This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode.
The premise of this episode is that Pinkie Pie sets out to see if she can discover whether or not she's related to Applejack and her family.
As you can imagine from the brief premise I gave you, the main focus of this episode is the relationship between Pinkie Pie and Applejack, both in terms of their friendship and in terms of their possible blood relation. As I have said in past reviews, I like it when the show gives us combinations that haven't been focused on that much. And these two certainly quality for that, as the only episode they've had any major interaction with each other was when they were paired up in "Hearth's Warming Eve" back in season two. However, as they were portraying different characters to their usual selves, I don't think I should really count that. So even with regards to everything else, I like that the episode is trying something different.
The idea that Pinkie might be related to Applejack is an interesting one for the show to explore. After all, even though friendship is the primary type of relationship that the show usually explores, the idea that the friends in the show might also be members of the same family would open up all sorts of possibilities for future stories. It would certainly shake up the character dynamic by having blood relatives within the group of friends, perhaps even serve to bring Pinkie and Applejack closer as friends in succeeding episodes. Change is something I know people have a hard time dealing with in this show, myself included, but I must confess that if they did go down this road, I'd be curious to see how well they dealt with it.
One thing that did irk me throughout was how gung-ho Pinkie was about involving herself with all the things the Apple family do in this story, I know she's pretty enthusiastic about everything she sets her mind to, but keep in mind that, when it comes to farming, Pinkie hasn't had the best history. Granted, she doesn't actually do farming in the episode, nor would she be expected to help out and stuff like that if she did indeed turn out to be family, but she must have known that, if she did indeed become a member of that family, it would have happened sooner or later. Her own backstory showed her as having a miserable life on a farm in her youth, and even more recently, back in "Magical Mystery Cure", she was shown to be so bad at farming stuff that it brought her to a rare low moment in her life. So even though I can understand her enthusiasm for wanting to see if she's related to Applejack, it doesn't make much sense to me that she'd show equal enthusiasm for all the stuff that goes with being part of that family, even though she didn't experience it in the episode.
The characterization of both Pinkie and Applejack was very nice to watch in this episode. Pinkie was her usual bubbly self and her enthusiasm for finding out of she had a genuine relationship to one of her closest friends was a very believable one, so much so that I myself became rather enthused just by watching her, which is always a good sign. Applejack was also great to watch. I've made it no secret in past reviews that she's one of my favourites of the main cast, so it's nice to see her at least share a spotlight after so long. Also, I found her position to be a very believable one, as I myself have had many occasions where my own family and I have tried to put ourselves in the best light for those around us. The rest of the main cast, like Rainbow Dash for instance, don't make an appearance at all, with only Twilight and Spike getting a brief cameo. This is the first time since the season started that we've had an episode like this, and I'm fine with it. There's no rule that say's they all need to be in every episode, so I like that they give some characters a break every once in a while to focus the spotlight on one or two of them.
The rest of the cast featured in this episode is mostly the other members of the Apple family, and they all serve their functions well. Neither Big Mac, Applebloom or Granny Smith get any real development or change all that much here, but they all adhere to the traits they've been shown to have and work well within them. What I like most of all when it comes to this family's portrayal in this episode is how things aren't as perfect as they've appeared to be in the past. Previous episodes focusing on them have always shown them in the best light, where every member loves each other to bits. Here, we see a far more realistic portrayal of their family life, as there are fractures between them and flaws in their character that they have trouble coming to terms with. That is far more believable than what we've previously seen of them and I approve of that.
If there was one thing that I can say I didn't like about the episode, it's that they don't give a definitive stance on whether Pinkie is genuinely related to the Apples. I know that was kind of the point of the episode and it's message, but I can't help but feel they went with the coward's option by leaving it ambiguous. Right from the start I was rather sceptical about it, that they'd have it be something that Pinkie had misinterpreted in the scroll which would be proved wrong at the end, something even Applejack seems to think. But, as the episode went on, there were hints that the relation is real, like that little moment near the end when the other elderly relative removes a book from the pile without it collapsing, much like Pinkie did with the scrolls at the start of the episode. I thought for sure that would be some sort of foreshadowing that they are truly related. But no, they don't give a definitive answer. Not a big problem, but one that still bothered me.
The humour, as you might expect of an episode surrounding Pinkie Pie, is almost entirely based on her and her antics. Nothing really stands out as a more-than-usual funny moment, but she just serves her role well as the primary source of jokes and funny moments. From what I gather about the episode, it was made by a group of writers who were new to this season, as such they seem to do a good job of nailing Pinkie as a random and humorous character without going over-the-top into annoying territory. In addition, Applejack and her family also managed to get a fair few funny moments in, with Applebloom's little dance a particular stand-out for me. It seemed at the time that she was imitating the popular "licious" internet memes that fans have often made about MLP, and if so then it was a nice nod to the fandom.
Onto the song now. Like many fans of this show, I was made privy to this song several months in advance of this episode's airing as one of several pre-season animatics released by Hasbro. As such I've had quite a lot of time to think it over and really decide how I feel about it. And let me tell you, I love it just as much now as I did all those months ago. Group songs are always great for me to listen to and this one has a lot of energy to it. Applejack and Pinkie have always had great singing voices, but usually the only time when the two get together for a song it's when the rest of the cast are with them so it's nice to hear them without all the others. Additionally, it reminds me of Applejack's song back in "Apple Family Reunion", which had a very similar feel and tone to it. Overall I'd say it was an energized and fun little family song that I've been wanting to hear in the full episode for quite some time.
Time for the moral now and this week it seems that family is a matter of accepting the faults they have and not just singing their praises, and that just because one may not be blood doesn't make them any less a member of your family. This is a nice lesson to be teaching and it's far better than a lot of "you have to think your family is always great" lessons that other kid's shows try to teach. This is a far more realistic representation of things and learning to accept the faults of those closest to you is a good thing for kids to learn.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Personally, I thought it was great. The characterizations of both the main cast members and the Apple family was very well done, so character interactions were really fun to watch. The story and premise, while not revolutionary by any means, was still an interesting avenue to explore, even if it didn't really have much of a payoff. The song was great, as was the humour, and the moral it teaches was a fine one to give to kids. While I don't think it reaches the heights of some of my other favourites this season, it's still a very fun episode, and I highly recommend it.
The premise of this episode is that Pinkie Pie sets out to see if she can discover whether or not she's related to Applejack and her family.
As you can imagine from the brief premise I gave you, the main focus of this episode is the relationship between Pinkie Pie and Applejack, both in terms of their friendship and in terms of their possible blood relation. As I have said in past reviews, I like it when the show gives us combinations that haven't been focused on that much. And these two certainly quality for that, as the only episode they've had any major interaction with each other was when they were paired up in "Hearth's Warming Eve" back in season two. However, as they were portraying different characters to their usual selves, I don't think I should really count that. So even with regards to everything else, I like that the episode is trying something different.
The idea that Pinkie might be related to Applejack is an interesting one for the show to explore. After all, even though friendship is the primary type of relationship that the show usually explores, the idea that the friends in the show might also be members of the same family would open up all sorts of possibilities for future stories. It would certainly shake up the character dynamic by having blood relatives within the group of friends, perhaps even serve to bring Pinkie and Applejack closer as friends in succeeding episodes. Change is something I know people have a hard time dealing with in this show, myself included, but I must confess that if they did go down this road, I'd be curious to see how well they dealt with it.
One thing that did irk me throughout was how gung-ho Pinkie was about involving herself with all the things the Apple family do in this story, I know she's pretty enthusiastic about everything she sets her mind to, but keep in mind that, when it comes to farming, Pinkie hasn't had the best history. Granted, she doesn't actually do farming in the episode, nor would she be expected to help out and stuff like that if she did indeed turn out to be family, but she must have known that, if she did indeed become a member of that family, it would have happened sooner or later. Her own backstory showed her as having a miserable life on a farm in her youth, and even more recently, back in "Magical Mystery Cure", she was shown to be so bad at farming stuff that it brought her to a rare low moment in her life. So even though I can understand her enthusiasm for wanting to see if she's related to Applejack, it doesn't make much sense to me that she'd show equal enthusiasm for all the stuff that goes with being part of that family, even though she didn't experience it in the episode.
The characterization of both Pinkie and Applejack was very nice to watch in this episode. Pinkie was her usual bubbly self and her enthusiasm for finding out of she had a genuine relationship to one of her closest friends was a very believable one, so much so that I myself became rather enthused just by watching her, which is always a good sign. Applejack was also great to watch. I've made it no secret in past reviews that she's one of my favourites of the main cast, so it's nice to see her at least share a spotlight after so long. Also, I found her position to be a very believable one, as I myself have had many occasions where my own family and I have tried to put ourselves in the best light for those around us. The rest of the main cast, like Rainbow Dash for instance, don't make an appearance at all, with only Twilight and Spike getting a brief cameo. This is the first time since the season started that we've had an episode like this, and I'm fine with it. There's no rule that say's they all need to be in every episode, so I like that they give some characters a break every once in a while to focus the spotlight on one or two of them.
The rest of the cast featured in this episode is mostly the other members of the Apple family, and they all serve their functions well. Neither Big Mac, Applebloom or Granny Smith get any real development or change all that much here, but they all adhere to the traits they've been shown to have and work well within them. What I like most of all when it comes to this family's portrayal in this episode is how things aren't as perfect as they've appeared to be in the past. Previous episodes focusing on them have always shown them in the best light, where every member loves each other to bits. Here, we see a far more realistic portrayal of their family life, as there are fractures between them and flaws in their character that they have trouble coming to terms with. That is far more believable than what we've previously seen of them and I approve of that.
If there was one thing that I can say I didn't like about the episode, it's that they don't give a definitive stance on whether Pinkie is genuinely related to the Apples. I know that was kind of the point of the episode and it's message, but I can't help but feel they went with the coward's option by leaving it ambiguous. Right from the start I was rather sceptical about it, that they'd have it be something that Pinkie had misinterpreted in the scroll which would be proved wrong at the end, something even Applejack seems to think. But, as the episode went on, there were hints that the relation is real, like that little moment near the end when the other elderly relative removes a book from the pile without it collapsing, much like Pinkie did with the scrolls at the start of the episode. I thought for sure that would be some sort of foreshadowing that they are truly related. But no, they don't give a definitive answer. Not a big problem, but one that still bothered me.
The humour, as you might expect of an episode surrounding Pinkie Pie, is almost entirely based on her and her antics. Nothing really stands out as a more-than-usual funny moment, but she just serves her role well as the primary source of jokes and funny moments. From what I gather about the episode, it was made by a group of writers who were new to this season, as such they seem to do a good job of nailing Pinkie as a random and humorous character without going over-the-top into annoying territory. In addition, Applejack and her family also managed to get a fair few funny moments in, with Applebloom's little dance a particular stand-out for me. It seemed at the time that she was imitating the popular "licious" internet memes that fans have often made about MLP, and if so then it was a nice nod to the fandom.
Onto the song now. Like many fans of this show, I was made privy to this song several months in advance of this episode's airing as one of several pre-season animatics released by Hasbro. As such I've had quite a lot of time to think it over and really decide how I feel about it. And let me tell you, I love it just as much now as I did all those months ago. Group songs are always great for me to listen to and this one has a lot of energy to it. Applejack and Pinkie have always had great singing voices, but usually the only time when the two get together for a song it's when the rest of the cast are with them so it's nice to hear them without all the others. Additionally, it reminds me of Applejack's song back in "Apple Family Reunion", which had a very similar feel and tone to it. Overall I'd say it was an energized and fun little family song that I've been wanting to hear in the full episode for quite some time.
Time for the moral now and this week it seems that family is a matter of accepting the faults they have and not just singing their praises, and that just because one may not be blood doesn't make them any less a member of your family. This is a nice lesson to be teaching and it's far better than a lot of "you have to think your family is always great" lessons that other kid's shows try to teach. This is a far more realistic representation of things and learning to accept the faults of those closest to you is a good thing for kids to learn.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Personally, I thought it was great. The characterizations of both the main cast members and the Apple family was very well done, so character interactions were really fun to watch. The story and premise, while not revolutionary by any means, was still an interesting avenue to explore, even if it didn't really have much of a payoff. The song was great, as was the humour, and the moral it teaches was a fine one to give to kids. While I don't think it reaches the heights of some of my other favourites this season, it's still a very fun episode, and I highly recommend it.
