Other ponies not reacting enough isn't a problem with AJ's personality, it's a problem with the supporting cast. If the other ponies had just rolled with Twilight's issues in Lesson Zero, it wouldn't have had anything to do with Twilight's issues.

AJ was fine in AFR, the issue was that the supporting cast didn't really follow up on the conflict she introduced. Her bit worked fine: she got the wrong idea of what the reunion was about and organized it in a way that made it worse for everyone. That's perfectly in character and a good source for tension. The problem is that the rest of the cast responded by going "well, that's kind of annoying", but not really doing anything else. If they would responded to her with "no, this is dumb and not fun" it would have escalated the conflict and the episode would have been more memorable. That's the problem; AJ sparked the conflict in a perfectly workable fashion, but it just didn't ignite. What should've happened would have been something like Big Mac, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom staging a coup and trying to take back the reunion.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:16:22 AM by JapaneseTeeth

There's this Apple family cousin who was basically shaking her rump at the camera during the song and dance in Apple Family Reunion, and she got kinda popular with the fanartists on Derpibooru :V

And this surprises you because...?

I could argue it's a bit of both, especially in the argument between her and Applebloom. There's a clear bit of conflict there, but it's so subdued it doesn't go anywhere.

As said the fact they couldn't set up a good enough scenario for her is part of the problem, but in the end it still came at the cost of showing she can hold a good episode. It's even worse since it implies she was unfairly screwed out of her chance.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:25:07 AM by Psi001

@JT: For the life of me I can't remember her fannickname or name :V

I'm still not sure why you consider that a problem with Applejack when the issue is that the rest of the cast didn't react strongly enough. I don't think the problem is that she couldn't carry the episode, it's that everyone else didn't do anything.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:26:03 AM by JapaneseTeeth

I think it's more the fact the underwelming situation meant she couldn't really make good reactions out of it, she started off working well with what was going on, but due to the others not reacting accordingly, she never exceeds the starting point.

Again Lesson Zero works because the other characters are winding up Twilight enough for her character to come out. If they didn't she likely wouldn't have exceeded "slightly neurotic" that she was at the start of it so wouldn't have gotten the character establishment. One character's lack of involvement ruined anothers' as a result.

In that sense, it would imply AJ still has the potential to hold an episode, but we've still yet to actually see it, and likely won't till next season.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:33:20 AM by Psi001

RD and AJ wish you all a happy new year.

http://coltsteelstallion.deviantart.com/art/Explosive-countdown-345861592

Cider makes everything better.

It might also have gone better if they didn't waste so much time on the normal parts of the reunion and the flashbacks. AJ didn't even start mildly inconviencing everypone until like halfway through the episode.

@Psi: I agree with that, but I'm not sure how the fact that the other characters not reacting appropriately is AJ's fault. Like if we go with your Lesson Zero example, if the rest of the cast wouldn't have wound Twilight up, it wouldn't have been a problem with her character that she didn't react strongly enough because the rest of the cast gave her no reason to.

Basically, I feel like the lack of conflict in this episode is an issue with the rest of the Apple Family being bland, not with AJ being bland.

Yeah that would have helped a lot as well. I mean, it was nice to get some background, but it felt like it took too long setting the scene and then only had half the time to go through the actual plot.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:33:31 AM by JapaneseTeeth

Again it's the other characters and mundane setup making AJ act a bit bland.

It's by the theory that if there weren't enough scenarios to bring out Pinkie's wackiness or RD's abrasiveness or Twilight's neuroses, they would in theory be bland, because it would be all but an Informed Flaw without being able to display it properly.

Maybe I'm just being nit picky though. It's just something that bugs me.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:37:09 AM by Psi001

I don't have anything to add to this conversation that hasn't already been said. All I'll say is, AJ is in my top three best ponies.

I would have hated it if they removed all of the interaction and flashbacks. Those made the episode for me.

As I see it the whole premise of the episode would've been destroyed if the family reacted any way other than how they did. They don't wanna disappoint anyone, especially not AJ who is only just learning how to host the reunion, and they wanna have fun. It'd break the Not so Different mold if one of them argued.

And no AJ's conflict was indeed a good one.

Want a character that can't hold an episode, ...his name is Spike.

Maybe I am overexagerrating all this. In hindsight it wasn't really that horrible an episode. I just don't consider it a defining one for AJ, and it doesn't help that I haven't seen many of those for quite a while. I just felt she needed this to bring her back up, as I've found most of her recent roles rather underwelming.

Meh I thought he did an okay job with some of his episodes. Not all of them but some of them.

edited 31st Dec '12 11:57:31 AM by Psi001

@ Psi still not seeing how any of that is an issue with AJ...

And she's ALWAYS worked better with somepony to work off of then on her own, nothing wrong with that.

I still feel they did a better job with her in the first season and knew how to more competently place her into a good variation of roles. She felt less like just a reactor character anyway and most of her lead roles held up better, be it her fault or anothers'. Nowadays it feels like they struggle to come to grips with her character and what roles to give her outside the token 'normal' pony. Even when they do have a direction for her personality they seem to struggle making the right scenario to bring it out (again this episode and arguably The Last Roundup). She just seemed much more versatile originally.

edited 31st Dec '12 12:12:13 PM by Psi001

Eh, AJ seems fine to me.

Granny seems to be feeling really good this reunion, not so crankety and kooky like in Familly appreciation day, also her hips don't seem to be giving any more troubles. AJ finally earned enough for the hip operation, huh.

Even in Applebuck season, that whole issue came into play only when she was interacting with other ponies, on her own, she would have been working herself to exhaustion, but it wouldn't have created the massive issue it did. And she is far from a "token" anything. She has a very believable, realistic personality, it's just one that doesn't lend itself to zany schemes and comedy on her own.

@ Terl: YMMV. Personally I really enjoyed SOME and Dragon Quest was even better. Even SAYS wasn't that bad.

edited 31st Dec '12 12:16:51 PM by Badwolfwho

She's taken over the role of the Tsukkomi from Twi, who has an unexpectedly adorable bookworm Boke vibe :3

The scenario still seemed to be coming mainly from her perspective and the problems she was causing however. Like other mentioned episodes, others were helping rile up the character but they were the ones causing the problems itself. Even outside Applebuck Season she had a wide variety of roles and moods each episode, rather than just "mainly Straight Man with the odd forced Not so Above It All moment".

And again you can be lucid and still cause problems. Take Morecombe And Wise for example, it had a clearly "wacky guy and lucid guy" dynamic, but it varies which one was the instigator and which was just the reactor. Hell look at Twilight and Pinkie.

edited 31st Dec '12 12:20:12 PM by Psi001

AJ can also be a bit of a playful tease, as evidenced a couple of times (trolling Rarity, teasing Spike who was about to accidentally kiss her, making mushy puns at Rarity), and she's also a competitive and compulsive gambler :V

As said though, most of that stuff was most prominantly on display Season One. Nowadays it's toned down with very little new in it's place.