S03 E07 - "Wonderbolts Academy"

[Hippo]

Interesting tidbit...turns out the voice actor behind this episode's Spitfire is the same one from Spitfire's previous appearances.

Sure fooled me. One thing though: she only started voicing her in Best Night Ever. Sonic Rainboom (the first time Spitfire actually talked) was a different person.

It seems the studio actually did want to imply Spitfire was putting a front as a "drill sergeant".

This is absolutely hilarious to me. You know why? Because its a prime example of bronies freaking out about impurities they hate about the show, and they don't really even know what they are talking about. Sorry if I'm sounding negative, but to all the bronies who love to over-analyze, just make sure you do your research and do it for the lulz. Criticizing the show for changing the voice when they really didn't, but then actually they did, almost two years ago before people started getting all analytical about the episodes. It's why I think the Season 1 lovers are the way they are. They don't like the future episodes because they can't help but nip pick every little detail.

Anyways, I never gave my two cents until now. This is actually my least favorite episode so far this season. And I'm not sure why. I just didn't like the overall feel of the episode. Could be because I don't care for RD that much.

[Dessa]

Psh, I've been picking nits since episode one. If people dont see why season 1 os the best, I think they could stand to be MORE analytical.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I still remember my first Friendship is Magic controversy. When A Dog and Pony Show first came out, people accused the writers of stereotyping women as manipulative, an accusation that I strongly disagree with. But I digress... I don't think its fair to categorize and label me like that. I try to be as fair as humanly possible, and the fact that season 1 is my favorite has nothing to do with it.

[Whitehawke]

I watch every episode frame-by-frame and make entire videos about the tiniest of mistakes for everyone's entertainment.

The thing about Spitfire's voice is that Luna went through the exact same thing. She was very passive and apologetic in Season 1, but come Season 2 the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE surfaced and she practically changed identities. Despite the differences, it was all from the same voice actor.

There were some who complained ("Woona" would never be like that, etc), but the change was overall very well received, perhaps because of the creativity and endearing-ness of Luna's new personality .

Ironically enough, I have no doubt the Canterlot Voice was actually exaggerated for the sake humor and not as something that would ever be shown again as a characteristic of hers.

People tend to get their own ideas ("headcanons" if you will) about characters as they are introduced. When an episode/scene drastically changes this character's original displayed behavior, some people will become upset regardless of whether or not the episode/scene is justified, simply because it forces them to adapt their "headcanon" or abandon it completely.

Here's an early example: when Call of the Cutie first aired, people were disappointed that "Dr. Whooves" had an American accent, because most thought he should speak like the Doctor himself, accent and all. This was in the fandom's early days though, so there wasn't a huge outcry.

[colour=#282828]I still remember my first Friendship is Magic controversy. When [/colour]A Dog and Pony Show[colour=#282828] first came out, people accused the writers of stereotyping women as manipulative, an accusation that I strongly disagree with. But I digress... I don't think its fair to categorize and label me like that. I try to be as fair as humanly possible, and the fact that season 1 is my favorite has nothing to do with it.[/colour]

Feeling Pinkie Keen was the likely the first major controversial episode.

Many people complained directly to Faust that it was portraying religion and belief as superior to science and educated guesses (or something like that).

She had to assure them it did not.

I hadn't personally joined the fandom at the time, but while lurking on Neogaf I remember a translator/subber saying that the speech and mannerisms of the episode could not be translated as anything but a "propaganda speech of the triumph of faith over science".

If the fandom was at least the size it was at the start of Season 2, I think the episode would have gotten a much larger backlash, but that could be relatively applied to any episode, technically.

Psh, I've been picking nits since episode one. If people dont see why season 1 os the best, I think they could stand to be MORE analytical.

*don't

*is

[ShadowWalking18]

Mental/medical conditions of Mane six:

Pinkie Pie- Seperation Anxiety.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I guess it depends on what your definition of major is. If I recall correctly, there was a rather sizable controversy right off the bat, where after the first episode, the show was accused of being racist, smart-shaming and homophobic. As for fans, the way Rainbow Dash dismissed Gilda at the end of Griffon the Brush-Off caused some controversy as well, prior to Feeling Pinkie Keen. I joined after Feeling Pinkie Keen as well, but if I'd been there at the time, I would have set the record straight.

((As for Feeling Pinkie Keen, I'll just say this. Science, noun: Systematic knowledge gained through observation, and forming testable predictions. Little kids especially don't need to build their own particle collider or understand the calculus behind weather forecasting simulations, they can judge the validity of a prediction by its accuracy.))

As for Wonderbolt Academy, I don't think this episode should count as controversial at all. The message is rock solid. If someone doesn't like the episode, that's fine, I didn't like Applebuck season for example, but that had nothing to do with controversy. Some things are just personal preference, and some things are more relatable to different people than others. In my opinion, the part when Rainbow Dash quits and says without hesitation or regret, "Not anymore," is one of the most powerful moments in the whole series. Ashleigh Ball's delivery of those lines was truly epic, and timed perfectly with the music and subtle facial expressions by the animation team. If I had one complaint, it was that the moment got cut a little bit too short by Spitfire.

[Whitehawke]

Mystery cleared.

[Star1228]

I'll just give my two sense on spit fires change in personality:

The wonderbolt academy is pretty much a bootcamp, and in bootcamps, the drill sergent pretty much has to be rough on recruits. when you meet a drill sergent outside of the boot camp, they actually usually prove to be nice people, but have to act like jerks to round in the recruits, which is what I felt Spitfire was doing: she's nice most of the time, but in the academy, she has to toughen the recruits up so they follow orders.

[tacobob]

I'll just give my two sense on spit fires change in personality:

The wonderbolt academy is pretty much a bootcamp, and in bootcamps, the drill sergent pretty much has to be rough on recruits. when you meet a drill sergent outside of the boot camp, they actually usually prove to be nice people, but have to act like jerks to round in the recruits, which is what I felt Spitfire was doing: she's nice most of the time, but in the academy, she has to toughen the recruits up so they follow orders.

Believe it or not, this guy at one time in his life was a drill sergeant...

http://youtu.be/GVgQmPDkHOY

Two of my former bosses were actually former drill sergeants as well. And yeah, they can be amusing people to work with..

[EquestriaForever]

I know this has fairly little to do with the episode, however... daaaaaawwwww!!! Cute squirrel!!! Awwww... ... I like the cute critters... ... Okay, I'm done, please continue with episode discussion.

[Cadabra]

Believe it or not, this guy at one time in his life was a drill sergeant...

http://youtu.be/GVgQmPDkHOY

Two of my former bosses were actually former drill sergeants as well. And yeah, they can be amusing people to work with..

I had no idea that guy was a drill sargent. That is awesome that you found this. Where did you find that out?

[elsporko]

The thing about Spitfire's voice is that Luna went through the exact same thing. She was very passive and apologetic in Season 1, but come Season 2 the ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE surfaced and she practically changed identities. Despite the differences, it was all from the same voice actor.

There were some who complained ("Woona" would never be like that, etc), but the change was overall very well received, perhaps because of the creativity and endearing-ness of Luna's new personality .

Ironically enough, I have no doubt the Canterlot Voice was actually exaggerated for the sake humor and not as something that would ever be shown again as a characteristic of hers.

Those complainers bucked me. She had like one line in her first appearance

[Whitehawke]

Alternate ending script has been revealed.

The ending we got was actually rougher on Lightning Dust. :!:

[Stainless Steel Fox]

It doesn't conflict with anything in the actual episode. They could have offered Lightning Dust the Wing pony badge after stripping her of the leader badge. Give her a chance to realise how badly she'd messed up, and then throw her a life-belt.

My own head canon has Spitfire taking RD aside at the end of her training, asking her to take on a new weather pony in Ponyville, Lightning Dust, in the hopes that she can teach her the same lessons Dash has so clearly learned, and then she could retry the Academy. Of course, this also means making peace with the Ponyville natives she ticked off as well, an excellent lesson that being a Wonderbolt is about more than just the flying.

[Scythe]

In terms of Lightning Dust I really like the other ending better. I think for a show like MLP... characters that show that they learned their lesson are very important. On other points in the show I really liked that the "villain" didn't learn, because it would have been too happy rainbow-everything-is-fine-world. Favourite example: Gilda - she didn't learn her lesson, she raged and left, exactly what someone in real life would more likely do.

I think the makers of the show wanted to make it more realistic and make Lightning Dust more believable.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Alternate ending script has been revealed.

The ending we got was actually rougher on Lightning Dust. :!:

I envisioned Lightning Dust getting knocked down a peg by the end of the episode, but not completely thrown out of the camp. The actual ending surprised me, considering the morals and values the show usually teaches. Lightning Dust wasn't a bully or villain, like Trixie, the Diamond Dogs, or Chrysalis. She was just a regular pony who needed some guidance. It just felt weird based on the forgiveness that the show has taught in the past (Luna getting a second chance after Nightmare Moon, Trixie being redeemed this season, frequent various other happy endings).

[NovaArkwing]

I envisioned Lightning Dust getting knocked down a peg by the end of the episode, but not completely thrown out of the camp. The actual ending surprised me, considering the morals and values the show usually teaches. Lightning Dust wasn't a bully or villain, like Trixie, the Diamond Dogs, or Chrysalis. She was just a regular pony who needed some guidance. It just felt weird based on the forgiveness that the show has taught in the past (Luna getting a second chance after Nightmare Moon, Trixie being redeemed this season, frequent various other happy endings).

It does make sense that Lightning got kicked out of boot camp considering she put civilians in harms way even nearly killing the Mane 6 with her reckless and impatient approach to the scenario. If I was her CO (i.e Spitfire's position) I'd be pretty frakking angry at her myself aswell. Even if it came out of nowhere considering the show's usual nature those writers have so much up their sleeves.

[Dessa]

*don't

*is

I typed that from my mobile phone on an annoying touch screen. Youre lucky that I even bothered with capitalization.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Nowhere in the episode does it state that Lightning Dust got kicked out. She lost her lead pony status, that much is certain, but that is the extent of any explicit punishment. Everything else is pure imagination on the part of the viewer.

That being said, I do like how the original ending made it more clear that she was simply being demoted, and that she was getting a second chance, but the original ending seems like it totally fail to address the negligence of Spitfire and the way she was encouraging Lightning Dust's behavior. I would have probably been upset if the original ending replaced the current ending because it marginalizes Rainbow Dash's actions. (You did what you were supposed to do, you actually lifted a hoof to help someone in dire need, let someone know about it.)

On the other hoof, if it was meant to be played after the current ending and simply got cut because of time constraints, then it is a serious shame. Since that would have contained the best of both worlds.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Nowhere in the episode does it state that Lightning Dust got kicked out. She lost her lead pony status, that much is certain, but that is the extent of any explicit punishment. Everything else is pure imagination on the part of the viewer

Well, the way the security guards led her away, and the fact that her leader pin got taken away and she was never given a replacement, and that Spitfire didn't say anything about her after the guards took her away, he certainly seems like the guards escorted her out of the camp.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I've seen enough people getting escorted to the office for detention that, in a show where punishment is meted out in the context of punishment for children, that was what I assumed was happening. I would have thought that if she was actually being kicked out of the camp, it would have necessarily been a bigger deal.

[Lerian]

As one who has contributed to a

(0:50) dent, maybe she was marched away for some child friendly military punishment?

[weesh]

Many academies and high profile tests have no tolerance policies...but still allow the failing student to re-enroll. Yes, your actions were grievous you lose your spot and your entrance fee...but the next school starts in 6 months. Feel free to try again then. I don't see anything wrong with completely kicking her our.

[Whitehawke]

Surprisingly, Sibsy gets to explains to us what happened with Wildfire (and other OC's) this episode.