An Analysis of Canterlot Boutique

Greetings, Everybrony!

As you all should already know, the hiatus is now over! Episode 14 came out on Saturday! I know I’m probably behind on the curve when it comes to analyzing, but I was busy!

I must admit, it was hard to avoid spoilers, but I’ve managed to restrain myself from looking at Wikipedia and YouTube Bronies until I actually watched this episode and posted this. Whew, I'm glad that this over. I've been dying to get back to Dr Wolf's videos.

Anyway, let’s get on with the analysis shall we? I’ll be dividing this post into three parts: Reactions, Characters, and Overall. This may change for future analyses, but we’ll have to wait and see.

I’ll be referring to this video frequently:

since it’s where I watched the episode. If I make a note of a time, please refer back to this so you can see what I’m getting at. If the video doesn’t work for some reason, here’s a link.

And now onto...

Analysis Part 1: Episode Reaction

This episode starts out with Rarity being worried about the time. This is an interesting start, especially since she doesn’t talk until fifteen seconds into the episode, and even then it’s just a sigh. The suspense builds as she jumps to the sound of Opal’s toy mouse, (0:22) assuming the sound was the Pont Post… pony ringing the doorbell.

The Pony Post is really important huh, Rarity?

Well don’t worry Rarity, the Pony post will be—

OH SWEET CELESTIA YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEARTATTACK, PINKIE! (0:35)

…And now you’ve teleported into Rarity’s house… (0:40). Pinkie, you are the best burglar in Equestria!

So now it’s time for Rarity’s big reveal! (1:30) So, it appears that we’re going to be going to Canterlot for this episode. This is obviously a Rarity episode, but I wonder if Pinkie will be sticking around? I don’t think we’ve seen enough Rarity and Pinkie interactions in the show.

“I’m so excited, I think I’m going to lose my cupcakes!” (1:44)

I’m not sure whether to be disgusted or amused. BOTH IT IS!

Anyway, that’s a good break for the theme song. Stage has been set, and now we’re off to Canterlot!

And now, I’ve just got to say:

For Twilight’s mention of Rarity’s work with Sapphire Shores! (2:31)

Moving on… we get to meet Rarity’s new manager, Sasssy Saddles! (3:16)

I would say something about this new character, but I’ll save that for the second part of this analysis. So… I’ll skip to Rarity and Sassy asking (begging) Twilight to model in the signature dress of the new line. Twilight, of course, knows better than to—(5:26). Scratch that, friendship trumps everything. Of course she goes along with it…

And now it’s time to open up, THE GAT—

Or not… I was honestly half expecting this. Sassy is obviously not seeing eye-to-eye with Rarity, though I thought she would show that in a slightly less obvious way. I mean really, don’t step on your boss’s hooves! (6:11)

And that face! (5:59)

“Are you sure she doesn’t want to do it herself?”

About time you’ve been able to shine while in the background AJ! (6:23)

(6:53) Is Sassy trying to take the spotlight again? Seriously, where’s Coco Pommel when you need her? This manager needs to be replaced!

Wait; hold on, is Sassy actually… helping? (7:42) I’m confused, I thought she was trying to take over the boutique? You know what, I’m going to simmer over her motives as I try to figure out why she flickers between control freak and over-helpful assistant.

(8:34) Well, I don’t care what you think. This is Rarity’s boutique you ungrateful mare! Honestly, it’s only a matter of time before you’re fired and replaced by Coco Pommel! And I’m still waiting for Coco to even be mentioned…

(9:03) Awkward waving… well… I would do the same. I pity you Twilight. Congratulations animators!

(9:32) Did they not just realize that Sassy stole the majority of Rarity’s limelight. Seriously?

Look! (10:04)

Not really continuity, but it’s reminds me of Derpy’s scene in Slice of Life:

Plus, this makes really good use of Pinkie’s character. The rest of the Mane 6 are pulled away for Rarity to have a little chat with Sassy. Time to set the record straight!

“My only goal is for Canterlot Carousel to succeed…” (10:33)

Yeah, you expected anyone to believe that? No amount of violins will convince me of that.

“Oh satin and silk, Rarity…” (11:15)

Eh, I preferred Great Whickering Stallions. Besides, Sassy’s annoying.

(11:32) A Rarity song, cool!

(12:34) I… I… What?... Did she just… I can’t even…

Someone send this character to Tartarus before I get Discord to do it!

(14:14) Are you still ordering your boss around? HOW HAVE YOU NOT BEEN FIRED?!

“How could you possibly be miserable?” (17:01)

Easy. She spent more than two seconds with you.

(17:37) YES! Rarity’s back in action!

(17:51) I’ll save this for later.

(18:36) Maud + Treehugger = This Mare. I need two dozen fanficitons of her, stat!

(21:10) Would it be bad to say that this was the only part of the episode where I burst out laughing?

(21:20) Someone in the real world is now going to throw a fit for this scene. I know it.

Well, that’s all for this first part of the analysis. Honestly, unless anyone found this funny, I think I’ll skip this part next time. It took forever and I’m not sure if it was worth it.

Analysis Part 2: Character Cast

This is obviously a Rarity episode, but I don’t want to get into her right away. Let’s check on the Mane 6 + Spike first.

Mane 6 + Spike: All in character. Spike doesn’t say much, which is a small surprise. Fluttersy helping Twilight prepare (6:29) was a nice touch in my opinion. We already know that Flutershy is second only to Rarity when it comes to the prissy side of life, and these two lines of dialogue make a nice callback to that. Well done, Amy Keating Rogers!

Well… that was quick. Onto Rarity!

Rarity: Frankly, Rarity reminded me of Fluttershy (a bit) in this episode. While she did make it clear to Sassy that she was annoyed by Sassy’s overbearingness, she didn’t put her hoof down until she cracked. This leaves me with a bit of conflict.

On one hand, Rarity is showing her diplomacy and levelheadedness. Naturally, Rarity is overdramatic in stressful situations, which is something I find very annoying and rarely funny. Here, however, she tries to maintain her composure even as she is badgered into going along with Sassy’s “pattern”.

This could mean that Rarity is not as overdramatic as she appears. Or, at least, she grew out of it. While in season one her faints were fairly genuine, it became more of a gag by season four. I like seeing Rarity maintain her composure for so long and it makes appreciate her character. She’s grown from someone who faints over minor things, to someone who could remain a calm facade in situations where I would crack.

Plus, Rarity’s thinly kept composure makes her breakdown at (17:37) even more epic!

Now onto…

Sassy Saddle: I have a lot to say about her character. First, let’s scratch the skin, or fur, in this case. Her design is… well it… well…

It screams Canterlot?

Seriously, the second I saw her I thought I was going to hate just for looking snobby. And then I heard her voice… She reminds me of Suri Polomare. It’s not the accent I’m thinking of, just the presence her voice gives her. Needless to say, I disliked this character before she had gotten ten seconds of screen time.

And of course, my opinion of her didn’t improve. I honestly didn’t pay much attention to her crazy look at (3:51) until my second viewing. The episode establishes her slight insanity—for lack of a better term—fairly early. As she proceeded to help Rarity, I totally expected her to try to completely mess up everything Rarity did in public and try to take center stage. Then, she would be so popular she would claim the entire boutique!

But… that didn’t happen. As the episode progressed I realized that Sassy was much more complex then I originally thought. She didn’t try to take the boutique for herself, but she kept a firm hoof on the overall management. She ordered around her boss for Celestia’s sake! It wasn’t until (17:51) that her true motive was revealed.

Honestly, her motive surprised me. I suppose it makes since. Rarity claimed that Sassy had worked at some of the finest boutiques in Canterlot, so that would explain her unemployment.

But why would Rarity call the boutiques fine if they went out of business? I mean, this mare technically had a losing streak when it came to employment. I just don’t get it.

Regardless, this motive did allow me to have the smallest amount of pity for Sassy. She only wanted to have a stable job, and now she’s lost her only potential stable job. So sad… and entirely her fault… yeah…

Sassy may be “reformed,” but I still want her fired and replaced by Coco Pommel.

Part 3: Overall Thoughts

I will confess; I’m not a huge fan of Rarity. She’s nowhere near my top ten list of ponies, so my opinion of this episode may be biased.

Pros:

Sassy’s use as a plot device

Rarity’s (possible?) character development

Nice moral of not compromising standards (something I can relate to)

The Rules of Rarity was a nice song. Excellent work as always Daniel Ingram!

Cons:

Sassy’s confusing motivation and conflicting history

Pinkie’s humor was a bit overdone

I think it’s important to mention to mention the writer of episodes. Amy Rogers has written a wide variety of plot lines, and I can’t say any particular type of story suits her best. She’s written awesome episodes like Pinkie Pride and The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, but also poor ones like The Best Night Ever. This episode falls in the middle of both her works and the show’s episodes as a whole. This concept had much potential, but failed to make the most of it.

Episode Rating C+ (Rating Subject to Change)

Well, this was my first attempt to give criticism on an episode. I can’t say I did well, but hopefully some of you read this (or at last two parts) and can give me feedback on how to improve. I'll try to do these episode analyses regularly, and I'm thinking of doing Fimfiction reviews as well.

All critiques and criticisms (yay redundancy!) are greatly appreciated!

‘Till next time!
-RainEStar