Whose Fault Is It Anyway: S1E5 Gilda · 2:21pm Jul 15th, 2015
The antagonists in this show tend to invite weirdly persistent debates. All the way into season 5, there're still arguments about whether Gilda, in fact, did anything wrong. Any conversation about it dissolves into madness. Let's try to bring a little order, an' tally up the arguments for each side. Whose fault is it? Note: Any argument that somehow involves The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone doesn't count. This is only about Griffon the Brush-Off. No fanon, either.
GILDA'S FAULT
-Gilda should have respected that Dash has new friends. She could have had fun with Pinkie, too.
-Gilda was unnecessarily violent when dealing with Pinkie; she could have seriously hurt her.
—She also showed manipulative tendencies, getting Dash to go somewhere else so she could treat Pinkie however she wanted.
-In line with the violence, scaring an old lady you don't know is dangerously irresponsible. What if Granny Smith had a heart attack?
-No matter where you come from, theft is still illegal.
-After the theft, the episode mostly rides on her temper. She makes a lot of very public scenes whenever something displeases her.
BUT WAIT:
She stole a single tomato, one that, according to her, wasn't even fresh. Was that really a big deal?
NOT-GILDA'S FAULT
-Gilda had every right to expect some time alone with her old friend, and if Pinkie had respected that there wouldn't have been a problem.
—And of course she's going to overreact when you're stalking her and won't take "no" for an answer.
-She was just borrowing that tomato.
-She couldn't possibly have known Fluttershy was so sensitive; if it had been Rarity she'd have looked a little like a jerk, and if it had been Applejack she'd look like she just really hates fruit vendors, but it wouldn't have been that big a deal. Her actions shouldn't be judged differently just because she ran into a different pony.
-It made perfect sense to assume Pinkie Pie was the one setting up pranks at the party she herself planned, and, coupled with the fact that she's been stalking Gilda all episode, one could start to feel unwelcome.
—The claim that it was just dumb luck that Gilda triggered all the pranks is nonsense, as she was clearly guided into several and at least one was specifically set up to target her.
-Rainbow Dash's disapproval doesn't mean much. That said, she did turn on Gilda pretty quickly for someone who was supposed to be an old friend.
BUT WAIT:
If Pinkie had left her alone, then sure, there wouldn't have been a problem with Rainbow Dash, but there's no reason to think her actions in the square would have been any different. She'd still be terrorizing little old ladies and fruit vendors.
Whether it's Fluttershy or not, Gilda was still way over the top.
Mah thought is this. Yes, Gilda's treatment of Pinkie can be excused, overall. But ah'm not willing to overlook the theft, simply because it demonstrates a lack of respect for property. It removes an important corner from the house of cards that is the justification of Gilda.
If ah missed somethin', leave a comment about it an' ah'll add it to the appropriate list. Was this worth the time an' effort? Anythin' ah coulda done to make it more interesting? Should ah do another?
Up to you
I'd say it's worth it. And yeah, another would be quite cool.
But...
Yes, it was. And the 'not so fresh' is so a cover.
She stood in Fluttershy's way, seeing her guiding those ducks along. And it didn't matter if it was Fluttershy or not, her reaction was brutal.
3240838
Secretly, ah said that as a joke. But you prob'ly knew that.
As for the other bit, ah was attemptin' to include every major argument ah could think of, not jus' the ones ah agree with.
3241849 Yeah, sorry. I was more responding to the argument, not you. Or something. I could've worded it better. My legit bad, there.
3243411
Guess ah should put it on the second "But wait!" list, then.
You forgot her also shoving Fluttershy in a locker in a flashback (which implies she would know Fluttershy's a shy sort) and that Fluttershy was walking a bunch of baby ducks when she started menacing her and them, which makes the whole thing worse.
Gilda's pretty much a solid jerk. The only issue is the stuff she does that marks her as one and can't be excused at all isn't the stuff that makes Rainbow Dash drop her like a hot potato, because Dash wasn't around when those things happened. Which makes Dash look kind of bad for not being able to look past her blowing up after that incredible string of 'bad luck' at the party.
3997446
...Are you misremembering a fanfic or comic as canon?
4440158
Might be, memory is a tricky thing. Now I have go track down all Gilda's canon appearances to double check.