You know the biggest problem with Season 4 is that there are no title cards yet! This will have to do I guess! Anyways Testing Testing 1,2,3!
Plot:
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| The budget was cut, we did what we could |
Rainbow Dash needs to take a test on the history of the Wonderbolts in order to get into the Wonderbolts Reserve. She's been slacking off, so Twilight agrees to help her study, with little success. Soon the other try their best to get Rainbow Dash to learn the history, from theater, to VHS rap tapes, to fashion show, all failing to get her to remember. Dejected, Rainbow sulks until Twilight figures out that Rainbow Dash learns best while flying and gets the whole town to reenact the Wonderbolt's History for her, which lets her pass with flying colors!
What I liked:
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| I, for one, welcome our new Fluttershy overlord |
- Everyone!
- All the Mane 6 were here and all were in tip top shape! Rainbow being cocky, Twilight eager but unable to read what Dash needs at first, Fluttershy being calm yet firm when needed, Pinkie being crazy within reason, Rarity having her work and passion in the mix, and Applejack being the down to earth pony. Everyone shined and are a blast to watch!
- The Faces
- So many facial expressions! Both Fluttershy and Rarity had great deadpan expressions and Pinkie in the rapper hat were some of my favorites!
- The Story
- Nice slice of life and with a great morale of learning at with your own style. Mixed with some great character jokes and some good dramatic stuff when needed, this story can really hit home.
- The Rap
- VHS graininess, 4:3 perspective, Doctor Whooves in gangster getup, what's not to love!
- Lore
- Nice to see some more history of Equestria as we are presented with the founding of the Wonderbolts and a glimpse into Equestria right after Luna's banishment, a rarely seen time frame.
What I didn't like:
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| Not this image. I love this face! |
- Rainbow Learning Method
- More so that Rainbow's method doesn't make too much sense. Sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory all work differently and the mechanics of which can be seen here. Basically Rainbow shouldn't have been able to recall the stuff unless she was booting everything into long term memory. This is a nitpick though and does not ruin the episode in the slightest
- Ponyville is Castrovalva
- Okay really nitpicking here, but right after Rainbow Dash told everyone off (third commercial break), she was flying away from the town, only for her to fly right over the downtown section, all while not seeming to turn around, so it begs the question of how did she get there?
- What branch of the service are the Wonderbolts in?
- Okay so you have an Admiral, a Colonel, a General, a Commander, and a Captain? Unless the Wonderbolts were shuffled around the services, there is no way an Admiral and a Colonel could be in charge of the Wonderbolts. (Admiral-Naval rank, Colonel-Army rank)
- The Wonderbolts Reserve
- I know we aren't going to see Rainbow Dash in the Wonderbolts any time soon, but can we stop with the half measures that are either going to be retconned out or completely forgotten? (Feel free to prove me wrong on this one writers!)
Interesting Points:
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| Do you know what they call a quarter-pounder with cheese in Prance? |
- Peaguasus continue to be the most militant of the three races.
- Each succeeding leader in the Wonderbolts seems to have a decrease in rank. Maybe an indication that there are more divisions in the Equestria military?
- Are the Wonderbolts in the military?
Overall: Must See
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| "Let's be honest Twi, you've caught me doing worse" |
Probably the slice of life highlight of season 4, if not the highlight! Great characters, great story, and great humor, no wonder it's a classic! Test the waters for yourself with this 20% awesomer (yes I'm making that a word) episode!
