The Washouts

Friendship is Magic review by Obake

I am reviewing episode 20 first, as I have had trouble finding a decent version of 19.

(SPOILERS!)

The Washouts is all over the place, starting quite bad, only to mellow out. I appreciate parts of the episode. The rest...not so much.

Scootaloo is enamored with the recently formed stunt group, "The Washouts." Unlike the Wonderbolts, these guys take little thought for personal safety, flying through fire (though they do wear fireproof suits), going through electrified rings, and underneath spiked crushers. You can understand why Dash would be against Scootaloo joining their group.

However, the start of the episode is poor. Dash is furious at Scoot's for starting a fanclub for the Washouts. Dash is known for being childish, but this takes the cake. I feel it would be much more natural for Dash to go along with Scootaloo's enthusiasm (thinking the Washouts will not impress her), only to be proven wrong at their first show. Then it would make more sense for Dash to be jealous.

Strangely, after the second act, Dash becomes unusually reasonable, even after learning that the leader of the Washouts is Lightning Dust.

Of all the 'returning secondary antagonist' episodes, this is the most intriguing. What I like here is that Lightning Dust is not angry at Dash having gotten her kicked out of the Wonderbolts. She admits it was wrong of her to endanger innocent ponies lives. Which is why she formed the Washouts, a group for ponies too reckless to be in the Bolts, who are willing to endanger only their own lives for entertainment. There is a subtle dynamic between Lightning and Dash.

Rainbow can see that the Washouts are not a safe group, and wants to protect Scootaloo. But after talking things over with Twilight (who is also reasonable in this episode!), she realizes she cannot make Scoot's decisions, though she still swoops in to save her during a disastrous performance. All that said, by the end of the episode, Lighting is just a stock villain willing to risk Scootaloo's life. She is even sent blasting to the sky a la Team Rocket.

But the real crux of the episode is Dash's worry over Scootaloo. She goes from childish jealousy to genuine concern for her safety. From Scoot's point of view, becoming a Wonderbolt is unachievable (she cannot fly), but doing stunts on a scooter with the Washouts is feasible, and intriguing. Even if the moral at the end is over explained, it still holds weight.

Overall, The Washouts is a roller coaster of good and bad. Were the beginning and ending tidied, it might have been enough to call it a good episode. As is, it is just okay.

Extras:

• The running gag of Dash explaining why eavesdropping on her fan club is not weird is...alright.
• The first few minutes of the episode are rough. From the start, Dash is off the wall, confronting Scootaloo and being outraged.
• Applejack has a line about how she would flip if Applebloom said she liked any fruit more than apples. With this, and AJ's school lessons on why apples are the best, it seems Applejack is becoming unhinged.
• Things improve once Dash and Scoot meet the Washouts. The group is actually somewhat amicable, despite its disregard for safety. There is Short Fuse, a small red pegasus with a temper, and his female teammate, Rolling Thunder, who has a charming foreign accent and jovial attitude. Of course, the real star is Lightning, who as stated has an interesting dynamic here. Lightning's blatant hatred of safety precautions only appeals more to Scootaloo's sense of rebellion, fueling Dash's animosity.
• Despite Dash's better characterization in the middle, there is still the moment where she goes to the clubhouse to rip up the Washout posters, which feels mean.
• Dash takes Scootaloo to the Wonderbolts training camp to learn why safety is important. Unfortunately, Spitfire is not the best life coach towards youth, screaming endlessly in Scoot's ear. Kelly Metzger (Spitfire's voice actress) really strains her voice this time. It is not pleasant.
• I do like Short Fuse yelling how he is unwilling to autograph a half eaten sandwich ("I'm not signing that abomination!")
• Intentional or not, the episode implies that Scootaloo either really does not have parents, or that they do not care enough to stop her from joining a professional stunt group (or they simply do not know.) Also note that besides Twilight and Dash, the rest of the Mane 6 do not seem concerned about a filly doing dangerous stunts.
• The ending of Dash creating the Scootaloo fanclub is cute. I especially appreciate that Dash's parents are members. I would like to think that after Parental Glideance, they kept in touch with Scootaloo.