@purple: I call it Jonx. Joisey and Bronx (or Brooklyn, fuck if I know).

edited 24th Nov '12 11:08:46 AM by TheFreeman

I gotta admit, I was kinda expecting the timer to go off...and absolutely nothing happens.

That would be a violation of Chekhov's Gun.

(Wahey, I managed to spell it right the first time!)

edited 24th Nov '12 11:11:30 AM by KylerThatch

Fine, I just don't believe in her blanking Freudian excuse. Or rather I beleive it but it doesn't excuse her kicking her cousin out of her own bed or clubhouse she built with her own blood, sweat, tears, and undiscovered talent. I have no empathy for how she chose to react to her own bullying.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:24:41 AM by MousaThe14

Dude, your spelling is getting pretty bad. Everything alright in there?

And you're not supposed to think that's the right way to do things. The CMC realized they were going down that same road, near the end.

At least she had motivation. There's nothing duller than a two-dimensional bully character.

Dude, she made one bad decision, realized it was a bad decision, and chose to stop doing it. Also, she's a grade-schooler, and kids aren't exactly known for their decision making skills. No, it doesn't justify acting like a bully, but it's hardly a Moral Event Horizon either. Like AJ said, Babs came to Ponyville to get away from being a victim, so when it looked like she was going to be victimized again she couldn't take and decided to be on the other side for once. Was it the right decision? Of course not; the entire point of the episode was that responding to being bullies by becoming a bully only perpetuates the issue, and Babs learned that. She's not irredeemably evil because she acted like an asshole for a week or two, especially given that she explicitly realized she was acting like an asshole and chose to stop. By that metric, everybody who was a dickwad in second grade is evil, even if they grew out of it a year later and became a perfectly respectable person.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:21:14 AM by JapaneseTeeth

@Kyler, this is what happens when you try to keep up with a super fast thread on an iPhone, you try to make a post at normal speed and ignore the fact auto correct screws you over.

You know what I did as a grade school, I cried and found places to do other things with my time when fighting back got me in trouble. What does it say about a person if they think the logical occlusion is to be just as bad? At least the CMC went through several ideas before going to revenge.

I'm actually suprised that people aren't as rankled about the episode on this thread as they are in others.

I think one thing that the episode did demonstrate well was that it's very easy to become a bully even without realizing it.

How do you know Babs didn't try hiding away at first? Applejack did mention she visited Ponyville to try to get away from it all.

It says that they're in a bad way because of bullying, and are desperate to not be in a position of weakness ever again?

It's no really right or rational, but it's understandable.

@Mousa: Thing is, it wasn't a logical decision. She made a snap judgment in the heat of the moment. She didn't sit on the train thinking "when I get to Ponyville I'm going to be a tremendous ass to my cousin and her friends"; she only did that when she realized that the alternative was getting bullied by SS and DT, which was the very thing she came to Ponyville to avoid in the first place. Yes, it was a bad decision, but given what we know of her background it was understandable. After (presumably) being constantly harassed rather badly, you can't blame her for wanting to jump at the chance to get away from it. And again...the entire point of the episode was that Babs was wrong to respond that way, and she even admits it.

That, and everyone response to pressure difference. Some people (like the CMC) react to being bullied by simply trying to get away from it, while others (like Babs) eventually feel like they have to let off the frustration. All that pressure doesn't really do wonders for your ability to make an informed decision.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:32:37 AM by JapaneseTeeth

I have to admit, pony is so much better-looking in HD than my bedroom's TV. Good thing I'll be getting an HDTV of my own soon, so I won't have to watch in my older brother's room.

The episode itself was pretty good, not to mention I finally got an idea of what a female Northeastern accent sounded like (I've been looking for one for a while). I'm surprised that the no-snitching attitude seems to be rather prevalent amongst the younger ponyfolk. Too much Boondocks, maybe?

Excellent.

God, I love the Evil!CMC faces.

I still love the subtle body language they used for Babs.

The body language really wasn't that subtle.

The body languages were, like a lot of things in this episode, quite obvious to me. Then again, I pay a lot of attention to body languages.

Babs was mean to them, and after a while they were mean back to her. It was not the best solution available, obviously, as I said; but the situation was not symmetrical in the least — especially since the CMC's "trap" relied on Babs deciding to steal their hard work, after having destroyed the previous one.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:47:26 AM by Carciofus

By fairly strict animation quality standards, it's very subtle. At least to me :V

Of course, not many cartoons use body language that well.

They thought of everything. I was wondering what a random mattress was lying around for, until they were shoved right into it.

@Car The hard work that they did specifically for the trap, and for no other reason. They had predicted her bullying to the point that they had a mattress set up in advance for when Babs pushed them out of the way. It's still bullying, because it was premeditated with malicious intent.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:56:01 AM by PerpetualLurker

An eye for an eye, two wrongs don't make a right etc etc.

Why were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon on the farm, anyway? Are they stalking Apple Bloom now?

Just started watching the episode.

I'm surprised Applebloom has so many outfits since she basically never wears clothes at all.

It sort of does seem to be consistent that ponies from the more high class cities always wear something while small towners like those in Ponyville just go nude most of the time.

@PD - Diamond Tiara has crush on Applebloom.

edited 24th Nov '12 11:56:40 AM by dRoy