Episode Review: Season 5 Rarity Arc

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Below you'll find some quick thoughts on the episodes 'Canterlot Boutique,' 'Rarity Investigates,' and 'Made In Manehattan,' the three Rarity-focused episodes with which Hasbro and DHX kicked off season 5's second half. If you're looking for a review on 'Scare Master,' well, even though I have seen the leaked episode in respect for Hasbro's release schedule, I'll hold off on that until Halloween day. But then it's a Fluttershy free-for-all, 'cause damn that was a fun episode! But first, Rarity.

Canterlot Boutique
The Plot
To kick off the post-hiatus festivities, Rarity is waiting for word on the success of her newest business venture: she has used the profits from the outfits she made for Sapphire Shores to open a secondary shop in Canterlot -- in direct accordance with series creator Lauren Faust's wishes! Pinkie delivers the news in lieu of a sick mailstallion with extra alliterative aplomb. Either you like this sory of aural humour, or you don't. Me, I enjoy playing with words. Which helps me write. Admittedly, this sometimes becomes a flag in my narrative, but my characters can be smarta$$es when they want to be, even Gearhead.

We go to Canterlot, where Rarity's friends join her in the pre-opening preparations. Rarity has hired on Sassy Saddles to act as a branch manager. While Sassy seems to be a cross between Cadence or Fleur de Lis with their extra-tall frames, and G3 Rainbow Dash due to her colouring, there's no underestimating that Sassy seems to know her business. Unfortunately she also takes the lead in the debut of Rarity's new Canterlot royalty-inspired designs. Fortunately, while Sassy seems intent on pushing the artist and owner into the sidelines even during the presentation to Canterlot's press and fashion crows, Rarity rolls with it as best she can. In fact, Rarity is more than generous in the amount of control she gives Sassy, until she simply cannot take it anymore and tells her manager that the shop will be closing. Until Sassy basically throws herself on Rarity's mercy, and is fortunate that Rarity decides to give it another go, but with every design except for the 'Princess Dress,' of which Sassy had forced Rarity to make hundreds. Sassy realizes the importance of variation and 'the Rules of Rarity,' and the two adjust. Canterlot Carousel will continue its operations with Sassy in charge, while Rarity returns to Carousel Boutique in Ponyville as her main base.

Analysis
Profits and passion are not mutually exclusive, although many jobs are so drab and dragging that if you're stuck in one, it may seem that way. A person is extremely lucky to find a career he or she enjoys, and which can support her or his lifestyle and any dependants in his or her life. Sassy Saddles's role in this episode is as a business manager, trying to optimize Rarity's productions and profits. She understood these things very well from the top of the episode, and even impressed Twilight, although Applejack and Rainbow Dash were skeptical about how much Sassy seemed to want to control about the operation. And she did take control. Few would argue that Sassy did not overstep her boundaries in ordering Rarity into the back to work on the 'Princess Dress' as though she was part of an assembly line -- something which Sassy mentions she had in the works so Rarity would never have to sew another stitch again -- a sentence that may as well be considered as death to a once-passionate artiste like Rarity.

In theory, Sassy's business practices were not entirely wrong: she took one product that was successful and focused on creating enough of them to (super)saturate the market. Unfortunately Sassy did not allow for any variations, even minor ones made to the same dress, and she excluded all other products -- even the ones that were part of the same line. It made me wonder what Sassy's 'pattern' would tell her once the market was oversaturated with the 'Princess Dress.' Perhaps this is how all of the previous shops with which she was involved went under, as Sassy herself reveals in a single line.

Put another way, lets pretend that Sassy was in charge of one of the production firms for Bandai. Ignoring the S. Figuarts line, and even most Gunpla, she chooses to focus on the G-Self or the Barbatos, both relatively new Gunpla kits. The firm produces thousands of the one figure, and sales are going well. Meanwhile, however, customers begin to clamour for Crossbone Full Cloths, GN Archers, and Revives of several different varieties. Sassy's firm would have to shift its focus and production line entirely to meet the demand, moving to different methods to produce the kits. Not only that, the G-Self and Barbatos are incomplete kits on their own, with more equipment to come the same way kits that have different equipment packs are incomplete. So either way the firm has to retool its processes. Worst case, if Sassy focused on the G-Self because it had the newness of novelty, but got hit by its less-than-impressive appearance and articulation, she would be left with hundreds of unsold kits -- and so operate at a loss instead. If this is what happened at her previous shops, I would not blame her for panicking.

It's because of this that I appreciate Sassy's willingness to learn about the art side of the business from Rarity, so she can lead Canterlot Boutique to success in Rarity's absence. Yes, meeting the demand is important, but first the demand must be established. The 'Princess Dress' was popular mostly because of Twilight's endorsement, however Rarity's business model allows her to promote a specific selection from a wider variety of designs, looking for something that speaks to an individual customer. What Rarity enjoys most is seeing her customers' reactions to her pieces, and what speaks to them (so in retrospect, her dream sequence in 'Do Princesses Dream...' seems even stranger).

Profit and passion don't have to be mutually exclusive. They can help an experience be a career instead of a job, leaving customers and staff feeling satisfied.

Evaluation
I did not think much of this episode at first, but on reflection it delivers its message quite well. It's an important moral, to be able to balance creativity with the bottom line, in a way most of us can only dream about. I enjoyed it, and the fact that Sassy was not just some one-note character to be used as an antagonist and then written off.

I give this episode a 7 out of 10.

Rarity Investigates

The Plot
We return to Canterlot Carousel where Rarity and Sassy (continuity!) are preparing the new line of clothing based on the Shadow Spade mystery novel series, of which Rarity is a fan. Hm, I wonder if, like Daring Do, Shadow is a real mare. Rainbow Dash bursts in, and we learn she was invited to act as a back-up flyer for the Wonderbolts at a dinner event. We also get confirmation here that Dash is a member of the Wonderbolts Reserve, and one step closer to achieving her dream, just like Rarity, whom she invites along. Rarity accepts, especially since she can show off her new mystery-wear.

At the dinner we're introduced officially to Blaze and Misty Fly, two Wonderbolts who we have seen before, but who were never named. We're also introduced to veteran flyer Wind Rider -- and unfortunately, immediately suspicious of his snickering, overconfident self. Especially where records are concerned. The following day has this suspicion born out, as Spitfire seems to have vanished, and all suspicion falls on Dash, who wanted to fly with the 'Bolts. Rarity decides she's going to clear her friend's name, in the style of Shadow Spade. But probably with more costume changes, which sometimes seem to be a free action, and sometimes not.

Everywhere Rarity and Dash go, Rarity makes observations, although some of them don't seem relevant to Dash, who is impatient and increasingly panicked as the evidence points right back at her. Dash can't make sense of why Rarity seems to be so cake-obsessed, but I can't make sense of why the palace guards can't eat a cake and guard the hall at the same time: there were three of them. Ever hear of shifts? Rarity gets her answers by playing good cop / sexy cop, and then leads Dash back to the other Wonderbolts.

And points the bottom of her hoof at Wind Rider. [fake gasp]. Yes, Wind Rider would unfortunately do anything to preserve his record. He would even buy a cake while dressed as a mare, write a fake letter to Spitfire pretending to be her mother, Stormy Flare, and then leave a sheared-off tuft of rainbow-coloured mane to frame Dash. Dash decides that it wouldn't be fair to let Spitfire miss her role in the flight show because she was off to get a rare plant, so Dash goes after her, even though it should be impossible to get back in time. They do, though, and Spitfire bans Wind Rider from the Wonderbolts, allowing Dash to take his spot in the show.

Analysis

Part of what sells this episode is how far Rarity throws herself into the mystery noir genre: the black and white scenes, the internal (and sometimes bleeding) monologuing, and the smooth jazz all contribute well to the overall ambience and image for the episode as a mystery. As a viewer I can appreciate Rarity's need for proof even though the culprit is obvious almost from his introduction. We can also appreciate Rarity's attention for detail, which stands her in good stead as a fashion mare, and also here as an amateur investigator. While we can see Rarity picking up clues in every scene, it doesn't make sense to anyone without Rarity's specialized knowledge, including Dash. This is much easier to watch than the blocking that was used with Twilight in 'Mmmystery on the Friendship Express' way back in season 2. But then we have the trade-off of the culprit being so obvious here. The suspense is not in how Rarity proves a horse's guilt, but in how she proves Dash's innocence. And then to top it off, we get the ambience, and Dash breaking Wind Rider's precious record because he sent Spitfire off on a wild goose chase. And who doesn't like being introduced to new characters, like Stormy Flare. I like that she's not got a big head simply because her daughter's 'a Wonderbolt.' Screw that: she's the Captain! I also like that Soarin' gets some more characterization as more than a pie-loving screw-up. He set a tough, but fair condition for Dash as the commander-in-charge in Spitfire's absence. He also kept Wind Rider from leaving until Dash could return with Spitfire. What I don't like here are the Wonderbolts' willingness to accuse Dash of the crime, when she has saved them before. But when someone's hit by an idiot stick in this series, they're hit hard.

I give this episode an 8 out of 10.

Made In Manehattan

The Plot

Twilight is bored. Well, at least this time she's not sleep-deprived! But this is the footage people use when Sunset or one of the HuMane6 imply that Twilight's too busy to be bothered with their more mundane problems at the moment -- and remember that without the hiatus, Friendship Games would have lined up better with the season finale -- but 'The Crusaders of the Lost Mark' would not have lined up with the 5 year anniversary, so I think we won more this way. Applejack and Rarity rush, having answered the map's booty call, and Twilight is disappointed that she does not get to go (this is the second time we have had a map quest without Twilight, but only the third time we have had a map quest at all).

As per the map's directions, Rarity and Applejack go to a very specific neighbourhood in Manehattan. AJ is conflicted about being sent to a big, busy city where nopony slows down, and the Manehattanites' rudeness certainly seems to confirm this. Neither have a clue about why the map sent them there until it hits Rarity in the face -- a flyer, that is: Coco Pommel is looking for volunteers to help her put on a small stage performance with a troupe called the Method Mares (despite the name, they have a stallion). Coco tells AJ and Rarity that so far she doesn't have any volunteers, and they decide to help -- Rarity with the costumes, and AJ with the preparation of the grounds for the show. This second part does not go well, with the park where the stage is at has been allowed to become overgrown. Even AJ can only clear a small portion of the vegetation that has grown in, and she doesn't even get to reinforcing the stage before the Method Mares arrive. Also, her poor hat gets chewed up and landed on. There's no Indiana Jones-style last-second saves here.

AJ and Rarity decide to focus on what they can do, putting on a small show in the street instead of a bigger show in the park. Their last-minute play, as poorly-acted as it is, shows the genesis of Charity Heart's movement, which unified the neighbourhood previously. The show, and the effort behind it, inspires the ponies of the neighbourhood to start pitching in in whatever small ways they can, instead of worrying about big contributions, and thus we get not only why the map didn't send Twilight, but the Aesop as well. And AJ gets a new hat, which Rarity buys from the street vendor she generously cheated out of a sale earlier on. And scene.

Analysis

I can certainly appreciate the effort of getting volunteers to get an event going. Toastmasters is entirely a volunteer organization, from the International Director on down to an ordinary club member taking on a Word of the Week or Joke of the Week role at a normal meeting. Encouraging people to take a new roll can be like pulling teeth, only a dental patient has less choice about that tooth because it has to come out. A Toastmasters meeting is only enjoyable when people pitch in to help run it, and a club has better energy when they do so willingly. That said, as someone who has organized a division level speech contest, it doesn't matter how well you organize beforehand, you still run around like a headless chicken getting last-minute details set into place. That doesn't mean you can't have fun with it, and because I had most things in place I was able to take on my own role with enthusiasm.

Then, too, there's the lesson about small contributions. You can see this as breaking a large task into smaller, more actionable tasks to get them done. You can also see this as finding small ways to help out instead of worrying about the big picture to the point where you become paralyzed. As one of the horses said in this episode, who has the time? But for something small? Okay. It's also easy to see why Twilight couldn't be involved, and the map was a simple way to keep her extremely potent magic out of the picture, both here and in Griffinstone. Much appreciated.

And of course, who doesn't enjoy seeing Coco again? Our flower-wearing fashion mare quickly became a fan favourite, with loads of attention going to her despite only appearing in one episode. Now that she has two? I'm guessing we'll have plenty more fan art, especially of the way she sat on her couch, and of her filly self.

Coco aside, I give this episode an 8.5 out of 10.

Which rounds this trio of Rarity episodes to about a 7.75 out of 10.