It Isn't The Mane Thing About You Review · 4:38pm Sep 16th, 2017
Well, it turns out the episode order for September is a lot more jumbled than it seemed. Episodes 17-22 are airing out of order, the production order is: "Daring Done?", "A Health of Information", "To Change A Changeling", "It Isn't The Mane Thing About You", "Once Upon A Zepplin", and then "Marks and Recreation", before it gets back to normal with "Secrets and Pies" as episode 23. Anyway, when I heard about this episode, I wasn't looking forward to it at all. First because the synopsis sounded like a bare bones plot stretched out to 22 minutes, and second because the extend synopsis made it sound like it was gonna be a Rarity torture porn. It seems like Josh Haber is back in the editor's seat for good, because this episode is also written by him (unless that means this is another hold-over from Season 6 that got shelved). Haber expressed in interviews that Rarity is his favorite pony, and it wasn't hard to see that in Season 6 when he at first tried to shove her into every episode he could. But this marks his first Rarity focus episode. So, with Haber writing and pitching on the editor's scene, was this episode able to defy expectations, or just confirm what I was suspecting? Well, let's find out.
The story begins with more or less a bunch of filler that only gets tied into the story in any significant way towards the end. Though it is interesting to see Filthy Rich trying to buy flowers for "Mares Day". I suppose he's still trying to make his marriage work out. The story doesn't really begin until Rarity stops by Sugarcube Corner, and gets covered with extra sticky silly string courtesy of Pinkie Pie. The two opt to go to Zecora in order for her to whip up a potion that'll fix both their problems. Along the way, Rarity tries to scare off some creepy looking eyes. They arrive at Zecora's hut, confirming the new animation style for it that debuted in "On Your Marks". This also marks Zecora's first speaking role since the Season 5 finale, and even then that was an alternative universe version of her. I believe the normal Zecora hasn't spoken since "Filli Vanilli" back in Season 4, so it's been a while.
Zecora warns Rarity that there is no magical fix that doesn't end in disaster, even suggesting that she has stories she could tell about them. Rarity opts not to stick around and takes off with one of the potions, while Pinkie Pie stays for a bit before taking off with the other vial. Sugarcube Corner starts to become covered in suds, while Rarity ends up taking the remover potion and ends up stuck with a bad mane.
Rarity goes to ask Zecora for a cure, but Zecora says she can't make one right on the spot. So Rarity reluctantly goes into town with a black cloak, only for nopony to recognize her. And when they finally do, they're repulsed by her terrible mane. Struggling to maintain her sanity, Rarity goes to Twilight's castle and tries pleading with Twilight and Starlight to magically fix her mane. Of course, it doesn't work, as the only magical spells require taking Rarity's mane from something else. And Zecora then says that there's no cure that can be made in time for Photo Finish's photo shoot, leaving Rarity devastated, especially since the only way to avoid the problem is time travel, and that's off the table.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all try to help Rarity disguise her mane. Applejack by giving Rarity a bonnet Granny Smith uses to milk the cows, Rainbow Dash by giving Rarity a cloud mane (which isn't portable), and Fluttershy by giving her a mane made out of leaves and shrubbery. But Rarity decides to just call off the photo shoot, and all her friends (except for Pinkie Pie, don't worry the episode doesn't forget about her) go to try and comfort her. They find Rarity sulking on her fainting couch, dressed up in her silk robes, and eating ice cream again.
Twilight reassures Rarity that she hasn't lost her confidence just because she's having a bad mane day and had to call off the photo shoot for a magazine. This manages to motivate Rarity enough to stylize her mane into something street punkish, and then she goes around just being helpful. It soon dawns on her that Pinkie must have the sudsy shampoo, and her hunch is correct. The shampoo doesn't remove the sticky silly string, but Rarity has some more of the remover and opts to use it. A few months later, it's revealed that Rarity's friends secretly arranged to have Photo Finish shoot some undercover work for the magazine with Rarity being none the wiser. A reminder to Rarity that there's more to life than just looking pretty.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, even though it doesn't give me much to talk about, it's a decent episode. It is still kind of padded out here and there, but the message and character interactions are enough to make up for it (though Spike really should've been involved in the climax, I think the pep talk would've been stronger coming from him). I still do believe this would've worked better in the five minute "Equestria Girls" shorts, it would've required some adjustments to fit that universe but you could've easily cut out the filler and the resolution and moral would've stayed the same. It managed to do better than I expected, but it's not nearly as strong as it likely would've been had there been a stronger premise to spin into a story. Some premises may sound promising on paper, but in execution they may quickly dry up without filler, and in general your story should be strong enough to last without a ton of it. So I give this episode a borderline B-/B ("Daring Done?" bumps down to a B due to the last third of the episode causing the story to fall apart) putting it above "Fluttershy Leans In" and just barely crossing the threshold into good episode territory, but below "Daring Done" which had a stronger story early on, better character interactions, a better moral, and all in all felt like a better effort. Still, it looks like Season 7 may finally be getting back on track now.
Next week will likely confirm it though, and may finally produce an episode that seems more on par with the highs of the first half, "A Health of Information". In which Zecora is stricken with swamp fever, a disease for which there's no known cure, but Fluttershy (with Twilight's help) resolves to find a cure. The episode seems like it will also introduce the Legends of Magic character of Meadowbrook, whose issue comes out at the very end of September. But will it be able to balance all the potential it has with all the stuff it must do? Time will tell, but I think it's got a good chance (if all goes well Season 7 may hold up well until "Secrets and Pies" and may just barely squeak past Season 6 in terms of quality).
All I can say with this episode is, I actually wish Rarity would keep the new style she made for herself. But with her, I know that's a dream that will never come to fruition.
Actually, Zecora spoke in What About Discord?
While I initially thought this was going to be among the weakest episodes of the season, I'm glad to be wrong in that regard.
While it's not in my top 10 of the season so far, it IS number 11.
Yeah, I still don't think season 7 EVER went off the rails in the first place.
Honestly, A Health of Information, like this one did, looks to be among the weaker of the season.
But this one was a bit stronger than I expected, so maybe the same will happen next week.
4670546
Honestly, you're the only one I've come across.
And even if I agreed, I still couldn't bring myself to call it bad.
4670546>>4670562
I honestly thought the episode was decent, just not up there to rank as a favorite episode. Honestly, the best episode that I consider partially a Rarity episode as a favorite was "Spice Up Your Life". And for some reason, that episode always makes me hungry.
4670571
It's my second favorite Rarity episode behind Simple Ways.
4670583
Which one, this new episode or Spice Up Your Life?
4670584
This one.
4670587
Roger. What did you think of Spice Up Your Life by the way?
4670589
It was good, but not among my favorites of season 6
4670546 I don't think she was out of character. It seemed to serve as a reminder of the complex character Rarity is. On the surface she seems selfish and self-centered, obessed with beauty above all else. But behind that outer beauty lies a selfless pony that strives to make a difference and help others even if it costs her personally. It did seem a bit sudden how she seemed to have this crisis of confidence. Calling off one photo shoot because of a bad mane day doesn't seem to strike me as that. We all have our bad days, but Rarity has usually shown to be able to handle stress pretty well it was not until just a few episodes ago that she had her first mental breakdown of her own accord.
It was an okay episode I guess, but once again it wasn't anything special.
4670359
You'll forgive me for not wanting to remember much about that episode. The Zecora appearance was easily forgotten in the wake of everything else the episode was trying to do.
This should been a five minute short. Other than the morale, some good cameos, and some good jokes this a stupid episode. Weakest of the season next to Fluttershy Leans In.
4671641 I do think it would've been better as a five minute "Equestria Girls" short, but I think they were able to make the premise work here. Still think it could've used a rewrite or two to make the story stronger.
4671668
Agree whole episode is weaker than the rest of the episode this season.
I've actually started trying to catch up on mlp, and I'm glad we finally got to see DT, pity she didn't get a speaking role yet, maybe next season? also, some reason BonBon sounded like Pinky pie.
4714049 That's cause she's voiced by Andrea Libman, same voice actress.
4714282
Shes had so many voices in the past, I hope they keep this one because It actually fits BonBon.
4714517 Since it's the same voice from "Slice of Life", I think they are going to keep it.