Apple Family Reunion episode review

This was one episode that I really liked, aside from a few issues that I was initially annoyed by, but got over as the episode progressed. Unfortunately, the formula for most of the fairly recent MLP episodes consists of a character suddenly acting like a massive idiot (often in a way that completely contradicts their established personality) in order to learn a lesson. The mistake they make is usually something completely stupid that almost no one would realistically make, and from there the audience is left to "enjoy" boatloads of cringe humor up until the final five minutes where they get the speech on morality. One Bad Apple is a prime example: "We can't tell any adults or authority figures about our bullying problem because we'll risk losing the respect of an eight year old lowlife, durr."

Apple Family Reunion, however, centers around a conflict that's much easier to explore without insulting both the characters and the audience: the difficulty of trying to make important memories in a short span of time. Applejack's heart is in the right place throughout, and although she fails to notice everyone's dissatisfaction for a bit longer than she ordinarily would if this weren't the episode's moral (the laws of comedy are in effect here), she's not so stupid as to make the audience lose patience with her. Some of the jokes are good, and the Apples recognizably act like a real family in a lot of their interactions. I can't help but wonder if the authors drew on some of their own family reunions for particular minor characters.

Now, on to the nitpicks. It is my opinion that no story, film, or piece of music is ever truly perfect, and as such no review is complete without nitpicks.

The first and most major one is this: Apple Bloom, where do you and Babs get off suddenly being 'favorite cousins'? The only explanation I can think of is that the audience has missed out on a LOT of apologies and subsequent conversations, presumably via the mail. (The level of technological advancement in MLP is shockingly inconsistant.) Apple Bloom being excited to finally be able to get to know the 'real' Babs and forge a friendship with her would be a much easier pill for the audience to swallow than relying on the assumption that a massive shift in their relationship took place between episodes. As soon as Apple Bloom referred to Babs as her "faaaaaayvorite cousin," that was about as surprising as if Fluttershy suddenly started talking about her upcoming tea party with her bestest friend, Iron Will.

The only other explanation for Babs being her favorite cousin I can think of is that her only other cousin is Boo Radley.

The other nitpick, which is extremely minor, concerns the two shooting stars. It has been stated by some of the cast/crew that the two shooting stars represent Applejack's dead parents, who are indeed confirmed to be dead. My concern is this: if they are going to make subtle nods to this fact via falling stars, why not just come out and say it? There's a lot of emotional 'meat' that one can dig into when writing about this subject, and it seems like a shame to keep avoiding the subject when there's plenty of good material there for an episode or two. It wouldn't have to be a "dark" episode like some fanfics handle this subject, but simply serious. Just think: if the best television story in recent years about handling the loss of one's parents came from MLP of all places, that would turn a LOT of heads.