S07:E09 - Honest Apple

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

 

I thought that if anyone would know to appreciate hard work regardless if they understood it or not, it'd be Applejack... because if someone knows what hard work is, it's Applejack. Surely she understood this all along. Surely she'd know that not every pony likes apples but can respect that. AJ came across so out of character that it makes the existence of this episode feel very forced. The scene where she undid the feather hat was particularly painful.

This whole episode was predicated on "honesty." Seriously, I find it to be a very one-dimensional take on AJ's character. There's more to her than just being the element of honesty.

So... the resolution was pretty nice. It tied up the loose ends nicely enough. It's why I give this episode an OK, a 5.5/10.

Maybe if this was a season 1 or 2 episode where AJ's character development was still behind compared to now.

Edit: I see many unfamiliar names when looking at the writers for the episode. That might explain it.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Liquid

[cmarston1 5,959]

4 hours ago, Vocal Analyst said:

Haven't finished the episode yet... but one thing keeps bugging me:

WHY DIDN'T RARITY ASK FLUTTERSHY TO BE THE JUDGE?

I harken back to Suited For Success in Season 1, where Shy Animal Horse noted her knowledge of high fashion and the astute critical ability to inform Rarity of issues with her gala dress to the most finite of degrees. Not to mention, thanks to said knowledge she pretty-much single handedly sewed Rarity's gala dress together in time... so WHY is she not considered? Hell, why was that personality trait such a throwaway for that episode six years ago if there's a purpose for it here? It just makes me think the Applejack as a judge conflict for the designers and judges is there for conflicts sake just to give this episode something to work with and feels unnecessary. Therefore, outside of potentially building a character in AJ's case... I don't see the point of it.

That's actually a really good point.  I almost forgot Fluttershy actually knew about fashion given how Suited for Success was back in season 1 and hasn't been mentioned since.

But given how many callbacks to previous episodes we have gotten so far, it wouldn't have been out of place for Rarity to mention how Fluttershy fixed the gala dresses as a reason why she should be the last judge.

Plus Rarishy is a pairing we have barely seen explored in the show, so to have another episode focusing on the two would be nice to see, but instead we got yet another Rarijack episode, because apparently the writers just love to overuse that mediocre paring.

[Shrug 9,953]

@Music Chart Fan You make a great point there. The writers seem to be relying way too heavily on the idea that the fashion is ridiculous. The intent seems to be making it as over the top as possible so that the viewer will find AJ justified in her actions. However, it fails because they take it way too far. Even if she found it silly, I imagine an in-character AJ would appreciate the hard work that went in and show just a little bit of respect. She would never destroy someone's work because she doesn't find it "practical".

[Darthy Hooves 106]

6 hours ago, cmarston1 said:

That's actually a really good point.  I almost forgot Fluttershy actually knew about fashion given how Suited for Success was back in season 1 and hasn't been mentioned since.

But given how many callbacks to previous episodes we have gotten so far, it wouldn't have been out of place for Rarity to mention how Fluttershy fixed the gala dresses as a reason why she should be the last judge.

Plus Rarishy is a pairing we have barely seen explored in the show, so to have another episode focusing on the two would be nice to see, but instead we got yet another Rarijack episode, because apparently the writers just love to overuse that mediocre paring.

I think the writers love to exploit conflict between Applejack & Rarity as a ratings drawer.

[Tropico 226]

this season it seems that ponies are acting more dumb just to create a dumb conflict/plot and eeh i dont like it. this should be a first/second season plot, not now.

i do love that this season has more artistic and filled backgrounds. ponyville now has more houses, flowers, fences. the forests seems more alive. etc i love it

 

[Batbrony 16,054]

Ahhhhhhhh, good evening everypony, and welcome back to another edition of "Batbrony Reviews"!  Well, this week's episode review should be shorter and considerably less angry than last week's for a few reasons: (1) this episode was far less infuriating, (2) I'm in a splendid mood after seeing "Wonder Woman" this weekend, and (3) I need to write a shorter episode review in general.  So without further ado, let's begin and dive into "Honest Apple."

Now, while this episode is far superior to the dreck that we got last week, it was not without its problems.  My friend Jeric boiled it down nicely yesterday when he said to me that the main problem is that we had "Season 1 Applejack interacting with Season 7 Rarity," and I have to agree.  Applejack was behaving uncharacteristically OOC, and immature even; I'd even say that I'd have a hard time believing Season 1 Applejack would act this way, even with Rarity when they weren't quite as close.  It's not simply an issue of not taking her friend or her feelings and concerns into consideration, Applejack just displayed zero tact or discretion whatsoever, and that's just not like her.  I could buy Rainbow Dash in earlier seasons behaving like this, but never AJ; her element may be the Element of Honesty, but that doesn't mean she's blunt to the point of not considering the feeling of others.  She understands holding one's tongue, in fact, she's always been the small town ideal of just that; if she's uncomfortable with something, she'll usually have a subtle, wry, blunt comment to make about it, or just hold her tongue if the situation calls for it.  Whoever wrote this wrote her like a country bumpkin with no appreciation for higher culture (heck, at one point she's flat out insulting the work of Coco Pommel, a genuinely good friend of hers!), and in our current political climate I don't exactly appreciate those stereotypes being displayed when many of those stereotypes are how we got to such a polarized state in our country in the first place, especially when it's a betrayal of who this character is.  On top of that, she's uncharacteristically stupid as well; we know that AJ understands the idea of wearing clothes in different contexts and settings, not just for work or practical business (and sometimes fancier dress is required FOR business), because AJ herself has worn such outfits for such special occasions many times, much of it made by Rarity!  She may not get the art side of fashion, but she understands its appeal, that it has appeal, and that it's a whole other industry of its very own.  She doesn't walk around with this "If I don't get it it must be stupid and irrelevant" attitude that so many people seem to revel in these days.  It's a disappointing missed opportunity, because there was a great episode to be had here, it just needed some tweaking is all, especially considering RariJack is my favorite pair of friends in the Mane 6 and can be such a joy to watch when they are done right.  So yeah, not happy at all with AJ, and even less so when I consider that it was done in the name of making the lesson the writers had in mind work.

Sad AJ is sad, that's what happens when you writer her badly, writers!

So what is the lesson you might ask?  Well, it's basically an indictment of Internet s*** talking.  No really, I'm serious, the whole lesson is about watching what you say or how you say something to others, especially when critiquing something they've done or made.  You can't just consider your own thoughts or feelings when doing so, you need to take into account how your words are going to affect the person you're talking to as well.

Now, normally I'd have no problem with this lesson.  I mean, people not knowing how to be civil with each other or even display the most basic decency to each other on the Internet is a big reason people tend to get so heated with each other these days.  So on its face, the lesson is a good one.  However, here's why it doesn't work in this particular context.  The lesson was forced, at the expense of making any sense whatsoever.  We already went into how it forced AJ to be incredibly OOC, but it also doesn't make sense in the setting either.  The thing about this lesson is that it applies most to Internet communication because it's incredibly easy to dehumanize or become desensitized to the feelings of someone you're talking with online when all you see is a screen in front of you.  This episode, however, is all about face-to-face interactions, and the thing about face-to-face interactions is that people, especially genuinely decent people like AJ, tend to be far more sensitive to the feelings of others when talking in person to someone.  Only people who genuinely have no lid on what they say, either because they're that insensitive or have some kind of personality disorder, have no filter when talking directly to others.  So really, while the lesson was good, it just made no sense that it had to be taught to AJ of all people under these circumstances.

This troll, however, was HILARIOUS!

So now that the biggest issues are out of the way, what worked in this episode?  Well Rarity is the most obvious choice.  Her choice of AJ as a judge was creative but also showed her trust of her arguably closest friend (as well as understanding of her strengths), it was incredibly generous of her to organize an event like this to help others break into the fashion industry she loves so much, and her level of maturity displayed the whole episode was great.  She reprimanded AJ when she deserved it, but wasn't unduly harsh, plus her way of teaching AJ how she bucked up was hilarious and witty (also, Strawberry Sunrise is a hilarious s*** talker when it comes to apples).  Her biggest issue is that this conflict should not have been one sided; the ideal situation would have been both AJ and Rarity made mistakes to a certain extent.  AJ should have been uncomfortable with the judging and not sure what to say since she didn't know how to fit in, and Rarity should have not been aware of AJ's concerns for most of the episode.  That way they would have had something to teach each other.  She wasn't quite Mary Sue levels here, I can buy Rarity being this mature, it's just the conflict felt forced since one character suffered so much in order to make it happen, and it didn't do Rarity any favors either in doing so.

But oh well, the episode more than made up for it by giving Rarity the most amazing 10 seconds of the episode!

I have no idea where the buck that came from, but I want more of it!!!  All I know is that Rarity apparently has FANTASTIC methods of stress relief and venting!  SHRED GIRL, SHRED!!! 

As for the rest of the episode, it was pleasant enough.  I enjoyed that it was largely set in Ponyville, specifically the Canterlot Boutique and the Ponyville business district.  The return of Photo Finish and Hoity Toity (in speaking roles, no less) was positively delightful, and I very much liked all three of the up and coming fashion designer ponies as well (especially, for some odd reason, the valley girl one; very strange for me since I usually hate that character type in cartoon shows, but here for some reason I thought it was adorable and hilarious.  Possibly because the writers seemed aware of the stereotypes of the valley girl trope and seemed to playfully be poking fun at them while still making the character endearing by, you know, actually being good at stuff).

'Lit'rally' intensifies!!!

The set up and conclusion for the episode were both lovely, and the fashion show (along with the instrumentals that sounded very reminiscent of the fashion show in Season 1's "Suited for Success") made this episode feel like a spiritual successor to some extent to "Suited for Success" even.  But because of the problems that I cited earlier with both AJ and the forced nature of the lesson, what should have been a good to even great episode ended up just OK.  That's a damn shame, but it's nowhere near as infuriating as last week's wretchedness.  That's all I've got for ya tonight, everypony!  Until next week, this is Batbrony signing off.  I'm off!!! *cue dramatic exit*

To end things off, let's just have a bunch of pics from the better moments of the episode...

And finally, the 10 seconds we will always remember from this episode 

Beautiful 

[Dowlphin 463]

While it was a setup for a specific lesson, the setup itself incorporated the same problem as in Fluttershy Leans In. And it also reminded me of Parental Gildeance. One crucial element of the problem was ignored. Rarity TOTALLY wanted AJ to be a judge, for her honesty. Then Rarity lectured her about just that as if it was AJ's fault ONLY. After AJ realized what she did and apologized, I absolutely expected Rarity to at least mention her responsibility in this, but nope. Not that and also no bit of leniency in her attitude.

"I wish you'd realized it before you ruined the fashion show." - Well, Rarity, I wish YOU had simply COMMUNICATED that to her before she ruined the fashion show!

I hope this bias isn't becoming a theme, because it disses the all-encompassing theme of personal responsibility.

Most entertaining scene was with Strawberry Sunrise. (And I'm not just saying that because he has a pinkieish voice. Which BTW surprises me wasn't Andrea Libman, but a Maggie Blue O'Hara. Not sure whether she's voiced ponies before.)

Edited June 5, 2017 by Dowlphin

[Justin_Case001 4,883]

Uhh....I dunno, man.  What's happened to this show?  This episode was definitely orders of magnitude better than Hard to Say Anything, but that's not saying much.  Dried dog doo is orders of magnitude better than Hard to Say Anything.  Honest Apple certainly had some redeeming qualities, but there was a lot I hated about it.

I loved the premise, I loved the intro, I loved the actual fashion show as well as the denouement, and I absolutely loved the fact that much of the episode essentially parodied Project Runway (with Rarity basically being Tim Gunn.  )  That said, the writers reduced AJ to a dense, oblivious imbecile.  Okay, we know that AJ can be overly blunt.  That's in keeping with her character.  But where the f*ck does she get off literally destroying one of the designer's works?  F*ck that.  AJ is not that rude and thoughtless.  She would never do that.  This episode just went down the toilet for me when AJ wrecked that designer's hat.  Her behavior was just way too exaggerated in general.  The moral felt overly forced as well.  It's like...I feel like lately they've just been exaggerating behaviors too much to get a point across.  I feel like they used to be more subtle and realistic.  They don't need to go over the top and spell everything out to make it work.  I really think this episode could have been spectacular with some pretty minor tweaks.  Lately, it just feels to me like the conflicts are contrived and characters are looking more and more like exaggerations, flanderizations, etc, just to shoehorn a moral in.  I dunno...apart from the hat desecration, it wasn't that bad, I guess.  It just wasn't good.

I was also actively disturbed by Rarity's electric guitar thing.  What the f*ck was that?  Seriously.  What are we to make of that?  Are we to assume she can actually do that?  That doesn't make any sense.  Was is supposed to be one of those don't-take-it-literally/throw-away gags?  So....what....Rarity is doing Pinkie Breaks now?  I don't like it.  I really loved when Pinkie was playing that instrument, though.  (Was that a ukulele or a lute?)  It was cute and seemed just like something she'd do.  It was a perfect touch, and then they had to go and ruin it.

That said, I think it would have been really great if they had brought in a couple of new ponies to be the judges of the fashion show, and had them voiced by Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, but it was still nice to see reprises from past characters.

I really hope the writers get it together and turn things around.  So, next week's episode sounds promising, but I'm really terrified that there's no hope for it.  I've been waiting since literally S1 for a Sisters spotlight, but I'm afraid that the chance for it to be great is now past.  We should have had a Sisters spotlight about two seasons ago.  Now I feel like the train has sailed, the dye has been cast, the moving finger has writ, Hannibal has crossed the Alps.  It's all over.  Please, please be good.

The show hasn't jumped the shark yet, but I really want to give the FIM writers the following message:

[Steve Piranha 29,420]

I think that it's less impressive episode of this season so far. I think the best of this episode was like... Strawberry Sunrise  

6 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

 

I really hope the writers get it together and turn things around.  So, next week's episode sounds promising, but I'm really terrified that there's no hope for it. 

 

I won't make promises that you'll like the next episode for the simple fact that we all have our likes and opinions. But what I guarantee you is that, among us who watched the early releases, the general consensus is (myself included) that's the best episode of the season so far.

[Thrond 3,263]

7 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

I really hope the writers get it together and turn things around.  So, next week's episode sounds promising, but I'm really terrified that there's no hope for it.  I've been waiting since literally S1 for a Sisters spotlight, but I'm afraid that the chance for it to be great is now past.  We should have had a Sisters spotlight about two seasons ago.  Now I feel like the train has sailed, the dye has been cast, the moving finger has writ, Hannibal has crossed the Alps.  It's all over.  Please, please be good.

I can't say how you'll feel about certain things in it, and it's not perfect, but I can assure you that it actually is quite good. One of the best episodes this season, not that that's saying much. 

[Truffles 2,033]

8 hours ago, Justin_Case001 said:

So, next week's episode sounds promising, but I'm really terrified that there's no hope for it.

It depends on whether you are able to buy the premise the episode presents to kick things off. If you do, then you'll really like it. I myself rather enjoyed the episode!

[Dowlphin 463]

Please not even insinuations about coming episodes in these threads.

[Shrug 9,953]

@Justin_Case001 Speaking as someone who has seen the next two episodes, I promise it gets better. Wouldn't call them amazing but good enough to restore my faith in this season.

[Justin_Case001 4,883]

On 6/5/2017 at 10:09 AM, Dowlphin said:

Please not even insinuations about coming episodes in these threads.

Yes.  This really needed to be said.  While I appreciate the comments directed at me about how I will probably like the next episode, I don't want to know anything in advance.  I think that episode threads shouldn't contain any spoilers (or even implications) about upcoming episodes until said episodes have aired EVERYWHERE.  After that, it's fair game.

[Ironic Nickname 31]

After having rewatched the episode a few times (by watching people reacting to it), my opinion of it is much more positive than before. Applejack's behavior is still a bit annoying, but it doesn't annoy me that much anymore, especially since I know it ends well. Overall, it's a pretty good episode with some funny moments. Would watch again.

[Grtxkkyz 388]

Sorry, but no, just no. For starters, it's pretty obvious that Applejack doesn't have a very good understanding of fashion, yet Rarity picked her up anyway. And while i can see the episode wanted to deliver a lesson about how brutal honesty can be rather hurtful at times, Applejack herself pretty much behaved in a quite unsympathetic way with her judgement. Yeah, the main moral is that you should not judge something too harshly because of all the effort and work put into it, but this episode failed to deliver that gracefully. I gotta admit, i do like Rarity's completely unexpected guitar solo. Currently a low point for the season.

[Redhatbrony 59]

I have to say, I don't like rarity and Applejack is was to odd, but for me not out of character.

All the other stuff is in my review.
Enjoy.

 

[PoisonClaw 8,164]

Finally got around to watching this episode. It wasn't terrible, but there were certainly a few things that bugged me. While I adored the designs of both the designer ponies and their models, the fact that Lily Lace is a stereotypical Valley Girl ruined her for me. Even if she was voiced by Andrea Libman, her voice irritated me to no end. 

Yeah, great idea Rarity, hire Applejack as a judge and then don't tell her until the last minute. I'm sure that won't backfire in any way! As for Applejack, she was far harsher than usual, but when she shook all the feathers out of Lily Lace's hat after she'd painstakingly sewed all them on, that was completely uncalled for. To her credit thought, when confronted by someone with as harsh an opinion as hers, she does realize she's screwed up big time right away and work on fixing it post haste. 

Also, I have yet another thing to add to the list of "Rarity's Many Hidden Talents", since she can seriously shred on guitar.    

Edited June 9, 2017 by PoisonClaw

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Just finished watching. While there wasn't anything really wrong with the episode (unless you count Applejack taking a level in rudeness as something wrong, which I don't), it was pretty typical. I mean, it was enjoyable, but there wasn't really anything to make it stand out. I like that Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, and Hard Hat made reappearances, though. 

The designers were pretty cool, too, though Lily Lace's stuff with the "I can't even" was kinda groan-worthy (maybe that was the intention- to sort of poke fun at valley girl stereotypes).

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

This episode was not my favorite out of Season 7, but it was decent. I enjoyed Rarity and Applejack's chemistry and I liked the overall moral of the episode. I enjoyed seeing Hoity Toity and Photo Finish again and I also liked Lily Lace, Starstreak, and Inky Rose. Spike and Pinkie were great this episode as well despite having minor roles. My only issue with the episode is because of Rarity not speaking up about Applejack's honesty, it made Applejack come off as rude and not at all like her character, but other than that a decent episode 8/10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[colt .45 259]

WTF Hoity Toity? Are you a donkey? Why do you have donkey long ears even? If you aren't a donkey?

 Maybe Hoity Toity is a mule. That is the name for a horse (in this case pony) and donkey hybrid animal. 

[Dowlphin 463]

14 minutes ago, colt .45 said:

WTF Hoity Toity? Are you a donkey? Why do you have donkey long ears even? If you aren't a donkey?

 Maybe Hoity Toity is a mule. That is the name for a horse (in this case pony) and donkey hybrid animal. 

Astute observation. Maybe he's trying to compensate with all his extravagant extroversion.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Dowlphin

[colt .45 259]

2 minutes ago, Dowlphin said:

Astute observation. Maybe he's trying to compensate with all his extravagant extroversion.

His grandfather is Eeyore.?

[Allen 1,387]

This episode went successful for both Applejack and Rarity, so I will say this is an excellent episode as well!  Those ponies are dressed up in a fashioned way at the near ending part, they like their new designs better.

[Miles 2,512]

At the very least, a good lesson was learned on both ends. 

Anywho, I'd have voted for the gothic pony. I think Spencer's and Hot Topic are pretty cool stores to waste your time in, and buy overpriced band T's. Lmao.

P.S. "I don't think you know what that word means." Thank you Applejack. That was needed. Very, very needed.