Parents and Foals · 7:17pm Oct 5th, 2015
This blog is about something cool about some of the Apple family episodes. There will be spoilers for Brotherhooves Social. I’m also talking a lot about the family dynamics between AJ and Mac and Apple Bloom, and in the interest of not having to qualify every time I say it, when AJ and Mac are acting in the roles of Apple Bloom’s mom and dad I’m going to refer to them that way. I can’t stop the incest jokes in the comments, but I will respect you less as a person.
Spoilers for Brotherhooves Social below the break!
I’ve written before about how a lot of MLP (and children’s fantasy worlds in general) makes more sense when you look at it as a representation of a child’s world rather than an adult’s. And I still hold this is mostly true, especially from a worldbuilding angle, and in terms of adventure episodes. But with last week’s episode, for the second time they did something really genius, something I haven’t seen in kids media, and I want to point it out.
From the beginning, the setup of two sets of protagonists has been a great thing for MLP. The Mane Six let them address more universal problems and conflicts, and since they’re adults the writers are less limited in terms of situations. The Mane Six can travel the world, pursue careers, and get into scary situations because they’re “grown up” and still learn lessons that will apply to the lives of kids and adults.
The CMC let them talk to their target audience more directly. They tend to be limited to Ponyville, or under adult supervision, and they’re dealing with siblings, school, bullies, and growing up. This opens the show up to a huge range of topics without having to bend over backwards to cram the adult characters into situations where they’re dealing with obvious schoolyard messages or force the little kids into a bunch of weird situations to keep it interesting. (Okay, so the show does do both of those things from time to time, but I think the divide has kept either one from happening as much as it does on other kid's shows.)
But the key thing is that both of the groups are intended to be relatable to kids. They can see themselves as Rarity in some situations and Sweetie Belle in other situations. And in an episode like Sisterhooves Social, this makes perfect sense; even for a little kid, sometimes you’re the big sister who has to deal with their little sister getting into everything, and sometimes you’re the little sister who just wants to spend time with the grown-ups. They’re both valid points of view, and while the episode puts the onus of change on Rarity (which makes sense because the more mature person in this situation should be the one balancing their needs and the feelings of the younger one) it’s still sympathetic to her situation, and the message at the end is about compromise.
So, that’s really cool, but then we get to the Apples, and what’s happened there is genius. It’s been implied since Bridle Gossip that AJ and Mac act in the role of parents to Apple Bloom. But until season 4 that was mostly just shown through AJ and Apple Bloom’s relationship-- AJ is more protective than Rarity, and she’s the one Apple Bloom comes to with problems, AJ mentions Mac as the one Apple Bloom will be in trouble with. Thing like that.
Then we got Somepony to Watch Over Me. And let’s not beat around the bush: That episode is about a mom who doesn’t want her baby to grow up. Yes, it’s exaggerated for comedy and drama (and to keep Apple Bloom from coming across as a snotty teenagers whose mom is arguably right) but the core issue is very real. And we see both sides of it equally exaggerated: AJ goes kind of nuts trying to protect Apple Bloom, but then she saves Apple Bloom from a pony-eating monster. AJ needs to let Apple Bloom grow up, but Apple Bloom isn’t an adult yet.
Now we come to Brotherhooves Social. Since we’ve never had a Mac episode before, this one needs to be from Mac’s POV so we can sympathize with him fully, we’ll understand enough about Apple Bloom’s feelings because we know her better. But if Somepony to Watch Over Me is about a mom having to let her kid grow up, Brotherhooves Social is about a dad watching his little girl grow up and not knowing what he can offer her.
As girls get older, it’s usually easier for them to stay connected to their moms because moms are usually the ones instructing them on how to act like a woman. Dads mostly just exist as embarrassing reminders that they still have parents. MLP did a great job (as usual) using the differences between AJ and Mac to strip the gender roles away from this, but the core of it talks to that situation: Apple Bloom was daddy’s little girl, and it seems like now she’s too big for that.
And once again, the episode shows both sides. Yes, we totally sympathize with Mac: he’s willing to humiliate himself if there’s a chance Apple Bloom will spend time with him again. At the same time, through most of the episode, Apple Bloom only sees him as unimportant or hideously embarrassing. Mac ends-up going about things the wrong way, not really paying attention to what Apple Bloom wants, but how he thinks he can get what he wants. This was clearly not her idea, and you can sympathize with that too (and, once again, thanks to it being over-the-top she avoids coming across as a snotty, unappreciative teenager.) In the end, by actually talking to Apple Bloom, Mac makes her realize that he wants a relationship with her just as much as Applejack does, and Apple Bloom is happy to offer him that.
In both Somepony To Watch Over Me and Brotherhooves Social, the show is making it clear to kids that yes, their parents don’t understand them. They underestimate them, they’re embarrassing, and kids are way too cool for this shit. But they’re also making it clear that their parents are ponies people too. They have their own hopes and fears, and some of those have to do with their kids, and kids are going to need to trust them sometimes, and to make sure to show them love, and have patience with them, because they can be hurt and do stupid things just like anyone else.
And honestly, I’ve known enough adults who hold on to their parent's mistakes and use them as excuses for their behavior that I think these are valuable lessons for anyone to reflect on.
Since this is a Monday Blog Post, a big thank you to: bats, nemopemba, diremane, First_Down, sopchoppy, Bradel, stormgnome, jlm123hi, Ultiville, Singularity Dream, JetstreamGW, Noble Thought, horizon, Sharp Spark, Applejinx, Mermerus, Super Trampoline, Quill Scratch, Peregrine Caged, blagdaross, BlazzingInferno, and Not Worthy.
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Eyup.
This perspective on that episode is most of the reason "Far From The Tree" exists as it does. The potential to write the Apples as a semi-nuclear family without any connotations of incest (I mean, aside from the one little lampshade of it I slid in under the radar) grabbed me then and still hasn't really let go now. One of the best things FiM does as far as fic-writing capacity goes is leave a lot of small details down to implication and personal interpretation, even when it takes broad strokes at larger concepts as StWOM and the most recent episode did. And in AJ's case, it leaves me with the ability to interpret her as an incredibly resolute and self-actualized character who's doing her best to do right by her family in the same way.
tl;dr I have literally written small portions of novel-length works elucidating upon why Applejack is best pone
I can do something that will make you respect me less as a person?!
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
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That icon needs more mascara.
I hadn't looked at the episode this way. Thanks for pointing it out!
In a cross-eyed way, this makes AJ and Big Mac dating other ponies *really* difficult. Any mare who dates Big Mac will be displacing AJ as 'Mom' for Apple Bloom, and any stallion attempting to woo AJ is going to face Big Mac in two roles: Overprotective Brother and Father Figure. It makes Cheerilee a much more logical match for Big Mac, because she already acts in a pseudo-mother role as teacher for Apple Bloom, but poor AJ. Doomed to spinsterhood.
(We shall avoid talking about Trenderhoof. I suspect the only reason Big Mac didn't drive him into the ground like a fencepost horn-first is sympathy.)
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I personally love this direction for ship fics involving either of the Apples. It's especially got a lot of potential in TwiJack, with both Apple Bloom and Spike[1] dealing with the possibility of a new (basically) step-parent, and both Shining Armor and Mac trying to play protective big brother to sisters who really don't need it. I don't know why no one has written this fic yet. It's probably my duty to do so.
[1] Yeah, Spike's more of a teenager and doesn't need much parenting... anyone who thinks that makes it easier has not seen many teenagers deal with new step-parents.
3445619 Spike would probably be worse at accepting a new authority figure, since he believes he needs less authority in his life and because what he actually needs is very close to but not the same as an authority figure: he needs a role model. And AJ isn't any better than Twilight for that.
(Big Mac could work, but the best option is for him to spend more time with Shining Armor.)
Something about the reaction to this episode that's surprised me is the insinuation that Big Mac was being manipulative at the end. I've seen this being talked about mostly on Chris's blog. I'm interested to see your thoughts.
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I can see how it could be manipulative, but I'm sure it wasn't intended that way by the writers, and even now I don't think it was intended that way by Mac (maybe a little passive-aggressive because Apple Bloom wouldn't leave him alone the first time.)
One thing I keep in mind is that AJ and Mac might be acting in parent roles, but they're also extremely young to be in that position. If Mac was a perfect pony, he probably wouldn't have said that then, in that way. But he's not; he's a pony in a bad mood, pushed about it, so he said what was on his mind. It was touching because it was honest, not because it was exactly the right thing to say.
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Works for me.
Well stated and interesting, Bookplayer. I have to admit I viewed "Brotherhooves Social" less from the "surrogate father" standpoint, but as an older brother myself, it still struck a nerve for obvious reasons. Granted, my sister and I aren't quite as separate in age as Mac and Apple Bloom are, so we viewed each other more as rivals and antagonists, but that doesn't mean there weren't times when my younger sister wanted to hang with me and play and do cool things. And then she got older, got popular, and she and I kind of grew apart. I suppose I never really lamented that until I got older and realized that the two of us could have been better friends if she and I hadn't gotten so swept up in the usual teenage bullshit.
In any case, nice analysis.
Well said.
Big Macintosh is the best mare, no other pony can compare.
Edit: And raw strength ponies beat agility ponies. Run harder, wee ones, it only makes the pain-train more eager to catch up.
i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee222/merc_the_jerk/GET%20DUNKED%20KIDDOS_zpsohltyscf.gif
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You do like those big gals, don't you?
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Yeah. Probably more than I should.
This was another episode that showed just how good the writers and showrunners for FiM really are. It could have been a horrible train wreck of cringes and awkwardness; it could have been a trite and probably borderline offensive comment on gender roles. Instead, it was good and genuinely touching.
Thanks for pointing out and elaborating on the father-daughter dynamic in the episode. It's something I mostly missed, seeing things primarily from a big brother's point of view, but it makes a lot of sense (and fits the show's original purpose of being something for both the kids and their parents) and makes the episode even richer.
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The funny thing about you saying this is that that is exactly what this episode was to me: a train wreck. But I've seen so many so many disparate reactions to and explanations of this episode that I really don't know how to interpret it any more. Though I did really like the character building for Big Mac and Apple Bloom, just not the way it happened.
In any case, this is an interesting lens through which to view Brotherhooves, BP. Thanks for blogging! I enjoyed this post.
Well said. This episode hit close to home for me to begin with, and your analysis makes me appreciate it all the more