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| OHMURR #906693 5 months ago |
I can't stop watching the livestream chat record www.youtube.com/watch?v=geTCP666Yf4
it's like reliving the moment of impact so amazing |
| ponyaddict #906694 5 months ago |
Just made this to say I have dozens of times more sympathy for AJ than I used to, as I've fallen into exactly the same mental trap that she did this ep. I hope we get to see more of her having actual development. |
| DoctorDreidal #906723 5 months ago |
My sentiments exactly, ponyaddict. |
| OHMURR #906731 5 months ago |
hopefully we get some more in ep 41 |
| ManeFlame #906992 5 months ago |
AJ seems to have the most revelations during the show, like when she always takes it upon herself to apologize or try to settle things. As much as like her being a strong mare, it's nice to see she does have her doubts and fears that keep her an interesting character. Derpy was funny and all, but nopony tops AJpony. |
| Anonymous #907163 5 months ago |
^
It's always great to have character development, but what gets to me about these AJ episodes is that they always seem to make her out to be some kind of screw-up. Compare to some of the other character's special episodes: In "Sonic Rainboom", Dash overcame her anxieties, saved Rarity, broke the sound barrier, and won the competition, and all of that happened onscreen. What happened when Applejack went to a competition? It happens off-screen and she doesn't even get first place in anything. What about in "Applebuck Season" when the distinction of being honored by the town was undermined by her self-destructive behavior that led to almost wrecking the city all over again? Even in "Suited for Success" Rarity managed to bounce back and get some success out of the whole ordeal, but Applejack always seems to end up having to cope with a mildly downer ending. Applejack's my favorite character, but it pisses me off that she gets this kind of treatment, almost like while every other cast member can do stuff like telekinetically put a giant star-bear to sleep, stare down a cockatrice, break the sound barrier, and round up a swarm of cutesy locusts with the power of polka, AJ is apparently the one who's been designated to come out in the middling range. Compared to what her friends have done to how she performed in the rodeo, no wonder she was so ashamed. I'd have issues, too, if I were in her place. Learning about your limitations is great and all, but that never seems to have stopped the others from doing some damn cool stuff. Just once I want to see her do something really awesome and come out of an episode on top. |
| ponyaddict #907446 5 months ago |
@163 she does come out on top almost all the time, which is why the episodes she gets are when she's not on top. There's a reason the town loves her to bits: she's really just that awesome. She catches Twilight from falling to her death, stops a stampede, harvests half the orchard alone, drives the parasprites out of town without polka (they only return for Pinkie to dispatch because Fluttershy kept one), stops a carriage bus without wings or magic, and is generally just as badflank as an earth pony can be. And when she doesn't win in the contest? She doesn't come back because she's ashamed she lost, she hides because she thinks she's let everyone down. Stubborn as a mule but dependable like a rock.
So I guess it's true that she never ends an episode as a hero. However, the others end as heroes by triumphing over their character flaws whereas AJ starts each episode as a hero. |
| Frennic #910268 5 months ago |
Amen, ponyaddict. |
| Anonymous #915587 5 months ago |
^^
The problem with that, though, is that I don't think they do enough to establish her as a hero outside of her spotlight episodes, so the only times we're reminded of how awesome and useful she is are immediately followed up with a demonstration how flawed she can be. Normally I wouldn't mind this, but this seems to have become downright formula for her by now. When you have a character who's supposed to be heroic, you need to give the audience definitive reminders of how useful they can be, and when you're not doing anything but showing how un-heroic the character can be, it just calls into question what makes them so heroic in the first place. Fluttershy has the opposite problem. She's supposed to be an ultimately brave and heroic individual in spite of her shy timidity and endearing cowardice, but when you have her talking down dragons, staring down monsters and wrestling freaking bears to the ground, that "timid shy girl" concept just gets flimsier and flimsier, until you're left wondering why you're at all concerned about the safety of the girl who can roundly defeat the forces of darkness with her eyes, because she's obviously going to be just fine. Applejack might be a hero and a local legend, but we haven't seen much in the actual show to justify that. Most of what we see her do are just sports and practice, and the stuff she does that can be considered epic and heroic (like stopping the cattle stampede and herding out the parasprites) gets unmade before the end of the episode anyway, which kind of renders the whole thing moot. I guess the bottom line here is that I just plain don't think it's fair that Applejack always has to end her episodes learning about humility and her limitations while everypony else gets to learn some new introspective and save the day in some truly spectacular manner at the same time. TL;DR: If the other characters all get to "end as heroes by triumphing over their character flaws", then why can't AJ do the same thing? If she starts an episode as a hero, why can't she end an episode as one, too? Instead, she always winds up just having to deal with it and comes off as almost ineffectual because nothing truly heroic or noteworthy she does ever seems to stick. I dunno, maybe it's just me since nobody else seems as bothered by it, but the whole thing just feels a bit lopsided. |
| Anonymous #1165904 3 months ago |
To expand on what ponyaddict said, it seems that the creators were intending for Applejack to be more of a dependable, if flawed, character, than one who can, on occasion completely solve everything, but is fairly helpless the other 90% of the time. In terms of TVTropes' character archetypes, Fluttershy is a glass cannon (powerful, but inconsistent), while Applejack is a sort of juggernaut, who is able to consistently be awesome, working at near-100% at all times. |