S5 E14 AverageAmazing Reacts to New Episode! · 6:57am Sep 13th, 2015
A new blog series where I share my thoughts on the latest episodes. Spoilers (obviously) so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch it and come back. 
Today's episode is the Rarity-centric "Canterlot Boutique"
So, the breakdown. Rarity opens a boutique in Canterlot (Canterlot Carousel), inviting the girls over and even talks Twilight into a little modelling.
You see, our hard-working hoof-stitcher has hired a helping hoof to make sure the shop is ship-shape for the Grand Opening. Sassy Saddle steals the spotlight, focusing on the final feature; a glass-inspired gown great for galas and going around town. To make matters more maddening, our resident runway ruiner renamed said show-stealing piece the 'Princess Dress.'
Rarity speaks up after the show, only to be greeted by one hundred orders for the Princess Dress. Our distracted designer deems it necessary to honor the orders and in time comes to resent how things go. The creative spark flickers, but returns to her with a little help from a pile of gems. Unfortunately, this backfires when the customer insists on the original Princess Dress. Rarity's morale runs at an all-time low, in spite of the huge popularity of one of her designs. Finally, she can take no more and announces her going out of business sale, much to Saddle's chagrin. As her manager sulks, Rarity takes control of the final sale and showcases the other designs that had gotten the cold shoulder from Sassy. In spite of the absence of the Princess Dress, this sale goes off very well. Her customers come to find that the other dresses in the collection are even more perfect and personalized. My personal favorite is a very monotonous mare who takes a shine to the Princess Luna inspired gown.
Rarity decides to cancel the closure of Canterlot Carousel thanks to the reaction from this closing sale. Sassy comes to realize that Rarity's way works as well, with the added bonus of having a happy designer. The two make amends, with Rarity insisting that Saddle stay to manage Carousel while Rarity returns to Ponyville.
I feel like there was a lot to this episode, especially in the sub-text. Sassy Saddle has a lot of potential here on FimFic and I'm excited to see how the fandom writes her. Personally, I take her dialogue into account. She's apparently had many boutique closures in her past, so she's desperate to make things work here. Sassy's trying her hardest to make Carousel work as best as she knows and it works. I think 300 orders for one dress design shows how well her ideas work. The problem is that she's railroaded Rarity the entire way, unable to see how Rarity's TLC business model would also work. It would be easy to say that the show punishes Sassy for trying to do things the assembly-line way, but that's wrong. It shows that Sassy's way works, even shows how some consumers really do want something just like everypony else. That mass-production way is not villainized, it's just not what Rarity wants. Let me say that again, the show is not attacking Sassy for her mass-marketing thinking, it is taking her to task for doing so against Rarity's objections and sacrificing an entire line just so one design would skyrocket in popularity. Sassy's way sold and sold well. Rarity's way was also popular and fit with her own moral code.
Little touches in this episode, like Sassy helping out with visual aids during Rarity's presentations during the Grand Opening, made it fun to watch. The back and forth between Sassy and Rarity is great. Sassy's manipulations were frustrating to watch, but very well-thought-out. Rarity's song during this episode was great at capturing her full range of emotions during Princess Dress debacle.
Nitpicks? So during the Grand Opening, Rarity is standing in front of a set of curtains, clearly about to reveal Twilight in the 'Reign in Stain' only to be cut off by Sassy announcing the Princess Dress with Twilight entering from the top of the stairs. Sooo, did Sassy run her hooves off making sure that Twilight would be up the stairs instead of behind the curtain AND make sure Rarity didn't know about it? Not impossible, I guess, just a little baffling that Saasy could pull off a bait and switch like that. Another is Rarity's rather dramatic souring on the 'Princess Dress,' even going so far as to call it flawed and even Terrible Lackluster and Common. Um, it's still her design. Yeah, it's not the 'Reign in Stain' and it is being worn by everypony and their dog (okay, not literally but now I kinda want to see Winona in it) but we're given no other indication that Rarity is skimping on quality or that the dresses she's making are any different from the first one. This, of course, just be indicative of her own artistic morale towards a design hijacked by another pony. Okay, final nitpick, Pinkie. Strawberry Cinnamon Cilantro Cupcakes? Really? And the flavor wouldn't clash quite that badly. Then again, cilantro does apparently have some disparity as far as how different people taste it; some say it's lemon or lime-like while others think it's soapy. Then again, I have no idea how baked cilantro would taste, neither would I recommend it as a baking ingredient. I guess I'll leave it to a more daring baker to try it and see if the taste is really that bad.
What did you all think?
I have to admit. It was pleased with the episode did not show mass production as a vilain thing. The first Flim Flam's bro episode was a disaster because of that. I also like the take of a more realistic setting with a manager and not one of the mane 6 doing the job of 20+ ponies. I was really surprised on a good way, no insane greed from Rarity is a nice thing.
You should write a mature fic with Sassy Saddle for insta feature box! xD
3389685 I have thought about it. Dunno if I should, considering how many other things I'm working on.