Afterthoughts: Where the Apple Lies · 6:39pm Oct 20th, 2016
art by tyuubatu
I was happy to see this episode. It wasn’t one of my favorite episodes of the season, but it was solid, and it was the episode Applejack needed.
In a previous Afterthoughts, I bemoaned that Applejack was not having her best season. “Where the Apple Lies” does a good job making up for the lackluster “Applejack’s ‘Day’ Off”, and gives us some nice backstory to her character.
Backstory episodes are usually a lot of fun, and this was no exception. “Where the Apple Lies” gave us a well-paced, fairly lighthearted episode. It provided a new dimension to Applejack’s and Big Macintosh’s relationship, and it was a lot of fun to see the two of them as teenagers.
It also gave us more of Filthy Rich and the mare who would become his wife. I think many of us have been wanting to learn more about their personalities and that relationship since “Crusaders of the Lost Mark”, and this episode answered several questions.
I like Filthy Rich. He’s a genuinely good, if somewhat aggressive, fellow. I think Filthy Rich was in love. And Spoiled Milk (!) was clearly a gold digger (who was notably more attractive but just as insufferable in her youth). It also answered a long-standing question about names… only to prompt a whole new plethora of them.
The episode also teased a whole lot of other backstories – from Derpy in the hospital with her eyes bandaged to the running gag of Big Mac’s tales – making fans cry out to know more.
The moral of the story (don’t lie) is a very straightforward one, and one that doesn’t really call for much deeper discussion. But the core of this episode was what it said about virtues.
art by MysticAlpha
We all know Applejack’s virtue is honestly. I have long fancied the idea that Big Macintosh’s virtue is silence. It was nice to see that confirmed. And there is a meaningful lesson in how these two came to have the virtues they do.
My writing speaks about “finding your virtue”, but that doesn’t mean a person’s virtue is inherent. As often as not, we choose our virtue. We decide what core values are the most important to us. And we work to embody those.
It may not always be a conscious choice. Education, religious environment and/or life lessons learned (such as is the case for Applejack and Big Macintosh) can inform what virtues you cherish and what qualities become vital to your character.
Applejack is honest because she saw the damage that her lies had caused and where they almost led to, and she chose to be honest. Big Macintosh had an epiphany that drove him to speak less and listen more. Now, honesty and silence are integral parts of their character and personality – to the point where it is hard for them to act against their virtues – but it was a conscious decision and actually effort to be better that got them there.
Like most things, virtue gets easier with practice. It is hard at first. But the more you act in accordance to a set of values and principles, the easier and more routine it becomes to abide by them. In the case of Applejack, to the point where she is blatantly bad at it whenever she attempts to deviate from her core virtue. I find this is an admirable and enviable evolution.
art by TheRandomJoyrider
Stray apples:
I loved the designs. Teenage Applejack was adorable. Seeing younger Big Mac’s hairstyle brought snickers. I cheered for the return of 80’s Cheerilee. (And despite her insistence otherwise, I couldn’t help but notice literally nopony else was wearing their mane that way.)
Despite being horrible, Spoiled Milk put up with a lot to try to find out how Granny Smith was doing. It is nice to see her character given some small positive qualities. I doubt she would have made the effort if it wasn’t for Filthy Rich, but it still says something good that she didn’t leave him to do so alone.
Granny Smith’s explanation about the difference between cider and jam made sense. Not only did it invoke Granny’s drill sergeant routine with the jars back in “Family Appreciation Day” but also my family’s own pantry of preserves. That bit also made me wonder what the shelf-life of real cider is. From what I read, it’s not that long, although modern cider is pasteurized to make it last longer than the all-natural cider Sweet Apple Acres produced.
That’s actually pretty impressive. He’s good at this!
Clever misdirection of expectations with “ended up in the hospital”.
What the heck happened to some of those ponies in the hospital waiting room?! The ass injury made me cringe. And was that Screwball in the
“So she’s not a doctor?”
It was good to see Granny Smith chide Filthy Rich over his part in this affair. And even better was her “Not after this display!” comment to the teens.
If Apple Bloom wasn’t born yet, where were the parents? If they had already passed on, shouldn’t baby Apple Bloom have been somewhere in the picture? I suppose it’s possible she was, but just not on-screen. However, her absence at suppertime is problematic.
I liked how everypony raised their hooves (and not in unison – nice animation touch) to hear more about the apple blight.
The unexpected appearance of a reference to “The Shining” was probably my favorite moment, and a great way to kick off the month of Halloween.
art by DfectiveDvice
Apparently, the Apple parents were on vacation, possibly conceiving Apple Bloom at the time.
And that was definitely Screw Loose, the mare who'd later think she was a dog, in the waiting room. Seems she's had a hard life.
Also, I remain convinced that gold digging is actually Spoiled Rich née Milk's special talent.
"Supposedly" from one of the writers, the Apple parents were on a "vacation" away from the farm, ergo why they weren't there, and that AB would be the result of being away on said vacation.
Or at least that's how EQD and folks there in the comments put some of the puzzle pieces together anyways.
And yes, I think that was "Screwloose". Also, some of the background ponies were interesting to see. Seriously love younger Big Mac's mane. It looks awesome.
Uhh, might wanna give this blog a re-read, Kkat, think ya missed a few words in places.
But yeah, fun episode! Little bit of oddity regarding naming conventions (drove my best friend nuts because that just shattered his headcanon and was having trouble formulating alternatives like "maybe they have compound first names, or themed names instead of family names, or maybe it's entirely up to the pony themselves what to do with the names?") but I did like the cascade of events that led to the resolution. With stories like this you often can't really feel them spinning out of control, but they did that very well in this one. It all felt natural, if caused by dumb moves on a couple teenaged and hormonal ponies' parts.
it was a fun episode.
freaking ranny, i swear XD
Think jim miller, or someone, may ahve stated that they were off on a vacation at this point......... they were still alive.
fuck you hasbro for not letting those emotions come forht! >_<
also spoiled....... milk i guess, was kidna hot in a pony way. what the hell happened to her snoot though?
Sooo... Muffins/Ditzy eye state are results of some damage? And there a at least ten year difference between Applejack and Apple? Which mean that Applejack age are really twenty-something?
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That doesn't make any sense though. The two silly ponies argued about who was going to run things when Granny kicked. If her parents were alive, the farm would go to them
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Ditzy/Derpy/Muffins/Olórin's eyes were off-kilter at a younger age according to the "Pinkie Pride" flashback. This looks more like unsuccessful corrective surgery.
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Hey, I'm just reporting the official party line.
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Then she really unlucky.
It was really painful to watch. I hate deception plots. Deception snowball plots are even worse. Butthurt pony raised my brow too. All the little jokes, references and details redeemed it though. But very, very painful to watch >_<
First thought
That really depends on where you are. In some areas (Mostly New Englandish iirc regions) The difference between "Cider" and "Juice" is Cider is unpasteurized and unfiltered, "Juice" is both those things.
The Virtues bit.... love it and did not think about it but, it makes a ton of sense.
As to AB, that did kind of annoy me, if only because it was such a big thing that should have been addressed. If it's before she is born, then why would AJ and Big Mac be arguing over who is taking over after Granny, since it would be on of their parents then? If after, where is she? Even something as simple as
AB: "Where was ah?"
Granny: "Well you were just a wee little foal at the time, and the Blight had all o us to busy ta take care of ya properly, so Cousin/Uncle/Aunt [insert apple related name here] was taken care of ya till things settled down."
I get the not mentioning the parents, that makes sense and I get why, but not addressing the Applebloom issue was odd given how easy it could have been.
Granted if AB was born, then given DT is her age... says something for why Filthy and Spoiled were getting married......
Also an idea that popped into my head while reading this (Anticipating the AB issue) There ARE no "Apple Parents" Granny never had foals, all three of them are orphans who she adopted.
But yeah all around a decent, if low key ep, but with a lot of great stuff in it. Nothing amazing, but still pretty good. And as always, amazing follow up... going to miss these during the hiatus.
4263672 That's not a "Hasbro" thing, that's from the writers themselves, they've outright said that while the parents being dead is true, they simply are not sure how to address that in a way that would make a good episdoe which was not overly depressing.
4263791 Well we knew the mane 6 were quite a bit older then the CMC. Back in "For whom the Sweetie Belle Toils", when Sweetie was five, Rarity looked just like she does now,and it had to be at least 5-7 years since then since CMC age is about 10-12 human age more or less. So for Rarity to not be a teenager five years ago, or a least look like one, means she had to be quite a bit older then Sweetie.
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4263931 Or a case of Rarity simply picturing Derpy as having derpped eyes back then during the flashback due to being so used to it. Was possible that was not a literal depiction of events given I doubt that rain cloud formed over her like that.
4264022 Yeah on the whole I dislike these types of plots, BUT it worked this time because this wasn't someone who should know better being an idiot, this was a younger version of them, showing HOW they came to know better.
Silence is not a virtue mate, despite the assertions of crotchety librarians.
Hmm... I don't know about that K. I think yes, to an extent we are the product of our enviroment, but not the extent that completely envelopes our entire state of being. Some people are born a certain way and have inherent quirks of personality and behavior both good and bad,
Myself, for example. I was a surly fucker even as a newborn according to my parents. I just lay there in my crib in one of my baby pictures looking up at the camera with an expression that screamed "I'm two weeks old and am already thoroughly unimpressed."
As for Mac... he was a proud young male full of vim and vigor. Not much more then that
And filthy made me think of this
You got that right. These pony names are so confusing sometimes.
I have to admit I enjoyed this episode a bit more than I thought I would, probably won't return to it anytime soon, but it was a good Applejack episode that made up for Applejack's Day Off.
Since Applebloom is absent in this episode, I favor the theory that she is actually Applejack's daughter and just wasn't born yet.
EQD Link
This post on EQD references a Tweet by Big Jim that refe4rences his thoughts on why Applejacks parents weren't in the episode.
And as far as Applebloom not being there... not too sure about that one. I'm going to guess she wasn't born yet since they mention Applejacks lying got the WHOLE family in the hospital.
Now that I think about it... we didn't see her parents in Cutie Mark Chronicles either, so maybe they were more absent, or irresponsible? Leaving the kids with Granny?
Thanks for these episode reviews, Kkat!
I decided to watch the second half of the Season 6 that I've been skipping for quite a while and after a bunch of really good episodes (I regret missing them now) your reviews became a beautiful dessert for my mind to chew on.
It's always so interesting to hear/read another person's perception of the same events, especially if the person has a great way with the words.
Will be waiting for your Season 7 reviews with anticipation!
P.S. Also, thanks for posting these nice episode or FO:E related arts, I find myself saving a lot of the ones you choose.