Moviefa12: Man, it is good to be back. Hey, Second Opinion, I've got this great idea. Today's episode takes place in the MLP-verse version of New York City and what is New York known for, when it comes to entertainment.
Broadway and hey, that image gives me an idea. We should ponify one of Broadway's biggest musicals. Let's see what we got here, Hair, no. Phantom, no. Rock of Ages, while it'd probably be better than the awful film version but no. I've got it. An MLP version of Wicked. Brilliant , right? Let's see here, Discord can be The Wizard, Twilight can be Elphaba, Rarity can be Glinda. Trixie will be Nessa Rose. etc etc... And I've already had the poster made up.
Why are Cadance and Chrysalis on the poster. It's supposed to be Twilight and Rarity. Look, we even have art of Rarity as Glinda ready.
How could the marketing team have made such a big blunder. Forget this idea, let's just get on with the review.
The Second Opinion: Aw, that probably would have been the best part of the review. And Fluttershy is all but asking for the role of Cowardly Lion, not to mention Applejack with her Scarecrow costume, and Pinkamena Diane Pieacus as the Tin Rock Farmer looking for a heart...
Well, I seem to be getting off topic. This is Rarity Takes Manehattan, set up to be the biggest test of Rarity's generosity yet. It has high stakes It has music. It has symbolism. It appears to have had a pretty solid reaction among the fanbase, and my colleague here has repeatedly singled it out as a personal favorite.
Oh, I'm going to make some enemies here.
Moviefan12: Uh.. yes well. In Wicked, The Scarecrow and The Witch are a couple aka Elphie and Fieyro. Perhaps, it's best, we don't go this route as we should avoid shipping at all costs because shipping wars in the MLP fandom can get weird. I've even seen people ship Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Ewe! Let's just focus on the review. This is easily my favorite Miss Rarity episode.
The Second Opinion: Well hey, the six would just be playing characters, after all so… wait, did you say Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash shipping? Excuse me for a moment. I think I need to throw something across the room, and that Discord lamp from last time should fit the bill.
Ruined.
Okay, sorry about that. I’ll keep to the episode from now on, which should at least… oh, right. Well, let me put it this way: You’re the fan, and I’m the critic, so if anything, I should be the bad guy in the first place. But you happened to loathe the last episode, while the fans who commented seemed to side more with me and my mild vote of approval, so here’s your golden opportunity to properly be their little hero. And fair warning, you’ll want to keep your guard up, m’kay?
The Plot
We start out contemplating what they’re going to do with a story about Rarity in the big city – whether it will use the opportunity for a new kind of adventure with Manhattan-esque settings or mainly just rehash the plot in which Rarity has to impress a big name in the fashion business – while the episode takes its time, nice and easy. It rehashes the gag with Rarity over-packing for the trip, abuses Spike, gives Pinkie Pie time for some warmup comedy, and finally reveals that while everyone has indeed traveled to Manehattan to watch Rarity compete in “fashion week,” they’re also including such New York attractions as a “Bridleway” show called Hinny of the Hills.
Hinny of the Hills, in fact, is the #1 show on Bridleway, but Rarity managed to secure tickets for her friends by giving some designs to the show’s costume designer, prompting everyone to go Barney the Dinosaur on us by reciting how this demonstrates the value of generosity over and over. Finally, Rarity begins singing a song about how great it is to be generous, how much she loves thinking of ways to be generous, how she defies the skeptics who tell her she shouldn’t be so generous in the big city, whatever properly telegraphs that calling her generosity into question is going to be the conflict. Not that it wasn’t otherwise seamless, but isn’t going out of her way to get smiles from ponies for any given reason more Pinkie Pie’s thing? I thought Rarity’s generosity was more, eh, reactive? More of a “see a need, fill a need” reaction that you wouldn’t necessarily expect from her typical disposition? With all this buying things for total strangers, and overpaying the bellhop, and taking clothes off her body to give to chilly tourists, and singing the word “generosity” four different times with no context, and referring to herself as “the smile patrol,” and, hey, she really is trying to be Pinkie Pie, isn’t she? (And while I do appreciate Rainbow’s jab of a setup, questioning the random songs in musical just before the number starts up, I don’t need any help, thank you.)
Actually though, even I’ll admit that the episode starts to gain its footing a bit in the next portion, where Rarity’s generosity repays itself right in her moment of need, just when the grumpy Manehattan citizens were about to leave her high and dry. So for now, it’s a good place to take a breath and pass the review to you, Moviefan. Gimme your best shot.
Moviefan12: To your point, there are a few things that I want to bring up in defense of Miss Rarity. We've established that Miss Rarity is one of my favorite characters on the show and starting with the song, which is one of the greatest MLP songs, I feel that this song was a message to Rarity detractors, who say that she is not worthy of representing Generosity A large fraction of Rarity hates want to say my favorite fashionista is vain and shallow. Which is so not true about Rarity. The show was using the song to show that Miss Rarity does care for other ponies and can live up to her element and in that regard, it succeeded. And secondly, the other important thing to keep in mind is that this was the first episode in the Rainbow Keys arc, where each of the Mane Six have their defining element tested. And here in this episode, Rarity is tested with Suri Polomare, who in many respects is Miss Rarity's Trixie or Flim and Flam. Suri shows what Rarity could have been, if she had not become friends with the Mane Six in pretty respects. And I think this episode perfectly highlights by showing how Suri takes advantage of Rarity by stealing her fabric and presenting a copy of Miss Rarity's fashion line as her own.
Oh, and Bronies are gonna crucify me , if I don't mention Coco Pommel. Suri's assitant. Coco has gained a fan based since this episode aired. And the show loves her too, so much that she'll be in the 100th episode airing next season. Don't get me wrong, she's cute, meek and timid but Flutters does that better.
The Second Opinion: Rarity randomly deciding to walk down the street, give things away, and sing the word “generosity” four times a strategy to disprove her critics? Actually, that’s not bad propaganda! Maybe I should try it to make sure people don’t think I take myself too seriously. A five minute video of me dancing with clowns and doing standup should work along the same lines…
Anyway, back to the plot: Has anyone else ever wondered why that age-old scheme to copy the hero’s product and submit it “first” to make it look like the original is the copycat always works in these stories? Is there a memo going around that standing up and saying “Stop everything! That’s plagiarism of my product! I can tell you exactly how I made it, tell you exactly how they stole it, and produce several witnesses to the fact that it was my own original creation!” is no match for “Uh… I submitted mine first?”
Regardless, Rarity runs back to the hotel in tears, sobbing that her generosity has “ruined” her. But the friends, in the middle of their fun-filled day of tourism, offer to put their schedules on hold and help her back on her feet, prompting her to think of a new line even better than the last one. And so, another last minute save is put in motion, and just like that, everything is set to work out once again.
Well, provided the hotel doesn’t mind.
Now, to determine how to feel about this next part, let me offer this brief character test: You’re walking down a street in Manhattan at 1:30 in the afternoon. Rounding a corner, a large stranger runs up to you, hits you in the nose and knocks you to the ground, then begins laughing it up with his equally large friends. As you sit there bleeding, you hear an appalled cry, and a smaller man runs up to you and helps you to your feet, letting you go perhaps a little too quickly but keeping his hands outstretched to make sure you’re steady. He then hands you a handkerchief for your nose and offers to call 9-1-1. What do you do?
- If you said thank the man kindly for his help, before calling 9-1-1 on your attacker and personally making sure you don’t lose sight of him, you are a good and assertive person.
- If you said act surly with the man because of how hurt and angry you are, snatch the phone with a gruff “thanks,” and call 9-1-1 to file a complaint and get them to drive you to the hospital, not so much, but you do make some degree of sense.
- If you said knee the man helping you in the groin and jump up and down, screaming about what a bad job he’s doing and how it’s everyone for themselves in this town, you are Rarity in Rarity Takes Manehattan.
Rarity and the friends begin her new fashion line, but Rarity’s stern instructions suggest her attitude has changed, so the story can weave in her inevitable downfall. She reveals that she’s ordered their dinners late, and the others note that they were hoping they wouldn’t have to miss Hinny of the Hills. But Rarity subtly pressures them with how she can’t risk this being late and how she was the one who got them the tickets anyway, gradually building to an argument that reveals how Rarity’s mindset has been affected by Suri and culminating in her becoming vicious and guiltily them into staying abruptly begins throwing a paranoid tantrum, accusing everyone of trying to “abandon” her in her hour of need, ridiculing them for thinking things they didn’t say, and screaming about how it really is “every pony for herself in this town!” before running out and slamming the door. Note: Never try to “weave in,” strands with a sledgehammer.
Cut to the next day, and Rarity grabs the just-finished dresses and runs out, being extra careful to forget the “thank yous.” And now that we’ve seen her abrupt downfall for no fleshed-out reason, it’s time for her abrupt recovery for no fleshed out reason. Why don’t you take that part, Moviefan?
Moviefan12: Okay, now you are being unfair to Rarity in your test, which I find suspect because multiple people can do that test and come up with different results and your analogy is way off from what Rarity did in this episode. You are misrepresenting her character in this episode by a great margin. You say that there was no fleshing out in this episode. Clearly, you must have been watching G3 and not FIM then.
And Miss Rarity's reaction is quite understandable. She was upset at the situation and sometimes, when people are upset at a situation they cannot control, they misdirect their anger at their loved ones as Rarity did with her friends. Am I saying what she did was right? Of course not but Rarity had a situation that was out of her hooves with Suri stealing her fashion line and she was distraught and her anger and that came from the situation and it is understandable that she would take it out on the girls. Because again, we sometimes mistakenly attach emotions of situations that we cannot control to people we love because we believe that will understand what we are going through. Surely, you've been in a situation like what Rarity went through, where you thought something was out of your control and misdirected your anger at the first person, you saw. Your test does not work and quite frankly fails because we are looking at two strangers in your test whereas this episode is presenting a scenario, where Miss Rarity is taking her anger out on her friends. Two different things going on here. And as for Rarity's moment where she realizes that she had abused her friends' well for a lack of a better word, friendship because she was so caught up in the moment of the fashion show and she realizes this in the reprise of Generosity.
- Oh, Manehattan, what have I done?
- The thought of Fashion Week was fun
- But I went way too far
- My friends gave to me in ways so kind
- And I gave them nothing but a hard time
- And now alone I stand
- And now alone I stand
Pay special attention to the third lyric.
But I went way too far
This shows that Rarity knows that she screwed up big time and sometimes it only takes a moment for us to realize that we messed up big and this Rarity's moment to realize that she screwed up big time with how she treated her friends like dirt. Anyways, Rarity has her moment of clarity, when she sees the rainbow (This will be a running theme throughout season 4) and that is her big ah ha moment to realize that she done messed up.
This comes from the fact that her friends are not there and Rarity at first believed that they had not come because of the way, she had treated them. Which would be understandable and she thinks that they had already headed back to Ponyville. We find out the next day, when Rarity goes to thank Prim Hemline (the head pony of the fashion show) for her time there, that they had overslept and they Rarity had supposedly lost but that was not the case at all and Suri just told Rarity's friends that. And Rarity, in this instance decides that her friends are more important than some trophy and makes up for her actions by taking them to see the musical and we find out that Rarity secured this showing because she promised to stay on as the costume designer and then who should show up but Coco and reveal to Rarity that she was the real winner after all and Coco said that seeing the generosity between Rarity and her friends is what made Coco decide to quit working for Suri and here in this instance, Coco is hired on by Rarity to do the costumes and we are presented with our first rainbow key.
This episode takes Miss Rarity through a roller coaster of emotions showing her at her best and worst but bouncing back and showing us, who she really is. And this is my favorite Rarity episode because of how much it shows she is a good pony at heart and it tests her and Rarity does falter in the middle on her test but I still find that understandable and believable because that is a situation that many people can relate
to.
The Second Opinion: Now there’s that fighting passion I was hoping for. That’s more like it! But I warned you to keep your guard up. Putting all your chips into selling us on the dramatic sincerity of Rarity’s recovery? You can have that. Passion without the proper direction is, at best, adorably dense, and at worst, well, let’s see for ourselves. (And on that note, you can say option #3 of the test was a cruel analogy of Rarity’s collapse if you must, but she wasn’t #2, and she certainly wasn’t #1. She wasn’t anything identifiable, because there was no progression, and a reaction like that doesn’t just erupt from sane people without being prompted. As I said, woven not with a needle but with a sledgehammer.)
So then, what happens following Rarity’s dramatic little repent, again? She heads back to the fashion show to thank the poor man’s Photo Finish, only to run into her friends, who tell her they know and care about her too well to let one bad day push them away. So far so good, but wait, there’s more? To make it up to them, Rarity has secured another set of tickets to see Hinny of the Hills? But didn’t those require something special to obtain the first time? Where’s the episode going with this? Answer: She had to volunteer to make the costumes for the next show, relocating herself to Manehattan for who-knows-how-long, which, bottom line, she doesn’t want to do.
Remember when those fake, dense little Saturday morning cartoons would close with that moral on how your friends are more important than anything, and you should sacrifice whatever it takes, especially yourself, to keep things good with them? You know, the one that was unrelatable, one-dimensional, and a bad influence, since most kids are still learning how to look out for themselves, and anyone who actually requires you to throw yourself at their feet so absolutely is not your friend? Well, it seems Friendship is Magic became nostalgic for those times. Never mind “forgive and forget.” If something like this happens between you and your friends, you owe them! Yes, a sincere repent is required, but don’t forget the token to make it up to them. Sure, you may have already known that was a great gesture of sincerity, but what if the thing that would please them most is something you can’t give or afford without legitimately hurting yourself? All the better! Then you’ll really be a true friend! Forget putting all your heart into thinking of the next best thing, or something even better. Maybe Coco will show up with the solution, and everything will just work out! Doesn’t it always?
As far as I’m concerned, this season just bottomed out. Sure, some of its episodes weren’t the best at keeping their conflicts interesting. The last one may have even been clumsy and rushed in its allegory. But until now, they all more or less managed to do what the show made its name on: Keeping its characters and its morals real. I had high hopes, after Princess Twilight Sparkle, that we might be returning to form there, but by this point, at least season 3 managed to make me say SOME of its episodes were great. With this episode in the mix, season 4 now has most of the lows and none of the highs of its predecessor.
Besides, what was with that sappy ending? Rarity just gets what she wants, even though she was so obviously outsmarted by her opponent? That’s like so obviously not how it works in the big city, and… wait, what am I saying?
YAHHHHHH! I’m a pony! I’m what’s-her-name! I’m Sushi!
Suri Polamare: It’s Suri, hun. And personally, I think it’s a BIG improvement, don’t you?
Shut up! What the heck’s going on? I didn’t activate any spells! Okay, calm down and think,
Suri Polamare: and maybe get a nice cup of coffee while you’re at it, heh-heh, m’kay?
The Second Opinion: AHEM… wait, I think I got it. It has to be because I broke the Discord lamp. Moviefan-Discord created that with the magic of the transformation spell, so breaking the lamp must have unleashed it on me. If I can just fix it back up, that should put things right.
Suri Polarmare: Kinda tacky, don’t you think? I think it’d be be sooo much better if we went and bought something more high end at Whinny’s, heh, huh-huh, ‘kay?
The Second Opinion: I’m gonna take that as a “no dice.” Moviefan, you have to help me! What’s going on?
Moviefan12: Wait, you were turned into a pony. Oh, this is priceless. After everything that has happened to me, it's nice to see something like this happen to someone else. And I'm sorry but ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system, I have an idea on how to improve your situation. But first, I'll need 2 bits, 3 gems, a hair off of Angel Bunny and a private meeting session with Princess Cadance.
The Second Opinion: Oh by all means, enjoy yourself. I oughta come over there and –
Suri Polamare: Please hun, allow me: Quiet! At least he turned into a winner. It’s not like you’ve ever become anyone worth being, ‘member? You’d better think before you laugh at Suri Polomare, because I’m your business partner now, ‘kay? If you thought your friend was tough to handle, wait’ll you see how I tear up your favorite stories about these small town losers. I’d just like to see a wannabe like you try to stop me.
The Second Opinion: Nevermind. Just tell me, where the heck am I supposed to get all of that?
Suri Polamare: And more importantly, why would you want to? I mean, we go so good together! You think this episode’s silly. I think this episode’s silly. You’ll be such a better assistant than little Coco Pommel!
The Second Opinion: Shut up! That couldn’t be less true if you tried, ‘kay?
Moviefan12: Okay, first you'll need to go through the mirror that leads to Equestira and that should take you to The Crystal Empire and there, you can try and set up a meeting for me to meet Princess Cadance. This is mandatory, if you do not pull through with this meeting, I'm afraid you may be stuck as a pony forever. Then take the Friendship Express to Ponyville and oh here, you'll need these tweezers to pluck a hair off of Angel Bunny at Fluttershy's cottage. Then you have to options for gems, you can either see if Spike will give you any of his gems or you can go to Carrousel Boutique and ask Miss Rarity to give you some. And finally, I think you will find two bits at the Golden Oak Library. Of course, there is another way for you to turn back into a human but I don't know. It's really tricky and probably super dangerous.
The Second Opinion: …Well, even if I could keep all of that straight, I think the gang would be a bit reluctant to trust a guy allegedly trapped in the same body as the pony that lied them and back-stabbed one of them.
I don’t know about that. It was pretty easy to convince them before, with some clever quick thinking. But seriously, do you really think it’s even worth the trouble? I mean, look at how fancy your mane is now!
As I was saying, “tricky and super dangerous” sounds good, so what is it?
Moviefan12: Well, it's going to involve me casting a magic spell. *Make it so that they are no longer, this snobby fashion pony*
Well that seemed to wor... Uh oh. Second Opinion, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you are no longer Suri Polamore but the bad news is you are still a pony. On the bright side however, you're Miss Rarity. Squee! Maybe, I should keep you this way. Let's see save a friend or Miss Rarity. Decisions?
Oh man, I really want to save Second Opinion but it's Miss Rarity....
The Second Pony: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, “DECISIONS!?” YOU CAN’T REVIEW THIS SHOW WITH A PONY! GOOD LUCK GETTING HER TO HELP WITH YOUR DIRTY WORK! WHAT WOULD SHE EVEN KNOW ABOUT WRITING REVIEWS?!
Rarity: Well, clearly more than a brute so egotistical that the first thing he accidentally turns himself into is that wretched Suri Plomare of all ponies! Oh, just look at this horrid review! Comparing me to an ungrateful “New York” heathen? The nerve! I think I WILL stick around and help out around here. Clearly some things need to be changed!
The Second Opinion: First of all, you can’t change my review! That’s censorship! And second of all, when did you become the type to want to take over someone else’s life?
Rarity: When I started reading your material! Look at this! You’ve ranked me as your least favorite pony among my friends, tied with that uncouth Applejack! How could you?
The Second Opinion: Well, she did work you over pretty well in your rap battle with her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pPpgxyvrFs)…
Rarity: A rap battle? What sort of ruffian takes that into account? And look at this! No wonder your friend wants to get rid of you! You’ve spent this entire review beating him down! And all he’s done throughout is – well, no, he does stoop to your level a bit in that segment there – but he said up front that this is one of his favorite episodes, and you’ve done nothing but give him a hard time and try to take that away from him!
The Second Opinion: I’ll have you know I’ve been very nice to this show and its fans, even when HE was the negative one! I just wanted to put my foot down here. Your stories should be told better than this. It’s clumsy!
Rarity: Hmph, well no wonder that spell turned you into Suri! It appears your disappointment HAS made you wish to become like her! In fact, I’m not surprised the spell can’t change you back. It sounds like an identity crisis, if you ask me! (Wait a minute… if that’s true, and his attempt to change from Suri turned him into me, that means I’M the embodiment of his better side trying to get out! The heavens have picked me as the voice of his goodness and generosity! Oh, you really are, aren’t you Rarity? Such a symbol of decency! Squee! Oh, I loveit Iloveit Iloveit…)
Ahem, actually now, maybe that’s the answer to both our problems, darling. You just need to remember your generous side, and give your friends a bit more space when you express yourself. Try to account for their feelings instead of attacking them. Go on, try it! It couldn’t hurt.
The Second Opinion: At this point, I’ll try anything to get out of this three ring circus. Uh, to all of you witnessing this, I know I was pretty cynical before, but, hey, I can’t stop you from liking this episode, so if you do, I guess you don’t need to bother with my review of it. Whatever works for you is your call.
Moviefan12: I'm so confused. Save Second Opinion or keep Miss Rarity.. Well, let's see what the magic does.
Suri Polamare: Perfect! That’s just what you need to throw the little sap heads off your back! Now you just need to create a few different accounts and upload a similar review on each one, to get them to think they should have listened to you all along, heh, m’kay?
The Second Opinion: You again?! ARGH! Of all the impossible would-be riddles to, no, come on, think generous… think generous…
Rarity: Eh, don’t worry dear, I’m sure it was just fluke. Maybe, uh, try thinking a bit more sincere this time. Surely there’s some sentiment you could express to your readers that both parties would appreciate… maybe?
The Second Opinion: I have got to start considering a new line of work…
Alright, bear with me for a second. The episode that this one reminds me of the most is Sweet and Elite, the one about Rarity’s attempts to fit in at Canterlot, embarrassed about her small town origins. I didn’t exactly think it was great, but it was the first episode I ever saw, and it gave me my first glimpse at some of the qualities I would come to appreciate here. And it’s all I can think about while watching this episode, Rarity Takes Manehattan.
Sweet and Elite began by laying the groundwork, establishing strong reasons for what Rarity wanted and why, as well as what was at stake and what her obstacles were, where this episode started with a montage that seemed forced and let me know right away what the twist would be. Sweet and Elite gave us a fantastic montage song that put us right behind Rarity’s perspective, conveying her hopes and successes, her joy, and even a glimmer of regret at the end. This episode gave us Rarity’s collapse almost immediately after her first real obstacle, with no transition from the emotions she showed when it happened, and no explanation for why it was that extreme and illogical. Sweet and Elite made Rarity learn and grow while so intelligently avoiding that artificial moral on how you should sacrifice whatever it takes to keep things good with your friends, and this episode, well, didn’t. It does bring up what really would be big emotions, from the hopeful, to the bitter, to the remorseful and forgiving, and I can understand wanting to embrace it for that. But even if you like this episode, at least try to see my concern: Is this really what should be given an A-grade? Would you really be comfortable saying that there’s nothing to seriously improve, that this would be the best way for every episode to deal with its characters?
Rarity: Now that made me feel your sincerity, darling. I can even forgive your silly hangups, almost, after the nice word to one of my other favorite outings. I’m sure whatever you change into next will a much better representation of who you are.
Okay, let’s see if it worked this time…
Great. What pony is this?
M-Me? I’m Cirrus Strayer. I, um, I happened to be in the area when a mare with a button cutie mark started going on about a magical servant from another dimension, so I brought her some medical help that should be picking her up now. Does this have anything to do with that?
Sort of. I’ve spent the last few minutes turning into ponies against my will. You don’t want to take over my life too, do you?
Why would I want to do that? I just want to get out of here. I have to finish my story on Rainbow Dash by tomorrow!
You’re a Rainbow Dash fan?
Sort of. She’s one of the more prominent candidates to join the Wonderbolts, so I volunteered to do a story on her for the paper I’m with now. But I still have a good stretch to go.
Huh. Alright Moviefan, you’ve got two guys who both want the same result here, so how about you put us right?
Moviefan12: Okay, let's try this again. *Seperate the two and bring back my friend in human form. Make it so, he is a pony no more*
Second Opinion, you okay? I think the spell worked.
The Second Opinion: Uhh, this is getting disorienting. Let me check the mirror… IT DID! IT WORKED! I’ve never been so happy to see myself! I’m me again!
Cirrus Strayer: Me too! Am I glad that applesauce is over with. So what are you, some kind of monkey sorcerer?
The Second Opinion: No I’m, wait, you’re still here?
Cirrus Strayer: Looks like it. Actually if all the insanity really is finished, I think I’ll stick around and do my first firsthand report on you two. If I can convince the press, the is could be the biggest thing since Gabby Gums!
The Second Opinion: Be my guest, but talk to Twilight Sparkle if you think this is the strangest thing your world has ever seen. How about we wrap this up, Moviefan?
Moviefan12: Aw, looks like someone has a new pony friend. I wonder if Cirrus Strayer knows Magic Dust. Because I think they'd get along pretty well. Okay, let's take a look at the characters.
Characters
Main Character
Rarity voiced by Tabitha St. Germain
Moviefan12: This was Miss Rarity's episode through and through to shine and she delivered on that front. This episode tested her and sure, she faltered and stumbled, when she misdirected her frustration but she came to her senses and realized that she was in the wrong and that she is better than her adversary. Rarity holds herself to a higher esteem and this episode truly shows that.
The Second Opinion: …It’s not that I think she would “never” act like she did (except maybe in the first song), but they have her rush to these extremes without a believable reason, which is also a way to act out of character. Instead of building on Rarity’s dimensions here and letting drama form naturally, it focuses on drama itself and forces Rarity to fit the bill, losing a dimension.
Supporting Characters
Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash voiced by Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, & Ashleigh Bell
Moviefan12: The other mane six took a backseat to Rarity's main story. Not that they weren't supportive of their friend but the episode was more concerned with Rarity's story than focusing on the other characters but you could see that they were frustrated with Miss Rarity's treatment of them but they did agree to help her but Rarity did overstep her bounds a bit.
The Second Opinion: Not much to add, although I mentioned what I thought of the redemption bit on their behalf, after the great job they did in Sweet and Elite showing the friends don’t demand martyrdom from Rarity. Point to them, it seemed like the would have refused it if they could have, but that makes it an even worse moral, implying you should anyway.
Coco Pommel voiced by Cathy Weseluck
Moviefan12: Okay, I'm going to get some flack for this but I'm not the biggest fan of Coco Pommel. She's not a bad character but she reminds me too much of Fluttershy to truly stand out and in some regards, I feel like the episode's story could've been told without her character but I get what they were doing by having her learn a lesson from the generosity of Rarity and her friends but still, she felt like a character that was just there.
The Second Opinion: Now it’s my turn to draw to some flack, because believe it or not, Coco’s subplot was the thing I actually liked in this episode. I wasn’t moved by Rarity’s lesson, because they failed to paint a picture of why and how she needed to learn it in the first place, nor by the comparisons to Suri, where the episode passes up most of its chances to demonstrate when her selfish scheming doesn’t work. But here is a lesson that’s both true and relatable, because there really are good people out there surrounded by those who don’t care, who only pressure them to sink or swim and leave them resigned to a lonely, detached way of self-preservation. From that, nothing is so liberating as to find that there really are good people out there to gravitate towards, to show you that you don’t have to live in that environment, and by choosing to be the best of herself, that’s exactly what Rarity has given to Coco Pommel.
As for the comparisons to Fluttershy, it’s true they’re both cute and timid, but I think that’s where the similarities end. Fluttershy seems a bit sheltered, like she’s not always sure what’s out there or how bad it is. She doesn’t know yet, so she’s afraid of sticking her neck out too far. Coco’s afraid because she DOES know, and she’s resigned to ducking from its inevitable blows, to life looking down on her. But now Rarity has inspired her to take pride in something she does, to show the kind of confidence it takes to overcome a Suri, giving her a level of self-respect needed to hold her own in Manehattan.
And if anyone wants to object to the fact that I said “people,” I happened to watch A Canterlot Wedding again recently, and Twilight clearly says that evil Cadence has a way of sneaking up on PEOPLE so, there!
Cirrus Strayer: Well of course ponies can refer to each other as people, but in your case, it’s probably too informal to be proper grammar. Or does “people” mean something else here?
The Second Opinion: Hey, I don’t give me a lesson on grammar. I’m an English major! Now excuse me while I look for the typos I missed.
Music
Generosity (& Reprise)
Moviefan12: Hmm, I love this song. Of course, Miss Rarity has in my opinion three of the best songs in MLP. If anyone recalls my Top 12 Songs of Season 4 List, this song is just so great and in my opinion, a true reminder of who Rarity is and what she stands for. At the end of the day, she is a good pony or person, that will put out a lending hoof to help others. And the reprise is also really great as that is Rarity's moment of clarity, where she realizes that she messed up big time. Though I prefer the first version and this song really has that old timey New York feel to it. Show composer, Daniel Ingram was going for something big band/Sinatra and I can hear that influence but to me, it sounds more like something out of a classic musical. This is the type of song, I would expect to be in a musical about New York. Speaking of Dainel Ingram, he has a cameo in this number as the pony that Rarity gives her scarf to.
I think that's pretty cool. Now back in my Top 12 Songs of Season 4 list, I said that this song was better than Becoming Popular and The Art of The Dress. I'm not sure, I still find that to be true. I still like this song and it's my favorite season 4 song but I think both Becoming Popular and The Art of The Dress are more catchy and a little more memorable but that all three of those songs, when put together pain a wonderful picture of who, Rarity is.
The Second Opinion: I’ll give you “old timey New York Feel.” I’ll also give you the reprise, which conveyed a fitting sense of regret, good and simple. But I already said I thought this one was Flanderizing Rarity. Actually, her other songs, which I agree are two of the best, could teach us something: Art of the Dress, a great reworking of Putting it Together, shows us that Rarity is generous by singing about her pressing on in a difficult scenario for her friends, instead of telling us she just is, anytime. And Becoming Popular, my favorite, gives us a montage from her perspective, conveying her excitement and her longing, so we can see by the end why she’s both fully emersed in Canterlot and regretfully unable to finish Twilight’s present. This one starts with her being uber generous, with only a throwaway line – “Manehattan, what you do to me” – as a possible explanation. If we’d seen something from Manehattan inspire it in the moment, that might have fit. Imagine if Let it Go began with Elsa happily running up the mountain, shooting ice and singing at the top of her lungs.
Antagonist
Suri Polamare also voiced by Tabitha St. Germain
Moviefan12: Before I looked it up for this episode, I had no idea that Tabitha St. Germain also voiced Suri. That makes this character a bit more interesting seeing as how Tabitha voiced both Rarity and Suri. Our protagonist, who we have come to know over the seasons and know that while she can be a bit vain, she is good hearted whereas with Suri, she's cold and ruthless and isn't afraid to backstab ponies she knew as we saw with her stealing Rarity's fashion line. As I said prior, she's Rarity's Trixie or Flim and Flam in being the complete opposite of what we know Rarity to be. Rarity cares for other ponies and while she may not always show it, her friends know it. Whereas Suri only cares about herself and doesn't care who she hurts to get ahead. Second Opinion, I imagine you must have a unique take on her seeing as you spent part of the review as Suri.
The Second Opinion: Argh, I’d skip this if I could. Putting aside the comedy for a second, they do a decent job here invoking someone who’s long since been caught up in “the game” and sees it as a matter of survival. But unlike Coco, Suri was self-centered and narcissitic to begin with and actually revels in it. She’s not sympathetic, but I suppose we, ahem, all might have had the urge to cut loose and revel in something we think we hold over others. I might have liked to see her lose onscreen, just to highlight and bring full circle where her approach would fail. In fact,
Anyway though, where she really becomes a good villain is in Tabitha St. Germain’s hilarious and memorable vocal performance, an instant seller. I just might need some time before I see it again…
Our Final Thoughts
Moviefan12: This is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series and just a great reminder of who Rarity is and why she was the Element of Generosity. She may stumble, she may falter but Miss Rarity truly does care about her friends. As I said, her misdirecting her anger onto the Mane Six is believable because so many of us have gotten frustrated with a situation that we cannot control and misdirect our anger onto a loved one because we think, that they'll understand.
The Second Opinion: To me, this is sort of like Rarity’s Magical Mystery Cure. It wants to be big, heartfelt, and quintessential, but its focus seems to be more on what extremes would fit that description than on how the characters would be naturally taken to said extremes. Many fans, according to Wikipedia and the internet reviews I’ve seen, didn’t like Magical Mystery Cure and were mad about Twilight becoming an alicorn, but to me, that was the redeeming factor. Amid the tearful moments, the heavy speeches, and the triumphant songs that seemed rushed, fake, and melodramatic, it took something we had good reason to be invested in, Twilight’s growth, and took it to the next level. If that’s the difference that allows fans to seemingly embrace this one, I would argue that they SHOULD support Magical Mystery Cure. But I didn’t, and I can’t support this. As a certain internet reviewer recenctly said, it has the math (misdirecting anger at loved ones = relatable), but it doesn’t have the poetry (a natural point for her to snap, an escalation that makes her sound bitter, rather than paranoid, etc.). If that were the standard for this show, I wouldn’t be reviewing it now.
Then again, as the ironic Coco Pommel section demonstrated, it still nailed one or two aspects, so I guess the show’s not out just yet.
Cirrus Strayer: Well, if I know anything about Princess Twilight and co., it’s never a good time to count them out. Hey, uh, why don’t you help me write this story, add a little about what it is you do here? You sound like you could use a look back across the times that were good.
The Second Opinion: Eh, sure, why not? Looks like I’ve got a new friend here, Moviefan, so I guess I’ll let you close us out. Sorry we couldn’t agree on much this time.
Moviefan12: Join us next time as we take a look at...
Pinkie Apple Pie
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