This nails the problem I had with the episode (not that it was bad, by far). The motivations of why RBD was so against reading - and thus why she would try to hide it and ultimately resort to stealing - are not well established. Would it be part of her character? Sure thing, but it's how much she's against it that doesn't ring true, or needed more filling in. Imaging an alternate cold opener: RBD and Gilda (or any other "cool" pegasus) are joking around in the clouds, they spot Twilight reading outside, and Gilda calls out how uncool reading is, and RBD's sorta forced to agree to stay "cool" with Gilda or whomever. Now you have a better motivation: she can't let her other friends (not the Mane 6) onto her love of reading for fearing of losing *their* friendship. This aspect needed just a bit more time to resolve, which they could have taken from RBD's hospital antics and possible from the Daring Do stuff (though I feel that Daring Do's portion was the right quantity here for giving the studio time to show off their stuff). Make it clear that RBD's reputation outside the Mane 6 was at stake for reading, and then you've got fair justification on why she'd go as far as stealing it.
I thought this season was lower in quality because Faust had to rush it out? This would alos explain plot contrivances (Dragon pubety? Super baby unicorn?), weakened characters and sloppy endings
I am starting to see the effects that came from Lauren Faust dropping out of the show...
So suddenly Lauren Faust no longer being the director makes the show lame? It only takes one episode and people assume that? Lame. (Not saying your review was lame. It was dead on in the episode. I don't like how people seem to be giving up after one episode and this is an episode after a really good one.)
Say it in red! "People die when they are killed."
Its not that the show is lame, its that its experienced a notable drop in quality
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A Daring Do Disappointment
The basic premise of the episode was sound. Good morals from the biggest "Jock" of the Mane 6, excellent parody material and nods to older fans and parents, plus an Aesop that might just send some the target audience to start actually reading. There are problems with two of the three points, however, that make the episode sub-par for the series.
The moral is of course twofold. First, that reading is fun. Second, that it's not just for "eggheads". Unfortunately, it's presented as addicting and drives RD to attempt to steal it when she could have borrowed it. Had she just given in and ASKED Twilight to borrow her copy with a decently embarrassed scene, it would have played out much more on the moral lines. All that needed to happen was the other five mentioning that they were happy she decided to start reading to make it good, and Dash could have written a good letter to the Princess at the end. The Aesop is likewise subsumed by RD's overplayed character flaws here, not to mention that the language used in the story is a shade more difficult than most 10-12 audience would be comfortable with reading.
The nods and shout-outs were right on course, though they took up too much of the episode by far (granted this is the most realistic part of the episode, as I'm an avid reader and have had all of R Ds frustrations and reactions happen to me with the sole exception of the ninja theft... to include a chase). The book was SUPPOSED to be completely stock, simple entertainment literature rather than one which provokes deep thought. We're supposed to be thinking about the REST of the episode, and a complex subplot would have actually taken away from it.
As a third note, the second season character-focus episodes for the most part are becoming far too hammy. They play up the very reasonable character flaws far past the point of plausibility even for a cartoon, and rush endings with very little or insufficient actual resolution. The first season was great because the characters acted believably and could be related to, but the current team is losing some of that to the show's detriment. There are still gems in there, and even the worst MLP:Fi M episode is doing better than par for television in general. I just hope this unfortunate trend reverses itself before it falls too far.