Applejack had some good stuff in this episode. Perhaps it was mostly about her being stubborn, but it showed that what is driving her stubborn attributes is actual a fear of disappointing people. She sets unreasonable standards for herself, and she projects those onto the ponies around her. In that way, she is similar to  Rainbow Dash, who is plagued by an inferiority complex that drives her boasting. They are both burdened by their pride, and put themselves through a lot trying to maintain it. Though this seems like a redundant point, it develops the character because we now have a clearer picture of what motivates her actions.

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Pinkie Pie was amazing in this episode.

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Nuff said.

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I bet you know what I'm going to talk about next. Two words, Derpy Hooves.

Here is a clip of her appearance in the new episode. [link]

First off, despite all my opinions about her portrayal, her scenes were friggin' adorable. I love her voice and her personality in this scene a lot.

Do I think the scenario here was a good way to handle her first speaking appearance? No, no I do not. The character Derpy, a phenomenon of legendary proportions in and of herself, is a very touchy subject. The fact that this scene exists is quite remarkable. She has risen to fame because of what might be seen as a defect or handicap in the real world. She goes wall-eyed at times, seems to be quite clumsy, and appears to lack an awareness of her surroundings. This has the potential to be incredibly controversial. Despite all that, Thiessen had the confidence to try and acknowledge the Derpy meme and elevate her to a place as an official character in the actual series. She is voiced by Tabitha St. Germaine, the actress who plays Rarity and Luna.  This is a big deal. With that in mind, the choices made about Derpy should be made carefully. In the interest of political correctness, having what amounts to a mentally handicapped character be the object of recurring slapstick comedy is not an ideal choice. Having that define the majority of her appearances is even worse.

See, it isn't bad to have a disabled character. It also, is not wrong to have her be incorporated in comedic moments. The problem here, is that you have to consider how your depiction of such a character will impact viewers. While Derpy doesn't have any particular syndrome, she represents an aggregate of many different ones. What this episode is saying about people with disabilities is unfortunate, but not as bad as it could be. The heavy handed slapstick is the main issue. It is not only uncomfortable to watch a Derpy repeatedly and pointlessly fail, but disappointing because I want to see more from her than just that. I hope in future episodes, she gets a more sensitive portrayal. Again, it wasn't altogether horrible, but such a thing should be handled more carefully. Snails is an example of a well handled character that happens to be "slow". If they can strike a better balance between humor and sensitivity in the future, Derpy has great potential.

I really really do love her though. She should be more considerately portrayed in her actions, but she could not be cuter. I like how her voice changes inflection a bit with each line. Her voice is just precious.