spoiler How mad would you if the Apple parents turned out to be alive?

[Thrond 3,257]

Pretty big if, but I'd be a tad disappointed, given that this is something which gives the Apple family a little bit more depth, and that it makes their absence through the show confusing. At best it'd require a lot of stuff to have happened offscreen without our knowledge, and at worst it'd be genuinely confusing. Wanting Applejack to have her parents is nice, but she's not real, and real people without living parents might find that aspect relatable if it's not contradicted.

 

Of course, that's all *if* her parents turn out to be alive, which I struggle to believe will happen at this point.

Big Jim said on Twitter they're not that old. And Twilight *was* in school until very recently.

They've got to at least be in their early-to-mid twenties, though, even if only the horse equivalent. They're even called grown-ups in the show itself.

[IronM17 5,145]

As long as they have a good story for it (like the parents are lost and everybody thought they were dead and AJ find them surprisingly on a (map) trip), I have nothing against the theme that AJs Parents are still alive. But when they come back with a totally dumb reason, then I would be a little bit mad. 

[Jeric 46,835]

As long as they have a good story for it (like the parents are lost and everybody thought they were dead and AJ find them surprisingly on a (map) trip), I have nothing against the theme that AJs Parents are still alive. But when they come back with a totally dumb reason, then I would be a little bit mad.

I think the only way it could work out without some unfortunate implication about poor parenting would be if they played the convoluted "we thought they were dead angle." Sort of like Hey Arnold! ...

 

It would be a convoluted way of sidestepping the issue, but better than them just showing up alive.

 

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For the longest time I have been a proponent of the subtle with respect to this question. Basically, keep the status quo. Recently, I have found that an episode tactfully handling the death of a parent actually has legitimate purpose for children and teens who have experienced that directly or indirectly. I still favor leaving it ambiguous, but I can see the capicity Of such a tale being important.

 

I do have doubts about the current writing team's ability to craft that story. Not because they suck, but because the Mr. Hoopers, Rugrats in Paris, and Parents Day's of the world are not easy to write.