S04:E10 - Rainbow Falls

[Yuntao 3]

• The Wonderbolts were so out of character! Please fix that in season 5.

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

This was a decent episode but not that great. It's another episode in the Equestria Games arc. I don't remember much from this episode but Ponyville trains at Rainbow Falls. And Rainbow Dash has to decide between the Wonderbolts and Ponyville.

[Worldfrog 121]

....................

Edited December 10, 2020 by Tadpole

[The Shyest One 808]

The episode was meh, typical Dashie.

 

But I always generally enjoy all the episodes. Although, it did make me start shipping FlutterCeps. Just a liiiiitttle~

 

My next cosplay is going to be based off the costume Rarity made for the team. Y'know the one that was "too much." Much excite.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

Know what's both funny and sad? At the end you can totally imagine Fluttershy being too nice to say

"Dash what the hell are you thinking, I only joined your team so you could be in the relay. You know I suck at flying and the idea of competing in front of the whole country is literally the worst thing I can imagine. You get an offer to join the Wonderbolts and you pass it up so you can force me to fly with you?? I literally told you to join them, it would have been the best thing for everypony. Why would you do this to me??"

[Justin_Case001 4,856]

@@Dark Qiviut, hats off to you, sir.  I believe you win longest post on MLPF.  And who'da thought it would be in an episode discussion, and not some heavy debate topic or something?  Anyway, great post, and I definitely agree with almost all of your points.  However I believe I can refute a couple.

 

First off, I'm going to be bold and say that everything you said about Fluttershy regarding her inconsistent fears is wrong.  As someone who has battled, and continues to battle, poor self-esteem and low confidence for my whole life, I can tell you that her behavior rings true.  For someone like me, life is a roller coaster when it comes to fears and confidence.  I had low self-esteem and confidence as a kid.  When I was about 20, I discovered I had a hidden talent for figure skating.  It felt life a life-changing event, a revolution.  I felt more confident than I ever had.  At my peak, I skated in a small town holiday ice show in front of an audience of a few hundred.  I still have no idea how I did that.  Now, here I am about 9 years later, and I'm at my all time low.  I'm reclusive, and my confidence and self-worth are in the dumps.  There's no logical reason why.  There's a lot of reasons why my path has led me here, but logically, I know I'm still the same person.  But such is the struggle for someone like me.  If it were easy, then no one would have this problem.  I can tell you for absolute certain that irl, for someone like me, confidence can fluctuate rapidly, even in the span of an hour or so.  I can feel confident and inspired to do one thing, and terrified to do something similar at the same time, and for no apparent reason.  I'd like to cite the anime Welcome to the NHK.  That show depicts the realistic emotions of a hikkikomori (recluse) better than anything I've ever seen.  The protagotist, Tatsuhiro Sato, is a recluse with poor self-esteem and confidence.  He has many drastic ups and downs throughout the show.  At times, he is inspired and declares that he's going through a revolution, and that this is the start of his new and better life.  He seems cured, but then a couple of months later, he finds himself right back where he was, and in even worse condition; more reclusive, living in his own filth.  His journey is done so realistically.  It's exactly the way I have felt many times.  Real life is complex, and people can be very inconsistent with emotions.  This kind of thing is a life-long battle.  Fluttershy's behavior was not a continuity error.

 

I can make a similar claim about Rainbow.  Yes, she acted out of character, and given how she's grown, she should have immediately said "Hell no" to Spitfire.  Furthermore, Rainbow should have lectured Spitfire for betraying everything the Wonderbolts stand for.  We obviously know RD is capable of standing up to Spitfire based on priciples.  But here's my counter argument: In real life, people don't just learn a lesson once, and then bam *snaps fingers* they're perfect forever and never make that mistake again.  No matter how much a person grows, and no matter what they learn, people can have a relapse and make a poor choice.  Speaking from personal experience, people can sometimes make very big, very out of character mistakes, mistakes that they knew full well not to make, mistakes that they deeply regret and feel ashamed of.  Such mistakes deserve forgiveness, and the people who make them sure hope that their friends and family don't lose respect for them.  Irl, it's often necessary to be reminded of lessons we've already learned.  Case in point, I love FIM because it reminds me of many lessons that I learned as a kid, but have long since forgotten due to being jaded by society.  I'm not saying Rainbow would have forgotten what she's learned--this is just something to consider.  Real people make mistakes and have lapses in judgement, even when they knew better.  And these ponies definitely have very real, very human personalities.  That's what makes them so great.  We wouldn't want them to be too perfect either, or we'd lose interest.  We wouldn't want six Celestias.  Now, I want to be clear on something.  I'm not saying the writers intended Rainbow's behavior to be interperated the way I've suggested.  I believe the writing was just lazy.  I am merely providing a possible alternative to consider.  In the end, I'm okay with this episode.  RD was tempted, faultered, but made the right decision.  I can live with that.  (But yes, the fake injury deception was pretty stupid.)

 

I do agree 100% with your (yes, I'm still talking to you, Dark Qiviut) assesment of Spitfire and the Wonderbolts.  That's the only real problem I had with this episode.  Spitfire was always an admirable pony to look up to.  Here she was made out to be a villain, an unscrupulous, underhanded, lying, sneaking manipulator.  She's better than that.  Her behavior really disappointed me.  Dashie faultered a bit, but it was nothing like Spitfire's despicable behavior.  She's the god damn captain.  She betrayed everything she and the Wonderbolts stand for.  This would be like Kal-El punched and killed a mortal person just for looking at him cross-eyed.  If you could see into my mind, and look at my memories of MLP, there's portions that are blacked out, like black censor bars.  These are things I pretend never happened.  This is going to have to be one of those.  They could have tested Dashie's loyalty without turning Spitfire into a piece of crap.  And think about this: What the hell is this going to do to the Wonderbolts' relationship?!  Think about the conversation between Spitfire and Soarin that took place behind the scenes, after the episode:

 

"Hey...uh...sorry about all that."

Soarin glares at Spitfire.

"..er...y'know, tryin to replace you and all."

Continues glaring.

"...Cause, y'know, we still like you."

Glaring.

"I mean, Rainbow's better, but since we're stuck with you, you'll do just fine."

Glaring.

"...  ...so... ...buds?"

Soarin: "F*CK OFF."

 

Spitfire's actions would have destroyed their relationship.  Her feelins are out there.  That can never be taken back.  Now Soarin knows she's willing to replace him at the drop of a hat if somepony better comes along.  The damage is irreparable.

 

And remember this: the fact that we're having such a long debate is a testament to how good the show it.  This goes for all episodes, past and future.  If this show didn't have great lore and great characters with stunningly real and relatable personalities, we wouldn't analyze it or debate it at all.  If it was just a bunch of slapstick with no depth, there would be nothing to analyze.  But the show is so good that that when it faulters, we analyze the hell out of it.  It's fun for me, but it's good to remind ourselves of why we love it.

 

I think I said everything I wanted to.  Aside from Spitfire, I can live with everything else.  I mostly agree with your post, Dark Qiviut, but I guess I just don't feel as strongly as you do.  Okay episode.  Certainly not great, but not the worst in the world, either.  Oh, and incidentally, I have a joke for you.  Here's what you should have said in your post.  This should have been your opening thesis statement: "I have a new title for this episode: The Fall of Rainbow."

Edited January 13, 2015 by Justin_Case001

[RainbowTashie 378]

Rainbow falls will definitely be an interesting episode. Judging by the little bits I've seen this will be a fun episode so yeah waiting for Spitfire.

i really wish spitfire was cooler. :/

[poniesrfun 469]

loved seeing derpy joining in with the main 6 ponies ,looked liked she belongs with them, I loved this episode

[Pastel 7,627]

loved seeing derpy joining in with the main 6 ponies ,looked liked she belongs with them, I loved this episode

Couldn't agree more, I hope there'll be more episodes where she joins in with them! Edited January 22, 2015 by Blobulle

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

I thought this was the strongest Rainbow Dash episode in quite some time. Fluttershy didn't have a whole lot of depth in the episode and Bulk Biceps was a little overdone, but overall it holds up. An important thing to point out is that Dash never really abandons her team. Even though she is sorely tempted by the opportunity to perform with the 'Bolts and juggles the two for a while, eventually her conscience takes hold and she comes around. I found that to be a realistic portrayal of her.

 

 

• The Wonderbolts were so out of character! Please fix that in season 5.

 

That's the thing, I disagree about the Wonderbolts being out of character. They've always come off as ponies who were all flash, all spotlight and not necessarily a lot of substance. They're not villains, nor did they come off that way for a second; they work hard to get where they are as we saw in Wonderbolts Academy, but at the end of the day they're doing it all for fame and applause. Rainbow Dash, deep down, is about more than that. Her loyalty is what separates her from them.

 

I think that at the end of the series, Dash declining to join the Wonderbolts would make a much stronger statement about her.

[Dulset Tarn 441]

What actual substance is there to Dash choosing Ponyville? Aside from just "being loyal" and being disappointed by the Wonderbolts' bad behavior, what good does choosing Ponyville actually do anyone? Would Dash have remained "loyal" if it would have forced Fluttershy to compete against her will? Loyalty without reason is honestly kind of stupid.

[KrazyDashie 1,846]

I to be honest didn't like the fact that spits and the rest of the wonderbolts abandoned soarin like that

 

the return of derpy though~

Edited February 20, 2015 by KrazyDashie

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

While this is debatably one of the worst episodes it does have a good message at the end. Friends are more important than winning or being on a team that is just stronger.

[Jokuc 8,172]

Alright so I watched a few more episodes of season 4 today since I am behind with so many episodes.

 

My first thoughts about this episode was that it felt very familiar to other episodes that has already been made, even if Wonderbolts Academy for example doesn't really have the same story, it somehow felt like the same thing again. The episode was pretty entertaining, but then again, most fim episodes are. I can't say that I liked it too much though since I did not really find the whole idea of the episode very interesting. I also felt that many scenes in the episode were a bit over-exaggerated and I was certainly not a fan of all the fan service scenes with Derpy and other characters.

 

I am not going to say that it was a bad episode, it was just not good enough to keep me satisfied with what I saw throughout the whole thing.

[Anisanne 22]

Yeah go pegasi! Finally an episode with good fly moves!

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

I liked the episode, seeing Rainbow Dash dealing with her inner conflicts, of being a winner or just doing this for the ones she loves . 

[I Bring Da LULZ 131]

All I gotta say about this episode is: Did they get Solrac to voice Bulk Biceps or something 

[Spikey-Wikey 378]

Random fact: This was the first episode to use the newer DHX Media logo.

[Graystrip 551]

This was almost predictable.  Once again, Rainbow Dash was to the rescue.  Well, she almost didn't.  If she didn't realize how the wonder bolts were so selfish that they would pretend one of their members were hurt, just so that they could have Rainbow Dash be on their team.  Derpy made an appearance! I was so looking forward to see her fly, too bad.  I know they wouldn't have won, but it would have been entertaining. Fluttershy did a great job, too, I think. The best part of this episode was the city; the rainbow falls were so Gorgeous! 

 

My images were taken from mlp.wiki.com

While this is debatably one of the worst episodes it does have a good message at the end. Friends are more important than winning or being on a team that is just stronger.

Well said. Unfortunately you are in the minority.  Sadly, there are very few good sports athletes who would do the same. 

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

i enjoyed how the episode portrays rainbow dash being indecisive about her top choices: being with the Wonderbolts or her friends.

[Thrond 3,257]

It's the usual Rainbow Dash episode thing. I respect what this episode is trying to do with Rainbow Dash, but it makes several mistakes in execution. Here, the problem is that it's all so forced. Why aren't there any other reasonable fliers on Ponyville's team? Why is Twilight being so preachy? Why are the Wonderbolts so manipulative? Why does the episode play out this way? Why did anyone think this was the right way for this episode to go? It makes zero sense that Bulk Biceps, Fluttershy, and Derpy are the ponies considered for the Ponyville team, considering all the more capable and more willing pegasi we've seen earlier in Ponyville, and it's severely detrimental to the main plot, because it makes no sense. I presume the idea is having Rainbow conflicted between loyalty and her dream, but wouldn't it be enough without making staying loyal as unappealing as possible? And wouldn't it be enough without having the Wonderbolts written against the values they ought to represent? Also, why does Twilight have to be so preachy? Couldn't Rainbow Dash have that internal conflict of her own accord? Shouldn't her friends be a little more supportive? I really, really, really  want to like this episode, because I adore what it's trying to do, but it's not even all that entertaining. I can't even hate it for that same reason, and its base idea (have Rainbow's loyalty challenged by her ambition), but at some point you need to make sure your narrative makes sense in the context of the series. Seriously, why is this episode like this? I used to really like it, but I don't really find it enjoyable enough any more to make up for its faults. The base character arc with Rainbow Dash is still pretty good, though, and I don't see how this can be called one of the show's worst - it's confusing, but not worthless. 

Addendum: I guess Bulk Biceps and Fluttershy were the only ponies left for the fast flying team, and maybe it's meant to be encouraging, but wouldn't the episode play better if her team wasn't already repelling her? And was there no way that Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps could have been placed in more appropriate categories? 

 

While I'm at it: Presenting the issue as "winning vs. friends" seems like a relatively shallow way to present the conflict. I interpreted it as "dreams vs. loyalty," which is a lot more powerful. And as far as Spitfire is concerned? I get that the theme of this season is the main characters inspiring others, but making Spitfire borderline antagonistic seems like the wrong way to do this. Moreover, I don't see a way that inspiring-through-loyalty can work in this narrative, making me wonder if it would be better placed in a different RD episode. Furthermore, her turnaround is a bit too fast, which again links to this motif not really fitting the conflict, and I think that is the reason why Spitfire's weird villainous characterization is here - because Dash needs someone to teach. Again, I have no idea how that theme could possibly fit this conflict, and it was a serious misstep to try to fit it in.

 

I still don't think the characterization is as off as some people have pointed out - there's a few issues with exaggerating personalities, and most characters are understood somewhat shallowly, but I think they'd be fine if the plot was much leaner and didn't have the weird elements that really undermine it. Of course, one of those things is Spitfire's characterization, but the rest of the mane six are fine in my opinion (I find S4 Pinkie really funny), and although RD is more boastful than she's been previously, I think that the core of her characterization here is on point and reasonable, even if nowhere near as effective as it might have been. 

 

I don't hate it, and goddamn do I really, really want to like it, but I don't really think I'll be returning to this, because I had a lot more difficulty finding enjoyment out of it this time. I wanted to be there to say "Hey, this episode is much better than everyone says!", because I used to really like it because of RD's character arc, but so much of it doesn't work that it's difficult to enjoy no matter how much I want to. But maybe my previous fondness for it still holds it up for me, and maybe the sheer amount of hate it gets prevents me from having as negative a reaction to it, but I can't bring myself to say I overtly dislike it. But I certainly get why this episode is so hated now. Most of it just doesn't work, and it's nowhere near entertaining enough to compensate for that. How very frustrating - toss it on the growing pile of episodes from seasons 4-5 that stop working on re-watch. 

[Moony the Cat 3,697]

I liked this Episode. I just dislike the Wonderbolts more and more. Everytime we saw them in the past, they just failed at everything. And now, everytime we see more of them, they are just Douchebags. The Wonderbolts suck. Why does Rainbow Dash still want to be Member of them?

Edited January 14, 2018 by Luna Moon

[stipstick 20]

May I just say that I actually really like this episode? I can kind of understand why others don't, but I really miss past episodes like this one where everyone is challenged with their aspects. I don't mind Bulk and Fluttershy being the other two on the Ponyville team; these two being here was just a way to portray things a little smoother, especially with Dash making a decision that really conflicted with her goals. 

It's really good to see the Wonderbolts grow past that cloudy "do what you have to win" state of mind more than once, too. I hope to see some great character development in the newer seasons!

[bluseymoe 258]

I've grown to like this one more with time. The wonderbolts definitely came across as douchebags, but RD's predicament actually makes more sense to me now than it did at the time. I kinda don't blame her for doing what she did. She could've seen it as a chance to make more of an impact with the wonderbolts and potentially further her career with them, and I think her friends wouldn't want to hold her back from that. Plus sticking her with two of the weakest flyers in Ponyville was kind of a shitty thing to do to her since this clearly meant a lot to her.  

[Thrond 3,257]

I still find this episode completely baffling on a lot of levels, and maybe the biggest one is the fact that, for whatever reason, RD is completely surrounded by incompetence. Why do we need stuff like Rarity taking away the horseshoe? That just seems like laying the moral on a bit too thick. And the worst part for me, even worse than Spitfire just throwing Soarin under the bus for no discernible reason, is that they need to hold Twilight in to be the voice of reason, and then shove in an extra moral about being decisive, because this weirdly convoluted episode doesn't have enough going on as it is. 

But even more than my last viewing, I do think there's stuff to like here, and I appreciate what it's going for, even with all the nonsensical creative decisions. I like the idea of Rainbow choosing between the friends who need her and the team she admires, but the moral dimension seems wholly unnecessary, and I have no idea why it was introduced. The "inspiring the elements in others" motif just makes zero sense for this story, and if it had stuck to any single conflict or any single moral, I would have liked this a lot more, because it's not like the idea doesn't have potential. I just find myself incredibly confused every time I watch this. 

Score:
Entertainment: 4/10
Characters: 4/10
Themes: 7/10
Story: 3/10
Overall: 45/100