S04:E13 - Simple Ways

[SouthpawLink 16]

Overall, I don't think this is an episode I'll be watching again any time soon. As one would expect, it was painful to watch Rarity's increasingly pathetic and desperate attempts to win over Trenderhoof (including her fake accent, which grew annoying very quickly), not to mention Trenderhoof's sudden and total obsession with Applejack. I know that was kind of the point of the episode, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable to watch. Also, the episode seems to spend too much time establishing Rarity's desperate attempts to woo Trenderhoof, while rushing through Rarity's realization of her foolishness and return to normal, making that seem less realistic.

 

Rarity's crush on Trenderhoof seems, at best, a little premature and unrealistic, given that she apparently has never met him in person, let alone gotten to know much of anything about his personality, day-to-day lifestyle, personal likes and dislikes, etc. She might know a little bit about him from third-party sources, but of course, those don't shed much, if any, light on how he is outside of his media-established persona. But Trenderhoof's crush on Applejack is even worse; he falls for her simply by looking at her, despite not knowing a thing about her. I feel like I wouldn't develop a crush on someone whom I haven't seen on a regular basis and whom I don't know anything about their everyday life, personality, etc. 

 

Another thing I don't understand is that Rarity continues to believe that Trend is about to admit heretofore unseen romantic feelings for her, even when it's well established that he has feelings for Applejack. In particular, Rarity thinks that Trend's (painful) impromptu song is about her, and right after Applejack goes into the chicken coop, she thinks that Trend is about to ask her to be his date or profess his love to her or some such thing. Does Rarity have any reason to believe that Trend has such feelings for her? Rarity also comes up with the completely unwarranted idea that Applejack is "stealing" Trend away from her, even as Rarity has seen Applejack show no interest in him and even act exasperated and annoyed by him.

 

. . .

 

Rarity says to Applejack that she's "a true friend who probably knows me better than I know myself". I know I've heard that phrase elsewhere, and I find it odd and don't really see how it's true. Maybe it would be better to say that sometimes you need a friend to help you get out of your own head, bring new knowledge and/or perspective to a situation, and help you make a decision that will be good for you. The moral about not excessively changing yourself to impress someone else is pretty good, though. Maybe another lesson that could be learned from the episode (that might be related to the stated moral) is that one should fall in love with an actual person, not solely their looks, a handful of (assumed) traits, and/or the constructed image of that person in your mind.

 

Now a few more incidental observations:

 

. . .

 

When Twilight and Rarity are at the train station, why are all of these well-known background ponies (e.g. Berry Punch, Colgate, Lyra, Bonbon, Hayseed Turnip Truck, etc.) riding on the same train as Trenderhoof? Where were they all coming from?

 

Has Rarity never seen anyone plowing a field before? Even if not, how does she expect the plow to move when she's just sitting on top of it? What did she imagine would be providing the force?

 

Respectfully, I think you have overanalyzed certain aspects of the episode.  There actually is some scientific evidence behind the phenomenon known as "love at first sight."  Overall, I think much of the episode rings true as to how things work in real life.  People will go to great lengths to get someone else to become attracted to them, and some will still have feelings for another even after finding out that that person likes somone else (I can vouche for the latter point from personal experience).  The smallest positive gestures can give us hope that our crush is finally coming around; again, I've been there.

 

As for Rarity having a crush on Trenderhoof without having met him, well, this happens in real life, too.  How many teenage girls (and even the rare twenty-something) have pictures of pop stars covering their bedroom walls, and how many faint when they finally see him in concert or up close?  It is not uncommon.  Perhaps what is odd here is that Rarity is, presumably, more mature -- as well as older -- than your average teenaged girl, and so we'd expect her to be a bit more rational and restrained towards those in whom she's interested.

 

Regarding Rarity getting angry with Applejack, again, love does that to people.  It can cause us to act irrationally and make us liable to misinterpret the actions of others.  Just as she clung to every positive gesture from Trenderhoof, so too did Rarity misread Applejack's words and actions (that she secretly did want him).  Rather than get angry with Trenderhoof for liking Applejack, Rarity directed it towards the object of his affection; again, I have seen this happen before.

 

I think that Rarity's comment to Applejack could have been better phrased, "I had forgotten who I was, but you know me quite well."  She changed who she was in order to win Trenderhoof's heart.

 

Maybe it's easier and/or faster to reuse well-known background ponies than it is to come up with brand new ones?  I don't think much, if any, thought was put into whence they were coming.

 

Rarity sitting on top of the plough and trying to use it like a carriage was simply a joke, in my opinion, and shouldn't be read into too much.  I want to end by saying that I do appreciate the analysises you give on the episodes, and they are a pleasure to read!

Edited February 12, 2014 by SouthpawLink

[Singe 2,111]

Respectfully, I think you have overanalyzed certain aspects of the episode.  There actually is some scientific evidence behind the phenomenon known as "love at first sight."  Overall, I think much of the episode rings true as to how things work in real life.  People will go to great lengths to get someone else to become attracted to them, and some will still have feelings for another even after finding out that that person likes somone else (I can vouche for the latter point from personal experience).  The smallest positive gestures can give us hope that our crush is finally coming around; again, I've been there.

 

As for Rarity having a crush on Trenderhoof without having met him, well, this happens in real life, too.  How many teenage girls (and even the rare twenty-something) have pictures of pop stars covering their bedroom walls, and how many faint when they finally see him in concert or up close?  It is not uncommon.  Perhaps what is odd here is that Rarity is, presumably, more mature -- as well as older -- than your average teenaged girl, and so we'd expect her to be a bit more rational and restrained towards those in whom she's interested.

 

Regarding Rarity getting angry with Applejack, again, love does that to people.  It can cause us to act irrationally and make us liable to misinterpret the actions of others.  Just as she clung to every positive gesture from Trenderhoof, so too did Rarity misread Applejack's words and actions (that she secretly did want him).  Rather than get angry with Trenderhoof for liking Applejack, Rarity directed it towards the object of his affection; again, I have seen this happen before.

 

I think that Rarity's comment to Applejack could have been better phrased, "I had forgotten who I was, but you know me quite well."  She changed who she was in order to win Trenderhoof's heart.

 

Maybe it's easier and/or faster to reuse well-known background ponies than it is to come up with brand new ones?  I don't think much, if any, thought was put into whence they were coming.

 

Rarity sitting on top of the plough and trying to use it like a carriage was simply a joke, in my opinion, and shouldn't be read into too much.  I want to end by saying that I do appreciate the analysises you give on the episodes, and they are a pleasure to read!

 

Of course, it has always been establish that beauty and looks are very high up on Rarity's list. She has always been easily smitten and obsessed over anything/anyone that strikes her beauty senses.  

 

[Dzastur 1,719]

Just watched it again. Liked it more.

 

For me, season 4 episodes have grown on me significantly with repeat viewings. It's not the sort of appreciation I have to "squint my eyes" to realise, either - I'm just noticing great stuff the second and third times around

 

I think this season will age quite well.

Why does Trenderdouche point to Derpy and call her unappreciated? Everyone appreciates her!

Not necessarily in Ponyville. They're not always addressing us fans, you know. ;-)

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Just by looking at the poll results, this has to be the most polarizing episode of the season. A lot more "Meh, it was okay" and a lot less "I LOVED IT!!!" than what we usually see. I for one loved the episode (if that wasn't made painfully obvious by my avatar) and while I can’t call it perfect, I did want to touch up on the positive aspects since there’s too much negativity going on here.

 

Spoilered for protection because this is a pretty large post. One of these days I'll learn to say more with less text.

 

It seems like many fans are saying “Rarity was stupid/OOC.” I like to think of these characters as being multifaceted. How boring would they be if they all had the same solutions to every problem? Did Rarity do some dumb things? Yes, particularly whenever she showed hope that Tenderfoot Trenderhoof would somehow ask her to be his date for the Ponyville Days festival, because he never once expressed an ounce of interest in her when he was so busy being captivated by Applejack. But as far as Rarity’s desire to impress a celebrity pony that she admired for so long, it seemed like very palatable behavior and not something that would be unnatural or out of character for her. This is not the first time Rarity’s gotten carried away with something in a very exaggerated and hyperbolic way (refer to almost any scene involving a celebrity pony) and it certainly won’t be the last. I think it’s important to remember that MLP is a cartoon. There’s bound to be some contrivances (this episode had plenty of them) and some really over-the-top behavior from the cast, but this episode is more heavily focused on comedic aspects and isn’t something that needs to be analyzed too deeply. Despite that, the episode had a great moral at the end and I loved how Rarity was able to word it to Trend: “There‘s something unappealing about a pony who's changed themselves so much just to impress somepony else. If somepony doesn’t like you for who they are, it’s their loss.” This message was articulated very clearly and concisely. It's nice to see Rarity not only learn something but also share that lesson with another pony all in the span of the same episode.

 

The conflict of the episode itself really interested me. For one thing, the episode’s theme is romance and that’s something that FiM has rarely tackled in any great magnitude. I was very excited to see how the writers could handle a love triangle storyline because it’s a common trope in fiction. We’ve seen Rarity harbor crushes before, (Prince Blueblood) and she’s usually the one to interact with stallions the most (ie: hugging Thunderlane or fainting in front of Flim and Flam) so I really don’t see what all the hubbub is over a love plot since it‘s not something out of Rarity‘s element. MLP has never focused on love too heavily but when it does, as this episode proves, it’s usually done in a much more comedic light. It should be obvious by now that none of the Mane Six are ever going to actually engage in a relationship with a pony. This tiny speckle of romance is not hurting the show’s identity one iota.

Secondly, I’ve always greatly enjoyed the chemistry between Applejack and Rarity. You just couldn’t get two more different ponies as far as lifestyles, personalities, and priorities in life go, but these two greatly understand one another in spite of those differences. They know each other perhaps better than their own selves. By the end of the episode, I realized that I can’t in all fairness call Simple Ways an Applejack episode just by virtue of the fact that her portrayal was more of a supporting role; she really didn’t learn anything new. It was Rarity who received the development here so Applejack feels a little more secondary to Rarity‘s primary, but let me be clear: I‘m not at all complaining because no matter how you size it, the episode had a heavy hand of AJ and I savored every second of it. Applejack absolutely shines as a supporting character and this episode is just another testament to that. Applejack knew Rarity wanted Trend to like her. She also knew Trend was infatuated for all of the wrong reasons. Not once did AJ ever truly lose patience with Rarity, (although she was quite agitated by Trend which I don’t blame her a bit for ) and AJ knew just what to do to make Rarity snap out of her silliness and come to her senses. I love how Applejack was so aware of everything that was going on. One of her best lines in the episode was when Trend and Rarity were talking about how they loved hauling apples around, (obviously done for the sake of wooing) to which AJ muttered, “Maybe you two should try it sometime.” She also had a plethora of hilarious and cute facial expressions. I really think Applejack stole the show and I say this this as unbiased as humanly possible. (Let’s face it, how often do fans laud Applejack with stealing the show? Usually she’s getting spotlight stolen from if this fandom has anything to say about it. Derpy and Flutterbat say hi). :okiedokielokie: Despite that, this was really Rarity's episode to shine and she did just that too.

As for Trenderhoof, he himself was not terribly interesting but in a scenario like this, that’s a good thing. The plot was centered around Rarity and Applejack so making Trenderhoof any less one-dimensional or involved in the plot would detract from the two Mane ponies and hurt what was important in the episode. He did all that was necessary of him, and yet, I still think he’s a fairly memorable character just by virtue of being the first stallion to really blatantly fall in love with one of the Mane Six ponies, especially when that pony is Applejack. Trend has some good taste. In addition, he’s got a bit of a hipster vibe and is also the Equestria equivalent of Anthony Bourdain, so for whatever that’s worth there is some inspiration there. He recited a poem in the episode and talked about his career in brief detail so it’s not like he had zero substance at all. And unlike Blueblood, Trend at least wasn’t a complete and total jerk. His love at first sight crush on Applejack was very foolish but harmless. He meant no ill will towards Rarity, he was just too fixated on his crush on Applejack to focus on anything else. I guess Rarity will have to wait before meeting that perfect stallion.

Spike had a bit of an underplayed, but still very strong role in the episode. Like always, he helped Rarity in a variety of ways all throughout the story and was very supportive to her when she was down. I’m a bit puzzled as to why he didn’t get jealous over Rarity’s infatuation with Trend. It’s clear that Spike is still in love with Rarity through his fourth wall-breaking eyebrow raise and his blushing when she thanked him for his hard work, but he never spoke up about how he felt about the situation and it feels like the interactions between these two, while sweet, were underplayed and a bit of a missed opportunity. On the other hand, the episode clearly wanted the focus to remain on Applejack and Rarity first and foremost, and Spike did just enough to stand out without stealing the spotlight, but I would be lying if I said I felt as if the writers include Spike or utilize him as well as they should. On the positive side, I think he displayed a lot of growth and maturity in keeping his emotions to himself while still being comforting to Rarity. Could he have played more of a role? Perhaps, but if he got too involved, the dynamic between Applejack and Rarity may have suffered as a result. I also thought it’d be nice to see Big Mac show some protection over Applejack even if it was something as simple as an admonishing glare to Trend, but this is just my curiosity speaking.

Okay, and last and most importantly for an episode like this one, the comedy. This might just be the funniest episode of the season. I found it hilarious from start to finish. Everything from Rarity’s spasms over

at the train station to her ridiculous

to her stylish way of apple bucking and everything in between was pure gold. The episode had all of the kind of outrageous Rarity antics I‘ve come to love more and more every season. In addition, there were some pretty… risqué moments. I have never been a huge fan of sexual innuendo in my cartoons but I did get a kick out of seeing Applejack look so…. Well… I am still wondering how that got past the censors, frankly. The team at DHX are giving bronies too much r34 material lately. And Trend's a total perv.

But the real treat was the epic face off between redneck Rarity and Applejewel. One of my favorite aspects that Applejack and Rarity share is their unique respective accents in their speech. But to hear each of their accents get blended with a horribly accurate and yet painfully funny stereotypical version of each other’s voice was hysterical. I thought both Tabitha St. Germain and Ashleigh Ball did a

  I have always wanted to see Rarity

and to see Applejack

for a while, and this episode more or less did that so props to it for helping to check off one of the many things on my shallow bucket list.

 

I can agree with many others that the resolution just sort of hits you in the face with how quickly it happens. The episode's climax was at a highly entertaining point and then all of a sudden it came to a halt. By now I’ve come to expect pretty quick resolutions though (Over a Barrel and Keep Calm and Flutter On called. They want their pacing pack). What sells this episode for me is strictly the character driven humor, and since it's always been the characters that keep me coming back for more every week, this episode makes the grade. The fact that I watched it three times in one day, which is something I very seldom do, speaks of the episode’s impeccable ability to entertain, and in the end, isn’t that the most important thing? I don’t think I will grow tired of this one for quite a while. *Goes to watch the episode again*

 

 

[Music Chart Fan 819]

Respectfully, I think you have overanalyzed certain aspects of the episode.  There actually is some scientific evidence behind the phenomenon known as "love at first sight."  Overall, I think much of the episode rings true as to how things work in real life.  People will go to great lengths to get someone else to become attracted to them, and some will still have feelings for another even after finding out that that person likes somone else (I can vouche for the latter point from personal experience).  The smallest positive gestures can give us hope that our crush is finally coming around; again, I've been there.

 

As for Rarity having a crush on Trenderhoof without having met him, well, this happens in real life, too.  How many teenage girls (and even the rare twenty-something) have pictures of pop stars covering their bedroom walls, and how many faint when they finally see him in concert or up close?  It is not uncommon.  Perhaps what is odd here is that Rarity is, presumably, more mature -- as well as older -- than your average teenaged girl, and so we'd expect her to be a bit more rational and restrained towards those in whom she's interested.

 

Regarding Rarity getting angry with Applejack, again, love does that to people.  It can cause us to act irrationally and make us liable to misinterpret the actions of others.  Just as she clung to every positive gesture from Trenderhoof, so too did Rarity misread Applejack's words and actions (that she secretly did want him).  Rather than get angry with Trenderhoof for liking Applejack, Rarity directed it towards the object of his affection; again, I have seen this happen before.

 

Overanalyzing is my specialty (or so it seems)! I don't really know enough to say just how much of Rarity's and Trenderhoof's behavior can be explained away by "that's just what people in love do". Plus, as I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have much experience with crushes, so I find it a little difficult to relate to Rarity's and Trenderhoof's situations, and I think I therefore end up viewing them from a more distant and skeptical perspective. Besides that, looking at my posts, I think I sometimes don't distinguish between my sentiments of "people don't do this in real life" and "ideally, people shouldn't do this in real life". Sometimes I think both apply, but my comments about Rarity's and Trenderhoof's behavior are probably more of the latter than the former.

 

Maybe it's easier and/or faster to reuse well-known background ponies than it is to come up with brand new ones?  I don't think much, if any, thought was put into whence they were coming.

 

Yeah, my guess is that the real-life reason for throwing a bunch of well-known background ponies into that scene was just as an Easter egg/shout-out to more dedicated fans of the show. I was just wondering what in-world explanation there would be, if any, for all of those well-known characters to be coincidentally riding the same train, and the same train as Trenderhoof, no less.

 

I want to end by saying that I do appreciate the analysises you give on the episodes, and they are a pleasure to read!

 

Thanks! I've been told on previous occasions that my analysis is annoying and to stop doing it, so it's really nice to get a compliment.

[Singe 2,111]

*The following morning.*

Applejack: *Yawn.* Has Trenderhoof left yet?

Big Mac: *Yawn.* Nope.

Applebloom: *Yawn.* I'm so sleepy.

Applejack: *Yawn.* We all are.

Big Mac: *Yawn.* Yep.

Applebloom: *Yawn.* I can't believe Granny kept us up all night with that noise. *Looks at Big Mac.* Big Mac, what was Granny doing with that guy?

Big Mac: *Zones out for a moment and then leaves the room.*

Applebloom: What was that about?

Applejack: Maybe he heard Granny yacking on about things. You know how Big Mac gets when Granny is all yak yak yak.

Applebloom: Ha. Ha. He always zones out. *Yawn.* So can I stay home?

Applejack: No.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Singe

[Twilightlicous 53]

 

Oh, and Derpy being called "unappreciated" was pretty darn cool.

 

.Whats the cool thing being called unappericiated, i would be sad if someone say that to me

[Orablanco Account 3,707]

.Whats the cool thing being called unappericiated, i would be sad if someone say that to me

 

Why? That means you deserve much more apreciation than you get. You have to think about the context here.

[Twilightlicous 53]

Why? That means you deserve much more apreciation than you get. You have to think about the context here.

Trenderhoof was being sarcastic there.

[TomorrowJoes 14]

This sums up everything

[lolololol 65]

Stopped watching it like 10 minutes in. so boring. first episode I have disliked this season.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Stopped watching it like 10 minutes in. so boring. first episode I have disliked this season.

You missed one of the funniest performances of the entire series.

[Its Rainbow Dash 151]

Just watched this and enjoyed the storyline about how people do change to try and get people to like them I think we all have done that at least once in our lives.

 

Rarity acting country was too over the top but Applejack as a fancy was funny.

 

Loved spikes reactions in this episode priceless.

 

All in all it was good and worth at least a watch.

[lolololol 65]

You missed one of the funniest performances of the entire series.

Hmmm...I'll rewatch it then  :okiedokielokie:

[Danger Dash 101]

For me, this episode just flew by and before I knew it, the credits were already playing.....   

If only it could have lasted for twice as long, I think I would be satisfied.

[Cantankerous 106]

The site banner switched before I watched this episode, and, upon seeing it, along with having read the synopsis of the episode provided by iTunes, I got a good idea of what was going to happen and consequently braced myself for a horrible experience. And yes, the episode did turn out to be damned awkward to watch as I expected, but it was also really funny. 

 

So, overall... I'm not sure. I'll have to come back with more detailed thoughts later. 

Edited February 13, 2014 by ByTheTides

[Rift enchanted 380]

I personally liked it and it really brought a new side to applejack and rarity. But it was SO painful to watch. Just seeing the characters embarras themselves so many times. I was in so much pain.

But yeah what I found was a major flaw was trend had absolutely no reason to love the farm. I mean sure he said he wanted to slow down, but a farm? Seriously? I am disappointed of the writers for this very sin.

Anyways the main reason why i liked this video is now I can say this:

I don't care what the hell other people say, applejack is NOT a background pony!

After this episode if you are still saying applejack is a background pony then shut up.

[Singe 2,111]

This sums up everything

 

Hillbilly Rarity. Press her nose for mule sound.

[Seaweed-Headed Dragon 359]

I enjoyed seeing AJ and Rarity switch places...Except the Trenderhoof guy I wasn't so cool about

The ending surprised me though 

 

although AJ was hot as a fashion pony though

[BlueEyedPegasus 59]

Just been reading the YMMV page on TV Tropes (which I've banned from!) and I found this stupid entry:

 

*They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: After Rarity and Applejack realize how ridiculous their situation became, it abruptly cuts to the festival itself going off without a hitch, Rarity delivering the moral, and the episode just... ends. Lampshaded by the episode's writer. In fact, it could be said that "A Perfectly Good Plot" was wasted just by virtue of being crammed into a twenty-two minute episode.

**Rarity does mention that getting the event up and running in time turned out to be one of the hardest things she’s ever done, avoiding (at least with a Hand Wave) a fairly glaring Plot Hole.

 

This is a mistake. This is a BIG mistake, because everything that we see at the ending makes it highly evident that Tenderhoof had learned to like both Applejack AND Rarity after what Applejack and Rarity had both learned. Anybody agree?

Edited February 14, 2014 by BlueEyedPegasus

[Castle Bleck 19,325]

 

Everypony's subsequent reaction:

 

[PrymeStriker 408]

 

Everypony's subsequent reaction:

 

Sorry, but my reaction was more like this:

 

[Its Rainbow Dash 151]

Lol Rarity flipping out is a third to me followed by Twilight as two and the best flip out goes to Pinkie in Party of One.

 

Watching those scenes Lol Scootaloo during the Pre-Fashion show part her face was like " Ok I'm getting the heck out of here Crazy Mare."

[Null 8]

That Was A Really Nice Episode...

[Forlong 1,726]

Finally got my review up!

 

Just in time to start work on reviewing the next episode.

 

Anyway, subjectively, I enjoyed this episode.  I liked the dynamic between Rarity and AJ.  The scenes with Twilight and Spike were also great.  But what the hey were they trying to do with Trenderhoof?  I seriously can't figure out what they were going for with the character.

 

On a side-note: Windows Movie Maker is of the Devil.