Episode review: S7E13: "The Perfect Pear"

Back in March, I reviewed EbonQuill's Slouching Towards Canterlot for Ponyfic Roundup 150. I enjoyed it a good deal and awarded it four stars. Unfortunately, Pascoite points out in a comment on that PR that it isn't as original as I'd imagined. Disappointing. Hopefully less disappointing is my getting up to date with episode reviews!

Finding a non-spoilery picture for this episode was not easy

It's taken a ridiculous amount of time, but here at last is my review of the halfway point of Season 7. It's another fairly short one, because otherwise you'll still be waiting when S8 begins. This was written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco, and the Lady Writers are usually good value with their episodes. This was a much-anticipated ep, and for anyone who hasn't yet seen it: what's beyond the break will be really, really spoilery. If that's not a problem to you, follow me!

At long, long last, we have seen something of Applejack's parents, and considering the massive expectations this episode had to live up to, I think it did a pretty solid job. Some of the fandom are dubbing it the Best Episode Ever, but I wouldn't go that far – it's not even my favourite episode in this season – but it's certainly one I enjoyed and was happy to rewatch to help me firm up my opinions for this review.

The "family feud" thing is really the only way you can make the fact that AJ and her siblings were shocked by all this make any kind of sense. Given how close the family is, it still stretches credulity a little that they knew nothing about it, but the story as a whole is strong enough to paper over that particular crack – and one or two others that we encounter along the way.

Oh, pick your own damn caption for this one, fandom :P

Pear "Buttercup" Butter and Bright Mac make a sweet enough couple, even for someone like me who is rarely interested in seeing romance in FiM. I like that we get to see them at several stages in their growing-up, not merely jumping from that first meeting to them being an established couple. Buttercup's song is also nice – not amazing, but good, and we've been starved of songs in S7.

Grand Pear's story gets sadder the more you think about it. If he really hasn't been back to Ponyville before now, that suggests he wasn't even present for AJ's parents' funeral. (Or funerals; we don't know whether they died together.) On which note, this is probably the closest the show will ever get to confirming their deaths. A shame, but it's good enough I guess.

One small quibble: the loving couple are proclaimed "husband and wife" by Mayor Mare. What happened to "mare and stallion/colt" as we've had in the past? Yes, FiM feels rather less equine than it once did but I'm sorry to lose that terminology. On the whole, though, despite the skating over thin ice on some of the plot, "The Perfect Pear" does a solid job of filling in one of the biggest blanks we have.

Having any cutie-mark-related flashbacks to "Bloom and Gloom", AB?

Best quote: Bright Mac: "Happy one hundred and thirty-one thousand, four hundred and fifty-six hour anniversary, darlin'."

Yays

• We finally know what the Apple Parents were like
• The love story progresses quite organically
• Easily the best song of the season, against little competition
• Grand Pear rejoining the family was heartwarming
• Nice to see Goldie Delicious (and her cats!) again

Neighs

• It's best not to think too hard about some plot specifics
• That "husband and wife" thing

★★★★