Canterlot Boutique Review · 5:11pm Sep 12th, 2015
Well, that hiatus lasted shorter than expected. It's been about two months, but ponies are back, and back with style I might add.
Kicking off the second half of Season 4, we've got a Rarity episode written by Amy Keating Rogers. If memory serves, her only other Rarity episode was "A Dog and Pony Show" one of Rarity's first great outings alongside "Suited For Success". And it was the 14th episode of Season 4 that knocked Amy off her pedestal, though "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" and "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" have since restored her reputation.
One more thing to point out before we get this review underway, Meghan McCarthy is back in the editior's seat after being absent for the first half. M. A. Larson did a decent job filling in for her, but he still allowed for lackluster episodes like "Castle, Sweet Castle", "Appleloosa's Most Wanted", and "Princess Spike". And of course, Meghan allowed for "Rainbow Falls" to air, but all the same I'm hopeful she'll do a better job now that she no longer has to write for "Equestria Girls: Friendship Games".
We begin with Rarity waiting for the mailpony to arrive, but said pony is late. And no, it's not because it's Derpy Hooves who's delivering. It turns out that Pinkie Pie was trying out a new cupcake reciepe, and offered one to the mailpony, causing him to get sick. Pinkie admits herself that the reciepe didn't turn out so well.
It turns out that Rarity finally managed to find a suitable location to open a second dress shop, this time in Canterlot. So, we're finally going to see one of the mane six accomplish their dream, let's see how they pull it off!
After a bit of exposition that reveals Rarity was able to open up the shop because of profits she recieved from designing the dresses for Sapphire Shore's tour (looks like that celebrity endorsement payed off in a big way), we learn that Rarity has hired a manager in the form of Sassy Saddle, and she has a program designed to make Canterlot Carousel (the shop) the latest and greatest hit in the fashion world. But trouble soon arises when she starts taking charge without Rarity's permission, making all the decisions, and changing the program to what she thinks will sell better. Basically, making her a Suri 2.0, and I'll be honest, either Suri herself, or someone like Hoity Toity or Fleur De Lis (who Sassy is a recolor of) would've worked better for this sort of character. (Fancy Pants wouldn't work, because he's a delagate, and seemed highly impressed with Rarity's work when it had no special flares).
Rather than confront Sassy about this problem, Rarity sucks it up and allows Sassy to make all the decisions, even when Sassy reveals she allowed for customers to place 100 orders for the same dress, and they want them all on the same day! Yeah, that's an unrealistic demand that cannot be met by one worker.
Rarity soon discovers that Sassy favors given the customers what they want, at the expense of creativity. During this point, we finally get a song, putting an end to the longest song drought in the show's history.
The song is "The Rules of Rarity" and this make the episode feel sort of like a poor man's cross between "Suited for Success" (you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try) and "Rarity Takes Manehattan" (you should never abandon your true nature, even if others take advantage of it).
Rarity finally stands up to Sassy (who finally has the guts to admit she thinks the shop is her's to run and Rarity is working for her, not the other way around) and decides to close up shop with a going out of business sale. Thankfully, this sale manages to get customers interested in more creative dresses, we even get a pony that sounds like Raven from Teen Titans.
As a result of the sales, and the clientle, Rarity decides she'll keep Canterlot Carousel open. And decides to let Sassy run it, on the condition that she respect the rules Rarity laid down. (Not sure that's a good idea, there was never anything to indicate Sassy learned her lesson, it seemed more like she was just trying to save face. Sometimes, saying you're sorry isn't enough to earn forgiveness. Sometimes, you have to prove you deserve a second chance.) Rarity explains that she always intended for Ponyville to be her home base, and then a really fat pony comes in asking for the princess dress, which has been discontinued.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, it's a good start to the second half of Season 5, and it's nice to see Rarity in the spotlight again. The moral is definitely a good one, and it's one that really stands out, because most mass media in today's world would rather stick to giving people what they want, instead of taking a chance with something new and creative. Pinkie Pie is still in character, but with Meghan in the driver's seat, she's a lot more hyperactive and random. And they make use of Twilight's princess status quite nicely, not to mention we get a wonderful new song. But as I pointed out, Sassy Saddle was placing impossible demands on Rarity, abusing and betraying the partnership, and she should've been fired. The episode wants me to believe that she's learned her lesson, but it's a case of "Show, Don't Tell" that really hurts it. In the end, I give this episode an A, putting it above "Tanks For The Memories" (Rainbow Dash should've faced consequences for her actions, and the crying scene felt too cheesy to be emotionally compelling) but below "The Lost Treause of Griffonstone" (and upon rewatching the first half of Season 5, that episode no longer has Pinkie's worst moment of the season. Her worst moment was changing dreams and letting The Tanterbus escape in "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep", but it's leagues above her worst moments from other seasons, as things worked out better for everyone in the end.) While we're on the subject of episode rankings, I must inform you that "Amending Fences" and "Party Pooped" have switched places. Everything I said about them before still stands, but "Amending Fences" was a surprise no one saw coming, and was pulled off very well.
For the rest of September, we're getting not one, not two, but three Rarity episodes back to back! Yes, that's right, September is the month of Rarity!
(No one's ever had three episodes in a row focused on them before, let's see if the writers don't burn out her character). Tune in next week for "Rarity Investigates" in which Rainbow Dash is framed for a crime she didn't commit, and it's up to Rarity to clear her friend's goodname. Better brush up on your Ace Attorney skills, fans, cause we've got a potential shout out to "Turnabout Storm" on the way!
I missed the episode but saw this today.... scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/v/t1.0-9/11990466_119155655105196_1334357667792908784_n.jpg?oh=76579fddceefc12704f196c8dbaa584f&oe=56A33702 Looks like sometype of OC.
One thing I find weird is that Cathy Wesluck is credited, but I don't think Spike spoke once. I didn't even realize he was there until I saw the credits and then went back.
3390559 Yeah, that's weird. Coco Pommel didn't appear in the episode either, so there's no character I can think of that Cathy would be credited for. It might just be stock credits, and they didn't have enough time to cut Cathy Wesluck out.
It was a good episode to start the second half for me.
Although if I was writing it, I wouldn't have had Sassy be given another chance in a flash, Rarity would have her go through a whole lot more.