Text Review Roundup: "Daring Doubt"

Okey-dokey-lokey, let's get back to actual ponies on this blog, rather than just photos of trains with a pony stuck in the corner. (Though I don't promise never to post such pics here again!) I'll keep doing this up to episode 23, but though I will do TRR for the final three episodes it'll be a little bit delayed because of UK PonyCon. Given they're all being shown on the same day on DF, I'll also have to think about how to handle that. Right then, back to "Daring Doubt", and...

...once again there was quite a wide spread of views among the written-word reviewers. This time, however, the balance of opinion was tilted heavily towards the negative. The writing and continuity were widely criticised, as was the reformation of Caballeron and Ahuizotl, which a number of reviewers saw as forced. Fluttershy was mostly popular, but even here there were dissenting voices. My own verdict was middling, though part of my frustration was personal, in that I'd wanted a FS/RD adventure for years but didn't really get it.

Cuddlepug – quite positive (graded B-; "surprised me in all the right ways [...] One could argue that the episode is wrapped up a little too neatly by the end, but I think the solution of listening to both sides of the story during conflict is a valuable one")

Dark Qiviut – generally very positive ("During the entire expedition, [Fluttershy] stayed true to her embodied Element of Harmony [and] Daring Doubt is a shining example of giving Dash negative traits without making her out of character or miserable [but] Daring Doubt doesn't adequately explain why Ahuizotl acted so violent this whole time. [Even so,] rough edges aside, it's nicely done.")

DrakeyC – negative ("this episode was meh right up until the third act, when it got insultingly STUPID. [...] At least past Daring Do eps were watchable. This one is just a shitty redemption fic, how apt given its premise.")

Dramamaster829 – mildly positive ("This episode was about the search for truth. [... Fluttershy] made the effort to reach out to [Caballeron's party], offering a hoof in kindness [...] True fans are tired of the whole redemption shtick, that eventually there's going to be a chance to uncover two sides of a story only to realize that one half is truly that bad [though] I still consider it a fun episode.")

JDPrime22 – mostly positive (rated 8/10; "This was a fun episode. Not my favorite Daring Do adventure [...] but an enjoyable sendoff for Daring and her crew. ")

Louder Yay – slightly negative (rated 2/5; "an immensely frustrating episode, not short on fun little moments and nice visual design, but faring less well when it came to coherence and continuity [...] the first act was really rather fun [and] I enjoyed the way [Fluttershy] behaved on the expedition [but I disliked the] episode's cavalier disregard for continuity and, frankly, common sense in the resolution.")

Mike Cartoon Pony – slightly negative ("the cracks in its construction show far more then past Daring Do episodes [...] The action and adventuring [...] is decent, but merely competent when compared to examples of past episodes. [...] The more I unpack the episode’s plot, the more contrivances pop up [though] Fluttershy is balanced well [as is Rainbow. This] isn’t an abysmal episode, even if it’s the weakest Daring Do episode without much thought [and there's Dubuc's] awful habit of writing stories that don’t fit in with those before she joined the show")

MLEEP Reviews – generally negative (rated 5/10; "a half-assed rehash of Season 7's "Daring Done" [...] the same tired lesson of 'there are two sides to every story' [...] ended up ruining the continuity of two of the best villains that we ever had during the Daring Do adventures [...] extremely average")

Present Perfect – rather negative ("Fluttershy working her epic kindness abilities [...] Redemption was maybe not something I ever wanted for Caballeron, but it fits with the show’s themes. [But] not only is redemption for [Ahuizotl] not something I, personally, wanted, it’s a bad idea. Or at least, it was mishandled to an extreme degree here [...] This is not a redemption story: this is a retcon.")

SuperPinkBrony12 – negative ("a little too much of a stretch to be believable [...] I don't really recall anyone wanting [Caballeron or Ahuizotl] to reform, so why did Nicole Dubuc decide to do it? [...] Daring Do is definitely in top form [but] Fluttershy comes across as an idiot for trusting [the villains], and reforming both villains feels like a huge contrivance to make her right. ")

The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Atrocious; "Seriously, what this episode is telling me is that Dr. Caballeron, one of Daring Do's greatest archenemies, is misunderstood? [...] They even double down on that godawful twist by calling Ahuizotl misunderstood [...] The continuity overall with past episodes is just a mess [...] when the only character that's actually well written is Fluttershy [...] then you really have a problem.")

TheDragonWarlock – very negative (rated 2.5/10; "a pity that despite such a concept that sounded so promising, this episode dropped the ball. [...] seriously no way at all Fluttershy should be this gullible [...] writing is subpar for the most part [...] the action is pretty decent [but] the villains are given terrible redemptions, the plot itself is filled with holes, and the moral itself is botched.")