Episode Re-Review: Rainbow Falls · 6:04pm Apr 1st, 2021
So we had what would be a key episode and an episode continuing the plot for the Equestria Games. An episode like this should've been a top priority, but for whatever reason it was given to relative newcomer Corey Powell who had never written a focus episode for any mane six member before. And keep in mind that Corey had gone from "Sleepless in Ponyville" which was highly praised to "Just For Sidekicks" which was rather forgettable and disappointing. So Corey was definitely out of her league here, and we'd already seen what could happen with inexperienced writers who didn't get the help they needed. So, is it possible that maybe Corey was trying to do something here? Or was she inexplicably falling apart? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with Rainbow Dash coaching Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps to compete for Ponyville on the Aerial Relay team. This is actually where Bulk Biceps was officially given his name, before then he'd been called Snowflake in official merchandise and fans had nicknamed him Roid Rage owing to his huge muscles but tiny wings. Anyway, Rainbow attempts to get both of them to fly but Bulk Biceps in particular is rather weak and is straining himself. Oh, and Applejack comes by for no real reason. But it all goes wrong when Bulk crashes and pulls Fluttershy down with him.
Then, on the train to the titular Rainbow Falls where the qualifier will take place, we see Thunderlane and another pegasus pass by as they reveal they're on the Air Sprinters and that ponies can only compete in one event. This highlights the first problem with the episode, why is Rainbow Dash saddling herself with flyers who aren't necessarily the best fit for a relay? They only explain away two pegasi, one of which arguably is way more qualified than either Fluttershy or Bulk Biceps. Twilight even comments on how this team doesn't have the best chances. Some say this was a personal challenge on Rainbow Dash's part, but there's no indication that this is the case and even if it is it's incredibly selfish of her because she's not the only one who could lose. Meanwhile, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity are all on the train. Pinkie Pie is a cheerleader which does fit her character, but Applejack and Rarity are absolutely pointless. You could write them out and nothing of substance would be lost. This highlights what was fast becoming a huge problem for Season 4, the need to shoehorn in the entire mane six in every story even if not all of them belonged. It first cropped up in "Daring Don't" when only Twilight and Rainbow Dash were necessary, but here is where it undisuptiably became a problem.
When we get to the falls there's already a sign of how low budget this episode must've been because they reuse background music and imagery from "Wonderbolts Academy". A backburner episode like say the previous one would've been acceptable, that's one of those episodes where you expect them to cut corners a little. But an episode like this shouldn't be recycling if it can help it. Then we find out that the Cloudsdale team is none other than the Wonderbolts. And I have to ask, isn't that giving Cloudsdale an unfair advantage? That's like when the U.S. created the "Dream Team" for the 1992 Olympics by stacking it full of the best basketball players known to them at the time (including the likes of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson), or like if the U.S. Marines or Navy Seals were the U.S.' swim team when no other country was doing that. Yes, I know that there are Army and Navy sports teams, but they operate separately from professional sports and play in their own leagues where it's clear that they aren't at an unfair advantage over others. Plus, as we'll soon see, the addition of the Wonderbolts will be detrimental to their characters.
You might also wanna remember Rainbow Dash telling Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps about them needing to be one of the first four teams to cross the finish line to qualify (like they didn't already know). Anyway, the Ponyville team quickly gets off to a bad start and so Rainbow Dash decides they can learn from how the best of the best perform and takes them to see the Wonderbolts. Then there's trouble when Soarin is momentarily distracted and misaligns with a hoop, causing him to spin out of control and plummet to the ground.
Rainbow jumps into action and rescues Soarin, who is then carted off on a stretcher. Within seconds Spitfire and Fleetfoot try to recruit Rainbow to practice with them. They acknowledge "Wonderbolts Academy" when Rainbow questions this, but the justification from Spitfire makes no sense when you remember that Bulk Biceps was at the academy too and he went through the exercises with little trouble (aside from the cloud busting one). But Rainbow Dash immediately accepts the offer and we spend several minutes going back and forth with the Ponyville team being hoplelessly inept (including Rarity making a stupidly flower themed flight suit) and the Cloudsdale team being really good. Twilight eventually does find out but doesn't bust Rainbow for this. And that's when the Wonderbolts offer Rainbow Dash to take Soarin's place on the team, and Rainbow immediately seems to jump at the idea.
Twilight's attempt at "talking sense" into Rainbow only points out how it would impact Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack but doesn't mention any of the far more compelling things such as Rainbow would be betraying Ponyville or that coming to the falls would be pointless. Then Rainbow decides to fake being injured to get out of having to choose, even claiming that she'll never fly again which is something a lot of fanfics had explored long before this episode. In the hospital, Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps introduce Rainbow Dash's replacement in the form of Derpy Hooves. And this marked Derpy's return to the show after being absent for most of Season 3 due to the Derpgate controversy. However, as nice as it is this cameo contributes to the problem of the episode. If it's that easy to replace Rainbow Dash then there is no reason at all for the Wonderbolts not to have a replacement for Soarin, or for Rainbow to replace Fluttershy or Bulk Biceps when they're not working out. This isn't just a friendly competition, it's a qualification for the pony equivalent of the Olympics. You have to go with the best of the best because it's foolish to expect others not to do the same!
Twilight scolds Rainbow for choosing the third option and claims "Choosing not to choose isn't really a decision." but when Twilight didn't provide Rainbow Dash with compelling reasons why should she expect Rainbow to make the right decision? And what, does that mean Twilight would've been okay with Rainbow siding with the Wonderbolts despite the fact that doing so would mean Ponyville would never qualify? And in case it wasn't obvious already, we see that Soarin was actually going to be okay to fly despite his injury but the Wonderbolts decided to replace him. Even if this is all some secret test of character, why wouldn't the Wonderbolts at least come up with a reason as to why Soarin had to go and why he couldn't be replaced by any other member? Why were the Wonderbolts made the antagonists here when even at their worst before they were only incompetent or just unaware of what was going on around them?
But of course this is when Rainbow Dash has her big realization. She reveals to everyone that she was faking her injuries and tells the Wonderbolts off for what they tried to do. Surprisingly, everyone is quickly okay with this. Soarin isn't upset that he was going to be replaced and Spitfire and Fleetfoot face no consequences for what they tried to do. Fleetfoot at least I could maybe buy her wanting to replace Soarin given how we don't know much about her personality, but Spitfire for sure should've been against it. And again, if this was meant to be a "test" there's no acknowledgement of it. Then, Ponyville qualifies despite being the fifth team to cross the finish line and it's not because another team was disqualified despite finishing. So an obvious first draft mistake slipped through. And the episode ends with Rainbow writing in the journal about the experience and a badge Spitfire gave her after the qualifying race gives off a rainbow shimmer.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, I think it's safe to say that this was a very bad first draft that was riddled with mistakes that someone should've caught. If you think about things for even just a few seconds everything falls apart. There's no rhyme or reason for the characters to do any of what they do here, no explanation is ever given for any of what is included and many characters are added even though they contribute nothing of substance. Heck, why did the Wonderbolts need to be in this episode? Why not bring back Lightning Dust or even create an entirely new trio of ponies to represent Cloudsdale? They could be far more underhoofed and manipulative in getting Rainbow to side with them. But instead, we have pointless scenes with characters that didn't need to be in the episode. And we never learn why anyone does what they do or why even though such explanations would be extremely important. "Low production values" probably sums up the failings of this episode the most, it was never made a priority despite connecting to two of the three big arcs of Season 4 and in the case of one of them (the Equestria Games) it single handedly killed off any potential that arc could've had. This episode gets an E, it isn't worth getting an F when they clearly weren't bothering to do their best.
Now comes another unpopular opinion of mine with the first Twilight focused episode since "Princess Twilight Sparkle" as well as Discord's second appearance since his reformation, and what would be "Three's A Crowd" which would not be quite the return to form Season 4 needed.
This is another of those episodes that I actually enjoy a lot more than most, to the point that it's actually among my favorite episodes of season 4.
And I genuinely consider it a good episode. Though admittedly, if you asked me why, I couldn't tell you.
5488041
Agree, season 4 is the first I watch started to finish when I go into MLP and Has to say Rainbow Fall is one of those good season 4 episodes and I don't mind watching it again
This is actually the second worst episode of the season, in my opinion.
The absolute worst one is definitely Somepony to Watch Over Me.
I remember one person describing Corey Powell's writing style as a "child character writer". What they mean by that is prior to MLP: FIM, she mainly wrote for preschool shows, such as The Adventures of Chuck & Friends and Dinosaur Train. Basically, she seems to be more comfortable writing children as the focus and adults as supporting characters.
5488083
While that episode was certainly bad, I'd say Rainbow Falls is worse for the exact same reason I said Dragon Quest is worse than The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well; it's unskippable.
5488180 Hm, that would explain why her two prior episodes involved the CMC and Spike. She was sticking to her comfort zone, and this was her first step out of it.
5488487
Well lucky for her, she would get to do one more episode that played to her strengths before leaving the show.
While I will agree that it's the weakest of all the Season 4 KEY episodes, I don't really hate it like most do. I did like the introduction of a new location and I have to find a kind of silly that Rainbow Dash trying to fake her injuries when she said "I hurt my hoof" in a weird tone