On today's episode of Infrequent Ramblings About the Occasional Ponysode With No Consistent Schedule to Speak Of...

 

The word of the day is "Communication." There is alot of that in this episode.

 

The first five minutes of Canterlot Boutique are an extremely bloated, ham-fisted exposition dump. Every aspect of the episode's backstory, from where Rarity got the money to the exact plan of business, is explained in painful detail. The story, in fact, doesn't actually begin until about a third of the way in when Rarity starts making the princess dresses. From there, at least, the episode does avert one annoying cliche that the series has historically fallen victim to.

 

When Rarity and Slippery Sassafrass have a disagreement, Rarity doesn't let it stew until the end, she confronts her. The two actually have an argument about the boutique's direction in the beginning of the story, instead of saving it for the climax. I found this to be very refreshing, since it makes the conflict feel natural and earnest. If the two conflicting parties air their dirty laundry early on, then there's no awkward phase where they pretend like everything's just peachy.

 

Now, let's talk about the song. It would have been fine, but it just dragged on and on and on until I couldn't stand it anymore. We get it, Rarity, you're an "artiste" with "couture," and Suffrin' Suckatash is cramping your vibe. You don't need to sing two whole reprises of the same song just to get that point across. Instead, this episode should have cut down to just one song (and trimmed the exposition as well) to better pace out the story it does have. Remember what was wrong with Magical Mystery Cure? Exactly this. Shite pacing packed together tighter than a can of sardines just to accommodate a bunch of extra songs.

 

Savory Salamander herself was a total ham. I appreciate enthusiasm, but she didn't need to orgasm on every line just to show she was excited. Dial it back a bit; it's not good for your blood pressure.

 

As for the ending, I recall the Simpsons episode where Lisa's cat (Snowball II) dies.Lisa gets Two more pets, naming them Snowballs III and IV respectively. Finally, on the episode's closing, she happens across a cat that looks exactly like Snowball II, christens it Snowball V, but decides to call it "Snowball II" anyway for convenience's sake. To quote Seymour Skinner: "That's really a cheat."

 

And it was a cheat for Rarity to keep the boutique open and under the direction of Sushi Salavini while she went back to her "roots" in Ponyville. You're cheating by trying to tweak the status quo without actually changing it. You're cheating by making what should be a major story development little more than a technicality. You. Are. Cheating.

 

So, putting together all I did and did not like about this episode, all I really have to say in the end is: "Stop cheating."

Source: S05:E14 - Canterlot Boutique