Rating:
Defying many expectations, Dave Polsky’s reinstatement has
finally meant the return for (some) of his Over A Barrel Appleloosa characters. Most fans probably didn’t want a sequel to one
rather misunderstood and unliked episode, but Polsky doesn’t provide what you’d
think that would entail either. Once
again, our favorite ponies receive a second episode aired shortly after their
first, but surprisingly it’s just as good.
Tirelessly (and endlessly) questing, the Crusaders have accompanied
Applejack to Appleloosa (probably misspelled in the title) under some naïve
belief that they will earn cutie marks at a rodeo. Apparently Braeburn was hurt somehow and has
asked Applejack to fill in, but the adult plot stays mostly ancillary. After Sheriff Silverstar announces an outlaw
threatens to terrorize Appleloosa’s rodeo, the Crusaders set their sights on
stopping him. That they don’t end up
needing to is one of many surprises which follow. Admittedly, Polsky’s style is maddening and
features another dose of slapstick and clichés.
He often almost loses control, but Trouble Shoes’ introduction prevents
it from happening. While again
neglecting the premiere’s map, Appleoosa’s Most Wanted still fits season five’s
theme by discussing dissatisfaction with cutie marks. Trouble Shoes not only dislikes his, but
apparently misunderstands it as well. Or
he doesn’t, and the Crusaders help “make it work”. Obviously Appleoosa’s Most Wanted is uneven, but
Polsky finds a strong yet different tone quite unlike the one he produced for
Over A Barrel. We see everything from
the Crusaders’ perspective, which is only odd given a separate plot occurring
virtually off screen. Despite some
problems and questionable decisions (Stockholm syndrome probably wasn’t an
intended reference), Polsky pulls through with genuinely funny moments, the
aforementioned tone, and an interesting conclusion. Maybe his resolution isn’t concrete, but
Polsky provokes thought and initiates discussion regarding a concept that
becomes less simple by the episode. Call it another guilty pleasure, but few
scripts are so delightful about their mess.
Apple Bloom has tagged along with Applejack for a rodeo
appearance, and her fellow Crusaders are stoked about the cutie marks they will
surely earn after joining an event.
Sweetie Belle admits this is possibly dangerous while observing
Braeburn’s injured leg, and further complications arise when Sheriff Silverstar
announces a “low down varmint” outlaw will probably be stalking Appleloosa’s
rodeo. Naturally, the Crusaders only
think “awesome!” once they hear this.
Applejack practices for a hay-stacking contest in Braeburn’s
place, and she doesn’t really want her sister wandering around or participating
when a criminal remains loose. This
feeling becomes doubly sure once her mile-high stack tumbles to the ground and
nearly kills everyone. As Silverstar
inspects the wreckage, an upside-down horseshoe can only mean one thing:
Trouble Shoes is behind it. Silverstar
refuses to be intimated, and announces Appleloosa’s rodeo will go on as
scheduled. But Applejack isn’t so
certain and thinks the Crusaders should return home. With a vested interest though, Braeburn
announces he’ll keep watch over them while Applejack competes.
Judging by earlier foreshadowing, he’s pretty terrible doing
so. Once nightfall hits, the Crusaders
sneak out and start searching for Trouble Shoes since they hope apprehending
him will allow them into the rodeo.
Running through an unknown forest becomes even more dangerous once it
begins raining, and all three eventually decide on turning back. Unfortunately, they are lost long before
Apple Bloom gives up. Attempts at
finding shelter only worsen their predicament, but the Crusaders finally
stumble upon an “abandoned” house. Given
the footprints glimpsed earlier, it’s little surprise who this place belongs
to. A big scary-looking horse soon
arrives, which leaves our Crusaders helplessly cowering in fear.
And then let the surprises begin. Equally shocked by yelling intruders, Trouble
Shoes bumps his head and initiates what must be one of the most unfortunate
slapstick displays to ever occur. He
somehow ties himself up and gets knocked unconscious for a few seconds before it
ends. As Trouble Shoes relates once he
is free, bad luck has followed him ever since his cutie mark appeared. The upside-down horseshoe causes all sorts of
unlikely events, which he demonstrates by slipping on a banana peel. Not wanting the Crusaders to partake in such
poor luck, Trouble Shoes kicks them out, but they still don’t know the way
back. Guess who does, though.
Trouble Shoes relates his cutie mark acquisition story as
they slowly march toward Appleloosa. As
an avid fan of rodeos, he watched, practiced, and eventually tried out for
rodeo school. His earlier routines were
marred by rather unlucky accidents, but this audition seemed to be going
well. Despite knowing he was meant for
the rodeo, Trouble Shoes’ cursed cutie mark showed up instead. Rather surprised at its appearance, he then
knocked a barrel onto himself and ended the routine. Completely dejected, Trouble Shoes never gave
up his rodeo love, although even being an audience member meant others around
weren’t safe.
In a rare moment of foresight, Apple Bloom realizes Trouble
Shoes’ “skill” would make him the greatest rodeo clown ever. Before they can tell anyone, Silverstar and
his posse catch Trouble Shoes and take him off to prison. Applejack naturally won’t hear the Crusaders’
pleas though, since she still believes Trouble Shoes kidnapped them. That leaves jailbreak as a last resort, which
is accomplished by Sweetie Belle’s improving magic and the hay stacking
competition being can’t-miss. With
Trouble Shoes quickly freed and dressed as a rodeo clown, they all head off to
watch him shine.
Applejack’s team successfully takes first place in hay
stacking by a centimeter or so, but who cares.
After she’s done, the clowns come out for their act, and Trouble Shoes
is ushered out with them. One would
expect a disaster with no experience or practice, but that is entirely
appropriate for this situation. Trouble
Shoes’ attempts to join in produce typically huge calamities, and the audience
loves it. He’s a huge hit, but naturally
becomes “unmasked” during his routine.
Thanks to the Crusaders’ testimonial, Trouble Shoes avoids jail time and
starts talking with his fellow clowns about a presumed upcoming event. Applejack is pissed about being deceived
though, and gives the Crusaders cleanup duty.
Most of Appleoosa’s Most Wanted’s success centers on Trouble
Shoes, who in no way matches his buildup.
Few My Little Pony episodes can
equal the dread of having an outlaw roaming around, and there’s no reason to
believe his intentions aren’t malicious.
When Applejack thinks about returning home, it’s hard not agreeing with
her. Just that unique footprint and
nearly crushing our main characters is enough, although much of the fear comes
from not knowing what he’ll do next.
Trouble Shoes becoming rehabilitated won’t count as
surprising, but that he didn’t ever need it certainly does. Here’s a horse who has not only been beaten
down by life, but is stuck somewhere deep on the sole of its shoe. So many ridiculous things have happened that
he can’t even get mad anymore. Even in
his first few minutes on screen, we see a slapstick display that could be one
whole season’s worth of “gags”. But
they’re not meant for laughs, and Polsky has no difficulty delineating between
this and his actual jokes (“…yeah, way to go”, the pitchfork and torch crew)
which mostly work very well. No doubt he
could have taken inspiration from various literary characters (Job being the
obvious example), but none of them seem so completely downtrodden. Trouble Shoes has become an outcast who hates
himself and life, which is understandable given how many bad events happen every
day. But one needn’t be quite that
unlucky to end up with a similar fate.
Taking another (thankfully unmentioned) terrible adage, the
Crusaders actually help someone with a cutie mark problem thanks to Apple
Bloom’s experience and insight. But are
they being considerate when Trouble Shoes actually wants to compete? Professional sports are cruel in that only
the top 1% (or less) have any chance of success, while most of people can never
hope to belong no matter how much they desire or practice. Clearly Trouble Shoes falls into this
category, but he’s also a savant at physical humor. The guy craps out comic gold routines in his
own house and before a large crowd, while easily outshining the professionals
without practice. Might as well get paid
for something you were going to do anyway, even though Trouble Shoes never
envisioned becoming a clown. Given his
life, this is an acceptable solution that will undoubtedly improve things and
allow him to somewhat follow his dream.
But the question isn’t so easy for others. When do you give up and settle, or should you
pursue an activity you hate yet are good at?
Polsky can’t answer this for everyone, but the discussion is certainly
important.
For such an unexpected twist, Trouble Shoes becomes one of
the most interesting new characters ever introduced on My Little Pony. He’s far
better than previous actual villains, and clearly represents many social
“undesirables” whose numbers continually increase with an out of control
population. Changing perspective may not
be everyone’s answer, but there’s something to be said for having a talent at
being terrible. Turning “weakness” into
strength is another cliché that actually has real world applications, and can
certainly be taken away here.
Amazingly, the Crusaders are both equally as strong and more
separate than they have ever been. This
adventure could have easily led to them thinking and acting together (like in
Hearts And Hooves Day), but Polsky resisted doing so. While all are excited about prospective cutie
marks, Sweetie Belle sours early on (after noticing Braeburn’s injury) and
never really has enthusiasm for anything afterward. As an athlete (of sorts), Scootaloo happily
shares Apple Bloom’s anticipation, but quickly feels searching for Trouble
Shoes is going too far. That entire
sequence shows Apple Bloom taking charge against the others’ wishes, but then
realizing her folly and calling it quits.
Rather than waiting for something terrible to happen and then learning a
“lesson”, Apple Bloom knows she has overstepped and stops. Yes, the Crusaders should be treated like
this in every episode, but Polsky still deserves praise for accomplishing
something most other writers wouldn’t attempt.
Not that he was entirely perfect though, as some rather
obvious clichés stick out (“no risk, no reward”, “what are you saying?”), along
with the Crusaders being a bit too accepting of Trouble Shoes. However, it’s nice that a “he don’t seem so
bad” actually turns out to be true, when you probably expected Trouble Shoes
would be evil upon being released from his bondage (the animation slyly helps
this false conclusion). Not every joke
works though (all those broken mattresses are likewise one too many sight gags),
and the Crusaders’ attitude toward their almost-captor could lead to wrong
messages being perceived. But Polsky
otherwise did well in navigating a script with many potential problem
areas. Even Applejack’s motherly
attitude can’t really be faulted since her actions are perfectly logical given
what she knows.
Many of the best My
Little Pony episodes offer plenty to think about, and Appleoosa’s Most
Wanted unquestionably fits that criteria.
Polsky found a way to pack as much in as his previous Appleloosa episode
without repeating himself at all. Those
few returning characters seem different after time away, and he never felt
obligated to bring back significant buffalos when they wouldn’t really have
fit. Polsky also integrated slapstick as
plot rather than humor, which is something many My Little Pony writers have struggled with before. Maybe they are laughing at Trouble Shoes, but
who cares if he’s (sort of) doing what he loves through unparalleled
talent. Polsky could have sunk his own
script many times, so a few problems existing probably was inevitable. But Appleoosa’s Most Wanted is the work of
intelligence and thought whose vast majority succeeds. It does things with characters that are rare
(if ever) for the series, and offers hope to society’s lowest
unfortunates. Like Over A Barrel,
Appleoosa’s subtle convention bucking and concentration on non-mane six
characters means it will be misunderstood and disliked for superficial
reasons. And the few problems can only
reinforce these beliefs. But Appleoosa’s
Most Wanted is a good episode, despite how crazy that seems given its setting,
characters, subject matter, and writer.
As an elucidation of season five’s themes or a paean to that “crazy”
loner suffering through hard times, it is an unqualified success.
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