Season 9 Discussion Thread [NO SPOILERS, DF airings only]

DerpyFast
Solar Supporter - Fought against the New Lunar Republic rebellion on the side of the Solar Deity (April Fools 2023).
Non-Fungible Trixie -
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
Wallet After Summer Sale -
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2018) - Celebrated Derpibooru's six year anniversary with friends.

I figure I should write a review of “Gone To Seed”.
 
It was pretty bad. I think the setup is right, but the characterization, plot and moral are all wrong. The first problem is that the episode is extremely repetitive. On their own, I think the episode has enough ideas for maybe seven minutes, but it just keeps repeating the same things but with minor variations. We get it. The Great Seedling is awesome and Apple Bloom wants to capture it. Do something with this instead of repeating it.
 
My second problem is with the characterization. Applejack and Apple Bloom keep dumping more and more work onto Big Mac. Here’s a thought: instead of trying to catch a creature that will just give you more work to do, why don’t help your poor overworked brother with the work he’s already got. It’s unfair to Big Mac, and irresponsible of Applejack. She should have applied the lesson she learned in “Applebuck Season” about overworking a pony. On top of that, the idea of actually catching it and having crops that are always in bloom goes against everything Applejack has learned about using magic to solve problems.
 
I don’t often say “Oh f*** you” to this kid’s show, but the moral that you’re never too old to just dump a bunch of work onto someone else so you can goof off, managed to piss me off. It feels like an unintentional middle finger to people with co-workers who do that. And for what? They don’t succeed at catching it, and they never had any problems bonding.
 
Those things are enough to plant the episode firmly in “bad” territory. If I really feel like overthinking it, then there’s also a lot of missed potential. The blessing of The Great Seedling sounds more like a case of “Be careful what you wish for” than a legitimately useful blessing. The orchard would be overflowing with rotten fruit, the Apples would be overwhelmed trying to keep up with it, and it would drive down the value of their crops.
 
Instead of regressing Applejack’s character and treating that like a good thing, the episode should have been a coming-of-age story for Apple Bloom. She wastes time and gets in other ponies’ way trying to capture it. Then, when she finally has it in her sights, it gives her a vision about the actual consequences of its gift. Ultimately, she decides to let it go. It turns out the goal was never to catch it, but instead to learn a lesson. It turns out that trying to catch it and having this vision is a rite of passage in the Apple family, symbolizing a transition from wishful thinking to practical thinking.
 
Overall, it’s boring, repetitive, has a bad moral, and squanders its potential.
AC97
Lunar Supporter - Helped forge New Lunar Republic's freedom in the face of the Solar Empire's oppressive tyrannical regime (April Fools 2023).
Non-Fungible Trixie -
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition

To be honest, Goldie Delicious wasn’t required in this episode, probably.
 
It could’ve easily excluded her and still worked in a similar way. Or am I wrong?
GenericArchangel
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Moderator
Free the Tantabus
@AC97  
She was there for the fans. Notice how we got shoutouts to Caramel and Braeburn- that wasn’t an accident or a minor detail, they know exactly what they’re doing.
Spinny
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Non-Fungible Trixie -
Preenhub - We all know what you were up to this evening~
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
Wallet After Summer Sale -

Resident Spin Fetishist
@DerpyFast
 
I disagree with you up to the point about AJ pushing her workload onto Big Mac. That’s definitely something she should have been more conscious of.
 
That said, I can most certainly buy AJ getting swept up in the thrill of catching the Seedling, indulging her own childhood and making an attempt to fulfill a dream that she wasn’t able to do years ago, even trying to supplant the unpleasant memory she has of getting trapped after trying to catch it on her own. I’m just saying, I preferred this to the alternative of AJ being a stick in the mud and crushing Apple Bloom’s hopes or telling her to grow up, which is something we might have seen from a more cynical, workaholic Applejack.
 
But yeah, forcing more work onto Big Mac was both unfair and reckless of her. I can forgive her up to an extent, but I do think that she really would have needed to snap back to her senses and realize that there was real work to be done and she and Apple Bloom needed to pull their weight.
 
And I definitely disagree with the episode being “repetitive”. Applejack starting out as cynical and aggravated by the whole thing only to end up joining in on the hunt was pretty damn unexpected, and it was also difficult to predict who or what the Seedling might be.
DerpyFast
Solar Supporter - Fought against the New Lunar Republic rebellion on the side of the Solar Deity (April Fools 2023).
Non-Fungible Trixie -
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
Wallet After Summer Sale -
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2018) - Celebrated Derpibooru's six year anniversary with friends.

So I ended up watching it again. The cats definitely stole the show. Maybe “repetitive” is the wrong word, but I was getting pretty sick of seeing traps and applebucking by the end.
 
That said, I can most certainly buy AJ getting swept up in the thrill of catching the Seedling, indulging her own childhood and making an attempt to fulfill a dream that she wasn’t able to do years ago, even trying to supplant the unpleasant memory she has of getting trapped after trying to catch it on her own. I’m just saying, I preferred this to the alternative of AJ being a stick in the mud and crushing Apple Bloom’s hopes or telling her to grow up, which is something we might have seen from a more cynical, workaholic Applejack.
 
That’s all well and good, but “A Harvest 100 Moons in The Making” is the wrong scenario for that.
Magma_ERuptiOn
Thread Starter - Started a thread with over 100 pages
Wallet After Summer Sale -
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I read this shit?
Enjoyed the new episode well enough even it was it was obvious Big Mac was the culprit, he had clearly been burning the midnight oil. I liked having Goldie Delicious and her cats in the episode. First Winona appearance since PPOV I believe.
 
  1. Frenemies  
  2. The Beginning of the End  
  3. Common Ground  
  4. Sparkle’s Seven  
  5. Sweet & Smoky  
  6. Going To Seed  
  7. The Point of No Return  
  8. Uprooted  
  9. She’s All Yak
AWGear
Solar Supporter - Fought against the New Lunar Republic rebellion on the side of the Solar Deity (April Fools 2023).
Roseluck - Had their OC in the 2023 Derpibooru Collab.
A Lovely Nightmare Night - Celebrated the 12th anniversary of MLP:FIM!
Elements of Harmony - Had an OC in the 2022 Community Collab
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Twinkling Balloon - Took part in the 2021 community collab.
Ten years of changes - Celebrated the 10th anniversary of MLP:FiM!
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The Magic of Friendship Grows - For helping others attend the 2020 Community Collab
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2020) - Took part in the 2020 Community Collab

The Devil's Advocate
watches episode about harvesting apples  
complains about applebucking
 
That’s kinda the bloody point of apple harvesting, isn’t it?
rdibp
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2018) - Celebrated Derpibooru's six year anniversary with friends.
Birthday Cake - Celebrated MLP's 7th birthday
Not a Llama - Happy April Fools Day!
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2017) - Celebrated Derpibooru's five year anniversary with friends.

Kerfuffle lover
Tired Big Mac got a bit repetitive and the outcome was predictable, yet everything else about the episode I enjoyed.
 
It was a very well executed Applejack and Apple Bloom bonding episode.
Mr.Myoozik
StarTrix Forever! - Derpi Supporter
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Roseluck - Had their OC in the 2023 Derpibooru Collab.
King Sombra - Celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Crystal Empire!
A Lovely Nightmare Night - Celebrated the 12th anniversary of MLP:FIM!
Princess of Love - Extra special version for those who participated in the Canterlot Wedding 10th anniversary event by contributing art.
Tree of Harmony - Drew someone's OC for the 2022 Community Collab

Music Connoisseur
You know, after so many seasons and episodes, we havent seen a “Body-Swap episode”, right?
 
The Freaky Friday plot? I’m shocked we haven’t at this point.
rdibp
My Little Pony - 1992 Edition
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2018) - Celebrated Derpibooru's six year anniversary with friends.
Birthday Cake - Celebrated MLP's 7th birthday
Not a Llama - Happy April Fools Day!
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2017) - Celebrated Derpibooru's five year anniversary with friends.

Kerfuffle lover
I didn’t really mind all the Big Mac stuff. It was one of the weaker parts of the episode, but it’s not like he was being outrageously tortured.
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