S04:E04 - Daring Don't

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I'm surprised nobody mentioned this on the first page:

Anyone have comments on that look? Find it in the episode and then think about it.

[ThunderTwirl 11]

Daring do is now my second favorite because of this episode   

[Koelath 442]

I would not classify Dash as a "fangirl". If she was going to geek out over Daring Do, she would have been like that when she met the Wonderbolts. 

 

Whether you would classify her as such or not is irrelevant because a fangirl is exactly what she was in this episode. That's simply not even debatable.

 

And my deepest apologies, I wasn't aware that she was required by some mystical unknown laws to act exactly the same with both the Wonderbolts and Daring Do. You know, because some famous fliers are totally on the same level as an epic adventurer and worth an equal reaction. Of course, had you read my post in its entirety, you'd understand this concept already.

 

On a related note, who do you think you are? "If [x], she WOULD HAVE [y]!"...News flash: No, she wouldn't. That's not how her character works or has ever worked, and you don't get to arbitrarily redefine characters like that. Her reactions were not only in-character but far more realistic than what you're suggesting here.

 

Your claim: If she acts like a completely crazed fangirl over Daring Do, she would have been exactly as bad over the Wonderbolts.

 

Reality: That's asinine, unrealistic, and makes no sense at all.

 

 

Now, I'm going to present an analogy to explain this so keep reading:

 

I'm a fan of David Lynch (Wonderbolts). But I'm a much bigger fan of Stephen King (A.K. Yearling) and Batman (Daring Do).

 

If I met Lynch, I'd probably nerd out a bit (and she does do this with the Wonderbolts). But then let's say I meet Stephen King and then, to top it off, I discover that Stephen King is actually Batman in his spare time and all those comics are actually chronicles of his exploits. I'm probably going to totally lose my shit out of pure delight and awesome (which she does with Yearling/Daring Do).

 

Would it be at all reasonable for my reaction to be the same for both of these events? If you say "yes", you have a severe misunderstanding of how people work. The answer is no because one is just an enjoyed writer-director while the other is an enjoyed author who is also my most favorite hero ever, The Goddamn Batman.

 

To react equally to both of these things would, quite frankly, indicate something very wrong in my head. Like in Dwarf Fortress where winning a war creates the same boost in happiness as wearing a neat pair of socks. Nice socks are great and all but are they winning-a-war great? Hell no.

[Glaci 119]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this on the first page:

Anyone have comments on that look? Find it in the episode and then think about it.

Oh, I think we all know what's going on right there. If you don't just think about it. xD

[Castle Bleck 19,164]

What would Nostalgia Critic think?

 

 

Oh...

[TorqueEffect 112]

I would not classify Dash as a "fangirl". If she was going to geek out over Daring Do, she would have been like that when she met the Wonderbolts. 

Dude, she read the same book 12 times, she is a Fangirl.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Daring Don’t ended up being a decent episode, but not spectacular. I think the idea to make Daring Do a real life hero was a bit far-fetched and out from left field. Just from a logic standpoint, it really doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Daring Do book series to be based on real events that nopony in the world seems to know about, but MLP is a cartoon set in a magical world, so perhaps there are parts of Equestria where certain events can take place in secrecy, so I think I can overlook that plot point. The episode ended up being a lot less cliché than I anticipated.

Pinkie Pie’s quote of “Wow, so much action!” most definitely applies to the entirety of this episode. Whether Daring Do is fighting off the thieves, going hoof to claw with Ahuizotl‘s little friends, or helping Rainbow Dash with the rings while the Mane Five fight off baddies, this episode is one of, if not the most action heavy episode in the series so far, and I thought that made for a nice change of pace the likes of which I was not expecting since MLP rarely delves into more “violent” territory.

I was a little bit shocked to see Daring Do so rude and uncooperative with Rainbow Dash, and it‘s something that gives me mixed feelings. On one hand, in Read it and Weep, I never got the feeling that Daring was a hardcore lone wolf who refused to trust in anyone. To see her act so begrudging to her number one fan who was so eager to help in any way possible made Daring seem like a pretty poor hero for Rainbow Dash. On the other hand, it proves that heroes like Daring Do are as human as anyone else. They’re not perfect, and luckily Daring Do ended up learning a pretty nice lesson herself, in that having a little bit of help can be handy sometimes. And to be fair, as much as I enjoyed seeing Dashie’s rather adorable enthusiasm, she was being a bit of a pain in Daring’s side. It all worked out in the end though. Daring and Dash shared a hug that had feels written all over it, and Dashie’s typical omigoshomigoshomigosh reaction upon finding herself in the new Daring Do book was truly the perfect way to end the show.

And for the little things I enjoyed, I got a huge chuckle out of the opening scene where Dashie crashed into the tree where Fluttershy’s baby birds were. The whole scene was quite clever. I also liked seeing Dash outnerd Twilight Sparkle during their hilarious exchange of dialogue. Finally, Daring Do had a very memorable quote. “Now Ahuizotl, you know I love you, but I can’t give you the ring until I’ve properly proposed!” That line was delivered so masterfully, it’s no wonder Rainbow Dash made that face (which shall not be posted for the billionth time). Oh, and I cannot forget about Applejack who while woefully underplayed, had a few moments during the fight scene that I got kick out of (no pun intended), and her dance along with her party hat was just plain adorable.

Overall, the episode gets a thumbs up from me. While it left me scratching my head a few times, it definitely managed to deliver some great entertainment, and I really thought Rainbow Dash had a strong showing throughout the episode. I do hope that future episodes this season will ease up on the obvious fanservice and nods to the fandom which were all but obvious here. Most of us loved the show just as it was back in season 1, so there's no need for any more fan pandering. Still, this proved to be a heck of a solid effort for Dave Polsky, who gets a bit more flak from the fandom than he deserves. I would be willing to call this one of his finer episodes, and I look forward to more from him.

[FlutterSpike 30]

Dude, she read the same book 12 times, she is a Fangirl.

But nothing in her character in the past 3 seasons even supports her acting that way. She's supposed to be very sure of herself, not all "Holy crap it's a famous pony whose work I adore!" 

[Noodles 109]

But nothing in her character in the past 3 seasons even supports her acting that way. She's supposed to be very sure of herself, not all "Holy crap it's a famous pony whose work I adore!"

Wonder bolt academy is a good example of her fan giring also best night ever.

[Life Giver 1,063]

I couldn't believe the Mane6 just stood there while that little scene happen.... how nice of Fluttershy to finally say something.

[USMCav8r 105]

Just a few of the references I found….

http://cheezburger.com/7962887168

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

I It's a good reason why nobody knows Daring Doo really exists. She's in a secluded part of Equestria and the only reason she writes her stories must be because she feels the need to tell people of her adventures since she's lonely.

 

Now with her secret exposed to the mane 6 I wonder what fate Daring Doo will have. Perhaps she will just be incognito.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Tyler Blu Gunderson

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

Daring Don't just feels wrong, so very wrong. I'm quite dissapointed, and here there're some reasons why.


-As the plot goes on, Rainbow Dash's fangirl-side starts to grow up too much out of place, why? Yet again she suffers a pretty big involution into her character traits, to the point she isn't RD anymore. Just a shallow and artificial pony who happens to bear the same name, instead.

This writer has some serious issues when it comes to character development, without shattering them into pieces in order to leave them exactly as they were before. Just adding some magical flaws here and there and a shallow resolution should do it, right? right?. Nop sir. That isn't, in fact, character development, but quite the opposite instead.
Pretty much the same happened with Discord as he turned out to be in need of Friendship, in "Keep calm and Flutter On" Because that is what chaos means, chaos is friendship... "Nop" no it isn't, sir.

-There is a lack of feelings and depth into both, the plot and the idea behind it, both felt quite shallow, even hurting the overall show's lore quality, as they introduced not just Daring Do as a "real" character, but the entire enemy team. It just doesn't make sense.

-Scenery choosen for the plot. Yet another jungle, but this one, way more generic, as we already have seen such environment in "Read it and Weep".

-It would have been better, well, not by much, to let the mane-six team aside. But they were hanging around as well, doing nothing most of the time, besides Twilight and the unnecessary team fight near the end, which didn't add anything at all.



Though by looking at this writer, one should be able to guess why Daring Don't gone that bad, and why there were so much flaws into it, like pretty much everywhere. Guess what? Seems like this guy was the one behind "Spike at your service" too, as well as many other "jewels" into the show.
What was I hoping from this writer? beyond very blurry morals, of course. I should probably inform myself better about next episode, before pulling out my hopes again.

Another whole new episode, same mistakes where made, once again by the same writer.
A shame indeed. This is definetely one of those episodes I'd rather put out of canon due how damaging they're to both, characters and story.


Apologies for such anger, but Daring Don't is such a bad episode in so many ways, that the very few possitves points it has, can't do much to lift over the whole mess that has been already done with it.


Apologies for my english, it isn't my first language.

[Fawo 1]

I really do like the episode. Me and my dad (The most awesome brony!) watched it together and he really liked it. And my oppinion is that RainbowDash is a fangirl of Daring Doo.

[ovr9000percentcooler 107]

I thought the episode was great, although the only things I didn't really like was the fact she was on the book cover at the end. Sure, it's cool I guess, but I mean Daring BARELY knew Dash for, what, a couple hours? If that logic worked, I would have gone on a kick-ass journey with J.K. Rowling years ago.

[insanepwny 3]

If I could harness all of my hatred for this episode into a magical blast it would level a large city. I hate the concept of daring do being a real person. It just bugs me to no end! Who decided making cultists cannon was a good idea?!?! Does this mean that equestria is never NOT in imminent danger?

[Pixel Stick 927]

Does this mean that equestria is never NOT in imminent danger?

 

Eh, it's probably a decent allegory to the real world.  There's always someone out there who wants to blow up the world.  (At least, to listen to the U.S. Government talk about it...)

[Comrade Courage 653]

A.K. Yearling IS DARING DO

[Kulstor 254]

A.K. Yearling IS DARING DO

 

That was an interesting twist.

[Comrade Courage 653]

That was an interesting twist.

I totally saw it coming XD

[Kulstor 254]

I wasn't surprised, but thought it a nice twist.  I was just watching the episode, not trying to analyze or predict what may happen next. 

 

Nice to know that Equistria has more then just the main 6 & the 3 other princesses, as heroes.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Kulstor

[MissShiningStar 33]

I was beyond shocked and amazed to find out that Daring Do was a real pony. And Ahuizotl's appearance...... whew, that was TOTALLY unexpected!

[BronyMan 3]

It was ok. But I LOVED IT SO MUCH MANNN!

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

If I could harness all of my hatred for this episode into a magical blast it would level a large city. I hate the concept of daring do being a real person. It just bugs me to no end! Who decided making cultists cannon was a good idea?!?! Does this mean that equestria is never NOT in imminent danger?

Well in that part of Equestria I guess not as said in Daring Doo's books. She always wins.

 

I guess the princesses just be like.

 

Luna: Should we help her?

Celestia: naw she got dis.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

This episode gave me a 404 error!! (joke)

 

though really it did throw me off with daring being real.  Despite that I guess the episode is a nice tribute to indian johns , though the whole rings things still doesn't make sense.  why destroy the temple if you destroy that one ring the doomsday machine is useless.