Was Applejack ''out of character'' in the latest episode?

[Dark Qiviut 22,216]

Emphatically yes. It wasn't just flanderization, but a complete nullification of not just AJ's character, but also her growth up to this point. Applejack knows how Apple Bloom behaves, what she does, and whatever happens in case of an emergency. For one thing, she's both competent and resourceful, not to mention capable to perform very dangerous stunts. *points at The Showstoppers, Cutie Mark Chronicles, and Family Appreciation Day* Furthermore, she has lived on the farm throughout her entire life and understands the ins and out of both safety and danger there; with her maturity, she's more than ready. After completing her chores, she doesn't need to be at SAA; she could spend the rest of the afternoon with other ponies in Ponyville like the Cutie Mark Crusaders or an extra lesson of Twilight Time if she's that interested in it.

 

As far as Applejack is concerned, there have been episodes where she was protective, like Bridle Gossip, Call of the Cutie, and Over a Barrel. But in those three, she had thorough reasons for them, Bridle Gossip exempt because she was as out of character as the rest of the Mane Six for being too stupid, unlikeable, and stereotypical. In Somepony…, her worry was overexaggerated without plausible context, making her incompetent and stupid.

 

Like what DryColt said on the second page, I have a big rebuttal in another thread. You can find it in its entirety here or in the excerpted passage below:

 

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.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Dark Qiviut

[Venomous 18,820]

As much as I love AppleJack, I am able to admit when I think she is out of character.

 

In this episode, yes, I think she was out of character.

I say this because we have never seen such drastic behavior before. Yes, AppleJack loves her sister and we have seen that but the writers just decided to make her overprotective for the sake of the story and it doesn't work here.

[Singe 2,109]

Well when Applebloom got into trouble, Applejack and family was around in Ponyville most of the time. Here is the first time established AJ, Big Mac, and Granny Smith would be out of town for hours with no one around to keep an eye on Applebloom.

 

If Applejack was so worried, she could have made preparations with one of her friends to check up on Applebloom in from time to time.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Singe

[LordDiscord 289]

Well when Applebloom got into trouble, Applejack and family was around in Ponyville most of the time. Here is the first time established AJ, Big Mac, and Granny Smith would be out of town for hours with no one around to keep an eye on Applebloom.

 

If Applejack was so worried, she could have made preparations with one of her friends to check up on Applebloom in from time to time.

I am very certain that there would be someone who could watch them and keep them out of trouble, I mean its Ponyville, as far as we have seen there are relatively kind and friendly ponies around town, so it isn't like they would be ponynapped.

 

My point exactly, she could have easily asked one of her friends to watch over Applebloom, I mean she got Rarity to watch Scoots and Sweetie, while she left to save Applebloom so obviously she wasn't doing something. 

[Anilewe 2,178]

I am very certain that there would be someone who could watch them and keep them out of trouble, I mean its Ponyville, as far as we have seen there are relatively kind and friendly ponies around town, so it isn't like they would be ponynapped.

 

My point exactly, she could have easily asked one of her friends to watch over Applebloom, I mean she got Rarity to watch Scoots and Sweetie, while she left to save Applebloom so obviously she wasn't doing something. 

 

The point is that at the beginning of the episode Applejack didn't know that she isn't ready to leave Apple Bloom alone by herself. When she find out she started to be paranoid, thanks to her fear and wasn't able to think rationally about the whole situation.

[Cloud Runner 26]

I don't generally call OoC, but that's horrible logic.

 

AJ: "I'm gonna kill a bushel of fillies." *kills several fillies*

 

................At least she was honest.

Ye shut up you know what I mean

[Singe 2,109]

What this episode also showed was that the entire domain of Equestria is not 100% safe. Ponies are still prey to predators if they wander out of their safe zones.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Singe

[RockinRarity 1,605]

I wouldn't put one bad episode as grounds for that. I know expectations for new writer debuts are high after Corey Powell's first episode became what is often considered the best of season 3, but even a frequently challenged writer like Polsky has a great one like Rarity Takes Manehattan once in a while.

You're right, I am just a little peeved that this episode turned out the way it did.

 

I won't hold this episode against him when seeing future ones, but that doesn't mean that he isn't on thin ice, IMO.

[LordDiscord 289]

The point is that at the beginning of the episode Applejack didn't know that she isn't ready to leave Apple Bloom alone by herself. When she find out she started to be paranoid, thanks to her fear and wasn't able to think rationally about the whole situation.

Even if she didn't know she wasn't ready to leave Applebloom alone, she would still need some reason before taking action on that feeling, something to confirm that she isn't ready besides fearing whether or not she remembered how to tell Applebloom how to open a drawer. There was no reason other than paranoia(that came out of nowhere mind you) that caused her to begin to act the way she did. In the past, there was always a trigger that set AppleJack off on one of her stubborn, paranoia induced fits, but this just came out of nowhere with nothing to really back up her paranoia other than accidents she caused. Also the episode came off as if it was trying to teach children that the only way to deal with a over protective parent/guardian is to down right disobey them and do something stupid, while also making Applebloom seem like the one who's at fault here when shes the one that is correct. 

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

@@Cloud Runner

 

Ha ha, hey I just call it as I see it. 

Edited March 10, 2014 by DryColt84

[Anilewe 2,178]

Even if she didn't know she wasn't ready to leave Applebloom alone, she would still need some reason before taking action on that feeling, something to confirm that she isn't ready besides fearing whether or not she remembered how to tell Applebloom how to open a drawer. There was no reason other than paranoia(that came out of nowhere mind you) that caused her to begin to act the way she did. In the past, there was always a trigger that set AppleJack off on one of her stubborn, paranoia induced fits, but this just came out of nowhere with nothing to really back up her paranoia other than accidents she caused. Also the episode came off as if it was trying to teach children that the only way to deal with a over protective parent/guardian is to down right disobey them and do something stupid, while also making Applebloom seem like the one who's at fault here when shes the one that is correct. 

 

It depends how you look at it, although I agree that moral could have been expressed better. In some way this episode shows that sometimes parents have every right to be overprotective and they want what's the best for their kids. Besides, it showed that Applejack's behaviour wasn't right. I wish it was more focued on communication, because that was the actual problem. Not Applejack being overprotective or Apple Bloom's reckless determination to prove herself. Applejack didn't know that her sister was fine, before she came back. She had no way to know about it and Apple Bloom didn't really explained it properly to her. Of course, Applejack wasn't listening, but still, she was trying to protect her family, so I can't blame her. This episode shows how hard it's sometimes to communicate. The parent's has their rights, but kids also aren't stupid and often can take care of themselves.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Anilewe

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Even if she didn't know she wasn't ready to leave Applebloom alone, she would still need some reason before taking action on that feeling, something to confirm that she isn't ready besides fearing whether or not she remembered how to tell Applebloom how to open a drawer. There was no reason other than paranoia(that came out of nowhere mind you) that caused her to begin to act the way she did. In the past, there was always a trigger that set AppleJack off on one of her stubborn, paranoia induced fits, but this just came out of nowhere with nothing to really back up her paranoia other than accidents she caused.

 

Walking inside to find Apple Bloom in a destroyed kitchen with glass all over the floor isn't enough to help fuel that paranoia? Or how about the fact that Apple Bloom couldn't even properly get her soup out of the fridge without screaming and making an even bigger mess? Apple Bloom blamed Applejack for those mishaps when she clearly stated that it was her fault, and Applejack took that to heart in an entirely unintended way. Applejack felt like she failed to make the right accommodations to keep Apple Bloom safe, thus resulting in her ridiculous baby proofing.

 

Applejack has long viewed Apple Bloom as being far more baby-like than she really is. As sensible as AJ usually is, this is a blind spot on her account.

 

 

Also the episode came off as if it was trying to teach children that the only way to deal with a over protective parent/guardian is to down right disobey them and do something stupid, while also making Applebloom seem like the one who's at fault here when shes the one that is correct.

 

Hardly. Sure, the fact that Apple Bloom was able to handle herself for much of the delivery did serve to wake AJ up on the fact that she has a lot more responsibility than she was initially giving her sister credit for, but Applejack gave a firm scolding to Apple Bloom for doing what she did and even reminded her that Granny Smith was likely going to ground her.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Sugar Cube

[LordDiscord 289]

Walking inside to find Apple Bloom in a destroyed kitchen with glass all over the floor isn't enough to help fuel that paranoia? Or how about the fact that Apple Bloom couldn't even properly get her soup out of the fridge without screaming and making an even bigger mess? Apple Bloom blamed Applejack for those mishaps when she clearly stated that it was her fault, and Applejack took that to heart in an entirely unintended way. Applejack felt like she failed to make the right accommodations to keep Apple Bloom safe, thus resulting in her ridiculous baby proofing.

 

Applejack has long viewed Apple Bloom as being far more baby-like than she really is. As sensible as AJ usually is, this is a blind spot on her account.

 

 

 

Hardly. Sure, the fact that Apple Bloom was able to handle herself for much of the delivery did serve to wake AJ up on the fact that she has a lot more responsibility than she was initially giving her sister credit for, but Applejack gave a firm scolding to Apple Bloom for doing what she did and even reminded her that Granny Smith was likely going to ground her.

AppleJack caused the mess, Applebloom only fell due to AppleJack startling her over a vague suspicion that she will her herself, also there was a jar of jelly that had flew on top of the fridge that Applebloom did not know about it(and was only up there as a result of the accident) so it started her when it fell and hit her face. But why though, she had never felt the need to baby proof stuff in the past, one little accident(that she caused) should not change this mindset considering the sort of accidents the Cutie Mark Crusaders have found themselves in, numerous times in the past.

 

 

Sure she scolded Applebloom, but she also rewarded her, buy insinuating that she can still be by herself, when such behavior in no way would prove you are capable to be alone and will likely only increase their paranoia. Also Applebloom was painted to be in the wrong when she was correct with being annoyed by AppleJacks behavior.

Edited March 10, 2014 by LordDiscord

[Solar Cloud 493]

Watch this video. It tells you why Applejack acted the way she did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAUe-iI1mlc

[TwilightDreamer 69]

She was out of line with Applebloom in the latest episode but that could be due to her stubbornness picked up from Granny Smith or her deceased parents (if the show could shed some light on them just as we fans have) or from little to no character development.

 

Frankly, as far as we know, Applejack is the only one who has no parents to watch over her, her sister and Big Mac besides Granny. It could also be that the writers were just being lazy with her, having her be the overprotective sister who wants to keep a sharp eye on Applebloom when she doesn't accept the fact that her own little sister's growing up and needs some time to gain her independence. She is out of character in the episode but not by much; it's just her stubbornness and her lack of character development and trust for someone who's part of her own family and ready to take another huge step in her life.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Watch this video. It tells you why Applejack acted the way she did.

 

OK, I appreciate this video. Applejack just acting the way she did (out of nowhere) just rubbed me the wrong way throughout the whole episode.

 

I agree with everything else he said though. I realize too that I wasn't giving enough credit to just how good the CMC were in this episode.

 

So yeah I still think her acting like that came out of nowhere but I do appreciate the alternate perspective.

[Denim&Venöm 16,825]

Just as Tommy said, AppleJack is pretty sensible right up until matters start involving her family, then s##t goes sideways. Apple Bucking Season, Apple Family Reunion, Pink Apple Pie, AJ doesn't exactly have a clear head in dealing with family issues. So I think this is an in character outing for her.

[Stellafera 3,836]

AppleJack caused the mess, Applebloom only fell due to AppleJack startling her over a vague suspicion that she will her herself, also there was a jar of jelly that had flew on top of the fridge that Applebloom did not know about it(and was only up there as a result of the accident) so it started her when it fell and hit her face. 

 

Sure, but Applejack didn't know that. From her perspective, that was all thanks to Applebloom screwing up on her own. She walked in and saw her baby sister with a bowl on her head, surrounded by shards of broken glass. That couldn't help with her paranoia.

[Dark Qiviut 22,216]

Sure, but Applejack didn't know that. From her perspective, that was all thanks to Applebloom screwing up on her own. She walked in and saw her baby sister with a bowl on her head, surrounded by shards of broken glass. That couldn't help with her paranoia.

That still doesn't give AJ a basis for her paranoia's origin. Starting in the beginning of Act 1, AJ's paranoia was becoming very obvious via the scroll and wish to put in trivial reminders. That's very off because AJ trusts her and knows she's competent, clever, and intelligent. Apple Bloom is capable of caring for herself over the next third of the day, and AJ knows it. If you're going to make her so paranoid that she'll willingly throw all of her trust she has for Apple Bloom away, give a good reason. "Just because the plot says so" doesn't cut it.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

AppleJack caused the mess, Applebloom only fell due to AppleJack startling her over a vague suspicion that she will her herself, also there was a jar of jelly that had flew on top of the fridge that Applebloom did not know about it(and was only up there as a result of the accident) so it started her when it fell and hit her face. But why though, she had never felt the need to baby proof stuff in the past, one little accident(that she caused) should not change this mindset considering the sort of accidents the Cutie Mark Crusaders have found themselves in, numerous times in the past.

 

As Stella said, Applejack did not know that. And also, Applejack really isn't always the type to listen to reason once she's set her mind on something, especially from her juniors. Did she listen to anything Apple Bloom had to say regarding Zecora back in season 1 when they all first saw her? No. Applejack was adamant that Zecora was to be stayed away from, and she stifled Apple Bloom and disregarded her words because she wasn't a "big pony."

 

Applejack didn't baby proof anything prior to this because this was the first time Applejack felt responsible for leaving her sister in jeopardy AND this was Apple Bloom's very first time being at home alone doing chores with no supervision whatsoever.

 

Sure she scolded Applebloom, but she also rewarded her, buy insinuating that she can still be by herself, when such behavior in no way would prove you are capable to be alone and will likely only increase their paranoia. Also Applebloom was painted to be in the wrong when she was correct with being annoyed by AppleJacks behavior.

 

Applejack vowed to entrust Apple Bloom next time she was home alone because she realized that Apple Bloom only made that crazy dark voyage in the first place in order to prove that she was responsible enough to do things by herself. And while Apple Bloom didn't necessarily get that particular task done by herself, she was still impressive enough to convince Applejack that she could handle being alone in her own home without everything being baby proofed. Applejack wasn't exactly rewarding Apple Bloom for sneaking off when she's given her a scolding and promised she'd be grounded, but at the same time, Applejack realized how stupid she herself was being and decided to give Apple Bloom the benefit of the doubt in the future. I don't really see the problem with this outcome unless you think on it too much. :/

[Stellafera 3,836]

Applejack didn't baby proof anything prior to this because this was the first time Applejack felt responsible for leaving her sister in jeopardy AND this was Apple Bloom's very first time being at home alone doing chores with no supervision whatsoever.

 

AND the pie delivery was very dangerous. 

 

While it was only supposed to take the afternoon, it is not hard to imagine how they could get delayed. Imagine; the chimera manages to snap off one of the Apples' legs before they have the chance to fend it off and they're stuck there for a long time. Not too hard for her to get hysterical about things as Applebloom's surrogate mother in this scenario, no? 

 

I say there was enough cause for her reaction to not seem too out of place.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,285]

To be honest, I found the episode to be almost painfully badly written. I think it would have worked much better if Applejack decided she needed to have Fluttershy come over to foal-sit AppleBloom. I found the whole AJ turning into a moron shtick horrid. This is now my official least liked episode. I feel fairly certain that if somehow this would have been the first I watched, I may not have watched a second. I do give it credit for one thing. We finally saw a pony wearing boots that DIDN'T have a "toe box". Previously, all boots depicted looked like they were constructed for humanoid feet. I never could understand that.

[Singe 2,109]

All the delivery did was just raise the standard for Applejack to understand that Applebloom is capable of handling herself with the smaller stuff that Applejack was fretting over earlier.

 

This still doesn't change that Applebloom isn't fully capable of dealing with a Chimera on her on. Plus Applebloom is still immature and is willing to do reckless things to prove a point.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Singe

[BrilliantVenture 334]

okay...here's my take...yes. she was out of character.

but at the same time, she wasn't...

I know that sounds confusing but let me explain...I feel the whoooooole episode could have worked better if one small detail had been added. What is that detail you ask? The answer is...

 

...

 

...

 

...a better explained reason.

 

Allow me to expand on this.

Imagine if in "Lesson Zero" twilight was just like, "okay...I don't want to be tardy" and then in the next scene, WHAMO! she was the crazy twilight at the end of the episode...that's what I felt happened here...if there had been more of a psychotic step-by-step breakdown in applejacks mind throughout the episode her insanity would have flowed with the story better, and the over-the-top out of characterness would be more merited...but no, what we got was just..."I'm worried about applebloom! now I'm going to go berserk over her! BLKJA;LKJDOIJA;LKDJF;OIJ;J!" I mean...you can just assume applejack had a mental breakdown between her trip with big mac, and when she came back to the house...but in film and animation, it is better to show rather than tell...And that's what I really feel lacked there.

 

Using twilight as an example again here...would we really expect twilight to go nuts and cause a whole town of ponies to go crazy over a stuffed doll, and decide to cause a problem for others just to satisfy her own needs?...now that's WAAAAY out of character!

But the way it was done made it alright, because it was a gradual progression within a short time...applejacks just wasn't handled as well, which made the OOC part seem...well...OOC!

 

I think that's the real reason people have a problem with this episode...but who knows...maybe I'm overlooking something.

 

But anyway, those are my two bits...

 

-Brill-

[Singe 2,109]

Normally it would be crazy to assume Applebloom would do something like become public enemy #1 of Ponyville or cause a panic in town. It has happened. In Cutie Pox, we see how strongly emotional Applejack gets when Applebloom is in dire trouble.

 

Applebloom is at least half responsible for making Applejack worry so much about her, in the first place.

 

If Applebloom didn't have that crazy history by being more normal like the other ponies her age, Applejack wouldn't be acting like this.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Singe