S06E07: Newbie Dash

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Re: S06E07: Newbie Dash

Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 1:32 am

The Doctor wrote:
It's extra weird because its the exact same thing she reported Lightning Dust for and she got kicked out for it.

I think the key difference between her and Lightning Dust (aside from how this stunt only ended up hurting Rainbow Dash, whereas that huge tornado the two of them whipped up nearly killed the other five of the Mane Six) is that she proved she's willing to acknowledge and learn from her mistakes. If someone's highly skilled but is also an utter shitbag then you ain't gonna want to keep that person around if you're the leader, but if you've got a skilled subordinate who is able to grow and mature then that's someone you want to have around.
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Speaking of that badge, I thought it was a nice touch to have her cutie mark used to represent her there. That's something I've not really noticed much since the early seasons (particularly S1), where the saddlebags that the six of them owned all had decorative buckles resembling their marks. Babs Seed's letter in Bloom and Gloom also had her mark as part of her signature, but that's the only other example that immediately comes to mind.
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Postby Davyinatoga (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 1:46 am

Has anybody gone back to the older Wonderbolt episodes and checked out the badges on the coats to see if they align?
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 1:48 am

There's always been little bits of decor that's in theme for each character; party hats, for example (I think in Secret of My Excess)
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 4:18 am

The Doctor wrote:
It's extra weird because its the exact same thing she reported Lightning Dust for and she got kicked out for it.

She reported Lightning Dust for endangering others' lives. The other rookies, Dash's friends, Dash herself.

Technically, that's what the Wonderbolts are trying to teach her: That following directions keeps them all safe. But the fact that she only embarrassed herself is probably the reason they give her a friendly pep talk instead of drumming her out.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 4:20 am

Well, that or plot armor. :v:
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 4:25 am

Headless Horse wrote:Well, that or plot armor. :v:

Yeah, assuming they'd even do that without another Rainbow Dash to shame them into it. :smugdash:

Odd moment: When they stick Rainbow with cleanup duty about 8 minutes in, Fleetfoot kinda extends an olive branch to Rainbow over her rough first day. Rainbow brushes it off with bravado, and then Spitfire calls her back over for chores. As she does, Fleetfoot backs out of the scene as if she's getting out of the blast radius of whatever dressing-down she thinks Dash is going to get.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 4:49 am

Davyinatoga wrote:Has anybody gone back to the older Wonderbolt episodes and checked out the badges on the coats to see if they align?

Like their flight jackets? I don't think they've ever worn them before. The closest was
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 4:50 am

I'm actually half-serious about that; I feel like Spitfire et al. are really and truly meant to be read as giving Dash preferential treatment because she's a national hero.

We'd like to believe that the Wonderbolts are an impartial organization ruled by justice and logic, but really their past hardly bears that out (so many of their appearances have painted them in a pretty iffy light). I'm not going to go so far as to say the show wants Dash to perceive corruption in their ranks and try to root it out later or something like that, but I do think that to the extent that it seems like they're turning a blind eye to her faults that they wouldn't if she were someone else, they probably actually are.
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Postby Wylie (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 11:48 am

Headless Horse wrote:I'm actually half-serious about that; I feel like Spitfire et al. are really and truly meant to be read as giving Dash preferential treatment because she's a national hero.

We'd like to believe that the Wonderbolts are an impartial organization ruled by justice and logic, but really their past hardly bears that out (so many of their appearances have painted them in a pretty iffy light). I'm not going to go so far as to say the show wants Dash to perceive corruption in their ranks and try to root it out later or something like that, but I do think that to the extent that it seems like they're turning a blind eye to her faults that they wouldn't if she were someone else, they probably actually are.


Which does very interesting things to Dash's character arc in general. She's always had this problem of being terribly insecure about her abilities and hiding it behind a mask of AWESOME, which the whole "Rainbow Crash" thing from the 'Bolts gets right to the heart of- she goes from national hero and literal savior of the universe to that little filly in flight school who couldn't stop crashing into stuff in a blink.

Having the 'Bolts there to remind her that she's actually both of those things- one of the best fliers in Equestria and a hero and role model, but kinda stubborn and also a klutz who needs to be brought down a peg or two occasionally- that's probably right about what Dash needs.
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 2:51 pm

I suspect Soarin' has a lot of stories to tell Dash over a couple of pops. Image
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Postby Soft Snow (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 3:54 pm

Headless Horse wrote:I'm actually half-serious about that; I feel like Spitfire et al. are really and truly meant to be read as giving Dash preferential treatment because she's a national hero.

We'd like to believe that the Wonderbolts are an impartial organization ruled by justice and logic, but really their past hardly bears that out (so many of their appearances have painted them in a pretty iffy light). I'm not going to go so far as to say the show wants Dash to perceive corruption in their ranks and try to root it out later or something like that, but I do think that to the extent that it seems like they're turning a blind eye to her faults that they wouldn't if she were someone else, they probably actually are.

That actually sounds true to real life. That is how a lot of things work in real life regardless of rules or regulations. Some times you can't help but play favoritism. It is like they are saying "we know you are better then this so we will give you another chance" as opposed to someone who they have no knowledge of.
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Postby VGAddict (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 9:42 pm

If the Wonderbolts all have nicknames, what was Wind Rider's nickname?
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Postby Octavia (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 10:03 pm

VGAddict wrote:If the Wonderbolts all have nicknames, what was Wind Rider's nickname?

The Framer :v:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Tue May 10, 2016 11:14 pm

Something about breaking wind, maybe.
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Postby Davyinatoga (?) » Wed May 11, 2016 2:52 am

Wind Provider?
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Postby PhoolCat (?) » Wed May 11, 2016 10:40 pm

Miller.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Fri May 13, 2016 1:28 am

Funny though the imitation sequence is, I think it has one big flaw that keeps me from thinking of it as good, in a quality-of-storytelling sense. It's simply that it's transparently a gimmick.

There's no real, organic way to interpret it as being naturally in-character for Dash to have kept on going through each one of the impressions in turn, after the first ones failed. She might be misguided and bullheaded and insecure enough (all three at once, I can almost buy) as to latch onto one, maybe two of her friends that she thought might be worth imitating for specific reasons related to how she thought the Wonderbolts would react to them; but I think Dash's ego would have forced her to stop with the charade really quickly after she got into the first one beyond more than one or two seconds. She's completely self-conscious and image-focused, and doing something so patently ridiculous and embarrassing would have mortified her even more than the Rainbow Crash nickname would have to begin with. Especially if the Wonderbolts react to her by pointedly ignoring what she's doing—that's almost worse than if they were to point and laugh. It means they're all forcing themselves awkwardly to put up with Dash's eccentricities because they're treating her with kid gloves, and she'd realize that immediately and be buried in shame.

Basically anything less than the Wonderbolts reacting to her impressions immediately with warmth and appreciation would have forced the Rainbow Dash I know to immediately stop. I don't see her doubling down on going through the whole litany, as though she believes that "well, if the first four didn't work, then surely the fifth will!"

Now, I don't mean it's not a funny or worthwhile sequence or anything; nor do I mean it's something "they never would have done in S1" or whatever; I mean Ticket Master wasn't much better when held up to this standard. It's fun. And surely it fits the pattern of storytelling with the Pony ensemble very well. I'm just saying I can't see my way to the stunt being something Rainbow Dash would do.
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Postby Surfing Ponies (?) » Sat May 14, 2016 5:02 pm

Headless Horse wrote:Funny though the imitation sequence is, I think it has one big flaw that keeps me from thinking of it as good, in a quality-of-storytelling sense. It's simply that it's transparently a gimmick.

There's no real, organic way to interpret it as being naturally in-character for Dash to have kept on going through each one of the impressions in turn, after the first ones failed. She might be misguided and bullheaded and insecure enough (all three at once, I can almost buy) as to latch onto one, maybe two of her friends that she thought might be worth imitating for specific reasons related to how she thought the Wonderbolts would react to them; but I think Dash's ego would have forced her to stop with the charade really quickly after she got into the first one beyond more than one or two seconds. She's completely self-conscious and image-focused, and doing something so patently ridiculous and embarrassing would have mortified her even more than the Rainbow Crash nickname would have to begin with. Especially if the Wonderbolts react to her by pointedly ignoring what she's doing—that's almost worse than if they were to point and laugh. It means they're all forcing themselves awkwardly to put up with Dash's eccentricities because they're treating her with kid gloves, and she'd realize that immediately and be buried in shame.

Basically anything less than the Wonderbolts reacting to her impressions immediately with warmth and appreciation would have forced the Rainbow Dash I know to immediately stop. I don't see her doubling down on going through the whole litany, as though she believes that "well, if the first four didn't work, then surely the fifth will!"

Now, I don't mean it's not a funny or worthwhile sequence or anything; nor do I mean it's something "they never would have done in S1" or whatever; I mean Ticket Master wasn't much better when held up to this standard. It's fun. And surely it fits the pattern of storytelling with the Pony ensemble very well. I'm just saying I can't see my way to the stunt being something Rainbow Dash would do.

I mean, yeah, sure, that all makes sense, but Care Mare. They've had that one ready to go for years, how could they resist? :flutterunsmith:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat May 14, 2016 9:20 pm

I thought about that earlier and, in the end, I do feel like Rainbow Dash would've kept trying with that gimmick. I mean, her goal was to do anything to not get stuck with the nickname of Rainbow Crash, so it seems natural to me that she'd try and keep trying to come up with ridiculous nicknames that could outshine what the other Wonderbolts gave her. It was definitely ridiculous, yeah, but she so badly wanted to not be called Rainbow Crash that she was willing to go to that length just for that chance. She gave up not because she ran out of friends of hers to parody, but because she got her official jacket and even it had the nickname she so hated on it.
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat Jul 09, 2016 3:46 pm

Catch-up:

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