Episode Re-Review: Simple Ways · 2:40pm Apr 4th, 2021
"Pinkie Pride" had brought Season 4 back to the heights it had flirted with at the start of its run, many were ready to start calling it the best season of all. So to close out the first half, Josh Haber returned to pen this episode involving Rarity and Applejack. Romance had been a weak point of the show stretching back to at least "Hearts and Hooves Day", but was Josh Haber as a new talent able to succeed where others had failed? Well, let's find out.
The episode begins in the center of town as we learn that Ponyville is getting ready for another celebration, this one is Ponyville Days to commemorate the town's founding all those years ago. More specifically, they're deciding who will be in charge of organizing the festival. The one chosen is Rarity, who already happens to have a model on hoof and an idea of what she wants to do. The theme will be "Small Town Chique" which involves things like a cider tasting (like fine wine tasting), a dance in the center of town and even a fashion contest. With only three days to go before the festival, Rarity enlists the help of all her friends to get things ready: Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash will put up decorations, Applejack will get Sweet Apple Acres ready for the cider tasting and Twilight and Fluttershy will help out with the fashion show (which we never see). All of this is so Rarity can impress her idol, Trenderhoof, a traveling fashion blogger. And she has an entire shrine dedicated to him, including a clip of hair from his mane.
Twilight teases Rarity over her apparent "crush", which is meant to be a call back to Rarity teasing Twilight about her feelings for pony Flash (even though you can't call it a "crush" when you've just met someone). But Rarity reveals that this is no mere crush, it's an outright obsession. It even causes her to make a scene at the train station when she needs Twilight to go with her for reassurance, and when Trenderhoof does show up Rarity is too overcome with emotions to go up and talk to him until Twilight forces her out into the open. Fortunately, Trenderhoof is a nice guy and he and Rarity soon get to talking. Rarity even brings him to Sweet Apple Acres, indicating that she had at one point planned to convert it into a country inn for the festival. Not sure how she could do that when it's a way of life for an entire family.
Suddenly, however, Trenderhoof happens to spot Applejack and he becomes smitten with her just doing what she does. Rarity is naturally devastated by this and sulks in her little shrine to Trenderhoof, which is where Spike catches her. Oddly enough, when Rarity mentions obsessions and finding out that your obsession has feelings for someone else, Spike says nothing even though you'd think he would want to chime in. I mean, he did confess to having a crush on Rarity and it was pretty heavily implied that she knew.
Then Rarity goes into the whole "What's X got that I haven't got?" routine as she wonders what Trenderhoof could possibly see in Applejack. Meanwhile, Trenderhoof is talking to Applejack (or rather, from the way it's presented it looks like he's talking to her rear) and Applejack is doing her best not to look weirded out. She makes it clear that she considers Trenderhoof a nice guy (bet you can see where that conversation's gonna go), right before Rarity shows up wearing a straw hat, boots and a little basket. She declares that she was "inspired" by Applejack's work, hoping that it'll win over Trenderhoof. But it doesn't, he still only has feelings for Applejack which leaves Rarity dejected and jealous all over again. Still, she attempts to demonstrate that she can be a farmer too. Applejack warns her that she could sprain a hoof if she doesn't do the bucking process just right, and you'd think that's what would happen to Rarity.
But she actually does succeed in knocking loose an apple. However, Rarity does mess up on plowing when she tries to ride atop it. Spike does question her interest, which Rarity insists is because she needs to do it in order to get Trenderhoof to care about the festival but Spike of course sees right through it. It's possible he knows this isn't going to work out already, and is intent on just being a support for Rarity until she comes around. But at the same time you do think he'd be a bit annoyed by all of this. At least Rarity does call him "Spikey Poo:, though it doesn't have the same ring to it as nicknames like "Spikey Wikey" or "Precious Pants".
Applejack gets fed up with Trenderhoof and Rarity's antics and actually ducks into a chicken coop to hide. Soon afterward, Trenderhoof asks Rarity if Applejack will be his date for the ball at the festival and Rarity snaps. Later, she confronts Applejack who insists she isn't trying to steal Trenderhoof and has no idea why he's so interested in her. But Rarity, stricken with jealousy, decides to change up the festival theme to "Simple Ways".
Applejack's reaction to this change is to burst out laughing.
Rarity insists she's serious and tries her best to keep up her country accent and facade, which infuriates Applejack to the point where she decides she'll have to make Rarity see sense. To that end, she enters herself into the fashion show as a model named Applejewel, very much a Southern Belle. At least she's making something of her time in Manehattan when she wanted to be a city pony.
This soon leads to a back and forth between the two until Rarity jumps into a pigpen after claiming she loves "being covered in mud". It's only once she does this and splatters mud on Applejack's dress that she snaps out of it. Applejack then reveals that the dress was one of Rarity's, and Rarity sends Spike away to get some cleaning supplies. Then Trenderhoof shows up dressed as a farmer. He declares that he wants to give up his celebrity life and live on a farm, which Applejack is surprised by and asks if he was considering Sweet Apple Acres. She then tries to claim that she's a something (not sure what she was gonna say), but Rarity finishes for her by stating the moral about how someone should like you for who you are and not who you pretend to be. As a result, Rarity goes back to the original theme and everything goes off without a hitch. Oddly enough, Applejack is totally okay with letting Trenderhoof dance with Granny Smith at the ball despite the age gap. But at the very end, Rarity shows up on a catwalk to accept a rose from Trenderhoof while writing in the journal that being as fabulous as she is is "practically a crime".
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, it's kind of in the same boat as "Pinkie Apple Pie" in that the story itself is low key and often predictable, but it's the characters that make the episode worth watching. Comedy is an easy highlight of this episode despite a few obvious fake outs with Trenderhoof, topped off by the incredible back and forth between Rarity and Applejack as Applejack leans into her new fashionista persona and Rarity falls back on her country stereotypes. Speaking of Rarity, I can buy her crush on Trenderhoof for two reasons. One, she mentions how he's been her idol and inspiration, and they always say to never meet your idols because they're going to disappoint you. Two, I could see her convincing herself that she needed to look beyond outward appearances in order to avoid a repeat of Prince Blueblood.
Trenderhoof himself is interesting, even if he's more of a plot device than an actual character. And I think this episode could be used to make an argument for Applejack being asexual, meaning she isn't romantically attracted to anyone. Asexual doesn't mean she's incapable of ever finding true love, it just means she isn't likely to go out of her way to seek a romantic attraction or a romantic relationship and what she'd want first and foremost is somepony who could be a good worker. I do feel like Spike could have more of a role here, because as it is he's basically friendzoned despite his obvious crush on Rarity (a lot of episodes of Season 4 seem to treat the crush as if it never existed). But even though there are some visible cracks, the comedic highlights throughout especially in the climax are enough for me to give this episode an A+.
But unfortunately, Season 4's second half would not get off to a strong start and would in fact be the beginning of an abrupt dry patch for it with the first such episode being "Filli Vanilli", which everyone refers to as the poor man's "Hurricane Fluttershy".
Asexual doesn’t mean you don’t feel romantic attraction, it means you don’t feel sexual attraction specifically. I think aromantic is the word you’re looking for. You can be both, neither, or only one of them.
Just thought I’d clarify!
This episode is hilarious and a lot of fun
5490082 I feel the same way.
Not my favorite, but I love this episode and fine it good to watch
You're one of the few people to speak highly of this episode. Most other fans would consider it to be average at best and mediocre at worst.