Okay, this weeks episode is called "Spice Up Your Life"!

[youtube=Pgvl4LLz44k]

What, that's not what it's about? Well, I didn't check the summary, but I'd imagine it'll be about food. Spike comes up a new recipe for curry involving his dragon flame, and when Twilight doesn't take well to it, he sets off all over Ponyville trying to find somepony that likes it? I bet we could work Zecora into that, too. She probably has lots of exotic spices, given all that stuff she has for potion-making.

That's probably not what it'll turn out to be about, either, but we'll find out soon enough. This episode is by Mike Vogel. You remember, from "A Hearth's Warming Tail"? He used to be Hasbro's VP of development, and all is or was involved in mlp stuff.

Anyways, this is the thread for discussing this weeks episode, or spice, or curry, or anything related...

I link to all these episode discussions here, incidentally.

--Sweetie Belle

I saw the preview and the ponies being helped looked like they have a Saddle Arabia design. If so it would be great to get some world building.

5288519 Glad we're getting a RariPie episode that focuses on the two of them, Maud got a lot of focus in "Gift of The Maud Pie" and Rarity might as well have been a third wheel there (though we did get to see her imitate Pinkie Pie and bounce around like a pinball, so her appearance definitely wasn't a waste). I just hope this episode handles the two of them well, and doesn't try to be like the "other" times the show has had the main characters take sides in an outside conflict.

5288519 Well this sounds like a fun episode!

I want to see the episode about Twilight and Twilight in Twilight's Castle.
Oh wait, I think I read that one already…

Pinkie eats like a leech.

Rarity is screwing everything up by conforming too much, and Pinkie is doing the same but with trying too hard to be unique. Admittedly, not a bad idea, but it's going to be a cringe fest by the end.

5289133 I can already feel the cringe.

5289133
I don't know, I haven't seen Pinkie do anything wrong yet. It's not her fault that all of the locals are stereotypical upper-class snobs.
I hope the solution is ‘find a way to drum up business without Zesty's approval’, because anything short of that will feel like capitulating to the whims of someone with far too much power.

5289138

That exact thing happened right after you said it!

And now Rarity will tell them all what to think instead of what's her face! Her conquest continues.

5289141
It worked out better than I could have hoped. Restaurant Row is now free from the tyranny of gourmet sensibilities!

5288519 Pinkie Pie and Rarity as a dynamic duo? I can already sense the "Batman and Robin" jokes.

In all seriousness, this was a great RariPie episode, showing what they have in common and what they differ on. I could do without the pretentious critic though, why do so many shows like to potray all critics like that? Crticism has its purpose.

5289149
Celestia, in a remarkable 'coincidence' of timing, on the eve of the reopening of her favorite pastry shop, offered national heroes Pinkie Pie and Rarity the Sunburst of Celestia. The Sunburst is the highest medal for valor given by the crown. Ostensibly for their saving Equestria 'one of those times, you know, back then'.

Celestia wasn't available to further comment, having been hospitalized from diabetic shock.

Were there any RariPie episodes before this season, though? And now we have 2.

I'm starting to get annoyed at the cutie map, as it rarely ever sends them somewhere new and instead sending them to the same places. I like the episode but sadly no world building. I think half of the drama was caused by Rarity being Rarity; you would think she would have listened to Pinkie as her talent is better suited for this. Now that it's over I'm just hoping I don't see any Rarity episode for a long time. I starting to suffer from Rarity fatigue at this point.

(SPOILERS!)

There's not a whole lot to say on this one.

Rarity and Pinkie team up once again to battle a friendship problem, this time in Canterlot. For whatever reason, the friendship problem is helping a dying restaurant succeed. This feels startlingly similar to both Gift of the Maud Pie and Saddle Row and Rec, with both having to save a business and the Rarity and Pinkie team up. Not that it is bad. I mostly enjoyed this episode despite its setbacks.

The restaurant in need is called The Tasty Treat, and is Indian themed. The owners are a father and daughter Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala. Their relationship is the highlight of the episode. Coriander's an aged cynic, Saffron still has faith in keeping the business open; they bicker and fight, yet at the end of the day they still love one another.

Then there's Canterlot's own food critic, Zesty Gourmand. She is the worst thing about the episode. Do you remember that food critic from Ratatouille? Imagine him but without any charm or buildup. Zesty is yet another complete *&^%^%^&* character who openly insults those she deems of "lower culture", in front of their faces. I don't usually mind these type of characters in other shows, but in the MLP universe they just feel so off.

I don't know. Perhaps I'm being too harsh. The first half of the episode is definitely fun, then the second half hits and it loses momentum. The song number with Indian-styled instrumentation sounds okay, but goes on a little long. I don't see why Rarity would redecorate the entire restaurant to impress Zesty. Changing the food and menu items perhaps, but going so far to change all of the decor?

I was on the verge of calling this episode meh, but with the strong enough first half, and the nice little character moments from Saffron and Coriander, I'm going to say it is good.

Extras:
-Was anyone else reminded of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry visits the Pakastani restaurant? I wonder if the writer's drew inspiration from that. XD
-The title is a reference to a Spice Girls song, according to Mlp Wiki.
-The citizens of Canterlot are so frickin' picky. Not even daring to set foot in restaurants without a rating by Zesty? And Zesty herself is such a snob, you wonder why anyone would listen to her.
-Pinkie briefly wears her piggy-outfit from Baby Cakes during the song. I'm not sure why.
-I do like that the other restaurant owners decide to stop following Zesty's orders at the end, and decide to make food the way they like. And that these restaurant owners are down-to-earth types who just wanted a little taste of success.

5288519
Not going to watch the episode until Zesty Gourmand gives it a five star rating.
That's a name you can trust, ya'know.

Here's some character references in today's episode. I probably missed a few but these are the ones I caught. Gordon Ramsay, Julia Child, and Mr. Food.

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You know, I'm not totally sure why the restaurant was doing badly in the first place. It had a really good recommendation. It wasn't rated three horseshoes!

I'm kinda disappointed with Rarity in this one. She's supposed to be all about creativity, but her advice here was to make everything the same as what everypony else does! Maybe she didn't learn anything from what happened with Sassy Saddles and the Canterlot Boutique?

Zesty Gourmet was one of the worst things about the episode. Why would anypony trust their opinions about food in the first place? Are we totally sure that Princess Celestia isn't somewhere at the other end of the map, and sending out the missions? 'Cause this could totally have been Princess Celestia sending 'em in 'cause she couldn't get a decent bite to eat anywhere in Canterlot...

I thought the restaurant sounded like a good place to eat from the beginning, though. It was pretty neat looking and the food smelled good before you even got in there. Why wouldn't you want to go there?

--Sweetie Belle

What happened to the Whinnyapolis couple? Did they get what they wanted?

5288519 After this episode, I'm kind of expecting a Food Wars crossover to pop up somewhere. I mean, with this episodes theme, how could there not be? Lol

5289467

Was there a need to give Julia Child a second cameo character? She already had Mulia Mild from MMMystery...

5289534

I'm kinda disappointed with Rarity in this one. She's supposed to be all about creativity, but her advice here was to make everything the same as what everypony else does!

Note, though, that Rarity is also, still, the social climber among the mane 6.
Also note that her big interest is specifically not clothes, but fashion. That implies she cares plenty about what other ponies like. Following leaders, fads, and trends is fundamentally valid behavior in her intuitive worldview. Her innermost ambition is to be the leader everypony follows, not to escape or eliminate following as a general thing.

I agree that she was a bit more one-dimensional about this than she's usually been in recent seasons, and the tension with her creative impulses that often makes her interesting was curiously absent. At least she understood and acknowledged she had been wrong when it all came crashing down.

5292009 And to be honest she did have something of a point. While she shouldn't have scarificed the restuarant's identity to make it attract more clients, a little bit of sprucing up and a fresh coat of paint wouldn't hurt. If she felt they needed something to please the critic, she should've insisted it be added to the menu, instead of making that the only thing they serve. Pinkie Pie also should've made it clear what she was expecting of Rarity, just to make sure they were on the same page.

5292009
Yeah, I keep hearing people make that claim that 'Rarity is an artist and about creativity' when she's the one most focused on trends and the "in" thing of the main-six. Making a living at art is just as much about following trends and the flow, as anything else. You get to be "revolutionary" and "groundbreaking" when the masses have become bored with the current trend and are looking for something new.

Which is what happened in this episode, now that I think about it.