Now this is one of those episodes inspired by headcanons I've seen around the internet; Rainbow Dash's parents. Sadly, they were not what many were wondering, let's what can Parental Glideance provide.
I'm a bit conflicted on this one. There's things I liked about it and things that I didn't.
For one thing, I liked Scootaloo's role in this one. Her reaction to seeing Rainbow Dash's parents for the first time was equally adorable and hilarious. Given that she's never met them before, can you blame her? Plus, their reactions to her squealing loudly (as well as the bombshell that their daughter is a Wonderbolt) are priceless.
Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof (must've been an unfortunate foalhood for him!) are... alright, I suppose. I can see where Josh Hamilton is going with them; many of us have parents which love us to the point we find it embarrassing. Or, if you're a parent, you have a child who loves you to death. And honestly, I can relate to both scenarios.
That being said, I would never go so far as to keep shoving my support down their throats to the point it becomes childish. And that's their biggest problem; they're way too obsessive with their daughter and her achievements (especially in the second act), right down to memorabilia when it comes to Rainbow Dash's highlights.
And that brings me to the themes, which feel... kind of awkward. Rainbow Dash realized she took her parents' support for granted. Fair enough. And yet her parents don't apologize for embarrassing her? I don't know if it's actually happening or just my interpretation, but it feels confused as to who I'm supposed to root for. I mean, I know who I want to root for, but the narrative of the episode doesn't make it clear.
If there was an overall positive to the whole scenario, at least the Wonderbolts aren't as malicious as they were in Newbie Dash. Compared to how "in your face" it was toward Rainbow Dash, their teasing is a lot more subtle this time around.
Which leads me onto the biggest problem with the episode; continuity. Scootaloo recounts the events of Wonderbolts Academy, Rarity Investigates!, and the aforementioned Newbie Dash, yet Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 is skipped over... because reasons. But that isn't the problem. No, the real issue is the flashback.
Think about it; Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Soarin are already in the Wonderbolts when Rainbow Dash joins, yet in the flashback, they appear to be roughly the same age. Not only that, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash met in Wonderbolts Academy, yet this episode implies they knew each other before said episode. Couldn't you have replaced them with other Pegasi as foals like, say, Blossomforth, Thunderlane, and maybe Flash Sentry? I know this doesn't affect the story that much, but it's still incredibly baffling.
For one thing, I liked Scootaloo's role in this one. Her reaction to seeing Rainbow Dash's parents for the first time was equally adorable and hilarious. Given that she's never met them before, can you blame her? Plus, their reactions to her squealing loudly (as well as the bombshell that their daughter is a Wonderbolt) are priceless.
Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof (must've been an unfortunate foalhood for him!) are... alright, I suppose. I can see where Josh Hamilton is going with them; many of us have parents which love us to the point we find it embarrassing. Or, if you're a parent, you have a child who loves you to death. And honestly, I can relate to both scenarios.
That being said, I would never go so far as to keep shoving my support down their throats to the point it becomes childish. And that's their biggest problem; they're way too obsessive with their daughter and her achievements (especially in the second act), right down to memorabilia when it comes to Rainbow Dash's highlights.
And that brings me to the themes, which feel... kind of awkward. Rainbow Dash realized she took her parents' support for granted. Fair enough. And yet her parents don't apologize for embarrassing her? I don't know if it's actually happening or just my interpretation, but it feels confused as to who I'm supposed to root for. I mean, I know who I want to root for, but the narrative of the episode doesn't make it clear.
If there was an overall positive to the whole scenario, at least the Wonderbolts aren't as malicious as they were in Newbie Dash. Compared to how "in your face" it was toward Rainbow Dash, their teasing is a lot more subtle this time around.
Which leads me onto the biggest problem with the episode; continuity. Scootaloo recounts the events of Wonderbolts Academy, Rarity Investigates!, and the aforementioned Newbie Dash, yet Testing Testing 1, 2, 3 is skipped over... because reasons. But that isn't the problem. No, the real issue is the flashback.
Think about it; Spitfire, Fleetfoot and Soarin are already in the Wonderbolts when Rainbow Dash joins, yet in the flashback, they appear to be roughly the same age. Not only that, Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash met in Wonderbolts Academy, yet this episode implies they knew each other before said episode. Couldn't you have replaced them with other Pegasi as foals like, say, Blossomforth, Thunderlane, and maybe Flash Sentry? I know this doesn't affect the story that much, but it's still incredibly baffling.
Final Thoughts
A step backward from the last two episodes. Not to say that Parental Glideance is without merit; I mean, it has a good idea, and Rainbow Dash learns something at the end (though she should learn she isn't the best at everything, but I digress), but the end result comes off as weird at best. All that said, the writers need to stop putting Rainbow Dash through the wringer when she gets a starring role; surely she deserves better?
Rating: 6 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment