"Daring Doubt" Review: A Multi-Layered Cake of Leniency, Abuse, Lies and Convenient Truths · 2:20am Sep 22nd, 2019
This episode has so many layers. I knew what we are going to get will be good when I heard that it's a Daring Do episode, but I didn't expect such a level of depth. Daring Do, Fluttershy, Dr. Caballeron and Ahuizotl, the actions and interactions of all four of them form a tight mesh and make this one of the deepest and most complex episodes of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
I also find myself surprised to see that "Daring Doubt" isn't really a Rainbow Dash episode. I was sure it would be one, based on the synopsis, because Rainbow Dash has more relation to Daring Do than Fluttershy has. But as it stands now, this episode is more of a Fluttershy episode than it is a Rainbow Dash episode. In the end, Rainbow Dash didn't contribute much to the events, so I will focus on Fluttershy and the others in this review.
The episode starts very simple: Somepony has written an own Daring Do book from Dr. Caballeron's point of view and reveals in it that Daring Do is real. It could have continued as simple as that; with the mystery about the identity of the new author, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash figuring out who it is for A.K. Yearling and finding out that the author is a petty, unsatisfied and entitled fan of the Daring Do series who wanted to hurt A.K. Yearling's career for not catering to his interests with the books. Instead, we got something very complex here.
It's when Fluttershy talked to Caballeron, who turned out as the mysterious author and who wrote the book to spread lies about Daring Do in the hope that she will quit, similar to what he tried in Somnambula, that the episode starts to pick up pace. Dr. Caballeron played on Fluttershy's kindness by pretending that he is the victim, telling her that he and his henchponies only find treasures so that they can be brought into a museum and that Daring Do always comes and steals them because she wants them for herself. Fluttershy believed him and, in her usual kind fashion, decided to join him for an expedition to Tenochtitlan, so she can find out "which author is really telling the truth".
But soon, it turned out that Dr. Caballeron was only using her to steal an artifact he's after, a talisman that forces everyone who touches it to tell the truth, because it can only be retrieved by a pegasus. It's at this point that something interesting, that we didn't know yet, becomes clear about Fluttershy:
Her kindness is her greatest strength, but also her biggest weakness.
If a villain or someone with bad intentions makes use of that kindness of hers, like Dr. Caballeron did it here, Fluttershy will stumble into a trap and serve the villain's goals, or worse. Fluttershy believes everyone deserves kindness, because everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. Her approach to Caballeron and also to Ahuizotl later shows that she has a susceptibility to become used by villains. She is too lenient and excuses evil deeds by villains if they just have a reason for their actions. And since all of that originates in her massive kindness, it makes her kindness a weakness as well.
There is something Fluttershy has to learn here; that kindness isn't always the right approach and that it can even be dangerous if she shows kindness to the wrong ponies. I was kind of waiting for an episode that goes into it how Fluttershy's kindness can bring her into trouble, as I felt a few times already that she is putting herself at risk by being so kind to literally everyone. It showed Fluttershy from an interesting angle.
Now, if only we could get more episodes to see her (hopefully) realizing that weakness and getting rid of it.....
With Dr. Caballeron later admitting that he came to appreciate Fluttershy's kindness and friendship, by the power of the truth talisman, the episode starts heading into a direction of revealing that Daring Do's enemies aren't as evil as she thought. It continues like that after Ahuizotl showed up again and when Fluttershy went to him, deciding to hear his reasoning for chasing them by using the truth talisman. Influenced by the power of the talisman, Ahuizotl confessed that it's his duty to guard and protect the artifacts of the Tenochtitlan Basin and that he only acts so ferocious because he would lose his "job" if more artifacts get stolen.
But that's also the point when the depth of the episode increases drastically. For everyone who has seen Ahuizotl in previous episodes, it will be clear that this guardian story he told can't be exactly true, despite him having held the talisman while he did. In "Daring Don't" in Season 4, we've seen that he wanted to use the Rings of Scorchero to bring 800 years of unrelenting heat over a valley. Concretely, he said:
Now I must leave to commence the ring-placing ceremony to unleash 800 years of unrelenting, sweltering heat!
Doesn't sound much like a guardian who protects ancient artifacts, is it? Back then, he was outright abusing such an artifact for his own gain and to burn an entire valley and everything that lives in it.
It's because of this that his story about being a noble guardian and protector doesn't sound believable. We don't know how he did it, but Ahuizotl must be able to resist the power of the talisman somehow, which enabled him to lie without anypony noticing that. And as he seems to be quite powerful and also has knowledge about a lot of magical artifacts, it's not hard to imagine that he found a way to be unaffected by the talisman. This is something that only longtime fans will recognize as suspicious, but Ahuizotl was very obviously not telling the truth there.
Now, if only we could get more episodes to witness a plot twist in which Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Daring Do have to realize that Ahuizotl can resist the power of the talisman and that he has been lying about being a guardian so he can follow his evil plans without Daring Do interfering and trying to stop him..... This is turning into the most tragic and depressing running gag ever.
Finally, we have more depth with Dr. Caballeron added. Unlike Ahuizotl, Caballeron definitely was affected by the power of the talisman, as he is just a normal pony without any special powers, abilities or magic. He was telling the truth when he said that he came to appreciate Fluttershy's kindness and friendship. However, that kindness and friendship helped him to reach his goal, so he had a good reason to appreciate it. Fluttershy was made to be his partner in crime, but that doesn't make him good.
As Grogar's plan with Cozy Glow, Tirek and Chrysalis shows us right now, friendship is not necessarily a force of good. Even evil people can have or be friends. And even truth can be malicious or sinister, depending on when it is spoken and for what purpose. Caballeron could truthfully answer the question he was asked, while at the same time using it to pretend he's a good guy, while not actually being a good guy. Ambiguity is truth's weakness.
And to sum it all up, in this episode, we have Fluttershy being confronted with it that her kindness is not just her strength, but also her biggest weakness, when a villain abused her kindness to help him reach his goal; we have said villain abusing truth and its ambiguity to make himself look like a good person and we have another villain outright lying while pretending to be forced to speak the truth, to get rid of his enemy.
In the end and after looking at it deeply, neither Dr. Caballeron nor Ahuizotl redeemed themselves. The plot of the episode leads you to believe that, but with much subtlety in the writing, it lets you realize that you were being led on a wrong track by it.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is known for subtlety, but here we might have the most cleverly written episode of the entire show. It's still as tragic as ever that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is about to end, but it's good that it will end on such a high note, with brilliant episodes that should be rightfully remembered as the best ones it has to offer.
Now that I approach the end of this review, let us end it with something uplifting for once. It's rare if a background pony gets a speaking role. And it's an especially huge treat if the lucky pony is Peach Fuzz:
The last time Peach Fuzz had a speaking role was in "A Flurry of Emotions" in Season 7, when she pointed at Spike and said "Hey, you kinda look like him!". It's been a long time and it makes me happy that Peach Fuzz could get another speaking role before MLP: FiM ends. We even got a close look at her Daring Do cosplay this time! And I love how, from all the fans that showed up for the book signing, Peach Fuzz was the only one who didn't judge A.K. Yearling. Even after reading the book by Caballeron, she admired her just as much and still looked up to her. And she did not go to Ahuizotl's reading after the end of everything either.
Peach Fuzz stayed loyal to Daring Do the entire time and though I thought I couldn't love her more, I do so now. Peach Fuzz is an amazing filly. 
Stay easy as a filly!
~ Fluttercheer
Yes, Peach Fuzz is. And sometimes, a weakness can be a strength.
...Played too many RTS games...
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And I've never played any RTS games (or maybe I did and I just don't know it), so I wouldn't know what that means. xD But I'd love to play some RTS games with Peach Fuzz.
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Simple, every unit has strengths and weakness that must be kept in mind, me saying a weakness can be a strength made me tink of that
Wonderful write-up !!
The episode was indeed top notch.
During the livestream, a few people were hinting at another "redemption", but we received something else instead.
I think I made a comment in the stream that this episode harkens back to the lessons in season 1-2.
Season 9 isn't all about trying loose strings.
I think this episode actually fits pretty well with some previous stuff we've seen of Daring Do and her cast of characters. All the way back in Season 4, I remember watching that episode and thinking "wow, Daring Do was the bad guy here." Ahuizotl and his followers/friends/tribe seem to be the only sapient people who live in their basin, and their grand evil plan is to turn up the temperature, but Daring Do bursts into their house, disables their means of doing so, and then just to be sure also brings their house down while they are still inside it, so she can store more artifacts in her house.
We follow it up with a season 7 episode where Caballeron is obviously lying, but he does build on kernels of real truth in that Daring Do is fairly destructive in her actions, all so that instead of artifacts being sold and kept as collectors items on the mantles of rich ponies, they can instead sit on her mantle.
To me Daring Do feels like Daenarys from Game of Thrones. The clues were there that she's not totally the good guy right from the beginning, but only at the end does it become obvious.
Everything you said about Ahuizotl here was so on point! It made me all-the-more happy that I made this story about him, which I posted recently and figured I could show you after seeing your review here:
- MLP: FiM
- Dark
- Sad
- Slice of Life
At the end of "Daring Doubt", Ahuizotl revealed after touching the Truth Talisman that he was a Jungle Guardian who was tasked with protecting the artifacts of the River Basin. However, was that really the truth he was spilling? Or somehow...a lie?5138276
YES! Thank you so much! It makes me so happy that I'm not the only one who understands that he was lying! I will read that! For now, I'll be more busy with the Finale, but I'll read it once I feel ready to do so. That story's high on the list!
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I’m surprised that you guys aren’t taking into account how Ahuizotl saying that he’s a guardian hardly aligned at all with his previous portrayals and intentions. Particularly in “Daring Don’t”, since we got to see firsthand what he was like outside of the books.
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When do you plan on reading “A Moment of Truth”, by any chance?