Episodes centered around Rarity are... well, a rarity. But when there's an episode centered around her, there has yet to be an actual bad one ("Simple Ways" was kind of weak compared to the others, though) and today is not that day.
From what I've picked up, creator Lauren Faust wanted this episode to happen and that dream has finally come true. As the episode title suggests, Rarity manages to open up a boutique in Canterlot. She also hires a business manager named Sassy Saddles. Judging by the name and her sudden appearance, I'm guessing things will go wrong.
The episode goes right to the point by showing Rarity's new dress that she based off of Twilight's coronation as Princess. She spent a lot of TLC (Time, Love, and Couture) working on it and it would be a shame if that vision of hers goes to waste after a while. As Rarity opens the door, Sassy Saddles upstages her, which sets the tone for the entire episode.
Rarity presents her new dresses to a group of ponies, including some fashion critic, who I swear must have once been equalized by Starlight Glimmer due to that creepy smile of his. He does provide some great facial expressions, though, including this one:
According to my friend, BlackBeltDragon, the Brony community began making T-shirts out of that face immediately afterwards. It goes to show how fast they work.
Back to the episode, Rarity saves the best dress for last: the Reign in Stain. However, Sassy Saddles renames it to the bland "Princess Dress" because the original name was "confusing and unappealing." That's marketing in a nutshell. Everypony is won over by that dress and Rarity is given the task to mass-produce it. This causes a problem for Rarity, leading to this episode's musical number, "Rules of Rarity."
Rarity becomes tired of the success and decides to close the boutique, much to the dismay of Sassy Saddles. She devises a "going-out-of-business" sale, discontinuing the Reign in Stain and selling all the other dresses overshadowed by it. All the ponies didn't seem to mind and found even better substitutes. Because of this success, Rarity decides not to close the boutique.
Sassy Saddles notices the success and takes note of it. It's then that Rarity decides to leave her in charge while she goes back to her boutique in Ponyville. You might say that this is another "Status Quo is God" ending, but I'm okay with it. Rarity still owns the Canterlot Boutique after all.
This is yet another great episode. The first thing to talk about is Sassy Saddles herself. While she is obviously written as an antagonist, I have to applaud the writer for not making her truly a bad guy, as she does want the boutique to be successful and shows remorse when she finally sees what went wrong. It's a great example of how fads die down because they lose their touch after while. There is a line thrown in where she said she failed in other boutiques, adding a bit of backstory to her without explaining a whole lot.
I am a little disappointed in the small amount of screentime for the Mane Six. They disappear after the first half of the episode and contribute very little. Sure, Pinkie Pie provided some good laughs and Twilight was modeling for that dress. Wouldn't it have been fine if they stuck with Rarity the whole episode? Then again, it would have rehashed "Rarity Takes Manehattan." It's just a minor gripe, though, and it's not really a deal breaker.
Overall, I liked Rarity's arc throughout the episode. The way she goes through opening the boutique to becoming miserable is almost like how I was writing these blogs. I like to spend a lot of TLC (Time, Love, and Care) working on them, making them as satisfactory as possible, but also giving myself a deadline as a means of motivation. There will be evidence of that when I review the Metal Gear franchise near the end of this year.
This another favorite episode of this season, and it gets a...
5/5
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