Episode Re-Review: Apple Family Reunion · 5:31pm Mar 17th, 2021
The next couple of episodes of Season 3 got rearranged and mixed up from production order. This episode was the ninth in production order but got bumped up to the eighth episode to air (the intended eighth episode was moved to the eleventh episode to air, most likely because of what it was meant to be tied to). And although not intended, it was the first of two Applejack episodes back to back (the latter of which had started life as a Rarity episode before being switched to Applejack). Cindy Morrow, still trying to redeem herself after "One Bad Apple" was picked to write this episode, but was she up to the task? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with Granny Smith getting down some dusty old boxes in the barn. There's a family reunion for the entire Apple family coming up and Granny Smith wants to be prepared. Apple Bloom even mentions her "favorite cousin" Babs Seed will be coming (sure didn't take long to put the bullying behind her). It's a nice continuity nod but Cindy Morrow wrote Babs' introduction episode, so remembering your own continuity is easy. The real plot doesn't kick in for a little bit longer though, Granny Smith admits she's "a bit rusty in the get up" since the last reunion and we're treated to a flashback showing baby Applejack. However, oddly enough her birth certificate would feature a revamped design whereas this flashback model reused the standard foal model patented by the Cake Twins.
Apparently, this particular flashback is how it was discovered Applejack, even as a baby, had "the appetite of a full grown stallion". And while Granny Smith is going on about memories from previous reunions, Applejack is looking out at the sky as a pair of shooting stars passes overhead. This is meant to signify that Applejack's parents are dead, but the episode is so vague about it that you could easily interpret it as her parents just being missing or simply away and traveling. We wouldn't learn they were dead for sure until "The Perfect Pear".
Supposedly, this is when Applejack decides to take over planning and hosting the reunion from Granny Smith (and the last one we saw was in the pilot, which means it's been at least a year although given that we've had two winters I don't think it's possible to fit it all in), and Granny Smith agrees. Then we're treated to a montage of the entire family working to get things ready for the reunion, including Applejack enlisting her friends for help (she even uses Spike as a lighter, moving his head as it clicks just like when you try to activate a lighter). But the only one who speaks is Pinkie Pie who pours golden glitter on Applejack (after belching up a bee after drinking honey out of a bee hive).
Then, the night before the reunion, Applejack is up late and working herself into a tizzy trying to plan everything. So you might think this is gonna be the conflict of the episode, Applejack becoming not unlike Twilight and go crazy trying to organize everything. Well you'd be kind of right if you thought that way, but not in the way you're expecting. All of this up to this point might as well be a different episode all together, about the only thing that carries over into the second half is Applejack hosting the reunion. Interestingly, we see some Apple family members show up via what appears to be a zeppelin of some kind. And we also see a few background ponies like Bon Bon and Caramel (they may be related to the Apples somehow). Applejack is eager to have memories be made, but she goes it about in the wrong way. She turns the apple fritter cooking station into a make line, brings in sewing machines so Granny Smith and other older relatives can finally finish a quilt they've never completed and turns the seven legged race (the pony equivalent of a three legged race) into a sort of mini Olympics with extra events.
And this becomes the big problem for the episode, Cindy Morrow seems to have had one thought process the whole time: Make sure Applejack isn't upstaged. Fearful of another "The Last Roundup" where Applejack's spotlight was completely overshadowed by Derpy (as well as Pinkie Pie's antics), Cindy opts to shove Applejack front and center at all times. Any plot points that could get started are shut down when Applejack shows up, and she continues to be a smothering presence throughout the episode. It really does seem like Cindy didn't have any idea what to do with Applejack but needed to come up with something.
We do occasionally get something from Apple Bloom and Babs Seed, particularly learning that there are these two blank flanks in Manehattan who apparently want to join Babs' CMC branch. But we don't get to learn any promising details about this because again Applejack keeps showing up and keeps shutting down plot points because it has to be her episode. And obviously, you can't just stick someone into an episode and make it work. You need an actual story that revolves around them with actual stakes, and we don't have that here. So it's a whole lot of nothing, Applejack just being a buzzkill. Naturally, because of Applejack no one is actually having fun or making memories, so she decides to do the traditional ride around the farm. Except instead of a nice, relaxing ride she turns it into a high speed, bumpy ride. And she decides to divert it through one of the orchards, which are occupied by fruit bats.
The bats swarm the wagon upon seeing one of the occupants has a fruit hat, and everyone bails out before the wagon goes out of control and crashes into the barn, destroying it. This makes it now the fourth time it has been destroyed, twice within the same season.
Applejack is quite upset because that means all her plans are ruined, but Apple Bloom points out how this is a good thing since Applejack was making the reunion anything but fun. She was so fixated on creating memories that she didn't stop to realize that that happens when everyone is having fun, and trying to micromanage every aspect of it removes that fun. Then she decides on one more activity, a barn raising so they can take a picture in front of the barn. This leads into the song "Raise This Barn" and we're not gonna talk about the misintrepretation of it. The song itself is quite catchy, and I wonder if anyone ever set it to dance steps because it feels like you could do it. It feels like a country square dance kind of song.
The song ends (after a fiddle solo from Fiddlesticks, the name given to the pallet swap of Octavia from "Luna Eclipsed" though at least one fan comic interprets Fiddlesticks as a disguise Octavia dawns) and the picture in front of the barn is taken. We see a couple of photos from the construction, including one of Applejack working alongside Braeburn and having a good time. Then we see Applejack writing the only other friendship lesson that'll be sent to Princess Celestia this season and the last one that will ever be sent, a lesson about how friends can be like family. Kind of scraping the barrel for a moral, though the point about remembering the who long after you've forgotten the what is relevant. And the episode ends with the shooting stars from before.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, this episode highlights a big problem with Applejack that should've been addressed but never was. Namely the fact that Applejack has no desire to seek out conflicts, she has no goal or ambition that would force her out of her comfort zone and neither does her personality lend itself to getting into conflicts (her stubbornness doesn't count because it only applies if a conflict finds her). The rest of the mane six all have personalities or goals that lead them into conflicts, but Applejack is just the every man and the straight man of the group. She's great if she's being a supporting character or has someone to play off of, whether it be Rainbow Dash, Rarity or Pinkie Pie. But on her own, Applejack is incapable of holding the spotlight. Why do you think it is that people remember shows like Doug or Hey Arnold for anything and anyone except the titular main character? It's because the every man by itself is not a compelling lead character, their personality is too bland to draw an audience without wild exaggeration (which often leads to flanderization).
That applies to this episode, it really seems to demonstrate that no one knew how to write an Applejack focus episode, especially not one where she was the character of focus and no one else could upstage her. Even if you apply the "Dead Parents" angle and have Applejack be worried that is going to be Granny Smith's last family reunion, it doesn't make the episode that much stronger and still doesn't justify the crazy things she ends up doing to said reunion. The moral is one that Applejack should already know. Mr.Enter, in his review of this episode, suggested that this family reunion plot would've worked for any other mane six member, and he's kind of right. Planning a family reunion at least seems like it could work for Applejack, but actually running one and going overboard on it is not something she would normally. It wouldn't have taken too much to fix it though, just cut out all the unnecessary stuff at the reunion and focus more on Applejack taking over from Granny Smith. You can still keep the family reunion plot if you want, but then the episode can focus more on Applejack's strong suit: Family. This episode isn't really bad, but it gives you almost nothing to talk about and feels like one of those episodes that just bends a character to fit the plot. So this episode gets a C. At least "Raise This Barn" was a catchy song, and it was nice to see Babs Seed again for what would be the last time.
And now we come to the third installment in the unholy Spike trilogy, one that shifted the focus from one character to another and in the process became a mess. I'm of course referring to "Spike At Your Service".
Yeah, this episode is just kinda boring.
I think the Fiery Joker considers the next episode the worst one in the entire series.
I enjoy all the episodes based around the Apple family
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I don't know if I'd say the entire series, but he definitely considers it the worst of the "Spike Trilogy".
As for this episode, it's certainly better than Cindy Morrow's other contribution for this season, although that's not saying much. Really, this episode's biggest sin at the end of the day is that it's just forgettable.