SPOILERS! Thoughts on 403 and 404. · 4:49pm Dec 7th, 2013
Alright. Just watched the new episode, and had a weirdly mixed reaction of being highly amused and also really disappointed. Spoilers ahead, you have been warned.
Before I go into episode 4, let's look back at episode 3.
Castlemania was a fun episode that paid homage to one of my favorite cartoons, Scooby Doo. It wasn't the best episode of MLP ever...I'd give it around a 7.5/10 type of score...but I had a blast watching it. I felt like Rarity and Fluttershy's storyline was the weakest of the three, compared to RD/AJ and Spike/Twilight. I couldn't buy them all coincidentally ending up in that castle (hence my newest chapter of Lunch Dates), and Rarity and Fluttershy were the weakest link in that reasoning. Their dialogue seemed forced at the beginning, and I hate forced dialogue with a fiery passion. I attributed this to the newness of the writer, and will let it slide for now.
I had also hoped the pony under the cloak would be Luna, not Pinkie...it felt like a missed opportunity. But since it was a tribute to Scooby Doo, I can see why they played it out as they did.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the episode. Had me laughing and grinning for much of it, and that helped me to overlook a lot of the more poorly done bits (forced moral, dropped plotlines, gimicky character motives). Honestly, there was just so much to like about it, that it helped me to see past what I didn't. There are lines from it that LITERALLY make me laugh out loud just remembering them, and I really enjoyed how each character got time to shine, including Spike. It was a really well balanced episode, with humor and gags galore, and most importantly, fairly equal treatment of the Mane 7.
Now, for episode 4.
Daring Don't was a fun episode that paid homage to one of my favorite movie franchises, Indiana Jones. On top of that, it had hilarious pokes at fans in general, and how they treat the creators of the content they love. That scene where Rainbow and Twilight run through the nitty gritty of the books outside of A.K. Yearling's house was fan-friggin-tastic.
Yet...that being said...
I'm not sure this really holds a candle to Castlemania.
The tribute bits were spot-on. Fantastic parody of Indiana Jones in several spots. Pinkie painting the red line was perfection. But...eh...it just...overall...
It hurt my writer's brain.
WHY were all six ponies involved? This made zero sense to me. This was the perfect example of an episode that should've had a reduced cast. There was zero need for anyone except Rainbow and Twilight to be in on this adventure. The others should've stayed home, they contributed next to nothing, and were merely a distraction.
WHY did none of them try to help Daring Do at the beginning? I could not buy that they'd sit there and watch another pony get beat up, even if it did lead in for a joke later.
WHY didn't Twilight use her magic and save everything immediately? She's read the books! If they really are true, she knows what bad things could happen. She should've been pulling out all the stops to keep that hoop away from the bad guys.
And that ending...ergh. When Daring Do and Rainbow are together...ugh. It's just poor execution. I didn't buy that Daring Do would let her tag along. I didn't buy that Daring Do would end up smiling about her help after all the time's she messed up. I could have, but I didn't. If it was handled a bit more delicately, showing more of an evolution of Daring Do's acceptance of Rainbow's assistance, then yes. Or, conversely, fighting against it even more, and then having it be a big moment when she suddenly realizes she DOES need the help of another pony, and Rainbow flies in to save the day. The way it was done in the actual episode was just so muddy and unclear, that my inner editor wanting to get my hands and that script and rewrite things.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that these two episodes show two sides of the same coin. Both pay homage to something near and dear to me, both have some great gags, both are far from perfect...
But whereas I could overlook the faults in Castlemania because the faults were outweighed by the amusement, I'm finding the opposite true with Daring Don't. I think, to be okay with this newest episode, I'm going to have to try to think of it as purely a parody episode and not attempt to apply any logic to it whatsoever. The greater cast (beyond Rainbow Dash) were not behaving at all as we've known them to from three seasons of growth...and if the writers didn't want them to lift a hoof to help, why not just NOT HAVE THEM THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Okay, rant over. Honestly, I loved so many little parts of this episode, that it pains me that there was so much that didn't sit well. Daring Don't gets a 5/10. (This scale, by the way, is for MLP only. If this was on scale with all cartoons in general, that score would be naturally higher.)
I'm sorry, Dave Polsky. Besides Too Many Pinkie Pies and Over a Barrel, I can't say there's been an episode of yours yet that has left me feeling more satisfied than frustrated. Next time you write an episode, can I please get dibs on editing it for you first?
I mostly agree on this. Especially the part where "all mane 6" were included in pretty much the entire episode. They really just ruin the atmosphere later on.
However I had one question all from the beginning. WHERE WAS SPIKE!?
1581223 I was actually relieved that Spike wasn't in the episode. We saw what Polsky did to him in Spike At Your Service, after all.
1581228 Actually I don't know what he did with Spike in that episode, except explain Spike's "dragon code".
PS: "Spike at your service" is actually my favourite episode :P
I was especially sad to not see any shots of Rarity in the final fight scene. Her intermittent fighting skills are always funny.
1581244 Hah! Well, then I guess you wouldn't mind, then. For me, it was a huge relief.
1581246 Ditto!
1581244
I don't think I've ever met anyone who likes Spike who also liked 'Spike at Your Service', but I suppose tastes differ. The massive OOC writing on Spike pretty much negated all the otherwise funny/interesting stuff into meh territory.
1581268 I just don't know what I would say was bad about the episode. And I tought it had many funny moments. But of course, I think the enjoyment of episodes are subjective. In the way that I would get more "interested" in what is going on if it actually included for example, the characters I am most interested in :)
1581285 Oh, it had humorous moments, the problem was it tied a lot of them to Spike being incompetent at his job, and that's hard to swallow sixty episodes in. When you reduce a guy who is a skilled assistant to an OCD prone character like Twilight, someone who enjoys/is shown to be good at baking, to someone who can't enter a room without destroying it or bake a pie (even with the help of two ponies who are good at baking), you're mining for humor in the wrong vein.
The timberwolf death scene, funny; Rainbow Dash writes fanfiction, funny; that whole fake timberwolf scam, funny, especially Rarity's overacting, but all of that fails when the basic premise just doesn't work very well. You can build a grand house, but if the foundation is weak it can't stand for long.
1581301 Well, as a young dragon he doesn't have much expertise in things like being a plumber. But I have to agree to that part about not being able to properly bake a pie, or clean with a broom, as he does things like that very often. But everyone has accident's and I guess it all mixes up with the part about his "dragon codex". Because of the codex and working in an unfamiliar environment, I could also see myself messing up in things I would otherwise do with skill.
It all makes sense to me anyway :)
1581322 You see, that's the thing about the plumbing incident. He took Rarity's plate to the kitchen, and then destroyed it. Spike, no matter how much parts of the fandom want to write him that way, isn't the CMC, he's a capable being who takes a lot of pride in what he does. Writing a scene like that is like making Rarity forget how to sew, or Twilight forgetting how to read. A different environment is irrelevant, especially when you're doing the exact same stuff you're always doing. Sweeping a floor is the same in the city as it is in the country.
Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent here. If you consider SaYS to be the best episode, more power to you. I actually enjoy it a little myself, though it ranks at the very bottom of pony for me, which is one of the reasons I like this show. Even the bad episodes are still fairly watchable, especially compared to what else is out there.
1581335 Absoulutely! I don't think it's the "best" episode. I just find it the most enjoyable to watch :D