Season four episode ten

[Guest]

I think Bulk stole this one. I laughed more times in this episode then I had in a while, though I was imagining Iron as bulk for the majority of it.

[Rusty Hooves]

I enjoyed pretty much everything in this episode.  Dash didnt feel like she was betraying her friends by practicing with the wonder bolts, after all at first she was just flying with them.  Soarin stuck to his character, getting distracted by cheerleaders, and than jumping right back into the competition when it was back open.
Rarity could have totally made super awesome uniforms rather than dresses.
and Derpy! and Snowflake! and Spitfire! and everyone else!

[Aonee]

In other news: Cast trolled us again, Derpy's back.

[Guest]

In other news: Cast trolled us again, Derpy's back.

In other other news: New lispy pony who manages to be more annoying than twist.

[Downloaded Skill]

I thought the episode was funny, but I when I think about it I get more questions than answers.

What is Rainbow Dash's relationship with the Wonderbolts at this point? They acknowledge RD's training at the academy, but what does that make RD now? Is she still a recruit? Shouldn't their interactions be more professional if thats the case?

I don't know why the Wonderbolts were put into the jerk athelete role this episode. The games are very competitive and that can had adverse effects on people, just look at what people do during the Olympics, but in other episodes the Wonderbolts were nice enough. Spitfire had to put on the drill sergeant persona during Wonderbolt Academy, but this episode has characterization is very different from what they were previously. They were willing to leave Soarin' in the hospital and replace him for a better chance of winning, not exactly very professional considering who they are. It was also implied near the end it might have been a test, but I don't know at this point and its not very clear cut.

If only four team qualify why were there five teams receiving medals? Runner up's typically don't get things like that. I'll just chalk it up as an oversight.

I hated Twilight's reasonings for why RD should stay with the Ponyville team. "Your friends did nice things for you so you shouldn't let them down." Not the best argument to go with.

The plot was pretty cliche. "The winning team tries to recruit a promising member of the underdogs only for the underdog to deny it because of moral superiority" plot is done too much and there really wasn't a point to having the Wonderbolts act like they did. It could have worked fine if they were friendly.  

Why does bulk biceps have trouble flying now when he flew just fine in Wonderbolt Academy and Hurricane Fluttershy?

On the plus side I liked the humor, Derpy was cute, and RD's character development stuck. Before she probably would have taken the invite immediately and have to get shamed out of it by everyone else, but now she seems more considerate of others. 

All in all an okay episode, but it wouldn't be in my top 5 for this season.

[Aonee]

For the 5 teams getting medals, I'm going with the griffins already qualified because racial equality.

[Guest]

To be fair they don't seem to be following any rules. They're letting proffesional atheletes compete against citizens and they were going to let Rainbow Dash fly for a town she doesn't live in.

[Valikdu]

Spitfire used to be a pretty cool pony, but then she took an Arrow of Character Assasination in the knee.

...Or it's destiny. Or harmony. Or Celestia asked her.

[Icy Shake]

To be fair they don't seem to be following any rules. They're letting proffesional atheletes compete against citizens and they were going to let Rainbow Dash fly for a town she doesn't live in.

Just because you we don't know what the rules are doesn't mean there aren't any. In real life, pro athletes are eligible for the Olympics, and in the Athens games Greece made up some of its baseball team (which they got to have only because the host country is allowed to field for every event) with Americans (who played in the US minor leagues) with Greek ancestors (looking it up, even the coach was American!) because of their loose citizenship laws.

My rant about the episode:

At least Bulk was kind of fun.

[Derpmind]

I enjoyed this episode a lot, and there was tons of fun stuff packed in it (cheerleader Twi is hilarious) but the episode was also mentally painful in some places. I know the show's supposed to be 'family oriented' so that adults can watch with children, but some of the moments of "lets make this character do X because plot" moments are really painful and make me wonder who they think they're writing for, if anyone. I know plenty of children will probably think Spitfire's evil from this episode.

I'm still smiling for some reason, though. *Shrug*

[Guest]

I liked the new griffins. Especially the white and grey one. Overall I liked the episode it wad really good. Bulk was really funny. And again, more griffins!

[Guest]

*olympics*

I would have to say the olympics aren't a fair argument. I don't know too much about them I've never watched and I'm also not so invested in this debate to look it up. But I would think it's safe to say that the olympics don't use so many people that any of the countries had to use somebody that was disabled because they simply did not have a high enough population.

I think it's fair to say Bulk is disabled. His wings are so tiny they seriously hinder his ability to fly.

I'm not saying the games should be fair, but a competition that's not competitive isn't interesting to watch. No one wants to watch a baker race against an olympic sprinter. Cloudsdale already has the advantage. They have a higher population of pegasus so they don't need to use anyone that's disabled so why should they get an even further advantage by being able to use professional atheletes? I mean are the games going to allow princess Celestia and Luna compete in a unicorn event for Canterlot? That wouldn't be interesting for anyone to watch either. "Oh Celestia and Luna won the levitation weight lifting event. What an upset..."

[cb5]

I liked the episode, but what happened to the wonderbolt's voices?

[Orm]

I liked the episode, but what happened to the wonderbolt's voices?

They're the same voices.
We just haven't heard Soarin talk since S1, and Fleetfloot never spoke before.


As for the episode, I liked it.
The episodes seem to be getting better, which I like.
Though the rainbow/key items being given by random ponies still bothers me a little, but not as much as before.

[Icy Shake]

*olympics*

I would have to say the olympics aren't a fair argument. I don't know too much about them I've never watched and I'm also not so invested in this debate to look it up. But I would think it's safe to say that the olympics don't use so many people that any of the countries had to use somebody that was disabled because they simply did not have a high enough population.

I think it's fair to say Bulk is disabled. His wings are so tiny they seriously hinder his ability to fly.

I'm not saying the games should be fair, but a competition that's not competitive isn't interesting to watch. No one wants to watch a baker race against an olympic sprinter. Cloudsdale already has the advantage. They have a higher population of pegasus so they don't need to use anyone that's disabled so why should they get an even further advantage by being able to use professional atheletes? I mean are the games going to allow princess Celestia and Luna compete in a unicorn event for Canterlot? That wouldn't be interesting for anyone to watch either. "Oh Celestia and Luna won the levitation weight lifting event. What an upset..."

I'm not really a sports fan either, and don't really follow the Olympics that much. The stuff I said was from memory, apart from the coach thing, but double-checking to make sure I wasn't spreading disinformation.
Moving on, I have to disagree. Not so much with the uncompetitive being uninteresting part (which I wouldn't agree with, as I seem to remember Bulls games being sold out regularly in the middle nineties, when they were racking up season records in the 70-80%+ range (I looked up the exact numbers, but they are beside the point), and commented that playing other teams was easier than their practice scrimmages), but with it not being like the Olympics, and it necessarily being hugely unbalanced. First, you have the fact that the Wonderbolts are representing Cloudsdale; that, and the fact nobody's commenting on their inclusion, suggests that it's not supposed to be a freaking fun run, but about the best of the best. Second, I have trouble seeing Rainbow Dash getting so worked up about a competition to be the "best of the mediocre and what the hell let's throw in some people from the bottom of the distribution," at least not at this point and without a specific target for competition, a la Applejack in the running of the leaves. Thirdly, part of the problem I had was that Ponyville can do better; in fact, that was a major part of my spoilered rant. Lastly, you'd still have other major population centers like Canterlot, Manehattan, and other puns (Phillydelphia, Baltimare, Detrot, Los Pegasus . . . ) that could field strong teams, presumably. As for the princesses, while I doubt the Sisters would compete on the basis of seemliness, or because they rightfully represent all of Equestria, I actually suggested that Twilight would be a better Ponyville competitor than either Bulk or Fluttershy.

[Stringtheory]

Thirdly, part of the problem I had was that Ponyville can do better

1. You suggested Twilight, who's likely excluded due to being an alicorn. I wouldn't put it past Celestia to of occasionally joined in on national competitions for fun and blown everyone out of the water, giving way to laws that exclude alicorns and their naturally bigger, stronger bodies. Twilight, while not really having much advantage over other pegasi (she's taller and has a longer wingspan than her fellows now, I think, just not significantly so... plus, you know, she's still not that great at flying), is probably excluded on a technicality.
2. They would of had to volunteer. I'm guessing none did. I dunno particularly why other than maybe they dislike Rainbow Dash is much as I do. That or there was a big storm scheduled and everyone else on the weather team stayed home rather than using vacation days. Who can know, really?

Well at the very least they could've explained it in the show better.

[Icy Shake]

@stringtheory: Yes.

Thirdly, part of the problem I had was that Ponyville can do better

1. You suggested Twilight, who's likely excluded due to being an alicorn. I wouldn't put it past Celestia to of occasionally joined in on national competitions for fun and blown everyone out of the water, giving way to laws that exclude alicorns and their naturally bigger, stronger bodies. Twilight, while not really having any advantage over other pegasi, is probably excluded on a technicality.
2. They would of had to volunteer. I'm guessing none did. I dunno particularly why other than maybe they dislike Rainbow Dash is much as I do. That or there was a big storm scheduled and everyone else on the weather team stayed home rather than using vacation days. Who can know, really?

Re point 1: I actually suggested that she would be better on the basis that she's a terrible flyer only half the time, which is better odds than those two. Kind of as a joke, but also not really.
On point 2: Fluttershy almost certainly volunteered specifically to support Dash, because no one else stepped up. I can't speak for Bulk. But that was partly the point; why should she stand by a team representing a town where nobody within the normal range of flight capability even cares enough to volunteer? Basically, I saw the loyalty issue as a two-way street and Ponyville spectacularly failed to deliver first. And given that by the point she was considering switching teams they had been training for all of two days, and maybe less, well, that's some real commitment she'd be turning her back on.
Now, of course the whole fake injury thing was bad and I'm sure plays right in to some of the reasons you don't like Rainbow. That's fair, and I can appreciate the idea that nobody from Ponyville would want to be on the team with her. But this kind of felt like another instance where there was some nuance that was entirely ignored, like in "Rarity Takes Manehattan" (an episode which I greatly enjoyed on the whole), where yes, Rarity wasn't on her best behavior, but her friends were there specifically to support her and asked if there was anything they could do to help. It turned out that more was asked of them than anyone expected, and Rarity wasn't handling the situation well, but I really expected the lesson to be that sometimes friends can be mean and say things that hurt you, but it's important to understand that it might be because of other issues and doesn't mean that they aren't your friends anymore. That it would be a lesson about understanding and forgiveness. Of course, I don't think that the analogous lesson for this episode is one that they'd really go for, but I was kind of thinking that at least Rainbow and company would lose, giving some more moral weight to the thing. Oh, and the continued trashing of the Wonderbolts is something I could have done without, but that's neither here nor there.
Something tying the two episodes together, I suppose in hindsight, is that they are about the two of the main six who really have aspirations, and do things to chase after them. And that can mean making choices, choices that, remarkably, have consequences, or facing challenges that can result in devastating impacts to your pride and self-worth (not to mention, very possibly, livelihood). So not always, but sometimes, that means going in with the people that actually care, or falling to pieces because of an unexpected setback. And that doesn't mean you're a bad person; it means that you are a person, with the weaknesses that that entails.

[RoboRed]

[Moodyman90]

Granted I wasn't paying all that much attention, but wasn't it said that there was more than just the relay team Rainbow was on and you could only be on one team? Don't know how many teams there was but I'm fairly certain they implied that all the other Ponyville pegasi were either in other events and thus couldn't help, or whatever reason couldn't be part of a team, i.e. too old, too young, out of town etc. Yeah they only showed two other pegasi who said sorry they couldn't help, but I figured it was like when they had the Cake's only ask the Mane Six to watch the twins before Pinkie, implying they went to everybody else first.

Still, I will call B.S. on B.B. being turned into a bad flyer for the sake of the plot, but that also means I'm expecting the show to show constancy with flying skills. Remember when Fluttershy was able to keep up with Rainbow Dash while towing a hot air balloon full of ponies? Fluttershy is a great flyer when giving the right motivation, which you would think wanting to help Rainbow as much as she could would be it.

Oh uh, right. I thought the episode was okay. Not the best but not the worst. Not blaming the overall plot, more so a bunch of nitpicky stuff like B.B. being turned into a bad flyer, Fluttershy becoming clumsy, Rarity's sense of fashion this time, and Applejack being reduced to "I made food, eat it."

[Guest]

@Icyshake

Moody's right. It's implied all the other pegasus were tied up in other events (Which by the way why would you use Twilight for a pegasus event? She can only compete once.) and FS and Bulk were the only one's remaining excluding Derpy who I believe would also qualify as disabled. I can't for the life of me remember one time she was seen flying straight.

So again how can you claim it's like the olympics when you have a town that's struggling to get players to compete in events?

Also on the fun run comment. I don't think barring the proffesional atheletes from competing with a team that has disabled player(s) (If FS gets sick I guess Derpy's back in.) makes it a fun run. If you recall it's implied Dash barely qualified. That's like saying little league is a fun run because they don't play with major league players.

[OneMoreDaySK]

*facedesk*
This episode makes me feel like this:

Spoiler:

On one hand, you have great comedy to work with. Bulk Biceps(which I'll continue to call Snowflake) and Fluttershy were amusingly incompetent. Pinkie's outfit was very colorful and neat. Love the wig. She actually muffled a curse? Wow. Didn't think that they would go there. Griffins were a neat addition.

And of course, Derpy steals the episode for me. <3  <3

Then there's the parts of the episode that just make me facepalm.
First off, the plot. Rehashing her choice from Discord's Dilemma was ok. But derailing the Wonderbolts (2 of 3) to make them look like jerks? Seriously? Spitfire was going all drill sergeant during Wonderbolts Academy was ok for me, but here as a bunch of jocks? I was hoping they'd be a bit more positive on having competition. Kinda amused that they consider Dash better than Soarin. AJ kinda had a one track mind on feeding them, as well as Rarity with her fashion. I would think she would at least consider the fact that the uniforms would be for an athletic purpose, but I guess it wouldn't have added as much to the Shy-Snowflake comedy had she done so. At least Twilight had enough PER to see through Dash's fake injuries.

[Meleagridis]

But derailing the Wonderbolts (2 of 3) to make them look like jerks? Seriously?

Perhaps it was an act.

Rainbow got her crystal box key here from the 'villain' of the episode, who we already know to be a good guy. She puts pressure on Dash in a way that tests her loyalty to friends and home, all but saying, "Ditch your friends for your dream job in the most grandiose fashion possible when we kick everyone's ass at the Season Finale Olympics." Maybe the keys become keys when the Bearer does friendshippy things, or maybe the postmares are deliberately delivering them when the Bearer shows their stuff.

[Sponsored content]