Afterthoughts: Parental Glideance · 5:26pm Jun 8th, 2017
Important Note: the site that I have used for hosting images (since Imjur blacklisted FIMfiction) is going to go down by the end of the month. That means that once again the vast majority of my blog images will no longer work. I will slowly upload them to a new site, but it may take considerable time before old blogs have pictures again. If anyone has a recommendation for a good image-sharing site that can be used for FIMfiction blogs, please let me know in the comments!
art by RenoKim
If there is anything universal, it is that we all have parents. They might no longer be in our lives – they may never have been – but none of us came into existence without them. In “Parental Glideance”, we are finally introduced to Rainbow Dash’s parents.Now, counting our understanding that Applejack’s parents have passed away, we have seen the where each of the Mane Six came from. And we have gotten a glimpse into how their influence shaped our beloved cast.
In Rainbow Dash’s case, the reveal helped explain her entire character. The behavior of Rainbow Dash’s parents – the unceasing support and encouragement, even when unearned or inappropriate – not only sets a foundation for Rainbow’s confidence, but kickstarts her drive to win and earn the applause. Further, Rainbow Dash’s mother and father are partially responsible for several of her less laudable character traits, including her rather massive ego.
For those of us who grew up with our parents (and I include legal guardians in this for those whose birth parents were not the ones who raised them), they shaped who we became as much as we did ourselves. As children, we are malleable. We are fertile soil for whatever seeds they plant. And we learn through observation in a situation where they are likely the most commonly observed. They instilled core values and attitudes that either take root and grow, or that we find ourselves fighting against – both of which fundamentally set the framework of who we will become.
art by SentireAeris
As we grow, we become more capable of discerning for ourselves what we believe, what we know to be true, and what is right and wrong. We can chose to become different, for better or for worse. Who we are cannot be laid, in either praise or blame, solely or even primarily on our parents. But we would be foolish to pretend they didn’t have a great deal of influence on who we are today. And unless you were left in a box under a bridge at childbirth, it would be downright ignorant to think you got where we are today completely on our own.
Rainbow Dash forgot this, becoming so wrapped up in the way her parent’s behavior was affecting her life now that she lost sight of just how much she owes to them. And considering their actions, this is easy to understand and forgive. The greatest flaw in this episode is that it wasn’t Rainbow Dash alone who needed to learn a serious and heartfelt lesson here. But it was her lesson that the episode focused on to virtual exclusion.(The tossed-in line at the end simply wasn’t enough.)
That does not take away from the fact that Rainbow Dash had committed one of the most common sins of children: she took her parents for granted. I’m very pleased to see the writers tackle this particular life lesson, even if I am not entirely happy with the final result.
art by YorozPony
Only slightly less universal than having parents: we all have issues with our parents and how they raised us.
Looking back, it is easy to see the mistakes. (Behold the power of hindsight.) And since this is our upbringing, those mistakes and clashes are exceptionally personal. Raising a child is not a science, it is a convoluted and taxing maze full of traps.And our parents are equipped with only their intentions, their own past experiences and maybe a few dubious guidebooks.Even parents who earnestly try their very best will make errors.
I was exceptionally fortunate. My own parents were loving, caring, involved (but not too much), and virtuous.They were nearly perfect… which considering that I was decidedly not, they should probably be nominated for sainthood. But even still, I have my own issues with them that have come up from time to time.
Even if the reasons and situations are completely different, how many of us immediately connected with Rainbow Dash’s comments:
“It's just my parents and I have a delicate relationship. I love them very much, and we're really close, but there's a reason…”
I know I did.
In my own case, it is more of a matter that while I love my mother and she is close to my heart, we don’t have much in common, and there are too many areas where we clash. Our relationship is at its healthiest in small doses and at a distance. But this episode reminds me… I should really call my mother.
Rainbow Dash’s parents in this episode went well beyond “too much”. If anything, the tirade she released on them was tame and long-coming.They actively disrupted public events, wrecked others ability to enjoy a show, and even put the performers in danger.As someone who works in security, I can tell you that those two would have been thrown out and banned.
In the very least, their behavior exceeds being supportive and has become harassment. And this is a lesson that parents need to learn, because while rarely to this cartoon extreme, it is a common sin of parents to fail to empathize with their children.
Parents have a long view, so it is hard for them to put anywhere near the level of importance on childhood events and relationships that their children do. How much importance can a child’s weekend or a summer friendship be to someone who has lived at quarter of a century longer than the kid has? So they operate in accordance to their perspective, unable or unwilling to put themselves in their child’s place, often with embarrassing, socially crippling or deeply hurtful results. I would really have appreciated if the episode approached this as evenly as it did Rainbow Dash learning the error of her ways.
That said, Rainbow Dash’s "I Love My Parents and I'm Sorry That I Took Them for Granted and I Know That They Made Me Who I Am Today So I Really Wanna Make It Up to Them" event was a perfect resolution for her learning arc in this episode. Bravo.
art by AssasinMonkey
One of the biggest moments in this episode was neither from Rainbow Dash nor her parents: it was from Scootaloo.
Scootaloo reminds us that not everyone has parents that help mold them into who they are… except perhaps in their absence. Scootaloo suffers from absentee parents. We do not know if she is an orphan, or if her parents are simply emotionally neglectful or uninvolved. We have seen her room, so we know she is cared for on a basic needs level at an admirable degree. Perhaps they are working parents and don’t have the time or energy to properly rear her.But whatever the situation, Scootaloo has had to raise herself… thankfully with the help of her friends.
Without parents serving a parental function in her life, Scootaloo has never had the sort of encouragement or support that Rainbow Dash was overwhelmed with. She doesn’t understand the problem that Rainbow Dash has with her parents not because Scootaloo is blind or dumb, but because she literally can’t understand it. She completely lacks the basic foundation to be able to grasp the problem, and instead is only capable of seeing something she wishes that she had.
This was a major bombshell, and possibly the most poignant moment in this episode. “Parental Glideance” masterfully revealed some exceptional character depth for both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.
And in the end, Scootaloo… already adopted as Rainbow Dash’s “little sister”… has socially been adopted by the entire family. This was such a heartwarming moment and one major shift in her character’s life.
I really hope we see follow-up to this in a future episode. And based on this and last season, it seems likely that we will, although we may have to wait a few years, like we did with the way “Forever Filly” followed up on “Sisterhooves Social”.
art by John Joseco
The absence of Rainbow Dash’s parents in seasons before this one was quite adequately explained by the nature of Rainbow’s relationship with her mom and dad. Rainbow Dash has intentionally kept them at wing’s length, stealthily shutting them out of the developments of her life.
And for understandable reason. She has worked hard and earned her way into the Wonderbolts. She has had enough trouble, both through her own failures and the actions of others (as Scootaloo’s recap with the “where did you get those?!?” pictures reminded us), and so the last thing she needs is to invite her parents and all the potential ways they could screw things up for her.A “whole lot of crazy” indeed.
(The attitude that Windy and Bow expressed towards being completely uninterested in seeing the group that her daughter aspired to join says a lot about the truncated nature of their support.)
So I have to say how once again the Wonderbolts were showcased wonderfully in this episode. Not only did we get to see part of a Wonderbolts show – and it was suitably impressive! – but we saw the Wonderbolts showing real camaraderie.
Spitfire has shown the tolerance of a saint, empathizing with Rainbow Dash enough to even let the tail incident go. Fleetfoot, who has shown less than stellar character in the past, had a great moment with Bow Hothoof. I was both impressed and very happy to see that. And the group as a whole treated the affair with both amusement and support.
The fact that the entire team went out of their way to put on a show so that Rainbow Dash could patch things up with her parents says incredible things about who these ponies are as a group. And considering some of the previous episodes, I cannot help but believe that Rainbow Dash has been a significant influence in the loyalty and friendship they show.
art by DashieSparkle
Aerial Maneuvers:
I liked the other CMC pointing out better alternatives to her crazy launch plan.
Scootaloo was super cute this episode, and had some fantastic animations. Especially in the scene meeting Rainbow Dash’s parents.
Pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough actually sounds pretty good. But then, I love a good potato salad, and almost all pasta except spaghetti noodles. And sourdough is the king of breads. That’s not an opinion; it’s a statement of fact.
I love the cloud ceiling in Hothoof and Whistles’ hallway. The animators have a great eye for design.
The turtle motivational poster was… odd, actually.
Great door! And easily the most laugh-out-loud moment of the episode.
Rainbow’s mother keeps “Dash-mentos”.
“You should see your faces right now!” flash “See, that’s what your faces look like.”
“And now you've invited a whole lot of crazy into my life!”
“Greetings, small ponies.”
Seriously, where did Scootaloo get those pictures.
We got a picture and name for Fire Streak.
Windy Whistles is really adorable. And she cosplays her daughter well. That… should probably be a little disturbing.
The flashback with all the familiar ponies as competitors, mostly younger Wonderbolts, makes me wonder how accurate that memory is… or if Rainbow Dash doesn’t recall the other fliers and is just mentally copy-pasting pegasi she knows into their places.
That said, if accurate, the memories give an interesting possible insight into Derpy’s childhood.
I liked that Scootaloo got docked for having a moldy sandwich in her report.
Scootaloo’s slightly embarrassed and overwhelmed smile was a perfect moment to end the episode on.
Easily one of the best episodes of the show. Just excellent, all across the board.
I’ve used Photobucket for my fimfic hosting needs since 2012. Sometimes I pay $3 a month for the unlimited bandwidth, sometimes I don't need to.
These days I don't need to.
Agreed.
As for where Scootaloo got those photos, my hypothesis is that she talked Twilight into taking her to the Astral Realm of Flashbacks and had her play back events in Dash's life while Scoots had her camera at the ready. Makes at least as much sense as any of the other options.
And yes, this was a great episode. Could've done with a bit more acknowledgement of the parents' errors, but it offered a wealth of insight into both Dash and Scootaloo.
Imgru no longer has FiMFiction blacklisted
This has been my least favorite episode of the season, quite easily. Her parents were just way too obnoxious, and the fact that the episode completely took their side without once saying they were part of the problem just really rubbed me the wrong way. Scootaloo’s guilt tripping also kinda annoyed me, since it made it sound like Rainbow just didn’t have a real problem at all. Just because someone’s issue is the opposite of yours, doesn’t mean it’s not an issue.
The episode could have been saved if it reworked the ending to have both Rainbow and her parents apologizing, with both learning their lesson. Instead we just got a guilt tripped Rainbow, and her parents continuing to be way too over the top.
Also, it’s a bit odd having this come after the Maud and Sweetie episodes. Maud’s sister was being way too over the top, but had to learn to back off and let Maud handle things. Rarity was unable to see that Sweetie was growing up, and kept treating her the same while being a bit too pushy, and she had to learn to stop and actually listen to Sweetie Belle. Rainbow’s parents act insane over every little thing she does and disrupt her shows, but they are 100% in the right and how dare Rainbow not appreciate it every time they cheer! One of these doesn’t seem to fit.
The only major issue with the epiaode and why I don't like it is that by having her join her parents in acting exactly like them for Scootaloo it's stating her parents out of control behavior is perfectly acceptable and a-OK when it very much is not.
They had a perfect opportunity for the parents to also learn the lesson of moderation and they didn't use it and said you should just be OK with, as you called it, harassment type of behavior.
Especially when that behavior caused their daughter to have a crippling fear of failure that she hides with her ego.
Great episode, right up until Dash was the only one in the wrong. I agree; both sides were at fault and needed to apologize.
If you find another site, please let me know! Heck, I think it was you who recommended ImgBox in the first place.
On the image hosting thing, apparently Imgur works on Fimfiction again. Knighty changed it so that when you embed an image, Fimfiction just copies it rather than directly embedding.
i.imgur.com/oD9Uh.png
This is from Imgur, and works fine.
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“Ugh, tourists. There goes the neighbourhood.”
“Just ignore them, honey, they’ll be gone in a millennium or two.”
“I know, sweetums, but there’s always another lot just waiting to evolve.”
For images I would suggest using Devianarts wonderful function of not actually posting them to the public. It is call the stash folder, which is private to your account only and can have it’s images moved onto here via HTML rather easily.
One of the best episodes. Of all times.
I just wish you reserved the first comment for yourself, so I could give it a like.
Or should we bug Knightly to add likes into blog?
That is the official Word of God from the show runners. And thinking about it, it has to be the case. Because if Scoots was an actual orphan..... there is no way she would be one. Because after this, I cannot see Dash’s family not officially adopting her if that were the case.
Yeah, the family did need to learn to tone it down a bit, hopefully the talk with RD will get that through to them. And the bolt’s have always been awesome, the only ep that every actually showed anything but what we saw here was Rainbow Falls, and that episdoe messed up everypony it touched. Though with Fleetfoot..... yeah she’s the one that is most likely to just be kind of a bitch. And i am not sure she didn’t say that to Dash’s dad JUST to troll Dash by causing that reaction.
The rest, agreed as always... and my mom is certainly the reason I cannot stand being around alcohol or anyone who has been drinking at all.
4564611 The thing is, they were doing it for Scootaloo, and Scoots really needed that level of over the top support.
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That may be trust but the episode Is saying their behavior is acceptable since there wasn't a scene of them realizing they should tone it down since it was Dash who was the only one to apologize for upsetting them by finally having enough.
4564596 Oh? When did that happen? And what’s the story behind it?
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It happened a while ago. Not sure when. I just know Knighty says it works now.
I've made that sandwich for a brony meetup! It turned out better than I thought!
4565284 The story behind it is that knighty now sends images through a proxy to force Imgur to work.
The strongest points of the episode were definitely the exploration of Rainbow's and Scootaloo's personalities, and Rainbow's lesson.
I agree that it really needed the parents to learn the lesson, that felt like leaving off an ingredient in an otherwise great recipe.
You put things in perspective well in saying that parents have a long view of things that may make them less empathetic at times.