Admitedly Rule of Funny is hardly rare in this show, plus it at least allowed Spike to redeem himself. He rarely gets to do stuff like that even normally.

Not a bad episode, though I feel it could have worked better with a different pony other than AJ, even from what small roles they have they show funnier more extreme neuroses from Spike's screw ups. Even as a reactor character, AJ seems far too reserved and dull now.

And concerning RD writing a novel I guess there's only one thing to say:

edited 29th Dec '12 12:25:04 PM by Psi001

It looked to me like the rock was a flat and sharp-edged one that wedged AJ's hoof at an awkward angle and got stuck in the mud.

Yeah but there's no way those rocks had enough mass that she couldn't have simply moved them with brute force.

Maybe they were made of dark matter.

I really loved the joke about Dash's novel.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:26:10 PM by Bluespade

@Psi 001: True, it's not exactly a significant thing, and it really doesn't make the epsiode worse, though it really wasn't great to begin with.

Is that the story your sticking with?

edited 29th Dec '12 12:28:04 PM by Mio

They were Core Stones. Rocks with at least twice the density of other rocks found in the same environment, which can weigh a pony down unexpectedly strongly, making them unable to move even when they should.

A recent rockslide in some local gorge also uncovered a payload of Core Stones.

Yup, I'm pretty much with Applelight on the episode overall. The climax was kind of absurd (at least make the rock boulder sized), and they went into overkill a bit with Spike's clumsiness, but it was enjoyable on the whole, so I can overlook those issues.

I will say this...with her awesome rocking shooting skills and bravery, AJ came off very well in this episode.

Yay!

Also, if someone brings Dash's fic to life, I will well read that!

edited 29th Dec '12 12:29:00 PM by ApplelightLimited

Huh, they went the other way from the boulder that pinned Dashie in Best Pet Wins. Too far in the other way :V

edited 29th Dec '12 12:29:31 PM by AceOfScarabs

@Applelight: We've seen most of the fic already, it's not like we're missing out on anything.

I like Applejack. She may not have enough conflicts now that she's a particularly interesting viewpoint character, but it's actually kind of nice to have a pony who the rest can go for for advice, or who has a more level head in certain situations.

And it certainly doesn't hurt that she's pretty badass when the need arises. (no offense)

Now, I'm sure we remember her hot-headedness in Applebuck season, but it's not like that trait is gone now that she's learned that lesson. Her stubbornness comes across in other ways. See: The Last Roundup, Apple Family Reunion.

Also it seems her tendency to take bad bets if you challenge her comes straight from her Granny :V

@ Mio

Oh hey, long time so see!

I should tell you, Ginger is taking shape and colour.

I liked AJ a lot in this episode.

I definitely didn't like her much in the family reunion episode.

Applejack is still one character I can't really make up my mind about. There are things about her that I just find really annoying, and I feel she gets very poorly used often, but at her core I really like her character. But she's definitely at the bottom of the character tiers for me.

Is... that some kind of Irish figure of speech? I've never heard it before.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:36:24 PM by Bluespade

Yeah, she still has some issues with overconfidence, as well as an almost crippling need to stick to her word.

Darn it. Every time Appljack comes up, I want to compare her to a samurai. But I've already said that so many times, and now I just sort of want to see fanart of her as a samurai.

@Applelight: Is that so? How are you hearing of this and what is his complaints about?

Well there is this.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:37:59 PM by Mio

huh. there's a lot of suicide pics being uploaded to derpibooru for some reason.

I'm starting to get the feeling that the writers just dislike Rarity at this point.

The thing about AJ is that she's not supposed so be zany, quirky, or neurotic, but people keep expecting her to be as if it's required to be a part of the cast. She fills her role perfectly well, IMO, and doesn't need to change at all.

No I mean my Engineer pony is taking shape.

@Applelight: OH. Pardon me.

What was wrong with Rarity? I thought she was pretty funny, or do you mean the bit where she wonders what she'd do with a servant? Because she and Rainbow did that.

edit:

I sort of liked how it went in the direction of trying to get Spike to save Applejack's life so that he'd call it off, but the resolution wasn't because of the saving, so much as it was because of an explanation that came about because they tried to do that first plan.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:41:25 PM by Enlong

It's just I feel AJ is getting duller with each season.

She was actually pretty vibrant in the first season (I could argue she was actually one of the best moderated characters), she had the prominant vice of being rather Hot Blooded, and her temper worked as well starting off events as acting as a frustrated Straight Man.

In the second season she was more nuanced, and usually more limited to a reactor, though her flaws were still there enough to get character out of it. You felt her personality was still there to an extent, just they had problems making situations to bring it out.

By Season Three she just seems completely mellowed out, she has problems starting off stories and even as a Straight Man she seems too dull (compared to Twilight who can play both roles but use her neurotics to give it full potential).

I don't expect AJ to be completely over the top, but the thing is she needs at least some exagerrative points to keep on par with the rest of the cast or even just make for interesting roles. I likely wouldn't complain as much if she hadn't gotten the balance perfectly fine in Season One anyway.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:45:03 PM by Psi001

Rarity IS kinda busy with her day job, she just wants someone to help with her workload and maybe the chores.

@Psi 001: It seems that around season 2 Twilight and AJ switched places as far as roles go, and personally I think they are both worse off for it.

@Rarity: She's not really worse off this season, but she really hasn't done much interesting outside of some typical "prissy" jokes.

edited 29th Dec '12 12:45:15 PM by Mio

Personally I prefer the newer more neurotic Twilight. Though I admit early on AJ was able to switch between both instigator and Straight Man roles most swiftly.

Both temper and neuroses tend to be good flaws even when working as a Straight Man (if anything it makes the role more funny and gives a valid reason no one listens to them).

edited 29th Dec '12 12:47:49 PM by Psi001