Some OCs Review Rarity Investigates · 3:54pm Oct 7th, 2015
So this episode is Part Two of what I like to call the ‘Rarity Trilogy’. I have to say I wasn’t expecting them to do something like this but I LOVE it! Not just because it focuses on Rarity but there is a running theme about dreams throughout. Not the Luna dreams (though there should totally be more Luna… Luna is bestest moon pony!) but the desires and hopes of characters. The first in the trilogy dealt with Rarity’s dream, the second Rainbow’s dream and how Rarity works to stop someone trying to prevent it, and the third is Coco’s dream and helping her achieve it. Just a ton of great interaction and each episode has its own feel and loose connective tissue.
The only problem is that it makes it really hard for me to figure out who to ship Rarity with! Sassy, Rainbow, Applejack, Coco… there are too many to choose from!
Who says you have to choose just one, darling? Mares are like hats… have one for every occasion
Oh…oh. Oh! Oh.
I am a bit sad my theory on how the backhalf of this season would work out turned out to be false. I thought that the ‘Rarity Trilogy’ would set up this whole thing where we’d get 3 episodes focusing on a member of the Mane 6 and the last episode of their trilogy would work as the first episode of the new Trilogy. ‘Made in Manehattan’ would be the end of the ‘Rarity Trilogy’ but the first in the ‘Applejack Trilogy’, with ‘Brotherhooves Social’ and ‘Hearthbreakers’ being the other two parts. ‘Hearthbreakers’ would start the ‘Pinkie Trilogy’ with ‘The One Where Pinkie Knows’ being the second. Looking at what is coming up though I see the order doesn’t support this and I’m disappointed we won’t see this type of storytelling come into play. But enough about that, let’s dig into the episode, okay Mary?
So within the first few minutes we have a character from last episode return: the wonderful Sassy Saddles. As an aside…I love that we are getting the Mane 6 branching out and making new friends. Fluttershy has Tree Hugger, Twilight has her old friends in Canterlot, Rainbow seems to be getting along better with Spitfire, and now Rarity has Coco and Sassy! Pinkie and Applejack are a bit different but they have families to fall back on; Applejack with the large Apple Family and Pinkie now has Maud. Really makes for some interesting stories and I hope we see more art and fanfiction about the Mane 6’s extended friends!
But that isn’t what I want to talk about… because we have A NEW CHARACTER! Shadow Spade, Private Eye! Oh, I just love everything about this and I can’t wait to see what the fandom comes up with when it comes to this character! We already have the fandom writing full Daring Do novels and I hope Shadow Spade gets the same treatment.
Though, now that I think about it, I am REALLY mad that Daring was confirmed as a real pony. I want a Shadow/Daring crossover novel, dang it!
See, I like the idea behind Shadow Spade because it introduces something MLP is lacking: legends and fictional tales. You know why Lord of the Rings and ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ are so beloved?
Because they have short little men in them?
Well, that, and the fact that the worlds have great depth. And they have great depth because they have not only their own cultures but their own version of fiction and fairy tales. In Middle Earth you have all these songs and tales… and yeah, some are based on real events (especially when it comes to elves) but there are also ones that the Hobbits clearly make up just to amuse themselves. ‘ASOIAF’ even more so… again, they have legends based on real events but they also have tales that clearly feel like fairy tales. They also have plays they admit are fictional and novels… it makes it feel lived in. MLP doesn’t really have that. Every time we are introduced to a new tale or legend it turns out to be 100% true. No exaggeration, no embellishment. Ponies are said to be creative but we never SEE that because all their entertainment is just rehashing history.
That’s why I’m in the camp that ‘Daring Don’t’ is a bad episode. It took a fiction that existed in their world and made it real. Everything happened. That episode stole depth from Equestria. Personally, I still love the fan idea that Fluttershy is secretly the author of Daring Do and based her on Dash, which explains how Fluttershy makes her living and why Rainbow and Daring are similar. Oh well.
But Shadow Spade corrects this by giving us another fictional character who has tales and novels that the ponies enjoy. It adds more layers to Equestria and I am all for that.
There is one thing I’m curious about; with the tone the way it was does that mean Equestria had its own version of the Roaring 20s/Great Depression?
I… hadn’t even considered that! I mean, with we figure that 1000 CE is roughly the year 2000 for humans does that mean Shadow Spade takes place in the 920s? Were there hippie ponies in the 970s preaching free love? Did the 980s see ponies in suits with shoulder pads? Grudge rock when Twilight was growing up in the 990s? This is a whole thing that needs to be explored! There were fan theories and such but this is the first confirmation that there might be time periods in Equestria that match up with the human world.
What did you mean by CE?
Oh, that is a fan-made way to designate time. Allow me to explain on this chalkboard.
Of course, that leads to the debate if a new, Fourth Age has begun. Maybe an AR… Alicorn Renaissance. It would be the end of the thousand year reign of Celestia and represent not just Luna’s return but the rise of Twilight and her friends as well as Cadence.
Okay, that’s interesting but let’s focus on the episode… and how great it is that Rainbow Dash wants to make sure Rarity comes to meet the Wonderbolts! I mean, it just shows so much growth as a character! The old Rainbow would never want a mare like Rarity around when she hung out with the Bolts but now Dash is so cute being worried that Rarity can’t attend.
That said… I HATE the Wonderbolt Costumes. Ugh. Especially having them IN COSTUME at a dinner. It’d be a like a knight wearing his chain mail to a king’s dinner. I think the Wonderbolts should have been in dressier casually clothes like Wind Rider or Spitfire’s academy costume. Oh, just imagine Soarin’ dressed like Jaime Lannister instead of that body suit. Mmm… he’s so dreamy… I wish I were Jaime’s sister.
…did I say that out loud?
Speaking of Wind Rider… yeah, I figured he was going to be the culprit early on. I did hope that maybe he was a red herring and it would be revealed that Spitfire did it herself because she wanted Dash to have a chance to live her dream but know she wouldn’t just accept Spitfire sitting out but… well, we get what we get. That said, I love Wind Rider. Just like with Shadow Spade he adds more depth to Equestria, this time in the form of history, namely the Wonderbolts. Who, weirdly enough, we don’t know a ton about. They are this big thing in the series but we’re never quite sure their history or even their role in Equestria. Are they just showponies? Part of the military? They seem to be this weird entity that is never explained. That’s why Wind Rider is nice… he gives us a tiny glimpse at their past.
I do wish they had thrown in a little bit where it was revealed that Spitfire’s mom was also a former Wonderbolt. It would have created a nice dichotomy: she represents the mare who looks at her past fondly but is able to accept it is gone and look towards the future… while Wind Rider is the stallion that can’t let go of the past and by trying to cling to it he ruins his future and legacy. But 22 minute episode and all that.
Yeah yeah, indepth analysis… who cares, Rainbow dancing! Too awesome!
But what’s NOT awesome is how the Wonderbolts, like every other pony in Equestria, forgets that Dash is one of the Element Bearers and maybe should be given the benefit of the doubt before you accuse her of crimes!
Luckily Detective Rarity is on the case! SQUEEEEEE!
You know, this is probably why we shouldn’t do these reviews without Tydal; he keeps us on track and doesn’t let us interrupt each other.
What are you two doing?
T-Tydal! Hee Hee… we’re…uh…
Are you doing the review without me?
Okay… okay. Before you get upset, hear us out. We knew that you hated this episode so we decided to review it ourselves that way you wouldn’t have to deal with it.
I love this episode.
Say what now?
This episode is easily in my Top Ten Favorites.
But… but it is a mystery episode! And you hated the last one!
I didn’t hate “Mmmmystery on the Friendship Express” because it was a mystery story. I hated it because it was a BAD story. Heck, calling it a ‘mystery’ is just wrong. It was a chance for Pinkie to do goofy things, her friends to act WILDLY out of character, and it didn’t bother to provide any clues. It was set up to be an homage to Sherlock Holmes stories or Murder on the Orient Express but turned out to be nothing of the sort. The jokes fell flat and what winks they did give were poorly done.
This episode is the reverse of that. ‘Rarity Investigates’ gave us an interesting mystery. Sure, some might have figured out that Wind Rider was the culprit but that doesn’t hurt the story. A lot of times when I read a mystery I can figure out the culprit pretty quick. The fun is seeing how the detective does it… notice the clues as they do and connect the dots along with them. This episode gave us just that.
Furthermore, the homages were just excellent. The black and white color palette, the costumes, the music, the narration… all of it was spot-on. You could tell that the writers really loved those types of movies and truly wanted to have fun introducing them and poking playful fun at them.
But what about the fact this is a Rarity episode?
I admit that she isn’t my favorite of the Mane 6 but I don’t hate her as a character. I hate her for the way the writers portray her.
What do you mean?
Too many times Rarity’s ‘bit’, as it were, is her fussy narcissistic attitude and her ability to make problems for herself or, even worse, make what is already an issue even bigger. More often than not when a problem arises it is because of Rarity herself and she needs others to help her out. It makes her a rather annoying character. Now, at times a character who makes problems worse can work really well if they ‘pull themselves up by their bootstraps’; Rainbow Dash would be a good example of that.
Aw yeah. That is why I am awesome!
Dash, I don’t think ‘she causes a ton of problems because she is narcissistic but at least she fixes them’ is something to be proud of.
Pfffff! Says you! Who wants to do the happy dance with me?
Oooo! Me, me!
…anyhoo. This episode is different. Not only is Rarity not the cause of the problem, she actively works to fix it from the very start. And while she still acts in character those traits don’t keep her from being a great detective and putting all the pieces together.
Let me ask you something… what would you say is Rarity’s greatest trait?
Her generous spirit? Her creativity?
For me, I feel it is her attention to detail. Look at her designs… she is able to make these great outfits because she sees every piece and understands how they fit together. How a hat or a bracelet can make a dress look better or how the right pair of shoes can bring out the color in a pony’s eyes. It is this trait that also makes her a wonderful detective, as she was able to see the little things no one else did and, more importantly, connect them all together and see how they fit. I personally hope the writers don’t forget this and we see Rarity show more of this in the future. Let her be the member of the cast that is able to notice details that help the Mane 6 defeat a villain or solve a problem. Let her be the detective.
So… we’re all in agreement? This was a great episode?
Completely.
Meh, 7 out of 10, too much water. Did I do that right? Is that how the meme works? Seriously, great episode.
Well, I am just thrilled that you loved this episode! And I hope this means that any issues we had in the past have been brushed aside and are past us.
…I’m still finding orange paint in places.
Er… heehee… right.
First, credit where credit is due. Background by bleukettu and blushing Rarity vector by lulzy12
Alright, review number 2! Once more I am playing with the format a bit, to see what works better. There is a plus and minus to this version: the plus is I can post the full review on my blog here and it is much easier to write out the review. The negative is it is a PAIN to format it, as I pretty much need to do two to three different versions for different mediums. The main issue is what is worse... doing the hard stuff at the beginning or the end.
Let me know what you think and any suggestions you might have. Would you like to see more of the older episodes covered (considering I finally broke down and bought the first three seasons on dvd... stop chanting 'one of us, one of us!')? Cover more wide range topics, like thoughts of over-arching plots? Or just stick to new episodes?
XD Poor Tydal... points to Rarity for having the balls to do so though.
I'm gonna assume that Mary is just getting Spitfire's name wrong, because there was a lot of talk about Firefly, and thus far the only Firefly mentioned has been the historical founder of the Wonderbolts.
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Yeah, that was a case of my spellcheck deciding to not listen to what I really wanted. Fixed. Thanks!
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Ah, spellcheck gremlins. Yeah, it happens.
I like this format. It's less bulky. I suppose it's also easier for you to fix mistakes and change things.
Older episodes would be cool, too. It would help me remember things. Celestia knows I haven't watched episodes like Griffon the Brush Off since 2011 or so.
Dragon dude I haven't memorized the name of yet didn't mention Power Ponies among the fictional fiction, and we all know comic books are the deepest of fiction. Or did the comics or books reveal the Power Ponies are actually real? That would suck.
Also, Rarity at her best is best pony. Even compared to the other mane six written at their best.
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The issue is how they INSTANTLY swarm her and are basically getting in her face. Rather than handling it calmly it was clear they had all made up their minds and it was only Soarin' who got them to stand back for a bit.
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I like it too. Again, there will be experimenting till I get it figured out but the best part is that I can post the whole review on the blog now.
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As for the Power Ponies, I think I keep forgetting about them, fiction-wise, because the episode had the Mane 6 take over those roles. But it is another example of fiction in their world.
Ha.
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One of the things you might notice is that Mary in the reviews isn't quite like the Mary in 'The God Squad', in that this Mary is more bubbly and prone to trying to meme while God Squad Mary is more of a snarker. The way I see it is 'The God Squad' is a show that Mary and Tydal act in and the reviews are really them with their true personalities.
That said, next week I plan to begin doing bios for our three reviewers so you can learn more about this version of Tydal, Mary Sue, and newcomver Flicker Flame (the Brony Drony!)