CJF's MLP Reviews: Appleoosa's Most Wanted

Dave Polsky is one of my favorite writers in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. While he is a great comedic writer with episodes such as "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "Over a Barrel," he stepped out of his comfort zone in the fourth season. He tried out different things that weren't heavy on comedy like "Rarity Takes Manehattan" and even a surreal episode, "For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils," all of which he succeeded at. Now that we have an episode written by him this season, I was pretty excited for how it was going to turn out. However, it seems as though he stepped back into his comfort zone, but does that make "Appleoosa's Most Wanted" bad in any way? Not really.

Nice hat, Scootaloo.

The episode begins at Appleoosa's rodeo show. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are interested in taking part so they can get their Cutie Marks. They learn that the town is keeping a close eye on a criminal, and we get a glimpse of his shadow and his hoof print.


The next scene establishes that Applejack and Apple Bloom's cousin, Braeburn, is a horrible foal-sitter. He did not keep an eye on the Crusaders, but no time for that. The large pile of hay that Applejack was stacking up falls down, and thankfully no one got hurt. The townspeople meet up and we get this hilarious moment:

Sheriff: "All right, now, I called for a meeting, not a mob scene."

(Cut to the townsfolk putting away their torches and pitchforks)

Yup, Dave Polsky's comedy is still there. The Sheriff comes to the conclusion that Trouble Shoes was behind the vandalism. A bit of exposition reveals that he's been wrecking the rodeo for quite some time, so he must be a threat. Because of this, Applejack decides to send the Crusaders back home to Ponyville. However, Braeburn convinces Applejack that he will watch over them. Take a guess as to what happens next.

Way to go, man. The Crusaders sneak out to find Trouble Shoes. Sweetie Belle, however, is not exactly into the whole plan, which shows a little bit of development in her character.

As they find the culprit, Braeburn tells Applejack the bad news. She doesn't take it well, and her Big "What?" is priceless. They seek help from the Sheriff to rescue the Crusaders.

The Crusaders find a trailer to dry up from the rain, when suddenly a large horse appears, being none other than Trouble Shoes. The scene establishes him as not an intentional trouble maker, but a klutz.

Trouble Shoes is a pretty interesting character. In terms of design, he is larger than all the other ponies and is close to looking like an actual horse (a Clydesdale horse, to be precise). As for his character, he has a pretty tragic backstory. When he was young, he wanted to be in the rodeo, but he ended up being clumsy. When he auditioned, he got his Cutie Mark that was the shape of an upside-down horseshoe. He interprets his fate as nothing but bad luck. Every time he goes to see the rodeo, he ends up wrecking it by accident. This is a pretty interesting take on a pony not having the Cutie Mark that he or she wants.

As Trouble Shoes takes the fillies back to Appleoosa, the Crusaders plan a way to have him think of his Cutie Mark differently, by having him be a rodeo clown. But just as they come to the realization, the Sheriff catches Trouble Shoes and arrests him for vandalism and filly-napping. The Crusaders try to convince him, but predictably so, Applejack does not let them explain his innocence. That misunderstanding bugged me a little and made me not like Applejack a little, but no time for that, we get a jailbreak!

After a funny joke concerning mattresses (more of Dave Polsky's trademark comedy), the Crusaders engage in the easiest jailbreak ever. Sweetie Belle gets more development by using her magic to move the Sheriff's keys away. Then Apple Bloom tells the Sheriff that the rodeo is starting, so he runs off. Then they set Trouble Shoes free and disguise him as clown.

At the rodeo, Trouble Shoes begins to win the crowd over with his clumsiness. By then, he begins to think of his Cutie Mark the other way around. It wasn't made to last as his cover is blown. The angry mob begins to emerge, but Trouble Shoes and the Cutie Mark Crusaders successfully convince the crowd that he did not mean any harm. The Sheriff is convinced, but tells Trouble Shoes that he still has to pay for accidents. He also asks why he ran off with the Crusaders.

The fillies confess that they ran off after Applejack told them they were not supposed to and as punishment, they have to clean up the rodeo. The episode ends with the Crusaders feeling good about helping out Trouble Shoes realize what his Cutie Mark meant all along.

"Appleoosa's Most Wanted" is good, just not great:

• Dave Polsky's comedic writing is still spot on, resulting in some hilarious moments, my favorite being the mattress joke (it makes sense in context). 
• It's nice to see more of Appleoosa and the things that go on in that town like the rodeo, making for some nice world-building.
• Trouble Shoes is once again an interesting character. He interpreted his Cutie Mark as nothing but bad luck, and I sympathize with him. I see a little bit of myself in him as I think some bad things happen to me due to bad luck.
• Sweetie Belle gets a little bit of development, being the voice of reason in the group and finally using her magic again since "Twilight Time."

Apart from Applejack bugging me due to obviously misunderstanding the Crusaders and the townsfolk being really quick to judge, I don't have many complaints. The story is nothing that spectacular, but it's still well-done. The episode gets a solid...

4/5

By the way, I don't get the reactions towards wet Applejack. Her mane is wet, what's the deal?