Thoughts on Newbie Dash

This was an episode that I have mixed feelings about, and I'll explain I don't think it was a bad episode, but I'm going to compare it to Crusaders of the Lost Mark.

First off, since season one, when I started rewatching the entire series about three years ago, there were two major journeys one was the cutie mark Crusaders earning their cutie marks and Rainbow Dash becoming a Wonderbolt. We assume it would be a huge event in the episode in which both of these things happen. I would even assume these events deserve a two-part episode seeing how prominent they are. But sadly, that didn't come to pass for either one. As I explained with The Crusaders of the Lost Mark, it felt rushed. It would've been much more special if it had been given two episodes, especially seeing Diamond Tiara's character transformation. But Newbie Dashin, in my opinion, needed it more as I understood what the writers were going for. Still, it felt as if they really were trying abit too hard to make it more about Rainbow Dash's anxieties about not being known as "crash" is the forefront of the episode and rushed to the end where her showboating screws up their performance.

The story itself wasn't too complicated, with Rainbow Dash literally becoming a Wonderbolt at the beginning of the episode when she's needed to fill in for their tour through Ponyville. This was a bad idea, in my opinion. I think it would've made way more sense to do that at the end, so it builds more tension, as it could be more like a test to see if Rainbow Dash can work with a team. Then when she trots onto the runway and almost gets hit by Soarin, she crashes into a trash can and then gets the name "Rainbow Crash" She then gets obsessed with trying to change the Wonderbolts' first impression of her by imitating her friends. This part was fun to watch, and it was funny but felt off...like it was trying too hard for her to be like each of her other friends, and it felt sort of out of nowhere, in my opinion. But the Wonderbolts just get annoyed and seem to brush off Rainbow's antics. Then during their routine in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash tries to change it with Scootaloo's help and then ends up causing a massive crash. Afterward, she admits her wrongdoing to the Wonderbolts, who show that the "nickname" is a part of their culture and everypony on the team gets one. This makes Rainbow Dash feel better, and she is punished for having to spend her time cleaning and is grounded for a month. But it seemed like it all ended well, seeing the Wonderbolts wanted to have Rainbow Dash to be on their team.

I understand where the writers were coming from, and with a twenty-minute slot, they did a great job. I'm saying this deserved a two-part episode for its importance for Rainbow Dash's character and goals. This is the epitome of what she's been trying to achieve since we met her in season one. It felt weird that she became a Wonderbolt in the first five minutes of the episode, and there was tension even with the idea of her getting kicked out for pulling off her stunt at the end. But it still would've been better if they waited until the end and changed the story abit to make it have that tension without it just being Rainbow Dash making a fool of herself the entire time.

Also, going back to The Crusaders of the Lost Mark, despite myself feeling it was rushed, that felt like a genuine turning point for the fillies as they had to help somepony who bullied them for years and changed her for the better, which showed that their talent was helping ponies discover who they are. I felt like Rainbow Dash should've been given the same treatment, not that she should help somepony she hates. But I think that it would've been better if Rainbow Dash changed their culture more as, in my opinion, The Wonderbolts are kind of jerks. They're the ones who allowed Lightning Dust to get away with endangering Rainbow Dash and rewarded her reckless behavior. Then they basiclly ditched Soarin when he got hurt and didn't even bother showing up to the hospital. I mean, I felt like the Wonderbolt's Acadamy and Rainbow Falls was more of a test for Rainbow Dash choosing her loyalty to her friends and her ideals over a spot with the Wonderbolts. I was sort of thinking that the events of those two episodes could culminate into this one. But again, this is just my opinion. Overall this episode was good on its own, but I feel as if it could've been way better.