The thing about Sweet and Smoky that I couldn’t quite put my finger on last week a lot of people have pointed out in the meantime: Garble didn’t earn his redemption. And it’s hardly even a redemption, more a “you should be nice to him because he’s misunderstood” even as he continues to display the behavior that made him a bad guy in the first place. It mars my appreciation of the episode at least a little bit, reflected in my current episode listing, but I’m still overall positive toward it.
This week, I hear it’s the final Applejack episode? No surprise there.
It’s worth noting I missed the first bit of this, so I have no idea what the “Confluence” is.
>tfw Granny Smith tells you to go buck yourself
So if this is actually AJ’s last solo outing of the series, it’s not bad. It’s certainly a fair sight better than any of her solo or duo episodes since… Season 5? Well, I guess we can count The Perfect Pear, but that’s still been two seasons without a good Applejack episode. But this breaks the streak! And of course, since it’s a good Applejack episode, that means it’s just okay.
Granted, I won’t even complain that this was bad by virtue of being mediocre or anything. It was solidly middle-of-the-road, gave us some fun stuff to watch, and had a pretty good moral. Like, I’m impressed that they didn’t go for the obvious Santa Claus-but-in-Equestria route. (Although the Great Seedling’s design is fantastic and I’m kind of sad there was no wink-at-the-audience stinger to make him more than just a pointy pony fantasy.) And I’m quite pleased they went with “fairy tales are meant for kids to have fun with, so why aren’t you having fun alongside them?” I’m glad neither AJ nor Goldie was the bad guy in this one.
Speaking of, isn’t Goldie Delicious just about the strangest character to get as many return spots as she has? I guess since she’s voiced by Peter New (I had no idea!), it makes sense that she’s easy to bring back. I dunno, I was just surprised to see her again, for all that I do enjoy seeing her.
Point is, it wasn’t “don’t lead kids on by giving them too much to believe in”, nor did AJ cross any lines by acting super idiotic. The level of concern for her sister tracks with her character, her focus on working a little too hard tracks as well. I’m satisfied with this episode.
Sparkle’s Seven
Common Ground
The Beginning of the End
Sweet and Smoky
Going to Seed
Frenemies
The Point of No Return
Uprooted
She’s All Yak
Better Way to Be Bad
Fit Right In
Present Perfect 