Episode Re-Review: One Bad Apple · 6:38pm Mar 13th, 2021
With Season 3 being a half season and during its writing phase believed to be the final season, the writers had a chance to explore concepts or tackle ideas they had wanted to do but never gotten around to. One of them was the bullying episode, an extremely important one considering that in the early 2010's cyber bullying was just starting to attract attention and most discussions of bullying still involved physical interactions. Cindy Morrow, fresh off her success in Season 2 (particularly with "Hurricane Fluttershy" which showed what kind of an impact bullying could have on an individual) was tapped to write this episode. It should've been a recipe for success, right? They were even using the CMC and originally were going to call the episode "Bully For You" to emphasis that it was indeed the bullying episode. So what could've gone wrong considering this is not just perhaps Season 3's worst episode to many, but also one of the show's worst overall? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins with Apple Bloom trying to decide what to wear since her never before mentioned cousin Babs Seed is coming to visit from Manehattan over the summer. Applejack rightfully says it doesn't matter what Apple Bloom wears and points out that Babs is a blank flank too, which excites Apple Bloom. And apparently, Babs Seed will be sleeping in Apple Bloom's room (because I guess they don't have a guest bedroom or anything of the sort and don't wanna make her sleep on a couch?). Apple Bloom tells the Crusaders who just have to be at the station to see Babs Seed when she arrives, and Applejack is anything but pleased with their behavior.
Babs exits the train and is immediately swarmed over by the CMC, who of course fail to take the hint that Babs is shy and probably doesn't want to see so many faces right away. And Applejack just stands there the whole time, frowning while saying nothing. You might wanna remember that for later because it'll be important. Anyway, the Crusaders show Babs Seed their clubhouse and when she doesn't seem impressed they decide they need to wow her (as opposed to maybe just giving her time to take it all since she just got here). To that end they take her to see their float for a parade at an upcoming summer festival. Strangely enough it's a pumpkin. And we'll later learn that the floats are motorized. But I have to ask, who thought it was a good idea to let three children known for getting into trouble have access to a moveable object?
And then Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon show up and they're both intent on making fun of the CMC's float, so Silver Spoon is right back to being Diamond's lackey/gal pal. And I have to ask, why couldn't either of them be used for this episode? They were already established bullies and had acted like bullies to Apple Bloom at least up to this point. There was no need to use a brand new character in place of established bullies. Anyway, they make fun of the CMC and on a whim Babs decides to side with the bullies and become a bully herself. She sabotages the parade float and calls the CMC cry babies. When Apple Bloom threatens to tell on Applejack, Babs Seed replies by calling her a snitch. And so Apple Bloom and Scootaloo ignore Sweetie Belle's request to do the sensible thing, using the tired cliche of "Telling equals snitching" which is not a good message to send to those who witness bullying or other forms of bad behavior!
So the CMC instead do what they always encourage you to do first against a bully no matter what they're doing, just ignore them. This leads into the song "Babs Seed" and it's really catchy and bouncy. However, the lyrics and the visuals contribute to the episode's problem because they show Babs willingly stalking the CMC everywhere they go and without Diamond or Silver being present at all times. Babs willingly goes beyond whatever justification she might have and intentionally harasses the CMC with no hint of regret. It doesn't even matter to her that one of them is her cousin or that the CMC say in the song "We ain't lookin' for a fight". And it only gets worse when Babs confiscates their clubhouse. It's enough to make Sweetie Belle cry.
We actually see Sweetie Belle's house and her own bedroom as we see Hondo Flanks fishing nearby. But the CMC still don't wanna tell because they're afraid of being snitches. So what do they decide to do instead? They decide to get even. That night, we see that Babs has been sleeping in Apple Bloom's bed and forcing Apple Bloom to sleep on the floor. And somehow no one in the family has noticed this at any point. Anyway, Apple Bloom wakes up and manages to slip away undetected. She meets up with the other Crusaders and they build a new parade float in the form of a golden apple. Sweetie Belle also mentions Rarity having "Emergency Edible Boots", before we get into a building montage with a theme somewhat similar to that of The A Team.
And apparently being a bully makes you stupid since Babs falls for an obvious reverse psychology ploy and steals the CMC's new float (not even seeming to notice them having a mattress set up to fall onto). The Crusaders start gleefully smirking before Applejack shows up and reveals that Babs has been bullied back home. Why didn't she mention this sooner? Well, apparently she didn't wanna draw attention to it or make Babs stick out. Except, you know, her being bullied at home is something that should've been brought up when she was being swarmed over by the CMC! And it doesn't excuse Applejack from not noticing things that should've been easily picked up like say Babs sleeping in Apple Bloom's bed despite no acknowledgement that such was the case. And now the episode implies that because the CMC dared to retaliate against Babs for bullying them, they're bullies too and they're just as bad as she is! So according to the episode, if you take any action against a bully even once no matter what you are a bully too! What a great message to send to kids!
So the Crusaders have to catch up to the float before their intended sabotage kicks in, and they chase after a float Pinkie Pie is piloting. Pinkie Pie's entire role here is just to make unfunny jokes about lettuce and veggies. It doesn't work because there's no attempt at humor at any point. Her role could be swapped out for any mane six member or even just a background pony and it have the same effect. It highlights what will become a problem in Season 3 in that Pinkie Pie is going to be in scenes where she doesn't need to be just because the writers thought she would automatically be funny no matter what (and that obviously isn't true, real comedy requires effort).
The CMC do manage to catch up to Babs using Pinkie's parade float (and somehow don't manage to hit any pedestrians in the process), but Babs bumps them away and makes them crash. Fortunately, they catch up to her again and throw her out of the float just before it skids down a slope and crashes near a pond (supposedly, the weight of the CMC combined slowed it down and if Babs had been in it it would've ended up in the water, potentially leading to Babs' drowning. If that's the case then it really makes the CMC look terrible if they planned for that to happen). And Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who are completely pointless to this scene, just walk away. And somehow, this single act is enough to make Babs stop being a bully.
While the CMC are getting cleaned they confess that they sabotaged the float to get back at Babs but decided against going through with it after what Applejack told them. Then Applejack says that if they'd just come to her in the first place they could've avoided all the trouble. So the solution is tell an adult, which of course rarely works and doesn't take into account what happens when it's an adult or adults doing the bully (whether it be teachers, parents or other authority figures). But all is forgiven as the CMC host an initiation ceremony for Babs Seed as Sweetie Belle reads from a really long list (which Scootaloo apparently wrote).
Later, when it's time for Babs Seed to go back home, she promises to start her own Manehattan branch of the CMC. And she also promises to tell her "big sis" about the bullying problem. But then Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon show up to make fun of Babs Seed and the CMC, and what does Applejack do? Nothing. She just stands there in disapproval.
So Babs Seed instead does what Applejack "should" do in this situation and tells both Diamond and Silver off. She even scares them into falling into a nearby pigpen after threatening to tell their mothers. But somehow, I doubt Spoiled Rich would care what Diamond Tiara does. If anything, she would be approve of such bad behavior since that's how she acts.
The episode then ends with an apparent joke about Babs' name which of course just falls into "Don't explain the joke" territory.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? I might argue this is among the most disappointing episodes of the show. The pieces were right there for a really good bullying episode, and given Cindy Morrow's track record and what she wrote you might think she herself was the victim of bullying as a child. Maybe she was and maybe Cindy was one of the lucky ones who got out of it by telling an adult. But if so, Cindy should've realized her experience wasn't necessarily how most bullying victims solved their problems (and from the way she wrote "Hurricane Fluttershy" she should've known how telling an adult doesn't make the pain go away, it'll still be with you). The moral alone is full of bad messaging and outdated cliches. We know that telling an adult doesn't solve everything, especially when the adults are the ones doing the bullying. Public schools especially will punish kids for daring to retaliate against bullies at all, but they never do anything at any point to stop bullying from happening outside of maybe detention and notes to home. Yes, maybe retaliating physically to something like name calling or an occasional tease or unfunny note is wrong. But if a bully keeps picking on you and no one is doing anything about it, if you fight back I would probably support you. Sometimes, a bully will only stop if they associate their actions with a negative consequence. And if someone attacks you you're more than entitled to fight back in self defense. Implying that any attempt to fight back against a bully makes you a bully is wrong, it'll just further fuel the helplessness a victim feels which can lead to things like suicides and school shootings. Yes, maybe when Cindy Morrow was growing up those weren't as big a deal as they are now. But we know they exist and we know they're a problem. So if we want to try and prevent those problems, it's imperative to look at the root causes and encourage victims to stand up for themselves and be assured that they will be heard. Stuff like this can easily send the wrong message.
Putting aside the countless unfortunate implications and bad messages from cliches, this episode has a problem in that we already had bullying characters and didn't need a new one. Especially not when Babs, Apple Bloom's cousin, switches over to the bullies' side on a whim and then goes on to harass and stalk the CMC of her own free will when Diamond and Silver aren't around. The episode can't even stick to its intended message because after Applejack says she could've solved the problem, she does nothing in the face of actual bullying while the former bully ends up being the one to do something about it. And until the CMC decide to sabotage a parade float, not a whole lot actually happens outside of the song. Pinkie Pie is completely unnecessary and could've been written out without sacrificing anything of substance (her jokes weren't funny). And Applejack is a complete idiot who never says anything when she should and apparently isn't aware of anything that should be noticed by her. Heck, the CMC themselves start out feeling more like flanderized versions of their Season 1 selves with how obnoxious they act and how they seem fixated on Babs Seed's lack of a cutie mark. Babs herself is kind of cute, and once she stops being a bully she kind of becomes likeable. But that's about the only positive this episode really has aside from how catchy "Babs Seed" is on its own (if you ignore the lyrics and the accompanying visuals it's perfect). But this episode still gets an F- because its billing as the bullying episode means it had an obligation to get the facts right and not use outdated and harmful cliches. Since it did not it completely fails to teach a good lesson on bullying and in fact could a lot of unintended harm to the anti-bullying cause. Yes, parents are responsible for teaching their children right from wrong and you shouldn't rely on television to tell you what's right or what to do. But when you're going to tell morals and try to set examples, you have an obligation to make sure you're not sending the wrong message by mistake.
Well, it can only get better from here on out, right? Well maybe not since up next we have what some would say is just as bad an episode and one that is unfortunately tainted in retrospect by who it brought back. I'm of course talking about "Magic Duel" and the first return of fan favorite character Trixie.
Well, at least the next one has an awesome Star Wars reference.
Eh, I think her jokes were mildly amusing, but they definitely weren't enough to save the episode.
The song was the highlight, but it also wasn't enough.
It's definitely the worst of the season, and one of my picks for the worst episodes of the show. (And one of the ones I think is worse is arguably better written overall. But it's got one big moment that just makes me really angry and destroys the whole thing for me)
I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, this is Cindy Morrow's worst episode. The one positive it has going for itself is the song.
Also, I might be in the minority on this one, but I think Spike deserved the torment he got in Owl's Well That Ends Well more than the CMC did in this episode. Why? Because with that episode, you could make an argument (albeit a weak one) that Spike let the attention he got from the Mane Six go to his head, which ended up making him conceited and self-entitled, and the torment he got was all about giving him a taste of humility. Sure it was a little excessive, but at least in that scenario he was asking for it. The CMC, on the other hand, didn't really do anything bad here. They were just trying to be nice to Babs, and at worst came off as "Innocently Insensitive" to her feelings.
I'd say it's higher than F- because of that amazing song and the effective second act and start to the third act, but it's still easily the worst episode of the first 3 seasons.
Agreed, this episode didn't handle the bullying issue at all.