Rating:
Well, they tried I guess.
Those Foxes and season five’s worst new writer (Neal Dusedau, ugh)
attempted showing a solid lesson, but no one involved had enough talent to pull
it off. Applejack is badly overworked
and needs some rest, although this soon mutates into a discourse on workplace efficiency. Granted some validity exists regarding
getting stuck in a routine, but why did they think these events would be an
effective demonstration of that? Like
other season six efforts, Applejack’s “Day” Off (couldn’t even get the title
right) suffers from feeling like it takes place in an alternate universe. Suddenly every spa employee has an Eastern
European accent and Rainbow Dash really loves her “pampered massages”. Likewise, the teaser only exists to make a
bad sight gag about Rarity looking pruny, because she forgets about it once the
episode proper starts. “Day” Off feels
pretty dull when it’s not doing uncomfortable things like this, so the
philosophers can argue about which is better.
Their incompetency also trickled down to the animators, who couldn’t
produce anything of interest visually either.
Despite admirable intentions, what “Day” Off needed was beyond everyone’s
abilities. They decided proving Rainbow
Dash fits within a gender binary was more important than making sure their
script made any sense. Considering some
point clearly existed, “Day” Off might not necessarily be filler. And given Rarity and Applejack’s horrid
history together (Look Before You Sleep), seeing them get along as friends does
seem refreshing. Unfortunately, there
was no overcoming such poor writing for a “slice of life” episode where almost
nothing happens. Among many other season
six examples, Applejack’s “Day” Off is a B effort which could have been made
years earlier without many changes, and therefore remains very far away from
acceptable quality.
