Episode review: S5E14: "Canterlot Boutique"

Applejack (and the Mane Six out of shot) know it's time to run

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is back on our screens at last! It's only been a few months, but it's sometimes felt like a lot longer. We kick off S5 part two with a Rarity episode, and those are rarely terrible. The fact that the writer for this ep was Amy Keating Rogers also helped to make me more optimistic towards it, as I've generally liked her episodes. After the break, there'll be the usual spoiler-filled review of how good I thought it actually was.

And the answer to that is: quite good. Not very good, but quite good, yes. After the brilliance of the preceding two episodes, plus the inevitable build-up for this one being a semi-premiere, that is damning with faint praise. I don't mind that this episode didn't have much action; it was a real slice-of-life ep and that's fine. (Let's have another map episode soon, though, eh?) I just felt that it was a rather ordinary story. "Ordinary" MLP eps are still good, though, and I still enjoyed watching this one.

We got a song! Praise Celestia (look, I don't care if she's not divine, I can still praise her), at long, long last we got a song. And "The Rules of Rarity" was... well, it was quite good. Rarity singing is always nice to hear, but I do rather fret that Daniel Ingram is getting too clever and experimental with these: it was a very complex piece by Pony standards, and it really isn't something I can see being presented at a singalong any time soon. Not to mention the fact that its intro is reminiscent of that of Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry"!

I'm... not sure how I'd take seeing that at my window

Back to the story. We had some broad comedy with Pinkie Pie at the start, though that faded a bit thereafter. Pacing in this episode wasn't perfect, spending too much time on the setup and then squashing too much in later on. I found my attention wandering at times, though, so perhaps the fast pace was needed. Or perhaps this just wasn't a script I cared that much about. Still, the animators did superbly with facial expressions, sometimes for tiny – but significant – periods. (Watch Twi's face just after the camera cuts to her after Sassy's "Everypony loves royalty!")

Sassy "another failed boutique" Sandals, the antagonist of the piece, wasn't somepony I found particularly interesting, although I certainly recognised the personality type! She could have been a real "love to hate" character with a little more finesse, but I suppose her redemption at the end would have stopped that anyway. Apart from Twilight, who endured her celebrity status with appropriate stoicism, the Mane Six (and Spike) didn't really do anything. Were they all really needed?

Rarity, as usual in her episodes, was the most interesting pony to watch. She went through something similar to what Rainbow Dash had way back in "Wonderbolts Academy", finally realising a long-held dream and only then discovering that aspects of it weren't what she thought they would be, not to mention having to deal with a friend-turned-rival. Of the support ponies, Fashion Plate stood out, as did "Moonlight Raven". That end joke, though... it just wasn't funny, and a writer of AKR's class could have done a lot better. (Edit: to be fair to her, as pointed out in the comments, it may well have been the animators.) (Edit 2: it wasn't AKR's doing. Apologies to her.)

And what are you up to, Sea Swirl? We're watching you, you know...

Overall, then, a decent but not exceptional episode to take us into the back half of Season 5. It had a solid, if not particularly innovative, storyline – and it was good that Rarity didn't abandon her new business at the end – but it had a few rough edges that stopped it from going beyond enjoyable and into the realms of the great. It seems that there's likely to be more Rarity in store for us next week, so it'll be interesting to see how her character in that differs from what we saw this weekend.

Best quote: Rarity: "...Tripping the Light!" Fashion Plate: "Fantastic!"

Yays

• Rarity gets her "success wasn't what I imagined" episode
• The ending (apart from the very end) was well handled
• Twilight was rather adorable
• Fashion Plate and Moonlight Raven
• A good-looking episode, and some clever work with facial expressions
• A song, egad! Another song at last!
• Twilight being impressed by somepony's (Sassy's) attention to detail

Neighs

• The pacing felt off, with the episode taking too long to get going
• That last joke. What were you thinking, AKR animators?
• Rarity was in the wrong changing that dress, but there was no comeback
• Sassy Sandals just didn't have that extra spark the great side ponies do

★★★