S04E17: Somepony to Watch Over Me

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Re: S04E17: Somepony to Watch Over Me

Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:50 pm

Not the best CMC episode I have seen, but it had its moments, especially the insane adorability of Sweetie Belle sleeping (so graceful!).

Most of the Mane Six have gone crazy in one episode or another, so I suppose it was Applejack's turn. It is within her character to be overly protective, though they could have made it more believable by having a progression. AB having inadvertently made a mess out of the kitchen is not quite sufficient—if she had been in actually danger (from something else than spaghetti), I can see Applejack becoming protective, but Applejack basically started out at 11. OTOH, she has a history for overdoing stuff (bucking ALL the apples, raising ALL the money to fix town hall, handling ALL the planning of the family reunion).

Good going crazy episodes include Sonic Rainboom (Rarity gradually losing it to the fabulosity of her wings and the reinforcement of the admiring pegasi), Lesson Zero (Twilight trying again and again, being frustrated at every step), Best Night Ever (Fluttershy ditto), and all three are great. I'd have on balance to place this episode among the least of the going crazy episodes, alongside Simple Ways in that the protagonists both were twisted too hard for comedy's sake. It's not that they go crazy (I'm absolutely fine with that), it's the manner and celerity I find problematic.
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Postby Cthulhu Inc (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:52 pm

I quite liked how they doubly subverted our expectations of the chimera...it looked scary at first, and then it seemed like it was a nice monster who just wanted pies, and then it turns out to eat ponies :allears:

I also expected Applebloom to diplomance her way out by talking the chimera into beating itself up; shame that didn't happen :rainbert:

Also, I'm wondering how the Equestrian language has the word 'filet' in it.
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Postby DaBatGuy (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:53 pm

I really liked this episode, yes AJ was an idiot for part of the episode but being too responsible is a reoccurring flaw of her's so it didn't bother me as much as Spike in SAYS. Humor was great, I like seeing CMC continue to mature as characters and the Chimera fight was badass. Forget Daring Do, AJ should have her own action-adventure series; this is the second or third monstrosity she's taken down on her own.
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Postby Sailor Yue (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:53 pm

AJ's over protectiveness over Applebloom might be a deep seated psychological fear because her parents died? Thats just an opinion tho, but it seemd logical to me...
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:56 pm

Cthulhu Inc wrote:Also, I'm wondering how the Equestrian language has the word 'filet' in it.

Meat eaters are not unknown in Equestria. Even if griffons aren't actually omnivorous, there are still enough creatures who eat meat that Equestrian butchers must've come up with the term at some point.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:56 pm

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Never seen that before. Hi, Skynet! How're the kids?
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:57 pm

Anyone noticed that Apple Bloom is strong enough to be able to buck apples out of trees? That net was full of 'em.
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Postby HuffyTheMagicDragon (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 4:59 pm

That was a really good episode. Applejack's panicky overreaction is of course going to be the main complaint, and I agree they took it a bit too far. I'm willing to accept some exaggeration for comedy's sake, but they just kept ratcheting it up. Still, at least this was based on established Applejack character traits, so it wasn't completely out of left field. They just went too far with it. If they had stopped with the apple-nets, that would have been satisfactory. The preview clips made me think they weren't going to go this route, so I was doubly disappointed that they did. I really need to stop watching those...

Still though, it far from ruined the ep. Everything else was really cute, hilarious, and fun. Lots of great jokes here, like the hat & bows closet, and everything with the CMC in Apple Bloom's room (no time for a song!). Scootaloo, you are the worst planner. No wait, that probably applies to all of the CMC. :gah: :sweetiefrown: :ngh:

The action scene with the chimera was of course the highlight. I've been waiting for a chimera ever since the manticore in the series pilot, and any time Applejack gets to be a badass, the episode gets an automatic +3 points from me. I love how she used all of those random-sounding things she said Apple Bloom would need. And AJ looked great in those boots. Oh god, that sounds like such a brony thing to say...

Anyway yeah, I give the episode 4.5 bows out of 5. Or hats, whichever. :hatte:

Rarietty wrote:my expectations going into this were stupidly high. I assumed that they would bring up Applejack's parents somehow, even just like a callback from Apple Family Reunion with the shooting stars (the last shot over the redneck camp thing would have been PERFECT for that).

People should really stop expecting the parents to come up every time there's an AJ episode. Really, we might never get anything more than those two stars. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:02 pm

Mr. Big wrote:Anyone noticed that Apple Bloom is strong enough to be able to buck apples out of trees? That net was full of 'em.

We have seen her bucking apples before. It was a very brief shot (brief enough to where I don't remember what episode it was from, though it was sometime either in S2 or S3) and the show didn't make a big deal of it, but she has done it.


I say this episode's real testament to her strength was that she pushed the pie cart up that hill. That's already a difficult task for a human, and we're suited for it given that we only have two legs.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:08 pm

sailoryue wrote:AJ's over protectiveness over Applebloom might be a deep seated psychological fear because her parents died? Thats just an opinion tho, but it seemd logical to me...

That's the best guess we really have on the matter. If they actually delved into it, I would have been accepting and, if done correctly, would have strengthened the episode a lot. Unfortunately, even though we're getting more dark stuff it's hard to see this ever addressed...
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:23 pm

An interesting coincidence: While reviewing my maps to determine a possible location for that town, I looked in the map that came at the end of MLP:FiM #2. For reference, this area is directly south of Equestria; the mountains rise up out of the Macintosh Hills beyond the northern edge of this map. Anyway, notice that swamp in the extreme northeast.
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The Swamps of New Horseleans. Like I said, I think this is just a coincidence, but it's a hell of one.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:27 pm

Huh...does that mean comic elements may become canon?
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:30 pm

Kind of ambivalent on this one. A lot of good writing and acting during the first half of the episode, but long scenes like the chimera always feel strange in this show. Still, most of it was funny, and that's just fine.

I'm not sure how much I like the chimera's voices. Who did them, anyway? I can hear Cathy Weseluck in the snake, but I'm not sure about the other two.

Random observations:
  • As everyone's parting ways and shouting their goodbyes, Big Mac yells, "Eee-yuuUUUUuuup!"
  • :gah: "Ugh! For the love of--"
  • :ohgawd: "She could be lost, cold, itchy, stuffed up, need to go to the bathroom!"
  • :squintyjack: "Okay. Rarity's on her way over here to look after you two."
    Did... did Applejack call her?
  • This season is giving the banjo a workout.
  • Creole ponies and zydeco. Amazing.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:31 pm

According to the credits, somebody named Ellen Kennedy did Chimera. All three heads, it seems like.

And yeah, I'm wondering how AJ contacted Rarity. We know telephones exist in FiM (even if we only saw it on-screen once). Maybe they have a candlestick phone somewhere.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:32 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:We have seen her bucking apples before. It was a very brief shot (brief enough to where I don't remember what episode it was from, though it was sometime either in S2 or S3) and the show didn't make a big deal of it, but she has done it.


I say this episode's real testament to her strength was that she pushed the pie cart up that hill. That's already a difficult task for a human, and we're suited for it given that we only have two legs.


The fillies are crazy strong—apart from her pushing the cart in the fire swamp, she was tearing away from the farm hitched to the wagon. As we saw in Sleepless in Ponyville, this is a shared trait—Applebloom can be expected be able to drag a wagon, just as well as Sweetie Belle can. It is well within their ability, and something they can be expected to do.
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Postby The Doctor (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:33 pm

Mr. Big wrote:According to the credits, somebody named Ellen Kennedy did Chimera. All three heads, it seems like.

And yeah, I'm wondering how AJ contacted Rarity. We know telephones exist in FiM (even if we only saw it on-screen once). Maybe they have a candlestick phone somewhere.


That's the VA for the Maneiac.
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Postby SoundMonkey44 (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:35 pm

@slate: well we know from RTMH that Phones exist in Equestria

@Big. Ellen Also voiced the Mane-iac in Power Ponies. Guess she likes playing the villain. :evil:

Edit:,,Darn, Doctor beat me to it! :-P
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Postby Wonkadoo (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:36 pm

Mr. Big wrote:And yeah, I'm wondering how AJ contacted Rarity. We know telephones exist in FiM (even if we only saw it on-screen once). Maybe they have a candlestick phone somewhere.

Wigwag.:smirk:
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Postby PonyHag714 (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:39 pm

:bluh: Thanks for comin' over, Rarity. Ah gotta hang up before Ah use up all mah minutes.

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Postby Veradox (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 5:47 pm

Other than Applejack acting pretty stupid at parts, I really liked this episode. 8/10.
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:01 pm

Also: This face

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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:04 pm

Oh, one other thing: Applebloom dives out the window on the second floor and lands on a giant stack of hay bales.

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Makes me wonder if they were there from the start, or if Applejack was trying to childproof everything.

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Postby WandereringPony (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:12 pm

Fizzbuzz wrote:An interesting coincidence: While reviewing my maps to determine a possible location for that town, I looked in the map that came at the end of MLP:FiM #2. For reference, this area is directly south of Equestria; the mountains rise up out of the Macintosh Hills beyond the northern edge of this map. Anyway, notice that swamp in the extreme northeast.
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The Swamps of New Horseleans. Like I said, I think this is just a coincidence, but it's a hell of one.


Hayseed Swamps are just on the other side of the Appleloosa mountains, which makes sense if the delivery is close enough for Applebloom to manage, and since there's plenty of bayou north of New Orleans in the real world, there's likely plenty of Cajun ponies in the Hayseed that have a hankering for Apple (made) pie.
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Postby Star Platinum (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:15 pm



This is still one of the funniest recurring visual gags in the show and boy do they know it. :allears:
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Postby Niels Olof (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:16 pm

Though I think it is fair to call pony civil engineering into question—the fire swamps do not seem an optimal thoroughfare.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:28 pm

Niels Olof wrote:Though I think it is fair to call pony civil engineering into question—the fire swamps do not seem an optimal thoroughfare.

A good explanation for why that town settlement was so small, I think.
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Postby DarkMatter (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:44 pm

Pretty good episode, even if Applejack seems a little over the top with her protectiveness. It had some pretty great gags, though. The best one being the song fake out.
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Postby Davyinatoga (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:53 pm

That was one hell of a folding chair, especially for a wooden one.
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Postby Star Platinum (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:53 pm

Hahaha, Scootaloo's reaction to getting found out by Applejack is amazing

:bluh: Scootaloo?
:ngh: Ah, um... no?
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:55 pm

To those who says that AJ was overprotective, it was seen before in "Bridle Gossip"...three seasons ago...

Been a while since we've seen this side of her. :-I
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Postby LardLad3545 (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:58 pm

Mr. Big wrote:To those who says that AJ was overprotective, it was seen before in "Bridle Gossip"...three seasons ago...

Been a while since we've seen this side of her. :-I

Thank You. I've been trying to find the right words to say this for a few hours now, but was always far too rude about it. :v:
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:58 pm

It's neat to see that they are exploring that part of Applejack again. I wonder if we'll see other season one features come into play. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby Davyinatoga (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:59 pm

Wayoshi wrote::overanalysis: - The fact they were willing to eat the pies before AB was interesting. Seems to have a shred of moral values, but it was still hungry.


WHAT KIND OF MONSTER EATS DESSERT BEFORE DINNER!? :twonk:


Chimeras, apparently. :-I
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:08 pm

Mr. Big wrote:To those who says that AJ was overprotective, it was seen before in "Bridle Gossip"...three seasons ago...

Been a while since we've seen this side of her. :-I

From what was perceived to be a real threat, not just silly food accidents that really were indicative of nothing. And we met AB for the first time there, also (who was - OMG - RIGHT in that episode too).
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Postby die Fledermaus (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:16 pm

Wayoshi wrote:From what was perceived to be a real threat, not just silly food accidents that really were indicative of nothing. And we met AB for the first time there, also (who was - OMG - RIGHT in that episode too).


Keep in mind she was making things worse in her head. You've never had a younger sibling or whatever that you were worried about being left alone? Spilled pasta and jam turns into "OH MY GOD HE COULD HAVE SET HIMSELF ON FIRE" real fast.
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Postby Angel Beat (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:18 pm

Overprotective AJ was hilarious. :allears: Kind of bittersweet too, when you recall that their parents are implied to be dead.
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Postby Mr. Big (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:20 pm

Angel Beat wrote:Overprotective AJ was hilarious.

That's my take as well :lol:

Even watching it happen, I knew there would be people who would complain about it. I guess I don't take characters' personalities as seriously. In general, if it's funny, I won't complain about how they exaggerate.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:22 pm

Wayoshi wrote:From what was perceived to be a real threat, not just silly food accidents that really were indicative of nothing. And we met AB for the first time there, also (who was - OMG - RIGHT in that episode too).

If you think about it, things were reversed here. Back in Bridle Gossip we knew Zecora was not harmful, but the (adult) ponies didn't. In this episode we thought Applejack was just being hyperbolic, especially when she started questioning Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle on what Apple Bloom had with her (fireproof boots? :lol:). However, it turns out that Apple Bloom was actually going into a dangerous place and that she was actually in mortal danger. Both sisters were partially in the wrong here.
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Postby Wayoshi (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:24 pm

shotgunbadger wrote:Keep in mind she was making things worse in her head. You've never had a younger sibling or whatever that you were worried about being left alone? Spilled pasta and jam turns into "OH MY GOD HE COULD HAVE SET HIMSELF ON FIRE" real fast.

I understand the sentiment, but she didn't let AB make her case at all and it jumped to :doublehelmet: in a matter of a couple of minutes of screentime.

^^ I'm not arguing anything about the fire swamp or whatever. Look, the Idiot Ball is a thing and the writing has taken a couple steps back since S3 in a good chunk of eps, so it popped up this episode - it happens.
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Postby kidcoelacanth (?) » Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:34 pm

The hat and bow closet is the best gag this show has done in ages.
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