Josh Haber extended his résumé quite a bit since joining FIM back in Season 4. During that time, he published and edited a combination of the good, the bad, and the average. He wrote really good episodes like Re-Mark and Bloom & Gloom, yet edited Season 6, the worst of the series, and helped write To Where and Back Again, FIM’s worst finale. For most of Season 7, he was absent while working on another show. One week ago, he made his return joining the Lady Writers as editor for Daring Done? In his first written episode since To Where, Haber showed his growth and wrote Season 7’s most surprising amethyst.

Strengths:

Colorful characters.

Ponyville’s charm comes from its cast. With the tertiary and background characters, Mane is no exception. Just about every character in this episode is very likeable. Filthy Rich in his desire to find the right flower bouquet for his Spoiled wife. Mr. Breezy and Davenport in trying to improve customer service and sales. The flower trio using Rarity’s advice to select and sell bouquets easier. Townsponies weren’t only interested in listening to Rarity’s advice, but also receptive to each other. It feels like the town actually likes each other and wants to help one another.

Pay attention very closely to two very clever continuity nods in the background.

1. As the flower trio sold out, Granny and Grand Pear were next door in the booth the entire time, cluing those who watched The Perfect Pear they put the past and feud behind them permanently.
   
    
2. In the beginning shot, look very closely:
   
   
   Apple Bloom and Burnt Oak conversing.

>BM and Sugar Belle…

Seriously, good to see the show continue building the relationship after a massive screwup.

One of the ponies to catch my eye most was Daisy and how receptive and kind she was to Rarity the entire time. Only a few episodes ago, she and Diamond Cutter denigrated her behind her back and was part of the anti-Rarity boycott. It was one of the most out-of-character moments of the entire show, ’cause this normally sweet pony bashed a supposed friend. Here, it’s like none of that happened, and everything returned to normal. Thank Mama Celestia!

However, the background characters share their role. Fluttershy, Dash, AJ, TS, SG, and Zecora do, too, in their own ways.

1. Zecora: Over the years, she has appeared very sporadically, sometimes only making two appearances for an entire season. In her first speaking appearance since Re-Mark, she clearly points out which item is which. True, Zecora could’ve labeled them, but the conflict and accident aren’t her fault whatsoever and, thus, not a flaw in the episode at all. She pointed with her hoof which is the shampoo and which is the remover potion. Rarity’s accident caused the mix-up.
   
   Telling Rarity to conclude Act 2 she can’t brew a potion in time is a breath of fresh air, particularly in a show where magic’s sometimes considered the be-all end-all. To conclude Act 2 or the episode as a whole with Zecora saying she got one available right now would be as anticlimactic as Dragon Quest.

2. Fluttershy, RD, and AJ: Like any good friend, they try fixing Rarity’s mane as a last resort. Each of their choice for wig works, because they’re familiar with the items they share with her: tree leaves, cloud moisture, and straw. Rarity desperately wants to be in the photo shoot, but can’t with her mane so messy, and with their last resort being a failure, it leads to Rarity having to cancel. Why does this work? Because they’re doing whatever they can to help her. Their wig creations are intended to help Rarity, and both she and the audience get it.

3. Twilight & Starlight: They, too, tried their best to help. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

   Although there was a clever callback to Re-Mark:

   Quote

   Zecora: Oh, no. I'm afraid I can't fix it before the big shoot. But in time, the hair will grow back from the root. There's no magical cure to hasten us through it, unless you went backward in time to undo it.
   
   Starlight Glimmer: Uh-uh. I think we can both say that's not a good option.

   More about them a little later.

Of the RM7, the character that got my attention the most was Applejack. Over the past few seasons, when they communicate, it’s if they can’t stand each other rather than the opposite (Made in Manehattan exempt). Here, after Rarity sulked to the point of downing tubs of ice cream, AJ turned on the light and had enough. This is exactly who she should be: honest to the point of saying the uncomfortable truth, yet do so because she cares for her.

Now, a good episode doesn’t require background ponies to be involved in the episode. But when done right, it makes Ponyville feel more like a town and community. It does that here.

Rarity.

It ain’t a good episode if the star isn’t written well. She was written well here. Every line she spoke oozed with personality: confident, sassy, vain, unsure, hopeless, upset. She reacted to specific situations she was involved in, whether it’s having super-sticky string bound to her body, accidently applying remover potion on her mane, and so forth.

One criticism I noticed of this episode from an analyst is he called the salesponies in the town dumb for not recognizing Rarity under her black cloak. There’s a problem with the argument. Rarity completely covered her entire body aside from her hooves and face with a large cloak. When Rose tried to peak underneath, Rarity shyly refused from fear of ostracization and embarrassment. A few times, she pulled her hood down, once after opening Mr. Breezy’s door and as she headed to Davenport’s auction, possibly to keep her identity hidden.

By how the episode was structured, Rarity apparently looked forward into taking part of Vanity Mare and Photo Finish’s photoshoot. How long? Not stated. Although you can guess it was scheduled well in advance. Her self-assurance was obvious throughout the opener by how she used her mane proudly during the three scenes. Being no shortage of ego, it ain’t a surprising for her to flash or focus her proud locks.

The accident was so sudden and so close to the date of the shoot that she was desperate in trying anything to fix it. Borrow a Crystal Pony’s glass-like mane, mask it with a beautiful dress, use a cloud or straw, have Zecora quick-brew a potion to revert the mane to its original state. When her wig options dried out, she was forced to cancel her shoot, which she longed planned for and visibly upset her.

From all the buildup and the RM4 worrying about her wellbeing, her iconic meltdown isn’t treated as a joke. Her disappointment and sadness are real. Nothing is exaggerated. Consider this: If by chance you lose your hair through some kind of accident before some kind of important event, how would you feel? It makes sense in Rarity’s character to be so upset. Good for DHX and Haber to treat her situation seriously.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

Getting back to Starlight and Twilight, some lines grabbed my attention:

Quote

Rarity: Yes, well, even if everypony isn't utterly indifferent to my presence, Zecora might not be able to fix this in time for the shoot. Can't you do a spell to restore some semblance of my mane?!

Starlight Glimmer: The thing is, it's pretty much like Zecora said. Fixing manes with magic is—

Rarity: Tricky! I know! I don't care! Make with the tricks!

Quote

Rarity: This won't do! I need an actual mane!

Starlight Glimmer: But it has to come from somewhere.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, you can't just make a mane with magic. The results could be disastrous.

Rarity: More disastrous than this?!

How significant are these lines? Very.

A magical boundary within this world is established. It doesn’t matter how rich the world of ponies is. Without rules, you arbitrarily pull solutions out of your basket. Worldbuilding is fun, but it’s equally important to sit back and cut off possible shortcuts. Look no further than Twilight having only a few minutes to become one with a book and griffons never getting cutie marks.

Twilight, Starlight, and Zecora (from earlier) inform and remind her that magic doesn’t come out of thin air. You need something of substance to create the magic. Rarity’s mane is so shredded and damaged by Zecora’s remover potion that re-growing her mane with magic’s even riskier.

So, what about the mustache and poison joke?

1. The mustache temporarily grows above the lip. At some point, it either disappears or falls off. Rarity pleaded to grow her mane back to what it used to be as a permanent solution.

2. Rarity’s mane and tail were fully grown when the poison joke made dreadlocks out of her fur and hair. With most of her violet hair missing, there’s no guarantee if she’ll be poisoned the same way. Once more, the poison is temporary; a bath reverts the joke.

Mane sticks to their established guidelines of Equestrian magic. Like Zecora’s quick brew, finding a spell to revert the potion’s effects is anticlimactic and contrived, neither of which this episode needs.

More importantly, they set up the platitude expressed by AJ and FS:

Quote

Applejack: But it's Rarity. If anypony can turn lemons into lemonade, it's her.

Fluttershy: I guess it's harder for her when she feels like the lemon.

Older than time, but its truism helps circulate it and not expire. Rarity is one such pony capable of turning around a worst-case scenario. Just two questions: How can she overcome this horrific problem, and what can her friends do to help her?

Twilight answers the latter:

Quote

Twilight Sparkle: Well, she's not a lemon – she's our friend. And right now, she needs our support.

With Rarity at her lowest point in a few years, comforting her makes sense. This trek commences this conversation chain, including feeling guilty for canceling her photoshoot and believing to be a fad the entire time, her friends reminding her of the goals she accomplished, and Twilight nudging a lesson of self-confidence to get by her difficult situation.

Here, we’re reminded of one important detail: Throughout Act 2, she assumed that ponies looked at her differently because her mane is missing. Again, that’s not true. Everyone she came across knows her for her pizzazz, ability to help others, and inherent command for attention. How big of an ego does the Element of Generosity have? Really big. Yet, they never ostracized her for not being pretty. She isolated herself and desired to blend in, an act they see as out of character of her if they knew it was her. Rarity was so shy around the merchants that she refused attention. The townsponies weren’t acting like jerks at any point.

So, with the barriers of what ponies can’t do with magic, Rarity’s desperation and depression, and their words of encouragement, what do you get? Three things:

1. Reinvigoration of Rarity’s self-worth.
2. Kickass Rari-punk mane.
   
3. And one of the cleverest and smartest resolutions of the series.

Although she canceled the shoot, her decision worked out for everyone. Rarity’s lavender order was left over, so Filthy was able to give his spoiled wife bouquets of her flowers for Mare’s Day. Mr. Breezy relocated his large fan outside his shop, allowing traffic to interact with it firsthand. Davenport’s chaise is sold. Everyone picked up the best possible. (Good for the show to have Rarity’s mane grow naturally.)

Yet, if that wasn’t enough…

Warm cup of karma.

Although Rarity canceled the shoot, Photo Finish took pictures of her as she ventured through Ponyville, courtesy of her friends.

Sure, this ending is sorta Hollywood-ish, but Rarity underwent a literal bad hair day and then attached her newfound look to spread goodwill to everypony that having her front and center of Vanity Mare magazine makes sense. Negotiating with Photo reinforces how much they care for Rarity and will do anything to make her feel better. Mane comes full circle with the ending.

Good at what it doesn’t do!

Back when I first heard about Mane, I was concerned. Coming to the episode, my two biggest fears were:

1. Rarity’s worst personality trait reemerges: her judgmentalism. Occasionally, sound bites of prejudice spew out of her mouth, most notably her racism towards Zecora in Bridle Gossip. Witnessing one of the most groundbreaking characters in the series showing a prejudice to bald ponies would seriously damage her rep.

2. An unfortunate implication of the story belittling cancer patients. How would that be represented? Rarity or any pony treating somepony bald or becoming bald differently than folks with a full mane. Ponyville treating Rarity differently for losing her hair. Magically growing her mane back after melting down for losing it. The idea of baldness as the worst possible thing.

Neither happens.

1. Her mane grows back naturally a few months later.

2. Rather than vanity or prejudice, self-confidence during the heat of a sudden crisis is Mane’s overarching theme. Rarity assumes ponies will treat those without (good) manes differently. Instead, no one insults, shuns, or intentionally shames her. Self-embarrassment by her destroyed locks causes her to cloud her own judgment and believe her own livelihood is a lie.

3. After Twilight reassures her that her lost mane shouldn’t destroy her self-worth, Rarity takes what should be the worst-case scenario into the best. Until here, Rarity’s confidence was never tested, and this plot rounds her character more.

Credit to @Jeric for helping me provide info for this section.

Weaknesses:

Clean Up on Aisle 19!

Every episode can use a cleanup, and Mane ain’t no exception.

The dialogue can use some better editing and more varied vocabulary. How many times does the episode use the word “mane”? Forty-one. That’s way too much! Dash herself said the word “awesome” thrice. Varying the word choice and cutting down the repetition will allow the dialogue flow a bit more. If you ask me which bothers me more, it’s Dash’s “awesome.” These days, that word has become a catchall identification for her, when she’s more than capable of using others. At least, multiple ponies rather than just one used “mane”.

The script’s repetitive vocabulary also made the moral of shining from the inside out really heavy. Saying it once as Rarity changed into Punk Rarity is fine. But to do it twice more pushes it.

Shake off the excess.

The opener takes too long to establish some level of conflict. Usually a minute long, the theme song doesn’t play until three minutes in. For a 22-minute episode, that’s excessive and slow. The message can begin more effectively by either rearranging the song’s placement — perhaps after ordering the lavender bouquets — or trimming some of the runtime in the market.

Mane-ly forgotten.

After Pinkie accidentally applied Zecora’s shampoo on Pound and Pumpkin Cake, the episode focused the entire time on Rarity. No mention of her at any point until a few minutes before the end. Considering she was the catalyst for the conflict, her absence left a gap in the story and felt like she was re-inserted to tie it all up.

Nevertheless…

Nice ‘do.

Conclusion:

Well, well, well, what a pleasant surprise. Out of every episode in the second half, this one worried me the most. Prior to Daring Done? (the episode preceding Mane), I was looking forward to DD more. Why? Blame the synopses. That said, the actual story is something very different. I’m really surprised by how I enjoy Mane more, Mane is (in over quality) better than DD?, and none of my fears came true.

In Haber’s first story since co-writing To Where and Back Again, he shows his FIM touch. Rarity has easily one of her best appearances in quite a while. The rest of the mane cast is also well done, especially Applejack. Zecora’s first speaking appearance since Re-Mark brings her to the familiar role, yet at the same time showed how she can’t solve all problems. No background or tertiary character is a jerk, reviving and sticking true to that refreshing (albeit familiar) welcoming atmosphere the show proudly presents itself in. A guideline of magic was both established and stuck to, providing Rarity (and the episode itself) the opportunity to twist the story’s formula. Mission accomplished!