This review will contain spoilers for those who have not seen the latest episode of MLP.
The premise of this episode is that Rarity is attempting to gain the attention of a well-known traveller, Trenderhoof, and so tries to act more like Applejack in order to do so.
With that premise, you can probably tell that this is a very heavy Rarity and Applejack episode, and as far as I?m concerned, I couldn?t be happier about that. These two mares have always had great on-screen chemistry together, and the fact that the two are so different in terms of their personalities has always led to some great moments between them. In fact, one of my favourite episodes of the first season, ?Look before you sleep?, was one I enjoyed because it did so well in exploring the dynamic between them. As such, this episode is rife with great character moments between the two, which is always a plus.
The idea of Rarity having an admiration or crush on another ponies, in this case Trenderhoof, is not something that bothers me as much as I've heard many others are. I know it's been said many times that this show is not about romance and things like that, but even so, it does provide some good story possibilities, as we get here. Although I will say that the general idea of trying to be something you're not in order to try and gain someone's affections is a story trope that I've seen done many times before. I've said in the past that I'm willing to forgive that if they put some sort of new spin on it, but since we don't get that, it just comes off as cliché to me.
Rarity's character, I'm sorry to say, suffers from two very big contradictions in the development she's already had in the series. Firstly, there's the issue of her romantic interest in a pony she's only ever heard of, something she had experience with when meeting Blueblood back in season one. I would have thought that, after that experience, she'd learn to be more careful about such crushes. In addition to that, we've also had her pretending to be something she's not to win admiration back in "Sweet and Elite" in season two, which was something else she was supposed to have gotten over. So while I understand the predicament Rarity is in this episode, I just can't help but feel like it's undermining the development she's been having over the course of the show.
However, even if you were willing to forgive those faults, there is a rather big one that I feel needs discussing. Rarity is willing to change herself and the way she behaves in order to get a guy's attention. Okay, that's fair enough as I've known several people in real life who've wanted the same thing. However, it's clear when watching this that Rarity is nothing short of miserable when she puts herself through those changes, and we all know how much she hates that kind of stuff to begin with anyway, so it makes little sense that she'd think this guy was worth it. Oh, I'm sure he's big in the fashion world and all, and I know Rarity is very much into that sort of thing. But even so, I cannot fathom that she wouldn't be willing to draw the line on this long before she actually does so. Plus, knowing Applejack like she does, I just can't understand how she can't believe her when the latter tells her she's not interested in Trenderhoof, given everything they've been through together.
When it comes to Applejack's side of things, we have some great moments on her part. Firstly, I think it's great that we have her be the one to catch a pony's eye in terms of a romantic interest. The reason for that is that we all know that AJ is not the kind of female character that would usually catch someone's eye in most children's fiction, so having this guy like her in spite of the tradition of guys falling for girls like Rarity, is a real breath of fresh air for me, though I want it said for the record that I have nothing against Rarity or those like her in terms of personality. Secondly, having Applejack act in a more upper-class manner actually fits in with what we know of her history. It was said back in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" that she spent some time with relatives who often behaved that way, so it makes sense that she might retain some knowledge of how to act in that manner.
Plus, you can really empathise with what she's going through in this entire episode. She's never been the kind of character who would try and deliberately push someone away, even if they are bothering her, when they aren't really doing anything wrong, hence her willingness to put up with Trenderhoof for as long as she does. Now, as the honest one, I would have thought it would have been better for her to just tell the guy not to bother with her and that she's not interested, but Trenderhoof didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd take the hint that easily. Her willingness to escalate things between herself and Rarity might seem odd, but remember, we've seen that, like Rainbow Dash, Applejack has a considerably competitive streak, so her trying to out-do Rarity at her own game actually makes sense to her character.
As for the rest of the main cast, they all do a good job when they make an appearance, especially Spike, though I couldn't help but feel for the little guy when Rarity was being completely oblivious to the fact that she's in the same position he's been in with regards to his unrequited crush on her. That especially didn't make sense to me given that she's supposed to know about that, but since she had other things on her mind, I suppose it makes sense that she wouldn't think of it. As for our main guest character, Trenderhoof, I find him to be a bit of a mixed bag. While he doesn't do anything to make me outright dislike him, he did come across as overbearing at times. I have, in my life, known many people who've become enamoured with some new way of life to the point where they become obsessed with it, and this guy is a perfect example of that. His obliviousness to both Rarity's crush on him and Applejack's disinterest were annoying at times, but never overly so. So, overall, he was an okay character, but not the kind I'd want to make a comeback in the future.
In terms of humour, this week the episode?s comedic moments stem from the interactions between Rarity and Applejack. This is another plus of the episode for me because Rarity is a great source of comedy, especially during those moments when her voice actress, Tabitha St Germain, really goes over-the-top. And we have plenty of moments like that here, all of which brought a smile to my face. There were also plenty of smaller moments, like Trenderhoof just casually pushing Rarity to the side when he saw Applejack, that just seemed funny for me. Applejack also got in plenty of humour here, with her being able to easily match Rarity's usual upper-class behaviour while the latter struggled, being of particular note.
Onto songs now and this week we don't really have any save for a brief little number by Trenderhoof. The song itself is only a few lines and is little more than a joke of misdirection, so I really shouldn't be counting it.
Time to talk about the moral of the episode, and this one seems to be that other people need to accept you for who you are, and that if you have to change yourself in order to get them to like you, then those are not the kinds of people who are worth your time. This is a good lessons for kids as I'm sure many young people have been tempted to change themselves in order to try and become more liked at some point. But changing who you are just for the sake of other people has never been a good road to go down, and I praise this episode for trying to teach children that you shouldn't let the attitudes of others change you.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I rather liked it. While I don't think it's quite as much of a triumph as last week's outing, this was still a very fun and enjoyable episode. Rarity and Applejack worked well together as always and there were plenty of great moments between them. While the premise and the lack of Rarity's aforementioned development were a bother to me at times, it never ruined the episode in it's entirety. The lesson was good, as was the humour, and over all it was just a lot of fun. Definitely worth a watch.
The premise of this episode is that Rarity is attempting to gain the attention of a well-known traveller, Trenderhoof, and so tries to act more like Applejack in order to do so.
With that premise, you can probably tell that this is a very heavy Rarity and Applejack episode, and as far as I?m concerned, I couldn?t be happier about that. These two mares have always had great on-screen chemistry together, and the fact that the two are so different in terms of their personalities has always led to some great moments between them. In fact, one of my favourite episodes of the first season, ?Look before you sleep?, was one I enjoyed because it did so well in exploring the dynamic between them. As such, this episode is rife with great character moments between the two, which is always a plus.
The idea of Rarity having an admiration or crush on another ponies, in this case Trenderhoof, is not something that bothers me as much as I've heard many others are. I know it's been said many times that this show is not about romance and things like that, but even so, it does provide some good story possibilities, as we get here. Although I will say that the general idea of trying to be something you're not in order to try and gain someone's affections is a story trope that I've seen done many times before. I've said in the past that I'm willing to forgive that if they put some sort of new spin on it, but since we don't get that, it just comes off as cliché to me.
Rarity's character, I'm sorry to say, suffers from two very big contradictions in the development she's already had in the series. Firstly, there's the issue of her romantic interest in a pony she's only ever heard of, something she had experience with when meeting Blueblood back in season one. I would have thought that, after that experience, she'd learn to be more careful about such crushes. In addition to that, we've also had her pretending to be something she's not to win admiration back in "Sweet and Elite" in season two, which was something else she was supposed to have gotten over. So while I understand the predicament Rarity is in this episode, I just can't help but feel like it's undermining the development she's been having over the course of the show.
However, even if you were willing to forgive those faults, there is a rather big one that I feel needs discussing. Rarity is willing to change herself and the way she behaves in order to get a guy's attention. Okay, that's fair enough as I've known several people in real life who've wanted the same thing. However, it's clear when watching this that Rarity is nothing short of miserable when she puts herself through those changes, and we all know how much she hates that kind of stuff to begin with anyway, so it makes little sense that she'd think this guy was worth it. Oh, I'm sure he's big in the fashion world and all, and I know Rarity is very much into that sort of thing. But even so, I cannot fathom that she wouldn't be willing to draw the line on this long before she actually does so. Plus, knowing Applejack like she does, I just can't understand how she can't believe her when the latter tells her she's not interested in Trenderhoof, given everything they've been through together.
When it comes to Applejack's side of things, we have some great moments on her part. Firstly, I think it's great that we have her be the one to catch a pony's eye in terms of a romantic interest. The reason for that is that we all know that AJ is not the kind of female character that would usually catch someone's eye in most children's fiction, so having this guy like her in spite of the tradition of guys falling for girls like Rarity, is a real breath of fresh air for me, though I want it said for the record that I have nothing against Rarity or those like her in terms of personality. Secondly, having Applejack act in a more upper-class manner actually fits in with what we know of her history. It was said back in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" that she spent some time with relatives who often behaved that way, so it makes sense that she might retain some knowledge of how to act in that manner.
Plus, you can really empathise with what she's going through in this entire episode. She's never been the kind of character who would try and deliberately push someone away, even if they are bothering her, when they aren't really doing anything wrong, hence her willingness to put up with Trenderhoof for as long as she does. Now, as the honest one, I would have thought it would have been better for her to just tell the guy not to bother with her and that she's not interested, but Trenderhoof didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd take the hint that easily. Her willingness to escalate things between herself and Rarity might seem odd, but remember, we've seen that, like Rainbow Dash, Applejack has a considerably competitive streak, so her trying to out-do Rarity at her own game actually makes sense to her character.
As for the rest of the main cast, they all do a good job when they make an appearance, especially Spike, though I couldn't help but feel for the little guy when Rarity was being completely oblivious to the fact that she's in the same position he's been in with regards to his unrequited crush on her. That especially didn't make sense to me given that she's supposed to know about that, but since she had other things on her mind, I suppose it makes sense that she wouldn't think of it. As for our main guest character, Trenderhoof, I find him to be a bit of a mixed bag. While he doesn't do anything to make me outright dislike him, he did come across as overbearing at times. I have, in my life, known many people who've become enamoured with some new way of life to the point where they become obsessed with it, and this guy is a perfect example of that. His obliviousness to both Rarity's crush on him and Applejack's disinterest were annoying at times, but never overly so. So, overall, he was an okay character, but not the kind I'd want to make a comeback in the future.
In terms of humour, this week the episode?s comedic moments stem from the interactions between Rarity and Applejack. This is another plus of the episode for me because Rarity is a great source of comedy, especially during those moments when her voice actress, Tabitha St Germain, really goes over-the-top. And we have plenty of moments like that here, all of which brought a smile to my face. There were also plenty of smaller moments, like Trenderhoof just casually pushing Rarity to the side when he saw Applejack, that just seemed funny for me. Applejack also got in plenty of humour here, with her being able to easily match Rarity's usual upper-class behaviour while the latter struggled, being of particular note.
Onto songs now and this week we don't really have any save for a brief little number by Trenderhoof. The song itself is only a few lines and is little more than a joke of misdirection, so I really shouldn't be counting it.
Time to talk about the moral of the episode, and this one seems to be that other people need to accept you for who you are, and that if you have to change yourself in order to get them to like you, then those are not the kinds of people who are worth your time. This is a good lessons for kids as I'm sure many young people have been tempted to change themselves in order to try and become more liked at some point. But changing who you are just for the sake of other people has never been a good road to go down, and I praise this episode for trying to teach children that you shouldn't let the attitudes of others change you.
So, how did the episode fare overall? Honestly, I rather liked it. While I don't think it's quite as much of a triumph as last week's outing, this was still a very fun and enjoyable episode. Rarity and Applejack worked well together as always and there were plenty of great moments between them. While the premise and the lack of Rarity's aforementioned development were a bother to me at times, it never ruined the episode in it's entirety. The lesson was good, as was the humour, and over all it was just a lot of fun. Definitely worth a watch.
