>>29455
Family Appreciation Day is actually one of my favorite episodes.
I think it comes off as contrived on the first viewing because Granny never had a history of embarrassing her family members before, but then Diamond Tiara, an obvious bully, suggests to Apple Bloom that Granny Smith may be a kooky old lady, one that's going to make a fool of her in front of their entire class--and Apple Bloom just believes her. Suddenly, everything Granny does is embarrassing.
This isn't unbelievable or ooc or anything like that, especially when a kid as young as Apple Bloom is your main character this time. But as viewers, we know that there's obviously going to be more to the story than that. Still, most of act two is spent on gags centered around Apple Bloom trying to keep Granny from attending Family Appreciation Day. The story beats around the bush here imo (it did give us Scootaloo in a bell hop outfit though. So cute!) The Zap Apple lore, learning about them, helps keep things more interesting than they would have been otherwise, while we wait for Granny's presentation.
Like you said in your review, Granny was just a gag character before this episode fleshed her out. She was the eccentric old pony. And after they've established Apple Bloom's fear of being embarrassed by her, they leaned harder into that eccentricity than they ever did. Granny wears a bee beard, she starts talking to glass jars, etc. Of course later we learn that all this kookiness ends up serving different purposes, all of them related to making Zap Apple jam. Apple Bloom doesn't realize any of this though, despite the fact that she's been "looking forward to making Zap Apple jam for years." Growing up on the farm, you'd think that she would have asked about the pink polka dots in the kitchen at least once before.
Granny also licks a chalkboard later on, but they don't explain that one.
Anyway, the episode is great because Granny's story ends up being captivating. (She's conveniently lucid during its telling, never forgetting any details or tripping over her words or anything like that, not unlike some old people irl.) She was just trying to help feed her family when she went into the Everfree Forest. Instead she went on a journey that ended with her discovering the secrets of making Zap Apple jam. Listening to her, the class realizes that her story is theirs too. She founded their town, they wouldn't be sitting there right now if it wasn't for her.
Diamond tries one last time to get everyone to see Granny the way she sees her; she tries to poison their view of Granny, like she did with Apple Bloom earlier. But Apple Bloom gets up in front of everyone and finally sticks up for her Granny.
>"She is not a kooky old lady! She is the most amazing pony in all of Ponyville."
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