S7 E13 "THE PERFECT PEAR" SPOILERS · 8:03pm Jun 27th, 2017
AKA "Why Bright Macintosh is the best part of the episode"
As a recap, "The Perfect Pear" is about the rivalry between the Pears and the Apples, and amidst that the budding and growing romance of the Apple Bright Mac and the Pear Pear Butter/"Buttercup". While both sides of the romance are important - it is a mild shout-out to Romeo and Juliet after all - Bright Mac ends up being my favorite part of the episode.
First of all, with regards to the relationship itself, Bright Mac is absolutely adorable. He's the one to initiate contact with Pear Butter and immediately shows no care regarding whichever side she's on. It's "love at first sight", but from day one Bright Mac actually works to make it work, constantly being an absolute sweetheart to Pear Butter and being completely considerate to her. The way he expresses himself is also adorable; my favorite scene of the episode is after the song, when Bright Mac playfully jokes how he had this whole setup for saying "I love you" and how Pear Butter ruined it by accidentally letting it slip.
Going off of that, Bright Mac is not only in love with a rival Pear, but he pretty much doesn't seem to care about the rivalry at all. Bright Mac is easily one of the nicest characters in the whole show, showing no animosity towards either side. As much as Grand Pear doesn't seem to care for him and as much as Granny Smith doesn't want him fraternizing with the Pears, Bright Mac doesn't have a harsh word to say about either side. Even more notably, while Pear Butter is afraid in some respects of showing affection within sight of either family leader, Bright Mac sometimes doesn't care about that, waving to Pear Butter in front of Granny Smith and still smiling at her even when she notices and makes him stop.
And just how nice is Bright Mac? According to Burnt Oak's story, Grand Pear didn't even want to acknowledge that Bright Mac was the one who toppled his water silo because he was an Apple. But Bright Mac is willing to give up his weekends and breaks to work and construct a new water silo for his fiercest rival and hater. Bright Mac is one of the biggest and strongest ponies in the show - someone mentioned he crashed and destroyed the silo without getting a scratch on him - and yet instead of using it against his family's enemy, he's completely willing to lend a hoof across the dividing lines and help.
The best part? These traits are easily seen in his children, particularly Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom, the show's equivalent of the "Gentle Giant" and "All-Loving Hero" tropes made incarnate. Bright Mac one ups them in one way: he displays both traits.
I especially love how he's got Apple Bloom's color scheme. I don't know why, but seeing that his youngest daughter took after him more than anyone else just kind of fills me with some kind of wonderful feeling.