Season 2, Episode 15: The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 (Review) · 11:04pm Jun 8th, 2014
Dawn breaks over Fluttershy's cottage. The sound wakes her up, an' suddenly Rainbow Dash rushes in through the window. So many a' mah unpublished fanfics start this way. Fluttershy asks what's goin' on. Dash rips the blanket off Fluttershy, who blushes an' covers herself with her hooves... wait a second, are you sure this isn't a fanfic?
Rainbow Dash rushes off with Fluttershy, expositing that cider season is about to start, and that Pinkie Pie beats her there every year and the cider always runs out before Dash gets hers. So she wants to turn the tables this year, buy up all the cider before Pinkie gets there an' drink it in front of her drop by drop. Yep, she plans to deny one of her best friends cider an' rub it in her face to get revenge for somethin' that can't possibly be Pinkie's fault. The Element of Loyalty, everybody!
Well, no sooner has she finished speakin' than we see that not only has she failed ta get there first, but there's a line of tents stretchin' farther than we can see. Apparently cider season is like the day of a console launch.
No, worse than that.
Okay, maybe not that bad.
The first tent opens and, wouldn't ya know it, Pinkie Pie steps out an' tells the pegasi she was so excited she decided ta camp out, an' told a bunch of other ponies about the idea an' apparently somehow the entire town turned out for it. Dash is not happy. Understandably, for once. Pinkie really shoulda brought her in on this. Ah don't even care if this wasn't intentional. Pinkie, you done wrong.
Applejack uses a megaphone to announce that cider season is now open... which makes the campout look less like a coincidence an' more like a tradition, so ah'm gonna assume that's what it is. An' the goofy looks on the faces of the ponies who drink the cider have started a lot of debates.
Some say cider doesn't foam unless it's got alcohol in it. Others say since the cider is made fresh each day, it's not fermented. Ah've heard one person counter that last point by claimin' that apples can ferment on the tree, but he was citin' his anonymous self as the source a' that information, so ah'm takin' that one with a grain a' salt. Even if that's true, they definitely use green apples in the cider, an' ah have a hard time believin' those are fermented. But mah final perspective on the matter is... alcohol is a preservative. Equestria is most likely under Prohibition. Otherwise, cider season wouldn't be such a big deal, because ponies would be able ta get the stuff year-round.
Which isn't ta say the Apple Family doesn't make hard cider, but they sell it under the table.
So the line goes on, an' Fluttershy an' Dash get to the front of the line. Fluttershy takes her cup, Dash pays, and... the cider is gone. All of it. Dash attempts to incite a riot against her friend. The Element of... dangit ah already used that joke. Uh, well... right when everybody's about ta lose their cool, there's a sound like a quiet, high-pitched train whistle. Then somethin' like a locomotive engine with wagon wheels (you'll recall I previously compared it to the Wonkamobile) comes into view. It bumps into the fence. Hope the driver's insurance is gonna cover that.
The occupants are a pair a' unicorn stallions, who launch into a catchy tune promisin' cider an' identifyin' themselves as "the world-famous Flim-Flam Brothers". Why anybody would believe a thing they say when they literally call themselves "the Flim-Flam Brothers" is beyond me, but they get everybody singin' along. Everybody.
As ah mentioned, this song is an homage to The Music Man, an' specifically the song "Ya Got Trouble". Let's look at that. The idea of "Trouble" is that the singer wants ta sell the town somethin' they don't really need, so he has ta create a need. In order ta do that, he makes somethin' else out ta be dangerous so he can then convince 'em that his product is what they need ta put off the danger.
So what does this song establish about Flim an' Flam? Well... that they're legitimate salesponies lookin' ta sell somethin' that ponies actually want. An' even Granny Smith is worried they might be jus' a tad too good. So that's a point against this episode, thematically. It's a misused homage, even if it is well-executed. Everythin' about the antagonists is engineered ta show us that they're not trustworthy, but then they actually deliver. That said, they do greatly play up the importance of cider an' the tragedy that not havin' any is, deliberately manipulatin' their audience, so it's still clear that they're tryin' ta create more of a need than actually exists.
More importantly, the song, like any good sales pitch, is upbeat an' catchy. The most important thing ta do when yer sellin' a product is ta create the attitude that yes, this is a good thing, that "we're happy to have it an' you'll be happy too". So for that, ah'll give it a passin' score. Jus'... not an A+++. They also show a bit a' how the machine works. It's got some kinda magic quality control mechanism that only lets it use "good" apples. Apparently they've thought of everything.
As soon as they're finished talkin' about what their machine can do, Apple Bloom shouts out, "You got a deal!" And, of course, she is immediately pulled back, because unless ah've missed somethin' she is not old enough ta make business decisions. The Apple Family huddles up an' discusses the question of whether or not ta buy into the Brothers' business. Granny seems certain Apple Family cider is better, which is odd 'cause she tasted the Brothers' cider during the song an' looked worried. Ah guess the Brothers are just good enough they could cut into Apple Family profit margins.
Then Flim an' Flam insinuate themselves into the conversation, at which point ah'm fairly certain ah woulda punched one of 'em ta teach 'em a lesson about personal space. They offer a partnership with a 75-25 profit split, in their own favor. Apple Bloom again tries to accept their deal instantly an' is again silenced by a smarter pony. Applejack says that cider sales are what pay the family's upkeep durin' the dead months, an' Big Mac declines the deal. And here is where everybody gets it wrong. People think the Apples are stupid for passing up this deal, and I have to correct you on this. I've studied economics for years, and I'm telling you right now it's a terrible deal unless all of the following statements are true:
1. The combined value of output minus expenses of the Brothers and the Apple Family is more than four times the output minus expenses of the Apple Family alone.
The Brothers are able to make cider three times as fast as the Apples, yes. But the Brothers use a complicated machine. Machines require maintenance, and the more complex, the higher the overhead costs. The Apples have the farm's overhead, but only a tiny portion of that applies to their cider. So, from the look of it, this comes close to a fair deal, but the Apples are getting shortchanged. Essentially the deal amounts to "you'll pay our overhead for us and get nothing in return".
And that's only if the price stays the same. But Granny seems to think the Brothers' cider isn't quite as good, which means ponies would likely want to pay less; why should they pay as much for the inferior machine-made cider as they were for the good old-fashioned stuff? And they'd essentially saturate the market—when supply goes up, price goes down. That means the Brothers' additional output is less valuable, so it's actually effectively less than four times the output when combined. Overall, not a good deal.
2. The quantity of cider demanded is more than four times the output of the Apple Family alone.
Yes, we see ponies lined up over the hill when the Apple Family runs out of cider each day. But we have no idea how far over the hill, or how many there were when it started; due to time-lapses, we can only sort of estimate how many were served based on the volume of the barrels and cups. Even that would only be a rough estimate, though, and you have to consider that different ponies will buy different amounts of cider.
However, while we don't have a good way of estimating the number of ponies, we do get a good look at the number of barrels. At the start of the first day, there are twelve barrels stacked up, assuming we didn't miss a few replacements during time lapses, plus one on the stand for a total of thirteen barrels. Now let's compare that to the number at the end of the episode, when the Apples made "enough for everypony in Ponyville". They produced a triangular stack eight tiers high. Each tier has one more barrel than the one above it, and the top tier is one lone barrel so the total number of barrels they produced is:
8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=36
Thirty-six barrels is enough cider for the entirety of Ponyville, and that's not even three times the initial thirteen. I can stop right there, because Flim and Flam's deal clearly would have been a huge loss to Sweet Apple Acres, but there's one more test.
3. The Apple Family has no other way of increasing their output without significant additional costs.
This is important. If the Apples can produce enough cider to meet demand without giving up 75% of their profit, the Brothers' deal is not worth considering even for a moment. And the moment this entire episode is building up to ably demonstrates that yes, they can. All they need is the help of a few friends and about an hour. Problem. Solved. The Brothers can take their crazy train right back out of town. And the rest of you can stop badmouthing the Apple Family for turning down a deal that was bad for them. I do not want to have to explain all this again.
On with the story. Flim and Flam say that there'll be plenty of cider for everyone, then turn right around an' promise ta get Applejack, and her little dog too. They say they're gonna drive Sweet Apple Acres out of business. Nobody seems to care. Ah'm not sure how that's even possible. Not only is roughly 100% of all the food in Ponyville grown on Sweet Apple Acres (as established in Winter Wrap-Up, when all the farmers were planting their food crops there, and further suggested by the fact that Carrot Top's house seems to be in Apple territory, implying she's a sharecropper), not only is Applejack one a' the six legendary heroes who have saved the world an' especially Ponyville twice now, but she's also a popular local hero in her own right, with her Best Pony trophy an' her rodeo stardom. Are ponies really so crazy for cider they'd turn on her?
Well, we cut to the next day. Applejack is discussin' the threat with Twi, an' in order ta skip right to the action, Apple Bloom announces the cider has run out. Way back in the background, Rainbow Dash pops up, screaming in frustration an' dagnabbit. Okay. Ah've called out everybody else, an' now it's Applejack's turn. AJ. Seriously. What are ya doin'. Rainbow Dash already paid for her cider. She never got a cup or a refund yesterday. The only fair thing ta do woulda been ta save her a cup today, or give her a cut in the line. What makes you think it's okay ta leave her high an' dry?
At the same time though ah do have ta question why Dash is that far back in the line. She was at the front of the line when they ran out yesterday, so that means today she was even later even though she knew ponies would be campin' out overnight. Does she really want cider, or does she just wanna complain about not gettin' cider?
Flim an' Flam roll up again, an' hit the fence Granny Smith just fixed. At this point, they're clearly doin' it deliberately, an' should be charged with vandalism. They bust out a barrel of cider an' pass Rainbow Dash a mug. Applejack lassos the barrel an' uses it to knock the cider out of Dash's hoof, which seems a little harsh, especially when Dash takes a big bite a' dirt to try an' get a taste of cider. Ordinarily ah'm all for jokes at Rainbow Dash's expense, but this's turnin' into one a' those Tom and Jerry cartoons where Tom is mindin' his own business until Jerry starts takin' the food out of his mouth; it's not funny, it's just a little depressing. AJ declares that the Brothers don't have the right to sell cider made from Apple Family apples. Remember this. It will be important.
Flim declares that there are plenty of apples in Equestria. An' while that's true, you'd have ta go pretty far outta Ponyville ta find any that aren't grown by the Apple Family. Before they can ride off ta get more, though, Apple Bloom decides ta outbid 'em by sayin' the Apples will make more than they could possibly imagine. Apparently, she's pulled a total 180 since yesterday an' now instead of bein' eager ta strike a deal, she's decided ta be unnecessarily confrontational, repeatedly tryin' ta one-up their claims despite her family's attempts to silence her. Granny Smith tells her ta knock it off... an' Flim calls her a chicken. Which, apparently, is all it takes ta get her ta challenge them to a cider race, usin' the apples in the south field. The stakes: Exclusive cider-sellin' rights in Ponyville. Remember this, too.
We transition to the next day, when the competition is set to begin. And, exactly as anybody could have predicted, the Brothers are outproducin' the Apples by a large margin. Rarity specifically notes that at top output, the Apples are only makin' a third as much cider.
Inspiration strikes, an' Twilight asks if "honorary family members" can help out. The Mayor, Applejack, an' the Brothers all agree, an' the battle is joined! Doublin' the number of ponies, plus addin' one, apparently allows them ta make five times as much cider as before. (And no, Swashbucklist, I didn't miscount this. For some reason, Spike isn't doing anything at all here, even though he easily could have.) Flim an' Flam see they're falling behind an' turn up the power on the machine, which causes it to uproot entire trees (and their debt keeps growing).
This backfires, as all the apples are now battered, bruised, squashed, and mixed with debris, so Flam disables the quality control to get it movin' again at even higher output. The audience cheers at the announcement that they're at "top productivity".
Rainbow Dash tries ta skip quality control as well, but Applejack stops her, sayin' it's not worth cheatin' ta win, although there wasn't actually a rule against compromisin' the quality of the cider ta make it faster. Rainbow Dash reluctantly agrees an' resumes operatin' the press. Soon, the competition ends. Twilight says that integrity like Applejack's will always be rewarded, and... Flim an' Flam are declared the winners. There's a collective gasp from the audience, the one that, remember, was just rootin' for the Brothers.
The unicorns come forward to taunt the Apple Family about their loss an' say they're gonna tear down all the farm buildings an' put up new ones, even renaming the orchard. Rainbow Dash moves ta beat the tar out of 'em, but Applejack stops her, sayin' a deal's a deal, concedin' defeat to the Brothers, an' tellin' the family to pack their things. The assembled ponies watch with sad looks on their faces. Hey, did y'all suddenly forget this is not only all yer own faults, but also exactly the outcome you wanted two minutes ago?
Or maybe they've jus' spotted the plot hole here, the one that ah noticed halfway through this scene, an' the one you've noticed too if ya remember the things ah pointed out. See... the way this scene actually shoulda gone is...
Rainbow Dash: I oughtta press you into jerk cider!
Applejack: No, Rainbow Dash, a deal's a deal.
Flim/Flam: [goatlike laughter]
Applejack: Congratulations to y'all. The cider business in Ponyville is yours. Now, let's talk prices.
Flam: ...come again?
Applejack: Well, you two won the exclusive right ta sell cider, sure. But you don't actually own a single barrel 'cause it's all made of Apple Family apples. In fact, near anywhere ya go in Equestria, that's gonna be the case. There's a reason we're called the Apple Family and we're in every town. You got the cider rights, but since we didn't bet the farm, ya still need a means ta produce it.
Flim: You—you can't mean...
Applejack: Oh, ah'm not gonna hold it against ya. Ah'll be happy splittin' the profits... 75-25.
Flim/Flam: [meaningful silence]
Flim: ...who gets the 75?
Applejack: Take a guess.
Instead, what happens is the Brothers set up the stand to sell their own cider. They pass mugs around, and almost immediately get a wave of cider to the face as everybody spits it out. Ponies are apparently more outraged by bad cider than by the founding family of Ponyville bein' evicted from their home by a pair of con artists. Ultimately, the Brothers hop back on their wagon an' leave without realizin' exactly how they sabotaged their own victory.
Frankly, this whole scene only makes sense if Applejack is Batman. She must've given up the farm because she knew the overconfident Brothers would sell the bad cider an' get run out of town as a result. Well, if that was the plan, it worked. AJ is now back in business with the best cider season sales ever. While she narrates about the... lack of a lesson, Rainbow Dash is at the front of the cider line again. And... the barrel runs out, an' Dash looks like she might cry even though there are plenty more barrels. But then Pinkie gives her a cup. About time, you pink glutton. The episode ends with a toast, possibly the best ending shot of the entire series.
Ah have mixed feelings about this episode. On the plus side, ah like how it involved using lessons Applejack had already learned. That's somethin' that ya don't see much of in shows like this. It helps reinforce that those lessons are valid when they come up again. Ah also like that they didn't win because they're super amazing ponies, but the villains were undone by their own villainous traits; that's more common, but it's nice ta see an' helps even more when illustratin' the difference.
However, this is also one a' those episodes where the supposed "best friends" treat each other like dirt (except for Rainbow Dash toward Fluttershy; if she hadn't put Fluttershy in front of herself, Dash would have gotten cider on the first day). It comes off a little baffling how they all seem ta be conspirin' ta make each others' lives miserable. Applejack an' Rainbow Dash seem ta get the short end of it in equal measure here, and a lot from each other. A' course, given their track record ah'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet. The episode also kinda failed to communicate why we were supposed ta be against Flim an' Flam up until the point where they tried ta con the Apples outta their home, since, again, they actually had the product they promised. This is, of course, continuin' ta build on an alarming trend of the antagonists bein' more likable than our heroes.
Overall, ah think ah can overlook the problems with the episode, but they're annoyingly common things in this show an' need ta be addressed. Meanwhile, what was good about this episode was worth watchin' for, and ah even had some fun gettin' mad at people an' overthinkin' it. So ah'd say ah liked this one, but it's not one a' mah favorites...
Hmm, very good analysis of the deal and implications on whether or not it'd actually be profitable to the Apple's.
Well, her parents are dead.
i.imgur.com/F4QTwcV.gif
In an interesting case of continuity, next time we see Fluttershy sleeping she's wearing a nightrobe, presumably in case Rainbow Dash bursts into her bedroom again. Whether to preserver her modesty or look more seductive, I'll leave up to you.
Given that this aired immediately after an episode where Rainbow Dash stranded Rarity and Pinkie Pie in the desert, I always assumed this was deliberate revenge, personally.