Dashie is getting dumped on in S4?

[FullMetalDash 194]

So this has been bothering me for a couple of episode about RD.

To me, it seems like Hasbro is making RD look like a selfish mare in S4. Now, i know that the last episode, it was because her element of Harmony to show that her loyalty is for Ponyville. But for the past episodes she just seems so...non RD. Just a few examples:

-She doesnt care about AJ's apples, except for her cider

- She is more competitive against AJ.

- Her "Best flyer of EQ" ego is growing

 

Just a couple of examples off this...."problem"

 

What are your thougths?

[Motion Spark 7,811]

those still aren't good observations of RD being the dick she was before. I admit I disliked RD in the past but I even admit that she has gotten way better, she has softened a lot and losen without fully dropping her cocky side and that's OK.

 

- She cared about the apple trees because she knows that cider are made out of apples. And even if she was being selfish, AJ clearly didn't mind as the expression that she had on her face when she said 'not...a single...drop' re-watch that part if you don't believe me, she knew that RD would help her getting rid of the bats because of how much she likes cider and that's what AJ really wanted.

 

- RD and AJ had always been competitive. NEXT!

 

- and what's wrong with that ego? Her cockyness will never be fully away because that's what makes Rainbow Dash, ...umm Rainbow Dash! but I appreaciate that they have made her a bit more sensitive towards her peers and toned down her agressiveness.

 

At the end of Rainbow Falls, we could say that the lesson was like, silly or dumb by how Rainbow Dash written her experience on the journal. 'I love winning but I love my friends waaaaay more' sounds so simple, but I get that RD is not a character of deep thoughts so that was very good for her

[BT Brony 7]

In my opinion, I feel that she is acting like she was before, although I may not have paid as much attention as you have. I have something to say for your examples however:

 

1. We all know she loves cider, so it's no surprise that she cares for cider more than AJ's apples.

2. Hasn't she always been competitive against AJ? Besides, as athletes, they want to be the very best, like no pony ever was, so it makes sense that they are competitive towards each other.

3. Well, when you've got members of the Wonderbolts, her all time favourite flyers complimenting you, your ego tends to grow. Haha.

 

Again, this is just my opinion and I haven't paid too much attention to RD, so if I said something wrong, please do say. 

[Scootalove 10,692]

You do know that Dashie and AJ have always been competitive right? They will always try to 1 up each other in competitions, Fall Weather Friends and Castle Mane-ia are an example of their competitive spirit. RD will still have her ego, it will not go away no matter what the cost.

 

She likes cider, it would make sense for RD to care about the apple trees since they produce cider.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

The only real times I've had an issue with her characterization have been in the first half of Daring Don't and throughout Rainbow Falls. Yes, she's a fangirl, and it's very cute when she is, but it is a bit of a stretch for me to think that she'd take that so far, even if she's meeting a hero she didn't even think existed. As for last week's episode, I felt that everything in it was already touched on in the show and it didn't really need to happen. I can understand her being tempted, but I felt like she should've had less trouble making the decision.

 

As for the points raised in the OP, the cider thing was played for comic effect and she clearly cares for AJ and her farm beyond that, being competitive isn't bad so long as you're not letting it lead you to doing other bad things (which she isn't), and I'm not seeing her ego being bigger or more of a problem.

 

Overall, it's been a bit of a mixed bag from Dash this season. On the one hand, she showed a lot of maturity and sensitivity in helping Scootaloo overcome her flying issues, the fact that she made the choice before the episode to help out a team rather than seek individual glory shows development, and she proved herself to be a bigger pony than her heroes, the Wonderbolts. On the other, I do feel like they've regressed or exaggerated her character a little bit for the sake of getting morals through, which is something I'm pretty meh on. Hopefully the writers will step up their game in the latter half of the season, not result to such crappy techniques to make conflicts, and portray best pony as the great character she is.

[Megas 28,095]

Heh, this thread kinda reminds me of the season 2 times in a sense

 

While I'll admit that RD seems like a step down from S2 and especially S3, there's still 16 more episodes(and hopefully one of the episodes will be the long overdue RariDash episode). And while I personally enjoyed her performance in Daring Don't and Rainbow Falls, I can see why some fans may be upset with it

[FNGRpony 658]

,,,,, I don't know what your talking about.

 

Rainbow dash has moved heaven in earth (equistra?) in season 4.

She helped scoots in all the right ways.

she hung by her friends in rainbow falls,

more than she really should have,

 

What was her worst moment?  competiting with AJ In castlemania?  That didn't even make Rainbow bad, it just didn't make her well, awesome LOL.

[silvadel 1,393]

Yes they seem to be using RD as a comedy foil as opposed to bringing out her essence.  The time it was most blatant was in Daring Don't...  I do not see her as being capable of that level of incompetence.  In season 3 they were really moving her towards something and that has not been realized in season 4 thusfar for the most part.

[hawkflame 3,315]

I think it'ss rather consistent with her past portrayal, at least as far as when she's not the focus.  I think part of the problem is from a writing standpoint- it's very easy for the writers to fall back on some of the character's worst qualities for comic relief.  Rartiy's prissiness, Pinkie Pie's randombness, Fluttershy being a coward, etc.  No different for Rainbow Dash. 

[NavelColt 22,883]

So this has been bothering me for a couple of episode about RD.

To me, it seems like Hasbro is making RD look like a selfish mare in S4. Now, i know that the last episode, it was because her element of Harmony to show that her loyalty is for Ponyville. But for the past episodes she just seems so...non RD. Just a few examples:

-She doesnt care about AJ's apples, except for her cider

- She is more competitive against AJ.

- Her "Best flyer of EQ" ego is growing

 

Just a couple of examples off this...."problem"

 

What are your thougths?

 

Sounds more to me like a matter of individual perception, bud. I pride myself on having been a Dash fine since episode 1, and while you look at those three things as examples of her being mean or uncaring, that's not how I see them:

- She doesn't care about AJ's apples, except for her cider. Well, no. She loves cider, specifically. Expressing love for AJ's cider doesn't mean she doesn't care about AJ's apples or her livlihood in general. Dash is brash, and is not one for thinking about what she says or how others are going to precieve her, ahead of time. I don't think love for one byproduct she loves, and trying to ensure that byproduct gets made, is proof that she doesn't care about the other end result or what her friend does in general.

- She is more competitive against AJ. Dash and AJ bond over their competitiveness just as much as they're in it for themselves Rarity takes Fluttershy to the spa to do girly things because they're more feminine classic, whereas AJ and Dash are both die-hard tomboys who use competition as a means to hang out.

- Her "Best flyer of EQ" ego is growing. Indeed. She was pretty cocky in Rainbow Falls, especially. However, she did kick ass at the Academy, and she's done nothing but prove over and over that there's proof to back up her boasting. This is the same Rainbow we've seen since the beggining, she boasts. Whether you wanna debate she does it from insecurity or some other factor, it's what she does, and it's been as take it or leave it then, as it is now.

[Chevette 1,052]

I kinda stumbled upon this topic a little too far down the road, but still I feel like it's necessary for me to add at least something here...

 

Chaotic Discord pretty much slapped the stamp on the envelope and shoved it's happy ass in the mailbox for this here topic, but let's see what I can dig out of my man purse to make this whole thing more enjoyable.

 

The original poster here listed three initial "problems"... Let's see... Basically from my standpoint on the situation, Rainbow Dash is in fact a racecar. And what kind of racecar would she be if she didn't have a huge ego? You can't just jump on the track with a fucked ego and expect to take the checkered flag in a blaze of glory!

 

How can I explain this further? Shit... I have no idea *shuffles papers...* hmm... Okay, okay I caught something on a corndog here...

 

Let's just tie all three of those assumptions together with 10 gauge american wire and throw it down the basement stairs. Sure, sure... One could say I'm a wee bit biased here because I have a soft spot for Rainbow Dash, but ya know let's just look at this from a completely biased view anyways.

 

As I said before, Rainbow Dash is in fact a racecar. Racecars do not enjoy losing and most racecars have a cynical, cocky, disruptive attitude. Sure we could toss in examples, but just find em' yourself.

Anyways let's just say Rainbow Dash was instead a 1976 Chevrolet Chevette 1.6 Liter I4 rally edition. First glance of this vehicle and the opponents would be like "Holy FUCK how is that pile of crap going to race with us actual racecars?!" See, doubting. If our 1976 Chevy Chevette was like Fluttershy in this instance, it'd basically say "fuck. I already lost."  without even trying. What kind of person would this make our Rainbow Dash/ 1976Chevy Chevette? Yeah, that's right! That'd make her a pussy. 

 

Ya see, in order for Rainbow Dash to gain the emotional strength to overcome the opponent's attempt on winning, she's gotta be as self-absorbed as possible. Which if you think about it, really isn't a bad thing. The more faith you have in yourself, the more power you have to actually make something happen. You can use Fluttershy to prove this too. What does Fluttershy do? Nothing. When does she do it? All the fucking time. Without any self-motivation, she's as useful as a pair of plastic scissors in a fabric shoppe.

 

So yeah, hope all this indirect reference to how Fluttershy does nothing makes someone want to kick my internet ass.

Nah, just kitten ya right meow. Gotta litter this place with jokes if ya know what I mean, wink-wink, nudge-nudge. know what I mean? Say no more, say no more. Fluttershy still does nothing.

[Singe 2,111]

Rainbow Dash cares about the cider. Of course, she's a customer and the cider is her favorite product from the farm. RD helps on the farm is going above and beyond for customer loyalty. It's not like AJ is going to give RD free barrels of cider.

[PinkieApplePie(tCoA) 29]

In my opinion, I feel that she is acting like she was before, although I may not have paid as much attention as you have. I have something to say for your examples however:

 

1. We all know she loves cider, so it's no surprise that she cares for cider more than AJ's apples.

2. Hasn't she always been competitive against AJ? Besides, as athletes, they want to be the very best, like no pony ever was, so it makes sense that they are competitive towards each other.

3. Well, when you've got members of the Wonderbolts, her all time favourite flyers complimenting you, your ego tends to grow. Haha.

 

Again, this is just my opinion and I haven't paid too much attention to RD, so if I said something wrong, please do say. 

LoL, I like the Pokemon reference there

[ghostfacekiller39 23,879]

Become a Rarity or a Pinkie fan, rewind time back and work your way through S3, then you can complain about Dashie getting shat upon in S4.

 

Until then, I think you should know RD has kicked ass thus far, enough to actually make me sorta like her; hell, based on her performance this season alone, she's been bumped out of the last slot in my mane 6, and she's been bordering on moving up to the 4 spot lately as well.

 

So, based on her performance so far this season, a pony I used to run around and say awful things about is becoming one of my favorites.

 

So...yeahh; she ain't getting dumped on, brudda

Edited January 26, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[King Sejong 859]

   Rainbow Dash was great in "Flight to the Finish", she went personally to see Scootaloo with the cutie mark crusaders, and rallied Scootaloo to the Crystal Empire, and she had to be professional to stay out of trouble with Ms. Harshwhinny, anyway season three didn't even have a Rarity episode, we went nearly two years between Rarity as the centre of the story. Maybe Twilight Sparkle is having a tough season too, she was great in the première, but so many bronies see her as wasted potential, not quite princess enough, however this season is different and should not be seen by the standards of yesteryear, we now have the mane six in the majority of the episodes, rather than focus on each character individually, we see how they interact and communicate as a whole, we know what each character is like, based on what we have seen in the last three seasons, we have seen characters improve and mature, hey even our fan base has improved and expanded, so as the ponies become better developed, we advance along with them. So Rainbow Dash is having a rough start, the other characters have had equally difficult moments too, from season two to three, but I still love Rainbow Dash based on the progression of her character, and affection I have for her best episodes, we still have season four in progress just wait around, we shall get another good Rainbow Dash moment, and Rarity, and anypony we love, and just as significant, the mane six as a group.    

Edited January 28, 2014 by Emperor Peter

[Singe 2,111]

Rainbow Dash and Rarity are focused on improving their own standing in life. Rarity's ego doesn't swell like Dash since there are other fashion characters and factors that keep it in check. Dash on the other hand really has no one to keep her ego in check constantly.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Singe

[Wayzer 1,418]

Well for as far as I know, RD has always had a big ego. That's why she's one of my less favorite ponies. I don't think she acts way more like that in season 4 she has always acted like that