The fact that this is a season eight episode is a bit odd. This is the second to last season and you would think that the characters had grown by this point. And for the most point, that's correct and this episode even wants to focus on that as this episode is dealing with Dash's and AJ's competitive nature. But okay, it's season eight, we are expected to treat them like adults now and young whatever ages they were in the early seasons. They have jobs and responsibilities and that is something that does come up as they are meant to be doing a job here as they are teachers for the Friendship School. I decided to go back and look at my review of Fall Weather Friends from when I started this character retrospective and my takeaway there was that while it wasn't a bad episode. And while I still enjoy that episode and am fine with the competitive nature, it feels strange to see it a season eight episode when these characters had developed so much beyond this point. I know a big part of this is that they seem to love having Ashleigh Ball play herself in these episodes but it gets old really fast.
The Plot
Well, I already mentioned the main plot, Dash and AJ are competing with each other for the Teacher of the Month spot at the Friendship School after they find out that Fluttershy has been selected for that by the students.
So, of course, the Apple Farmer and the Wonderbolt get competitive because they want that spot. And well, there is an upcoming field trip. And this is one of my biggest issues, the two start competing with each other while on the job and actively put the lives of their students on the line. And considering the trouble that Twilight went through to get this school set up and as we will see when we get to her retrospective, it was accredited because it accepted non Pony students, if word got out that two teachers had put the lives of their students at risk, the school could've been shut down. I mean they even make building a shed competitive and almost have it dropped on one of the students and another student, Yona almost drowns and it's only because of two of her classmates that she's saved.
Twilight decides to come and check in on the field trip and she is less than impressed. She decides to take over and lead a nature walk as she believes that something AJ and Dash cannot turn competitive yet they do by insisting each go first and end up in a trap that I'm pretty sure I saw Jack Sparrow in.
The students end up saving AJ and Dash and they are taken back to the school and the conclusion that they come to is something else as they believe AJ and Dash were showing them what not to do concerning teamwork. I'd call it out by Twilight realizes that they were just completing the whole time.
Characters
If this episode had come earlier in the show's run, I'd be more okay with how AJ and Dash act throughout. But this is a season eight episode and we've seen them grow and mature. Yes, the episode I think is showing that they need to move past this competitive rivalry. But I dunno, where this episode is placed in the series' run doesn't really work.
My Final Thoughts
The way that Dash and AJ act throughout this episode is odd to me because you would think they would've moved this petty part of who they are. If this had been a season 4 or 5 episode using the CMC instead of the students, I think that I would be more okay with the story being told. Join me next time as we look at another so so episode as I look at...
The End in Friend
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