough spots during the second half. The legend of Sonambula was just as good as Mistmane's.

My reaction however to Rainbow getting captured without a fight?

I mean how could she forget to fly? I never thought I'd see the day Rainbow Dash would give up so easily to bunch of grounded Earth ponies! At least throw a few kicks at them before getting captured. That one scene really bugged me in an otherwise decent episode. 

 

On 9/3/2017 at 10:49 AM, Whompy Whomperson said:

Yeah, this part was really annoying and frustrating to watch in an otherwise good episode. The situation was so stupid and easily avoidable, yet RD not even attempting to put up a fight, or even just flying away was very unRainbow-like and Daring and Pinkie watching from a couple feet away yet somehow meaning they can't do anything was equally stupid. That entire sequence was a complete mess though.

Everything else was ace though, Pinkie and Rainbow are still great together, Daring Do is a cute, and worldbuilding! And I do like how they began showing the unintentional effects of Daring's adventures may have on others

 

On 9/3/2017 at 11:00 AM, Sly said:

In that particoular scene I wouldn't criticize much the writer... as much as the animator. It doesn't bug me the fact she got captured as much as the WAY it happened: if they came out of nowhere and jumped on her altogether (Like it happened twice in Stranger than FF) or throwing a net on her from above the crumbled statue, then the sequence would have made much more sense. I think the animators are the ones to blame for that particoular part. 

 

On 9/3/2017 at 11:12 AM, Jeric said:

And the fact that she was yards away from Daring and Pinkie ... 

This was a jaunt episode. Nothing bad in it, outside of the fact that this whole time I thought Equestria believed that Daring Do was a fictional character and instead it's like Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Assumption wrong I guess. 

The lore continued to be nice, and a nod to The Last Crusade with the leap of faith. Nice touch having Pinkie being the Pony to do that first. 

Everytime there is a Daring Do story at least one character drops a few IQ points though. Everyone watching likely knew that was the good Dr.

 

On 9/3/2017 at 0:29 PM, Barik the Luigineer said:

I found this episode to not be that great. I had issues with Rainbow Dash in this episode most particularly. She was being completely rude, cringy, and even stupid. Seriously, how did she NOT recognize Caballeron in that orange hood? He's the only pony I've seen with STUBBLE... Probably same goes for RD too... It was just too obvious... However, RD didn't even question it FOR ONE SECOND, and then ALLOWED herself to get captured (which I agree with @Truffles that it was 100% out of character). I also found Pinkie to be somewhat annoying in the earlier parts of the episode, though I feel like that was fairly minor considering she resolved BOTH conflicts, the second of which was 100% Rainbow Dash's fault. Also, the townspeople were awful. Nonetheless, the lore part was fairly interesting, and the plot resolved itself fairly well.

 

As I said in my most recent status, I overall rate this a 6/10, simply because Rainbow Dash was so awful here, and also because the townspeople were being mean and judgmental in a way that completely irritated me (You know what I really wanted to say here). It was on levels equal to the Rarity haters in "Fame and Misfortune".

 

On 9/3/2017 at 0:56 PM, jackfettgames said:

I actually enjoyed the first part of the episode.  The interactions between the main characters were well done, even if it did have a lot of exposition.

I like the world building in the Eygptian location.

Sonambula has set in as my second favorite legend, just behind Mistmane.

Yeah, Rainbow's capture just served as conflict without much reason.

Overall, I liked this episode more than the past two.

@Steve Piranha

These are the posts that reference the capture scene. I do not see one that sounds anything like what you mentioned. I see reasonable comments that may have pushed other people's sensitivity button. Most of them said they enjoyed  the episode and detailed flaws. Let's continue. 

On 9/3/2017 at 0:58 PM, Ryanmahaffe said:

Huh, it seems after Fame and Misfortune a lot of people are entering that "overly critical" mode. This usually happens after a "best of series" contender comes out, people are suddenly more disappointed by everything.

However it still seems that most people enjoyed it, just a reminder though, just because you don't like a certain scene should make the entire episode bad.

SP, This is the reference post that you made. Again let me remind you that by this point only one individual above said they did not like the episode. Only one. Since that post there was another one that really didn't like it. The majority either liked the episode and had no issues with that scene, or like parts of the episode and didn't like others. I stand firmly by what I said. There is no evidence up to that post you referenced that supports an overly critical view, or commentary absent salient and cogent observations.

 

So when you say this ... 

56 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

I don't use the Fame and Misfortune card lightly

I can't help but think you do because all of the above that I quoted shows that 

56 minutes ago, Steve Piranha said:

If you look a what post I've quoted, you'd see that the poster was expressing distaste about the overly whiny and negative criticism about Dashie's inability to fly in that particular scene, and by extend, the rest of the frequent negative overreaction the fandom has on both big and little things.

Doesn't fit with what I just showed you above. I didn't even have to go through and quote anything. I nearly memorized the scant three pages before making my tome of a post suggesting that people aren't actually reading what people are saying before jumping the gun. 

There's a amusing irony that I am returning to this thread to make a rebuttal against another post that did the same thing. 

The episode was ok. I could have been better. Scenes like the capture could have been written and structured with some additional polish to actually not distract from the interesting parts. 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,167]

@WiiGuy2014

I hope you don't mind me commandeering this thread for official episode discussion.