S03:E04 - One Bad Apple

[A Black Circle 1,586]

Swarm of the Century: Best Moral

One Bad Apple: Worst

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

I thought this was one bad episode. It involves Babs joining Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The biggest problem was that Babs bullied blank flanks even though she was a blank flank too. I found this to be mean-spirited.

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

Not a good first impression of Babs in my opinion.

[radPie 7]

I don't know why, but the name "One Bad Apple" reminds me of the infamous Touhou song "Bad Apple".

Sorry, I'm just one true Touhou nerd.

ANYONE WHO LIKES TOUHOU HERE THAT IS ALSO HYPED FOR TOUHOU 14.5?

[Judgement 445]

I really loved the song. It was catchy and sounded great. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thought this, but it sounds somewhat reminiscent of one of the "Scooby Doo" intros. The Chorus specifically: "Babs Seed, Babs Seed. What we gonna do? Got a bully on our tail, Gotta hide, We gotta bail. Babs Seed, Babs Seed. If she's after you, gotta run, we gotta flee. Gotta hurry don't you see."

 

About Babs Seed in particular, though, I can relate to Apple Bloom a lot. My cousin was a jerk when I first met him.

[RainbowTashie 378]

Much better then I thought it was going to be. It wasn't just bullying then hugs, it had an actual lesson. Which isn't always the way with CMC episodes. And: DAT SONG.

did they call her babs seed just for that song :S

[FlyingLikeDash 33]

The song in this episode was amazing, but the story? Mehh.

[JonasDarkmane 19,788]

I thought the episode was ok. I did not enjoy seeing Babs being a bully, just because some strangers were mean to the CMC (her not knowing Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon (most likely)). 

[redaxted 1,765]

I think this was certainly one of the great episodes of season three. Clearly not the very best, but I think it teaches everypony about possible truths behind bullying, and the fact that, if ever you are bullied, just tell someone. Don't try and tackle it yourself head-on, because something could go wrong or you could do something you end up deeply regretting. I also really liked the character of Babs Seed when she wasn't siding with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon! I did find it kind of annoying how Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just straight up refused to tell Applejack, though! They should have listened to Sweetie Belle. But overall, the moral was very strong in One Bad Apple!   Oh, and that song! That Song!

Edited November 7, 2015 by Wolves

[Ed Lyons 105]

One of my favourite episodes. I love the songs a lot

[Lexamena 391]

Rewatching this episode, I noticed the CMC stated to Babs the actual purpose of the CMC club, which, in order to not spoil future episode story line, I won't type here. But, it was interesting what they said.

Also, shark bait ooo ha ha.

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

that episode felt evil but i loved the musical

[twiia 1,843]

The plot was a bit much for me. A bit cringy to say the least.

[cmarston1 5,959]

The best thing to come out of this episode was the really catchy and highly enjoyable Babs Seed song.

[Thrond 3,263]

When Babs saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bullying the CMC, she saw an opportunity to be on top of the power dynamic which caused her so much misery back home. It's an act of weakness, but maybe those bullies got to her much more than the Ponyville bullies did to the CMC. It doesn't excuse what she did, but I think showing her compassion rather than hostility was able to do a lot to put her priorities in order. I find her to be a complex and sympathetic character, and the moral - that bullies are people too, with their own problems, and maybe they only bully to feel stronger than they are - is legitimately powerful. So yeah, I like this episode a lot, and I'm of the opinion that forgiveness and second chances are important, especially for legitimately repentant people like Babs. 

 

I guess the negative reaction to this episode foreshadowed the negative reaction to the S5 finale, huh? 

[Thrond 3,263]

I've actually soured on this a bit. There's still funny stuff here, but around the middle it just starts throwing about some empty nastiness, with all of the main characters acting maliciously towards each other. I do kinda appreciate the moral, though, because even if some adults wouldn't listen to accusations of bullying, Applejack is clearly an adult whom the CMC trust, so I see no reason that she wouldn't have believed them, and I appreciate the moral that the best way to deal with a bully is to confide in an adult whom you trust. I'm not entirely convinced that Babs would have been so easily convinced to stop, but it might have been easier to buy if Babs' feelings had gotten more development. 

Really, we should have seen this from Babs' perspective. There's some clear complexity to her, and early on you can see her feeling uncomfortable about the CMC club, and it's also interesting how she weighs her options when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon come up. But we don't get much more insight than that, so it can be difficult to sympathize even when Applejack mentions how Babs herself had been bullied. I'm glad she's given some depth, but I just think that if we had gotten inside her head a little more, the whole narrative might have worked a lot better. 

But the ending does give me the idea that Babs is a sweet enough kid at heart. If I judged her for being a bully for a bit, then I'd also have to judge the CMC for the numerous incidents in which they've been rude and selfish, and it helps that Babs seems genuinely remorseful in the ending bits. Again, I think the episode's main issue is not fleshing her out enough, as the middle part basically dumps her into an antagonistic role without really exploring her thought process there. Everything else would flow a lot better if Babs just had a clearer character arc. But her apology at the end is charming, and she shows some real charisma when she scares off Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, so I'd still really like it if the show finally gave her a second appearance. 

And the song is great. Can't resist that. 

Score: 

Entertainment: 6/10

Characters: 6/10

Themes: 7/10

Story: 5/10

Overall: 60/100

Edited September 19, 2017 by AlexanderThrond

[Singe 2,111]

One of the things where this falls flat is that there are some Mane 6 members who have been bullied that could have been used to help the CMC.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

I liked this Episode. Even though its a tiny bit far, that someone starts to bully her Family Members, just because she doesnt want to get bullied again, even though she wouldnt have been alone then, since they would be 4 against 2. But i like the new Character.

[Meushell 52]

I’m iffy on Babs. I had a “Babs” best friend growing up, who never changed her ways, even though I defended her time and time again. I don’t excuse Babs her actions because of this, though the show does. She even kicked Applebloom out off her own bed. That goes beyond, “I just don’t want to be bullied.”

She did change her ways though, so I’ll give her a pass. 

The CMC revenge plot was wrong because it was potentially dangerous. Bullying though? I don’t agree. That it relied on Babs being a bully as a sort of “Does she really deserve this humiliation?” test is pretty clever in itself.

Since this episode does explore on why people might bully, it was a bit of a missed opportunity that we don’t get any indication that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon also bully for a reason. After all, cutie marks indicate talent. Their talent is being born rich. Um. Yay? Maybe they bully “blank flanks,” and the multi talented CMCs in particular, because they secretly hate their own cutie marks. 

[bigbertha 415]

This is not a very good episode. It has a few good jokes and a great song, but the moral is a bit off. It's nice that it says to tell an adult if you're being bullied, but it also puts the crusaders in the wrong for wanting to fight back against their bully, something that is sometimes the only option if an adult won't listen. I know in this case, they didn't need to fight back, but the moral would've felt more complete if the episode acknowledged that fighting back is sometimes necessary.

Score: 4/10

[qwerE 96]

This was an interesting episode, but I do kind of get why some people are salty. The story was about bullying, which can make the plot feel a bit cringey for some people.

However, I think the deliverly of the moral was okay, considering how much worse it could've been. I didn't find the epsiode to be too cringey, and was even touched a little at the end.

Or maybe I'm just more tolerant to 'cringey' stuff than other people... Anyway, I liked it!

[bigbertha 415]

Yeah, the moral is kinda off, saying that the CMC fighting back is becoming the bully. But I see why they did that in this case because they went to an extreme that wasn't necessary since they should've talked to Applejack in the beginning and everything would've been fine. The issue, of course, is that these kinds of things don't exist in a bubble and real life has many cases where adults don't listen and action must be taken. It's a moral that could easily be corrected by a parent watching with their kid, making it one of the less morally bad episodes, but the parent shouldn't have to correct the moral in the first place.

Aside from the moral, I like this episode. The CMC have their charming personalities instead of their annoying ones this time so the CMC are solid protagonists to follow. There are also some solid jokes along the way and a really good song. 

Score: 6/10

[Rushing cash 836]

I actually really like this episode, sure babs got scotch free and should've got some punishment, but otherwise it was really enjoyable. The reason she started bullying was actually a common reason for bullying(I know a few from my childhood that bullied others because of a very similar reason) and made sense. Some parts didn't make sense(like the bullies taking over the club house) but what they got right was really good. 9\10.

The song was amazing, the best one in season 3 and one of the best in the show. Cinemas in equestria confirmed here to.   

Edited August 30, 2019 by Rushing cash

[Rushing cash 836]

Applebloom mentioned a avoiding babes like a plague, it confirms that ponies faced plagues too... 

[starlightglimmerlove 10]

Babs always blow her mane?????????

Spoiler