Starlight Breeze

Yes, I thought they dumbed her down a lot. The pig scene made me cringe because she didn't even need to open the gate to begin with. Just dump the food into the trough from outside. The chicken scene made me cringe but because of person nitpicks. Chickens don't sit on the nest 24/7 like that unless they are broody. They lay their eggs then get off. You raise good points about the plant irrigation scene. I'd thought of having one primary valve but hadn't accounted for possible leaks. But you're right AJ probably fixed those. The fence scene is the only one that bothered me with its 'solution.' Like you said, it's more expensive to replace an entire section of fence than a little hole, harder too. Applejack isn't stupid but this episode made her seem so. It seems that personal episodes are more damaging to the characters of the mane six.

The episode was alright but the whole pig feeding scenario painted Applejack as, and pardon me for being blunt, stupid. Why did she even need to open the squeaky gate to begin with? All she needs to do is dump the pail into the trough from outside the fence. I liked that she fixed the problem in the spa and I think it would have been a better premise for the episode. For example, on the way to the spa Applejack ends up getting distracted helping somepony, then she helps somepony else, then somepony else. Then she finally reaches the spa only to help them too, then lo and behold the day is over and there's no time to relax. Turns out, Applejack's Day Off didn't turn out as anticipated. The lesson here is, it's good to help others but working yourself to exhaustion isn't good. It isn't wrong to take a day for yourself and relax.

They don't have to be evil to get redemption. Look at Diamond Tiara. She wasn't evil, she was a bully, and she got a redemption episode.

It may be too early to tell. It'd be neat if it was tied to her mother's title. Cadence is the Princess of Love. Perhaps Flurry Heart will be the Princess of Joy or something similar.

I'm not a fan of Rainbow Dash episodes. The majority of them are very damaging to her character. We saw her loyalty in the second episode when she rejects the Shadowbolt's offer but then, for example, in Rainbow Falls she's all too eager to fly with the Wonderbolts instead of her friends.

I think any future appearances they make would be redemption episodes.

I kinda hope the Pinkie clone isn't a Changeling. I'm not against the idea but think about it, why would a Changeling disguise itself as one of the most well known ponies in Equestria? Especially when the original is still running around. There's too great a chance of exposure if you ask me.

Applejack has officially lost her marbles. But in all seriousness, I'm just going to assume she's acting this way because she overworked, thus the need for a day off.

I didn't care for The Hooffields and McColts episode. The hillbilly stereotyping made me cringe so hard. It just gets so tiring seeing residents of the Appalachian area depicted as so. Then again, I'm from that area so my opinion on the matter can definitely be considered biased.