Retrospective Review: Strong Seconds

Not an episode review this time.

PresentPerfect writes about the "Applejack Problem", that a character with everything figured out becomes too boring. Her cutie mark is literally deciding she wants to stay home.

I thought back to my review of the third and fourth episodes of the series, especially in how the setup for Applebuck Season threatened to force Applejack to stay on the farm, making it harder for her to be involved in the series. If she instead had a destiny that lent itself to travel (connecting with all the Apple family, or planting apple trees across Equestria), AND the farm could run without her, it would be easier for the writers to include Applejack in a story.

Of course, the same problem affects Fluttershy, especially later with her animal sanctuary.

And when you think about it, all of the main cast, other than Twilight Sparkle, shares the same problem. They all have day jobs. Day jobs they abandon all the time, and not just when the fate of Equestria rests in the balance.

So, looking back, something that would have helped remove restrictions on the writers would be to give each of the characters a strong second, someone in a similar role who presumably would fill in for the main character off-screen. The exact kind of character to fill the role could vary by main character.

For example, Rainbow Dash would work well with a second who was a rival, a fellow weather pony and aspiring Wonderbolt. In the end, this ended up being Thunderlane, but you never would have guessed that from Hurricane Fluttershy.

Applejack could have used either an ever-changing group of distant relatives, farmhands, or perhaps Carrot Top as more of a rival.

Fluttershy would be best paired with a side character like Mane Goodall, which would be an interesting contrast between "studied to care for animals" and "caring for animals because that's what my Cutie Mark is telling me".

Rarity has employees, but only much later, after being established. At the start, she could have an apprentice (who would also need to keep Sweetie Belle away from the shop), or perhaps her mother helps.

Pinkie Pie is the character least in need of a second, because she's already one of several workers in the Cakes' shop, but an apprentice party pony would be a fun addition.

Now, in the real world, with only 22 minutes per episode, there's probably not much time to show these hypothetical characters. It's similar to the way we only ever see noted professor of archaeology Henry Jones, Jr. in the classroom for a couple of minutes per movie.

But I'd still like these strong seconds to exist.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hey, even Twilight is ostensibly the town librarian. Spike sometimes serves as her second, but when he comes along for the adventure, the closest thing she has to backup is a pet owl.