ibanix

Image says it all. Seriously? This is a show designed for kids, even if it has a devoted older fanbase.

Oh, I agree. But they still have the opportunity to do so. They still can do a "why my parents are dead" episode.

It's important to note that death has been handled on kids shows before, often making moments that were remembered by children (in a good way) for generations. The stand-out example is the episode dealing with the death of Hr. Hooper on Sesame Street. MLP has the chance to elevate itself to a new level by taking on an issue that some of the kids watching it have - why is my parent (or other loved one) never coming back?

Well, most of the episode has already been covered so I'll hit some of the backstory/canon implications: * Derpy Cameo: Ok, so everyone assumes this is actually Derpy and not anothet mare of the same colors. We don't see her cutie mark so it could actually be a different character... but that seems a waste of a good cameo. So assume Derpy. We know from The Cart Before The Ponies that an even younger Derpy had the eye issue... so we have to conclude that Derpy is either in the hospital for an injury, or surgery related to her eyes, but not one that will fix her condition. * Apple Family: Oh boy, what a mess. Granny Smith is running the farm. AJ and BM's parents are still conspicuously absent. We can conclude they are /not/ running the farm, but oddly their children (and later 3rd child) are all heavily involved in the running of the farm. We have a few possiblities here - 1) The Apple parents live in Ponyville and do something else (other apple-related business?). Their children like farm work better than whatever their parents do for work. 2) The Apple parents are constantly traveling for whatever work they do, and have turned over care of their children to Granny Smith after the children are old enough. 3) The Apple parents are very near to the birth of Apple Bloom when this episode takes place and so are not working the farm. Possibly just after her birth. AB and parents are convienently absent. Very conveniently. 4) The Apple parents died shortly after AB's birth, and another member of the family (not in Ponyville) is raising infant Apple Bloom. AB joins her siblings when she's old enough not to need constant attention. #4 is actually possible in conjunction with #1 or #2. We know that the Apple parents need to have died sometime between AB's birth and season 1; and having them not present in this episode has to be explained, alive or dead. We're left with a conundrum: The Apple family heritage is very strong, and they're a farm family. If Granny's kid (and in-law) are not working on the farm, what are they doing? Why are their kids not workinv with them? If they already died, where is Apple Bloom?