Pick a Flaw: S4, E10 - Rainbow Falls

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

Note: For the collection of other "Pick a Flaw" episode threads, head over to the "Pick a Flaw" blog portal (which'll be updated periodically) or check the list at the bottom of the OP.

 

I also rearranged the poll a bit to add in another flaw: shoehorning of the Wonderbolts.

 

---

 

After posting a bunch of Pick a Flaw threads for season one, it's time to post another for season four, starting with Rainbow Falls. In an episode that initially received great reception, its age became extremely evident quickly. Today, it's an episode loudly panned it for its extremely contrived conflict and constantly lazy writing choices.

 

Those who know about these threads, you know how they work. To those coming to one of these threads for the first time, pick ONE of the possible flaws above and explain why it bothers you the most (even if it's just a smidgen). If it's not any of the options above, if you can't choose just one, or if you find (nearly) every flaw above equally bothersome, click "other" and explain why.

 

Be warned:

1. "Other" does NOT stand for "this episode is (mostly) flawless."
2. These threads don't mean this person dislikes the story.

---

 

If there's one episode that's met with such a loud, negative voice, it's this one, and I'm one them. Of all the episodes in season four, Rainbow Falls is objectively the worst of them all, and perhaps the most broken episode in the entire show. Friendship Is Magic has ninety-one episodes; this is the one I HATE the most. If you want to know how bad it is and how much I loathe it, head over to my long review here.

 

So many of the flaws listed above have equal weight, so I can't be unbiased here. But unlike my choice for Bridle Gossip, I'll only choose one: the Mane Six and Bulk Biceps being out of character. Pinkie Pie, AJ, and Rarity are pointless, flanderized, and out of character. Fluttershy developed far too quickly and was shoehorned to force the conflict. Bulk Biceps (a character who was selected to train at the academy and was able to fly well) was dumb and couldn't fly at all. Rainbow Dash was unbelievably stupid. Twilight…ugh! Even worse and unfortunate was how the horrendous characterization was going to be latched onto other episodes such as Equestria Games and — in passing — Twilight's Kingdom, Part 1.

 

---

 

Season 1:

• Friendship Is Magic, Parts 1 & 2
• The Ticket Master
• Applebuck Season
• Griffon the Brush Off
• Boast Busters
• Dragonshy
• Look Before You Sleep
• Bridle Gossip
• Owl's Well that Ends Well

Season 2:

• The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000
• Putting Your Hoof Down
• Dragon Quest

Season 4:

• Rainbow Falls
• Simple Ways
• Filli Vanilli
• Twilight Time
• It Ain't Easy Bein' Breezies
• Somepony to Watch Over Me
• Maud Pie
• For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils
• Leap of Faith
• Testing Testing 1, 2, 3
• Trade Ya!
• Inspiration Manifestation
• Equestria Games
• Twilight's Kingdom

Other:

1. The Micro-Series, Part 1: Mane Six
2. The Micro-Series, Part 2 - The Other Cast & Overall Series

Edited May 20, 2014 by Dark Qiviut

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Can't I just put my answer for every thing you listed?

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

Can't I just put my answer for every thing you listed?

You can. Just click "other" for that option.

[Nuke87654 1,849]

You can. Just click "other" for that option.

 

Thank you very much Buffalo Man

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

I deleted my vote 3 times before deciding to settle on the OOC portrayal of the Wonderbolts - there's so much to hate about this episode, but what she did with the Wonderbolts really caught the essence of a Corey Powell episode.

 

She doesn't know these characters, and all 3 of her solo episodes have proven that - this one, though, is the definitive Powell episode. Almost no one is in character, characters who are portrayed to be good are flipped upside down and turned into antagonistic roles, the flow is broken, the dialogue is ass, and everything sucks. This is the average Powell episode - one where everything the show has accomplished within canon is just tossed aside and the script seems to be written in red crayon.

 

As I said above, though - the thing with the Wonderbolts behaving entirely opposite of every other time we've seen them be portrayed with a strict, militant code of integrity and dignity was just tossed aside and they became total jerks. That really is the defining trait of her episodes, and the defining trait of her as a writer - everything the show's accomplished thus far is broken as soon as she has a writing credit.

[Megas 27,069]

All of the mane 6 were unnecessary. I can see a lot of the flaws salvaged, but take out Rarity, AJ(and probably replace Bulk with an entirely new pony) and the episode will be much better imo. Spitfire's character felt very wrong too and Twilight's guilt trip was stupid.

 

Personally I think a lot of your other complaints are rather silly:

It's hard for Fleetfoot to be out of character if we've never seen her before now

imo it's more practical for Bulk to be an awful flyer(I just want him out because he's better as a visual gag and he's ugly as sin, even if he's admittedly cute when paired with Fluttershy)

Speaking of which, if anything Fluttershy is at her best in this episode, and is a way I want to see more of her like this

Twilight and RD's characterization is just fine, far from their best, not out of character like everyone thinks

Pinkie Pie, unlike AJ and Rarity, was actually fine, and works

 

Personal opinion - I don't think the episode is the worst thing ever like a lot of you think, just incredibly underwhelming. And I think the 3rd act is actually pretty good, you just have to sit through the other two really bleh ones to get to it

Edited May 18, 2014 by Megas75

[Pastel 7,627]

These scenes where Rainbow Dash was in both teams were annoying: there were like 2~3 useless scenes in my opinion.

 

There's something I don't get with this episode, everybody seems to hate it, yet the majority of the members voted "I loved it! <3"

Edited May 18, 2014 by Blobulle

[Ianpiersonjdavis 512]

I selected other because honestly EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE bothered me throughout out, it's like Season 4's 'Mysterious Mare Do-Well' for me where whenever its on the HUB I feel like either changing the channel or just turning off the TV because I KNOW it's going to tick me off big time.

 

But, at least Dash's negative traits in MMDW despite being amplified, they were still in-character.

 

The biggest effect this episode had on me was this;

 

Even if others want to argue that The Wonderbolt's behavior was in character, it doesn't change the fact that they were jerks by abandoning Soarin at the drop of a hat, trying to steal Rainbow Dash instead of getting another Wonderbolt to replace her, it was unsportsmanlike conduct, and one would expect more discipline from such a famous and respected military unit-instead of the unscrupulous and borderline sociopathic behavior that was shown.

 

In any case, this episode is the reason I hate Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts (guess what my favorite scene in 'Twilight's Kingdom' was?), especially since their nature doesn't seem to have affected Dash at ALL in subsequent appearances. 

[Nuke87654 1,849]

I deleted my vote 3 times before deciding to settle on the OOC portrayal of the Wonderbolts - there's so much to hate about this episode, but what she did with the Wonderbolts really caught the essence of a Corey Powell episode.

 

She doesn't know these characters, and all 3 of her solo episodes have proven that - this one, though, is the definitive Powell episode. Almost no one is in character, characters who are portrayed to be good are flipped upside down and turned into antagonistic roles, the flow is broken, the dialogue is ass, and everything sucks. This is the average Powell episode - one where everything the show has accomplished within canon is just tossed aside and the script seems to be written in red crayon.

 

As I said above, though - the thing with the Wonderbolts behaving entirely opposite of every other time we've seen them be portrayed with a strict, militant code of integrity and dignity was just tossed aside and they became total jerks. That really is the defining trait of her episodes, and the defining trait of her as a writer - everything the show's accomplished thus far is broken as soon as she has a writing credit.

 

Probably why Meghan got involved with 'Inspiration Manifestation'. Can't imagine how that episode would've turned out if Meghan wasn't part of the writing process, especially when you consider Corey has written some of Rarity's worst portrayals in the show in her previous episodes.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Nuke87654

[Azureth 686]

You can. Just click "other" for that option.

LOL I had the same thought as nuke. While I feel quite a few episodes in S4 were harmed by shoe-horning in all of the Mane Six, I think RF is by far the worst offender. And that's just getting my started.

 

1. Bulk Biceps suddenly has struggle flying?

2. Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy of all ponies to participate?

3. Aren't the wonderbolts supposed to be composed of pony's of decency, courage, and integrity?

4. Rarity's "outfits" were so ridiculous.

5. Rainbow Dash was made out to be an insensitive idiot.

6. Twilight guilt-tripping RD instead of just calmly talking to her.

 

And those are all I can think of off the top of my head, but I am going to re-watch it now so I am sure I'll edit this to add more later.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Azureth

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

Probably why Meghan got involved with 'Inspiration Manifestation'. Can't imagine how that episode would've turned out if Meghan wasn't part of the writing process, especially when you consider Corey has written some of Rarity's worst portrayals in the show in her previous episodes.

I <3 Meghan McCarthy

 

Powell sucks at characterization, and Rarity catches the ass end of it Some of the fanfics you'll see on fimfic - not even the good ones - have better characterization than her episodes. It's sad that Powell has to have someone hold her hand and walk her through writing and episode just so that way the episode isn't total rubbish - if I were in charge and had to do that, I'd fire her.

 

Maybe, though, if someone walked her through this episode like a small child than there wouldn't be so many glaring flaws, and I'd have an easier time picking which part of the episode sucked worse

 

Changed my vote to other, by the way, because everything sucked.

 

Edited May 18, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

Pretty much everything, but I guess I'll say the broken continuity. The whole set-up was lame and the moral was forced. The whole episode comes off like a bad fanfic

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

If they really needed to have a group of antagonists for this episode, couldn't they have found a better fit than two ponies who have virtually no reason to be antagonists? What about those Griffons we briefly saw? At least there you're not utterly spitting in the face of a previously established character for no good solid reason.

 

Spitfire and Fleetfoot's (Spitfire especially considering her past appearances) only purpose here are to be total Out-Of-Character assholes, especially when they abandon Soarin, their teammate for god knows how long, the moment they find somebody better. 

Edited May 18, 2014 by PoisonClaw

[_Kurtis 636]

Everyone just seemed OOC to me... 

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

My problem with the continuity in this episode was that they referenced episodes in the past incorrectly. If they hadn't mentioned any other episode flat-out I could've let it slide, but nope direct references to episodes like Wonderbolts Academy were present (the episode that it went against the most).

 

There's also the bullshit spouted by Twilight in an attempt to guilt trip RD. I get it, she was upset. The act of guilt tripping in itself doesn't piss me off, but rather the reasoning behind it. 

-"Pinkie Pie won't have anyone to cheer for..." Why wouldn't she be able to still cheer for Dashie?

-"...Rarity won't have anyone to wear her costumes..." What!? Bulk, Derpy, and Fluttershy still obviously can!

-"...Applejack will have slaved over those Apple-Brown Betties for nothing." You mean the ones that got finished off in a previous scene? You didn't even get your own episode's continuity right!

 

I could rag on this all day, but I'm just going to choose "Other" and move along. Screw this episode, and thank goodness Powell returned to form alongside McCarthy in Inspiration Manifestation.

Edited May 18, 2014 by Dry Colt

[ghostfacekiller39 23,857]

 thank goodness Powell returned to form 

Ummm....I think that'd be a bad thing if she did that in "Inspiration Manifestation"

Edited May 18, 2014 by ghostfacekiller39

[Anilewe 2,178]

This episode is one big mistake. You know, there's a big difference between character being OOC for a reason (Rarity in Simple Ways, for example... some people say that she was OOC, but at least she has a reason to behave like that and it was clearly stated that it's not her normal behaviour) and being OOC just for the sake of plot and comedy (and it wasvery weak attempt at comedy, to be honest).

 

But there was no reason to suddenly make Snowflake unable to fly, even though in Hurricane Fluttershy he had no problem with flying. No reason to make Fluttershy WANT to perform, especially considering that few episodes later she is afraid to sing before much smaller crowd. No reason to make AJ care only about food or to make Rarity (RARITY! who had an entire episode to show just how talented she is! who showed her works on Fashion Week!) unable to make nice costumes.

 

Secondly, I can't believe that Spitfire would just betray her teammate like that! Come on, she probably knew Soarin for years, they perform together, spend a lot of time and she just forgets about all of it, because she wants to win, even though they're professionals and they'd probably win anyway... Yeah. Sure.

And I find it hard to believe that Rainbow was really better than Soarin. 

 

Also, Derpy. I know that this fandom is crazy about her, but it really wasn't necessary. It felt forced and unnatural, considering that for the rest of the episode she just stand there, smiling and doing absolutely NOTHING. 

 

Oh, and Twilight 'know it all' is just annoying and reasons she gave Rainbow were really weak.  

 

And the worst thing? The concept of this episode was fantastic and with little effort it could have been one of the best episodes. 

Edited May 18, 2014 by Anilewe

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

Ummm....I think that'd be a bad thing if she did that in "Inspiration Manifestation"

That's right, you don't like Sleepless in Ponyville or Just For Sidekicks either. *shrugs* To each their own, I suppose.

Edited May 19, 2014 by Dry Colt

[Stellafera 3,835]

You can. Just click "other" for that option.

 

Oh, good, it was going to be hard to choose.

 

Some people say that The Last Roundup was overshadowed by the Derpy cameo. That's a shame, because if there was any episode I'd want to be overshadowed by the appearance of our mailmare friend, it'd be Rainbow Falls. A well executed cameo, an unintentionally accurate episode title, one possibly unintentional joke in the season finale, and a nadir of quality for comparison purposes are the sole boons from its existence.

 

Wait, only one of those things is actually about the 22 minute thing that aired on January 18th.

 

Your sole accomplishment, episode. Wear it loud and proud!

 

Rainbow Dash's loyalty had already been tested twice in "people who you think are cool but are jerks vs your friends" situations, and both of those occasions were better. Yes, Gilda the Totally Radical Griffin may have caused me to cringe, but at least Gilda was kinda weak right away, unlike the Wonderbolts, which were perfectly fine before this one had to sully them. 

 

It took RD's careful development over the course of the third season, made her an idiot, caused her to repeat a lesson she very well knew, and didn't even bring anything new to the table about her element.

 

Here's something more like how I'd of done it

 

One of RD's friends have a personal crisis while she trains with the Ponyville team (which contains ponies who would logically attempt to compete in the pony Olympics next to the town's most famous athlete). It could be Rarity having trouble with her business, Angel Bunny getting very sick and Fluttershy worrying he might die, whatever. 

 

This creates a new test of Rainbow Dash's loyalty and one that is challenging; loyalty to a friend in need or to a team in need? And not necessarily in favor of the former; after all, the other Mane 6 have the time to devote to helping [insert pony here]. RD learns that it's OK to commit to a responsibility as well as to a friend and that you should take your commitments seriously.

 

Especially with RD's famous laziness, that's a valuable lesson for her to take away. Maybe throw in a reference to how she should've remembered it in Testing, Testing, 123 to keep the continuity stable.

 

One of the members of the team, who was a bit of a millstone because they didn't take the training seriously, is inspired by RD's dedication to her duty. They give RD her key item; a bit of semi-valuable Wonderbolt memorabilia that they purchased on a whim years ago, saying that "This should go to somepony who has the team spirit of a Wonderbolt".

 

Dashie is ecstatic, reputation of the Wonderbolts is still solid, ta-da!

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

If there's one episode that's met with such a loud, negative voice, it's this one, and I'm one them. Of all the episodes in season four, Rainbow Falls is objectively the worst of them all

 

Hold your horses there, sugarcube. At the risk of sounding rude, I don't think you actually understand the use of the word "objectively"; and if we're going to discuss things related to reviews and opinions, we had better know our terms.

 

Perhaps you are simply engaging in rhetorical hyperbole; however, I nonetheless feel compelled to call you on this one, DQ. "Objective" refers to something which, after thorough analysis and investigation, could be accepted by all persons working within the same rational framework. Gravity is a force working against our bodies; the sun is ~92 million miles from Earth; but in no way does the quality of "Rainbow Falls" reflect objective state of affairs. Scientists did not study the episode and declare it to be the worst episode among Season 4 on an empirical scale. The perceived quality of the episode is couched in your opinion which, by definition, is subjective. There would be no point in rendering a review if "Rainbow Falls" were objectively terrible because there would be little to discuss; yet given the ink you have poured regarding this episode, I suspect the matter is far from settled.

 

In any event, I actually liked this episode. I don't hold it as one of my favorites, but I thought it was entertaining -- especially because the Wonderbolts are shown to be jerks. I'm frankly perplexed why a number of folks get really upset over their depiction when it isn't far from how athletes can behave in real life: pompous, self-entitled, and constantly searching for an edge. The Wonderbolts are treated more like celebrity athletes rather than a military force, even if they are sent in to deal with some crises and stroll around in officer's uniforms. Just because Spitfire stresses integrity in "Wonderbolt Academy" doesn't mean she lives up to her words. People can be -- and get ready for this shocker -- hypocrites! I rather enjoy seeing the Wonderbolts shown for their flaws as opposed to being the super awesome team that does everything by the book.

 

The real weakness I would pick is that I never felt the tension of Dash betraying her element or sort of breaking it. Her choice between the Wonderbolts and the Ponyville team was admittedly contrived; furthermore, she has already repeatedly proven her loyalty in the face of pursuing something she might otherwise desire. I think Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack were effectively pushed to the edge in their respective "keys" episodes; with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, this is not so much the case.

[Pastel 7,627]

Also, Derpy. I know that this fandom is crazy about her, but it really wasn't necessary. It felt forced and unnatural, considering that for the rest of the episode she just stand there, smiling and doing absolutely NOTHING.

 

I agree, she could have said at least some words... -_-

[King 5,625]

First I have to say I highly disagree with these threads becoming a thing since ultimately the "flaws" are entirely based on opinions. Everyone has a different opinion, thus its hard to come to a solid fact based conclusion on what elements are "flaws". Honestly, I enjoy every episode, some more then others, but I dont go around trying to pick them apart looking for flaws. Its a cartoon...a bloody good cartoon sure...but its a cartoon. We aren't watching a documentary on the sun, where a "flaw" would essentially be someone fucking up basic physics.

Anyway, onto my "flaw" pick. I chose the way they portrayed Spitfire as a villain as my "flaw" simply because I enjoy Spitfires character immensely, being an ex soldier myself. Leaders don't take sides in the way that she did in that episodes and it wasn't like she would usually be portrayed,

[Guest90210 3,567]

I feel like I'm the only one who liked this episode. I was actually glad the Wonderbolts were villainous - that's a more realistic depiction of what the Wonderbolts would be like in my eyes. Middle-of-the-pack in terms of episode ranking of the season. I also don't think anyone was severely out of character, except maybe Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps.

 

The worst thing was probably just the concept in general. Why was Ponyville even going to compete in a flight competition against the Wonderbolts?

[ShadowPhoenix 153]

Okay it's due time that I said something about this episode.

 

The flaw I chose was the broken continuity, especially the part about Bulk Biceps being a weak flyer, which was disappointing, given how Wonderbolts Academy is, in my opinion, the second best episode of Season 3. Also, this episode suffered from some of the biggest expository faults that this show has ever faced (little to no explanation on why Fluttershy was chosen). Lastly, you can't vote for more than one option, the Mane 5 were shoehorned on in and Rarity's designs were downright painful to look at.

 

In spite of all I said, I still think that this episodes gets way too much flak. Maybe it was due to the fact that the episode's biggest flaws were near the start, leaving everyone with a slightly bitter taste in their mouths. After coming here straight from The MysteriousMrEnter's review, I am quite disappointed to see someone give it a zero. This episode does not even scrape my bottom 3 for this season and I can find several things I enjoy and admire for all episodes of MLP, a show still leagues above the other crap that cartoons churn out today.

 

3. Somepony To Watch Over Me - Applejack was out of character however, the Chimera and Apple Bloom made it up.

 

2. Three's A Crowd - Am I the only one who finds Cadance's casual comment that adventure spices up her life to be slightly contrived?Although I do appreciate this first instance of character development, Discord's antics and the fight scene.

 

1. Simple Ways - Trenderhoof is bland although his insinuations that he revamps the 'unappreciated, mundane and the simple' were extremely hilarious. The main problem is that Rarity takes her impersonations of Applejack a little too far. Her portrayal makes Applejack look like somepony with absolutely NO sense of hygiene and being extremely uncouth. Applejack, in reality, is far beyond and more complex that the typical 'Southern' cliche. In my opinion, although Trenderhoof edges out Silver Shill in least interesting character this season, his accidentally insulting comments, Rarity and Applejack's mutual stereotypes and Spike's dialogue still made this a rather humourous and solid episode. Simple Ways just happens to be the least enjoyable entry this season but a refreshing take on the 'two characters adopt each other' plot (better than Big Pink Loser). I find solace in the fact knowing that if any other modern cartoon tried doing this story, they would have most likely butchered it badly.

 

Although Rainbow Falls is one of the weakest entries this season, it still has its merits and does not deserve so much hate.

[Live Forever 316]

All of the above except for Twilight guilt-tripping Dash. Why was that a problem?

(Also, I noticed Pick a Flaw includes Dragonshy. WHY?!)