Episode 15 Review: Noir sequel to MMMystery on the Friendship Express · 4:48pm Sep 19th, 2015
So, just watched the episode a few seconds ago.
Let's get down to business.
Continuity. I wasn't expecting for Sassy Saddles to make a return appearance, and in the very next episode, no less. So this is one of the most continuity-strong episodes of the season. Yay!
Something I noticed while I was watching, is that Spitfire's voice seemed a bit different than normal. Higher, maybe.
As usual, we have the classic banter and gags coming from Rarity and Rainbow. However, this time, we have both at the same time. I can't remember if we've ever actually had a Rarity and Rainbow episode, but if we have, it's been an eternity since then.
This episode is very similar in structure on MMMystery on the Friendship Express. In my opinion, it's a fair bit better, but I'll get to why in a moment.
I was disappointed to find that there was no song in this episode. Personally, I thought the song last episode was a bit of a waste, and it would have been much better for the effort to be put into this episode. However, this episode was cut for time as is, so that may have mucked some things up.
So, without further ado, let's get to the nitty gritty.
Rarity manipulates the delivery stallion. Goddammit. Y U DO DIS? Rarity, I am disappoint.
Rainbow Dash meets her idol. This is an amazing setup for something later, I'll get to that when the time comes. But it's cool to see Rainbow in her over-the-top attitude worshiping this dude. Also, for probably the first time in ever, we see Rainbow being modest. MODEST, PEOPLE! Who are you and what have you done with Dash!?!
And then Spitfire is falsely told that her mother is sick. And everypony suspects Dash.
Rarity steps up to help, and a very well edited sequence of searching for the culprit ensues. I really enjoyed seeing the various things that 'distracted' Rarity, and how Rainbow reacted to it. One of my favorite moments was when Rainbow started thinking she may have sent the letter in her sleep, and we got a new crazy-face. (Yay!)
The Rainbow colored hair. Turns out it was cut, and placed there as a divergence. My question is, when was it cut from Rainbow's tail/mane? I'm wondering how exactly Wind Rider managed to do that. When she was sleeping? That's a bit creepy, considering his age. Oh well, moving on.
The whole time Rarity was finding clues, I was trying to figure out who the culprit who framed RD was. I had a few ideas. When I saw the rainbow hair, I thought it one of RD's parents cuz they wanted her to be in the show. 
At one point I thought it was Spitfire herself, because she might have been too nervous or something.
Oh, and I nearly forgot! Rainbow Dash likes broccoli! Who knew!?!?!
I loved the guard interrogation scene. At first I thought the middle guard was Flash, but no. (Lemmie tell you, that would have made for an epic scene.)
The pony with the ...'cakes'. Whatever they were. Her accent is amazing.
It seems they've been piling on the shipping this episode. A touch of Soarin/Rainbow, A touch of RariDash. A touch of everything, really. Nothing as serious as Lyra/Bon Bon, though 
He said, and I quote, "Heh heh".
I LOLed. Brilliant line.
So, in the end, it turns out that Wind Rider did it. I honestly didn't expect that. A lot of others did though, so I must just be short-sighted. This is where the episode show's its hidden gem.
Wind Rider was Rainbow Dash's hero. She looked up to him as a role model. And then he went and framed Dash, causing her to realize that even if a pony is your hero, they're not perfect. Some of them can even be bad. Rainbow's hero let her down, and its a lesson that we haven't yet seen in the show, I like it.
And then Rainbow flies all the way from Canterlot to the Crystal Mountains to get Spitfire. True loyalty. It was only deserving she got Wind Rider's place.
So, all in all, TL;DR, how was this episode?
Premise: 8/10 Unique Rainbow & Rarity combo, and a mystery episode with a nice style.
Execution of Premise: 8/10 Could have had a song. There was a little room for improvement, but it was still great overall.
Comedy: 6/10 Not the most funny episode ever, though it had great Rarity moments that made me laugh.
Visuals: 8/10 The grey scale segments were actually pretty cool, I liked it.
Lesson Learned: 9/10 Personal heroes turning out to be 'not so heroic' is a great topic to touch on, one of the best.
Overall: 8/10 I enjoyed this episode quite a lot. Defiantly one of the better ones.
This episode was well rounded, was rather unique, and had a great lesson in the end. There was certainly not a shortage of comedy, and I enjoyed the various gags throughout the episode.
I'm surprised how many writers there were on this episode, quite a lot of people worked on it.
One more thing to say: I think this is the first time the credits have had non-theme music other than the 2nd part of the two-parters. I like it, it's a nice touch.
