Season 6, Episode 7 Thoughts and Review · 12:37am May 13th, 2016
Spoilers below the cut!
Well, I have to say that I like this episode. Is it my favorite episode evah? No, but that doesn't mean it's not a good one. Well, let's get to the episode!
The episode opens with Rainbow Dash flying through Ponyville. Scootaloo calls out to her and says everyone in the Rainbow Dash Fan Club will be going to watch her perform with the Wonderbolts when their new tour comes through town. Rainbow thinks her position in the Wonderbolts Reserve likely means she won't be performing, Scootaloo says seeing her in a Wonderbolts uniform will be good enough.
Dat landing.
As the Wonderbolts arrive to Ponyville, Spitfire flies down to meet Rainbow Dash. She offers Rainbow a spot to perform in the upcoming show as well as full membership in the Wonderbolts, much to Rainbow and Scootaloo's delight.
SAME, SCOOTS, SAME.
Now, am I annoyed that they rushed through what is considered to be one of the biggest milestones for Dash in the whole show? Yeah, of course, I was kinda expecting more from the reveal, but you know what, I don't even care at this point. I have been waiting since season 1 for my girl to achieve her dream, and I am so glad that it finally happened. Besides, odds were that Spitfire did it like this because she knew that Dash would freak out. I bet she had this planned out for a long time.
Let's all be happy that Dashie's dream came true.
At Rainbow Dash's cloudominium, Rainbow packs up for her trip to the Wonderbolts' headquarters. She explains to her friends that, since Fire Streak retired to become a full-time teacher, she was first pick to take his place due to being at the top of the Reserves list. Though her friends are nervous about her upcoming performance, Rainbow is confident in her own flying skills.
I don't know whose face is the funniest.
Later, at the Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire shows Rainbow Dash to the Wonderbolts' barracks and instructs her on some of the team's basic regulations. After suiting up in uniform, Rainbow heads out to the field to meet the rest of the team.
BEEN WAITING SIX SEASONS FOR THIS.
However, she fails to follow the Wonderbolts' most basic rule while crossing the runway, and other arriving members nearly crash into her. In her attempt to avoid a collision, Rainbow Dash crashes into a trash can and embarrasses herself among the rest of the team. Thus, they designate her by her old nickname from flight school: "Rainbow Crash".
Time to take out the adorable trash.
Rainbow practices with the other Wonderbolts for the upcoming show in Ponyville, but her new nickname serves as a constant distraction, causing her to under-perform or slip up. In addition, in accordance with the Wonderbolts' own set of rules, Rainbow is forced to clean up the barracks for being the worst flyer of the day.
"My name's not "Crash"."
— Rainbow Dash
Upon returning home, Rainbow discovers that her friends have put together a surprise party in honor of her first day as a true Wonderbolt.
CAN WE ALL APPRECIATE HOW HARD THE CMC TRY TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS
However, they notice her lack of excitement, and she confesses that her first impression on the Wonderbolts was not a good one. Rainbow's friends encourage her to find a positive way to impress the Wonderbolts, with Twilight suggesting that she think of them like her friends: they are a team, but they each stand out in different ways.
The next day, Rainbow Dash takes Twilight's advice quite literally. She tries to make an impression on the Wonderbolts by acting like her friends, imitating their personalities and mannerisms.
...Dash.
Dash, please.
DASH.
PLEASE.
IT'S TIME TO STOP.
Unfortunately, her behavior only alienates the rest of the team further, and they persistently address her by her nickname. Spitfire has even had "Rainbow Crash" printed on Rainbow's official Wonderbolt jacket.
"If I don't come up with something unforgettable to add to the routine, I'm gonna be "Rainbow Crash" for the rest of my life!"
— Rainbow Dash
On the day of the Wonderbolts' performance in Ponyville, a large crowd of ponies gathers to spectate, including Rainbow's friends and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. In a last-ditch attempt to impress her teammates, Rainbow Dash recruits Scootaloo for a plan that involves kicking a storm cloud into Rainbow's path to make an electric display in her performance. As the show gets underway, the Wonderbolts excite the audience with their aerial acrobatic feats.
GOD, THE ANIMATION IS SO GOOD.
Near the end of the performance, Rainbow Dash gives Scootaloo her signal to kick the storm cloud into position. Unfortunately, she gives the signal too soon, resulting in a humiliating chain reaction that sends her crashing into Pinkie Pie's cotton candy below.
While I am glad to see that Spike and Pinkie are bein' buds onscreen again, I can't help but feel for that cotton candy pony...
As Spitfire reprimands her, she adds insult to injury by calling her "Rainbow Crash" again. A short while later, after Rainbow Dash is nursed for her injuries, Spitfire chews her out for changing the routine without permission and endangering other ponies. Rainbow Dash apologizes and says she deserves the name "Rainbow Crash" for her mistakes, admitting she might not be Wonderbolt material. Her teammates testify, however, that she is a perfect candidate for being an amazing flyer and saving Equestria multiple times.
Soarin jumped in SO DANG QUICK.
They also add that they each have nicknames just as embarrassing as "Rainbow Crash". Rainbow Dash learns the virtue of fitting in instead of standing out, and she is allowed to stay on the team, but Spitfire gives her one month's probation. Later that evening, Rainbow's friends find her cleaning up the performance grounds by herself. As part of her probation, she is also tasked with cleaning the Wonderbolts' compound for a month. However, she maintains a positive and upbeat attitude. When her friends ask why, she answers:
"Duh! Because I'm a Wonderbolt!"
— Rainbow Dash
Alright... So, let's get onto what I thought of this episode. This was really hard to watch at first 'cause... I've been where Dash has been. I know what it's like to have a name that hurts so bad thrown in your face so casually and so painlessly by those who don't seem to know how bad it hurts. I think it's safe to say that everyone has been called something that they wished they hadn't been called. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can leave emotional scars that might never heal right.
However... The 'Bolts were not being bullies in this episode. Seriously. They weren't. What they were doing was a pretty standard part of military initiation, although it's not secluded to organizations of the same nature. In fact, it's a big part of culture overall. It's called ritualized hazing, which is where the senior members of a group often give trouble to the newer members in order to toughen them up. And, as shown by this episode, it's something that all initiates go through.
And don't you dare tell me that the ending was just a cop-out and had no prior reveal to it. Because that's not true, either. In fact, when Spitfire handed Rainbow her "Crash" jacket, this was the dialogue:
Rainbow Dash: Crash?! Couldn't you just put my regular name on it?!
Spitfire: That's not how it works around here. We all have our nicknames on our jackets. Right, Clipper?
Rainbow Dash: Clipper?
Soarin: Right, boss!
And another big problem that everyone keeps using to rag on this episode is how the nickname was constantly used negatively... Again, this is not the case. Rainbow, who is openly considered "the most talented flyer they ever had," didn't listen to her drill sergeant and ended up embarrassing herself. Rainbow had a big crash her first day, so they called her Rainbow Crash. Unlike with bullies, they only called her Crash in private, either at the Wonderbolts HQ or when nopony else could hear. That's the critical difference.
If think I'm making up this whole hazing stuff, then allow me to tell you a personal story where I found myself as Dash... I joined choir as soon as it was an available option in sixth grade (we've had music classes, but those were required, and this was the first year where we got to really choose what we wanted as an extracurricular). I enjoyed being in a group and singing along with my peers, all of whom were the same age as me.
Then, came Jr. High, which held grades 7 and 8. I remained in choir, of course, thinking it would be the same as my sixth grade year.
Boy, was I wrong.
Unlike sixth grade, we had older members mixed in with our classes, and we were constantly being compared to them. My choir director was killer towards our group and almost never seemed to reprimand the older group. There were also occasions where the older group would tear into us when we messed up, and damn, did it hurt. Because of this, many of the friends I had made in choir quit, while I was left to put up with the harshness of thinking myself to be a total screw-up.
Then, one day, I overheard one of my so-called friends talking badly about me to an eighth-grader. She said things along the lines of, "why is she even here," and "I wish she'd just quit already." It bothered me all day. I found myself breaking down in the girls' locker room at the end of the day after the coach yelled at me for messing up something. I felt like a total screw-up.
There were a couple of eighth-grade girls who were apart of choir that shared my gym period with me, and all of them rushed to my aid to see what was wrong. I kept trying to brush them off, telling them to go away and leave me alone, thinking that they were just going to tell me to suck it up. But, instead of reprimanding me like I thought they would, they were all very comforting when I told them about what my "friend" had said about me. They all told me stuff like, "Hey, we all off days," and "we can't always be perfect."
Finally, I asked them why they were being so nice to me when they were so harsh to me in class. One of them, who ended up becoming one of my best friends, told me that while they might not have nice about it all the time, they were trying to help me. It was then I realized that I was only looking at the negative things they were doing and not the positive parts about what they were trying to do, which was to make me a better performer for the choir.
That's exactly what happened with Dash. We, as the audience, kept seeing things the way that she was seeing them, and that was as a negative as Dash saw things. In fact, there were actually a couple moments where the team was trying to be nice to Dash and help her out, but she was too caught up with herself to see that they were trying to do. To quote a specific scene, Fleetfoot actually encountered Dash after the first practice and said the following: "Hey, Crash, I know it was a tough day today, but don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." Of course, Dash didn't really take it in stride, since she was too prideful to admit anything was bothering her.
Now, onto another point that was really bothersome about this episode... While Dash had every right to get upset over a name that she has a particularly bad history with, she had no right to get upset with her teammates for calling her it when none of them had a clue that she had such a problem with it. It's amazing to think about how many problems in life could be fixed if people would just talk to each other.
So, in short, here's another lesson from this episode: if something bothers you, then by all means, TELL SOMEONE. Yes, there are going to be things that can't be changed just for you, but it never hurts to talk to someone about it. Sometimes, all we need is a good rant, and everything won't suck nearly as bad.
I will admit that Dash should have at least brought up the name and her history with it, so that way the 'Bolts would understand why it bothered her so much. I feel like that part was brushed under the rug.
Finally, here comes my last point: there will always be people who will do things that are going to bother you. Now, whether it be bullying or just annoying teasing, it's bound to happen. Still, if you're in something that you love to do, you can't expect for it to be easy. I'm not saying you should put up with things that you shouldn't have to deal with, but I'm saying that there will be difficulties no matter what you decide to do.
Rainbow has been wanting to be in 'Bolts for years, and she ended up being disappointed when she saw that it wasn't always going to be all fun and games. But she did the one thing that's most important in being a member of something: sticking with it to the end. Regardless of what happens, how bad her days are, or what ponies say, she stays because that's what she honestly wants to do.
Now, let's see what we got going on for next week...
Next week's episode: A Hearth's Warming Tale
It's Hearth's Warming Eve and everypony is excited. Everypony except for Starlight Glimmer. Twilight decides that to cure Starlight of her holiday blues, she will read her one of her favorite Hearth's Warming Eve stories, "A Hearth's Warming Tale."
FOR GOD'S SAKE, IT IS MAY. WE HAD A CHRISTMAS EPISODE AIR BEFORE THE HALLOWEEN ONE LAST SEASON, WHO THE FUCK SCHEDULES THESE EPISODES? *sigh* I'm gonna have a helluva headache...
Anyway, I'm sure there are things I missed in this review, so how about we discuss down in the comments below!
For the face thing, I prefer Twilight's.
The scene with RD imitating her friends is probably one of the funniest moments in the entire show, despite it being cringy.
And thank you for explaining why I like it as well.
I honestly find this to be RD's third best episode, behind Rainbow Falls and Tanks for the Memories.
3941191
SAME. This was one of my favorite episodes with Rainbow, and I hate how people have misconstrued the message.
3941194 So do I.
Although most fans of the show seem to have at least softened up to the episode a bit.
Cmon.... I think I came up with a spell for it this time...
*Pug begins to glow in magestic fasion*
Megan and Lauren, hear my plea.
In a despite time, I come to thee...
There is already a couple in the show faustdamnit,
JUST BUTTONBELLE THAT SHIT TO THE HIGH HEAVENS,
RAIN JUSTICE TO ALL, BRING IT TO US, SLAM IT!
I still think this episode needed to be much better, the middle was completely unnecessary and the climax really should've been the beginning. The "Clipper" nickname just seemed to sink The Wonderbolts justification, because it's one thing to rail on someone for a mistake they intentionally caused, it's another thing entirely to rail on them for something that was a freak accident that probably wasn't their fault.
Huh. One of my hazings consisted of the members all joining in and dry humping me. All at the same time. Understandably I froze in shock.
Also this episode was a chore for me to watch because of the supposed bullying. I did the exact same thing dash did and kept quiet about what was bothering me. (In dashes case the nickname) so while I really enjoy the lesson, it hits a little to close to home for me.
3941285 What the? For real?!
3941329 ...I don't like to talk about it.
3941290
That's ok. It's alright if you can't really enjoy an episode because of how it reminds you of something you have trouble dealing with. I've had the same happen to me, and I understand that that is a major factor in why people didn't enjoy this episode.
Anyone else notice how they always use Rainbow Dash when they want to teach the audience a harsh life lesson?
3941409 heh. I didn't mean that to be as pathetic as it sounded.
3941420 I wonder why it's Rainbow Dash who has to learn the harsh lessons?
3941420
3942111
I think it might have something to do with her pride and her brash behavior. She has had incredible character development over the series, but there are still some things that she has to work through. Also, she's often shown off as awesome and cool, so whenever she gets hit with a harsh truth, it's kinda gives that "ohmigosh" factor for the audience.
When we see someone big and mighty get hit with a heavy truth, it affects us, too.
3942815 True, but it feels like any one of the mane six should be suspectable to learning a harsh truth that they must accept, not just Rainbow Dash.
3942969
I agree, but I guess the writers don't wanna risk doing anything too harsh to some of the more sensitive members (aka Fluttershy). Then again, there are more episodes to come, so maybe we'll get one of those in the future.