Dark Qiviut

This episode is really similar to that of the AJ Micro. Only in GtS, a Golden Delicious tells the story of the Great Seedlin’, a mischievous deer who helps harvest crops and leaves clever trails wherever he goes, rather than a Sass Squash leaving squash. And rather than be an AJ’s-too-stubborn episode, the episode transitions into wanting to help Bloom try to catch him during the second day of harvest and having fun with Bloom, too. Ironically, this episode is more of a bonding episode between AJ and AB with the hunt as the plot device to hook them in. The moral of having fun with your family doesn’t age works decently here.

There were a few problems.

1. The rest of the Mane 8 were written off early through exposition, and there was quite a bit of that throughout.
2. The ending reveal that Big Mac was the “Great Seedlin’” was rather obvious, and having Bloom suddenly become afraid of him at the thought was rather contrived. The chase, though, justified it. That said, the episode got real heavy layin’ out the idea that BM was him, as he got more and more exhausted throughout.
3. As a filly, Applejack used to hunt for the Seedlin’, only to stop after falling into one of her traps. Even though everyone, including their parents, handled themselves fine, it was a clear sore spot for her, hence why she stubbornly kept shooing it as a fairytale. But it would’ve been better had Goldie or Granny not laugh after the flashback, which made the tone and flashback as a whole feel mean-spirited. The episode, though, got a lot better following this.
4. On the whole, the first half was bland, slow, and didn’t do much. It was the second half that really helped it.

Now, is it anywhere nearly as good as the others? Not at all. It’s the worst S9 episode overall. But it’s fine. Not bad, Dave Rapp. A B-.