One Bad Apple; One Bad Episode · 6:29pm Nov 24th, 2012
"One Bad Apple" is the worst written episode to ever come out of MLP. I don't mean only Friendship is Magic; this episode is bad enough that -without having seen them - I can say with confidence that it is the worst episode in the entirety of MLP, from the 80's to today. The moral of the story is nothing short of idiocy; that Babs Seed should be forgiven for all of her transgressions simply because she was bullied before. It's unfortunate that she was the victim of bullying in Manehattan, but it was her choice and hers alone to become a bully and to feed on cruelty.
This episode stinks of a writer who wants to say something positive about bullies, but does not understand them at all. Attempting to offer a bully sympathy and compassion is only opening yourself up for even more abuse, as I know from personal experience. In attempting to deal with Babs by having the float crash into the lake, the CMC were taking the right course of action: teaching the bully that she DOESN'T have absolute power, and that there WILL be people who will go against her no matter what she does. Only a stern slap to the face can break a bully of their habit of abusing power, because power is all that a bully understands. The sooner they lean that their shit won't fly, the sooner they can get their heads out of their asses and start becoming productive members of society. THAT is a true, beneficial message for children. The moral that the episode attempts to teach: that you should constantly forgive your bullies and offer them a shoulder to cry on when things don't go their way, is stupid at best and outright dangerous at worst. I would not be surprised if at least one child ends up with a worse bullying problem after taking this episode to heart than before.
That's my two cents for the day.
I see what your saying. While I wouldn't call it the worst, I can agree that the bully message was a little too obvious and kinda camp. I think the episode would've made more sense if she started bullying the girls BEFORE she met them. I mean most bullies "bully" others so they could fit in. Bab's bullied the Crusaders so she could fit in with Diamond and Silver Spoon (Why them, I have no idea). One problem, she met the Crusaders already, and they tried being her friend and accepting her. By that amount she should have defended them when they were getting bullied.
I think if the writers wanted to do a bully episode, they should've done one with Gilda, or maybe Trixie. They both kinda acted like bullies when they appeared. And I'm sure the fans would love to get some back story on one of them. I know the show's about loving and tolerating. But when it comes to bullies, I'll tolerate them, but loving them is another story. And trust me, I'm sure most Bronies know a lot about bullies. Heck, we're all bullied for liking a kids show.
546975 They may have been family but considering Babs had no idea what Apple Bloom or the CMC looked like, hard to really become pals off the get go. Straight from the get go Babs was uncomfortable and she seemed irritated at the over whelming welcome the CMC threw. When Silver Spoon and Tiara came, Babs didn't want to go through being bullied all over again so she made a choice. The moral of the story was to tell your parents or in their case, AJ that you are being bullied. Trying to fight the problem or show of power can have a blow back effect, so be careful with that regard.
There is not one all knowing rule to deal with bullies. Reach to parents, family, friends and seek support.
My two bits.
572569
Agreed wholeheartedly. My biggest issue with the episode was the CMC's refusal to tell anyone about their problem, which could easily have resolved the conflict before it got so out of control. The other thing that really bothered me, as someone who was bullied as a kid, was the implication (or rather, the outright statement) that you are a bully yourself if you fight back against your abuser in any way. When I was bullied in kindergarten, we ended up settling it with a fight on the playground and nothing happened after that, because the bully learned that I wasn't an easy target. If they know they can't hurt you without reprisal, whether you fight back yourself or tell someone, they will usually stop and move on to easier prey.
Oh geez, why did I not see this entry sooner!?
I agree about the resolution to the episode. And the main six were so DERP that I couldn't believe they were even in there. Pinkie's role has been reduced to cartoon gags and poorly timed jokes and I hate it. This is another story that needs revamping. I can't believe they attempted to write out this episode "without being too heavy-handed" <--McCarthy's words
I also agree with this problem: they didn't know squat about dealing with bullies. IMO, Babs came off as an insultingly petty brat with the way she turned on the three ponies that were nice to her just to save her own hide. And she made Sweetie Belle cry! That was the last straw in the haystack for me. Great message, team! Let's upset the viewers with the CMC getting utterly whipped by some two-bit citypony who's really a wuss that learned to lash out first.
The episode was one big cop-out because the writers (or maybe just Cindy Morrow) were too busy trying to make the whole thing so kiddy-friendly that they forgot to give the pitfalls of being lenient an actual meaning. I've seen shows handle bullying better than this. Case in point: Hey! Arnold. I loved that show to death.
Hell. Sometimes, bullies are born from family problems and not just from being bullied. I know personally a guy from grade school with that problem and he took it out on me and basically wanted me to be miserable (not said in a self-pitying way, trust me). Years later, I find him on FB after he tried to friend me. I was going to let bygones be bygones.......but then I saw his feed. Suffice it to say, he's rubbish at being a good guy.
Better lesson for One Bad Apple: Be the bigger pony--er, person. LOL
In all seriousness, though, the hardest thing to do is to forgive your enemy. But "kindness will always be in our power, even when fondness is not".
And that's all.
572569
An interesting viewpoint.
572765 572885 Don't think I dismiss your Claim either. My brother and I both settled our bullying problems the same way by showing that your going to have to do more then just look tough to push us around. My brother is a short guy too so it's funny to imagine him in a fit.
572838 Nice view point. Sometimes it's tough being the bigger person but feels damn good once you do.