First off I know that it's been a while since the last Dash review. I promise to try and catch up what I missed but with that outta the way, let's begin.
I am not a sportsperson in the slightest, they just never have been my thing and this episode introduced a new sport to the world of Equestria called Buckball. Honestly, in many regards understanding the rules of Buckball is secondary akin to understanding the rules of Quidditch.
Moreover, this episode is more about how people enjoy things and how they perform and whether pressure is good for them or not. With that understanding, I'll give a brief overview of the basic plot but this episode is more interested in looking at the characters and their emotional state in a performative arena.
The Plot
The episode opens on AJ bucking apples as she's practicing for an upcoming Buckball tournament against her cousin Braeburn and his team. Dash oversees this and gets wrapped in a new sport as she is wont to do. Sometime later, we see the two Ashleigh Ball characters explaining the sport to Pinkie and Fluttershy and they ask them to help them with tryouts as they need a unicorn to complete the team. Turns out the two Andrea Libman characters are quite good at the game of Buckball and AJ and Dash take this too far and think that they can perform under pressure. Yeah, that doesn't work out very well. Because after a long time of trying to get the sensitive pegasus and the party pony in the zone, they hate it.
As Flutters goes off. Oh, and the unicorn, they find is Snips as he is actually pretty good at the sport as he just doesn't think about it. AJ and Dash realize their error and work to fix it by using some reverse psychology in tricking Pinkie and Flutters in helping them practice to show that they're pretty good. The episode ends with the tournament and Ponyville coming out on top. But as Fluttershy points out for her and Pinkie, the most important thing is having fun.
Characters
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie voiced by Andrea Libman
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in this episode just want to have fun with this new game that they are surprisingly good at. And the more they have fun with the game, the better they are at it. Whereas when Dash and AJ pressure them, they aren't as good when they were just having fun. This speaks to how pressure isn't good for everyone. Much like Fluttershy when she breaks and reaches her boiling point, I crack under pressure and the more people try to use what they view as a good form of motivation, I shut down and give up. Which is close to what happens to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. It is interesting to note that Flutters is the one that stands up for her and Pinkie in letting AJ and Dash know they don't like being pushed the way their friends were pushing them.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash voiced by Ashleigh Ball
The best way to describe AJ and Dash in this episode is that they become sports parents that push their friends too hard to perform and nothing better than the best is good enough for them in much the same way the stereotypical sports parent acts. This episode shows that mentality isn't healthy for everyone and people can take it too far just as these two did. They weren't as bad as the comparison I used but the idea is there and while pressure may be good to help them perform. It was a hindrance to Flutters and Pinkie.
My Final Thoughts
Overall, this is a pretty decent episode that shows that pressure can be bad and that while some people may use it to their advantage, it's not good for everyone as seen with Pinkie and Fluttershy. I do apologize for not looking at the actual sport but like I said that wasn't as important as looking at what this episode put the characters through. Join me next time as we look at...
Top Bolt
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