S04E22: Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

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Re: S04E22: Testing Testing 1, 2, 3

Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:59 pm

Amethyst_Gem wrote:Other than Niels, none of you find RD out of control and excessively, well, bad?

Count me in right here. My partner, my sister, and my friend (who only recently started watching) don't like her, either. I wouldn't call her "excessively bad," personally, but I honestly think she's pretty awful, for many of the reasons you and Niels have covered.

She certainly seems to be the most divisive of the ponies. I guess with a personality that, um, "strong," people are bound to either love you or hate you.

Sorry, RD fans. :maddash:
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:03 pm

This has been an interesting discussion because, like Headless said on the previous page, some people like to identify with characters while some people just like to watch characters. It's two completely different ways of interacting with fiction.

It's something I really haven't thought much about, so in that sense it's similar to that "fallacy of universal experiences" article that acksed linked above.

Like, I love Diamond Tiara because she's such a perfect little shit. And it took me a while to realize that when some fans say they hate her, they aren't just saying she's over-the-top or she's written one-dimensionally. They actually hate her, on an emotional level. :scheming:
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Postby ThunderBunny (?) » Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:13 pm

PictishBeast wrote: And it took me a while to realize that when some fans say they hate her, they aren't just saying she's over-the-top or she's written one-dimensionally. They actually hate her, on an emotional level. :scheming:


That's totally me. Though, I ALSO happen to think she's completely boring and one-dimensional. But seriously, even her stupid little voice sends my blood pressure up half a notch.

Ummm... :ponydrugs:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Apr 09, 2014 11:30 pm

:saddershy: Rainbow Dash hate makes Fluttershy cry.

:pinkieshrug: I really can't fathom hating any of the ponies.
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Postby Amethyst_Gem (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:41 am

PictishBeast wrote:This has been an interesting discussion because, like Headless said on the previous page, some people like to identify with characters while some people just like to watch characters.

I actually do both. If I didn't enjoy at least watching RD some of the time I probably would never be able to stand her. Same goes with Diamond Tiara, who for some reason doesn't bug me as much. Maybe cause she's just a little brat instead of a grown brat? Lol! :v:
ThunderBunny wrote: Count me in right here. My partner, my sister, and my friend (who only recently started watching) don't like her, either. I wouldn't call her "excessively bad," personally, but I honestly think she's pretty awful, for many of the reasons you and Niels have covered.

'Excessively bad' may be a bit excessive way to put it, let's say 'bad a little too often for our tastes'. :yay:
The Doctor wrote: :saddershy: Rainbow Dash hate makes Fluttershy cry.
:pinkieshrug: I really can't fathom hating any of the ponies.

Hate is such a strong word, I'd rather say 'dislikable behavior', lol. I mean geez, develop some empathy for ponies not named Fluttershy already! :rant:
Unrelated, but since she was brought up and all: Who here actually remembers that scene from the G1 movie with Fizzy making the basket? :amazing:
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Postby Jill (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:53 am

Watched this one, like, yesterday or something. Mostly remember the stuff about Fluttershy being the best at friendship and then putting on an adorable play and then becoming a princess. Respectable character development all around. I give it an S, which is a grade so high that it's normally forbidden from being outside the realm of video games.

The Doctor wrote: :saddershy: Rainbow Dash hate makes Fluttershy cry.
Do a ctrl+f for "hate" and you'll find that its only recent appearances are in "RD hate makes ____ cry" posts and those few referring to Diamond Tiara. Ergo no one is truly hatin'. :idea:

ThunderBunny wrote:That's totally me. Though, I ALSO happen to think she's completely boring and one-dimensional. But seriously, even her stupid little voice sends my blood pressure up half a notch.

Indeed. Whenever the spotlight is on someone like Diamond Tiara, Trixie, etc. and they're spewing some showy antagonistic line that no person in real life could ever say with a straight face, it's like they're robbing me of precious pony show seconds. Taunting me. Hurting me. Throwing my candy on the ground and smashing it into dust beneath their hooves.
:saddershy:

I remember people comparing Trixie to Zapp Brannigan before and I think this discussion finally made me realize where that doesn't sit well with me: Whenever Zapp does anything there tends to be some kind of punchline to it, whereas Trixie exists just to be the Fountain of Assholery and push the plot along. He's got something spontaneous and entertaining going for him while she's been predictable and tedious most of the time. I say Trixie's more like... Exdeath, a generic-ass loudmouth of a villain who does magic and is blue and made of wood. That's one hell of a better comparison for being one I pulled out of my ass in ten seconds flat!
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Postby Sobana (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 2:36 am

ROBOT B9 wrote:Huh...I never thought of it in that way. Now I want to find out if that was intentional or not.

No one thinks the way Sobana thinks...

BOOM! Another reference to the show. Call me Philomena because I'm on fire!~
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Postby Big Boss (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 4:23 am

PictishBeast wrote:
She's important to the successful group dynamics of the core ensemble. :spike101:


She is the Flash from the Bruce Timm Justice League animated series. The two have so much in common (Braggarts, boorish obsessed with winning), and we all know what happened when he was no longer part of the group. :gotcha:
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Postby MochaBean (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 4:38 am

After the loss of The Dash at the talons of President Discord, the remaining five became... The Lords of Harmony :black101:
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Postby Amethyst_Gem (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 7:00 am

In retrospect, perhaps Fluttershy wasn't really just ignoring Rainbow Dash's faults in that big argument she had with Twilight, what with mostly giving looks at Twilight and saying:
'Don't you have more important things to do? Like prepare Rainbow for her big test? ' :glare:
Maybe, just maybe, Fluttershy acknowledges Twilight Sparkle as having more maturity, and thus deserving more blame! Twilight the Socially Mature Mare wins!
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Postby Tears (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:12 am

Pictish is right though, she's an essential part of the group.

And more generally though, she's one of the most important parts of Faust's "there are many ways to be a girl" idea, which is the whole point of the show.

Traditional views of femininity dictate that women be modest, quiet, not make waves and downplay their achievements. Having a character like Dash, who's sarcastic and brash and ambitious and utterly unashamed of her talent is crucial to the whole show.

An all-girl cast of the shy one, the fashion-obsessed one, the studious one, the party-lover and the motherly hardworking one would show a much narrower view of femininity, and Dash makes it all complete. I think it's really important that kids get to see a character like Dash, and Dash is the one kids seem to respond to the most, because she's colourful and fierce. The show as envisaged by Lauren just does not work without a character like Dash.
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Postby Amethyst_Gem (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:23 am

Tears wrote:she's one of the most important parts of Faust's "there are many ways to be a girl" idea, which is the whole point of the show.


:thatsright: I whole-heartedly agree! However I will continue to be vexed and annoyed with her when she goes beyond my personal threshold, just as I would were she a boy.
I think it says something for the show to make characters deep enough and familiar enough that we have varying reactions to them based on our own outlooks and ideals. :twiright:
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Postby Aramek (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:39 pm

Amethyst_Gem wrote:P.P.S.: Twilight can do no wrong. :twonk:

This, but with Rarity and Dash. :vogue: :awesomedash:
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Postby DerFurShur (?) » Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:43 pm

MochaBean wrote:After the loss of The Dash at the talons of President Discord, the remaining five became... The Lords of Harmony :black101:


Ugh you have no idea how badly I want to see that :allears:

:pcstare: So when can we have elections again Super Sparkle

:-/ We just don't think the time is right, keep waiting.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:25 am

The Doctor wrote:Stupid and Selfish don't really apply to Rainbow Dash though.


Stupid? No, I think not. Very stubborn in her ignorance, however.

Selfish? Absolutely. It's one of her defining characteristics. At the inception of her cutie mark, she realized something about herself: "Turns out the only thing I liked more than flying fast... was winning!" Competing with the aim of winning is by necessity an intensely selfish activity. She is also vain* and prideful—both selfish traits (I hasten to add that selfishness, vanity, and pridefulness are not something, she has a monopoly on in the group, far from it).

Her main struggles have been with her selfishness—Rainbow Falls had been a rather short episode, if she had not been tempted by her strong selfish desire to be on the winning team to abandon her original plan. Find a Pet was not about animal rescue, or what having a pet is about, it was about self-aggrandizement and finding the coolest pet worthy of her own august self until she got rescued in Ghastly Gorge.

If you deny Rainbow Dash her selfishness, you diminish her as a character by stripping away one of her dimensions.


* Not the same kind of vanity Rarity displays to be sure, but she is certainly just as image-concious (quote: "My life is ruined!" Ponyville Confidential).
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Postby Skipper (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 9:31 am

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Postby The Doctor (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:24 pm

A desire to win is not the same as selfishness. Take Hurricane Fluttershy, there was zero hesitation on Dash's part to just get the job done even when she realized the record was out of reach. "May the Best Pet Win", while Dash certainly went to extremes to find the best pet to her, it's no different than the other ponies who have chosen pets that suit their personality/needs. Twilight and AJ both have pets that help them in their work. Rarity have a prissy cat to complement her own vanity. Pinkie and to a lesser extent, Fluttershy are really the only ones who don't have pets that compliment them. "SSCS6000", after being so hyped for Cider and dragging Fluttershy along with her, she lets Fluttershy go ahead of her in line.

I am certainly not trying to argue that Dash is flawless. She is arrogant, brash, tactless (but she's learning), but selfish, I just don't see it.
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Postby Big Boss (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:29 pm

Because of the weekend off, the RT for this episode is delayed a little (thankfully). If anyone wants to participate, say so.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:37 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Because of the weekend off, the RT for this episode is delayed a little (thankfully). If anyone wants to participate, say so.


:party: me!

I think a few other people expressed interest earlier in the thread.
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Postby Weird Autumn (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:10 pm

Dash is often insensitive towards others' feelings and frequently fails to realize when pursuing her own desires will mean inadvertently hurting someone else along the way. I don't think that's the same thing as selfishness, though, and I would argue that Dash never really shows herself to be a selfish person. Yes, she's sometimes tempted to put her own advancement before her friends, but being tempted doesn't make a person selfish, succumbing to that temptation does. There's a reason why dash ends up flying for Ponyville in Rainbow Falls, why she decides to resign from the Wonderbolts Academy after seeing Lightning Dust's recklessness, why she turns away from the Shadowbolts in the pilot, and it's not because she's selfish.

(It's that she's got a bit of vanity to her and is overly concerned with preserving her "cool" image, but again that's not the same thing as selfishness.)

Also I'd be interested in getting in on the round table for this one (it's been a while since I've posted in an episode thread this much) but I'll defer to anybody who's already asked to get in.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:17 pm

I think we shall have to disagree on that then.

Of course, competing is to win, that was hardly my point. Desiring to win is selfish—it's putting yourself by dint of your abilities above others. An act of ego-gratification, if there ever was one. And yes, that is at the center of competition. A completely selfless competitor does not compute. It's a selfishness that wins gold medals and dominates the boardroom, and if that's what you want, more power to you.

My point is not that she ends up selfish at the end of the episode, but that she struggles with it (as all the ponies struggle and often prevail against some aspect of their personality). As she did so clearly in Rainbow Falls. In Hurricane Fluttershy, the original goal is certainly not selfless—Rainbow Dash is going for the record. She gets the other pegasi behind the idea, but let us not pretend it's not done with the hopes of impressing a certain Wonderbolt with the spectacular leadership of RD. Her moment of triumph is when she chooses duty over her dashed (ha!) personal ambition, thus forming an elegant mirror image of Fluttershy's moment of triumph of choosing to do something for herself rather than Equestria or Rainbow Dash. That is fitting, because Rainbow Dash struggles with selfishness, and Fluttershy struggles with self-denial. Both come out of the episode smelling of roses.

May the Best Pet Win—the other ponies did not stage a competition for the honor of becoming their pet, and as the exchange between Twilight Sparkle and Applejack showed, they were perturbed by her approach—not enough to talk to her about it, but still. In the end, Rainbow Dash chooses not among the cool animals that could have stoked her self-image, but the animal she scorned throughout the episode. But only at the end.

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000—she arrived with Fluttershy, and even Rainbow Dash is not that rude (especially towards yellow quiet). Her beef (hay?) was with Pinkie Pie, quote "This year I'm gonna get there before sunrise, so I can drink all the cider I want and laugh when she doesn't get any! It's the perfect plan. Y'know, I might even buy some cider and hold onto it for a while, drinking it drop by drop in front of her–" That is textbook selfish right there (and she gets burned immediately after by the oblivious Pinkie Pie). She wanted a thing for herself, not to share, but to have and to consume to the explicit exclusion of somepony else. Later in the same episode, "Why can't you make enough cider for all of us? Or at least for me!" and "Who cares how good the cider is if I never get to drink any?". Not a whole lot of community spirit in those sentiments.
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Postby Pocket (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:14 pm

Question: Is this the first time a TV show or movie has used "narrowscreen" in a pastiche of pre-200X media? It's definitely the first one I can think of.
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Postby doodlesplat (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:48 pm

There seems to be some variation in the semantics concerning selfishness in this discussion. Are some of you conceiving it as the impulse to put oneself before others or does it only manifest when a course of action is taken? Perhaps both?

Rainbow Dash often faces the temptation of the impulse. In most situations, especially when the stakes are high, she eventually does take the more morally-agreeable path. Sometimes, though, this doesn't happen before she has erred in judgment. Her behavior in Fall Weather Friends was a prime example of this. Rainbow Dash wouldn't give a hoot about fairness or the spirit of competition. Whether or not ideal competition is a selfish activity is rather moot when a 'competitor' behaves like Dash did.

Additionally, coupled with Applejack who just wants an honest competition and Twilight who just wants to experience it and is perhaps as close as it gets to a competitor who isn't all about beating everyone else, those three archetypes quite nicely supported many lessons about competition, personal ambition, and sportsmanship, all within a single episode.
:allears:

As she grows, Rainbow Dash is becoming quicker and quicker to realize that not everything is about herself. She is still going to love winning and success in general—she wouldn't be Rainbow Dash otherwise. She's becoming less callous about it, though, and in the process is showing audiences many constructive ways in which to balance personal ambition with concern for others.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 7:50 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Because of the weekend off, the RT for this episode is delayed a little (thankfully). If anyone wants to participate, say so.

I want to take part!

Pocket wrote:Question: Is this the first time a TV show or movie has used "narrowscreen" in a pastiche of pre-200X media? It's definitely the first one I can think of.

The film strip in "Hurricane Fluttershy" was also narrow screen as well.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:13 pm

Mr. Big wrote:I want to take part!


The film strip in "Hurricane Fluttershy" was also narrow screen as well.


Whereas Granny Smith's flashbacks in Family Appreciation Day just have severe vignetting. I guess lenses weren't that good in days of yore.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:17 pm

I remember that one episode of "The Simpsons" (one of the newer eps done in High Definition) had a flashback clip to an old, cel-painted episode, which was presented in narrow-screen as opposed to just cropping or stretching like other people would do.

So Pony wouldn't be the first show to do it, regardless.
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Postby acksed (?) » Sat Apr 12, 2014 12:43 pm

kefkafloyd wrote:Because of the weekend off, the RT for this episode is delayed a little (thankfully). If anyone wants to participate, say so.

*raises hand* Me too.
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Postby Venusy (?) » Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:40 pm

Finally rewatched this after the Peugeot 208 ruined some of the Eurohorsie showing. I liked that it was an episode centred around the moral, and liked that Dash's learning style made use of something very similar to thought routes/the Loci system, which is one of the best ways of remembering information. (It kind of helped that I was re-reading Derren Brown's book including it before Eurohorsie :-P ). Loved the visual gags, and basically everything Fluttershy did was adorable. :allears: I did tear up a little during the initial showing, though this was quickly replaced with anger at Peugeot when the ad started while Dash was writing her test paper.

Also, most of the Wonderbolts costumes Rarity presented didn't actually have wing holes. No wonder they weren't aerodynamic enough! :v:

On the Fluttershy's mean streak discussion from a few pages ago: this has come up in episode threads before, and I think it would probably be better placed in its own thread. Not going to split things out from this one, but I think it's a topic that warrants further discussion and doesn't belong in the Episode Discussions archive. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Cthulhu Inc (?) » Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:11 am

I noticed yesterday that the brown stallion in Pinkie's rap wears boxers specifically so that his low pants will show them :v:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Mon Apr 14, 2014 1:24 am

Cthulhu Inc wrote:I noticed yesterday that the brown stallion in Pinkie's rap wears boxers specifically so that his low pants will show them :v:

I had noticed that a little while after the rap clip first dropped and thought it was hilarious. Ponies doing stupid human things like that are one of the most consistently funny things in the show for me.
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Postby Amethyst_Gem (?) » Tue Apr 15, 2014 11:25 am

Cthulhu Inc wrote:I noticed yesterday that the brown stallion in Pinkie's rap wears boxers specifically so that his low pants will show them :v:


I found the yellow stallion's fashion tastes vastly superior. :vogue:
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Postby Sailor Yue (?) » Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:59 am

The deleted scene for this one is hilarious but I think it's borderline shipping lol
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Postby Stuff (?) » Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:44 am

It's been almost two weeks since this aired... and I finally watched it today! :amazing:

This was seriously humorous. Pinkie's rap. Holy jeez. :allears:

What a great lesson. A beer commercial once stated: "it's not weird if it works" and whatever that was worked perfectly for Dash. :gotcha:
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Postby ZamuelNow (?) » Sun Apr 27, 2014 6:07 am

Amethyst_Gem wrote:Unrelated, but since she was brought up and all: Who here actually remembers that scene from the G1 movie with Fizzy making the basket? :amazing:


It was quite nice having my memory jogged. :allears:

The ball bounces off of Gusty's head...that scene basically encapsulates all of her bad luck over the series.

Amethyst_Gem wrote:Let me sum it up: Rainbow Dash reminds me of every arrogant smug cocky violent reckless stupid selfish person I've known.
Either those I've observed being horrible to others or those I've put up with myself in my life.

You know, as opposed to all the other reasonable decent nice people that aren't like that, and who may remind me of other ponies instead. I don't get much joy out of watching a popular children's cartoon character encouraging such attitudes and behavior and almost never being called out on it cause 'awesome'.

Ultimately, this means I consider RD's negative traits to be the worst by far out of the main six, I just don't see the others' flaws to be nearly as severely bad.


This is not how I view Dash but it is how I view Lightning Dust. What's interesting about this comparison is that I've always viewed Lightning Dust as the perfect mirror since she's basically Season 1 Dash without loyalty or friends. I went into this series expecting to hate Dash but due to her character arc she's quite firmly my third favorite of the show. She's edging off a lot of her bad traits but she still has enough negative quirks to still be herself. It's interesting that parts of her personality are really needed for the group dynamic yet some are problematic. Especially since cockiness and arrogance are valued in a way that society doesn't always notice the negative aspects.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Tue Apr 29, 2014 4:27 am

ZamuelNow wrote:This is not how I view Dash but it is how I view Lightning Dust. What's interesting about this comparison is that I've always viewed Lightning Dust as the perfect mirror since she's basically Season 1 Dash without loyalty or friends. I went into this series expecting to hate Dash but due to her character arc she's quite firmly my third favorite of the show. She's edging off a lot of her bad traits but she still has enough negative quirks to still be herself. It's interesting that parts of her personality are really needed for the group dynamic yet some are problematic. Especially since cockiness and arrogance are valued in a way that society doesn't always notice the negative aspects.

I never thought of Dash as a negative kind of cocky, just a confident competitor that usually gets easily carried away in what she does and acts without thinking. I mean how many sportsmen did you meant that was humble and questioned their abilities? I mean good ones...
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Postby Wylie (?) » Wed Apr 30, 2014 3:50 am

Sobana wrote:I never thought of Dash as a negative kind of cocky, just a confident competitor that usually gets easily carried away in what she does and acts without thinking. I mean how many sportsmen did you meant that was humble and questioned their abilities? I mean good ones...


More than you think, actually. Nothing fuels the competitive spirit like a deep-seated inferiority complex.
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Postby Ragnar (?) » Sat Jul 12, 2014 8:15 am

I decided to actually watch this. Running commentary:

- Panicked aria about panicking :v:
- It's fun to watch Twilight be incompetent at stuff.
- Highlighting in the book???? What the hell is this show trying to teach kids? 0/10, dropping the show, posting goatse to get banned from this wasteland of a forum where people still like the execrable and morally bankrupt show that is My Little Pony.
- Dash fucking loves stools
- that Wonderbolt has the sickest of all mustaches.
- "horsing around."
- Does Twilight have a mode of transportation other than teleports anymore?
- Dash sincerely expected "Ernie's Uncooked Pancakes" to be the answer.
- "Celestia and Luna, back when they were happy." Well that's depressing! :allears:
- pinkie what are you doing
- pinkie no
- oh god, Dash loved it
- Rarity: dressed like that to help teach Dash, or dressed like that because it's awesome? The answer to this question is probably "yes."
- "an historical." Welcome to Rarity.
- Rarity is wrong and all of these costumes rule.
- heli... copter? :starity:
- the pilot of this helicopter is annoyed as hell about something, and I think I remember her piloting a hot air balloon with a very similar expression. Is the very concept of manned flight just aggravating for her?
- intriiigued. *dons hat of intrigue and record scratches*
- oh shiiiiiiit
- Twilight just masterstroked the hell out of this situation.
- I need Luna to see that rendition of the Celestia/Luna fight.
- The entire town had to help? Do they have to do this for the next test as well?
- Very good, you get a gold star. Wait, did the guy who graded her test ever turn the page?

conclusions: good episode, definitely gets a gold star, highlighting in books is the will of Hell but I guess I can content myself with an angry letter to the US president just because this episode was real good.
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Aramek wrote: :eyebrow: Hmmf, Ragnar the Red indeed.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Sat Jul 12, 2014 7:16 pm

Ragnar wrote:- I need Luna to see that rendition of the Celestia/Luna fight.


:gotcha: :unenthused:
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Postby everyponytothelimit (?) » Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:22 am

This episode is... strange, to me, I guess. It's humorous, and adorable and feel-good and uplifting and all that. I really truly enjoyed this episode. But at the same time I can't help but think that the resolution didn't really help Dash all that much.

Like, her learning method- it works and that's great and on the real life level the message that you can learn in different ways is really nice and good and all that. I mean, yeah not everyone can deal with being stuck in a box with dozens of other kids all day so having an empowering message about alternative learning is good, especially since it didn't turn all "fuck school and books and reading" since Twilight uh, exists. But on the in-show level, the level of "reality" that Dash lives on, well fly-by learning is just, horribly complex and inefficient. The whole town helping her out is a great feel-good moment but she can't possibly expect a repeat performance can she? Although, this is a magic fantasy talking horse town so maybe she can? Her friends certainly will likely drop everything to help out but... I'm kind of arguing against myself here, I just mean to say that essentially, everyone else did all the work, researching and preparing this presentation for her while she just passively absorbed it and that's not a feasible long-term arrangement. At least not without some money changing hands (hooves).

In addition it did nothing to actually address the Dash's more serious underlying problem- her procrastination and severe low self-esteem in the face of failure. I mean holy fuck, that girl has issues. I'd hate to see the day where Dash has her own "The Last Round-up" moment because she is going to fall hard. I mean, the real thing that led to her being in such a tight spot was that she didn't even bother studying or anything until the last moment and even then Twilight had to force her to do it. That's not a "some people learn differently" problem, that's a "this is going to be a huge impediment to you education and career problem". Then she aces the test anyway, and well, I'm speaking from personal experience here but that's not a good cycle to get into. The whole, procrastinate, panic, hate yourself, ace the test/assignment anyway is something I fell into during high school/early university and then suddenly that last step, the important one that makes it all ok, stopped happening and uh, yeah. It's not a good position to be in. I think that I would have been happier with the ending if Dash had just barely passed her test, but came out of it a better person, with new tools and attitudes so that she's never in that position again. Although I just want to re-iterate that despite typing up a whole thing on the bad parts of the episode that I really did enjoy it, quality episode overall, just got a small quibble with the end.

Or you know, whatever. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Kitsune (?) » Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:52 am

Well, part of the point of, like, the whole series is how great friendship really can be. Yeah it's unrealistic that so many characters would put in the effort to help her, but that's the entire point of that scene - that Dashie may think she's stupid and worthless, but she still has so many ponies willing to help her.

And yeah, Dashie's real problem is how poorly she handles failure - but from the way she acts, I see a lot of the same stuff I have to deal with due to depression. Brushing aside how uncomfortable it is for me to see this written off as 'she has issues', it's not unreasonable to connect her aversion to education with her belief that, because she learns different, she's stupid. Yes, that habit needs to be broken, but Rainbow Dash has twelve hours to study for the test and she thinks she's the most worthless pony in the world. The real problem is that she hates herself for not doing something she's not even good at, and while educating her is obviously an important goal, helping her realize there's some way for her to learn is the real victory.

It's like that saying, 'if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it's stupid'. Maybe she's gonna have other battles to fight later on and she won't be equipped for it, but she's not going anywhere if she doesn't realize that she can still win something.

I mean, if we're looking at this from the perspective of her being a student, it'd be more realistic for her to get an imperfect score, yeah, sure. But if we're looking at this from the perspective of her having a history of beating herself up, it's something she really needed. The point of this episode is to hit Dashie's low self-esteem with a mental Sonic Rainboom, nowhere near as flashy but with the same feeling of 'oh gosh oh gosh I am actually this good I literally can't believe it'.

Maybe I'm just too sensitive about this, because I spent a lot of my senior year of high school struggling with depression while trying to keep my grades up, and 'barely passing' meant I'd just hate myself more for cutting it so close, so I'm projecting quite a bit onto Rainbow Dash. I just don't think that this pushing-down 'realism' is necessary when the conflict is already about Rainbow Dash pushing herself down.
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