S03 E08 - "Apple Family Reunion"

[Doc Hoof MD]

This episode felt really short for some reason. I give it a solid 4/5. I really like where this season is going. It just sucks that there are only 4 more episodes.

I didn't really like her that much before this episode but I was still happy to see Babs return. Braeburn too.

[NoGiantRobots1983]

Sigh...

It feels like this is the entirely wrong time to post this, but... this is the first episode I didn't finish watching.

I liked it at first. Baby Applejack, Spike is a click-lighter, all the party preparations, the quilt, so many things resonated with promise.

And then they bring back Barbara Seed. And not just bring her back, but shove it down our throats that her and AB are now favorite cousins who all-but-smooch each other on sight and want to talk about what they've been doing and DEAR LUNA MAKE IT STOP.

I checked ahead in the video, and when I saw Babs was still there... no. I don't want to put up with another episode full of her. It's not just the character that's a problem, its that she's a walking reminder of "One Bad Apple," an episode I would just as soon pretend never happened. It's like if you have a bad breakup, and then your life is finally going well, but then your ex-flame comes to your wedding. Okay, that made no sense, but I'm not in the business of making sense right now.

*Sigh* I'm gonna try again later on, but I had to vent before I finish this episode.

[weesh]

It feels like this is the entirely wrong time to post this, but... this is the first episode I didn't finish watching.

As soon as I read this far into your post, I guessed that you thought Applejack missing the point was too painful to watch. I had trouble staying to the end both times I watched it. There would certainly not have been a second viewing this quickly if it hadn't been the need to also watch it with the kids I keep talking about.

[TotalEcplise]

For the record I'll state it here.

• This episode pretty much solidifies my theory of there being a song ever other episode this season.
  
• By the end of S3 one of the Royal Sisters will sing (I'm calling it, so that when it happens I can say "I said it!").
  

[NovaArkwing]

Ok this episode was ok and Applejack got an upgrade from minor character to major/main character again (about time too since she seemed to just be there for a plot convenience for the Mane 6) but not going to lie, this episode was a bit cringe-worthy at parts because of the accents...I'm sorry but I couldn't stand it the accents were hammy and some I despised, like Babs Seed's New Jersey accent (I like the character but the accent...Yeah, no.)

Parts I liked in the episode:

- How they subtly confirmed what happened to AJ's parents, kind of...

- Applejack's character development in the episode.

- Seeing other members of the Apple family and some of the designs I just somehow loved like the Earth pony very closely resembling Octavia playing the string instrument during AJ's song and the pony on the right at 12:55 minutes in with the White and Green mane who was talking with the pony with an accent that just reminds of the Canadians in South Park...

- That song is catchy and it's stuck in my head in a good way.

- The smoothness of the animation in some parts of the episode (like the song for some reason I noticed it flowed particularly smooth with the Octavia-like Earth pony, it appears to flow smoother then the regular animations).

- Also liked the shout out to Derpy's scene in the Last Roundup but with RD as Derpy and AJ as the lightning victim

- The Flashback scenes were good and it's good to see the return of the younger version of Granny Smith as well as other younger versions of various Apple family members.

- The letters to Celestia are back, yes just yes! But now I supposed they're being phased out due to the evolution of the characters.

- Fruit Bats?...OF COURSE IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE GENIUS!

And then there's this:

...Excuse me I believe My Heart.exe has stopped responding...

Parts I disliked in the episode:

- The Accents especially Babs Seed's, the rest were bearable but off-putting and distracting apart from Applrjack, Apple Bloom, Big Mac etc..

- Some of the events seemed like overkill from the simplistic predecessors from past reunions that I swear AJ was about to pull a RD in terms of being the best host it seemed almost convoluted or too ridiculous.

That's pretty much it really, now to wait for the next episode...

[TotalEcplise]

I swear, if I see foal Applejack one mo 'gin, my chest is going to explode.

[NovaArkwing]

...Hotdiggetydemon Applejack is now canon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5xknAj30vI[/media]

[Rosewind]

Sigh...

It feels like this is the entirely wrong time to post this, but... this is the first episode I didn't finish watching.

I liked it at first. Baby Applejack, Spike is a click-lighter, all the party preparations, the quilt, so many things resonated with promise.

And then they bring back Barbara Seed. And not just bring her back, but shove it down our throats that her and AB are now favorite cousins who all-but-smooch each other on sight and want to talk about what they've been doing and DEAR LUNA MAKE IT STOP.

I checked ahead in the video, and when I saw Babs was still there... no. I don't want to put up with another episode full of her. It's not just the character that's a problem, its that she's a walking reminder of "One Bad Apple," an episode I would just as soon pretend never happened. It's like if you have a bad breakup, and then your life is finally going well, but then your ex-flame comes to your wedding. Okay, that made no sense, but I'm not in the business of making sense right now.

*Sigh* I'm gonna try again later on, but I had to vent before I finish this episode.

I'll bite.

I respect your opinion, but I think you should try watching the whole thing before getting upset. Babs was never a focus in this episode. Believe it or not, other people do appreciate her as a character. I actually found her return doubly charming, because it showed her personal growth as a character, gave her story continuity, and reinforced the positive closure from One Bad Apple. I think her relationship with Applebloom is very sweet; tear-jerking, even. You may not like her or the episode she was in, but that doesn't mean other watchers of the show don't as well.

I think you should try watching the whole episode before giving a strong opinion about it, so you avoid coming off arbitrary over the minute inclusion of another character you didn't like.

[Parker_Izing]

BTW Babs rule!

Oh, a gas sewing machine had been done.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I knew as soon as I found myself wanting to cover my eyes and not watch the unfolding train wreck that Weesh was going to hate it. It was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head.

For me though, the payoff at the end was worth the discomfort. I guess Applejack gives folks like me courage, that we don't have to accept things the way they are, we can work and do to change what the truth of the matter is. There was a time in my life when, if I had been in Applejack's position when the barn collapsed, that I might have just accepted defeat and given up. And perhaps I still might, but maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to borrow a page from dependable Applejack and keep going.

As Emerson once said: "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer." Perhaps if her family hadn't been there for her, if she had given up a little bit earlier, she'd never have pulled victory from the jaws of defeat.

Even if you don't succeed, I think that when you do your best, failure can still be one of those things you look back on and laugh about later on in life.

[weesh]

I knew as soon as I found myself wanting to cover my eyes and not watch the unfolding train wreck that Weesh was going to hate it. It was one of the first thoughts that popped into my head.

HAHA!

"Hate" might be a little strong, but wow was I squirming.

For me though, the payoff at the end was worth the discomfort.

The end was fine, and made up for the discomfort, but one thing was quite dissatisfying.

The BARN was the focus of the end. Not the family. Why couldn't Granny have said, "The barn isn't the important part of the picture, it is the family in front of it". By leaving the barn a mess, it would have been much clearer that the time together was more important than an activity. They can build a barn ANYTIME, but why can they relax together?

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I was expecting a "the barn doesn't matter," message too, but I didn't mind the message that they had. I thought it was more of a "It doesn't matter what we're doing, as long as we're doing it together," kind of message.

Applejack had tried to control every aspect of the event, and had everyone separated and compartmentalized off doing their own things. And it wasn't even as if the events weren't things everypony had wanted to do and enjoyed in the past, they had always had races, cooked apple fritters and stitched quilts. The point was that the work gave them something to do with and for each other, rather than for its own sake. In other words, the activities were supposed to be there for the Apple family, rather than the Apple family being there for the sake of the activities.

Fixing the barn at the end was important because it showed that the rest of the Apple family was there for her, just as much as she was for them, which is why it was unfair of Applejack to put all her heart into it, and not let anyone else put theirs in as well. I think it was the song and dance routine at the end showed us, rather than telling us, the difference.

Its actually kind of a bit like our own community here, or any kind of online community. We're here to enjoy ourselves, but we're also invested in the enjoyment of others. If we can't contribute in our own way, it doesn't feel like our community, instead we just become spectators in someone else's fancy production. Its important to have someone coordinating and facilitating things, but everyone has to be able to give something of themselves to the mix, or they're not really a part of it at all.

Sometimes sharing involves learning when to accept something from others. I still remember a good friend of mine once brought a desert to dinner with her friend and his fiance. The friend's fiance took that as a huge insult, saying "what, you don't like my cooking?!" and has pretty much held a grudge ever since.

[Tenkan]

• By the end of S3 one of the Royal Sisters will sing (I'm calling it, so that when it happens I can say "I said it!").
  

Oh, yes! Ditto! Or, if I can't ditto something you're already called, then I at least agree!

[Stainless Steel Fox]

On the inclusion of Babs, for me it actually gave closure. As long as i don't ever have to watch 'One Bad Apple' ever again (except for the A Team scene) I will be very happy to take away this version of Babs as the version that should be. She's Gandalf the White to One Bad Apple's Saruman (which would mean Monkey-man in Japanese).

[weesh]

Fixing the barn at the end was important because it showed that the rest of the Apple family was there for her, just as much as she was for them, which is why it was unfair of Applejack to put all her heart into it, and not let anyone else put theirs in as well. I think it was the song and dance routine at the end showed us, rather than telling us, the difference.

Ah, that seems key. I was wondering why it was still satisfying to me, and that must be it.

[starswirlthebearded]

I enjoyed the episode...

However this episode did one thing for me... It solidified my hatred for Babs's accent. Though that wasn't enough to ruin the episode. They did too much awesome things in this episode.

I do think the song could have been stronger, it certainly wasn't my favorite. The payoff of the song and the result of the song was great though.

I think everything else has been said.

[HopeFox]

Something else cool I just noticed about this episode - at the seven minute mark or so, Apple Bloom is participating in applebucking. We've seen her help out with other chores at the farm before, of course, but this is the first time we've actually seen her kicking trees and making apples fall out. Combine this with Sweetie Belle's brief burst of magic in "One Bad Apple", and the evolution of Scootaloo's ability to use her wings, most recently in "Sleepless in Ponyville", and we're definitely seeing the Crusaders growing up and coming into their tribal powers, slowly but surely. I think that's pretty cool.

[Rosewind]

The remixes cometh! I think this one is fantastic:

Then again, anything Sim Gretina is fantastic.

[Scythe]

I liked the beginning of the episode and the song. But thats about it, the rest wasn't so great. I missed a real "conflict" here. The conflict of AJ not seeing that she is doing too much is just too weak for me. It's okay if there are such small conflicts in episodes but then there have to be more than just one. And the entire episode was all about that one small thing and that bugged me.

At least there were a lot of new ponies to see - inspiring. And I'm sure Mojo is happy to see the young Granny smith =P

Its funny now, I have Symphony apped and wondered if Alison Rose would app her too again, but since there is Fiddlesticks now...

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

The episode wasn't just about Applejack doing too much, it was also about Applejack splitting people up and missing the purpose of the activities in general. They were means to an end, not an end in and of themselves.

(If they hadn't already had an episode about a wedding in Season 2, a wedding would have been an excellent example of a common situation where people ought to learn the lesson from this episode.)

In other news, this little comic cracks me up for some reason.

[frostfauna]

Always nice to see another Apple Bloom and Granny Smith episode.

Episode was okay. Had some cute and funny moments. Song was the blandest of the bland. Nice to see Braeburn back, even if he didn't get to speak.

Re: The family-

Bon Bon, Carrot Top, Cloudchaser (or is that Flitter?), Lucky, Linky, Greenhooves, couple of music ponies...

The Apple Family is like the borg. You will be assimilated.

I think they were just there to help with catering, or fixing the barn, or something. They aren't in the official family photo.

[TotalEcplise]

Geez the apple family has a the best Mare/Stallion ratio ive seen in three seasons and its still terrible.

I swear if we werent aware that pound cake was born, I'd think Celestia grew just enough little colts in her lab to make sure that the pony race survives.

[Cadabra]

Geez the apple family has a the best Mare/Stallion ratio ive seen in three seasons and its still terrible.

I swear if we werent aware that pound cake was born, I'd think Celestia grew just enough little colts in her lab to make sure that the pony race survives.

If monogomous marriage hadn't been made cannon I would have thought polygamy would have explained the ratio.

[Dessa]

If monogomous marriage hadn't been made cannon I would have thought polygamy would have explained the ratio.

Monogamous marriage happened, but polygamy hasn't been ruled out.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

Or maybe some of them are just not married at all? When you're dealing with genetics, its the gambler's fallacy to assume that you will have an even distribution rather than a random distribution.