season 6 Official Discussion Thread - S06E7 Newbie Dash

[brianblackberry]

So Radicool! 

 

Another week and another episode with the adorable ponies we all love!  This week we get out first Rainbow Dash focused episode.  From the title one can quickly determine that she gets a new, rather unfortunately nickname along with her new position.  How and why? And how will this rookie ribbing affect her self-worth? Will this be an episode where we learn all sports stars get quirky names and accept it because its all in jest and part of team bonding, or will it be one of those 'after school' episodes about name calling and hurting one's feeling?  Let's hope for the former!  Tune in to find out!  The episode airs Saturday 11:30 AM EST on May7th! 
 
This thread is dedicated to discussing the episode before, during, and afterwards. As the thread is now open it may indeed contain spoilers. I ask that potential spoilers talked about or shown before the episode airs stay within the spoiler tags please, after the episode you no longer have to use the spoiler tags, but warning, if you haven't seen the episode yet after it airs, this thread no doubt will have all sorts of spoilers in reviews, images, etc. So tread at your own risk. 

[Corsair]

To paraphrase Starswirl from Skype, this whole episode annoyed me.  Dash was terrible (although Ashleigh Ball imitating the rest of the mane 6 was funny) and the Wonderbolts were total jerks.  I mean, it's about time after 6 seasons that Dash finally gets to be a real Wonderbolt, but after the way they treat her and their other teammates, I don't know why anyone would want to join them.

[Gerrard]

Only one word can describe this episode.

 

Yikes......

[starswirlthebearded]

The episode did annoy me, but probably for different reasons than Corsy. And that is why I'm commenting.

OK, so I ran a martial arts school for a few years, and part of that was organizing choreographed routines. Now I understand making nicknames, hazing and all that. It is a shared experience that most people in some teams will go through. And it generally tapers off. HOWEVER what annoyed me was Spitfire (and by extension the rest of the Wonderbolts). Dash had TWO days to learn the routine and get into a mindset to perform at her peak. You do not haze anyone before a performance, or game or anything. That is the best way to throw someone off their game. And that was clear what happened to Dash. (and yet she still managed alright despite showboating and failing) 

Dash was terrible too, as funny as imitating her friends were, she should have realized she was on a TEAM. She idolized the Wonderbolts and didn't realize that? You don't stand out on a team by showboating, you stand out by being at your best as part of the team.

The entire episode was basically either Dash being an idiot and wanting to stand out, and the Wonderbolds hazing her right before her FIRST real flight. This was just terrible. And a real leader (Spitfire) would have put a stop to it, until after the show and explained to Dash exactly what was expected of her and why she got the nickname she did. That is what leaders do. It shouldn't have taken Rainbow Dash failing at showboating for them to do that.

I will say that for the Wonderbolts making an embarrassing nickname for everyone makes sense. It is a tool to remind everyone that they aren't perfect. They are probably used when they are showboating. Or conversely when a member goes too far and goes after another the nickname comes out to remind them that they aren't perfect either. But, there is a time and place for that, and subjecting a newbie to that is neither, especially before the first show for a newbie. The premise was alright, but the execution was terrible. 

[FrankT]

Well I'll tell you one thing - it's nowhere near the big hoorah I imagined it'd be. Honestly, if I were signed up for the Wonderbolts, I'd quit after the first day! I thought they'd be better than that!

[kunio18]

goodness where to start, the wonder bolts acted like jerks the entire episode, it had that boot camp feel to it but dash just needed to accept that nick names come into that scenario when things like that happen,

 

not bad was funny tho im happy for rainbow 

[RainbowFoxxy]

I haven't even watched yet but by the sound of these reviews I'm already sad... My Dashie needed a good one and she didn't really get it...

[FiniteZero]

It was okay.

5 STARS

10/10

4 STARS

[Bellosh]

So basically, the Wonderbolts had to act like negligent idiots for most of the episode because the All-Mighty Plot demanded it. Too bad that for such a momentous episode, things were handled quite sloppily.

PS: Pinkie Pie really annoyed the heck out of me too. Guess she took her obnoxious pills this episode.....

[RarityDash]

I don't know. I actually liked this one. Maybe I was just high on the adorable of Rainbow in her uniform geeking out over the stuff she learned Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 and further buoyed by the slice of amazing that was Rainbow Dash imitating Rarity, but I found it enjoyable.

It was a lot of cringe comedy with how the universe seemed to conspire against Rainbow and she couldn't catch a break, but it still succeeded in being funny--exceedingly so in parts.

As for the Wonderbolts, are we really surprised at this point? This is the organization that Wind Rider got so far in. This is the organization that pushes finding the burden of proof onto the accused and the organization who isn't above lying and using underhanded tactics just to secure an advantage in a competition. The Wonderbolts being jerks isn't anything new. I mean, maybe it's weird to see Soarin' laughing at her, but that's as far as I'd go. Rainbow Dash may have achieved her dream, but considering how every step along the way she's been reminded of how her idols are very much human (for lack of a better word) and flawed, it would just read wrong to me if everything was nice and perfect there when she actually does make it.

So yeah, as a Dashie fan, I'm satisfied with this. I'm happy for her.

[RainbowFoxxy]

Ok I watched it  and I actually really enjoyed it! RD looked so cute and happy in her uniform and that big smile at the bugging get was adorbs.

The Bolts were acting exactly like I thought they would and in the end it seems they are just like lots of teams. It takes a little time to adjust to new members sometimes.

Yep, overall I thought it was a good RD ep!

[starswirlthebearded]

1 hour ago, RarityDash said:

I don't know. I actually liked this one. Maybe I was just high on the adorable of Rainbow in her uniform geeking out over the stuff she learned Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3 and further buoyed by the slice of amazing that was Rainbow Dash imitating Rarity, but I found it enjoyable.

It was a lot of cringe comedy with how the universe seemed to conspire against Rainbow and she couldn't catch a break, but it still succeeded in being funny--exceedingly so in parts.

As for the Wonderbolts, are we really surprised at this point? This is the organization that Wind Rider got so far in. This is the organization that pushes finding the burden of proof onto the accused and the organization who isn't above lying and using underhanded tactics just to secure an advantage in a competition. The Wonderbolts being jerks isn't anything new. I mean, maybe it's weird to see Soarin' laughing at her, but that's as far as I'd go. Rainbow Dash may have achieved her dream, but considering how every step along the way she's been reminded of how her idols are very much human (for lack of a better word) and flawed, it would just read wrong to me if everything was nice and perfect there when she actually does make it.

So yeah, as a Dashie fan, I'm satisfied with this. I'm happy for her.

For lack of a better word?

For shame Raridash, for shame... They made an entire song about that! 

That said, in Rarity Investigates, while they did put it to RD to prove her own innocence, they also took strict and swift action against Windrider when it was found he was guilty, and said themselves they should seek to help their fellow Wonderbolt not hurt them. They seemed to be mean in this for the sake of being mean. As I stated, a proper leader would have had it quieted down so that she could focus on getting better for the performance and help her. Maybe even explain her nickname to her. But that didn't happen all so that they could reveal it after she messed up during her first show. Two days is a crunch, and if you are the leader of a team, it is your responsibility to ensure the physical and mental state of your team members is up to the task. Knocking someone down does not do that. 

The cute elements of the episode (Dashie fangirling) did not overshadow that element that hit home for me, and possibly others. It wasn't necessarily a bad episode, it was a bad episode for me, because the situation was handled poorly by both sides. As cute and fun as RD's impersonations of her friends were, it highlighted a grave misunderstanding of the situation which annoyed me even more (it was a weird feeling, laughing and being annoyed). The team chose her for herself, trying to be someone else would not help. All in all, I stand by my initial view of it. But my view of it hinges on my own experiences being part of and even leading such a team. 

 

[LostSanity]

Unfortunately... I don't really have much to say about this one.

Spoiler

It certainly wasn't the greatest episode.

Dash achieved her dream, however, bad memories came back with the nickname. At first it seemed like the Wonderbolts were being out of character from what I've seen from them in the past.

However... the Dash imitations of the rest of the Mane 6 was FREAKING HILARIOUS.

She kept trying so hard to stand out in a different way and it failed so many times.

In the end apparently the Wonderbolts give everyone slightly mean nicknames because of stuff that happens to them on their first day? I'm a little unsure about what the 'moral' of this episode is supposed to be honestly.

I wouldn't call this a bad episode but it wasn't the greatest either.

Mediocre episode with occasionally funny Dash antics.

 

[Bramble Rose]

I finally (ha, after less than a day) watched the episode, and I was really worried because of the reactions of others.  

Um.

I liked it!  I thought it was really good!  And honestly, the way lots of people are reacting, RE: "The Wonderbolts are JERKS!" I think you are exactly the people who need to learn what this episode is trying to teach.

Let's drop back a moment.  We'll get there.

First off, I want to remind people of Rainbow Dash's personality.  Rainbow Dash does NOT have a giant ego, despite her appearance.  Rainbow Dash has a very poor self-image, and compensates for it by showboating and trying to convince herself otherwise.  The more she brags about her awesomeness, the more you can be sure she's nervous about something and is trying to psyche herself up.

When I was a kid, I had a very unfortunate nickname.  My last name easily becomes a synonym for the male anatomy.  I felt everyone was being super-mean, and got into lots of fights.  My brother, obviously, had the same last name - and thus, the same nickname in his turn.  However, for him, he embraced it and loved it.  He laughed at it.

It wasn't just the unfortunate nickname for me, though.  I looked at everything that happened to me as being cruel and mean.  Now, to be fair - some of it was!  But not all of it.  Looking back, I can see that a lot of it was meant in good fun, and people didn't understand why I was having issues with it.  This continued throughout college and into my adult life.

The key to it is that I learned to start laughing at myself.  The key to whether others are laughing at you or with you is whether or not you're laughing with them.

However, throughout all that time, I almost never had anyone come up to me and go, "Hey, Bramble, we're not trying to hurt your feelings.  Loosen up, this is just friendly banter."  Instead, people got *confused* why I was getting so upset.  "Why are you acting like this?"  To their perspective, I was the jerk.  People were having a perfectly ordinary, pleasant time, poking amicable fun at each other, and suddenly here I was acting grumpy and snarly.  Acting out.  Trying to get attention.

That's what I kept seeing in the Wonderbolts.  This wasn't hazing.  This was just people being people.  They were trying to show her they accepted her in the best way they knew how, by being informal with her, letting her into their circle.  She only had two days, and she needed to loosen up and trust them, and they were trying so hard.  Spitfire went out of her way to make sure to get her that badge early.  To let her know, "Now it's official, you're in.  You're one of us."  So loosen up already, right?  Stop trying so hard to get noticed - we noticed you!  Here's the patch that shows it!  She tried to let her know, "This is how we do things in the Wonderbolts.  Right, Clipper?"  "Haha, right!"

But here's also the thing - people aren't good at seeing their assumptions.  They try to do things the best they can, but they do not like - in fact, they HATE - explaining their assumptions, if they even realize what their assumptions are.  It feels like having to justify yourself, like if you can't explain yourself well enough, you're WRONG.

In fact, there's one huge thing Dash kept forgetting about that really should have clued her in to this.  A fact that a LOT of people easily forget in so many similar situations:  they chose her.  They *want* her around, and they value her ... or else they'd NEVER have given her a place!  Everything that happened, Dash should have seen through that filter... and she didn't.

If you are having a problem, you need to look out there yourself and figure stuff out.  You need to be more perceptive - to get outside of yourself, and your small world view, and try to see things through others' eyes.  Sometimes it's yes, that they ARE jerks.  But sometimes they're just trying to welcome you in the best way they know.  But it's not the world's responsibility to explain themselves to you, or for the entire group to change their behavior just so you don't have to deal with something different than your own personal experience.

Interesting trivia:  This is VERY pilot-based.  From what I understand, all pilot callsigns/nicknames are based on something like this.  I don't know this firsthand, but ... this is what I have heard.

Honestly, the worst part of the whole episode for me was Dash trying to copy her friends.  If it were based on some other premise, it would have been hilarious, but the sheer lack of understanding involved made me turn off the show several times just to get over the negative gut reaction ... not that I blame Dash.  Being herself was causing nothing but problems - if only she was someone else, they'd accept her.  She never sees anyone else making as many mistakes as she makes.  At the point she was at, this made perfect sense.  But it makes me cringe just because ... I have been there, and done that, and know exactly how it feels as you sit there trying so hard to pretend to be like someone more popular than yourself.

This, to me, was ... a normal part of life episode.  This was something I've had happen to me, a situation I've been in, and a situation I've seen friends in.  And when your mindset is firmly stuck in 'They're being jerks', then anyone trying to explain their behavior to you is just 'defending them' and 'how can you take their side?'  There was no good solution to this story beyond Dash getting through her depressive fit and coming out the far side, able to listen.

So everyone going "The Wonderbolts were jerks!" and "Wow, they're so mean, they should have explained themselves sooner" or "They were hazing her!" - you need to understand that not everyone interacts with those they like the same way you do.  This is what's *normal* to them.  You need to learn to accept people's behavior in the way it was intended - not in the way you decide to take it.

Now, don't get me wrong.  It'd be nice if people were more self-aware, and if they had a better and more empathic reaction to how people were feeling - but demanding they change for your benefit is wrong.  This sort of behavior is normal, and not bullying - but it *is* the sort of behavior that the standard useless 'anti-bullying' tactics of 'Your words are really hurtful to me' can actually work well for.  They didn't explain themselves in greater detail sooner... because Dash didn't TELL them that the nickname was hurting her so much.  It never occurred to them that what they meant for a welcoming and friendly gesture ... could be taken so badly.

[brianblackberry]

I rarely write about episodes, but I feel compelled to write about this one, because as an episode it could have so easily gone completely saccharine with its message and reinforce oversensitivity, a real issue with people these days; fortunately this isn't what happened which only reenforced my confidence in the writing staff in their avoidance of a real easy and obvious pitfall.

One thing I kept hearing was that the Wonderbolts hazed Rainbow Dash, but there wasn't anything remotely considered hazing in this episode making me believe a lot of people have no concept of what real hazing is like.  Hazing isn't teasing, it isn't laughing when someone screws up, it isn't ribbing your teammates, and it isn't giving someone an embarrassing nickname.  Actual hazing are rituals that cause humiliation, ridicule and abuse as a form of initiation that risks actual emotional or physical harm.

When we first see the Wonderbolts laugh at Dash, it was a scenario where most people would laugh at a teammate when they screwed up royally, as Dash did.   The whole "Crash" nickname she received comes off as just as a nickname team vets would give a rookie who did something particularly embarrassing, especially when showboating, it just happen to particularly hit Dash hard because it brought back memories of hear being harnessed by the bullies as a foal (something the Wonderbolts weren't aware of), by the way, this isn't PTSD.  Of course, at the end we learn they all have embarrassing nicknames as a bonding measure (with even the captain having one, which was worse than the rest), similar to how we would give our friends such names growing up, not because we wanted to hurt them, but it was just was buddies did.  I know I had them, and my friends had them.

I also didn't find Spitfire particular hard on Dash, even while calling her "Crash", in fact she was pretty easy on Rainbow if you compared her to a high school or college sports coach (at least in football, the coaches are a lot, and I mean a lot, harder and meaner on you as a freshman screwing up than Spitfire was on Dash, and they *want* you to succeed and be the best), if we are comparing to the military, Spitfire was a downright sweetheart compared to a drill sergeant or instructor.  Dash just took it harder than usual as a combination of her pride and childhood memories of being harassed with the same moniker.

One thing I would have changed and I did feel was a out of place was the idea that the "worst flyer of the day" had to clean everything up.  It was have made much more sense and less humiliating and more humbling to have Dash clean everything up because she was the rookie ("newbie"), as having the rookie do the most menial tasks is very common in sports, meant to demonstarte that yes, you are in and part of the team but you start at the bottom and have to earn your way up in rank, respect, and esteem.  It could have been used as the reason in the final scene when she had to clean up the park that evening, doubling as a punishment as part of her probation, something she still gladly accept because she realized her pride got in the way of her being a part of a team.

The only part of this episode I actively disliked and honestly found downright cringey was when Dash attempted to imitate her friends in order to try and get rid of her nickname.  This is sad because in another situation, the scenes would have been hilarious, especially since Asheigh Ball did such a good job with it.

One other thing that I wanted to cover that I really liked about this episode was Scootaloo.  Early seasons' Scootaloo would have gone along with Rainbow Dash's crazy idea without question and with total enthusiasm. However older Scootaloo, while still a huge Rainbow Dash fangirl (but more in a little sister sort of way), was both questioning why see needed to go with Dash (likely preferring to hang with her besties), and seriously questioning Dash's wild plan, only going along reluctantly.  It felt that we were now dealing with a young teen Scootaloo versus the little kid Scootaloo of old, a trend that has been true of all three CMC and I feel is possibly overlooked.  They don't just sound older, they act older.  We are subtlety seeing them growing up, and I love it.

[QuickLime]

I think people would be less "Wonderbolts are being JERKS" IF  this was a one off bit of behavior...but we know that they actually ARE jerks

[Bellosh]

Okie dokie, I rewatched a a couple of the scenes in question. I think it was the condescending tone of the subordinate Wonderbolts after the first crash (aside from Spitfire, who on a second viewing came off as more professional to me) that helped cement them as jerks. And it was that one scene that colored everything else the Wonderbolts did through the rest of the episode.

While I think I can mostly forgive the Wonderbolts this time around, I still think it was completely nonsensical how Rainbow got it into her head that acting like her other friends would somehow stop her from being called Crash. That to me smacks of writer-induced character idiocy that only exists in service of a joke, and nothing more. With that (and Pinkie) in mind, I still have a relatively blah opinion of this episode.

[tacobob]

I enjoyed the episode...It's one of those idiot-plots that could have easily been fixed if one of the characters actually stopped and had an discussion with the other....But there were a few chuckle-worthy bits and it was nice to see more of the 'Bolts.
 

Spoiler

 

and Yay! Surprise actually speaks. And maybe Rainbow should have kept this look..

And I'm guessing Spitfire's nickname is probably not kid-friendly.

 

 

[ToastScience]

I also enjoyed the episode. I saw some people concerned how RD was being treated by the Wonderbolts, but I know it's somewhat like that in real life, on how you're treated say, in the military, since my oldest brother is in the US Army and being based on stories he's told me. It also had it's funny moments, but it wasn't really that perfect, which is why I'd give it a 9/10.

[QuickLime]

Lol if this was a ONE TIME thing, where we'd NEVER seen the WB'S be jerks before I could see where the people defending this behavior is coming from

...But we already know that they are jerks... they've been jerks in SEVERAL episodes.

[ToastScience]

Right, just making my thoughts known.

[Solana]

3/5  overall ok.  I've seen better, I've seen worse.

ASIDE from Dash acting like a moron, was a decent episode.  I've noticed some people seemed to have a bit of a problem with the wonderbolts "hazing" R.D. but the worst I remember seeing was the nickname.  Well, laughing at her when she actually crashed, but seriously, if you saw someone fall into a trash can because they were showboating or simply not paying attention, you'd laugh too.  Admit it.

The nickname thing happens with practically every team or team-like group there is.  Even in my classes there a few nicknames floating around.  There's a guy we call "Bucket" due to a prank a couple months back.  There's "Part-time", a guy who showed up late a few times, "Biggie Smalls". the fat guy, "Leprechaun", I'll let you try and guess why, and I myself have 2.  Some call me Jed ( Jed Clampett, from the Beverly hillbillies) on account of my thick southern accent.  Seriously, I make A.J. sound refined.  Then some call me "Shotgun", on account of the Revolver I keep strapped to my hip.  (It loads with .410 gauge shotgun shells, hence "Shotgun")

 

Anyway, had they not chosen to give R.D. a defective thinking organ (those are called brians, right?) this would have been a great episode.

My 2 bits.

[Cadabra]

Well, I'm finally getting around to sharing my thoughts on this episode!  To be fair, it was fun watching this episode while going into the early stages of labor, but becoming a mom on Mother's Day far outweighs this one.  Granted, becoming a mom outweighs just about anything, so let me be more fair.  Any South Park fans out there?  

I ask because this episode reminds me of the South Park episode There Goes the Neighborhood, where Token received a nickname he didn't like and got all butt hurt over it.  I know that the writers were going for a military hazing feel in this episode with the Wonderbolts, but I kept thinking about how some people tease you if they actually like you.  The Bolts do genuinely admire Rainbow Dash, and should have probably said something to her about her irrational behavior before it got out of hand.