Episode Re-Review: Grannies Gone Wild · 4:00pm May 4th
Well, Tell Your Tale finally decided to try to do something interesting, because the last episode showed Sunny's mom in a flashback. But they didn't even give her a name, let alone elaborate on what happened to her. And given the way Tell Your Tale progresses, I'm not expecting any follow-up anytime soon. Getting back to G4, Season 8 hit its first stumbling block only four episodes in, and the School of Friendship was already looking like a bad idea because it was a plot restricter rather than a plot enabler. And what was on tap next? Not an episode focused on the school or any of the new characters introduced. Nope, it was a Rainbow Dash episode. And boy did she need something to make up for the way her last few focus episodes went down, with such infamous mistakes as "Newbie Dash", such hotly contested episodes such as "Parental Glideance", or even just the disrespect shown to her in "Top Bolt", with only "Daring Done" really doing anything meaningful for her (and even that had her just be captured anti-climatically). The writer for this episode was G. M. Berrow, whose previous writing endevors on the show had been mostly good but not necessarily the best. Like with "Fake It 'Til You Make It", hardly anyone talks about this episode, even within Season 8 as a whole. Is there a reason for that? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins at the Wonderbolts academy with Rainbow Dash overhearing some of the Wonderbolts talking about a rollercoaster called The Wild Blue Yonder. And it just so happens to be a Wonderbolt right of intiation to go on it. There's just one problem, it's in Las Pegasus and it's going to be closing down for good soon. Funny how just a season later, it will supposedly still be in operation.
Rainbow Dash ultimately laments to Applejack of all ponies that she can't go to Las Pegasus to ride the coaster because she has to teach at the School of Friendship. So once again, Twilight's friends serving as teachers seems to interfere with their ability to have a life of any sort outside of it, and there is still no provision in place for substitutes despite how much time has supposedly passed. Honestly, it feels like the referneces to the school are tacked on more than anything, just to explain why characters are doing or not doing things. Chances are that episodes like these were late additions to Season 8, or even perhaps hold over scripts that they decided to come back, maybe because the school mandate threw everything out of whack and prevented the writers from coming up with more ideas. Even then, though, leaks show that there were already several shelfed and scrapped episode ideas that they could've easily come back to if they really wanted to. Anyway, Applejack offers to cover for Rainbow Dash's classes even though that means Applejack will be pulling double duty. And what's her "condition" for covering for her friend? Requiring Rainbow Dash to chaperone the Golden Horseshoe Gals on their trip to Las Pegasus, specifically so that Big Macintosh can have a break from the chaperone role. Yes, it works out for Rainbow since she wants to go to Las Pegasus, but why does Applejack feel the need to add a stipulation when she knows how badly her friend wants to ride the rollercoaster?
Rainbow Dash accepts, despite being dismayed at the idea of basically having to keep an eye on the Golden Horseshoe Gals, which consist of Granny Smith, Goldie Delicious, Apple Rose, and Apple Sauce, the latter two of whom got brand new voice actresses here. Interestingly, the gals get a VIP suite upon checking in at their hotel, which is the very same hotel Flim and Flam run. Yet at no point is this ever a plot point, even when you think it might. There probably is still some bad blood between Granny Smith and the brothers after all they did.
We get a kind of creepy scene of Apple Sauce flirting with the bellhop, and the other Golden Horseshoe Gals tease her about it. Then we have Rainbow Dash accompanying the gals as they check out the hotel and its many entertainment venues. When the gals later settle down for a nap, Rainbow sneaks away to see about getting onboard the Wild Blue Yonder, but finds that there's a huge line to ride it. They never mention tickets or any need to pay for it, so I can only assume that the hotel admission comes with at least one free ride on the coaster. Interestingly, among the ponies cameoing in the line are a ponyfied Rick and Morty.
But just when you think the episode is going to be about Rainbow shirking her responsibility in order to ride the rollercoaster, she refuses to do so and goes back to check on the gals. Instead, the episode has Rainbow Dash be a buzzkill by following Applejack's overly specific instructions, which among other things states not letting any of the gals get too excited and saying that they can only eat soft food. It's weird that Applejack is apparently this patronizing and overprotective. And the episode will not address this in any fashion even though this is obviously a problem. It could arguably be on the same level as when she was literally babying Apple Bloom in "Somepony to Watch Over Me".
Well, eventually, Rainbow watches the gals dance. And they end up attracting the attention of two unicorn magicians named Jackpot and Big Bucks. They actually flirt with the gals, much to Rainbow's audible disgust.
Interestingly, Jack Pot's design looks very similar to that of Trixie's, and Jim Miller confirmed in a tweet that Jack Pot is indeed Trixie's father. The tweet also hinted that Jack Pot may not be aware that he has a child. Sadly, we'll never get follow-up on this even though by this point Trixie was a reoccurring character.
Jack Pot and Big Bucks invite the gals to be volunteers for one of their magic tricks, which involves a sort of underwater escape. But Rainbow Dash panicks and ends up runining the trick, only for Jack Pot and Big Bucks to nervously insist that the gals weren't actually in danger, before pulling off the same escape trick Trixie uses. So is the episode implying that the Golden Horseshoe Gals could've drowned if Rainbow Dash hadn't intervened? I know that Sigfried and Roy's tiger act ended during one of their live shows when one of the tigers supposedly attacked, but these magicians are clearly meant to be nod to the more common types of Vegas performers. Even assuming it's a Houdini reference, Houdini didn't die because he botched one of his escape tricks, he died of a ruptured appendix.
Yet it's this intervention that prompts Granny Smith to ask Rainbow Dash outright why she's constantly being overprotective of them. Rainbow doesn't mention that she was just following Applejack's instructions, she instead claims that she thought the gals were just a bunch of old ponies who couldn't take care of themselves. She also finally mentions wanting to ride the Wild Blue Yonder before it closes, to which the gals reveal that they have VIP passes to get to the front of the line, not unlike the controversial Fast Pass system Disney parks used (and which major theme park chains have since duplicated, albeit as a paid system), which have now been replaced by the paid reservation system Genie+ (which has attracted a rather infamous reputation for not guaranteeing reservations and not including all park attractions). And apparently, the gals can ride the coaster just fine despite how intense it seemingly is. I guess they're like the guests from the Roller Coaster Tycoon franchise in that they can survive super high G-forces no problem.
Then, on the balloon ride back to Ponyville, the gals make Rainbow Dash an honorary member of their group. And the episode weirdly ends with a floating head of Applejack apparently conjured up by Rainbow, with her imaginaing that Applejack approves of the job Rainbow did.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Quite honestly, it seems like it put all its effort into its title. This feels very much like an Applejack episode that was hastily retooled into a Rainbow Dash episode. Everything about this episode seems like it was meant for Applejack, even down to addressing her being overprotective of a family member for no reason. I guess they felt that would be a rehash of "Somepony to Watch Over Me", and decided to change it to Rainbow Dash. But even then, did Rainbow really need to be learning this lesson now that old people can be cool and shouldn't be underestimated? She should be learning lessons related to being on the Wonderbolts, to being part of a team and what would appear to a military unit of some sort. If this were taking place in the first two or three seasons, maybe this lesson would be believable, but by this point in the show run Rainbow Dash should be beyond the point where she needs to learn this sort of thing. Plus, the only reason she ever though the Golden Horseshoe Gals couldn't handle themselves was because of Applejack's overly specific instructions, which had no basis in reality.
It's not even like we see any new part of Las Pegasus, 'cause we don't. Flim and Flam would appear in Season 8 twice, but this wouldn't be one of their appearances. Quite honestly, this episode is just there. It gets a C- as a result. Assuming they were out of ideas and needed to come up with something for a deadline, there were at least half a dozen or so more interesting ideas that we know about from the leaks that could've been used, including an episode about how Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy met as fillies.
Now, because I covered "Surf and/or Turf" back in 2021, we're moving ahead to "Horse Play" which was Princess Celestia's first ever solo focus episode.
Three little tidbits:
1. Based on the fact that Twilight and the CMC weren't featured during Rainbow Dash's montage of talking about the Wild Blue Yonder, I'm guessing this episode takes place at the same place as Surf and/or Turf.
2. Much like Viva Las Pegasus, we get a cameo from Svengallop looking forlorn during the dance club scene.
3. This episode marks the final speaking appearances of Soarin, Apple Rose, and Auntie Applesauce, which means I must share their first and last speaking appearances. Also, since I didn't realize until now that Secrets and Pies was Fleetfoot's final speaking appearance, I thought I'd share her first and last lines here to make up for that.
Apple Rose
Auntie Applesauce
Fleetfoot
Soarin
Well seeing as how the Golden Horseshoe Gals were intended to be a reference to The Golden Girls, this would make Applesauce the Blanche Devereaux of the group.
I can only assume the writing staff didn't want to deal with a subject matter as serious as a deadbeat parent.
No, Rainbow Dash told the GHG that Applejack made her keep a close eye on them. Case in point: