Review, Mysterious Mare Do Well, Good Episode? · 3:44am Oct 19th, 2015
Okay, let's get this out of the way, if you haven't seen the episode, you're gonna have a hard time keeping up, so go watch it.
Done? Okay.
So Mysterious Mare Do Well is probably one of the most maligned episodes in the entire MLP series. However does it really deserve that? I'm gonna take a stab at looking at what might be good about it through what's supposed to be bad about it.
First off:
This episode trashes Rainbow Dash's character!
Says a person who would likely defend Tanks for the Memories in the next breath... okay I'll let it die
... sorry.
Anyway, did it really? Rainbow's fall came after her being portrayed as a true hero. She flew to the rescue of other ponies, at first, out of genuine concern for their well being and because she enjoyed helping others. That's not a bad character. The praise went to her head, but anyone can fall to that given time. I guess what people get upset over is that she's rather two dimensional in this episode, where as normally she's one of the most surprising and fleshed out characters in the show. Honestly though, I think this episode can be pointed to as her turning point. Before it she was arrogant, self centered, egotistical and didn't show a lot of compassion. After it however, she started to change. So maybe, if looked at properly, the events in this episode made Sleepless in Ponyville possible. In season one, Rainbow basically treated Scootaloo like dirt:
In this episode however, Rainbow's ego finally got her so embarrassed she probably had to rethink where she was going. This episode and May the Best Pet win, both showed her just how off her thinking really was.
The episode makes the geography of Ponyville impossible to follow!
Now that... that... that is absolutely correct.
Ponyville is in a grass land on the edge of a forest. Where the heck is that cliff? Show me it on a map. The show has a map after all, why does Ponyville look to be in a valley if it's surrounded by cliffs?
The episode makes the citizens of Ponyville look like they're in constant need of saving.
It's a town of possibly thousands of Ponies. That doesn't really sound that unlikely. One would expect accidents to happen to somepony somewhere on a daily basis with a population that large. The only problem I have is that Rainbow just happens to be around when ponies need saving, but to be fair that's just normal superhero logic. Bad things always happen around heros, but somehow they're never responsible. You kinda have to just role with that in that particular genre.
Fluttershy flies faster than Rainbow Dash and acts bravely!
Yea that... that makes no sense. Fluttershy is not a fast flier, nor particularly brave, so who is the winged pony that shows Rainbow up?
Everyone is a jerk to Rainbow Dash!
Yes, yes they were, and that's what I love about this episode. 
See everyone, that instance, Rainbow Dash's friends heartlessly embarrassing her after half a year (likely longer in some cases) of dealing with her BS ego, that was realistic. They were fed up. Rainbow was going so far off the deep end this time she was putting others in danger. That was also probably fall out from how she treated all those animals in the last episode, being a jerk to them for no reason. Rainbow was finally getting a lesson that would sink in and her friends didn't sugar coat it for her. Should they have tried to talk to her first? Absolutely, but they didn't and that in particular made it real. How often, when trying to reach a friend, do you do everything perfectly? They didn't do it all perfectly, and as a testament to Rainbow's good personality, she didn't need them to to learn the lesson.
The other friends were being hypocrites!
This complaint comes from a scene in the episode where Rainbow Dash's friends all meet with her casually and start bragging on the accomplishments of Mare Do Well. The problem is, they were bragging about themselves. Yea, annoying wasn't it? It irritated Rainbow just like her constant bragging irritated them. She still brags on the show, but if you notice, these days she often looks over at her friends as if to make sure she's not getting to full of herself. There's a difference between hypocrisy and an object lesson. Her friends were bragging to show her what it looked like. Also others have pointed out that they were pointing out Mare Do Well's humility, as if trying to verbally hint at what Rainbow was doing wrong.
Rainbow was off saving ponies lives, when apparently her friends, in a few cases, according to this episode, were just standing around watching. They had no room to speak about HER behavior!
Yea, this one is my complaint. Seriously Twilight and company, what exactly was the point of that costume anyway? If you wanted Rainbow to see she wasn't that big of a deal, you could have just saved other ponies in person and then started bragging in person. She would have been equally embarrassed and you five wouldn't look like jerks with bad priorities. "A pony's life is in danger, quick, let's put on costumes in an overly contrived attempt to embarrass our friend!" PRIORITIES TWILIGHT!
I just don't see what the point of the smoke and mirrors act was. AJ could have rescued those ponies from the falling balloon in person and then just chewed Rainbow out in front of everyone, that would have had the same impact if not more in half the time. But no, she had to make herself and Rainbow look bad at the same time by making a needless spectacle. I get the object lesson for Rainbow I really do, I get that they didn't need to be perfect but... but... they didn't give two shits about other ponies lives! I can't excuse that. Not only can't I excuse that, but I also can't believe it. AJ more concerned about showing her friend a lesson than several ponies about to crash in a balloon? Rarity never pointing out the stupidity of this entire plan? Seriously was she that eager to make a generic purple costume... oh and Rarity, that's got to be the laziest crap you've ever made and tried to pass off as something special.
Oh you don't think so, look at it again:
It's a purple costume with a generic black cape a freaking bandages for boots. Is that really one of your finest moments?
That's what I thought. You can so do better!
There are other objections to this episode, but on a whole... I don't know what to think of it.
I like the realism that not all lessons are taught to us in a perfect way and we have to deal with it, however the premise is just so contrived that it's hard to defend. There are deffinitely worse episodes, but this episode is such an example of lazy writing that it makes all of the characters near impossible to sympathize with and it makes the setting hard to comprehend. To those of you who like this episode, I tried but, in the end, I have to agree with the consensus, it's terrible.
Very terrible. Why Twilight is a princess then? :angryrainbowemoticon:
Twilight you *****!!!! You too Applejack! And you Rarity and Pinkie!
Fluttershy no. She was blinded. I forgive her.
You have earned my respect sir.
Very well said
One comment on the costume though: the people who worked on this episode said it was modeled after Darkwing Duck's costume, which is why it's not at Rarity's usual style.
The only thing I didn’t like was they could’ve made the title character, her own pony. Not the Manes in disguise.