My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic: Episode 214 - The Last Roundup

Rating:

After seeing The Last Roundup again, I wondered where a rating as high as three stars came from.  Watched it shortly after the mostly terrible Family Appreciation Day and gave it a higher rating because it was a better episode?  Yup.  Applejack’s failures at the national rodeo lead her to abandon Ponyville for an old west cherry orchard, but Amy Keating Rogers can only find questionable moments to surround this shaky premise.  Pinkie Pie is super annoying (producing more groans than chuckles), a cherry sorting scene inexplicably references I Love Lucy, and it culminates in that little beauty up there.  Applejack risks her life and four others to run a train crossing in the middle of nowhere, which quickly proves pointless when Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just fly over the train.  So much for that whole send a good message to the kids thing.  The Last Roundup is also notable for Derpy’s lone speaking role, which was controversial enough to be replaced in later airings by a voice even worse and more offensive.  Like everything else here, that scene has not aged well since Derpy’s annoying behavior is on par with Pinkie’s.  While the lesson of not dealing with problems alone no doubt has merit, one again wonders how a writer came up with this script to portray it.  Given so many poorly thought out scenes and absolutely no redeeming ones, The Last Roundup is a huge misfire and another example of writers’ “creativity” sinking season two.

Applejack sure does look weird without her hat on.  This rare off-model appearance is the teaser’s only intrigue, since she’s practicing for a rodeo that will never be seen.  Instead, we see Derpy going on a rampage at town hall, which is so destructive that Applejack pledges her prize money to fix it.  Everything about the plot happens because of a joking opening meant as a nod to fans.  Why doesn’t Derpy pay for anything?  “Oops, my bad.”  It’s okay, she apologized for it.  (Some damage already existed, but Derpy makes things much worse.)

After all of the rodeo hype, we skip directly to after every event.  While planning a surprise party for Applejack’s return, everyone in Ponyville is shocked themselves when a letter arrives instead.   AJ announces that she’s not coming back, and money will be sent soon.  As Star Trek rulebook subscribers, the remaining mane six members set off on a quest to find their missing comrade.  Finding Canterlot’s rodeo wrapping up, they montage through asking everyone about Applejack’s whereabouts, which proves fruitless until the final pony points them toward the old west city Dodge Junction.  Applejack could be anywhere, but Pinkie Pie has to take a piss first.  Fortunately, AJ comes out of the very train station port-a-potty Pinkie is about to enter.  That was easy.  (wait…)

While apparently fine, Applejack won’t go into detail about her sudden wish for “a change of scenery”.  After the rodeo, she has decided to work for madam Cherry Jubilee as a prostitute since “cherries would be a nice change from apples”.  No one’s buying it; especially not Rainbow Dash.  They all sign on as cherry sorters in an effort to wring more information out of Applejack, but her anger ends up bungling a “comic gold” scene.  Likely fired after one day, the mane six sic Pinkie Pie on AJ since torture is their only option left.  Understandably giving in, Applejack promises she’ll come clean tomorrow at breakfast.

Which of course she doesn’t show up to.  Attempting to catch a train, Applejack corrals an empty coach pulled by four stallions after the mane six realize her deception.  They grab an empty cart themselves in pursuit, but for some reason only Dash and Fluttershy pull while the others sit.  Clearly it would be faster for them just to run, but Twilight points to it like the cart has a frickin’ hemi.  Per cartoon law, the mane six easily keep pace despite carrying more weight with less horses (and Fluttershy stopping the cart to avoid running over a bunny).  How the Pegasi’s air speed translates to the ground is not understood or explained.

Finally caught after risking everyone’s lives, Applejack’s opened bag reveals a host of second (and lower) place ribbons.  She didn’t finish first in any competition, and was too embarrassed to return home because of it.  After many tears, the remaining mane six members say they don’t want to lose a friend over something so stupid.  While heading home on a nice comfy train, they forget to pick up Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who were knocked off the cart a small distance away.  But Rarity loves dirt and to enduring Pinkie’s “cherry chonga” spiel, so happy ending all around.

Like its preceding episodes, The Last Roundup feels less like canon as time passes.  Applejack’s reaction is extreme, her complete lack of honesty rather out of character, and the plot’s setup feels rather flimsy and contrived (Derpy broke the roof?  Then she fixes it, end of story).  AJ can’t really expect to win every event at the Olympics of rodeo, nor should she feel obligated to fix a problem that isn’t hers.  Does Applejack have a fan club as large as Rainbow Dash’s now?  Because her loving send-off is a bit absurd for an event most ponies probably don’t care about.  The premise isn’t necessarily problematic, but Rogers’ setup and execution failed to make it believable.

Everything about the mane six’s subsequent encounter with Applejack is a misfire.  They find her too easily, her new job is quickly forgotten when convenient, and Pinkie won’t shut up.  She isn’t a complete disaster like in Baby Cakes, but any decent line Pinkie gets off (“that’s it?  Well that’s a terrible story!”) is followed by something equally stupid (“What?  She had beans?”).  Having her go off on an endless loop of “chimi cherry, cherry chonga” demonstrates the worst aspects of Pinkie’s character.  Rainbow Dash is also rather angry, but most of the characterization is otherwise solid.

Then there’s the I Love Lucy cherry sorting scene, which is an odd and pointless  inclusion.  The mane six just badger Applejack until she destroys the plant, but watching Fluttershy provides unintended humor.  Despite not looking and the conveyor speed turned up to 11, she perfectly sorts the red cherries away from the yellow.  It’s rather impressive if completely impossible, especially since she’s begging AJ to slow down.  From the looks of things, Fluttershy’s perfectly fine and much more efficient at this speed.  Of course, Pinkie Pie decides to start eating the cherries, which makes her head almost explode.  While somewhat analogous to its inspiration (Lucy and Ethel are quickly forced to shovel chocolates into their mouths), this section forgets why the first one was iconic and funny.  Without spontaneity and improvisation, there isn’t much to chuckle at, especially when the scene has been parodied before.  Since these plot points could have been delivered over anything, this reference’s inclusion just adds to the confusion rather than producing a fun and memorable moment.

It’s less absurd when compared to running a train though, which has no business being in a children’s show when there are zero consequences.  The crossing is in a deserted area instead of somewhere urban, which just feels more contrived.  And as stated above, there was further no point since Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy can just fly over the train, which passes by in a few seconds anyway.  Not that Applejack getting hit would have been better, but why did Rogers include this scene at all?  Those stallions should have at least stopped in front of the train since Applejack isn’t in control or actually paying them, which perhaps might have saved it.  But having a car chase with no engines and sentient horses just destroys any suspension of disbelief.  Even in a show with talking ponies and magic, this scene couldn’t have happened.

The Derpy hoopla however is a part producers wish didn’t happen.  Unlike other episodes, the original scene was redacted and The Last Roundup now exists in two versions.  Providing Derpy’s speaking voice, Tabitha St. Germain though she was male, although most take her performance as “retarded”.  While Derpy’s actions are rather tough to watch, her inclusion and voice should not be discarded.  Unfair as it may be, some people do talk like that, but should they be hidden away from society and treated as nonexistent?  Showing someone with lesser intelligence still being a part of society is very much in the series’ spirit, and the original scene should be applauded even through its pain.  Changing her voice to something more “ditzy” (likely following Lauren Faust’s original character name, Ditzy Doo) is no less offensive, as it continues the “dumb blonde” stereotype without adding anything.  No matter your feelings on this section, the second one is worse and should be ignored.  Revisionist history won’t change Derpy being a part of the show.

Unfortunately, such a confusing menagerie of scenes makes up the fabric of The Last Roundup, which is a large part of its downfall.  Even while not wall-to-wall pain or boredom, Rogers’ choices are impossible to justify.  Unnecessary references, implausible plots, unfunny comedy, strange moments of characterization, and a large number of confusing scenes which don’t really fit together all sink this outing.  Having Applejack do everything because of a rodeo makes her seem rather shallow, and constantly lying feels out of character.  Perhaps a strong scene or a few different choices would have been an improvement, but Rogers didn’t make one decent decision in 22 minutes of time.  No one should forget their friends in times of crisis, but this doesn’t come close to demonstrating such a lesson.  For another confounding mess made of a season two script, The Last Roundup can’t be recommended any more than all of the lesser episodes that it should’ve easily bested.