Character Development Comparison in the first 3 Seasons

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

From the start to where the show is now, all of the characters have definitely grown in personality and have been explored in many venues. This is why I say MLP:FIM is one of the most well-developed and deep shows to air on television.

 

Let's take Rainbow Dash for instance

 

When we first meet Rainbow Dash in the pilot episode of Season 1, she was first perceived by Twilight as "lazy" as we clearly hear Twilight say: "Well, she not doing a very good job is she?", for she was not clearing the clouds like she was supposed to. However, when she clears the skies in "10 seconds flat", we can clearly see Rainbow Dash as one of the top flyers. But, she states she wants to join the Wonderbolts, which is her lifelong dream. It is still relatively shallow here, until episode 2 rolls around. Here, we learn that Rainbow Dash represents the Element of Loyalty, and here, we see major development of the rest of the main cast. In short, the Elements of Harmony play a major role in character development, for they establish the key trait in that character.

 

As Season 1 advances, we continue to learn about Rainbow Dash. Eventually, we learn that she is very competitive  as we see in Fall Weather Friends. We even see her taking it as far as cheating just so she could win. On top of that, when she wins the Iron Pony contest against Applejack, she must announce it to everyone she sees, as she declares in The Running of the Leaves "Make way for the Iron Pony!". Here, we learn some negative traits about Rainbow, her arrogant and brash side of her. 

 

Rewinding a bit, in Episode 5 of Season 1, we also learn that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have some sharing traits. We also see another loyalty moment, as Rainbow Dash defends her friends from her use-to-be friend Gilda, who misinterprets the definition of "cool". 

 

In Episode 16, we learn that despite Rainbow Dash's go-getter atitude, she can be very sensitive when it comes to flight competitions, especially if it involves the Wonderbolts. She even goes as far as having a mental breakdown. 

 

In Season 2, we see somewhat of a change in Rainbow Dash.

 

In episode 7, Rainbow Dash needs a pet and of course she wants the coolest pet. Completely forgetting about loyalty, she goes about having a competition: a race to see which pet is the fastest. In the end, she was caught in a rock slide, as the falcon left her there. The turtle, the "uncoolest" (as said by Rainbow Dash), rescued her. In the end, she chose the turtle as her pet, for she learned that the best/coolest/most radical pet is one that is loyal, and is always there to help.

 

Despite being dubbed as one of the worst episodes, episode 8, to me, Rainbow Dash receives a huge wakeup call, for it took all of her friends abandoning her, for her to learn that bragging isn't the right thing to do when one is a hero. Together, Rainbow Dash's friends, showed, that by just acting, can produce 10x more than acting + bragging. 

 

Episode 16 is a big one for Rainbow Dash, as she has been stereotyping for a while up to this point. She states that "reading is for eggheads". In truth, reading is for everyone. One does not simply spend their life in the air, flying and doing tricks. Life has to be a balance. This episode really taught Rainbow Dash to not dislike something and stereotype others about it, before she even tried it. 

 

To wrap up season 2, we see Rainbow Dash's caring side again in Hurricane Fluttershy. Fluttershy, being a weak flyer, does not want to participate in the water-gathering process, for she's afraid of being humiliated. Rainbow Dash states to forget her past and look at that moment. Fluttershy has a hard time with this, but in the end, she pulls it off and is crowned "Best Flyer" by Rainbow Dash.

 

Finally, we see two major episodes of development in Season 3. Starting in episode 6, we see that Scootaloo idolizes Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash never really pays attention to her. Scootaloo proclaims that Rainbow Dash will take her under her wing as a big sister. As the episode progresses, Rainbow Dash slowly starts paying attention to Scootaloo, but only artificially. It wasn't until Scootaloo wandered out of the campsite, fell into a river and nearly went over a waterfall. Here, a new relationship is established, for Scootaloo discloses to Rainbow Dash about what she really wanted to do. Instead of haranguing her, Rainbow Dash instead comforts her and states that she was scared of the scary stories as well. By self-disclosing, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo formed a new bond, and a new sister relationship. 

 

In the episode following, we see Rainbow Dash finally accomplishing the first-half of her dream: Attending the Wonderbolt Academy. Here, we see Rainbow Dash pushing herself like she has always been. However, a pegasus named Lightning Dust proves to be an equal match. When Lightning Dust is selected to be leader of the pair, Rainbow Dash is disappointed. Yet, Lightning Dust has her own reasons why she's pushing herself. She completely disregards the other cadets and even goes as far as putting them in danger. The last string is cut when Rainbow Dash is forced to make a tonado in order to clear the skies, as her friends are coming in the balloon to deliver her care package. The balloon strings snap and her friends are sent plummeting to the ground. A super loyalty moment is found here. Because of the impression that the Wonderbolts want recklessness and not care about other cadets, Rainbow Dash quits, but not letting Spitfire respond. After a few minutes, Spitfire comes out and states Rainbow Dash was right about pushing herself to best she can be, but not at the cost of the other cadets. 

 

This is why I say that MLP:FIM is a show with some of the best character developments. What do you think about character developments in each season so far? What do you think the writers will explore in season 4 and beyond?  

[SoarinBlue 202]

I would actually disagree here. Characters often feint towards development within episodes, but don't significantly change. The example you used of Dash, she starts reading in an episode. She starts caring for Fluttershy. All these things are true inside of their self contained episodes, but if you look at how they were from the start of the series and how they are now, there is virtually no difference. Dash is still an egotistic show off to mask her own confidence problems and is still blunt and has a tin ear for social situations. Twilight, for all she's supposedly learned about friendship, would rather be in her library studying by herself just as she was at the start of the show. Fluttershy is still shy and quiet. They haven't changed as much as you think