As usual with my reviews, it will contain spoilers. Those of you who have not seen the episode yet, you have been warned.
The premise of this story is that Applejack worries that her old friend, now a famous pop star, is being misled by her manager.
As you can tell from that above description, this is a story that centres largely around both Applejack, as well as a newly-introduced character. Firstly, I want to talk about Applejack, because something like this fits in very well with her established personality from over the course of the show as a whole. While she may not have been the Element of Loyalty, she nevertheless remained perhaps more loyal to those close to her than even Rainbow Dash has been. It?s especially true when you consider that she takes particular offense to those who try to swindle or deceive those friends of hers, like her past interactions with the Flim-Flam brothers. As such, her role here, of trying to help a friend from a manipulative person who doesn?t have her best interests at heart, is about as much at the core of who Applejack is as a character as you can get, honest and dedicated to those she cares about. It also brings up a point that I?ve been thinking over for some time, that of episodes where the main six interact with those outside of their group.
Now, I want to say right now that I adore episodes where the main ponies interact with one another. In fact, if you take just two of that central cast and put them in a situation together, chances are it?ll be among my favourite episodes. However, what also really works for me are episodes wherein the main cast have to be devoted to those OUTSIDE of that inner circle. We saw something akin to this earlier this season with ?Amending Fences?, where Twilight tried helping Moondancer, and now we see the same with Applejack. It?s particularly noteworthy with her when you consider that, aside from her immediate family, Applejack has rarely had an episode devoted to her relationship to anyone besides the main six, so this is definitely treading new ground for her, which is always a nice step for the show to take. Although, if I?m being honest, it would have been a bit more effective for me if we?d have established Applejack?s relationship to this person BEFORE the episode aired, but then, that?s just me.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode also heavily features a new character, Coloratura, and I?ll say right now that I actually quite like her. Characters that are destined to probably only show up in one episode don?t usually leave that much of an impact on me, but here I found her to be very endearing. And more than that, her situation, doing something she loves yet finding herself hindered by another, is a place I?m sure many of us have found ourselves in at some point in our lives. What?s more, her position is very reminiscent of other such stories from past episodes of MLP, such as Rarity?s in ?Canterlot Boutique?. There, like here, we had a character who was doing something that we knew they loved and were good at, yet found themselves down because some other person in that business was interfering with them in some way. That, I think, seems to be a recurring theme in episodes like this, warning of the dangers of getting that kind of success. If so then it?s a fine message to get across in any episode.
When it comes to songs, this week we have several to hear, but while all of them were good, they were fairly run-of-the-mill. That is, with the exception of one song in particular, which I?ll discuss now. Firstly, I find myself in an interesting situation with regards to this song. You see, as I?m sure many of you know, this song was actually released in animatic form some months ago, so unlike pretty much every other MLP song I?ve looked at, I?ve been given a chance to hear it and weigh my opinion long before the episode itself actually comes out. And let me say right now, after so much time, my thoughts are the same now as they were back then, that the song is absolutely beautiful to listen to. The signer herself, Lena Hall, does a fantastic job, belting out perfect note after perfect note. What?s more, that background piano music fits in with it perfectly, and overall, I found it to be such an impactful song that, at one point, I was getting just as misty-eyed as Applejack did. No joke, but the last time I was this impressed by an MLP song, it was, I kid you not, ?This Day Aria?. That?s right, this song was THAT good to me. It sounded great, it was presented great, and I?m sure I?ll be listening to it more than a few times in future.
Onto the humour now, and this, it seems, is one of those episodes that is far less funny than most others on the show. Now, I don?t mean this to be a slam against the episode. Far from it. Because while I may certainly enjoy a lot of the funnier episodes we?ve been given, I find myself liking the more dramatic ones even more. And this episode certainly has its fair share of drama. There are certainly funny moments here and there, and even Applejack herself gets a moment or two to provide some laughs, despite my earlier declaration of her being the least funny member of the main cast. But, the real centrepiece of the story is the emotion of her relationship and her helping Coloratura to get a happier life doing what she loves. And when we?re given a central heart like that, I?m more than willing to forgive nay episode that?s light on the jokes. However, I will say that the episode did have a few funny moments here and there, most notably with regards to Pinkie as usual.
As for the moral of the story, this episode seem to be trying to get across the message of how people need to be themselves when they do the things that they love. Coloratura, all throughout, while certainly having a job she wanted, spent so much of her time being told HOW she should do it. But, by going her own path, she was able to find just how much happier she could be while doing this line of work. That is, perhaps, one of the better morals this show has tried to teach this season. Letting others decide things for you to an extreme extent is never a good idea, especially in the context provided in this episode, and when we try our own things, while we may fail, we at least know that we?re doing it in a way that we know we want to be doing it. And, as before, that too matches perfectly with Applejack?s role as the most honest of the characters. As cliché as it may be to say, being honest with yourself and others about who you are can perhaps be the only way anyone can be happy in their life, and that is a lesson I wholeheartedly approve of.
So, how did the penultimate episode of the season fare overall? Well, I think it?s safe to say that this story had a lot of good things in its favour. Applejack came off in a very positive light, her relationship to Coloratura felt genuine despite us never seeing this character before, there were plenty of enjoyable moments and, above all, we were given perhaps one of the most impressive songs the show has given to us in a very long time. Do I think it counts as one of the better episodes of the show? Or even this season in particular? Well, that?s difficult for me to say. It?s definitely a step up from last weeks, and I would certainly say it was one of the more enjoyable outings this season, but as for ?best?, I think that might be stretching it a bit. Even so, there were more than enough good moments in this episode for me to highly recommend that you watch it. You won?t be disappointed in the slightest.
The premise of this story is that Applejack worries that her old friend, now a famous pop star, is being misled by her manager.
As you can tell from that above description, this is a story that centres largely around both Applejack, as well as a newly-introduced character. Firstly, I want to talk about Applejack, because something like this fits in very well with her established personality from over the course of the show as a whole. While she may not have been the Element of Loyalty, she nevertheless remained perhaps more loyal to those close to her than even Rainbow Dash has been. It?s especially true when you consider that she takes particular offense to those who try to swindle or deceive those friends of hers, like her past interactions with the Flim-Flam brothers. As such, her role here, of trying to help a friend from a manipulative person who doesn?t have her best interests at heart, is about as much at the core of who Applejack is as a character as you can get, honest and dedicated to those she cares about. It also brings up a point that I?ve been thinking over for some time, that of episodes where the main six interact with those outside of their group.
Now, I want to say right now that I adore episodes where the main ponies interact with one another. In fact, if you take just two of that central cast and put them in a situation together, chances are it?ll be among my favourite episodes. However, what also really works for me are episodes wherein the main cast have to be devoted to those OUTSIDE of that inner circle. We saw something akin to this earlier this season with ?Amending Fences?, where Twilight tried helping Moondancer, and now we see the same with Applejack. It?s particularly noteworthy with her when you consider that, aside from her immediate family, Applejack has rarely had an episode devoted to her relationship to anyone besides the main six, so this is definitely treading new ground for her, which is always a nice step for the show to take. Although, if I?m being honest, it would have been a bit more effective for me if we?d have established Applejack?s relationship to this person BEFORE the episode aired, but then, that?s just me.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode also heavily features a new character, Coloratura, and I?ll say right now that I actually quite like her. Characters that are destined to probably only show up in one episode don?t usually leave that much of an impact on me, but here I found her to be very endearing. And more than that, her situation, doing something she loves yet finding herself hindered by another, is a place I?m sure many of us have found ourselves in at some point in our lives. What?s more, her position is very reminiscent of other such stories from past episodes of MLP, such as Rarity?s in ?Canterlot Boutique?. There, like here, we had a character who was doing something that we knew they loved and were good at, yet found themselves down because some other person in that business was interfering with them in some way. That, I think, seems to be a recurring theme in episodes like this, warning of the dangers of getting that kind of success. If so then it?s a fine message to get across in any episode.
When it comes to songs, this week we have several to hear, but while all of them were good, they were fairly run-of-the-mill. That is, with the exception of one song in particular, which I?ll discuss now. Firstly, I find myself in an interesting situation with regards to this song. You see, as I?m sure many of you know, this song was actually released in animatic form some months ago, so unlike pretty much every other MLP song I?ve looked at, I?ve been given a chance to hear it and weigh my opinion long before the episode itself actually comes out. And let me say right now, after so much time, my thoughts are the same now as they were back then, that the song is absolutely beautiful to listen to. The signer herself, Lena Hall, does a fantastic job, belting out perfect note after perfect note. What?s more, that background piano music fits in with it perfectly, and overall, I found it to be such an impactful song that, at one point, I was getting just as misty-eyed as Applejack did. No joke, but the last time I was this impressed by an MLP song, it was, I kid you not, ?This Day Aria?. That?s right, this song was THAT good to me. It sounded great, it was presented great, and I?m sure I?ll be listening to it more than a few times in future.
Onto the humour now, and this, it seems, is one of those episodes that is far less funny than most others on the show. Now, I don?t mean this to be a slam against the episode. Far from it. Because while I may certainly enjoy a lot of the funnier episodes we?ve been given, I find myself liking the more dramatic ones even more. And this episode certainly has its fair share of drama. There are certainly funny moments here and there, and even Applejack herself gets a moment or two to provide some laughs, despite my earlier declaration of her being the least funny member of the main cast. But, the real centrepiece of the story is the emotion of her relationship and her helping Coloratura to get a happier life doing what she loves. And when we?re given a central heart like that, I?m more than willing to forgive nay episode that?s light on the jokes. However, I will say that the episode did have a few funny moments here and there, most notably with regards to Pinkie as usual.
As for the moral of the story, this episode seem to be trying to get across the message of how people need to be themselves when they do the things that they love. Coloratura, all throughout, while certainly having a job she wanted, spent so much of her time being told HOW she should do it. But, by going her own path, she was able to find just how much happier she could be while doing this line of work. That is, perhaps, one of the better morals this show has tried to teach this season. Letting others decide things for you to an extreme extent is never a good idea, especially in the context provided in this episode, and when we try our own things, while we may fail, we at least know that we?re doing it in a way that we know we want to be doing it. And, as before, that too matches perfectly with Applejack?s role as the most honest of the characters. As cliché as it may be to say, being honest with yourself and others about who you are can perhaps be the only way anyone can be happy in their life, and that is a lesson I wholeheartedly approve of.
So, how did the penultimate episode of the season fare overall? Well, I think it?s safe to say that this story had a lot of good things in its favour. Applejack came off in a very positive light, her relationship to Coloratura felt genuine despite us never seeing this character before, there were plenty of enjoyable moments and, above all, we were given perhaps one of the most impressive songs the show has given to us in a very long time. Do I think it counts as one of the better episodes of the show? Or even this season in particular? Well, that?s difficult for me to say. It?s definitely a step up from last weeks, and I would certainly say it was one of the more enjoyable outings this season, but as for ?best?, I think that might be stretching it a bit. Even so, there were more than enough good moments in this episode for me to highly recommend that you watch it. You won?t be disappointed in the slightest.
