S05:E06 - Appleoosa's Most Wanted

[BlackWater627 700]

That was pretty much my impression. The difference is that the other rodeo clowns can go home and have a nice normal day to themselves, whereas Troubleshoes' life is a joke that only occasionally will be on stage. Nice to make the best out of a bad situation, but it's actually a pretty awful cutie mark. 

 

 

So what would happen if Troubleshoes walked through some poison joke? Would he get really lucky?  

[Anilewe 2,178]

It was OK. Nothing special, just okay, had some good and bad scenes. I liked the animation for some reason, the whole time I was like "wow, this show improved so much since the first season, it's amazing!".

 

Also, I must say that I'm really sick and tired of all the hate Applejack received on Equestria Daily.

The comments that she's an idiot and shouldn't punish Sweetie Bellie, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom for what they did... I think it's ridiculous. I'm actually really happy that for once they got punished.

 

The show really shouldn't indicate that things like 

• breaking someone out of prison
• escaping from home in the middle of the night
• looking for potentially dangerous criminal
• not listening to your parents and people (well, ponies) responsible for you
• talking to strangers
• entering the abandoned houses in the middle of the forest

are okay and I'm glad that it didn't. 

 

As for the fact that AJ didn't listen to them... I don't blame her as a character for it, because it's a cliche I've seen many times in cartoons and I hate it. Making some characters look bad just because they don't have all the facts needed to understand the situation, so the other character looks good is just wrong. Also, the CMC didn't leave the house because they thought that Troubleshoes was actually a good guy, just misunderstood and lonely. They left the house because they wanted to catch a wanted criminal and earn their cutie marks. And it isn't 'doing the right thing', it's doing the stupid AND dangerous thing for your own selfish reasons. For me it was as if CMC became their old selves and didn't learn anything through the last few seasons. 

Edited May 2, 2015 by Anilewe

[Steve Piranha 28,783]

I loved it at the end, but the rest of the episode was just normal, nothing otherworldy 

[Frostgage 7,972]

I thought it was okay. Not amazing, but probably not as bad as I could see some making it out to be. There were definitely a few amusing parts in there, plus wet-mane AJ <3

 

I did feel kinda bad for Troubleshoes and his cutie mark, but at least he seemed content with it at the end.

[BlackWater627 700]

I loved it at the end, but the rest of the episode was just normal, nothing otherworldy 

 

That does seem to be the overall consensus. The votes seem to be equaling out now, so this episode looks to have the least amount of "best thing ever" so far this season. Not too many disliked it, though. It'll probably end up being one of those episodes most of us go back to less than, say, Twilight's Kingdom. 

[Spartan 433]

Anyone have a link to the episode? Cant seem to find it anywhere

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

I put this episode in my "cute and sweet" category. I liked it. It also answered some good questions. Turns out a pony CAN interpret a cutie mark in all different ways. I figured this was the case after hearing an interesting discussion on youtube about Cheerile and how her cutie mark may be interpreted as either teaching or gardening and after seeing "Magical Mystery Cure" with what the ponies interpreted the switched marks to mean but now we have true confirmation of it. I found it very interesting that it was the CMC teaching this to another pony given how they are still learning what a cutie mark means and haven't gotten theirs yet. It is very mature of them. It seems like they took Luna's advice in "Bloom and Gloom" to heart. It gave me a great idea for what the CMC can do after they earn their cutie marks: They can help ponies understand their cutie marks and purpose in life in a similar way to how the Mane 6 spread friendship. That way they could still be crusaders in a sense and of course friends. Other things I liked about this episode are that we got to see Braeburn again along with Apaloosa. Braeburn seemed a bit idiotic but it was funny. Applejack fretted over the CMC without over doing it. It seemed like Dave took elements of Applejack's character from "Birdle Gossip" and "Somepony to Watch Over Me" and found the perfect balance of her worries that seems completely in character to me. I liked that they got punished too. I know a lot of people complained that Applejack wasn't more pissed at AB for sneaking out in "Somepony to Watch Over Me". I loved Sweetie Belle's multiple attempts at magic and how it is very clear that she is still a beginner in magic. The way Sweetie Belle was unsure of they should sneak out reminded me of "One Bad Apple" when she was the only one who wanted to tell Applejack about the bullying so I felt it was in character. I also related to the clumsy pony(not sure if the name is Troubleshoe, Troubleshoes,or Troubleshoot, I couldn't hear so I'll watch again later) because I fall a lot.  The only flaw seems to be weird pacing. 

Edited May 2, 2015 by StitchandMLPlover

[Shanks 10,811]

It wasn't the greatest episode ever but this season so far except for the premier has been full of meh episodes and one really horrible episode that everyone likes for some reason (Tanks for the Memories). I did like it though, Troubleshoes actually being a world class klutz instead of a dangerous criminal was a rather interesting twist. The CMC convincing him to be a rodeo clown was well intended enough though the question is what is he going to do when he is off the clock?

 

I doubt the townspeople are going to find it so funny when he ends up accidentally destroying things then. The more I think about it though the more I think that him and Derpy would be adorable together, and of course there maybe should be another episode down the line where he learns to control his inner klutz a bit better to where he is able to keep it on stage.Also one other purpose that rodeo clowns serve that this episode forgot to mention was to distract out of control animals such as bulls for example when they got out of control so that injured or incapacitated rodeo cowboys could be safely taken out of the situation and get any needed medical attention. Troubleshoes rescuing a performer in trouble would have been a great way for to him to earn the respect of the town and would make a great fanfic or possibly episode actually.

[BlackWater627 700]

 

 

I found it very interesting that it was the CMC teaching this to another pony given how they are still learning what a cutie mark means and haven't gotten theirs yet. It is very mature of them.

 

 

It was mature and it was a part of the episode I really liked. Now if only they could use this level of maturity to consider their own natural talents. Scootaloo, is it really that hard to figure out what you're really good at? 

[Banul 3,831]

It strikes me as odd that Troubleshoes' special talent is the amazing ability to fuck everything up and get mocked. The more I think about it, the more my opinion of this episode goes from "meh" to dislike.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Banul

[lomk 20,663]

Yeah. I didn't think it was a very good episode at all the more I think about it. I mean, I don't know that I can point out anything that I legitimately enjoyed about this episode while at the same time, there were plenty of things that made me raise my eyebrow. 

 

I'm sure this horse has been beaten to death, but Braeburn....Why, why did Applejack continue to leave them with him after he proved and proved and proved he's just not up to the task? I mean, even at the end after he fell asleep and they ran off, she still let the CMC go with him while she went with the sheriff? No. If I was Applejack, Braeburn would have ended up in a body cast before I went to look for the fillies. 

 

That and the episode's entire basis is just too mean-spirited, I thought. Everybody wants to convict Troubleshoes of a crime (what crime, by the way? At worst, he's committed vandalism) without actually proving anything. He is forced to change his desires based on the cruel hand that fate has dealt him, and everybody laughs at his misfortune. This isn't a case like with Scootaloo who wants to be able to fly, but can't. Scootaloo may end up in the same situation, but nobody is laughing at Scootaloo for this. Scootaloo's condition is either taken seriously or looked past. That resonates with me the worst. He wants to do something and do it well, but he sucks at everything he does. And when he messes up, people laugh at him. I know things don't work the same way in Equestria as they work here, but I'd imagine that laughing at someone for their misfortunes is as unacceptable there as it is here. Especially if it drives them to depression and isolation. 

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,671]

I guess Big Macintosh isn't very big after all

 

[AccountNoLongerUsed 741]

You know an episode is bad when the "meh" poll option is in the lead.

 

That was almost entirely boring, except for the humor at the end. And what the hell kind of lesson was that? In any other TV show, the CMC are villainous bullies for telling a klutz to become a rodeo clown and get laughed AT. Remember, the crowd is laughing at the rehearsed antics of the clowns, like you would a comedian, but that's not the case with Troubleshoes. I feel bad for Jim Miller, who will undoubtedly check EQD, like he always does, and see all the hate this episode will get.

Well, what else were they suppose to say? "You will always mess up, forget about being in the Rodeo, best you keep yourself locked up so you dont go messing up other's lives?" 

 

I am curious how people would have ended it differently. Cause the ending we got was probably the ONLY ending that would have worked.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Cobalt-Willow

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

Also, I must say that I'm really sick and tired of all the hate Applejack received on Equestria Daily.

You're not helping your cause by generalizing the whole comments section under one brush. Only two bronies were very critical at Applejack in this episode, and you helped discredit your opinion by being initially sarcastic to one of them.

 

---

 

To repeat what I wrote in my status a few minutes ago, there's another problem with this episode, and it's the biggest and my most personal: It was way too mean-spirited. In what is supposed to be a very welcoming, likeable world, Trouble Shoes wasn't written to be laughed with. Because of the way they wrote the scenes and treated him throughout, Trouble Shoes's comedic impression was to be laughed AT. His whole life is a forced barrel of laughs, and the episode never gives him a break. It's like Rainbow Dash in Squeezy 6000: The whole episode angled humor at his expense. Whatever situation he was in, something bad happened to him. In short, the Western towns were responsible for creating the contrived "outlaw" reputation in the first place.

Edited May 2, 2015 by Dark Qiviut

[lomk 20,663]

I don't think that the idea of informing someone you think they are misinterpreting what their life means is a bad concept by any stretch. Especially if your goal is to pull them out of a miserable state. It was the execution that really made this a difficult episode. I can't think of an example off the top of my head on how to improve, but I don't get paid to do that nor is it my calling. I feel like there were far better ways to pull this one off, though.

[Trine 665]

First time i saw a horse in MLP world. Like Troubleshoes looked like a real horse. I guess it was fun seeing the cutie mark crusaders again, it was sorta cool.

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

You know what might have made it better actually? If Troubleshoes hadn't been as clumsy as he was until the rodeo. With how he keeps tripping and stumbling and messing up all the time, it makes it sort of seem like his talent is more in control of him than the other way around, like his talent actually is having bad luck.

 

 If they'd kept all of the klutzing to a minimum until he got at the rodeo, with him making a mistake there, making ponies laugh, and then purposely continuing to do so, because he's enjoying it, that might have made the episode stronger and got the message through better. Fixing, or at least lessening that one problem with the episode.

Edited May 2, 2015 by BasementPoneh

[lomk 20,663]

I think the word of the day is contrived. The plot was too convenient. Applejack kept letting the CMC go with Braeburn because if she kept them, the plot would have gone literally nowhere. Braeburn was irresponsible and incompetent because if Braeburn were instead capable, the plot would have gone literally nowhere. Trouble Shoes is a walking disaster because if he could do anything at all correctly, the plot would have gone (you guessed it) literally nowhere. We didn't need the scene where Trouble Shoes went to jail, but if that wasn't there, the runtime wouldn't have made it to 22 minutes. But if Trouble Shoes wasn't considered an outlaw and was (more appropriately) considered just a general klutz or accident-prone, the plot wouldn't have gone anywhere....so I guess we needed a scene to prove to us the whole "outlaw" thing wasn't a joke. 

 

And the humor just wasn't well-placed. Not even the slapstick was very good. 

 

 

This was funny. Twi was being kind of an a-hole to Pinkie throughout the entire episode. And while I didn't care for the moral of Feeling Pinkie Keen, it was funny throughout because Twilight is pretty much stalking Pinkie and bad things happen to Twilight. Twilight deserved everything she had coming.

 

The slapstick in this episode isn't funny because Trouble Shoes is legitimately trying to improve his life and do good, but bad things happen to him. That is completely unwarranted. He did nothing to deserve any of the bad things happening to him, and he wanted no part of it until he was brainwashed into letting go of his hopes and dreams of being a competitor. You even see this when he tries to jump through the hoop. Trouble Shoes wants to be taken seriously. But nobody actually does. And that will continue to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Trouble Shoes doesn't want to make ponies laugh. He actually wants to compete. This would have much better if he actually was actually driven to make others laugh. 

[LongGoneGr 1,304]

Not one of the best of MLP, but certainly not one of the worst! I had an enjoyable time watching this one, and it brought me some laughter and cheer to watch it.

[ggg-2 3,550]

You know who Troubleshoes reminds me of? Boo Radley. And just like Boo, you just can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy.

[Trine 665]

Did you guys also notice that they added some typical cartoon effect in this episode. I mean with the lump on troubleshoes' head when he crashed into thing

[BlackWater627 700]

Well, what else were they suppose to say? "You will always mess up, forget about being in the Rodeo, best you keep yourself locked up so you dont go messing up other's lives?" 

 

I am curious how people would have ended it differently. Cause the ending we got was probably the ONLY ending that would have worked.

 

Like many situations in the show, there was an outcome that was inevitable if not necessary. Personally, I would have liked it to go in the direction of bad luck being a good thing. Like betting against oneself in a competition. 

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

So yeah, this episode was... okay I guess.  It wasn't offensively bad, but I didn't find it particularly memorable either.  I can't really say why, people before me have probably explained it much better than I could.

 

Oh, and I'm just going to make a completely wild guess, but I think the theme of this season is going to be cutie marks.  Shocking I know, but deep analysis of the past few episodes has led me to this conclusion.  This probably means that we're going to be seeing quite a bit more of the CMC than usual, and I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing...

[Cleverclover 1,525]

 

 

I'm sure this horse has been beaten to death, but Braeburn....Why, why did Applejack continue to leave them with him after he proved and proved and proved he's just not up to the task?

 

1. He had only failed once, and if nothing else, general bonds of family would grant him a second chance. 

 

2. Applejack clearly did not appear to want to leave them with him. Look at her facial expression just as Braeburn closes the door. She appears worried. 

[duidamasterXD 9,626]

Episode started out meh and ranged into bad, which is a shame considering how sad of a character Troubleshoes ended up being. That was easily the biggest problem with this one, how it insisted on treating Troubleshoes' slapstick as funny at the end of the day. I like good slapstick as much as anybody, but you don't just show somebody miserably failing at their biggest dream for their entire life and coming home alone to their run-down shed in the middle of the woods, and expect your audience's reaction to be :lol: :lol: :lol: .

 

The idea of having somebody be dissatisfied with their mark because they've interpreted it wrong is an interesting idea, especially since we've seen marks like Cheerilee's that aren't meant to be taken literally. As it stands though, this episode's take on it felt dark as heck. Our new character is the happiest he's ever been once he realizes that his destiny is to have everybody laugh at his screwups for the rest of his life .

 

Add in Braeburn being unamusingly useless for twenty minutes for the sole purpose of getting the one character who's supposed to be responsible out of the picture, and I'd have to rate it even lower than Polsky's last Appleoosa episode.

 

No Little Strongheart/10