Hey Pony fans, it’s time for a new episode! Lets get going! 🙂
As we coast along from the emotional outbursts and deep look at death our last episode showed us, we find ourselves from the fluffy clouds of Cloudsdale, to Dusty rodeo of Appleloosa in a fluff episode. (You remember Appleloosa? It’s where we went in Over a Barrel in season one!) and back to the loving embrace of that Western charm that Applejack tends to give us.
There we find through quick exposition and deduction that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are both there to (GASP) try and get a cutie mark in the guise of enjoying a rodeo AND have apparently been deemed this half of the Season’s device to drive forward the narrative. (I can’t help but think we’re exposed to them so much as a method to make them more present for a giant reveal that at least one of them gets their mark by the end of the season along with whatever problem the real cast has :P)
There, my favorite southern pony, Applejack, is shown bucking (heh) her way to making a cute tetris style stack of hay because her distant relative Braeburn (You remember him right? He was introduced to give us a subconscious link to a one trick town in the episode I mentioned previous, along there we found out the Native American culture was represented by buffalo for the most part) has broken his front leg
(which if memory served meant death for a horse?)
The joy of this reunion is shattered as the haystacks collapses and we learn about this week’s boogie man, Troubleshoes! He’s apparently a whole heap a’ trouble for the folks around the area, causing all sorts of problems we quickly list off and just as swiftly forget about.
We also learn that criminology is present in at least Western regions of Equestria as our town law enforcement mentions he examined the hoofmark and matched it with little more then half a day. If this means he’s that good, or he’s guessing, thats up for debate honestly (one of the reasons I made this was for healthy debate, tell me your thoughts). Naturally with all the issues, Applejack sends her sister and her friends home, and considers leaving herself since she’s never really been faced with something as awful as a saboteur (never having faced down a bumbling unicorn or a magic eating demon or anything) when Braeburn shoves her off screen and tells her to resume her duties basically and he’ll keep a constant watch over the other three.
Of course in classic Act 2 fashion, the guard falls asleep and the three make it out the window and search for Troubleshoes so they can bring him to justice for the safety of everyone I mean so they can get their cuties mark (There’s one lesson kids, as long as YOU gain from it, it’s fine to do whatever :P) Comedy ensues as the three quickly and predictably get lost, and suffer a mudslide that ends up reminding me of a picture that Smudgeproof drew once (don’t go looking, it’s not pleasant 😉 I do it for research purposes!)
We finally meet Troubleshoes and we find out that not only does he seem to be a relative of Eeyore but he’s clumsy as all git’out (this country talk must be catching on) as he falls down in a manner that would make Dick Van Dyke proud. Quickly we move to find out that our newest friend is not meaning any ill will to anyone but is just prone to accidents, thanks to bad luck, his upside down horseshoe of a cutie mark. He’s convinced that there’s nothing more to do about that either, as he recounts a tale of trying out for the rodeo in his youth only to be laughed at from the accidents he caused.
This sets a dangerous precedent that tied back to Applebloom’s dream an episode or two ago. This and the previous generation seem to be entirely convinced that the cutie mark defines the pony. Translating this over it would be the same as if enough people tell you that your meant to be a plumber you HAVE to be one even if you don’t want to be. I think that’s what the more overall arc will be willing to tell us later is that YOU as a person are in charge of your own destiny, not a cutie mark or what others THINK you should be. Maybe the breaking of that society norm is where the writing team is heading? All it takes is one generation fed up with something (I point to Woodstock, and more recently, the riots across the US as proof) to trigger a change. What do you all think? Comment below 🙂
So after his back story is spilled Troubleshoes is caught by the posse that seems to believe he kidnapped the three girls and take him to jail. What I also find equally disturbing is that the law enforcement quickly assumes the ill intent and DO NOT listen to the alleged victims, they quickly pass sentence and incarcerate our big ol’ unlucky guest star. This may be a subtle commentary on how the internet and social media quickly convict anyone of something without the facts, like we’ve seen so recently in other cases online. Thoughts?
Finally Act 3 kicks in and the girls realize that Troubleshoes isn’t looking at himself or his special talent the proper way and decide that if he ENJOYS the rodeo, he should entertain by being a clown in it! So as the time ticks down before the credits they break him out of jail (what? :P) and dress him up as a clown for the rodeo, and like a natural, he entertains everyone. In true “The Power is Yours!” fashion, the truth of who he is really shocks the audience and they all turn on him, almost to the point of a riot, but the CMC comes in and saves the day!
The only thing they forgot to mention was they never were really kidnapped, which lands them the job of cleaning up the rodeo after it’s done. (and gives another display of ponies using everyday items as Applebloom uses a broom with her hooves instead of her teeth? Thank goodness, ponies using their mouths for everything was getting odd)
Overall, this episode gets a 3 from me. It feels rushed at the end, and honestly, it feels like it was phoned in. Nothing really awful happens, but the same, nothing moving happens like in previous ones this season. I think what this might be is a preparing story on one or ALL the girls getting their marks sometime soon. It exposes the audience to more of the CMC who previously had very little but fluff pieces themselves and only one or two before. I can’t wait to see if I’m right 🙂
Take care!
-Watchfire