Artwork by Jowybean on Deviantart
One Bad Apple aired on November 24th 2012. It was the fourth episode of the third season and it was written by Cindy Morrow. The episode stars the CMC with Applejack, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon in the background. The episode is about CMC and Babs Seed. Seed is a Manehatten pony who is a cousin of Apple Bloom and she is away on vacation from the bullying that is happening at her school.
The episode opens with an establishing shot of the Apple Family house. Afterwards it zooms into the house until jumping to an outside shot of Apple Bloom's Wardrobe moving back and forth. All through this moment, Bloom is making a whining noise. There is a moment of silence and the camera holds its postion until the doors open to reveal...
AN ADORABLE APPLE BLOOM WEARING A RIDICULOUSLY CUTE OUTFIT!
*Grasps chest and falls out of chair*
*Places hand onto desk and moves it around until it finds the insulin*
*Grabs insulin and injects it into veins*
*Climbs back into chair*
Sorry about that people, but that moment was really cute.
Anyway, I like how the episode opens up slowly by first focusing on the Apple Family house to give us an idea as to where the episode is taking place before switching to Apple Bloom's room. I also like how just before it switches over to Apple Bloom's room, we get the sound of her whining. This means that now we are interested in what she is whining about. Another small touch is the fact that the camera stops once the action stops and it stays like that for a little bit. I think these small touches help pull the audience in, and the pause before the doors open helps build a tiny bit of suspense.
Once the door opens, she looks down at her outfit and zooms out of it and to the right. Again, I like this touch because it holds long enough for the audience to see the cute outfit and react to it before it moves onto something else. Once she moves to the right, the camera follows and Appejack opens the door as the camera moves to the right. Applejack then gives a bit of exposition as her younger sister runs across the bottom of the screen throwing clothes up into the air. These little touches help to quicken the pace by not having to hold onto the door before Applejack opens it, and it helps to keep the energy of the scene by having Apple Bloom run across the bottom of the screen. It also helps that the background music becomes more frantic sounding.
It then cuts to Bloom trying on different outfits in quick succession by pulling down the canopy on her bed (Or at least I think it is called a canopy). It is actually pretty funny watching this scene because no other time do we see Bloom own clothes until this scene. I'm beginning to wonder if the real reason the Apple family has finance trouble is because they keep wasting their money buying clothes that Apple Bloom does not wear. Anyway, Bloom pulling down the canopy is more for the animators and the audience than for Apple Bloom covering her self in front of Applejack. I say this because by having Apple Bloom quickly change from outfit to outfit, it makes it so the animators have less to draw since now instead of drawing blur lines of her quickly getting dressed, they can just show her pulling down the canopy and then releasing it to show off her new outfit. This also helps the audience because now the joke of her changing clothes quickly has now been shorten to a point where it is like rapid fire. Also, the less time they spend on it, the more time they have on providing exposition to the audience, which is what this show does great. Another hidden bonus is the fact that they can sneak Applejack into that moment by having her appear next to Apple Bloom when she releases the canopy.
The scene continues with humor and exposition added here or there in either dialogue or visual humor. At one point while Applejack is talking, while Apple Bloom is frantically searching for something to wear, a cloth lands on her flank. Applejack doesn't remove it from her flank until she brings up that Babs Seed doesn't have a cutie mark like Apple Bloom. I like this moment because when Applejack mentions that they have something in common, it switches to her sister wearing a ridiculous outfit, and back to her removing it when she says "cutie mark" and her cutie mark sparkles. I think the animators did this to help emphasis Applejack's cute mark, because when it switches back to Apple Bloom, her blank flank shines in contrast to Applejack's flank, which sparkles.
Another interesting thing about this whole scene is the fact that we don't actually know what is going on for about twenty-three seconds. This means that the episode has us hooked until that point. However, the episode then hooks us again by telling us she has a cousin and a little bit later that she does not have a cutie mark and Bloom's demeanor changes from being unsure to decisive. Now we want to know who this cousin is and what will happen between her and the rest of the CMC. This is a nice teaser for the opening of the episode, and this is a good way to start any episode. Feed the audience a little bit of information in the first minute to keep them watching passed the theme song.
After the theme song, we are shown an establishing shot of the train station with the CMC jumping around and Applejack standing still. It then quickly zooms in to Applejack trying to resist the urge to kill them because they are getting on her nerves. The CMC talk a bit and Scootaloo wonders if Babs Seed would want to join, and Apple Bloom points out that she doesn't have her cutie mark. I like this because new commoners will understand that the CMC group is about cutie marks and Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are also apart of it.
As soon as the exposition about the CMC has been given and each of them get a line, the train comes. Applejack is of course happy about this. Apple Bloom then goes around saying that people on the train is Babs Seed. Now, I would like to explain why I think Cindy Morrow put this moment in. We have seen from the teaser and just a few seconds before that Apple Bloom is excited about meeting her cousin. I think that this scene was done to continue that pattern of her being excited, because if she sat patiently waiting, then it wouldn't match up to what we have seen so far. Another benefit is that it adds so humor to it, and it works on me. Finally, it is entirely possible that Bloom honestly thought she did meet her, and I wouldn't be surprised if she mixed her up with another pony because the Apple family is huge!
When Babs Seed gets off the train, the CMC surround her and get into her personally space. This is shown when it cuts to Seed's POV and the CMC are covering most of the screen and they have a darker shading to them. I think this was done because later on the POV shot again, and it would be weird to do that only once.
I like the use of the POV here because it is a smooth transition to the CMC Clubhouse. It is at this point that we see Babs Seed cover her blank flank when the word cutie mark comes up. I love this subtle moment because it speaks volumes about the character without having to use dialogue to tell us anything. We can tell that her lack of a cutie mark is a sensitive subject to her, and we are again hooked into finding out more about her. We can surmise that she is likely bullied because of her lack of a cutie mark, but we still want to sit and make sure that our conclusion is correct. Another author did something similar to Seed covering her flank. Christian Ahern, the author of Donny Quinn also had a subtle moment in which Donny Quinn went from slumping to straightening his back out because he was given a compliant by his teacher. We can infer from this that he rarely gets praised, likely even from his parents, because if a simple compliant about his work is enough to make him happy, then his life really sucks.
The CMC shows Seed what they do it their clubhouse and it's so adorable.
However, while I was impressed, Seed wasn't and Scootaloo decides the best way to impress her is to show her the float for the Summer Host Parade. I like how they mention the Summer Host Parade two times, and the float twice, because it doesn't feel like it comes out of no where. When the CMC show Seed the float, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon show up to mock them and their float. Now, I know that TV tropes considers this moment a Contrived Coincidence. However, I think with a bit of fan wanking, this can be explained. We have seen so far that the CMC have talked about their float twice and the Parade has been mentioned once too, so based on that, I can surmise that the CMC talked how they were finished their float and Tiara and Spoon only came to check on it. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Tiara and Spoon waited around until the CMC came around just to mock them and their floats. They honestly seem like a bunch of kids that bully the CMC when they are bored or have time.
Tiara and Spoon make fun of them and once they point out that Seed is a blank Flank, the music changes. It creates a feeling of mystery and tension. These feelings, plus Seed's face where she is thinking, help to give the audience the feeling that something is up. Of course, what is up is the fact that Babs is thinking about joining Tiara and Spoon so she doesn't get bullied. I don't blame her. As we learn latter in the episode, she came to Ponyville to get away from bullying, and she just had enough of it. I like the moment when she decides the join the bullies, because she blows the hair out of her eyes. There are two reasons I like this. The first reason is that it goes against what we know of her. We have seen her to be shy around the CMC, but now she is large and in-charge. The other reason I like it is because it is something a person would do to pretend they are cool, and in fiction, the ones who act cool are usually the bullies!
The first action that Seed does in bullying the CMC is by breaking the wheel of the float which causes the it roll and break. Apple Bloom threats to tell Applejack, but Seed tells her that she would be a snitch if she did. As Scootaloo says (Awesome reference) "Babs went to the dark side." Another thing that I didn't pick up on, but the youtube user Digibrony did in his "Thoroughly Analyzing "One Bad Apple" REMIX w/ Commentary" episode. He explained that while the CMC were happy and showing Babs Seed around, they were shown close together. However, once Babs Seed bullies them, they are spaced apart with large amount of space behind. He explains that this is suppose to convey the sense of desolation that they feel.
After commercial break, we have the CMC in the Clubhouse deciding what to do. Apple Bloom at first suggests building a new float, but Scootaloo explains that she would just break it again. This line, of course, was added to explain why the CMC didn't just try again. A little bit later, Apple Bloom suggests that they avoid her like the plague.
After that scene, we then cut to a music number. It starts off with the CMC saying yeah, yeah, yeah while poking their silhouette heads out of their clubhouse door before tip toeing over to Sugarcube Corner. And no, it's not tip hoofing because a hoof is the tip of the toe. Anyway, the CMC enter Sugarcube Corner and sit at the table bobbing their adorable heads to the music while drinking milkshakes...
Gif. By Ikillyou121 on devientat
*Grasps chest and falls out of chair, but not before grabbing five insulin needles*
*Injects them into veins*
*Gets back into chair*
...I apologize. But do not worry, from here on out, we shall not have anymore incidents.
So, what is my opinion of the song called "Babs Song"? I love it! It is addicting and catchy. Even though the song is short, the lines and visuals repeat twice, I enjoy it! My favorite section because of how they say their lines and the visuals has to be:
Why so mean? Why so crude?
Why so angry? Why so rude?
Can't you be nice? Can't we be friends?
Isn't it sad? Is this how it all ends?
Those involved in the song know to have enough variety within the piece to ensure that it isn't too repetitive and that results in it being boring or annoying. Another reason I like the song is that it quickly shows not only Babs Seed bullying them, but also the CMC's thoughts on this whole affair. We the audience can feel the CMC's pain, and, like the questions posted above, wonder if it will on a downer. While it might not end on one, it might end on a bittersweet note like it did in Griffin the Brushoff. Yes, Gilda was being a bully, but it's hard not to feel sad that Gilda lost her childhood friend and likely her only friend.
After the CMC fail in their original plan to avoid Seed the whole time, they return home to find their clubhouse has been taken over by the bullies. This results in Sweetie Belle bailing her eyes out. Now, I know that we are suppose to feel sad for her, but I crack up because she sounds like a tea kettle going off. We also see in this scene that when Tiara and Spoon do the Sugar-lump, rump with Seed she comes her flank. This tells the audience that even amongst her "friends" she feels uncomfortable about the fact she doesn't have a coat cutie. I'm perfectly fine with the number of turns she covered her flank, with the way she treats the CMC, and with the fact she doesn't show that much remorse. I think if she covered her flank too many times I think we would be rolling our eyes over how hard the writers were trying to convince us that Babs was really a nice character. I also think that if she showed too much remorse over what she did, then logically speaking, Babs Seed would just switch sides without the CMC doing anything. Finally, I'm okay with how Bab's treated the CMC because she was a character that was likely bullied badly in her hometown and she is likely mimicking what bullies did to her to the CMC. Another thing to keep in mind is that Babs Seed is likely bullying the CMC harshly because she wants to get back at those that bullied her but she is powerless to bully them. Furthermore, people in a postion of power can have different personalities than before they had power.
After the scene where the Bullies had taken the CMC's Clubhouse, we are then at Sweetie Belle's room in her parent's house. I am fairly certain of this based on the fact that her dad is nearby fishing, and the room is too girly for the tomboyish Scootaloo. I like the fact that the animators gave the CMC more expression and movement in this scene. Like when Sweetie Belle tries to convince the rest of her friends that maybe telling an adult would be a good idea and they faces are stretched along with their necks. I also like it because it explains why they don't just tell an adult. On top of that, I like Scootaloo's face when Apple Bloom tells her that she lost her bed to her cousin.
Finally, I like this scene for it's use of foreshadowing about what the CMC will do to Babs Seed with the shot being on pigs playing in a puddle of mud. It's just a nice and simple way to convey to the audience what they plan on doing to her.
After another commercial break, we have another establishing shot of the Apple Farm house, but this time at night. We then cut to Babs Seed sleeping in Apple Blooms bed and Apple Bloom sleeping on hay with a newspaper as a blanket. I know that I'm suppose to feel sad that Apple Bloom lost her bed to Babs Seed, but it's hard not to find it a bit funny. The reason is that, as far as I know, domestic horses sleep on hay, so Apple Bloom is just sleeping on something that any domestic horse would normally sleep on anyway. Of course, we aren't suppose to think of that, but it's hard not to. Anyway, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo signal to Bloom by mooing that they have the supplies needed to make the float. I find it funny that none of the cows were offended by Sweetie Belle making cow noises. Either Sweetie Belle can speak cow, or the other cows are used to other ponies making cow noises.
Once Apple Bloom sneaks past Seed sleeping, we then cut to the CMC going into a barn. Inside the Barn is likely the frame work of their pumpkin float that still remained after Seed destroyed it. Scootaloo takes out luster dust and blows it and it sticks to Sweetie Belle. She explains that it's from Sugar Cube Corner and it's used to decorate cakes. It kind of find it assuming that they are using an item that is used to decorate a food to decorate the outside of a float. Sweetie Belle tells the other CMC that the luster dust must be what Rarity uses for her edible boots. Of course, I must say that using something that has the word dust in it on something edible does not sound healthy. However, it could be fine if they boil the boots, but I would ask Charlie Chaplin about that because he is an expert on how to cook footwear. When they are painting the luster dust onto the giant apple float, dust goes into the air. I'm no expert on this subject, but it seems really unhealthy to use a product that throws dust into the air while in a fairly closed building without having fans on nor wearing masks. We see that a kitchen timer plays some role in their plan for revenge against Seed.
We then get a montage of them building the float as the A-Team music plays in the background. I love this reference because children will enjoy the music, but Adults will get the reference. After that pretty awesome reference, the CMC finish the float just as the sun is rising. I must say, I'm pretty surprised that no one woke up because of all the noise they were making when building the float. Well, I'm not surprised about Babs Seed because she grew up in the city, so she is used to it. However, in previous episodes, Cutie Pox and Family Application Day, Applejack has been woken up twice in the middle of the night and Big Mac has once. My guess is that Applejack and Big Mac spent money on earplugs so they could get a good night sleep. Why didn't Granny Smith wake up? Well, because she is Granny Smith.
We then cut to the Harvest Day Parade, and the song to lead the parasprites out of the town in the season 1 episode 10 episode called "Swarm of the Century" plays in the background. Digibrony notes in his "Thoroughly Analyzing "One Bad Apple" REMIX w/ Commentary" video that the word parasprites was a word used in the show that the fandom now uses it when referring to haters and bullies. During "Swarm of the Century," Pinkie Pie used that song to have the Parasprites follow her out of town, and he notes that in One Bad Apple the CMC are trying to get a bully to leave town.
While that reasoning is a good one, I do have an alternative explanation. People who do background music only have a short time to create background music to fit each scene in an episode before it airs. Given the lack of time they have in creating background music, they will reuse background music that fit the scene in order to save time. I bring this up because the "Parasprite song" was used in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" season 1 episode 23 and "Canterlot Wedding Part 1" season 2 episode 25. While I'm not denying the fact that putting the Parasprite music in this scene could be intentional, it is also not likely that it was a happy coincidence.
Back to the review. The Bullies see the Golden Apple of Discord and Sweetie Belle keeps saying things that imply that something is going to go wrong with the float. That was enjoyable. I also love how the CMC have everything planned, even a mattress in the right postion so when Seed pushes them out of the way, they all land on it. Only shortly after this scene, Applejack comes up and tells them that she is happy that they are being friendly to Babs Seed because she was bullied. Now, I've read that some people have a problem with this scene. People are mad at Applejack for telling the CMC just after Babs hopped into the rigged float and the fact she didn't tell the CMC straight away. First off, Applejack had no idea the float was rigged so it's unfair to get mad at her for telling them afterwards. Next, Applejack told them later because she wanted their friendship to bloom without them being reminded that she was having it rough back home. I can just imagine the CMC letting her win in order to make her feel better. Regardless, I'm fine with when Applejack told the CMC.
The CMC try to chase after the float but are unable to catch up, but are able to catch up to Pinkie's float. They get into her float and chase after the float. Scootaloo floors it, likely being taken by Spongebob, and they catch up to Seed. However, when they try to warn her that the float she is in is rigged, she rams into them and they lose control and crash. Pinkie Pie was funny. I love all the scenes she is in and I like the scene when and she says "Veggie Salad" because her float was made with actual lettuce and it looks like a salad. I also like how Apple Bloom said "Really" when she found out that Pinkie Pie built her float out of actual lettuce.
After Pie's float is destroyed, the CMC chase after the Golden Apple on hoof. unfortunately, they are too late and the timer goes off. This makes it so it steers over the cliff and Seed can do nothing to stop it. She hyperventilates and suffers white-knuckles. However, likely for her, the CMC some how catch up to the float, even though only moments before when they were running on hoof they couldn't reach it, but, whatever. They knock Babs Seed out of the float before them and it crush into the mud that is at the bottom of a cliff.
We then cut to AJ, CMC and Bads at the Apple Family Farm. The CMC are taking a bath after the dip into the mud. During this scene, the CMC just restate information that happened earlier in the episode. In the end, they make up and start over. I like wet mane Sweetie Belle.
The first time I heard her say "Oooh, why does life have to be ironic" I laughed out loud. I honestly thought that the episode was going to end with everyone laughing, but I was surprised that the episode kept going.
We then dissolve to the CMC at the club house with Seed. The CMC are wearing their capes that they haven't worn for a while.
One thing I like is Sweetie Belle reading the massive letter. It's just funny how it starts off normal, but soon keeps going on and on and eventually she and Scootaloo have to skip about half of it to finish quickly enough. It's even funny to know that Scootaloo was the one who wrote it. Scootaloo is best writer. Another thing I love is how Scootaloo just bangs those drums, and then goes straight face and pauses for a bit before banging the drum one more time. That always makes me laugh every time.
Youtube video by xXNightBladeStarXx
(Scootaloo: I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet. But your kids are
gonna love it. )
I think what works is the fact that there is a pause before she bangs it again and the fact she has a straight face when she does it. Also, Babs Seed looks cute when she is blushing.
We then cut to the CMC, Babs Seed, and Applejack at the train station. We learn that Babs Seed has an older sister and that Apple Bloom wants the Cutie Mark Crusaders to expand to Manehatten. First, the CMC will take Manehatten, then the world! Before she can leave to go back home, the bullies show up. They are mad that she is leaving and they make fun of the CMC. Babs sticks up for them and she warns them that she will tell their mothers on them. They get scared and Seed gives off a scary face that closes them to fall into mud. I like Babs Seed's face when she startles, no... I mean when she scares Tiara and Spoon.
The episode ends shortly later with Seed going on the train and them laughing over Sweetie Belle explaining how Babs Seed is bad in a good way and the ponies laughing.
And the episode is done. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable episode. It isn't an amazing episode, but it's fun to watch and I don't mind watching it over and over again. It's actually a fairly good bully episode without feeling it's too forced. Of course, it's not for everyone, but that's fine. At least check it out because you might enjoy it.
TL;DR
The plot was basic, but enjoyable. Babs Seed was a nice addition to the MLP:FIM cast. I loved the opening teaser for the episode. It was enjoyable to see Apple Bloom run around trying on different outfits, and it does a good job providing humor and exposition to the audience by having the ponies move around instead of standing still. The scene with the CMC showing Babs Seed around the Clubhouse was just so adorable. It was so cute to see Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo pretending to eat cereal and pretending to think. It's just like what a little kid would do when showing something off to someone else. I liked how they used hints to tell us that Babs Seed was embarrassed by having her cover her flank with her tail. I like this because it gets the viewer to think about what it means instead of the writer telling the viewer what it means. Of course, at some point, it should be a good idea for the writer to tell us what the character was going through so we can make the connection between the covering of her flank and her being bullied. This is good writing because the writer does not insult the viewers intelligence. The song "Bad Seed" was a catchy 70s like song. Special mention to the pony milkshake scene that causes cuteness overload in that musical number. The Golden Apple of Discord and the A-Team reference was a nice touch. It are these little touches that make the show enjoyable because the writers, animators, and the background music artist are each putting in a reference or joke that can apply to not only the kids but also to the adults. The kids and adults enjoy the A-Team music, but the adult will get the reference. Also, for the Golden Apple of Discord, the kids will think its cool while the adults will get the reference. CMC putting a mattress only a few feet away so when Babs Seed pushing them, they land on it, was humorous. We also got wet mane ponies again, and Sweetie Belle with messy wet hair getting frustrated with why the world was so ironic was just so funny. It was surprising that they even had time to fit in Babs Seed joining the CMC and having her tell off Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. To be honest, I thought the episode was going to end with Sweetie Belle splashing the water and then having the rest of the ponies laugh, but it kept going, in a good way. I like the last scene with Seed telling them off because it shows that Babs was not afraid of being bullied anymore This was a great way of showing to the audience that she truly learned her lesson.In short, the episode was memorable and I'm willing to go back and watch it multiple times.
My best guess is that the writer thought it would be funny that when they fell into the mud, that a Pig would pop out. The reasons for why they choose a pig is likely because it's a joke that Tiara and a pig are similar. They are both pink and play dirty. There might also be some connection between rich people and pigs, but I'm not 100% certain. 
Just sorry that I disappointed you. D: 
