S04E13: Simple Ways

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Re: S04E13: Simple Ways

Postby Just Scuds (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:07 pm

I'm finding that starting an episode off with
"I can't believe that ..."

Like:
:excite: I can't believe that Princess Celestia chose us to put on the most important play of the season!

Or this one
:awesomedash: Wow! I can't believe how many ponies showed up!

Is just grating.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:12 pm

Yeah, it's a little annoying, especially after it's been used so much. Hopefully, they'll come up with a few more creative opening lines...
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Postby Venusy (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:45 pm

It's somewhat overused, but would have been a much faster way of getting this episode rolling and left more time for other things. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Aramek (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 5:29 pm

I disagree, it is a fine and efficient way to deliver exposition so people are up to speed instantly upon watching.

Also the everyone-laughs endings to episodes are awesome and they should do them every time.
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Postby Pocket (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:44 pm

We should make a list of annoying clichés from this show (starting with "I can't believe that...", ending with everyone laughing at something that's not a joke, etc.) and get someone to write a parody episode that has every single one of them. You know, for the lulz.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:45 pm

Aramek wrote:I disagree, it is a fine and efficient way to deliver exposition so people are up to speed instantly upon watching.

Also the everyone-laughs endings to episodes are awesome and they should do them every time.


Endings are tricky. I maintain that to this date the finest ending (and indeed the best thing about the entire episode) ever to grace a MLP:FiM episode is Princess Celestia crashing through the air and collecting her mail in Feeling Pinkie Keen. An impeccable gag.
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Postby londonarbuckle (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:46 pm

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:I'm finding that starting an episode off with
"I can't believe that ..."

Like:
:excite: I can't believe that Princess Celestia chose us to put on the most important play of the season!

Or this one
:awesomedash: Wow! I can't believe how many ponies showed up!

Is just grating.


I wonder how many episodes begin with all of the main 6 being really excited about something and talking about how excited they are.

Most?
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Postby Highbrow Dash (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 8:11 pm

Clearly the answer is to begin an episode with everyone laughing at one of Pinkie Pie's jokes, then end it with "I can't believe that just happened" :twiright:
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:44 pm

Which one has the most pointless everypony laughs ending? I nominate Lesson Zero.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 10:40 pm

Hey, I just want to say that it's been four days now and Rarity's horrible country voice still won't get out of my head. "Yes indeedy-doodle" continues to send shivers down my spine. Guh.
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Postby Highbrow Dash (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 11:35 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:Hey, I just want to say that it's been four days now and Rarity's horrible country voice still won't get out of my head. "Yes indeedy-doodle" continues to send shivers down my spine. Guh.


I can't help reading this thread's title in her voice every time :gotcha:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Wed Feb 12, 2014 11:44 pm

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:I'm finding that starting an episode off with
"I can't believe that ..."

Like:
:excite: I can't believe that Princess Celestia chose us to put on the most important play of the season!

Or this one
:awesomedash: Wow! I can't believe how many ponies showed up!

Is just grating.



:-P I

:amazing: Can't

:party: Believe

:-D The

:) Grand

:shenanigans: Galloping

:munch: Gala

:horse: Is

:serious: Tonight!
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Postby Homeswirl (?) » Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:38 am

I really liked this episode. Real-world personal issues are handled very well on this show, regardless of whether it's slice-of-life or adventure. Like others said, it was nice seeing Trenderhoof not directly villified, but simply showing enough to associate him with unlikability, while still keeping him believable. Rarity the drama queen (yet still likable and believable) was of course in top form. Applejack was awesome as well.

This is simply great character interaction, at a personality and characterization level. :ponydrugs:



Edit:
Pocket wrote:We should make a list of annoying clichés from this show (starting with "I can't believe that...", ending with everyone laughing at something that's not a joke, etc.)

www.ponytropes.org :horse:
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:30 pm

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:gonkity: "Will somepony PLEASE remove this REPULSIVE FILTH from my hooves?!"
:gonkity: "And also bring a towel for the mud!"


:eyebrow:
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Postby acksed (?) » Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:36 pm

I just watched this (slow, I know).

What I knew going in: Rarity episode where she makes this face :heehaw: and has dressed 'country' for some reason. No spoilers, synopses or preview clips.

What I expected: Rarity being awesome.

What I got: Amazing pastel-coloured scenery-chewing with Tabitha, Twi being a good friend, Spike being the best eyebrow-raiser, AJ bouncing off Rarity in classic straight-pony manner, then actively challenging her, non-annoying yet realistically irritating hipster pony and so many nice touches, verbal dialogues and cartoon gags.

This one's a keeper. :ponydrugs:
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:33 am

As usual, didn't read what people thought since it might affect my own thoughts so here goes:

Not as good as Look Before You Sleep.

For shame, yo, for shame :unenthused:

Going into it having seen the previews, I wasn't that hopeful for the episode. A love plot that no doubt is inferior to other shows that did it like Foster's, another Rarity and Applejack chemistry episode because in the same way nerds unite due to their shared pains, Rarity and AJ are the least popular characters and therefore destined to share the episodes until the end of time, I still haven't been impressed by the new writers (Haber here), Trenderhoof looked blander than rice water, and [insert "Will never beat S1" argument] which was Look Before You Sleep.
:snobtavia:

And surprisingly I was right on all the accounts :twiright: Except one... :pcstare: (read to the end to find out what it is)

And then here's the "but" part.

But for a Season 4 episode, I liked it enough. I know that may come off as a criticism to the entire season (and it kinda is) for me, but I did enjoy the episode.

Alright: Trenderhoof
Trenderhoof is a character for which a script will use him to further the plot… He does something and the Applejack and Rarity react to him... yeah, nothing really to say about Trenderhoof. Once again, they played a character like him too straight. At least you can say: "Better than Brad, still"
:-I

As for the other male character… Surprised that Spike didn’t really have much of a role in this episode. I thought he’d go all “PANIC” and “NOOOOOOOO” upon finding out about Trenderhoof. Maybe Spike’s anguish could have pressured AJ to solve the situation. Y’know, some sense of urgency? But oh well, nothing major or even minor enough to affect the episode. Just something I was surprised to see… or not see.
:ponder:

Now onto the star of the episode… Rarity :vogue: ! And she was… okay in this episode. I know, shocking :cry: . Shocking for her to be just ‘Okay’. But Rarity felt a bit dead to me in this episode. At first I thought maybe because she’s just going through the motions since Suited for Success. How she begins with her head up there in the clouds until [conflict] happens and then she becomes a sobbing mess. But I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s like the problem I have with Flight to the Finish compared to the great Sleepless in Ponyville, the lack of anything cartoony to elevate the sense of urgency and impact on the characters. Yes, there was that cartoony "AH LUUUVE GETTIN' COVERED IN MUUUD" but I guess it would've been nice to see more that weren't so quick and at the finale but before as it led up to the end. She’s just played a bit too straight so I would’ve liked more wacky-exaggerated outbursts from her (other than crying i.e. steam coming out of her nostrils when Rarity sees the two together)


And lastly, Applejewk. While I personally would have liked to see AJ sucker punch Trenderhoof ala Frankie Foster and not avoid him like the plague even though he's not really annoying (All he does is just follow her... yeah...), I really enjoyed some of her moments here. I'm sure everyone has discussed the Applejewel scene like it was the Moon Landing so I'll talk about the Applejack moments I liked. I will say that what I did like about the Applejewel scene was that it was all a ingenious plan she thought up and I miss that 'wit' she used against her foes (S1 trait) so that was well appreciated. Onto the Applejack moments, well, moment because there was only one scene of her that I GREATLY liked and it was:
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(if it doesn't show for some reason, it's the Applejack bursting into laughter scene.)

This one.single.sole moment pretty much did it for me :twasnothin: Y'know, 'cos it's mean spirited and gives AJ some life

Boring technical stuff: Dont recall any music nor did anything 'amazing' happen (though I guess the Applejewel scene could be consideredt he spectacle moment). I did however like how the episode felt small and focused. And the episode moved at a flowing pace for the most part.

Conclusion: It has a major flaw. All the characters from Rarity to Applejack to Trenderhoof are never or not wacky or wild enough in this episode. Instead, it's too grounded for most of the episode. Yes they do start getting crazy at the end with Applejewel and Rarihick but some build up with those wild moments might have helped, at least for me.

However, the episode was competent technically and admittedly AJ and the final scene (not the party. I mean the barn) were great. Great enough that I have to say I liked the episode overall. And to answer what I was proven wrong before going into the episode, it's Josh Freaking Haber. Congrats!
:party:
13 episodes in and finally a new writer impressed me. You're on my nice list, Haber :smile:
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:42 am

Least they didn't have Rarity respond the way Tabitha did in the other show an hour later.



:gotcha:
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Postby BartonFink (?) » Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:47 am

Scuderia Ferrarity wrote:I'm finding that starting an episode off with
"I can't believe that ..."

Like:
:excite: I can't believe that Princess Celestia chose us to put on the most important play of the season!

Or this one
:awesomedash: Wow! I can't believe how many ponies showed up!

Is just grating.

A Simpsons meta-gag managed to make this kind of dialogue forever grating to me:
Homer: Well, here we are at the Brad Goodman lecture.
Lisa: We know, Dad.
Homer: I just thought I'd remind everybody. After all, we did agree to attend this self-help seminar.
Bart: What an odd thing to say...


Now I always notice stuff like that. :-/
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Postby Rachael33 (?) » Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:43 pm

Sorry...Just caught this episode today...and it was HORRIBLE! In my opinion. Avoiding the obvious Rarity in a southern accent thing, My main issue was the lovey dovey crushy (pardon my fancy) BULLSHIT. I hate that stuff...The fact that the episode centered around it really annoyed me too...

Sorry...just what I thought of it. :fluttersmith:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:10 pm

Was it really that bad? That's just the way some people are. It's the sort of thing I expect out of Rarity or Spike, or possibly even Sweetie Belle, but for any of the other main characters it would be weird to me.


I think such differing views and degrees of romanticism would be a good thing for the show to explore, though. Prior to this episode I had been discussing the appeal of shipping with another person here, and I explained that I had assumed that Rarity was the only one of the Mane Six to care about love, at the exclusion of the others. I came to realize that that was a dumb assumption to make, though, almost as dumb as corporate executives who assume that all girls care about going out with boys.
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Postby Rachael33 (?) » Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:13 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:Was it really that bad? That's just the way some people are. It's the sort of thing I expect out of Rarity or Spike, or possibly even Sweetie Belle, but for any of the other main characters it would be weird to me.


I think such differing views and degrees of romanticism would be a good thing for the show to explore, though. Prior to this episode I had been discussing the appeal of shipping with another person here, and I explained that I had assumed that Rarity was the only one of the Mane Six to care about love, at the exclusion of the others. I came to realize that that was a dumb assumption to make, though, almost as dumb as corporate executives who assume that all girls care about going out with boys.


Well...Love to me hasn't been too kind, so I don't like to think about it or I am embarrassed to think about it. None of it makes sense to me, so I saw it as over the top and weird. I would also expect it from Rarity (Prince Blueblood), but the games Rarity played were more what annoyed me, and less of the fact that love was involved.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:23 pm

What Rarity did is weird, but when you feel really strongly about somebody, you tend to do weird things. Look at Spike's behavior toward Rarity in S1. He was so obsessed with her that he let himself be used as a pincushion! Besides, Rarity likes to put on an air of maturity and grace, but if something pushes her over the line then she can become almost as eccentric as Pinkie Pie.
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Postby Rachael33 (?) » Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:31 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:What Rarity did is weird, but when you feel really strongly about somebody, you tend to do weird things. Look at Spike's behavior toward Rarity in S1. He was so obsessed with her that he let himself be used as a pincushion! Besides, Rarity likes to put on an air of maturity and grace, but if something pushes her over the line then she can become almost as eccentric as Pinkie Pie.


Point made...He did have his crazy knight in shining armor dream when Rarity was kidnapped by the dog things.
I guess it also seems out of Rarity's character to me, and that is why I didn't like it. We like to compartmentalize things and when it doesn't fit in a compartment, we aren't happy. Pinkie's crazy character might fit what Rarity did.

Either way, when a theme of love rears its head, I just don't like it and I am uncomfortable.

These two things I guess combined to give me a negative outlook on the episode.

Sorry Fizzbuzz if I am being annoying...Just trying to explain an opinion I guess.
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Postby Frith (?) » Thu Apr 17, 2014 5:49 pm

I just remembered that I haven't written anything about this episode. Well, now it's time to fix that mistake.

In short, there was a lot of funny moments in the episode and Tabitha St. Germain was again great but unfortunately the story itself wasn't particularly interesting. That's the reason why this episode is quite low in my S4 rankings.
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Thu Apr 17, 2014 6:44 pm

This ep seems to be polarizing but I love it more and more as the season goes on. Even though Rarity and AJ act like childish goofballs it seems like a more mature episode of pony than we usually get, with an actual romance plot that's not treated in a hands-off "love potion" kind of way.

Like, I could see this same basic premise appearing in Sex and the City or something. Not that SATC is high art, but I enjoy seeing these characters tackle a "girly, but the adult kind of girly" story premise.

Also it's funny. I'm loving Josh Haber so far. :flirt:
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:14 pm

It may be a true romantic plot, but I would really say it was immature overall.
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Postby Discord (?) » Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:40 pm

Wayoshi wrote:It may be a true romantic plot, but I would really say it was immature overall.


A lot of the antics in the episode certainly are, but I would say the moral is pretty grown-up and maturely delivered (whether or not one finds it rushed).
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Mon Apr 28, 2014 5:47 am

I have to say that it was an immature episode, solely because of the 3rd act where it went entirely crazy. That was one of the ruining factors for the episode for me. While I probably still wouldn't have been a fan of the episode, if it stuck to the act 1 and act 2 formula, the episode would have been more mature than it ended up.
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Postby Mordja (?) » Sun May 11, 2014 6:04 pm

For reasons I can't quite explain (I still love the show and maintain that Season 4 has been the best one yet), I just plain quit rewatching episodes around midseason. I've started to rectify that.

So!

I'd say this episode maintained its position as a decent, hijinks driven one, buoyed by Rarity's deranged drama and Trenderhoof's role as the ultimate, parodic hipster. Applejack plays their foil well in this episode, alternating between being amused and just a little insulted and I appreciate that AJ took to the part of the Southern Belle way more believably than Rarity's whole yokel act. That said, the plot kind of meanders a little and it just isn't as funny as it needs to be.
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Postby Dexanth (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:34 pm

Welcome to week 12! In honor of this episode and totally not because I'm making this thread on my phone, you all know the drill! A simple OP for a simple episode! :vogue:

In this episode, Rarity is insensitive regarding Spike's feelings.

Enjoy!
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:37 pm

While this episode certainly isn't the best, the role reversal thing still is just so funny to me. I think it's the voice acting that pulls it off.
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Postby Mechanical Ape (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:51 pm

The gag where Rarity says "Who? Applejack?" and Trend pushes her out of the frame is a masterpiece of directorial timing and Tabitha voice work, and I laugh like a dope every single time. :lol:

I like that Trenderhoof is barely mentioned in the last half. Near the end, Rarity is so far gone that she barely knows what her motivations are anymore. I think that Trend aside, there's a lot of everyday AJ/Rarity friction that's just bursting out and getting vented in these scenes. Those two probably need a excuse to go bananas at each other every season or two. It's healthy.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:51 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:While this episode certainly isn't the best, the role reversal thing still is just so funny to me. I think it's the voice acting that pulls it off.

That was a great scene, but I still think the highlight of this episode was Rarity melting into a sputtering, mushy, lovestruck puddle as soon as Trenderhoof arrived. In a way, that's another role reversal, since back in the day it was normally Spike's job to do that.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:27 pm

I think my only issue with this episode was Rarity went a little too redneck at the end. I did like the role reversal, and I really like that AJ can fancy herself up when needed. :flirt:

I think that she enjoys it quite a bit. She might have chosen the simple life, but she did want the fancy life at one point.

Trenderhoof was a fun character. I like that they didn't make him a total jerk, he just wasn't into Rarity. He tried to get to know AJ and share her interests. Would have been so easy to go the other way on this, and I am glad they didn't.
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Postby PictishBeast (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:00 pm

This is one of my favorite episodes of all time. I know some people don't like it very much which always makes me feel like I'm living in Crazytown. (Same thing with Baby Cakes.)

It's comedy from start to finish, starring best pony duo and featuring Tabitha at her most Tabitha. :vogue:

Seriously just watch these:





And those aren't even the GOOD clips.
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Postby Stargazer (?) » Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:09 pm

Oh yay my least favorite S4 episode! Time for the critic to be unleashed ^-^

As a huge Rarara fan, I found this ep to be... distasteful. Trenderhoof was fine, I'm also glad they didn't make him a jerk. The scene with Twilight at the train station is hilarious, Spike is being a good guy, we sigh in relief. So far, it opens well. We see her speedy trek into obsession, and we're like, "Rarity, no. Rarity, stop. Rarity." But our lady fabulosity generosity propels forward, determined to win the affections of the hipster who makes her hips stir! (I'm so sorry).

Her still-understandable jealousy prompts her to fashionista herself into a cowpony like AJ (an outfit I quite liked, tbh). Then, when this doesn't work, she understands it to simply mean that she isn't trying hard enough (when in fact, she just isn't Applejack). When this fails, we finally see her snap and become something that fits her darker, greedier side: hyper-ambitious, bowling-over-everypony-in-her-path Rarity. Slap on ripped overalls, a busted straw hat, and mess up your precious mane - oh yeah, you've really captured AJ in that one. :eyebrow:

Then the accent. Celestia, the accent. But fine. It's meant to be funny. I grudgingly accept.

And so does AJ. In fact, she's angry for what, two seconds? This is the part I take real issue with. Rarity makes a trashy mockery of her lifestyle over a guy, coats herself in mud, and AJ's like "oh shucks sugarcube, y'all don't even needta apologize!" What? That isn't how friendship works! And AJ isn't the most forgiving pony of her friendgroup, esp. with her Element - we've seen this in "Rarity takes Manehatten" and "Fall Weather Friends". That scene felt lacking, and very OOC. I don't understand how marshmallow learned her lesson in this one. If there'd been real conflict, it would have been believable.

(As for the outfits, they're both terrible. But that's for funnies, so I'll let it go.)
:serious:Okie dokie lokie...|| :facehoof: Image||Av source
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Postby Marioland1 (?) » Fri Aug 01, 2014 2:46 am

I'll be honest: this is an episode I have never watched to completion. I didn't even make it halfway through! As soon as Trenderhoof fell for Applejack instead of Rarity (who was too busy ignoring his actions to notice), I already knew how the whole thing was going to end and closed the tab in annoyance.

Rarity and Applejack have always been opposites. In fact, the only two things they share are a sister and a tendency to work hard (often to the point of overworking themselves and refusing help). Clashes between them are usually interesting because of these conflicting personalities. This more or less left Trenderhoof as the third wheel to the real action between Rarity and Applejack, and considering how big he seemed to be in this episode, I just couldn't bear to watch all three of them act like naive schoolfillies arguing over a schoolyard crush. He's just in the way here.

I'm perfectly fine with the idea of a temporary life-swap between the two, but this is just too much "Nope!" wrapped up in a 22 minute package and sent off. Couldn't they have just done a dare or something to go through with this instead of throwing a romance angle on it? That would have seemed far less artificial than this thing. Even from just the start, everypony seemed out of character. That bugs me something fierce.

I have seen the outfits though, and I'll be honest when I say Applejack's outfit doesn't look bad. Rarity's is far too stereotypical for my tastes though, which I think is the point.
:flirt: > :heehaw:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:10 am

Loved this one. Rarity swooning is always fantastic, and Applejack having to deal with Trenderhoof provided some great moments.

The big showdown at the end was pretty amazing too.

EDIT: Also, this:

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Postby InsertAuthorHere (?) » Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:45 am

This might actually be the best Applejack episode in a long time. She isn't trying to save her farm, her family is not central to the conflict, and her stubborn nature isn't an issue. Instead, she's trying to get her work done while dealing with Trenderhoof's unwanted advances and Rarity fooling around with her stuff and pulling her into an unwanted rivalry. She's the one that ultimately resolves the problem by utilizing a past skill (knowing how to dress fancy and how the upper classes were supposed to behave) to shock Rarity back to reality.

A pity she's the co-star and Rarity is the focus.

The episode isn't bad by any means, but isn't particularly standout. It's fairly predictable, but it brings some good stuff to the table, like Rarity's accent and Spike's glance at the camera. It's nice that they didn't make Trenderhoof into a straight jerk like Prince Blueblood, but he doesn't stand out enough to really be memorable outside of Rarity's infatuation with him. Overall, it was enjoyable, but purely middle-of-the-road for Season Four.
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Postby SoundMonkey44 (?) » Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:48 am

This is one of my favorite episodes of season 4. AJ & Rarity were on their A-Game in season 4, and having the two share such a fun episode was pure genius.

Plus who could hate an episode that not only gave us over the top Rarity, but lots of Fun AJ moments as well. :heehaw: :flirt:


And I agree that role reversal face-off is priceless! :hilarious:


@paullo:. AJ's hair wave was indeed great!
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