This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode.
The premise of this episode is that Rainbow Dash uses unconventional methods to try and prepare herself to join the Wonderbolts reserves.
As you can tell from that initial premise, this is a Rainbow Dash focus episode, and that's something I think was needed because, as those who read my reviews will attest to, I was not a big fan of her last outing back in "Rainbow Falls". In addition to that, this episode addresses something that myself and other fans have been wondering for some time, that being Rainbow's current standing with the Wonderbolts. Ever since her last episode, it's been very unclear whether she's still attempting to become a part of their group, so on that note, I'm glad we got an episode to show us that this is still something she's working towards.
The story at it's most basic level is one that's been done before, that of a character doing unusual things to try and compete in some way. I've said in the past that I'm willing to accept repeated stories if they do something new, and to the episode's credit, the specifics of that story are a new spin, at least as far as the versions that I've seen go. The idea of having difficulty in studying is not one I've seen done as well as this, and I know how hard it can be for many people to go through it, so I praise this episode for attempting something like this.
This episode provides a strong character flaw for Rainbow, one that she's had throughout the series, than of a difficulty to try new and different ways of thinking or doing things. I know from personal experience how hard it is to embrace new ways of doing things, so Rainbow's struggles to come to terms with the fact that it will take more than what she already knows she's good at are very believable. In some ways it reminds me of her past difficulty with reading for the first time, at least in terms of how she was trying to cope with integrating it into her normal life.
In addition to that, we also get some other believable scenarios to deal with, both for Rainbow and for the other characters. For Rainbow, I too once struggled with having to study for something important, and likewise I often found it incredibly stressful, often telling myself how important it was that I do well, so Rainbow's worries are completely justified as far as I'm concerned. As for the others, I found myself also rooting for Twilight's stance on things, as I often had to deal with people who did not share my sense of importance on how vital such studies were. True, Rainbow grows out of her opposition to that fairly quickly, but Twilight's words still rang true to me.
And speaking of the other characters, there were plenty of opportunity for each of them to shine in this story. Applejack's advice on how she learned what she learned through lifelong experience fits in very well with her character, as she's never been one to rush through for any kind of dream or anything. Fluttershy's position as the mediator, including a rather amusing intervention scene, was spot on for her, and shows that her assertiveness is still present and accounted for.
On top of that, some of the conflicts that Dash has with her friends struck me as a very realistic portrayal of how such things go in the real world. True, under normal circumstances I wouldn't want these girls to be at each others' throats like this, but I also understand that when you have such polar opposites spending time with each other, in this case Twilight and Rainbow, there are going to be disagreements. And I give kudos to Hasbro and the writers for portraying it in a way that made neither party out to be the bad guy, which is a hard thing to pull off.
Time to talk about the songs of the episode and this week we have something I wasn't really expecting. Pinkie, in an attempt to help teach Rainbow about the Wonderbolts, breaks out into a rap number, featuring cameos from other background ponies. I'm just going to come out and say it, I don't like rap music. I've never taken to it's style and it seems really out of place is a show like this, which tends to feature song that are more akin to ballads or melodies. On top of that, but I could barely make out a single word Pinkie or the backup singers were giving in this number, which is always a downside to any song. I'm sorry to say this, but this is yet another episode that probably could have benefited from having no song in it.
Onto the humour of the story, and in this episode we have plenty of funny moments. The sequences during Twilight's attempt to teach Rainbow, and the latter goofing off, were very amusing to watch, with a number of funny facial expressions and movements being shown. Pinkie Pie's moments were as funny as ever, though her constant need to get back into that rap number of hers did grate after a while. Although I would certainly call this a funny episode, humour is by no means it's focus, so it can be forgiven for being somewhat light on the jokes in places.
When it comes to the lesson of the week, the moral of this episode seems to be that not everyone is going to be able to learn things as well or in the same way as others, and that we need to accept this. I know many of the people who watch this show are young children, and as such I absolutely salute this episode for giving the message that just because they may struggle to study doesn't mean that learning is beyond them completely. I'm sure we've all met at least one person in our lives who has struggled with such things, and a lesson like this most definitely needs to be taught to them more often.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I think it was quite a step-up from Rainbow's previous focus episode. She was placed in a very believable situation that I, and I assume many others, could identify with, and her difficulty in learning seemed very real to me. There were plenty of great character moments to supplement Rainbow's involvement and Twilight's growth as a teacher does well to advance her own arc in the series. While I would not say this is among my favourites of this season, I will say that it's one of the better episodes season four has given us so far, and I definitely recommend this one.
The premise of this episode is that Rainbow Dash uses unconventional methods to try and prepare herself to join the Wonderbolts reserves.
As you can tell from that initial premise, this is a Rainbow Dash focus episode, and that's something I think was needed because, as those who read my reviews will attest to, I was not a big fan of her last outing back in "Rainbow Falls". In addition to that, this episode addresses something that myself and other fans have been wondering for some time, that being Rainbow's current standing with the Wonderbolts. Ever since her last episode, it's been very unclear whether she's still attempting to become a part of their group, so on that note, I'm glad we got an episode to show us that this is still something she's working towards.
The story at it's most basic level is one that's been done before, that of a character doing unusual things to try and compete in some way. I've said in the past that I'm willing to accept repeated stories if they do something new, and to the episode's credit, the specifics of that story are a new spin, at least as far as the versions that I've seen go. The idea of having difficulty in studying is not one I've seen done as well as this, and I know how hard it can be for many people to go through it, so I praise this episode for attempting something like this.
This episode provides a strong character flaw for Rainbow, one that she's had throughout the series, than of a difficulty to try new and different ways of thinking or doing things. I know from personal experience how hard it is to embrace new ways of doing things, so Rainbow's struggles to come to terms with the fact that it will take more than what she already knows she's good at are very believable. In some ways it reminds me of her past difficulty with reading for the first time, at least in terms of how she was trying to cope with integrating it into her normal life.
In addition to that, we also get some other believable scenarios to deal with, both for Rainbow and for the other characters. For Rainbow, I too once struggled with having to study for something important, and likewise I often found it incredibly stressful, often telling myself how important it was that I do well, so Rainbow's worries are completely justified as far as I'm concerned. As for the others, I found myself also rooting for Twilight's stance on things, as I often had to deal with people who did not share my sense of importance on how vital such studies were. True, Rainbow grows out of her opposition to that fairly quickly, but Twilight's words still rang true to me.
And speaking of the other characters, there were plenty of opportunity for each of them to shine in this story. Applejack's advice on how she learned what she learned through lifelong experience fits in very well with her character, as she's never been one to rush through for any kind of dream or anything. Fluttershy's position as the mediator, including a rather amusing intervention scene, was spot on for her, and shows that her assertiveness is still present and accounted for.
On top of that, some of the conflicts that Dash has with her friends struck me as a very realistic portrayal of how such things go in the real world. True, under normal circumstances I wouldn't want these girls to be at each others' throats like this, but I also understand that when you have such polar opposites spending time with each other, in this case Twilight and Rainbow, there are going to be disagreements. And I give kudos to Hasbro and the writers for portraying it in a way that made neither party out to be the bad guy, which is a hard thing to pull off.
Time to talk about the songs of the episode and this week we have something I wasn't really expecting. Pinkie, in an attempt to help teach Rainbow about the Wonderbolts, breaks out into a rap number, featuring cameos from other background ponies. I'm just going to come out and say it, I don't like rap music. I've never taken to it's style and it seems really out of place is a show like this, which tends to feature song that are more akin to ballads or melodies. On top of that, but I could barely make out a single word Pinkie or the backup singers were giving in this number, which is always a downside to any song. I'm sorry to say this, but this is yet another episode that probably could have benefited from having no song in it.
Onto the humour of the story, and in this episode we have plenty of funny moments. The sequences during Twilight's attempt to teach Rainbow, and the latter goofing off, were very amusing to watch, with a number of funny facial expressions and movements being shown. Pinkie Pie's moments were as funny as ever, though her constant need to get back into that rap number of hers did grate after a while. Although I would certainly call this a funny episode, humour is by no means it's focus, so it can be forgiven for being somewhat light on the jokes in places.
When it comes to the lesson of the week, the moral of this episode seems to be that not everyone is going to be able to learn things as well or in the same way as others, and that we need to accept this. I know many of the people who watch this show are young children, and as such I absolutely salute this episode for giving the message that just because they may struggle to study doesn't mean that learning is beyond them completely. I'm sure we've all met at least one person in our lives who has struggled with such things, and a lesson like this most definitely needs to be taught to them more often.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I think it was quite a step-up from Rainbow's previous focus episode. She was placed in a very believable situation that I, and I assume many others, could identify with, and her difficulty in learning seemed very real to me. There were plenty of great character moments to supplement Rainbow's involvement and Twilight's growth as a teacher does well to advance her own arc in the series. While I would not say this is among my favourites of this season, I will say that it's one of the better episodes season four has given us so far, and I definitely recommend this one.