Daring Don't Review

[@InkRose]

Perhaps the reason Rainbow did not intervene with the cat fight was because Daring had said she wanted to work alone, and Dash wanted to make her happy. Also, what if your favorite book character turned out to be a real person? I would also be acting like Dash, trying to withhold fangirling while helping her. Also, when you let down one of your most loved and idolized people, wouldn't you feel depressed and worth very little? I can just imagine myself in Dash's place, finding out that Percy Jackson or Meggie from Inkheart were real. I would probably be acting the way she did because I would be so freaked out and in shock that common sense would go out the window.

[@Kraigon42]

Yeah, I think you've pretty much got it there. She probably still wasn't over the shock of finding here most idolized character be a _real_ -person- pony.

[@deadaccount3445]

Yay Percy jackson

[@Jason_Singe]

4:43 Is a flashback scene really necessary, considering it had been established previously in this episode that the character that stole the ring from her was a former partner of hers.

[@MLPSilverQuill]

I'm trying to process this episode as well. Like you, I initially thought that Twilight came across as the better fan for her calm and restraint. Yet I think that Rainbow and Twilight together paint a better representation of fandoms in general. For Twilight, being a fan is all about memorization of facts and news, which is an important part of the community. Rainbow's energy, while misguided, is part of what fuels a fandom's creativity and expression. So I view them as representing different aspects within the fandom, which can't flourish unless we have both types. I am not so big a fan of making Daring-Do a real character. I liked that, even in a fantasy setting, the characters can still dream of adventures not found in their world. Making Daring-Do and her rogues gallery a part of Equestria cheapens that, although though she's only been in one other episode.

[@DRWolf001]

Well spoken sir. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on this episode as well.

[@Emptybee]

I also find that I'm not a fan of Daring Do's adventures being real. I enjoyed the fact that in Equestria, whose everyday reality is lifted from Greek and European folklore, their myths and legends were derived from Meso-America.

[@SacredFaerie]

5:50 To be honest, I think it was an expected reaction. As you said, Rainbow Dash idolizes Daring Do as much as the Wonderbolts, if not more. She has been put down many times before, by a flyer much like her old self, by her best friend from her childhood, to her current friends; The Elements of Harmony, and in all those cases, she took action to prove herself to be better pony than her opponent, but this time, it was a pony that she felt she wasn't on the same league as. Imagine how Rainbow would react if the Wonderbolts told her they didn't want her on their team, much like how Daring Do didn't want Rainbow helping her. It comes to me as no surprise how depressed she would be about it.

[@DannyJennyArtz]

This episode was alright with me, not one of my favorites, but I liked it, I can understand how you felt a about this episode, there defiantly were a lot of moments that didn't feel natural, I hope future episodes will be better

[@NeoStickman16]

Strangely enough, I relate to this episode rather well. Oddly, almost coincidentally, I was imagining (and even thinking of putting it down in ink and paper) how I would react if one of the analysis bronies showed up nearby, either at work or anywhere else. As these thoughts continued to haunt my cranium, I realise that the day was Saturday and the new episode was premiering! I watched it, and in amazement I realised that Hasbro had basically Pony Personified my feelings at the time. Life story beside, I found this episode was a bit too cliche-like for me. As soon as I saw A. K. Yearling I noticed Daring Do, merely nodding, with an "I knew it" smirk. The episode followed along and it felt more like watching a quick Indiana Jones movie, with ponies. The book-nerd debate was funny to see, as were other things, but I felt that it was pressed into time and everything was rushed. We must take into consideration that these are only the early episodes in the season. Granted, Pinkie will probably be acting more mature in future episodes, especially if it consists of her personally. It's on shaky legs, but I do believe it will pick up in future episodes. (If you took the time to read all this, I applaud you with many thanks~)

[@DRWolf001]

Well, you took the time to write it. So I applaud you with many thanks.

[@cryofpaine]

I think they were very much in character. This is a very unique situation, a one in a billion occurrence. You meet your favorite writer who turns out to be your favorite character as well, in the middle of an adventure. Who would act normal under those circumstances. I remember meeting a number of my favorite actors at a convention earlier this year. It was for a few seconds, and I could barely get out "Hi," and "Thanks." I can't imagine if I met them in a surprise situation, and also discovered that they are actually their characters, and we're in the middle of an adventure. And keep in mind, we've seen how Rainbow Dash can become full of self-doubt when under certain kinds of pressure. When Rarity is stealing the spotlight in the competition for best flyer, she freaks out. Under these unusual circumstances, it's not surprising that maybe some of that self-doubt would creep back in, especially after she's been rebuked by her idol. That would easily be enough to cause people to become depressed and want to just withdraw. She had confidence that Daring Do could save the day, and didn't need her, so she could feel free to just go home. I do like your point that they could have gone a different way. While I've seen several people who had a problem with Daring Do being real, your take on it makes the most sense, that she could have faced the same fan-girl situation just in trying to help her write her story. She would have been out of her element as a writer in addition to faced with a an idol. While I think that that could have been just as interesting, I'm not disappointed with the way they went. I think overall it worked.

[@JacobMKeeneAKADrPepperKing]

I predict that when LittleshyFiM makes the "Cinemare Sins" video with this episode in it, that he'll show the clip of Pinkie Pie with a paint brush with red paint, and then show a clip of SpongeBob and Patrick trying to "cover their tracks", but Patrick does it wrong by using red paint.

[@CitrusArchitect]

I didn't really mind the episode. It was action-packed enough to be enjoyable for me, and I thought the humor was decent.

[@MaedayMisfit]

I think they only eatched cuz they knew daring only as fiction so when the fight happened it was like seeing a movie adaption. (It was registering as fiction in their heads)and vecause of this it wouldn't have felt like a real fight to them, and instead they were watching a fictional event

[@CrittersRule247]

I think the main problem we are getting with these episodes is that they are featuring the entire cast when really they should only have a few, I've been waiting so long for an episode focusing only on Twilight and Rainbow Dash and this episode practically begged to be it but we are getting rushed pacing to fit in those spare 4 minuets of other characters that have no place in these stories, if they weren't there then I could easily see Polsky changing the dynamic to make the story about Daring Do, Twilight and Rainbow Dash and maybe it could of had a few more elements to really give us a good story. - On a lighter note, I think the show is allowed to be more violent now, Nightmare moons fight with Celestia, the supposed crushing of Angle, the really bad-ass fight scene with Daring Doo when she first reveals herself, the snapping of Ara-whatever your name is (great line) when he bends down and need I mention the kicking of a kitten in the face... This season needs to trim down the cast in each episode if they want to fix their pacing. Were looking at one hell of a season finally though!

[@DragoSonicMile]

"Reality is stranger than fiction." ~Mark Twain Sometimes we really don't act like ourselves when placed into different situations. Personality changes on a daily basis. Heck, some people even change what they think by the hour or faster. Anyway, enough of my vague rambling that sounds like nonsense. This episode was one big conglomeration of... something.

[@deadstones1]

I really loved this episode, if only for the hilarity. You do make some good points with the payoff, I guess it did happen a little fast, but Dash's breakdown felt pretty natural to me. I can relate to her reaction, and I felt for her when it happened. I mean, remember Sonic Rainboom? You would't think someone as daring and hard headed as RD would be so frightened as to curl up and feel sorry for herself like that. All around, a terrific episode in my eyes.

[@ToeIn2194]

Ok I did not think Rainbow Dash was out of character. Rainbow did try to act/help but it totally backfired and she felt super guilty over it. If you notice Twi and the others encourage Rainbow to be her usual loyal self and then she basically teaches Daring Do about loyalty and friendship. I think some of Rainbow Dash's idolizing could be interoperated as what happens when being loyal can go a bit to far. Kind of like when Pinkie learned that there is a limit to acceptable fun and goofing around in season 3. This episode really endeared me to RD like Wonderbolt Academy did. I also didn't have any problems with the pacing. I think it was made quite clear Daring works alone and doesn't trust others because of the kind of villains she deals with. I do agree with you on Pinkie but I hope when we get to the episode with the Apple's and Pinkie singing we will get some more development on her. My biggest issue was Daring not noticing Twilight was an Alicorn princess!! I thought Daring would say "Why would a princess be destroying my house??" Or "Princess Twilight, what would this visit be in reference to?" Maybe they thought Twilight and Daring not knowing about each other would explain why Twilight didn't know Daring Do was real but it was seriously odd.

[@dejaypage1575]

I think Daring's trust issues are from Caberlaron, given how she acts around him

[@TomSketchit]

I personally loved the episode. I can see a lot of where you're coming from here, sure, but I have a few points of my own. For why the Mane Six stand staring: They've just witnessed what they thought was a fictitious character revealed to be a real living pony (I thought that it was fairly obvious what they were going to do with this episode before hand, by the way). I mean, imagine if suddenly you saw Batman suddenly reveal himself and start fighting a bunch of goons. Would you jump in and help? More likely, you'd do what they did: stand and stare in awe at the fact that "Holy shit, he's real! This is actually happening!" For Dash's depression: Now imagine that you actually did try to interact with Batman. He, quite reasonably, tells you to go home and stay out of the way. You decline and try to help out in some way. In doing so, you completely fuck shit up and very nearly kill him. He gets mad at you, tells you off, and then storms out. How are you going to respond to that? You're going to be upset with yourself for your actions. You've just nearly killed your hero, and his rebuke makes that wound sting even worse. Of course your going to be down on yourself. Now, the rest of your points, completely agreed with. Still enjoyed the episode. Part of what I love about MLP, the badass moments like what happened in this episode. While I'd love some development or story lines like they'd hinted at in the premiere, I'm fine with episodes like this. So far, this is my favorite out of this season, and possibly will remain one of my favorite episodes for quite some time. Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Thanks for doing this review, I love these things. I love hearing opinions and theories. Even when I don't necessarily agree.

[@DRWolf001]

I'm glad to see that others are putting their honest thoughts here, and adding some good points to the discussion. And like I stated in the video, I want to like this episode. And when you bring out points like this, it helps me to see things from a different perspective. So please, keep leaving comments. Even when you disagree with me.

[@DizzyBlackUA]

Very fair points on Rainbow's behaviour.

[@Tijopi11]

I REALLY loved this episode, I seriously came out of it thinking "THAT WAS THE BEST EPISODE EVERRR" which must mean a lot since i was expecting so little of it (First, i think this episode was mentioned as an april fools joke, so i was kind of scared of it before then. It felt like it was going to be too fan-fiction-like, bringing in one-shot characters almost always ends bad for me, etc.) But then i realized everyone had a million problems with it...i was expecting everyone to love it. Similarly, everyone LOVED castle-mania, and i expected everone to hate it after i saw it. Anyway, here's my opinions of it, based on why everyone hates it: 1. Rainbowdash acts out of character. I don't think so, i just ADORED so much of it, it made rd feel more REAL to me. She always hypes herself up to be the mot amazing creature to ever grace the Earth, so when she treated Daring Do as a god before her, it made me really excited. I'm good with her loving herself a little too much, but i hate when she comes off as thinking she';s better than everyone else when she's not like that. It's good to see moments showing the fanbase that she ISN'T so stuck up. 2. Rainbowdash and the mane six acted scared when they shouldn't have been. They werent SCARED, they were IMPRESSED. I agree the other mane six besides Twi and RD should have tried to help or offered to help, but there might not have been enough time in the episode for too much dialogue. A strong point in the episode is that, even when you think someone is indestructable, everyone needs a helping hand SOMETIMES, at least. Twi and RD were sitting back watching a movie, since DD was their idol, it was hard for them to understand she was still a pony just like them. Everyone helps LATER because they realize they came to HELP in the first place, and that she's a pony like everyone else. 3. This episode bashes on intense bronies. I think it promotes it, if anything. We all can relate to her on this, if not for mlp episodes, for other things we enjoy. If it EVER comes off as bashing or insulting, i think it holds ground. Admit it- some bronies are CONSTANTLY bitching about this or that, or complaining about episodes not coming out very thirty minutes or something nitpicky is annoying them. SOME people, not all, but some, need to be brought down a peg. And this is a very respectful way of doing that- not bashing them, but showing them their behavior isn't always appropriate. The writers need respect just as much as any other human being. All in all, i think this episode was all about ACTION and perhaps a bit of fan service. No one was acting too serious, and this episode was EXTREMELY heavy on an action story. Just like how castle-mania relied mostly on humor, this episode was all about action. It wasn't MEANT to be perfect or even all that realistic, it was meant to be an action story. And i think this was delivered well.

[@luisvargas4998]

The more episodes I watch, the more I come to realize how hard it is for me to be disappointed in an episode. I've watched a number of reviews and can acknowledge any flaws they point out, but it does nothing to lessen my enjoyment of the episode. This one is no exception. I can understand your concerns, but I think I've convinced myself hard enough that this is a children's shows, so I can expect things to not always be perfect, so if something out of character happens in an episode, I just see it as something expected, and I await the episode with nothing glaringly wrong that will blow me away more than what I'm enjoying now. Also, I wish they didn't show Rainbow Dash's face after Daring Do's quip. Kind of distracts me from laughing at it.

[@BioniclesaurKing4t2]

The first two paragraphs of *THIS*^^^^

[@DigidestinedofTrust]

I'm glad i see this in a different light than you do Dr. Wolf and hopefully I can explain why I really loved this episode. I also can see why Pinkie is being more Pinkie than usual. I feel she's hiding something about herself and that's why she's forcing more parties out than usual. So it makes it more well written than one would realize. I think you even mentioned it in a past review. I also think that Rainbow has always needed a little more growing up to do, so I expected this behavior from R.D.. Not knowing whether to help her hero or just to sit back and let her hero go. And to mention her conflicted feelings with fangirling. It just makes so much sense for Rainbow's character being such a big fan.

[@JacobStueck]

You likened the concept to a fanfic, and I've actually read multiple fanfics wherein the conflict arises from Dash learning that Daring Do is real. Granted, these were all good fanfics, but it did still make for a strange vibe coming from an actual episode. As for Dash herself, I found her reasonably within character. Yeah she gets really down on herself really fast, but it's not unbelievable that seeing her idol fail (and be responsible for her failing) would take the spirit out of her pretty quickly.

[@MR-dc4od]

Hehe, I want to point out real quick: Pinkie Pie was wearing. A FEZ. SHE WAS WEARING A FEZ. Okay... Oh, and AJ's hat was absolutely enormous O.o Another neat little detail, was that at 4:37 (of this video), during the little exchange in-between Twilight and RD, Pinkie is smiling and nodding the whole time, and Fluttershy shoots her a few confused glances. Lol, I absolutely love the little background stuff they do in this show! As for Daring's past and distrust, as I was watching this, it suddenly struck me: when the villains are introduced, Dr. Kavilaron, RD explains how he wanted to partner with her in book 4 and she refused. So that does explain some of her distrust. As for RD acting odd, I'm pretty sure Twilight even said something along the vein of; "This isn't like you!"

[@KikiErzebet]

I totally agree about the way Pinkie Pie has been written thus far this season. Pinkie is my second favorite pony because she is zany, but also because she has developed so much throughout the series. It feels like a caricature of Pinkie at this point. I also find that Rarity feels a bit flat as well. She too has an excellent character we've gotten to know and now she feels more and more like a background pony than anything. I loved the ending of this episode, but I agree that overall this was a bit underwhelming and not worth changing the characters' personalities for.

[@Woodsstories]

Keep in mind that they may be planning for Daring to make future appearances. Perhaps in those episodes, we'll get to find out more about her backstory. Also it could just be that they were poking fun at the way almost every action hero is a jerk who insists on working alone for whatever reason. In which case they don't really need to give her a reason. As for Dash's meltdown, I actually enjoy this to some degree. I think it shows us that Dash, like any other pony, is capable of having her spirit break. I mean she did make a stupid mistake and get Daring caught by Mr. Cheesy Von Villain. I can imagine letting someone down like that would discourage anyone. I agree though that it seems odd having her just give up and want to go home. Hello? You're the super awesome Rainbowdash. Your idol is in grave danger and you're just gonna up and leave her? I will say that I loved a lot of RD's expressions in this episode. I didn't notice on my first viewing, the fact that the birds were flying around Dash's head. This was probably due to the fact that I was focusing more on her eyes. Honestly, I thought that it was some sort of Derpy throwback, and I didn't know weather fans should feel happy, or insulted. Final verdict: Fairly good, but they could have done better (also to be honest, I was kind of hoping to find out that Twilight was now living in the old castle, and her friends were helping her renovate it; I mean come on writers... Twilight in a huge library full of ancient secrets and knowledge? Major nerdgasm)

[@Maphisto86]

I too thought the episode actually was Rainbow Dash's fan fiction. Or maybe a dream during one of her many cloud naps. ; )

[@TheMephox]

I'm going to put my two bits, for what they're worth, with Ink Rose here and expand on it a bit with my own headcanon. Finding out that a character that you thought was not real and had idolized as a pinnacle to strive towards but understanding that you can't reach because, hey, fictional character was actually a real character who probably did at least some of those things that made them so awesome to you - and I mean that in the literal sense of 'inspiring awe or wonder' - would be a world changing event. Suddenly those things that you wanted to strive for but understood you couldn't reach are possible, because a real person actually did them (probably) and disappointing or causing indirect injury to that person would be crushing. Especially for a, supposedly, teenage Rainbow Dash. Assuming ponies go through emotional phases in their teenage years like we do, I can completely see Rainbow's emotional state taking a complete nosedive into depression. Also, I think that A.K. Yearling, AKA (I see what you did there) Daring Do, had a rather realistic reaction to a fangirl approaching her and I somewhat doubt that the 'trust' issue is related to her work directly as Daring Do, but rather as A.K. Yearling - someone she loved found out about her double life and outed her or something similar. She is both ponies after all, and her double life would be something she wants to keep secret. A.K. Yearling may be a pseudonym even - just like Daring Do is likely not her real name either. As for any fallout from someone telling everyone that Daring Do is real and the author of the books is the same as the main character... Well, real world analogue here: What would the Dresden Files fanbase think if a rumor (from a single source) sprouted that Jim Butcher was actually Harry Dresden. We'd all discount it out of hand because duh. There might be a few that would hook onto it because they're a little off balance anyway, but most of them would not give it a second glance. So I think it's rather possible from this headcanon of mine that Daring Do's distrust stems not from her life as Daring Do, but from her life as A.K. Yearling and a potential love interest that outed her in the past. As for the Mane Six standing around outside during the fight inside... I have only a single excuse: Shock and uncertainty. Other than that, I got nothin.

[@Marbo12f]

I think more accurate (if ridiculous) analogy would be what if said fan was the President of the united states right after he had just punched out the invading martian overlord? Lets not forget that these are(were) world saving bearers of elements of harmony and one is a princess. My problem is that this is a matter of international security. Daring do's affairs put the world in trouble (this adventure affected the celestia controlled sun for instance). She might have been helpful and lucky so far but It would be negligent of Twilight just to let daring do swaddle on and hope the dice keep rolling her way. Next time that boulder might not be dodged in the nick of time and Bam! Suddenly Apep, the cosmic serpent of chaos is swallowing the world because Daring Do just had to do it alone. Thus the problem with de-fictionlizing a character. If she sticks around then i'm afraid its time for agent double O' Do.

[@TheMephox]

Marbo12f I agree that international security is an issue, however, I had an idea on this and expanded a bit on it in the review on this episode by TheMysteriousMrEnter. Basically it is this: There are agents in the land that are agents of the crown either knowingly or unknowingly and if unknowing, may be part of another agency such as the Crystal Empire or another such principality. I believe that Daring Do has the sanction of Celestia and, even if Daring does not know it, her double life as an author/adventurer is her way of reporting to Celestia so that the princess can keep an eye on things. Also, the whole double life thing is about as transparent as James Bond, who's secret identity as a spy is usually compromised because he's very bad at blending in. The only mystery around Bond's spy identity is which government/agency he actually works for. I suppose it might work for Ms. Do because she lives in the middle of nowhere and apparently most of her adventures are pretty far away from any kind of metropolitan areas.

[@matthewricker5526]

the only problem with your idea is that daring do was never fictional. at no point was it stated that the daring do books were fictional, that was an assumption made by the fan-base, which is understandable given that a story like that in our universe would logically be fiction. but everyone failed to take into account the this is a story that takes place in a world where stranger things happen all the time.

[@matthewricker5526]

Marbo12f technically if i'm not mistaken it was just the valley. also i highly doubt daring do would ever fail, good is the prevailing force in their universe, every evil action is doomed to fail.

[@TheMephox]

matthew ricker This is very true. I suppose we've just been operating under that assumption the entire time. Although it seems like a very large part of Equestria was operating under the same assumptions as well. Or, at the very least, that A.K. Yearling was just a historian or at least only an observer and not the actual participant. It's rather heavily implied through dialogue and a good part of the plot in "Read it and Weep" that the stories are considered fictional by a large amount of the world. RD herself mentions "everyday nuisances" that would be stopping an author from finishing a book. I am still under the impression, thinking back, that the books were, prior to this episode, considered works of fiction by the citizens of Equestria at large. Obviously that's going to change, going forward. I'd be interested in seeing if the writers tie it into the rest of the season in small callbacks like they have previously.

[@cuteskeleton9381]

I HATED how Rainbow was written in this episode! Her awkward acting in front of Daring Do, her cowering behind windows and bushes (Our hero everybody) Her uselessness like when she just let Ahuizotl capture her. Pinkie Pie too, just... what are they doing to her? She's not being funny, she's acting like a juvenile little idiot.

[@ShiroNekoDen]

honestly while i liked the episode i think it would have been better if we found out that while daring doo was real, a.k yearling was a pseudonym and it turns out all along that not only is a.k yearling, daring doo, but also rainbow dash's mother having a moment like this "a.k yearling i'm your biggest fan wha... mom!!!"

[@BalissaQueen]

1:15 Pinkie was willing to throw an after birthday party for Gummy in “Party of One”, so Pinkie Pie throwing a party for a holiday she made up is not entirely out of character for her. I for one really liked this episode. I think Rainbow Dash is entirely in character. Even though she’s one of my least favorite of the mane 6, this has always been my favorite version of her. One where she’s not arrogant and cocky, and actually very likable. We've seen in previous episodes that she is capable of showing emotion and being super nerdy, yet still able to maintain her image. Dave Polsky has usually been known to rush his episodes but I think he covered quite a lot in a short span of time. And the author being Daring Do was an excellent twist that we could’ve never predicted.

[@bravotone6637]

1:35- You know, you've given me an idea, what if a lot of Pinkie's random antics is a build up to a later episode in the season that really looks in depth to Pinkie's character.

[@EnvoyOfTheBlackAbyss]

3:42 THANK YOU! 04:53 I think you're forgetting about the fact that on top of this, Rainbow caused Daring to lose the ring. Plus all the trouble Rainbow's been causing her afterwards.

[@TheRealSparkplugTheFox]

I acully was hopeing to see her got depressed like she did, she has a serious hero complex like seen in mare do well and in wonderbolt acadamy she went out of her way to be the hero or impress her hero but only stopped in acadamy because her priority changed like in sonic rainboom the need to do right out weighed her desire to impress or preform, in daring don't her disire to help or impress her idol took over completly and when she saw she was making things worse and better yet being told off by one of her idols would be a pretty damaging blow to her self confidence, its like meeting your hero then letting them down in the worse possible way that would take a lot of the fight out of some one like rainbow because she respects them so much its like having your hero tell you in person you ruined everything they worked on I would feel the same way if not worse

[@CaveatCartoonShows]

How do you get these reviews out so fast? O.o

[@daelen.cclark]

“shouldn’t we go help?” “Oh. Right.” One of my favourite parts of the episode!

[@BubblingBrooke]

I really loved this episode. It's become my favorite episode of all time.

[@BubblingBrooke]

***** I can't speak for the person above, but I know I'm not trolling.

[@RubyGalaxyYT]

The writer said that some parts of the episode had to be cut on twitter.

[@sakuraserenity2186]

A question about that curse: Eight hundred years of sveltering heat? Did you read that fanstory about when the evil Celestia refused to lower the sun and as a result the ponies did not have a Word that meant night or darkness? Maybe that was Another fandom nod. And wouldn´t Celestia save the village, she is the Sun Goddess after all, it is her job to make sure that the Sunlight does not do any harm.

[@TheMephox]

Sweltering heat doesn't necessarily mean the sun - although it is implied. It could also be volcanic activity causing an upwelling of hot springs that make the valley very hot. Ala the city of Neverwinter in Forgotten Realms.

[@sakuraserenity2186]

Oh you are perfectly right. Thank you!

[@ImaCartoon4ever]

Would the episode have been better if A.K Yearling wasn't revealed as Daring Do until the very end but no one else knew about it except the audience, or would that have ruined the episode?

[@1964corvan]

AHEM.... i will make this quick. this episode was GREAT! the thing i dont like about people analyzing episodes come 4th season is that there getting way over analistic about continuity, caracter development, progression of storyline, and about what could and should of or not of happened within an episode. they have lost sight of what made the first and second season so great in the first place. for as 3 and 4 so far are just as great and then some. dont get me wrong there are parts that i wish were a bit different but i'm not going to let them stop me from thinking this is one of the greatest episodes ever! and since s4 we've had a boatload of people now doing analyze videos the point that its redundant as twilight scepter.

[@heatherkramer198]

Also want to point out that this is the second straight episode where a villain was introduced after the season premiere left the villainas uunknown. Castlemane-ia showed there really is a pony of the shadows even if it did nothing that episode and this showed a villain we thought" fictional" was real. Two "just-a-story" villains who were real.

[@Kraigon42]

FWIW, I think the episode pays decent tribute to the Indiana Jones series (which I largely haven't seen); the action scenes are good for the action and the one-liners and jokes are pretty good. The actual logic used and some of the character portrayals are off, though, and I agree that they kind of detract from the rest of the episode, though I disagree with the extent. I would like to bring to attention the faces being made as of late in the show. There have been a significant number of completely new faces made by the Mane 6 in just these last four episodes -- Rarity's in Castle Mane-ia and RD's in this one. Does anyone think that the animators are going for something specific, or do you think they are just showing off their growth? (Apologies to the good Dr. for asking this unrelated question. As for the episode itself, I am of the opinion that RD's character was skewed in order to deliver a message about fanboying/girling. It may have been somewhat out of character for RD, but she was displaying a moderate to severe problem with controlling herself around her idol (never mind said idol turned out to be literal rather than literary). My issue is actually less that they took her out of character and more that the manner in which it was delivered was so cheesy and ill-delivered on the part of all of the Mane 6. I as well was unable to forget that they basically were watching Daring Do get beat up through the window.

[@Kraigon42]

With more episodes of Season 4 out (and with my dumb eyes paying more attention to older episodes); I have to retract my earlier comment here about the characters making faces. I've also had time to listen to other points of views on the episode, and have decided I was also off-base in saying that RD was out-of-character; at least in the manner I meant. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm retracting the latter 2/3 of my earlier comment here.

[@RossPitSharkHunter]

OH MY GOSH! He's talking like a real person.

[@redmess22]

I guess the mane six have fallen prey to bystander syndrome. At least it heralds the return of FlutterDry. Thats always fun.

[@zannyhyper]

I can see how this episode does seem to take the characters, out of character, especially for Rarity and Applejack certainly, but I did notice how brave Fluttershy was when she snatched the ring from that...Cat guys grasp before he caught it (I forgot his name, sorry) But I genuinely LOVED this episode for another reason, (And was disappointed by it for the same reason) since myself and a lot of friends write stories, we're so used to seeing each other's 'fans' get this sort of, entitlement. Basically 'Why isn't the next part out yet? Why can't they leave EVERYTHING else and just work on the next part? What about the fans! Aren't we important?' So on an so forth, not all fans are like this but you know there are a handful that are, and I thought this episode was going to touch on that subject of 'Creators of your favourite stories, be they cartoons, books, comics or films or anything else, are people too and you should respect their needs and wants.' so I'm just a little disappointed it didn't (although I...Can kind of see why they didn't) but still...I enjoyed the episode for what it was otherwise.

[@shibumi8]

Didn't even see the whole Daring doo is real thing coming, like your self i thought it was going to be about them help the writer. And techniquecally they did do that, just not in the way anyone expected. All in all it was a fun episode and it does bring an interesting twist to the world outside Equestria.

[@analyticalace6138]

Rainbow has stress issues, it's completely part of her character. Remember Sonic Rainboom?

[@jqyhlmnp]

Daring Do is on the right track of being my favorite character in the whole series. I think the concept of making her a real pony still gives potential to be a made into better episodes in the future (it would also be ironic if Scootaloo was questioning why Rainbow Dash was so obsessed with Daring :D My only complaint in the whole episode was to why they were not helping Daring to fight off the enemys (although they could have thought she was fine on her own and were amazed by the action). Out of every episode of mlp that I have watched (all), this is one of the best :)

[@donovandownes5064]

I don't know what you're all saying, I loved this episode!

[@nekomajinc335]

It would have been nice if the episode showed some continuity with the comic books and made Twilight Velvet the author. When I read the synopsis for the episode a week ago, that is what I thought would happen. I was more than a little disappointed.

[@ironraptorstudios]

In terms of perspective, I think the depressed Rainbow Dash was apt. When I went to work for BattleStar, I was pretty stoked, and excited and absolutely fanboyed over the fact I got to work on such a stellar show. Then there were.... issues, issues which Rainbow experienced which left me very dejected, depressed, and honest-to-goodness afraid to go back into the industry, especially since it was my very first time stepping into that field. That face though, I have no idea what that face was for, but... you KNOW there's going to be even MORE Rainbow Dash memes because of it.

[@lonewolf6884]

My honest opinion was mixture of good and bad: + Daring Do being real (Huge plot twist that no one saw coming_ + Good adventure episode Bad: - OOC Dash and Elements of Harmory -Rushed But really irked me as as you said Daring being a loner hermit with no explantion at all.Something also really irked me is that with other fanfics on FimFiction like Teasure of the West is having Daring at least know about Dash or the Elements of Harmoy. I mean Daring didn't recongize them and didn't even recongize Twilight as flipping princess/alicorn. I was expect Daring coming to realiztion that they who she just meet were Elements of Harmony and her fangirling over them,but it never happend Overall this did somewhat make me happy,but I hope for this take show in places.

[@vincet9770]

Actually, I'm going to guess that the reason that she didn't realize Twilight was a princess is because alicorn does not automatically equal princess . I'm guessing that there are some genetic flukes out there which result in both wings and a horn (though, since it's a genetic fluke, I'm guessing that either the wings or the horn would be vestigial and non-functional in most cases). Though I do think that the fact that the Mane Six have taken on two mad gods, the Changelings, and a dark sorcerer powerful enough to enslave an entire empire should have been mentioned at some point.

[@WeirdTale]

I look at this episode and I feel like I am reading a badly written Fanfic. The concept of it would have made a great three episode story-arc but it makes too many ass-pulls (pardon my language) to feel like a decent story. My main problems: It's extremely rushed at the climax. Why would Daring out of all ponies work alone? Indiana Jones himself had contacts, the university, friends not to mention a kid sidekick once. So what was the point of her being a Hermit? (in the modern sense) Why would they waste the potential of some of the villains? Like for example, The rival archaeologist that is obviously a reference to Dr. René Emile Belloq from the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Why would Applejack and Twilight just stand there? Really a Magician of Twilight's caliber and Applejack, who has been shown to take down an entire pack of frigging Timber-Wolfs just standing there? Those mooks are nothing. The Ring looked like it was made of solid metal, why would it brake like that? Pinkie Pie is in the side-lines. (again) It's never explained why Daring Do dose not trust anyone. Rainbow Dash falls into depression way too quickly. - I am done. (For now...)

[@christopherhalim2801]

I think Darring Do's character is also done in quite a rush. If you see the scene when Rainbow Dash is about to hug Darring they looks like sibling. Darring's mane has the same pattern as Rainbow's mane and their eyes is exactly the same!

[@Snowmon89]

My thoughts are right up there with you with this episode. However, I think that part of the Mane Six's reaction it basically the same as our world's version of not being able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. I really think that the very fact that their reality is a fantasy world is an underlining joke through out. It's clear that this episode takes quite a big poke at that (author's intent or not). The reason why they don't rush in to help is simply because a) they forgot that they're more than just the audience members in the situation, Which is a reverse of what most fans have to go through. They forget what real life was for a little bit. and b) from a writer's perspective, it shows how drastically different fiction is from nonfiction. IN real life a villain wouldn't give an exposition, and even if they did, they wouldn't have time to do so. We as the audience wouldn't figure out what's going on if the exposition wasn't there and neither would the Mane Six had they interfered. However, that's also just the first time it happens. The second time it happens is when it feels very off. I think that its due to so many people leaving the project. I've been feeling it ever since s4 came out, all of the characters are slightly off. To me all of the issues could have been solved it it was all just a dream that Rainbowdash created with her own mind. Or better yet, thanks to a spell that Twilight casts on her, or at least the two of them working together on a fan fiction, to help tie her over until the next book arrived. (albeit the ending as is was very satisfying for me as I just love the comedy and have been wishing for slightly more action sequences. Just some here and there.) It would help explain away all the inconsistencies, plus a fan fiction is kind of what it all feels like. Now can I ask you a question? When the movie came out, I think that the writers had trouble because they were used to creating 20 episodes, now the series feels as if they want to create actual hour long movies into those 20 minutes. Do you think that they recognized this during the movie's production and so they went off to learn how to become better movie writers, only to be sucked right back into their old 20 minute episode writing limitations? In short, do you think that they honestly want to tell bigger stories than they actually can/allowed?

[@turey2005]

What i've seen uptil now has been each episode focusig on just one character. The season hour long premier focus on all six and how they will be tested. The third episode on Twilight and how she established the diary entrees. Now fourth episode they focused on Rainbow and her rapid mood swings. I really hope they dont continue on likes this cause then i can pretty much predict the sixth episode as a fantasy of Pinkie Pie :\ Other than the main focus none of the other ponies have had any type of developement thus far and very few lines. I dont even think Pinkie had lines besides the one in the beginning.

[@LightFaithHope]

As for the others, I think it was mainly that something like this hasn't ever happend before. They are so used to saving the day that this felt almost movie like to them, and they got caught up in the moment. I do this myself just watching an interesting show. They have probably heard so much about Darring Do that they figured that she would be just fine. It would be like if Goku came to an Anime lovers who had friends over house and an alien attacked. They wouldn't know exactly what to do, and would know enough to think that Goku would be fine. Therefore it would make sence for them to watch

[@SirGabe3]

Speaking of when they were talking about the books. Is that what we sound like to people who aren't in our fandoms? By the Olympians they must be terrified of us.

[@masteroflag]

As far as Daring coming back, I actually thought the trick was going to be that this was an elaborate act AK was putting on to get inspiration for how to finish her book and the that villain from the books was actually her husband or something and he was an actor who just rolled with the Mane 6 showing up. When that turned out not to be the case I just rolled with what happened and aside from question why all the mane 6 were there when it could have just been Twilight, RD, and Pinkie was baffling to me. Still, I'd put this episode with that western episode or feeling Pinkie Keen. Both have glaring OOC moments or turns for the plot to make an enjoyable episode and for the most part they work. The ending just wasn't as solid as it was in those two episodes. PS. Yes I picked the season 1 Polsky episodes on purpose.

[@VossMarionette]

I know this is not directed to how I felt about the episode (because I had a lot of mixed feelings) but seeing Fluttershy with that flowery top hat during the random party makes me hope for a mad hatter tea party joke for Fluttershy later in these episodes.

[@DarkTouchedHeart]

I think that Hasbro is making a bit of a spoof on Indiana Jones in the episode and you can pass this little tid bit on to your brother that I am a gamer myself. In World of Warcraft Cataclysm where you get a quest from a man in the castle of the alliance and Blizzard did a bit of a spoof as well. Indiana Jones has a cover as a collage professor and in Daring Don't the auther is really Daring Do. What tipped me of that the auther was really Daring Do was the hair color I mean come on that was a dead give away. I loved the look on Rainboe Dashes face after she hears the witty retort that Daring Do had made.

[@kendracurtis5875]

Wow DRWolf you did SO many analysis videos......I LOVE IT! XD

[@andyandnormski]

I think many people would watch in shock and awe if they found out their favorite character, from what they believed to be a work of fiction, to be real. I know I definitely would. I think Rainbow didn't help out too much because Daring Do kept giving her looks and saying things to discourage her from helping every time she tried. When she finally did try helping, it got Daring captured and she told Rainbow again that she works alone and her help caused only trouble for her.Daring didn't really want to be around Rainbow, let alone have her help. If someone I seriously admired told me something like that, that would seriously dishearten me and I think the same would hold true for a lot of people. Basically I thought Rainbow and the others were all very much in character. They were all simply star struck for a while. And as a side note, I did enjoy the little nod to J.K. Rowling with A.K. Yearling.

[@professorbutters]

If I screwed up around JK Rowling and she said anything like what Daring says to Rainbow Dash, I would want to curl up and die.

[@tinybit92]

Thank you so much for being properly critical for this episode. This is the first episode of MLP I have ever genuinely disliked, for the reasons you mentioned and more. But most of what I've been hearing from people so far about Daring Don't has been rather positive, and I was starting to think maybe I was overreacting or reading between the lines wrong or something. I'm very relieved to see I'm not the only one who noticed the problems with this one.

[@princealigorna7468]

...Oh boy, this is going to be an interesting one to review... And then next week is the Scootaloo disability(?)/first(?) Equestria Games episode, which I've been waiting for because I know that one's going to make for an interesting review to work out, regardless of quality. It's either going to be an epic win or a monumental epic fail. That said, I will say for an early spoiler that while Daring Do writing her own stories is interesting (reminds me of Kerouac's novels being largely biographies of himself and his friends written as road novels, or of the Hunter S. Thompson style of Gonzo journalism, writing the report as though it's a fictional story and discussing how the action affected you and those you observed), I would have preferred them confirming what was hinted at in the comics with Twilight's mom writing the books, just because I think it would have been funny for Dashie to freak out about it, have Twilight take her to Canterlot to meet her mom, and then have the rest of the episode be Dashie annoying Twilight Velvet with all kinds of crazy fan suggestions, which could be played as Twilight Velvet is sitting down at her typewriter, narrating the story to herself while we watch it play out on screen (like when Rainbow was reading the story in "Read it and Weep"), only to have Rainbow's voice cut over her and causing the scene to go all wonky from time to time, before cutting back to a slowly-approaching-a-boil Twilight Velvet trying to shoo Dashie away. And in the end Dashie would learn that sometimes as a fan, no matter how good you may think your ideas are, sometimes you just have to let creators tell their own stories and trust that they'll pull out something satisfying (we show this by a time jump, with Rainbow reading the book, not seeing her suggestions in it, but still siding with it being the best in the series so far), which could be a subtle nod to the fandom and our impatience as well.

[@Miles-vc8tl]

This episode felt like it belonged in the comics rather than in the show.

[@Bysthedragon]

what I got from this episode mostly is that Rainbow has been reduced to Scootaloo, not that it's a bad thing. Scootaloo has put Rainbow in a similar high pillar as Rainbow did with Daring Do, so I find it interesting to seen Rainbow put into a different roll and walk a mile in another ponies horseshoes.

[@Changeling9000]

As much as I love Pinkie, I felt the national party day was a lame excuse to bring all the mane ponies in the episode. I think Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Fluttershy should have been the only characters. Episodes such as Sleepless in Ponyville and Look Before You Sleep show you don't need every character in the story.

[@SadisticSlayer]

I just couldn't find it in my hearth to like this episode. It feels like a jumbled mess with a lot of potential that just falls flat.

[@SobiTheRobot]

When you brought up the fact that Pinkie's been so flanderized lately, it suddenly made me wonder.... Isn't there a Pinkie episode in the near future - the one where they all sing "Apples to the Core?" What if all of this flanderization is setup for that episode? We can only hope, but...still.

[@NaviDoodlez]

I usually find myself agreeing with you a lot of the time, however for this episode i find myself at a completely disagreeing with you. I thought it was pretty awesome. the reason why i think the initial reveal and the attack on her home was alright was that it was partially shock from learning Daring Do was real, and seeing it play out in front of them like a movie can take the urgency out of the situation for onlookers, as though it was performance brought to life. also, i didn't feel that they needed to add much more to Daring Do than they did because, well it was more about Rainbow Dash following her idol. Her idolization and "getting close to god" would throw a pony who strives to achieve for a huge range of emotion from fangirliness to depression when you feel like you failed them, i know that if i had let down my idols like Bruce Lee or Tolkien or somebody like that, it would devastate me. Dash maybe tougher stuff, but still not immune to that kind of shame . On top of that, Dash already knows pretty much everything to do about Daring Do, so while we as the audience may not know her backstory, RD would and it would be odd to have Daring Do repeat information that Dash pretty much already knows. and ultimately, for 22 minute long shows, i never really take the argument of pacing really as a concern, if it was a movie i would understand the argument a lot more, but when you are consistently restricted to that small time slot, i can't really complain. all in all, i do believe that it was a pretty awesome episode, and the fact that A.K. Yearling was Daring Do was something i didn't really see coming, and neither did alot of people. If nothing else, that twist makes this episode memorable. and while Magic Duel was centered around Twilight and Trixie, Daring Do in this episode was more of a secondary character to Rainbow Dash and her story.

[@darkknight11311]

I feel almost exactly like you. The only difference is I very much dislike the fact that Daring Doo is real as opposed to seeing it as interesting. It just brings up too many questions.

[@czairkolmoslink5952]

I liked the episode, but RD felt off to me and didn't seem like the kind of person she is to day. The other reason is that I don't think the rest of the mane 6 needed to be there I feel like there were forced in to the story. To me I think it be better if it was just RD looking for the writer of Daring Do instead of all of them. Also why is Twilight feeling like a motherly character she has done this two time in a row back to back episode. Telling everyone what there doing wrong or what the lesson is. I feel it be better if the episode was more of the main person learning the episode on there own is better than just letting someone tell them. That way if feel stronger, but I still like the episode. It just doesn't has too many weird parts that feel forced in to the story. P.s. I like the part about Daring Do.

[@yondaime500]

I enjoyed this episode. Some parts threw me off a little, but I did like it overall. I had thought that maybe the writer was Daring Do back when I saw the first screenshot from the episode on EqD, but I wasn't sure they were going in that direction. As for Rainbow Dash's portrayal, I'm not sure how I would react in her place. Fiction can have a strong influence on us, and suddenly finding out that the hero you idolize is real could make someone act "out of character", I suppose. And for Pinkie, I wonder if they're making her extra random in these early episodes to contrast with the character development she's getting later in the season (as announced by Meghan on Twitter the other day www.equestriadaily.com/2013/11/meghan-mccarthys-twitter-takeover-loads.html).

[@Evowizard25]

I believe I'm seeing a problem with the fourth season. They are pushing to give ALL of the main six time in each episode. Honestly, only Twilight and Rainbow should have been there, since the others had no incentive to go and really do absolutely nothing with the story. {It would have made the whole 'just standing there' thing better, since the others aren't really fans and wouldn't be like 'a Daring Do story is happening right in front of me' shock.} The stuff with Daring and her villains was really good though. In fact, why couldn't we have just had an episode just about Daring. Like Dash reading a book, or, if we're doing Daring Do is real, have one of the other main six show up. Like Pinkie or Applejack. Having them help out Daring and then Rainbow finding out (and showing comical sorrow over missing out). That would have been better, and we'd still get the moral (sometimes you need help) though they have done that before. And while Pinkie was funny, I was surprised we didn't see any depth to Pinkie, since Polsky is probably the best guy to write her.

[@halojoe21]

It should be taken into account that the episode has a time constraint

[@chasewilliams8275]

I agree. There were parts of it that did fall flat at times.

[@ToughTheWigglytuff]

That bad guy stallion also got away with his crimes...and got paid by Daring Do. Great job, Do!

[@zacheryrancano2824]

I personally liked the episode. As for why it was as fast as it was, I guess it was because the episode was only 30 minutes long, so they couldn't do a whole lot.

[@nicksylvester5675]

This episode to me wasn't really the best.I mean, a high point was watching Rainbow Dash's facial expressions.

[@azamonra]

There is actually precedence for Rainbow Dash reacting the way she did. It was shown in Sonic Rainboom that RD's confidence can be rather fragile when she's put under pressure. The same is true here, as RD finds herself attempting to assist a pony that up until then she had only known as a fictional character and had overblown her abilities beyond reality. Add to that the fact that Daring Do is openly against RD getting involved and we have a very stressful situation for RD. As for the other Mane 6, I'd say they were just shocked by the revelation enough to not think to help. If the fight had turned and Daring Do obviously needed help they would have snapped out of it sooner and helped. I did however find the idea that they would consider the situation with the ring anything they couldn't handle given what they've already been through but that falls under the "why does nopony ever recognise the Mane 6?" complained that I've learned to just roll with.

[@silverdragonwolf1]

I just couldn't get into the episode as much I would have liked. I enjoyed the idea of Rainbow going to see her favorite author, but I think the story would have worked better if Daring Do had remained in the realm for for the time being. To me it felt like Daring being a real person should have happened in a later episode, maybe a 2 part adventure. My mane gripe was that the mane six just stood there for most of the episode, if the episode had them doing more I probably would have had an easier time getting into the episode. Although I probably would have similar behavior if I found out that a character like Tara Duncan (from series of the same name) or Score from the Diadem series were real people and some aspects of their stories were in fact grounded in real events.

[@axelnunez8108]

The talk twilight and rainbow dash is not only an example for bronies but an example for every fan base have you seen other talks

[@kuro_neko5863]

I agree regarding the Mane Six standing by while an innocent pony was getting beat down by three other ponies. But I disagree regarding Rainbow's characterization. I thought it worked, especially considering the lesson Twilight helps her learn (though yes it was a little rushed). The whole Daring Do as real thing didn't work for me as well. There's apparently an Aztec doomsday cult in North-Western Equestria... And Celestia hasn't done anything about this? Either Rainbow helping Yearling write the book, or possibly a self-insert fanfiction that Rainbow had written and Twilight was critiquing for her would have worked better for the adventure bits than making it real. The latter having the benefit of still showing the geek off between Rainbow and Twilight, and Twilight would have been able to give Rainbow the same basic pep-talk she gave in the episode to help her learn the lesson. It would have explained away the inconsistencies and still provided Rainbow with character development. With a nice nod to the fanfiction community as well. Rainbow's character development was really the only good thing about this episode, other than that it just hurts my SoD.

[@lindaoliver4159]

I was yelling at my stuffed RD "what's wrong with you?" I'm crazy -.-

[@RainbowDjDash]

What does stale mean?

[@Dark_Tale_2077]

I kinda liked having Rainbow brought down a peg. To me, the fangirling was getting annoying. having her take a step back and seeing her down, really made me more invested in the episode. I loved it when Twilight talked about that pedestal bit and it will eventually become a quote that I will have memorized for years to come. Also it looks like we will be getting a CMC/ Rainbow episode next week. We shall have to see if her character really has changed and if we will see more or better development.

[@Desertskunk]

It's likely that A.K. Yearling is a spoof on two different authors. We have J.K. Rowling, but also K.A. Applegate. It's like taking parts from each.

[@quarkmolotov1049]

Since daring do is a recolor and then real it's just awkward to watch her exist before the recolor was good due to the parallels but now I'm not sure

[@Trueknightofblades]

That is another of my headcanons broken. I figured Daring Do was a character that lived long ago.

[@chaosblur]

I really enjoyed the episode. I'm actually pretty shocked to see so many analysts dislike this episode. In regards to the mane six not helping Daring when she was being attacked, I think the big issue wasn't that the author was Daring do, but rather that Daring do was real. If I were to suddenly find say Sora from Kingdom Hearts suddenly right in front of me, fighting heartless, you can bet that I would be just as dumbfounded as the mane six were right there. Having a character that has been thought of as being fictional turn out to be real and right in front of you is certainly enough to freeze one in their tracks. To Daring Do's preference for being alone, I have some head canon for that, but I'll save that for later. While Daring does learn a lesson, she is still technically a side character. Rainbow Dash is the primary focus of this episode and so her lesson takes precedence over Daring Do. Now that Daring is a real character, this opens up possibilities for future episodes where we can go deeper into her character. As far as Rainbow's apparent shift in personality goes, it all comes back to Daring Do being real. With Spitfire, whom Rainbow has met and gotten to know a little, and the Wonderbolts, Rainbow has always known that they were real and prepared for interacting with and impressing them. In the case of Daring Do, Rainbow Dash was caught completely off guard. On top of that, Rainbow has come to idolize Daring even more, perhaps, than the Wonderbolts. Daring is the epitome of what Rainbow strives to be. To Rainbow, she is like the Wonderbolts, only 20% cooler, 20% Awesomer, 20% more extreme, and and 20% more just plain amazing. When you are suddenly paired up with an idol held up in such lofty regards, virtually anyone can end up turning into the bumbling sidekick, especially when you are not prepared for the encounter. Considering the source, let's do a hypothetical example. Let's say we have an up and coming author who has a few successful title under their belt. This person is also a huge fan of the works of J.K. Rowling. All of a sudden, they get a call saying they've been booked to do a special collab piece.They go to meet their partner when lo and behold they are being teamed up with their idol, Rowling, in the flesh. let the Fanboying commence. After a little bit of time bumbling around, eventually they come back down to reality, perhaps with a little bit of advice from their friends. Once they come back to reality, they start acting with their usual professionalism and flair. With this in mind, I don't see Rainbow's behavior to be out of character at all. One final thought, there is one issue that can be traced to a lot of problems I've seen over the seasons, 22 minute time limit. A lot of good episodes I've seen have felt rushed and I'm pretty sure the time limit has a lot to do with it. I can appreciate the writers trying to put so much meaningful content into the episodes, but that annoying time limit will always be there and force them to either cut things out or squish them together. Magical Mystery Cure is probably the worst, or best depending on how you look at it, example of the time limit forcing a content squish. Overall I liked the episode and the possibilities it opens up for more world building with Daring Do. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some backlogged stories of mine I need to adjust to encompass this new development (Daring Do is real. *SQUEEEEEEE!* This is so awesome! XD)

[@alaingravel2159]

I really want to love this episode, but in the end, it just felt average. It had a lot of potential, but I felt it just got rushed. Daring Do actually being canon was an interesting surprise (I really expected the author self-insert angle), but it raises questions (for instance, if Ahuizotl is real, then why isn't Celestia doing anything about that threat?) The Mane 6 did feel very dumb, just standing there while Daring Do was obviously getting beaten up. It also felt wrong to see RD aka Element of Loyalty just decide to go home because she made a mistake. Perhaps this episode would have been better served if the others had never caught up with RD and she had been the one to go back to help Daring Do all on her own. On the plus side, we now know that there are some criminally inclined ponies in Equestria, and the episode did have a couple nice jokes and Indiana Jones moments. As for Pinkie, we should get her family episode eventually, so we should probably get to see a bit of her more serious side then.

[@alixinthemiddle]

all i could think about when Daring Do was revealed to be real was, "what a tweest!"

[@heatherkramer198]

RD`s confidence in herself actually only seems to have two modes. Complete and utter confidence and complete loss of confidence. It seems an ongoing problem for her that is a character flaw no episode has directly addressed.

[@loner6565]

While there were little moments that I loved, there were a few moments that kinda... ruined it for me. 1: The lack of Twilight using her magic. she could have easily snatched the ring away with her magic, she was able to teleport with it on her horn, I don't see how it would be that hard to use magic to levitate it away. Heck, even Rarity could've done this. But then again I could maaabye give this a pass if maybe Twilight didn't know if the ring would've shattered and what the effects would've been but she had to have read about this somewhere right? 2: Like Doctor Wolf said, Rainbow Dash's out of characterness. It just felt.... weird to have her sit there. And all she really did was distract Daring Doo because she thought she needed her hat. 3: The pacing. At first it felt drawn out and then way too rushed. It's like the animators realized how little time they had left and tried to cram it all in the third act. 4: Daring Do being real. I kept hoping that it would be a dream Rainbow Dash thought of while waiting for the book to come out and if that was the case, it could excuse some of the out of character moments for the mane 6 but it wasn't. 5: Twilight is still in ponyville. She said in the previous episode that she needed to look in the Canterlot library for clues. Why wasn't she there? Why isn't she still there? It feels like they're just continuing the series with the only change being Twilight has wings. 6: This didn't continue anything about the box with keyholes. 7: The episode just felt like it could've been placed in the previous season and removing Twilight's wings, it could've fit.

[@LightFaithHope]

I don't think it was against Rainbow Dash's character. I know people like this! I've done this before myself as well. When you have someone you love and admire so much, it hurts a lot when you think you have let them down! You begin to doubt yourself easily. It's like if I can't help them then what use am I? I think most people can relate to this. Lots also refreshing to see a bit of doubt in Rainbow Dash. If you remember she does have doubts about herself that she tries hard to hide as show in double Rainboom. Once she allows them to take hold, they tend to make her depressed and scarred and both these episodes show his side of her. It feels against her character because it's not something we see often, but that's the same for strong people in our lives. A kind of reminder that even the most confident of people need to be reminded every now and again of their worth! And the lesson of rainbow dash teaching the basics of loyalty, the very element she represents, was amazing! Those are my thoughts at least

[@1God1Fury]

When I 1st time saw author of Daring Do book looks similiar with hero I was ok with it. But latter on I found her name is also same? Well, ummm....atleast main villain of Daring Do was just a fictitious character and the real Arizola (or w.e. he called) is just a pony...oh, wait! I feel like it's fan service, but this time they overdid

[@mmomario12]

2:56 OH MAH GAWD DAT DOLL IS BATMAN!

[@Emptybee]

I found the scene were the Mane Six just stand there and watch Daring Do get beat up really annoying. Even if we accept that Rainbow and Twilight are still flummoxed by discovering their idol is a real pony, why didn't the other four do anything to help?

[@jmhguy]

you would be just as confused and not do anything about if Harry Potter himself were to just showed up and started flinging spells and charms at his enemies.

[@Emptybee]

jmhguy No I wouldn't, I'm not a fan. I've never read the books and only seen one of the movies. It's fifty/fifty that I wouldn't even recognize him. And as a non-fan my first thought wouldn't be "ZMOG the books are real" - it would be "hey, that guy in the Harry Potter cosplay is getting beat up!".

[@microraptorpinkycookie7713]

I think Apples to the Core will have a deeper Pinky.

[@Ratone6]

I will say that this is my least favorite episode of the season, but that is mostly because I can't stand fangirl stuff that Rainbow does. I agree the end was rushed, and could have used a little more time. Also some of Rainbow's emotions did not feel like her. Although I don't agree that even though the temple scene was quick, it was still good because it did remind me of IJ's, and in a good way. Did you notice any height differences by chance? Overall I give this episode a 7/10. The first three are between 8 and 10. Decent, and well thought-out review. Do you know what this weeks episode will hold?

[@TheMacroNinja]

RD not RD? What no one remembers sonicrainboom where she was almost crush from here self doubt or even the gala where she was sad when she realized that she couldn't spend time with the wonderbolt like she wanted? Do I need to bring up mysteries maredowell? RD has a history of if something wasn't like she expected she become down so any and all off parts seem like they fit with some one that has there idol crushed from reality.

[@TheNinjaDC]

I would say I'd describe this episode like last week's; entertaining, but "fillerish". Though, Castle Mane-ia & Daring Don't seemed to have flipped strengths & weaknesses within that description. Castle Mane-ia had better pacing & characterization/interaction, but had an extremely tacked on moral & was very predictable. Daring Don't had several genuine surprises within the story & a good moral that fit the episode's concept, but had way too fast a pace & characterization felt a little forced (I tie that to the fast pace that did not give RD enough slow, emotional scenes; down time is important to a story). Overall, I enjoyed both, but I'm still looking forward to an episode that has significant character development. Next week's Scoots episode does offer that possibility however.