Non-Complete Clause (s08e09)

Friendship is Magic first impressions review: Non-Complete Clause (s08e09)
by Obake

(SPOILERS!)

Non-Complete Clause is essentially a more annoying version of Fall Weather Friends. Where that episode succeeded, Clause fails. Maybe upon another watch I will find more to praise, but even so, it is the first bad episode of the season.

Notice that Fall starts with AJ and Dash playing a simple game of horseshoes, and over time, their competitive nature builds to more ridiculous scenarios. Clause starts with the two already at each others throats, for the relatively inane reason of wanting to win teacher of the month. It feels so out of place for Applejack to really care about an award (remember Applebuck Season, or even The Last Roundup? Sure, she wanted to win awards, but to help fund cleanup of the city, not boost her own ego.) Dash I can see gloating over it, but not necessarily going out of her way to win.

Twilight puts Applejack and Dash in charge of a team-building field trip, where the two sabotage each others activities and endanger the students lives. At one point the students are stranded in a river, close to piranhas, and the yak starts drowning. In the climax, Applejack and Dash are stuck in a tangle of branches and vines hanging over a piranha infested lake, and it is up to the students to save them.

The show has done over the top shenanigans before, so much better. The piano falling on Twilight in Feeling Pinkie Keen, or heck, even Mare-Do-Well stopping the cart from falling off the cliff in Mare-Do-Well. The problem with Non-Complete Clause is that rather than making the silly or scary parts feel woven in naturally, everything comes off forced.

I have no problem with unsympathetic characters doing bad things. One of my favorite shows of all time, The Simpsons, has Homer. One of the episodes even involves him endangering the lives of his son and neighbors on a lifeboat. But one expects Homer to be clueless (plus the jokes in the episode actually land.) Applejack and Dash, while having their faults, are supposed to be some form of role models, yet they are so unlikeable the whole way through here, and end up with no consequences anyways. Non-Complete Clause is just bad.

Extras:

• Fluttershy has won teacher of the month several times in a row. Speaking of which, the school has been running for many months, and we've seen very, very little of it. For something so groundbreaking to the status quo, one would expect more.
• At least we are at the school again. Unfortunately, the young six (the students focused on in the premiere) are a burden rather than a help to the episode. They are the most sympathetic characters, for sure, but none of them do or say anything really engaging. With one exception...
• When AJ and Dash are stranded over the lake, one of the students asks what they should do. Gallus (the griffon) responds “Leave em' hanging.” That's a dark line, so dark it actually made me laugh.
• Applejack's choice of activity is having the students build an appleshed on her farm. Despite essentially using students as free labor, it is actually not a bad choice. Too bad Dash scares the students into destroying it. And she has the gall to complain when Applejack does not do canoeing her way.
• Added to the bestiary: Biteaccuddas, the show's answer to piranhas.
• The episode ends with the students telling Twilight that Applejack and Dash's methods of teaching them what not to do worked. This would be fitting, were the students being facetious. But they are actually serious. I don't buy it.