Doctor Perseus Reviews: MLP S7E7 "Parental Glideance" · 8:31pm May 25th, 2017
Can we all just agree that the release schedule for this season has been totally whack so far? Canada gets a stream of new episodes one after the other while everyone else seems to have the regular schedule. Hopefully things will return to normal since there seems to be a hiatus after Episode 11. I'm thinking of just going and reviewing all of the new episodes over the next couple of days since I've already watched all of them (plus there's one particular episode I want to gush about). But, for now, let's talk about one of the best episodes this season has given us thus far. So, yeah, I loved this one.
I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this or if this is just my imagination but a lot of episodes this season feel like slow burns. More or less they mostly seem to take their time when it comes to certain stories. I mean, we spend roughly a third of the episode with Scootaloo getting to know Rainbow Dash's parents. I'm not complaining about this. For the most part, it's given the episodes room to breathe and I feel this was an episode that definitely deserved moments like this. Scootaloo getting to know Rainbow Dash's parents. Rainbow Dash's heart-to-heart with Scootaloo. These are all great moments that needed the time they were given. It's hard to tell whether this is either more of a Scootaloo episode or a Rainbow Dash episode. Though I think it's a worthy argument to consider this an episode for both of them. Scootaloo gets a lot of focus but it's Rainbow Dash who learns the lesson.
Anyway, we finally get to meet Rainbow Dash's parents: Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. These past couple seasons have really been working on introducing us to all of the Mane 6's families. Plus we're getting an episode about Applejack's parents later on this season. They sure took a while to do this since we're already in Season 7 but, hey, better late than never. I wonder if we'll ever get an episode about Twilight and Shining Armor's parents since they've mostly been silent background ponies in most of their appearances. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I think Rainbow's parents met a nice balance between heartwarming sincerity and hilarious cringe given how overly-supportive they are. But I think this episode can really hit home with two types of people: those who had the embarrassingly supportive parents and those who could only dream of having them. And, of course, the rest of us get a great story out of it. It's also interesting how close they came to acknowledging Scootaloo's family. I'm not sure if they'll ever address it but, as of now, it's reasonable to assume that Scootaloo is either an orphan or doesn't have the greatest home life. Both can be touchy subjects so I understand if the show never wants to cross that line. Then again, they may end up discussing death when AJ's parents come into play but we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, I really loved this episode. I liked meeting Rainbow Dash's parents, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo got some great moments, and the whole episode just left a huge smile on my face.
What did the rest of you think of Parental Glideance?
Honestly, I think the moral was botched. Personally, after all the dangerous stunts they pulled (Launching fireworks at a airshow, really?) Rainbow was perfectly in the right to yell at them and yet the show treats it as the opposite. (Also, yeah, the air dates are a bit out of whack. It's Canada's schedule. They release two episodes on each weekend.)
From what I've heard, Rainbow Dash's parents are pretty divisive among fans. On the one hand, some people like them for how much they care about their daughter and find their antics to be funny. But on the other hand, some people found them to be annoying and felt that the episode made Rainbow Dash look like the bad guy for calling them out on their over-supportiveness when she's actually justified in doing so. As for me, I can understand both sides of the argument. Yes, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles can definitely be cringe worthy to watch with their over the top supportiveness but one thing is certain: their hearts are in the right places.
Also, despite the controversy of Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, one positive thing a lot of fans tend to agree about this episode is how the Wonderbolts behaved towards Rainbow Dash. Unlike previous episodes such as Rainbow Falls (Spitfire and Fleetfoot manipulate her into joining their team), Rarity Investigates! (The entire team accuses her for Spitfire's disappearance) or Newbie Dash (The entire team makes fun of her nickname nonstop), they all treat her with respect and patience instead of either making fun of her or getting mad at her because of her parents' interference. For some people, they considered it to be a breath of fresh air. Would you agree?
One more thing. I'm glad that you enjoyed this episode because it was written by newcomer, Josh Hamilton. I could easily bring up a number of shows that he previously worked on prior to MLP: FIM, but I think I only need to mention 1 (technically 2) for you. What show is it, you might ask? Why none other than what is universally considered one of Nickelodeon's greatest animated series of all time; Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as its sequel series The Legend of Korra. So how do you feel about this little revelation?
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I definitely agree that it was a breath of fresh air when it comes to how the Wonderbolts treated Rainbow Dash. Kind of like how it was a breath of fresh air to see a Fluttershy episode that didn't focus on an aspect of her shyness. I, too, understand the divisive reaction to RD's parents. They really are characters you can either love or hate and, due to them being at the center of the episode, they can make or break this episode. While I found some stuff was over-the-top and worthy of RD's anger (like the fireworks), as I said, I overall found them to be a nice balance to heartwarming and cringy.
As for the writer, I did not realize that. This is a pretty good start for him when it comes to MLP. From his resume of Avatar episodes, he does have a pretty good track record. He helmed The Ember Island Players (which is one of the greatest self-parody episodes of any TV series IMO) but he also helmed The Painted Lady (one of the weaker Avatar episodes that I personally enjoy overall). He also gave us some of the best episodes of Korra's admittedly rocky second season and some damn good entries for Seasons 3-4.
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From what I understand, he also helmed TLA four-part series finale. That's also quite impressive.
I don't know if you read my review, but I also enjoyed this episode. It was great to finally meet Rainbow Dash's parents after all this time. And I like how Scootaloo sort of became a surrogate daughter for them, one who appreciates their attentiveness.