This is the official discussion thread for the episode "Rarity Investigates", the pilot for a new series where Rarity foes and uses her brains and fashion sense to outwit criminals, solve crimes, and look stunning and high class while she does so!

Okay, maybe not. Actually, all I know about the episode is the name. But it sounds promising, doesn't it?

Anyways, I thought I'd just go ahead and post this now. You know how this goes. Any discussion of this episode should happen in this thread, and other threads 'bout it for a while will be locked, so that the spoilers all stay in one place.

Of course, there was MMMystery on the Friendship Express, too, so that'll make Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Rarity as detectives, so far. Maybe they should all open an agency together...

--Sweetie Belle

I would have gotten away with it too, if not for those darned fillies and their dragon.

4721632 I'm so freaking excited to watch this episode!

Calling it now - Wind Rider did it.

Did anybody else just notice that I think Spitfire was there with the Wonderbolts while they were talking about how she was missing from the practice? I know it's just an animation flub, but come on! That's a pretty obvious .

It was the butler! Also, love the noir style.

4721843

No, that's Blaze, who looks like Spitfire. Her hair is mono red so that's how you can tell them apart.

So, just finished. I liked it. It was an amusing sort of parody. I absolutely loved the black and white style, with the other characters asking Rarity why she was doing it. My main gripe is that the Wind Rider's scarf was a sort of blink-and-you-miss-it-ending. I liked it, but I don't think it'll be a favorite.

Regardless of one's thoughts on the rest of the episode, I believe it is indisputable that smooth jazz is best outro.

4721856
Heck of a time to be introducing her (at least, I haven't noticed her before). Still, at least that makes more sense.

As for the rest of the episode, as a major fan of noir/hardboiled PI stuff, I'll probably come back to it more often than most. And agreed that the outro was cool.

Loved it. Loved the new family members, book hero, and of course lady Rarity was on fire!!

4721632 The episode was perfect, in my opinion. The only real problem I have with it Is- how could the cake shop attendant mistake Wind Rider for a female?

I was stunned by how amazing this episode was; I can't think of anything wrong with it. The film noir angle was very fun and very funny to look at, the characterization was spot on, and the story was well paced and tightly executed. I can't think of an episode where the animation ever looked so beautiful. Also intriguing to see things like Rarity using her looks to get what she wants in such an over the top manner!

I give it a perfect score.

And it didn't even have AJ in it.

4721632 Hmm not my favorite, but decent. Was honestly expecting Wind Rider to be a red herring and it was Spitfire trying to do a form of charity.

4721877

Blaze has been a "background Wonderbolt," appearing in episodes where there need to be a larger number of uniformed members. She actually has a number of appearances... as a judge in Sonic Rainboom, at the Gala, in Sweet and Elite during the race (that Fleetfoot won), Secret of my Excess, mentioned in Castle Sweet Castle...

Nice to see Misty Fly getting some lines as well.

Too bad Lightning Dust was a red herring (although "raspy voice" doesn't narrow things down much), and didn't even get a cameo.

Had to do a double take to ensure that one particular guard wasn't Flash Sentry. He wasn't.

4721893

That does make me wonder how Wind Rider impersonated a mare. Does he do a good raspy female voice? And also he's much larger than her and even with a scarf his muzzle would be jutting out more.

4721901
Well, even if there was an accomplice (say, Lightning Dust being told he'd put in a good word for her if she helped him out with this?), the primary culprit was caught. Plus, he was *trying* to sound like Rainbow Dash, keep that in mind - he'd go for a raspy voice.

I'll confess, this episode surprised me in a good way.

Spitfire was one of the most likable ponies next to Rarity, and she rocketed back to my favorite pony spot once the episode closed. I'd love to read some fics about her return home with Rainbow Dash. I bet it'd be quite the adventure.

Wind Rider being the culprit was kind of obvious to the audience, but Rarity's investigation did make for some great scenes. Also, Misty Fly talking was awesome, and she's still a cutie. And Soarin being the one to drop the accusation was surprising. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that.

Anyway, it was a decent episode, and I've never been so glad to have been wrong about my anxieties in a long time. As such, I think it's worth a watch.

4721632 I'll have more to say later, but I'd like to point out before anyone else does that Rarity was wearing a fedora. As in, an actual fedora, and not a trilby. I'm almost positive.

4721889

a red herring

"Communism was just a red herring."

4721886

the animation ever looked so beautiful

I know, right?! I saw plenty of evidence that the animation is better than ever!

4721957

Rarity was wearing a fedora. As in, an actual fedora, and not a trilby. I'm almost positive.

Whatever it was, she looked fabulous in it. She looked great in all of her outfits.

This was a fun episode. It reminded me very loosely of A Dog and Pony Show, but in the sense that it was ten times better: Rarity got to fix problems in a really Rarity way, without relying on idiocy and complaining.

Of course, Wind Rider was pretty obvious. There were only so many options to choose from. At one point I toyed with the idea of Spitfire sending herself the letter to get a day off, but I quickly dismissed it since I doubt the show would have her frame Rainbow Dash at the same time. I don't think I watch MLP for the mystery front, though, so I'm cool with a transparent mystery.

And of course, I really liked Rainbow. She's adorable. Even if I have seen this side of her before, I always like seeing it again.

And Soaring! He even got a few lines! He was still as dull as a doorknob, but if the show keeps this up I'll have to eventually concede that he has a personality other than 'goofy and bland'! He looks like he's shaping up to be 'bland and nice', which is an impressive upgrade! And I never thought I'd say that. (He's keeping 'stupid' for now, though, but let's face it: cartoon characters of all kinds have a fair amount of that)

The ep reminded me an awful lot of X-Ray and Vav S2 Coal & Order. What with the guy narrating everything in black and white. So, yeah, I've seen the gag before, but I still like it.

Plot points:
-CONTINUITY!!- I mean, seriously, Sassy Saddles got a second (speaking) appearance before Coco did. It helps the world feel more alive.
-It's a Rarity-Rainbow episode, but on that point, I feel that it's one of the better Rarity episodes.
-Spitfire's mom. More characters yo.
-Castle guards. More characters yo. (I expect buddy cop type fic soon...)
-I didn't have any cringe points, except a tiny bit on Rarity's charm method to getting ponies to do what she wants; like, geez, is everyone that easy to persuade. Then again, I guess her Charisma and Speech is just that good.
-As a side note to the above, it's nice how they showcased these skills at the beginning.
-Rainbow's ego still annoys me.

Stylistic points:
-NOIR!!!! It's kind of parody noir, but it's still so fun!
-It's a small detail, but I think it they missed a good chance to put Rainbow in that Wonderbolt dress uniform Soarin was wearing in the wedding episode.
-That shading in the interrogation scene was really nice.
-Did I mention the noir?

4721632 Spitfire has a mother. I guess the only question now is, who's her father, and is he still around?

4721632 Pegasitis sounds like the worst thing ever.

Inflammation of the entire pegasus.

4721843 That would have been quite a twist.

"Haha! I was here the whole time!"

4721632
Personally, this episode just made me like Rarity even more. Not that I didn't like her in the first place, of course. It's just so fresh, this time. Also, Noir! I'm already a sucker for Detective stories, but the Noir was the one that hooked me up. Smooth Jazz is smooth. Caught the Sherlock and Watson—and probably Moriarty—cameos on the bakery, and snipped chase scene.

Another thing I love was Rarity's outfits. It's just so... sleuthful!

Oh, and of course, Chocolate cherry cake with custard filling and buttercream frosting rossetteXThe Trio Guards, OTP!

4721632 I've had my doubts about season 5, but this episode has redeemed my faith in it. I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of season 5 is just as good as this episode was.

all in all a good episode. A bit boring at times, but at other times very amusing.
However the 'twist' was a bit bad, almost Scooby-doo level of bad-guy twists.
Seriously, it was quite obvious he was the bad guy, so there wasn't really any excitement or suspension in the story as we all know who did it.
Also am I the only one that found Spitfires voice a bit... weird? I can't remember if she sounded the same in Rainbow Falls, but she just sounded weird in this episode. She sounded more like a young boy trying to sound like a young girl, rather than an adult.

4722287 She's sounded like that since "Wonderbolt Academy". It's just that we haven't seen her in her flight suit in a speaking role since "Hurricane Fluttershy".

4722294 huh, must not have noticed before now. Never truly payed attention to her to be honest.
Still sounds VERY weird to me.

4722102

Spitfire has a mother. I guess the only question now is, who's her father, and is he still around?

Well, according to prevailing fanon, any character that the show has never had any reason to depict is dead, dead, DEAD!
(See Scootaloo's parents)

4722116 I think that's how we got Big Bertha from the last episode.

On another note, the animation was gorgeous in this episode. All the little tidbits had me cracking smiles all the way through.

4722321 Rainbow's mom, dead. Fluttershy's dad, dead. Prince Blooblood's cousin, dead. Rarity's parents' parents, dead. Tom's sister, dead.

4721632 I'm conflicted on how I feel about this episode. I like the mystery, the black and white noir feel to the scenes, and Rarity looked fabulous throughout the entre episode. My main gripe with the episode is the fact that I figured out the culprit within the first ten minutes. Why introduce this new character if they weren't going to make him a bad guy? Honestly, how predictable this episode was kind of ruined it for me. In a mystery, it's always the person you least suspect. You have to keep the audience guessing who the culprit is. (This is what made "Turnabout Storm" so good.) It shouldn't be this obvious who the culprit is, especially not in the first ten minutes! How much better would it have been had Spitfire set the whole thing up to give Rainbow Dash a chance to fly with her heroes, a dream she has had since she was a filly? I think the reason why this episode is so bad is the fact that this episode had FOUR people working on it. Two of the people who came up with the story also wrote the teleplay. A nice effort, but I think "MMMystery on the Friendship Express" did it better. At the very least, we got another episode featuring Rarity and Rainbow Dash, something we haven't had since season one's "Sonic Rainboom." Nezt week will feature Rarity and Applejack going to help Coco Pommel with a friendship problem, so hopefully that one will be better than these past two Rarity episodes.

4721889 That's the exact same thing I said!

4721793
Yes! Yes! Fear Pinkie! Fear her! Fear Her!

The only issue I had with the episode was the Wonderbolts accusing Rainbow before they saw any of the of the planted evidence. The plot would have worked better if they saw her hair on the envelope first and then accused her. That said, the comedy were spot on, and I loved the interactions between Rarity and Rainbow Boy (they are adorable together).

This episode made me like Rainbow and Rarity even more than I already did. I don't know why Rarity gets the best episodes, but I hope the streak continues.

4721632 Loved that episode! The animation was high quality, the noir scenes were nice, the humor was great, and of course, RARITY! Now we know that Rarity is a great investigator like Twilight, if not even better! What can I say more?! An awesome episode indeed.

4722663
To be fair, anyone who's read Murder on the Orient Express should have been able to call the culprit in that episode ("They all did it."). Also, who actually did it is often pretty tertiary to the whole hardboiled/noir experience.

(Also also, the show is meant to be accessible to five-year-olds.)

4721886

I can't think of anything wrong with it.

Except that the answer to the mystery was obvious as hell and the moral was the same exact one from Swarm of the Century.

Boops for all!

4721632

I didn't like this episode going into it and I didn't like this episode going out. Sure they incorporated some parody into the episode, but it only encompassed five minutes. Aside from that, everything was played as straight as a line and that was not what this episode needed to impress me. This is currently my least favorite episode of season 5.

4723926 1. It was made for children. 2. That was four years ago, no one cares.

4723926 It was? How?

4723931 I found this part adorable! :)

4723907 True, but thankfully, they aren't the demographic, despite what the show's rating implies.

4723949 1. I'm pretty sure even children aren't that dense.
2. A lot of people will care when it becomes increasingly apparent that certain episodes are just re-releasing old episodes for the fourth time as "new episodes."

4724762 New character suddenly comes in, and immediately they talk about how Rainbow Dash is going to beat his record? I don't think the antagonist and his motive could have been clearer unless the rest of the episode had said so in big, red Robin Thicke "Blurred Lines" hashtags.

As for the moral, Rainbow Dash realizing she should have trusted Rarity with her investigative decisions is like how the Mane 6 should have trusted Pinkie Pie and given her musical instruments to lure the parasprites away.

4721880

Wind Rider was almost completely concealed under a heavy coat, hat, glasses and scarf, and he was probably talking in his attempt at falsetto.