Rating:
The second new writer of the fourth season
does and doesn’t fare as well as the first.
Being tasked with a Cutie Mark Crusader episode for a premiere is not
enviable, but like Josh Haber before him, Ed Valentine makes possible
caricatures seem more realistic. Perhaps
the best way to describe Flight To The Finish is that it is uneven, but the
good moments generally trump the bad.
Characters are both static and developed, while the plot is
simultaneously interesting and clichéd.
Our favorite trio spends a decent amount of time montaging in their
attempt to carry the Ponyville flag at the upcoming Equestria Games, but then
they get burned out and have to rest.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon get their usual dose of name-calling in
while attempting to sabotage the Crusaders, but share a moment where they admit
the “blank flank” plan hasn’t worked and that they’ll have to think of
something else. Rainbow Dash must
struggle with her enthusiasm throughout, but the early absurdity is soon
understood when the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ routine is actually surprisingly
good. The episode is full of these
contradictions, but not all of them work (would the Crusaders really move
Harshwinny that much at the end? It’s
doubtful). Valentine was also likely
victim to the same problem that Larson had in season three, in that the third
act felt rushed and was likely cut heavily for time. Even so, the introspective moments push
Flight To The Finish away from the dull walkthrough it seemed to start as and
into a surprisingly solid offering.
Instead of countries, each town in Equestria
apparently gets to proudly display their colors at the Games’ opening
ceremonies, so the charming Ms. Harshwinny is on hand to inform Ponyville’s one
classroom that a group of them will have the honor. Since she is naturally busy with other
things, Rainbow Dash is tapped to coach the potential bearers. Dash is even more stoked than in Daring Don’t
since she had the same flag duties many years ago, but she is forced to calm
down when Harshwinny threatens to remove her.
Of course the prospective groups consist of the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara
and Silver Spoon, and who the fuck cares who else. This beginning is basically a mash-up of
Cutie Mark Crusader tropes, which includes the trio pledging to perform yet
another dubious activity, Diamond Tiara snarking, a pop song montage, and Snips
and Snails doing something headshakingly stupid…again. At this point, the episode seems headed
toward being a more boring version of The Show Stoppers, but then the Crusaders
perform their routine.
Having actually learned from the previous
revue, the Cutie Mark Crusaders simplify their approach. Ponyville is special because the three types
of ponies (now technically four if the absent Twilight is counted) all live
together harmoniously, and the Crusaders are the prime example of this. Scootaloo times her scooter to carry the flag
across the stage as pyrotechnics go off and she holds the other two on her
hooves. This brotherhood is the kind of
message that embodies the spirit of Olympic Games, and the performance is far
from the disaster of their last one. The
three spectators (Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are spying from behind a bush)
realize this is almost literally a perfect presentation, but none of them can
admit it. Dash must temper her
enthusiasm and try to remain objective, so she can only spit out an “okay”
review before quickly leaving. The
Crusaders decide more work must be necessary.
Since the “blank flank” taunts didn’t work,
Tiara and Spoon decide to focus on Scootaloo’s inability to fly instead. They don’t criticize the performance, but suggest
that the committee won’t want to choose a Pegasus who can’t fly as a
representative. Even though she makes
good use of her smaller wings anyway, Scootaloo essentially agrees and decides
to work extra hard to learn this ability, despite no one caring that the other
kinds of ponies can’t fly either. The
subsequent all-nighters accomplish nothing but an extremely tired second
run-through. Dash suggests they go back
to their original routine, but Scootaloo pulls out after another night session is
unsurprisingly fruitless.
Apparently also a big Star Trek fan, Dash
knows you never leave anyone behind no matter how big of an inconvenience it’s
going to be. So she jumps off the train
to the Crystal Empire with the other two (who didn’t have a plan as to how
their performance would go minus a member) and heads back to convince Scootaloo
to rejoin them via a reprise of the song.
Unable to say no to a montage, Scootaloo drags her friends all the way
up north where they make it in time for the performance to go off perfect and
to be named the Ponyville flag bearers.
The end!
Sadly, this presentation looks more
underwhelming than the first, and we don’t have time to see anyone else’s. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are clothed in
some ornate costumes, but it’s uncertain whether they were robbed or deserved
losers. Apparently only two other groups
entered after all, but we’ll never know what they came up with to tribute their
town. The odds of the Cutie Mark
Crusaders winning were pretty high then, so the happy ending isn’t too
far-fetched given these circumstances. I
suspect these scenes were written out but cut, so Valentine can’t be blamed in
that circumstance. Unfortunately, this
is something that weakens the episode overall even if it couldn’t be
helped. Certain TV shows have runtimes
that are fluid from week to week, so I can’t feel sympathy for cutting episodes
down to the exact second in order to squeeze more time for commercials.
Flight To The Finish is the first interaction
Dash has had with Scootaloo since Sleepless In Ponyville, so it’s nice to see
the mentor being supportive of her friend even if they don’t talk much. Even better though is the deeper exploration
into Scootaloo’s character. With her
fears somewhat subsided, she still has to deal with being a Pegasus who can’t
fly. At the same time, this has never
been a problem for her, since her namesake scooter is practically motorized
(enough so to reach the Crystal Empire in about the same time as a train
would). The celebrity world has names
like Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Stephen Hawking, who never let
disabilities most people couldn’t handle living with stop them from doing
anything. Scootaloo’s is much less
severe (and likely temporary), and she has adapted it in a way other Pegasi
haven’t. “Embrace who you are” might be
a clichéd message for the kids, but it’s still true, and Scootaloo is the best
example of this on the series.
Also nicely shown is the balance between
working hard and too hard. At some
point, grinding becomes futile when your brain can’t take it anymore. And many improvements will only happen slowly
over time. There’s no jumping to the top
of your field after a day or two of marathon sessions no matter how much work
is put in. Scootaloo should have realized
that she isn’t physically able to fly yet, and that it will probably take years
of work before she can. Learning is a
process of evolution and not brute force (despite it seeming the opposite in
schools), so hopefully Scootaloo will remember this in the future.
After having zero arcs in the previous couple
of seasons, Flight To The Finish announces the fourth will have two. Thankfully, the seemingly unnecessary
Equestria Games look like they will prove to be as interesting as the main
quest. Props must be given to Valentine
for waking up after a slow start to both find good character development and
deliver solid messages to the kids. But
the outer edges are uninspiring, and another pop song montage wastes time that
could have been better used at the end (although I believe this marks the first
occurrence of the words “horses” and “Pegasi” being spoken in the series). Like Haber, Valentine offers hope that he
will be a good addition to the staff, and probably made the most of another
shaky premise. The quality of Flight To
The Finish isn’t nearly consistent enough to warrant a higher rating, but the
moments that do work demonstrate exactly what My Little Pony should be as a series.
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