At least two of the charges against Vinyl have mitigating circumstances.
"she's a tactless jerkass who guilt-tripped the ruler of the land for things out of her control,"
Yes, but Vinyl didn't realize this at that point in the story; she truly believed that Celestia had done Luna a grave (and avoidable) injustice. Does this justify Vinyl becoming a self-righteous Soapbox Sadie? No, but it gives the scene its necessary context.
"...an illegal event she organized out of spite..."
Let's examine the circumstances behind Vinyl's "illegal event". Quoting from the main page:
"First, [Prince Blueblood] cancels Octavia and her ensemble's performances out of spite after Vinyl mocks him on air. Then, when Vinyl talks Octavia into holding an outdoor concert anyway, he locks Beauty Brass in 'the fillies' restroom,' then claims to be holding her hostage, with the deed to K-COLT as her ransom."
If Vinyl was acting out of spite, then Blueblood is doubly guilty. The Prince might have had the legal right to cancel the original concert, but from a moral standpoint, he was clearly wrong, and Vinyl responded to that the only way she knew how.
I personally believe that Vinyl is less a full-fledged Jerkass than a flawed but compassionate Jerk with a Heart of Gold. The Heroic BSoD she's currently suffering seems to confirm that, but we'll have to wait for further chapters to see where Vinyl's Character Development takes her.
Edited by MarkLungo "But... nobody told me I needed a signature!"
The first point was more on the tactless jerkass bit. She has a tendency to end interviews with things being thrown at her (like Photo Finish). And I was complaining less about the illegal event and more the criminal slaver. ''That's' my biggest beef with her.
Personally, I think Vinyl suffers from Moral Myopia (so does Blueblood, but we're MEANT to hate Blueblood). She's sweet and awesome to her friends, but to others she's a massive jerk who doesn't give a damn about the consequences to them. It's just that Luna is the first person to actually have the intelligence and will to stand up to her.
Edit: also, remember, I was responding to this
◊ review. The author was complaining about how Luna convinced Vinyl she's a horrible person. I took that to mean she really isn't but now she thinks she is (like Vinyl convinced Celestia). I was arguing that Luna made her realize she is a horrible person (citing the reasons stated above in my first comment).
I wrote a review about how I started to see Vinyl as Not So Different from Blueblood.
Edited by Peteman
I read the review that complains about S 2 E 3, I think the reviewer had missed a lot of information and is misusing tropes. Luna doesn't really talk about justice before Vinyl comes on (Blueblood is the one who makes an offhand remark about that), she mostly talks about her desire to reach out to her kin. Kick the Dog is a scene where the author intends to showcase that a person is a jerk whereas Luna is giving a What the Hell, Hero? speech telling Vinyl she is a horrible person because taking a step back, you kind of realize she is (she's a tactless jerkass who guilt-tripped the ruler of the land for things out of her control, hires a criminal slaver to serve as security at an illegal event she organized out of spite, and tells people on air to attack Blueblood, I'm pretty sure there are several criminal charges that can be levelled at her).
As for Celestia blaming herself, Celestia kind of comes across as someone who hated herself for having to do so, for not being able to Take a Third Option (even when there wasn't one), and unlike Luna, is too nice to admit that to herself.
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