Well, well, well, "Rarity Takes Manehattan", our first episode starring Rarity since "Sweet and Elite" way back in Season 2. Before I get into the review proper, I suppose I should start things off by just coming out and saying that this was, by far, my favorite single shot episode of the season thus far, namely because more than any other Season 4 episode we've seen so far, "Rarity Takes Manehattan" especially captured the slice-of-life feel that embodied the majority of episodes in the first two seasons of MLP. The problem, the situation, the lesson learned, they all felt like something one could encounter in the real world, and thus especially applicable to the audience. This wasn't just things happening for the sake of things happening; here we had a story that we cared about and in which one could see elements drawn quite clearly from real world scenarios. So let's get to the particulars, shall we?

First, let's begin with our star, Rarity. To be honest, this was her best episode since "Suited For Success", maybe even her best episode ever. Why? Because it highlighted her element more than any episode has highlighted any other member of the Mane 6's element since Pinkie Pie's in "A Friend In Deed". Generosity was, quite explicitly, THE subject of this episode from start to finish, and I loved every minute of it.

Now, I am not one of those bronies who constantly complains that Rarity before now has never lived up to her element, because that's total BS. If you look, not even that hard mind you, you can find plenty of examples of Rarity's generosity in the show. It's on display quite extensively in "Suited For Success", where Rarity goes out of her way to make dresses for all of her friends for the Grand Galloping Gala at no charge whatsoever, and plenty of other times since then Rarity has been generous with her time, efforts, and resources to her friends, most notably in style and fashion matters, though she obviously always accompanies her friends on plenty of adventures and quests for their own and Equestria's sake. That said, the fact remains that it still has never been directly addressed as much as it was in this episode, and the only other member of the Mane 6 who hasn't had her element be the subject of an entire episode now is probably Applejack (because to be honest I cannot say that any of AJ's episodes ever have revolved around her honesty, not explicitly at least).

So then, back to the episode at hand, what makes Rarity work here, both in her strengths and shortcomings? Well first of all, we really get an idea for Rarity's particular brand of generosity when we see her functioning in an environment that she aspires to be a part of, at least some day. Rarity's is not a boundless generosity, that is, she doesn't give without cause, because to be honest, that's stupid. True generosity can and should be economical. What do I mean by that? Not that one should do something and automatically expect something in return, but that one should do something for another that will clearly have positive results and because it is the right thing to do. If it's something small, you don't have to think about it quite as much, you can just do it on the spot (like Rarity sharing her scarf with a chilled tourist or she and her friends fixing a cab's wheel), but if it's something big, you need to put more thought into it and guarantee that your efforts aren't put to waste (like Rarity going through all the trouble she did to get her friends tickets to Hinny of the Hills as thanks for their accompanying her and, later, for their helping her win the fashion show and forgiving her for her behavior). Point is, generosity can and should be calculated, it shouldn't just be done because it's the right thing to do, and Rarity is almost always smart in her giving to others. It's when she slips up that she loses her groove and the perfect balance between selfless and businesslike that she almost always strikes.

Early in the episode, Rarity's faith that her generosity to any and every pony can lead only to good things in return is, in fact, rewarded. Ponies, both her friends and strangers, repay her for her kindness and selflessness, and it works to her advantage, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. Unfortunately, Rarity's faith in the goodness of ponies goes too far when she gives her material to her competitor Suri Polomare, and in turn is stabbed in the back by Suri as a result. At that point, her entire perception of generosity is thrown askew, and she adapts a cutthroat attitude instead in her quest to win and get back at Suri. For awhile, she no longer gives of herself without expecting anything in return (even if good things do come her way usually as a result), but instead insists to her friends that if she does something for them, then they in turn are obligated to do something for her. This "I scratch your back you scratch mine" attitude warps her into a jerk for a short time, but thankfully she realizes it, and in splendid fashion. Just as everything seems to be going her way once more and she's on the brink of winning Fashion Week, Rarity realizes that her friends aren't there to enjoy it with her. Believing they've rightfully chosen not to attend as a result of her decidedly ungenerous attitude, Rarity despairingly searches all of Manehattan for them, only to find them back at the fashion show, having slept in on accident. While her friends agree that she took things too far, they also reiterate that they knew all along that that wasn't who she was, and that she really is the most generous of ponies. Her lesson learned, Rarity concludes the episode more sure of herself and her generous spirit than ever before; she knows that, while you can't necessarily trust every pony, and so should be careful and smart in your generosity, that doesn't mean that you should on the other end of things expect something in return for generosity either. While you should be smart about who you give of yourself to, you should also be selfless in your giving, not expecting anything in return. If good things come your way as a result, great, but if not, you'll still have done the right thing, and that's all that matters. Intelligence and economy can and should go hand in hand with selflessness in one's generosity; neither extreme should dominate, but rather balance each other out, and selfless but also business-savvy Rarity understands that for good by the end of the episode. This lesson was both subtle, down-to-earth, and excellently delivered in probably the most well-paced single episode of the season thus far, and I cannot praise Dave Polsky enough on the outstanding job he did in the writing for this episode, especially for Rarity.

I'm being fabulous and nopony can stop me!

Next, let's discuss the rest of the Mane 6. Honestly, I thought this was the best single episode for the rest of the group as well this season. They had a great time with Rarity in Manehattan, you saw the impact her generous spirit had made on all of them since they first met her, and most importantly, they proved themselves to be great friends. They didn't help Rarity because she'd gotten them tickets for Hinny of the Hills, as she mistakenly believed at that point, but rather because she was their friend and needed their help. They also readily forgave her for her shortness and ungenerous spirit because they knew she was both hurt by Suri's betrayal and super stressed because the future of her career in fashion could hinge on her performance in Fashion Week. While the Mane 6 don't have the same natural generosity that Rarity has, they displayed both great generosity, as well as patience and forgiveness, for another reason entirely: because they're Rarity's friends! This behavior highlights another lesson entirely; when it comes to friends, there should be no question at all about generosity, or any other good things your friends do for you. Friends do things for each other not because they're looking for something in return, but because of friendship, because they're somebody else's friend, love him/her, and would do anything for them within reason. True friends cannot and shouldn't take this generosity lightly or abuse it as Rarity does by demanding excessively of her friends, but at the same time they shouldn't assume that their friends need something in return either for generous behavior. When it comes to friends, you shouldn't do something for them because they did something for you, or at least not entirely for that reason, but because they are your friend, because you love them and want to do kind things for them simply to show how much you appreciate their friendship. Rarity gets this by the end when she gets her friends to see Hinny of the Hills, partly as thanks for their help and forgiveness, but largely because of their friendship alone.

As for new characters, let's talk about the few we got here. First, Prim Hemline was pretty fun, sort of a fashionista version of Ms. Harshwhinny from the little we saw of her (I especially enjoyed her line "The rest of you must go home early, so sad."). I wish she would've asked Suri how the heck she "made" that material that she stole from Rarity, since that might've revealed her fraudulence early on, but that's just a little pet peeve of mine that can be excused by plot convenience. Suri Polomare was quite enjoyably unpleasant, something I'd been hoping to see for some time now. MLP feels real when we get minor antagonists like her who are jerks, bullies, or just plain nasty, because the real world is full of people just like that. Suri was a very appropriate foil for Rarity, what Trixie or Lightning Dust have been in the past for Twilight and Rainbow, respectively. In fact, curiously enough she was kind of a mesh of those two characters; she had the ambition of Lightning Dust, but the fraudulence of Trixie. All in all, she was a lot of fun to dislike, and to make it even better she had a hilarious accent, m'kay! Finally, I simply have to talk about Coco Pommel! Oh my goodness, this timid little filly was ADORABLE!!! More than that, however, I loved the unspoken details about her character that simply resonated in her movements and physical behavior. She clearly was a soft spoken pony with a lot of talent and ideas, but having allowed herself to be taken advantage of by Suri, she'd also clearly been bullied and pushed around by her for a long time, and even worse, convinced that the only way to get ahead in Manehattan was to be cutthroat and ruthless. With Rarity's example, however, the greatest fruit of Rarity's generosity this episode was born in Coco finally mustering the courage to quit and take her talents elsewhere, trying to make a name for herself the right way once more. On top of that, her gift of a rainbow spool of thread may very well play a role later on this season; I wouldn't say so considering how many cliffhangers we've already gotten, but Meghan McCarthy apparently suggested the spool might reappear later this season in a tweet following the episode, so now I'm not so sure, guess we'll just have to wait and see. All in all, Prim was fun, Suri was unlikable but in a good way, and Coco was both adorable but even more importantly very well used the few times she appeared.

Finally, I have to mention that there were quite a few fun background ponies in this episode, both in speaking and nonspeaking roles. The bellhop and receptionist were especially fun characters (that receptionist's accent was too funny!), and on top of that we got cameos from Dr. Whooves, Hoity Toity, Sapphire Shores, Photo Finish, Grumpy Cat pony (who made no sense but was quite funny to behold), and even Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee. Definitely a great episode for the background ponies this week!

Both the humor and the adorableness in this episode were through the roof! Rarity, as she should be in any major appearance, was on full display with about as much eccentricity, over-the-topness, and fabulosity as she could muster! When she was happy, she was HAPPY, when she was sad, she was SAD, and at every single moment, she was FABULOUS!!!! I can't really point to one single moment that stands out (although I was especially impressed by her pants and sobs interspersed throughout her tearful explanation of Suri's betrayal to her friends, that was just really high quality VA work on Tabitha's part); all around, Tabitha St. Germain delivered some amazing voice work as usual, and the animator's in turn brought that voice work to life with some stellar animation for our favorite equine fashionista. The rest of the Mane 6 had their own moments as well, both in the cute and hilarious departments (although oddly enough, Fluttershy didn't really do anything cute). Twilight had a cute/hilarious moment at the beginning when she got excited at the prospect of Rarity taking them to Hinny of the Hills, Rainbow's line about singing ponies killed, and AJ had both a hilarious moment with her bluntly honest appraisal of Rarity's behavior at the end, but also a cute moment when earlier on she displayed excitement at the prospect of getting their manes done at a salon (little moments like that, or AJ's massage at the spa in Season 2, that silently reinforce that she's not just a tomcolt, but actually does enjoy feminine or, if you will, "girly" activities, are very much appreciated on my part). Besides our stars, there was plenty of cuteness and hilarity to be found in the supporting characters and background ponies, too much to list it all; overall, the episode was solid in the humor and cute departments.

Alright, onto the more aesthetic qualities of the episode. First, I just HAVE to start with "Generosity". This is seriously the best song we've had this season, and once more proves that Rarity has the finest singing voice of any of the Mane 6. While I do wish she did sing more, at the same time I'm glad that her singing is such a rarity (pun totally intended) simply because that, in part, makes it even more enjoyable when she actually does sing. However, the song wasn't just pleasant because of Rarity's singing. It had a delightful tune as well, and we even got to hear some of the other Mane 6 sing to boot. "Generosity" also expressed in song one of the Mane 6's elements more clearly than any other song in the show has since Pinkie sang "Smile", and while I can't quite put it on the same legendary level as that number, it certainly comes close in its quality. I guess my only complaint would be about the lyrics; the lyrics themselves were fine, but in both the original number as well as the reprise, there were brief moments where it was sometimes hard to understand what words the singers were saying. It wasn't that bad, but it happened enough times that it was noticeable, and it struck me as odd since the ponies are usually so easy to understand in song.

As for animation, everything was fluid and gorgeous as usual. Rarity was very graceful in her movements, not to mention we got to see a lot of her magic at work (I don't know why but I always love seeing Rarity's magic; the light blue hue is very pleasing to the eye, and on top of that the ways she utilizes it just seem to really reflect her own natural grace to a T). Most impressive of all in the animation, however, was Manehatttan itself. I'd wanted to see so much more of this city since we first learned of it in "Cutie Mark Chronicles" back in Season 1, and its true debut here certainly did not disappoint! There were plenty of nods to its real world counterpart, New York City, but at the same time it maintained its own unique look as well. Overall, another hit out of the park on the animation team's part.

Alas, even in a picture perfect episode there were a few things that didn't work, albeit very, very few here. Besides the difficulty I had understanding some of the lyrics in "Generosity", there were really only a couple other things that didn't work here for me. Spike really didn't contribute anything to this episode aside from manual labor and comedic bits at his own expense, and this coming from a guy who thinks that most Spike-abuse is overblown by fans as it is. Lastly, Rainbow's "aiiight" at the end was very, very, VERY cringeworthy, a decidedly uncool moment that just didn't feel like something she would ever say. Besides those couple of things, however, I can't really think of anything else that particularly bothered me in this episode. All in all, this was not a good, not even very good, but I think undeniably great episode! It was a fantastic return to a starring role for Rarity, perfectly embodied what makes her such a great character in an excellently written, executed, and well-paced story, and had some great laughs, style, cuteness, music, and animation. If I may, "Rarity Takes Manehattan" is extraordinarily generous in its outstanding qualities, containing something for, really, just about everyone.