S05:E15 - Rarity Investigates

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Wind Rider seemed like an interesting character.

 

Too bad he ended up as the culprit.

 

Also, wow, we got to see Spitfire's mom? That was amazing.

 

Cinnamon Chai's voice was a bit over-the-top to near funny, but it was pretty neat nonetheless.

[Coco before Pommel 678]

I really enjoyed this ep I've been wanting a Rarity & Dashie ep for aaaages, and this one was lots of fun!

Might be a liiittle biased as she's my second best pony, but Rarity in particular was on point in this ep for me - all the film noir stuff and costume changes were great fun, but I also loved her attention to detail and picking up on subtle clues (like the particular way Wind Rider said "heh"! And how Dash's hair had to have been cut rather than fallen out) when Dash thought she was just getting distracted by fashion or whatever, it felt very natural and fitting to her character. And when she was sweet-talking those stallions, I did immediately think "oooh some people aren't gonna like this" But I actually like that too, and that it's part of her character - she is a business-savvy pony, and she knows how to use her charms to her advantage and personally I don't think there's anything wrong with that, as long as she isn't overtly lying to or manipulating anypony (and I also don't think the show presents it as "look girls you should totally flirt with guys so they'll do stuff for you!!" - it's more neutral, neither good or bad but necessary in some situations). Plus you can't deny you're much more likely get ponies to open up that way than Dash's...slightly less subtle approach

RariDash friendship was really cute in this ep too, with how Rarity immediately defended her and how Rainbow apologized at the end for not believing in Rarity's methods, aw   they didn't really mention this in the ep, but Rarity and Dash are both ambitious ponies and I always felt like they admire/respect that about each other despite their differences. And since Rarity also came close to messing up her dream with the Canterlot boutique, it makes sense that she'd want to make sure the same didn't happen to her friend with the Wonderbolts, and ties in nicely with the previous ep (as does seeing Sassy Saddles again, yay for continuity!)   idk, just some random thoughts there~

I agree the Wonderbolts side of things was a bit iffy (especially Soarin, who I felt like should have a bit more faith in Dash since they seemed to bond in Rainbow Falls) with how quick they were to believe that Dash had done it, etc, although I guess you could argue it was the only option that made sense to them, but yeah...I think they've been written a bit inconsistently in general, tbh (see difference between Wonderbolts Academy and Rainbow Falls) and probably having multiple writers didn't help with that. And yeah, the culprit was super obvious, but I didn't really mind that as I don't watch MLP for shocking plot twists Although seeing Spitfire's mum was cool!

Oh and I appreciated the Sherlock & Watson ponies in the background of that one part too

[PacificGreen 1,163]

Oh my gosh!!! At first I was like... Really 2 rarity episodes in a row? but then I was all like Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!! yes!! this was such a good episode!!! PS i love Sassy Saddles!

 

And then, if I'm not mistaken, the next episode is about AJ and Rares going to Manehattan.

 

What, are we having, like, a Rarity episode marathon?

Edited September 22, 2015 by PGNatsu

[Trixio 443]

I liked the episode just for the nice moments of Rarity, but generally I find boring everything "revolves around" Rainbow Dash and Wonderbolts.

[Stellar 16]

Anyone else read the Bookworm comic?

[SparklingSquirrels 21,341]

I just watched this episode. I thought it was really similar to MMMMystery on the Friendship Express since they're both "whodunit" mysteries and all.

 

I could see the ending coming from a mile away. It was super obvious that Wind Rider was the bad guy here.

[Chewbroccali 32]

I just watched this episode. I thought it was really similar to MMMMystery on the Friendship Express since they're both "whodunit" mysteries and all.

 

I could see the ending coming from a mile away. It was super obvious that Wind Rider was the bad guy here.

I agree, it also reminded me of a small part in party pooped. Overall I enjoyed the episode and it was entertaining to watch Rarity's thoughts play out. It was cliche and it knew it

[Jangocoolguy 433]

A pretty good episode

 

Pairing Rarity with Dash was fun unto itself. Not to mention making Rarity a mystery fan, which gave her some more needed extra depth. And the black & white segments were a hoot!

 

"Nya, see! We're gonna show the little girls a thing or two about film noire, see?!"

 

Though yeah, it was kinda clear Wind would be the bad guy...

 

I mean, who else would frame Dash BUT the character we've never seen before?

[cider float 2,538]

I think a clue that Wind Rider was going to be the culprit was in RD's dream where RD dreamed of flying with Wind Rider and when she was getting ahead he had an annoyed look on his face.

 

Other than that I had my own headcanon of RD's idol that is also a Wonderbolt but turned out to be a bad guy as well.

[Luffyiscool 397]

Let's take a moment to consider something.

 

To get so much of Rainbow's hair without her noticing,

Wind Rider must have sneaked into her sleeping quarters and cut the hair off while she slept.

 

I don't know about you, but I'd say that sneaking into a mare's room and cutting her hair sounds pretty darn creepy.

[roptiriolg 49]

I liked the episode (only thanks to RD and her cute dance when she heard she't take part with the Wonderbolts), otherwise nothing that special for me. It felt strange with this 'Sherlock' or other detective plot, I dont know what that was all about, even the episode ended with music in that theme. At least it's spicing up the usual expected episodes. I liked that we saw more participation and role of the Wonderbolts than just some cameo appearance for a short time, which is so in most of the episodes. At first I couldnt guess who the suspect was going to be but before Rarity busted him, I kind of figured it. And yea it's cool how it continued the previous episode with the boutique.

[Truffles 2,033]

Another little tidbit that pleased me was how she did a little bit of her showboating stuff, but without going overboard and causing a problem.  You don't want her to lose what makes her Rainbow, but you also don't want her to go all Mare Do Well again.  This episode did it right, and it was a perfect balance.

 

I liked her showboating a lot here, too. Her aerial dancing is cute and inventive! You're right that when used in this context it's the perfect bit of harmless swagger for character to display to keep her feeling like Dash.

 

 

But Rarity and Rainbow ended up having a great chemistry, and I was thrilled to see the two of them together.  Rainbow even gave Rarity a heartwarming hug at one point! 

 

When Rainbow asked, "Speaking of the dinner, you're still coming, right?" I swear it came off like she was asking Rarity if their date was still on. 

 

 

The only other quibble is that it would have been nice if Tia had actually spoken ONE FRIGGIN LINE.

 

It was strange... They had Nicole Oliver listed in the credits for both her role as Cinnamon Chai and for Tia, even though Tia was speechless! 

 

 

But of course we couldn't get that.  As we all know, they seem to be writing her out of the show. 

Wait wut??  Figuratively or literally?

 

 

One--it seems like a bummer that Equestria seems to have a guilty-until-proven-innocent rule.  That's not right or fair.  There's a reason it's the other way around in the real world.  Oh well.  Wouldn't have been much of a story otherwise.  Still, it seemed kind of sad that the 'bolts didn't have much faith in RD from the get-go.

 

I'm trying to think back to other examples of this rule, but am drawing a blank at the moment. I suppose one could argue that the Wonderbolts are their own organization, and they can make any rules they want despite what the courts may say. Except, that they're also part of the military which is a government function, so it's kind of a gray area.

 

I think they didn't have much faith in her because of the internal strife they appear to have, with members willing to stab at one another make their team tops. Maybe they figure deep down a competitor like RD is really the same way, despite her actions in the two previous instances she's been working with them?

 

I still say the guiltiness was something they lost in the story editing process and the cut mane hair was supposed to be the "indisputable" incriminating evidence rather than Dash's potential motive. Speaking of which:

 

 

Let's take a moment to consider something.

 

To get so much of Rainbow's hair without her noticing,

Wind Rider must have sneaked into her sleeping quarters and cut the hair off while she slept.

 

I don't know about you, but I'd say that sneaking into a mare's room and cutting her hair sounds pretty darn creepy.

This is something that annoyed me a bit. They did a good job of including the footage of Rarity looking for clues (I went back and watched ) as the episode went on, but never showed us where Wind Rider got the hair from.

 

Actually, it would have been funny if the reveal didn't just state Wind Rider wanted her out to protect his records, but a further reveal showed he's had a creepy obsession over her gaining fame for the past year and so he built a shrine that includes all sorts of personal items - including rainbow hair clippings - and that's where he got it from. 

Edited September 23, 2015 by Truffles

[Espada12 17]

Ok... This episode will not air while Im watching it. Thats fancy talk.

[Justin_Case001 4,888]

 Wait wut??  Figuratively or literally?

Oh, I just meant that it seems like that, given how little Celestia there's been lately.  And apparently, from what I understand, M.A. Larson doesn't like Celestia or something.  That may be an incorrect rumor.  Just what I heard.  Anyway, I'm sure they wouldn't actually get rid of Celestia, or any character for that matter, but it sure seems like they don't want her to be a central character anymore, which sucks.

 

But on the other hoof, I swear, I would not frigging be surprised if they literally did this with Celestia (sorry for bad video quality):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZzoeI1pKE

 

 

 

 When Rainbow asked, "Speaking of the dinner, you're still coming, right?" I swear it came off like she was asking Rarity if their date was still on. 

I didn't even think of it that way.  That's adorable! 

 

 

I think they didn't have much faith in her because of the internal strife they appear to have, with members willing to stab at one another make their team tops. Maybe they figure deep down a competitor like RD is really the same way, despite her actions in the two previous instances she's been working with them?

A valid case could be definitely be made for Wonderbolt corruption.  They should do an Equestrian version of Last Week Tonight delving into Wonderbolt corruption.  Wouldn't it be funny if Dashie uncovered a deep corruption within the organization and got the 'bolts shut down?

[cider float 2,538]

Let's take a moment to consider something.

 

To get so much of Rainbow's hair without her noticing,

Wind Rider must have sneaked into her sleeping quarters and cut the hair off while she slept.

 

I don't know about you, but I'd say that sneaking into a mare's room and cutting her hair sounds pretty darn creepy.

Hard to believe a pegasus handled a pair of scissors. They don't have the coordination of earth ponies or use magic like unicorns. Gasp he had an accomplice.

[Truffles 2,033]

But on the other hoof, I swear, I would not frigging be surprised if they literally did this with Celestia (sorry for bad video quality):

 

 I remember that episode. I must admit I would be pretty surprised if it were that literal, but I do get the point!

 

 

A valid case could be definitely be made for Wonderbolt corruption.  They should do an Equestrian version of Last Week Tonight delving into Wonderbolt corruption.  Wouldn't it be funny if Dashie uncovered a deep corruption within the organization and got the 'bolts shut down?

 It would certainly be funny-ironic: She manages to shut down the team she's been dreaming all her life of joining.

 

I still think they just need her loyalty to straighten out whatever out-of-control over-competitiveness they seem to have going on in there. I guess the problem is she's pretty much tied to Ponyville now that she has a seat in the castle. Maybe she can convince them to anchor Cloudsdale over the Everfree for most of the year? 

[Chewbroccali 32]

Let's take a moment to consider something.

 

To get so much of Rainbow's hair without her noticing,

Wind Rider must have sneaked into her sleeping quarters and cut the hair off while she slept.

 

I don't know about you, but I'd say that sneaking into a mare's room and cutting her hair sounds pretty darn creepy.

Wind Rider is like, "Another sample for the cloning facility"  

Edited September 24, 2015 by Chewbroccali

[A10 23]

This episode was pretty great. It was predictable, but I say that about almost all MLP episodes, lol. The only gripe I had was Rarity's use of her charm to manipulate stallions. I don't like that cuz it feels like she's taking advantage of their generosity with her "compliments". Other than that, I really enjoyed the writing, the animation, and pretty much everything about this episode.

[Soaring Symphony 372]

There are Royal guards that look unique???  Finally!!!!!!!  It's about F***ing time!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grepper 3,192]

I'd say this is one of the better episodes.

I wish the staff could have had more forethought and mentioned Wind Rider in earlier episodes.

​Rainbow Dash fangirls over him and she ​never mentioned him to her friends even once? That's not very believable.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Grepper

[Luffyiscool 397]

There are Royal guards that look unique???  Finally!!!!!!!  It's about F***ing time!!!!!!!!!!!

Unique in what way? Different coloration? Because we've seen that before.

[Nikola Xerdav 88]

awesome episode, it made Rarity really fun and interesting, and i was happy to see Dash get to fly with the WBs 

[Thaliel 116]

why do I now feel like watching some agatha christie movies?

[Arpeggio Sweep 48]

I really dig this episode! Rarity reminds me of my mum a lot and I always tell her that. This episode makes her seem more like her than ever, and it is so tempting to show her this episode. 

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

I don't think we appreciate enough what Rainbow Dash has done here. As of this episode, she has dishonored/bettered somebody on every single level of the Wonderbolts organization. First, Lightning Dust, the young trainee looking to join the team. Then Spitfire, the esteemed captain of the Bolts. And now Wind Rider, the retired and famous living legend. All in all a veritable hat-trick of disgrace. She has defeated them for all time. They will never rise from the ashes of their shame and humiliation.