Somepony To Watch Over Me Should Have Been A Rarity/Sweetie Belle Episode

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

@, You're really comparing apples to oranges on several aspects.

 

Twilight's loyalty to Celestia and will to perform at her very best puts her under intense pressure as a student, and she always wants to impress her because she doesn't want to look embarrassed before her. Also, she was VERY organized, stubborn, and punctual to a major fault. Lesson Zero culminated this by forgetting to put one VERY important thing on her checklist that she'd submitted on time or early every single week. Twilight's sudden overreaction made total sense because in-character continuity reinforced it without being so forced; she had the right personality, work ethic, and development of characterization up to that point. Therefore, her response was very in character.

 

Fluttershy is an extremely different case. She has stage fright, which is a psychological phobia that can literally eat through someone's nerves and overall personality if left unchecked. If succumbed to the intense pressure, then she can have a very nervous breakdown. She's not just shy. She's psychologically injured.

 

In Hurricane Fluttershy, her stage fright was enforced by the extremely bullying she received as a filly and the graphic animation, and the laughing broke her down into a fit. She tried to skirt out of her civic duty because she felt worthless and will crumble under the pressure. Although she got over it partially, stage fright isn't something to quickly break through, and it was was front and center again in Filli Vanilli because her internal conflict holds her back from showing off a closeted passion. When she screwed up, she broke down. She feels more comfy now; yet, it's still not all there.

 

Pinkie Pie's actions are reinforced by her personality, in-character activity, purpose, and morals. The Bearer of Laughter is a gigantic workaholic, spending plenty of time working in Sugarcube Corner and preparing countless events, jokes, and parties for ponies throughout Ponyville to laugh and spend casual quality time. Also, she parties not to make herself happy, but to make others happy. When she makes others happy, she is happy. So when the Remane Five (her closest friends) sloppily excuse themselves from attending Gummy's after-birthday party, Pinkie gets suspicious. Then their sneaking around Ponyville, suspicious dialogue, and constant hiding reinforce her hypothesis of them not wanting anything to do with her anymore. It makes her feel worthless, causing her to mentally break down before Act 2 concluded.

 

A few big differences, too.

 

In Bridle Gossip, AJ defended Apple Bloom because she didn't trust Zecora's attitude and cryptic rhyming. That said, AJ was just as out of character there as the others. Her rationality and stubbornness were replaced by irrational assumptions, mean-spirited unlikeability, incompetence, and stupidity. I don't defend her actions there, I certainly won't here in StWOM.

 

In Call of the Cutie and The Cutie Pox, Applejack had a good reason to be worried. The former had Apple Bloom being obsessed with getting her cutie mark, and she was being bullied for being a "blank flank." The Cutie Pox revolved around her getting too many cutie marks, and she was feeling sick.

 

Apple Family Reunion was about preparing for a grand reunion. What she did wasn't stubbornness, pampering, or whatever. It was about putting a layout that is WAY too grand for everyone's liking, and her plans and excitement clouded her judgment. When she realized she screwed up, she learned her lesson; rectified it; and had a memorable time, after all.

 

As far as StWOM is concerned, there are three big details exposited during the story, something I see overlooked way too much already.

1. In Act 1, AJ presented her with a scroll featuring a long set of chores and reminders for her to do. Apple Bloom completed everything. She doesn't have to fully monitor Sweet Apple Acres, as they were already done by the time the others departed. Even if something bad happened, she has lived with them for so long that she should know what to do in case of an emergency.
2. Once the chores were done, Apple Bloom didn't have to be at Sweet Apple Acres. She could do whatever she wished, such as explore Ponyville, eat some lunch, play with SB and Scootaloo, and even visit some of her older friends like Rarity and Twilight. She did all her chores and was punctual about them.
3. Big Mac and AJ weren't going to be gone for very long. At the very beginning, Granny Smith said she was allowed to live at alone alone through the afternoon. That means anywhere from six to ten hours depending on the route, conflict, time of delivery, and so on. AJ and Big Mac are prepared for their traveling in case of an emergency, hence the equipment featured in Act 3. They wouldn't have gone unless they knew what they were doing. They were returning by a little past nightfall.

Applejack has known AB since pretty much the day she was born. AJ knows AB has been without a guardian for stretches of time for a while. Bridle Gossip, Cutie Mark Chronicles, Family Appreciation Day, Ponyville Confidential, One Bad Apple, Twilight Time, etc. AJ knows she's been with other fillies or by herself several times up to this point. And Apple Bloom isn't a newborn foal in preschool. AJ trusts AB; AB trusts AJ. AJ and AB can cooperate very well. She KNOWS AB is pretty mature for her age, can care for herself, and shouldn't fret, if their relationship in Sisterhooves Social holds any water. Some of the reminders and chores that were (supposed to be) on the lists were so mundane, it was obvious she was going to be out of character from the start. (As they trekked in Act 1, AJ wanted to put on the list a reminder that in order to get a spoon out of the drawer, Apple Bloom needs to open the drawer first.) And then to make it worse, AJ's out-of-characterization was reinforced by a combination of extreme incompetence and stupidity, an ingredient that doesn't a high-quality story make.

 

If you're going to dial up a trait, make sure it's established; back it up with a very good reason; and don't make the affected character look like an incompetent idiot. If Applejack saw Apple Bloom do something that could've gotten her badly injured or killed if she didn't save her, you would give her some incentive for her over-pampering. If this closely followed Call of the Cutie, then you can reinforce Bridle Gossip and fix this issue of logic and characterization. But many instances of AJ's protection then occurred during seasons one and two, and she had very good reasons for them. Not to mention, up until somewhere like Dragonshy or even the end of the pilot, many of these characters were somewhat blank slates. We're now in Season 4; these characters are established and have grown tremendously since the pilot. You can't just create a new light switch or outlet without knowing how to correctly handle the circuit.

 

As an Applejack fan myself, Applejack in Somepony to Watch Over Me isn't Applejack. It's Twilight in Season 1 with extreme stupidity, incompetence, and no objectively good reason to write her behavior off like this.

 

Hmmm...you make some good points. I still think this is a welcome addition to her character I don't think would work with any other members of the cast, and I thought the exaggeration was used fairly well as an emotional tool to get the viewer in the same mindset as AB. I still don't see "extreme" stupidity in any of her actions, but they definitely were a little out there. I still like the episode for the comedy and AB's progression as a character among other things, but I concede that you have a solid argument that I honestly can't really poke holes in. Buffalo Man is OP (overpowered). 

 

 Also sorry if I came across as a jackass to anyone. I'm just busy with other things, and I'm getting tired of people calling flanderization every week. I jumped at a claim of OoC because of it, and I probably should've at least calmly explained my side of the argument without making accusations.

[Scootalove 10,684]

I think even with a change of which characters to focus on, the episode would still be good either way. I think Rarity and Sweetie Belle were already explored in Sisterhooves Social, maybe we can leave it at that.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

True, Rarity is a drama queen, but being overprotective just does not seem to suit her that well.  In, Sister Hoof Social, Rarity only wanted to be careful because she didn't want her house to burn down. The other problem is Rarity and SB don't have that kind of relationship. Rarity is her sister not her mother. While AJ is both AB sister and mother.

 

Now if you wanted to show an over protective parent, maybe have Scootaloo parents it that role. Seeing as we never seem them before, it would be a good way to introduce them and some character to them.

 

That's just how I see it.

Edited March 10, 2014 by pinkiefan1287

[Denim&Venöm 16,573]

I disagree. AJ was mroe in character than you're all giving her credit for. While she is sensible for the most part, when it comes to family is when her thought process and emotions go off kilter. Apple Bucking Season, Apple Family Reunion and Pink Apple Pie are all episodes where AJ's feelings for her family and her work cloud her judgement.

 

Rarity doesn't work so well because she doesn't seem terribly close to Sweetie Bell. Rarity only acted like a sister out of guilt in Sister Hooves Social and only when Sweetie bribed her sister did she actually go on that camping trip in Sleepless in Ponyville.

 

Call me crazy, but maybe this could've worked out better as a Twilight and Spike episode, with Twilight over working Spike, he gets hurt, she feels guilty and starts to baby him. A good opportunity for Spike to Develop as a character seeing how he isn't very respected in the show or by the writers.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

I disagree. AJ was mroe in character than you're all giving her credit for. While she is sensible for the most part, when it comes to family is when her thought process and emotions go off kilter. Apple Bucking Season, Apple Family Reunion and Pink Apple Pie are all episodes where AJ's feelings for her family and her work cloud her judgement.

 

Rarity doesn't work so well because she doesn't seem terribly close to Sweetie Bell. Rarity only acted like a sister out of guilt in Sister Hooves Social and only when Sweetie bribed her sister did she actually go on that camping trip in Sleepless in Ponyville.

 

Call me crazy, but maybe this could've worked out better as a Twilight and Spike episode, with Twilight over working Spike, he gets hurt, she feels guilty and starts to baby him. A good opportunity for Spike to Develop as a character seeing how he isn't very respected in the show or by the writers.

 

I don't think Twilight and Spike fulfilling the roles here would make any sense. Twilight already was nervous for Spike in Just for Sidekicks, and is generally dismissive of Spike's worries in general. It is definitely not the same kind of bond (but is a motherly one nonetheless).

[Whatevs 376]

I agree with the OP.

Rarity, being neurotic and persnickety, could much more believably fill the overbearing mom role. In fact, she has filled it in passing moments from time to time.

 

But I feel it was a missed opportunity with Rarity a long time ago.