Daring Done Review (Be Wary of Spoilers!) · 3:18am Sep 5th, 2017
Yes, you heard it right, folks! This episode got leaked early, but not from another country like Canada or Australia, the blame is solely on Hasbro. Apparently, someone wasn't aware that "Daring Done" and "To Change A Changeling" were airing out of production order ("Daring Done" was 17th in production order and "To Change A Changeling" 18th) and put "Daring Done" up early on YouTube, albeit requiring you to pay $3 if you wanted to see it in the U.S. But fans payed for the early episode and put it up on DailyMotion, which is letting the episode stand for now. Naturally, if you're waiting on the episode to officially air on Discovery Family, well you all know what's coming:
Normally I'd be willing to wait, but after the last several episodes have dragged Season 7 through the mud, I wasn't going to wait to see if the season could pick itself back up at all. This episode is the second one this season penned by G. M. Berrow, who previously wrote "Fluttershy Leans In" and "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows", not bad episodes by any stretch (in fact "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows" was rather enjoyable despite some questionable moments and decisions) but at the same time I can't say they're among the best episodes the show has to offer. In case you don't already know for some reason, Berrow is the author of the tie in chapter books, though interestingly enough she also wrote a few Daring Do spin-off books before the series was sadly scrapped unceremoniously in either late 2013 or early 2014. Also, in an odd quirk, Lewis and Songco aren't the only ones credited with story editing this time, Josh Haber also adds his name there. I don't know if that means this episode started out planned for Season 6 and was mostly done before it got shelved, or if Haber is simply coming back to the show for the rest of Season 7 (supposedly he and another writer will be writing the finale but no word yet on if that's true or not). Either way, I'm sure most people would take that a sign of worry, but for me personally I take that as a sign of relief. Lewis and Songco just haven't been doing a good job as story editors this season. Yes, they're pushing the envelope more than Haber did, but I'm afraid that outside of their own stories that envelope pushing hasn't been in the right direction. In fact, the last few episodes haven't felt like they were even trying to push the envelope. Haber may not have taken as many chances as story editor, but to me it seems like he had a better (if still not the greatest) tenure in the editor's chair. I apologize for this being so lengthy, but I had to get all that off my chest. Anyway, with Haber pitching in on the editing department, was Berrow able to make up for the relatively uneventful "Fluttershy Leans In" or did she just prove she's better off with her tie in chapter books? Well, let's find out.
The episode starts with Pinkie reading the newspaper, and Rainbow Dash isn't interested in anything at first. That is, until Pinkie reads about A. K. Yearling (a.k.a Daring Do) retiring. And we get a joke I really wish the show wouldn't have made, where Pinkie thinks Rainbow Dash is interested in a story about an election in Cloudsdale. Even a few years ago, politics isn't something I'd have wanted this show to touch with a fifty foot pole. And things haven't gotten any better since then, they've only become worse. I'm not getting into a political debate, but suffice it to say the big political events of 2016 (Britexit and the election of Donald Trump) are giving people a LOT to talk about, and most of it isn't very good. Pretty much the only show that I'm ever okay with discussing politics, is "South Park" and that's because Matt and Trey never compromise and can never be bought or intimidated. They're not afraid to call out anyone and everyone for everything they'd done, even last season when they took a lot of jabs at Trump, they still called Hillary Clinton a turd sandwich (and in previous seasons they took plenty of swipes at her).
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rush to A. K.'s cottage, but Pinkie is skeptical of Rainbow's real motives, as she thinks Rainbow only wants A. K. to come out of retirement to write more Daring Do books. Thankfully, the episode goes on to show us that both Rainbow and Pinkie have their hearts in the right place. And they make sure to give A. K. justification to throw in the towel on Daring Do. Ponies in a town in southern Equestria hate her, thinking that all she does is cause destruction and mayhem. A. K. admits that it's all real, but Pinkie and Rainbow are convinced it's all a big misunderstanding and that the ponies appreciate her for saving them from threats like Ahuizotl and Dr. Caballeron.
Arriving in the town, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie soon discover that the towns ponies do indeed hate Daring Do. One merchant in particular complains that Daring Do wrecks apple carts. I guess cabbage carts aren't the only endangered fruit transportation in cartoons.
But the real reason the ponies despise Daring Do, is because she destroyed a priceless statue of the local legend known as Sombula. And also because they believe a cloaked stallion, who claims that Daring Do has made off with a bunch of glowpez, which are glowing gemstones made into a necklace. Without spoiling too much, it's obvious the stallion is Caballeron in disguise. Anyway, Yearling runs off in disgrace, and Pinkie and Rainbow happen to bump into her at a hotel she often stays at during her Daring Do adventures. The hotel owner despises Daring Do for the fact that last time she rented a room, she didn't pay the bill and later caused a bunch of hoodlums to ransack it. She even happens to speak in an accent similar to young Granny Smith.
The next day, Rainbow Dash tries to stick up for Daring Do at the statue, only for the apple cart merchant to complain that in order to understand why the statue is so important, one must understand the legend of Sombula. Sombula is the character of focus for the upcoming fifth Legends of Magic comic and likely would've already been introduced to comic readers if her issue hadn't been delayed til the end of September for reasons unknown. The Legend of Sombula goes as follows: Once, an ancient sphynx attacked the town, demanding food to be satisfied. Sombula always did her best to ensure that the village never ran out, even though she herself had little to offer. This inspired the son of the pharoh to stand up to the Sphynx, only to be captured and held in an ancient temple. Sombula went to confront the Sphynx, who posed a riddle to Sombula, if she guessed correctly the prince would go free. Sombula guessed correctly that the answer to the riddle was hope, but the Sphynx was mad at having her riddle solved. Sombula then decided to press her luck, she'd let the Sphnyx pose another riddle, and if she got it right the prince would be free to go and the Sphynx would never again threaten the town. The Sphynx, being a sore loser, suspended the prince over a pit of bubbling goo, cursed the temple so that Sombula couldn't fly, and blindfolded her, before she crossed a bridge to get to the prince before he sank into the goo. Sombula did so, and the Sphynx flew off. As a reward, she was given a glowpez necklace, and from that day onward the villagers always gathered in front of the statue to offer up glowpez as a sign of hope for the future. But the cloaked stallion convinces the villagers that Sombula would disapprove of Daring Do if she were here today, and A. K. and Pinkie walk off. Only when the crowd has dispersed does Caballeron give up the ghost and reveal himself as the cloaked stallion.
Kidnapping Rainbow Dash and admitting to framing Daring Do so as to be rid of her, Caballeron sets off for the temple, prompting Daring Do to come out of retirement to help Pinkie rescue the captive pegasus. They reach the temple, where Caballeron sets up an actually clever death trap. He leaves Rainbow tied to the sinking pillar over the pit of goo, knowing that the curse of the temple is real, and leaves her blindfolded. Though he still makes the typical "Bond Villain Stupidity" move of not staying to ensure the trap works. The lack of a bridge presents a real problem, and we get to the part of the episode that risks sending a bad message. Just have hope you'll make it when you attempt a leap of fate. It's not nearly as insulting as it was in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" but it's still a very bad message to send to kids.
Pinkie and Daring Do rescue Rainbow Dash through a series of convinently placed gysers, which they then use to bounce back up and get out of the temple. Daring Do proceeds to expose Caballeron and his henchponies for their fradulent scheme, Caballeron admitting that while at first he just wanted the necklaces, soon he became interested in getting Daring Do out of the picture for good. It's a lot better than most of the petty and poorly written antagonists we've been getting as of late. Though I have to ask, why exactly is Caballeron getting this much attention? He's now had two episodes in a row where he appears but Ahuizotl doesn't. And I've always kind of pegged Ahuizotl as the bigger threat, Caballeron ultimately wants only to make a fortune by selling artificats to the highest bidder, Ahuizotl wants power.
Caballeron is chased off after the angry mob heckles him, and we get a surprisingly mature moral. Not only to not let a little collateral damage bother you when you're saving the world, but also that if you do wrong to not dwell on it and just focus on making it right. Yearling uses the royalties from her next book to pay for the damages she's caused, and even buy the village a brand new statue of Sombrella. Pretty good ending, even if Caballeron is just left roaming the dessert with his underlings. Maybe he'll find his way to Dodge Junction.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, aside from the obviousness of Caballeron and that brief fake-out moment at the statue when it seemed like the villagers were going to understand the lesson that losing a statue is far less terrible than having your village uninhabitable, the story was pretty strong. Like the previous episode, this one plays out like a map mission, but it's not really one (kind of think both would be strengthened if they were, though I could understand the risks of having trying to explain how Trixie could be called by it). Both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are handled well, we get a chance to see some of their nicer character traits and character growth. The first few minutes ran the risk of being a rehash of "Daring Don't" though I'd say they actually made Rainbow a bit more likeable here compared to that episode, because then she was only worried about A. K. Yearling not being able to write the books and had to be reminded that if something bad happened to her that was the least of her worries. It wasn't bad, it was done in a way that although it was jabbing at the fandom a little, it didn't feel malicious or spiteful. Anyway, here, although Rainbow Dash does want the books to continue, she's more clearly concerned about Daring giving up and is determined to try and get her to see that she's liked. I kind of see her like Philocetes from Disney's Hercules, particularly when he comes back to help a powerless Herc and tells him: "Giving up is for rookies. I came back 'cause I'm not quittin' on ya." (I could totally buy Rainbow Dash saying that sort of line, and not just to Daring Do). Probably more than any other episode focused on them, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash play off each other well, though not nearly as memorably as they did in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" (both were in character then but some of their negative traits got pushed a bit here and there for the story to work). I do kind of question why Pinkie Pie was included instead of Twilight, who's just as big a Daring Do fan, but since the intention was to show off the Legends of Magic character who's likely to be the Pinkie Pie of the group in the finale, it makes sense that they had to show her here. (So far it seems the Legend Six is like this: Starswirl the Bearded=Twilight Sparkle, Rockhoof=Applejack, Mistmane=Rarity, Flash Magnus=Rainbow Dash, Sombrella=Pinkie Pie, and Meadowbrook=Fluttershy.) And is it just me, or did anyone else get a The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald vibe from the Sphynx's riddle (more specifically Scared Silly which poses a riddle worded fairly similarly, but the answer to it is friendship)? The leap of fate bit with the moral should've been cut as that sort of message conveys the wrong idea and demonstrates a lack of awareness about the controversy over "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and its poorly worded moral, but the real moral that they add at the end more than makes up for it. So in the end, I give this episode a borderline B+/A-, putting it above "Fluttershy Leans In" which though a victory lap for Fluttershy's character was lacking in the story department (at least in terms of execution as the idea was a pretty solid one to build an episode on), but below "Celestial Advice" which even though it had the bits with Princess Celestia as the only thing that boosted it above the ranks of mediocrcy, I can't deny it was an insanely powerful boost.
But unfortunately, it seems that just as Season 7 FINALLY looks to be getting back on track after "Fame and Misfortune" threw it off the rails, it's going right back off again with "It Isn't The Mane Thing About You", where Rarity has her normal shampoo accidentally swapped out with Zecora's joke shampoo, and she goes to great lengths to rectify her bad mane day before an important photo shoot. I hope to be proven wrong, but right now I don't legtimately see how a concept like that can be believeably stretched out to fill a 22 minute episode without a TON of filler to pad it out. This concept sounds like it would fit the Equestria Girls five minute shorts series a lot better, five minutes would be more than enough time to tell the plot believeably and not have to pad it out. Who knows though? Maybe somehow the episode will turn out better than I'm expecting? After all, Rarity's been pretty good so far this season, much better than her performance in Season 6. So maybe that'll be enough to lift the episode?
Honestly, I heavily prefer this episode over Griffonstone.
For me, while this isn't among the best of the series, it's still among the best of the season, and is my favorite Daring Do episode.
As for next week's episode, I'm also not expecting it to be great.
But I don't think it'll be terrible either.
Because even the weaker episodes of the season have still been pretty good.
Heck, there is not a single episode so far this season that I'd consider putting in even the bottom 50 of the series.
So, I get that there seems to be a story of the Legend Six set up for each of the Mane Six, but seeing as Meadowbrook was also a sorceress like Starswirl the Bearded, I can see, either both Starswirl The Bearded's and Meadowbrook's legends falling to Twilight telling them, or because of the fact that Meadowbrook was mentioned by Starlight Glimmer all the way back to the Season 5 premiere, Starlight might get to take the lead on Meadowbrook's legend. I'm not saying I don't want Fluttershy to tell one of the legends, but I see the remaining legends playing out in the particular two ways I stated.
At last, we finally have a decent episode for once, but the next one looks like it will drag the standard through the dirt again. I wish we could skip straight to the finale already.
This was a good episode save for that one bit that I just didn't like.
4666841 And that would be?
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Rainbow "Danger" Dash becoming a damsel in distress without even putting up a fight.