S02:E09 - Sweet and Elite

[Crystallize 279]

Probably one of my most favourite episodes, infact, I really like all the episodes that are based on Rarity. Does anyone know whether it actually says why Rarity went to Canterlot in the first place?

[Batbrony 15,994]

Oh boy, "Sweet and Elite", hmmm... remember how I said back in my "Sisterhooves Social" review that I have a love-hate relationship with Rarity's starring roles in Season 2?  Well, that applies to this episode as well just as much, if not more so, than it did in "Sisterhooves Social".  So, rather than focus on the good in this episode first, let's look at just what the devil is wrong with Rarity in this episode.

 

Hey Rarity, wanna troll bronies by acting like a terrible friend this episode?  C'mon, you know you want to; I'll give you a banana!!!

 

Well, to be frank, like Rainbow Dash in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", Rarity is kind of a jerk, albeit far less obviously than RD was in that episode.  Rather than being far too boastful, Rarity's biggest flaw in this episode is that she's extremely deceptive!  She lies or deliberately withholds information from pretty much everypony she interacts with in this episode: both her friends and the Canterlot elite whom she befriends, all in order to simply climb in her social status.  She does her best to hide her Ponyville roots from Fancy Pants and the rest of the Canterlot social elite, she flat out lies to her friends and tells them that she has to miss Twilight's party because Opalescence is sick (which she's not), a lie which she keeps up with and says to their faces once they come all the way to Canterlot just so they can celebrate Twilight's own birthday with her (seriously, bless their hearts ), she tells dozens of lies at Twilight's Birthday Party/the Canterlot Garden Party to both her friends and the Canterlot elite, the list goes on and on and on.  I know that on the one hand she's trying to not hurt her friends feelings, but on the other hand you know that she's looking out for herself just as much if not more in her deception.  She doesn't want to lose the social status that she's acquired in her time in Canterlot, and at the same time she doesn't want to come across as an insensitive jerk to her friends (which quite frankly she behaves like more and more as the episode continues).  Basically, she unabashedly is looking out for herself for very petty reasons from start to finish with her friends a secondary concern, and that rubs me the wrong way because that's simply not Rarity, at least not the Rarity I grew to love in Season 1!  Heck, she's not even looking out for her business interests as Twilight thinks she is once the latter realizes she's been sneaking back and forth between her party and the Canterlot Garden Party!!!  I mean it, not once does she say something like, "Oh Opalescence, I just HAVE to become best of friends with the Canterlot elite because it'll be great for my business", not even as justification!!!  But the reason this really ticks me off more than Rainbow's behavior in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" is because Rarity, unlike Rainbow Dash, besides some panic at the thought of getting caught, does not really suffer any consequences for her actions!  RD was rightfully so knocked down a peg because she was acting like a jerk, but Rarity doesn't so much as get a scolding from either her friends or the Canterlot elite, despite a second of a few snooty looks from the likes of Jet Set and Upper Crust at the end once they know who her friends are!  Instead, her friends are COMPLETELY understanding, Fancy Pants just shakes off the fact that Rarity's been hiding who she is, and Rarity acts like everything's all hunky dory.  I'm not saying that anyone should've held a grudge against her or anything, and yes, I think that people, especially good friends, should be understanding and forgiving of their friends mistakes, but seriously, after the way Rarity behaved in this episode, there should've been at least disapproving glances and remarks from her friends!!!  She learned a good lesson, yes, but I don't know, she didn't even get so much as a slap on the wrist so to speak, and that just rubs me the wrong way.

 

Oh Rarity, I can't stay mad at you; you may do some pretty insensitive things in this episode, but gosh bucking dang it that is ADORABLE!!!  

 

OK, all of that said, why do I still love this episode?  Well, because pretty much everything else about it, besides Rarity's behavior, works like a charm!  This is the first episode of the show set entirely in Canterlot, and it's very cool getting to see the royal city extensively, it really is, very nice change from the usual rural setting in Ponyville or the Everfree Forest.  Daniel Ingram provides a lovely addition to MLP's soundtrack in the song "Becoming Popular", Rarity's only solo of Season 2 I might add; while I love each of the Mane 6's singing voices equally, each one fitting their particular pony to a T, if I'm being honest I have to say that Rarity's singing voice is the most vocally matured and refined of all six, and I adore hearing it every time she sings!!!  The comedy is great from start to finish; Rarity's a drama queen as usual, the Mane 6, especially at Twilight's birthday, are simply to die for (not to mention that this episode introduced us to Pinkie Pie's party cannon, WHICH IS SIMPLY LEGEND!!! ), and Opalescence herself provides some great laughs when she's on screen.  Besides Jet Set and Upper Crust, I really don't mind most of the Canterlot elite that much; sure they're a bit wound tight, but that's just the culture that they belong to, and they don't seem to be all that bad aside from, again, jerks like Jet Set and Upper Crust, plus to be fair, if the Mane 6 were behaving at a party like they do when they crash the Canterlot Garden Party, I'd probably be freaking out too (seriously, was it Twilight's 21st B-day and they just got hammered drunk on cider before they went to the garden party? ), plus I can't fail to mention Fancy Pants, a lovely addition to the supporting cast, not to mention just a cool, very chill dude all around.  This guy is awesome, and I honestly can't think of one bad thing to say about him; from what we've seen of him, he's a classical, legitimate, bonafide gentleman, or rather, gentlecolt in every sense of the word.  Good on him for that!    Finally, the rest of the Mane 6 besides Rarity are extremely good friends in this episode; they go all the way to Canterlot so they can celebrate TWILIGHT'S birthday with RARITY, they throw Twilight a rocking awesome birthday, Fluttershy tries to care some for Opal when she thinks she's sick, Twilight adores the unfinished dress that Rarity didn't complete for her and is just all around adorkable in this episode, Pinkie Pie has a party cannon, the list goes on and on!!!!

 

Behold, Canterlot's resident King of Swag!!!  Also, trophy wives are now canon.    This episode just keeps getting better and better by the minute!

 

By Fausticorn's wings!!!  It's... it's so beautiful!!!    This is quite simply one of the most epic things to ever grace a television screen!!!!!!!!!

 

That is simply awesome; Twilight's birthday party is seriously a great scene that highlights just how far the Mane 6 have come since they first met!

 

So yeah, when you get down to it, everything works spectacularly in this episode besides Rarity's behavior, and while I can only label it as a very good rather than a truly outstanding episode, that does not mean I don't enjoy rewatching it because there is simply too many great things in this episode that make it a fun one to watch over and over again!    Definitely a great addition to MLP canon, even if I have some serious problems with the episode's main character's behavior.

[Whatevs 376]

>"Oh Opalescence, I just HAVE to become best of friends with the Canterlot elite because it'll be great for my business", not even as justification!!!

She literally says: if I don't go my reputation in high society will be ruined.

And being a part of high society is her dream. We already knew this from the first episode.

Hence why she lied about who she was to the Elites, she expected them to dismiss her if she didn't. This was set up in the scene with Hayseed.

So her motivation was a fear of failure/ostracization.

 

I fail to see what is petty about not wanting her dream ruined. You can argue that she failed to seek a constructive solution but that would only be half true (since she did when it mattered) and the ponies tend to handle situations poorly (the majority having done things far worse than Rarity's actions in this episode).

 

And lastly, I never see this brought up, if Rarity was totally selfish and only looking out for herself in this ep... would it not be ooc? Since it runs completely contrary to her characterization in eps like Green Isn't Your Color and Suited for Success for no good reason?

 

I always find it amazing how whenever people criticize Rarity for this ep they omit her actual motivations in favor of imaginary ones.

[Batbrony 15,994]

>"Oh Opalescence, I just HAVE to become best of friends with the Canterlot elite because it'll be great for my business", not even as justification!!!

She literally says: if I don't go my reputation in high society will be ruined.

And being a part of high society is her dream. We already knew this from the first episode.

Hence why she lied about who she was to the Elites, she expected them to dismiss her if she didn't. This was set up in the scene with Hayseed.

So her motivation was a fear of failure/ostracization.

 

I fail to see what is petty about not wanting her dream ruined. You can argue that she failed to seek a constructive solution but that would only be half true (since she did when it mattered) and the ponies tend to handle situations poorly (the majority having done things far worse than Rarity's actions in this episode).

 

And lastly, I never see this brought up, if Rarity was totally selfish and only looking out for herself in this ep... would it not be ooc? Since it runs completely contrary to her characterization in eps like Green Isn't Your Color and Suited for Success for no good reason?

 

I always find it amazing how whenever people criticize Rarity for this ep they omit her actual motivations in favor of imaginary ones.

 

Well as far as I'm concerned, one's reputation/social status is not the same as looking out for one's business interests.  Yeah, they could go hand in hand, especially in Rarity's case since she caters to more sophisticated tastes, but all throughout this episode she never explicitly suggests that her concern for her social status has any ties to her business whatsoever (I know, 22 minute episode you can only fit so much, but still, there could've been some indication that her business was a concern, i.e. she might've presented some dresses/outfits at some point to the elite she was spending time with, IDK).  Point is, I feel every time I watch this episode that Rarity is worried about her social status for its own sake rather than for any ties it might have to her business.

 

Now, you're not the first person to bring up to me that dwelling among the Canterlot elite has always been a dream of Rarity's, and I will concede that point.  Again, I think that's somewhat lost on me when I watch this episode mostly because her trip just starts out as a business trip to pick up some fabric, and even after she extends it, it's still only a temporary trip.  I suppose one could argue that she's planting roots in the social ties she's establishing, but still, she decided (prior to the Mane 6's coming to Canterlot) that it was better to deceive her friends and miss out on Twilight's birthday in favor of spending a few more days with the Canterlot elite (including, granted, attending the second most important social event in Canterlot, but still).  Again, point is, Rarity's dream is to live in Canterlot someday among the elite of that city, but in this episode she's simply visiting, with every intention of returning to Ponyville at some point.  One can argue that, given her young adult age, she simply gets swept up in the excitement of it all, and I'd concede that point as well, but again, it's still only a temporary trip, so it's not like her dream is really getting fulfilled anyway, she's just really getting a taste of what it could be like and, maybe making contacts in the city (maybe).

 

I think in the end the two things that rub me the wrong way most about Rarity in this are one which I described in detail in my review, and another which I did not.  First, as I said above, Rarity doesn't really get in trouble for her behavior.  Again, I don't anyone to be bitter or vindictive, but she did deceive a lot of ponies, and unlike Rainbow Dash in "The Mysterious Mare Do Well", there were really no consequences for Rarity in this episode.  Given the extent to which she deceived ponies, that lack of consequences kinda rubbed me the wrong way.  Second is Rarity's deception of the Canterlot elite of who she is, mostly because it makes no sense when you think about it.  Besides the fact that she comes from Ponyville, Rarity has absolutely nothing to hide from the Canterlot elite that she shouldn't be proud of nor which I can't honestly see them not finding amazing!  She's one of the best friends of Princess Celestia's favorite student, knows the princess herself quite well, has helped save Equestria twice from godlike beings, and is an Element of Harmony bearer (and I might add great friends with the other five Element bearers as well).  WHAT'S NOT AMAZING ABOUT THAT, AND WHAT MEMBER OF THE CANTERLOT ELITE WOULDN'T WANT TO KNOW A PONY LIKE THAT?!?!  So yeah, it's not so much the principle of Rarity wanting to join the Canterlot elite that bugs me, it's simply some of the choices and ways she goes about doing so in this particular episode, and it really only bugs me come the second half of the episode (although she did tell a couple puzzling fibs or flatout lies before that point, like the fact that Rainbow Dash was a Wonderbolts trainer.  Let's see: Element bearer, winner of Equestria's Young Fliers Competition, and only pony to pull off the Sonic Rainboom vs. Wonderbolts trainer.  Which do you think sounds more impressive??? ).  And like I said in my review, I still enjoy this episode immensely as well.  I will overall concede that Rarity's not quite as OOC as I suggested in my review, but at the same time, I still think she makes some puzzling and OOC decisions in this episode that lead to a conflict that really shouldn't have happened in the first place.  Yeah, the ponies make mistakes all the time, I mean, that's part of the show and them learning lessons, but here it struck me as especially puzzling.  Hope this helps clarify some of my earlier points, and thank you for bringing up some noteworthy points yourself. 

Edited November 18, 2013 by Batbrony

[Whatevs 376]

>Well as far as I'm concerned, one's reputation/social status is not the same as looking out for one's business interests.  Yeah, they could go hand in hand, especially in Rarity's case since she caters to more sophisticated tastes, but all throughout this episode she never explicitly suggests that her concern for her social status has any ties to her business whatsoever (I know, 22 minute episode you can only fit so much, but still, there could've been some indication that her business was a concern, i.e. she might've presented some dresses/outfits at some point to the elite she was spending time with, IDK).  Point is, I feel every time I watch this episode that Rarity is worried about her social status for its own sake rather than for any ties it might have to her business

 

And?

 

>Now, you're not the first person to bring up to me that dwelling among the Canterlot elite has always been a dream of Rarity's, and I will concede that point.  Again, I think that's somewhat lost on me when I watch this episode mostly because her trip just starts out as a business trip to pick up some fabric, and even after she extends it, it's still only a temporary trip.  I suppose one could argue that she's planting roots in the social ties she's establishing, but still, she decided (prior to the Mane 6's coming to Canterlot) that it was better to deceive her friends and miss out on Twilight's birthday in favor of spending a few more days with the Canterlot elite (including, granted, attending the second most important social event in Canterlot, but still).  Again, point is, Rarity's dream is to live in Canterlot someday among the elite of that city, but in this episode she's simply visiting, with every intention of returning to Ponyville at some point.  One can argue that, given her young adult age, she simply gets swept up in the excitement of it all, and I'd concede that point as well, but again, it's still only a temporary trip, so it's not like her dream is really getting fulfilled anyway, she's just really getting a taste of what it could be like and, maybe making contacts in the city (maybe).

 

Irrelevant. She still thought not going to the Garden Party would be the nail in the coffin.

Yes, it is not explained why she thinks this but that's an error with the script rather than her character.

 

>First, as I said above, Rarity doesn't really get in trouble for her behavior

I see people bring this up a lot, and it's more of a subjective thing.

Imo, I see no reason for her to get in trouble.

 

When you consider her actual motivation: that she was afraid of ostracization and made poor decisions to avoid said bad outcome (kind of like another S2 McCarthy ep) her misdeeds are more akin to a fuckup than anything truly wrong.

It doesn't change that what she did was wrong but she did stand up for her friends and learn the lesson, I would argue not having her be 'punished' in favor of that is far more mature.

And again, it has no bearing on her character.

 

>Besides the fact that she comes from Ponyville, Rarity has absolutely nothing to hide from the Canterlot elite that she shouldn't be proud of nor which I can't honestly see them not finding amazing!

If you recall, in the scene with Hayseed she was snubbed immediately after being revealed to be from Ponyville. Even though they had an interest in her before. So there's the answer.

She was ultimately wrong in the end but that was the whole point of the lesson anyway.

 

>She's one of the best friends of Princess Celestia's favorite student, knows the princess herself quite well, has helped save Equestria twice from godlike beings, and is an Element of Harmony bearer (and I might add great friends with the other five Element bearers as well).  WHAT'S NOT AMAZING ABOUT THAT, AND WHAT MEMBER OF THE CANTERLOT ELITE WOULDN'T WANT TO KNOW A PONY LIKE THAT?!?!'

Plot convenience. Not really any bearing on her character besides being the impetus for her screwing up.

 

As I suggested earlier, the episode is similar to Lesson Zero.

Character worries that X will happen

To avoid X they start screwing around

The screwing around snowballs out of control

Results in some slapstick before the end.

 

And there's nothing ooc about Rarity in this ep imo. The same emotions of ostracization and disposability were used in the Nightmare Arc afterall.

 

Also, I responded to Sisterhooves as well. That one I agreed with a bit more, mostly in that I agree she was being a jerk. 

[Dr. Mechano 629]

This episode was fantastic! It's probably my favorite episode in the entire series. Rarity's my favorite character, so I expected to like this when it originally aired over two years ago. What I didn't expect was just how much I'd adore this episode.

 

First off, Rarity's faults are presented in a realistic way that don't make her look like a meanspirited person. She does get too wrapped up in social climbing and keeping up appearances, but we never get the impression for one instant that she's totally forgotten about her friends. Also,  I like that Rarity shows genuine appreciation for Celestia and Twilight. Rarity is very generous herself, but also really grateful when others are generous to her. 

 

The song! "Becoming Popular" is absolutely great. I think I still like "Art of the Dress" a little more, but only just.

 

Twilight and company coming to Canterlot to see Rarity was a nice touch. It highlights how important the mane 6 are to each other, and I love how close they've all become over the course of the series.

 

Oh, let's talk about Fancy Pants. This guy is awesome. Like others have said, I adore the fact that he's an upper-class society pony who actually seems to be a cool, well-adjusted guy and not a total snob. This show's always been good about rejecting stereotypes and broad generalizations about entire groups of people, so it's awesome that the nicer side of the upper class was just as present as the materialistic and selfish side was. In many ways Fancypants is the anti-Blueblood.

 

Rarity's back-and-forth between the two parties cracked me up. Classic MLP slapstick.

 

And finally, the ending was sweet. Rarity sticking up for her friends despite how "unsophisticated" the Canterlot ponies felt they were reminds me a bit of the applause scene from Green Isn't Your Color. Rarity ultimately will support her friends, no matter how important or posh their detractors may be. Rarity may love glamour and society, but at heart, she'll always love her friends even more.

 

Best episode, 10/10.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Dr. Mechano

[Sweetie Bot117 4]

One of my favourite episodes over all and the song is in my top 3.   

[sparklejack 9]

this is my favorite episode!

 

its hard to descripe how epic this episode is!

 

it is also my friends favories!

 

 

this is my favorite episode!

 

its hard to descripe how epic this episode is!

 

it is also my friends favories!

@Twighlight_Rainbow

[Hanibal94 218]

I like this one a lot too. It was a nice change of pace after two episodes of RD being a jerk.

 

Fancy Pants is really interesting - he's a fancy, upper-class pony, yet he actually acts nice and still shows genuine interest in Rarity and her friends even after they crash the garden party (which, BTW, was a REALLY rude thing to do!). I was disappointed when he didn't turn up in "Rarity takes Manehattan".

 

There's plenty of other nice things too - the song "Becoming Popular", Opal trying to get Rarity to work on the dress, the food fight with birthday cake and Twilight's weird dancing.

 

One thing I'm wondering about is why Shining Armor doesn't appear at the party - can't he take a day off for his little sister, especially when they were so close as kids?

[RareTreasure 24]

I just want more Rarity songs. Is that too much to ask? I love her singing ; A ;

[Frostgage 7,972]

One thing that's been bothering me for a while: when Rarity was asked who Rainbow Dash was, why didn't she just say that she was the winner of the Best Young Flyer competition? To me, that seems more impressive than being the Wonderbolts trainer.

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

I've been watching through the whole series chronologically.  Just finished this one.  I loved this episode.  Well, I've pretty much loved every episode I've watched so far.  I do have one problem with this one, though.

 

So, some of the elitist Canterlot ponies looked down on Rarity and her friends when they found out they were from Ponyville.  And of course, Rarity does the right thing in the end and sticks up for her friends and remembers her pride in her town and friends and all that.  Yeah, ok, that's great and all, but...  Um...did everypony just forget that the mane 6 SAVED ALL OF FREAKING EQUESTRIA on two non-consecutive ocassions?!  Did everypony just forget that the mane 6 are all VIPs, friends of Celestia, immortalized in the stained glass windows of the, the...the, freakin palace throne room thingy or whatever?!  Did everypony forget the massive celebration to thank them for stopping Discord?  Friendship is Magic, The Return of Harmony...hello??!!  The mane 6 should be treated like royalty everywhere they go!  You know that scene at the end of Return of the King when Aragorn tell the four hobbits, "My friends, you bow to no one," and then everyone bows to them atop Minas Tirith.  That's the mane 6.  They're the freakin 4 hobbits.  I mean, I always figured that if they wanted to, the 6 could live at the castle in Canterlot, but they choose to live in Ponyville because they enjoy the simplicity and all the friends they have there.  But, dude, the hell, man?  At the garden party at the end, when Rarity told everypony who they were, all those sophisticated snobs should have bowed down before the 6.  But then there would have been no lesson about friendship, I know.  Bah!

 

Anyway, still enjoyed it, but that's my little rant.

 

One other note; so far, every one of Rarity's songs has been amazing.  Whoever actually does the singing parts irl has a gorgeous voice.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

I love how it's been years since this episode aired, and it's still getting talked about. You want to know why?

 

It's seriously the best episode of all time.

 

Also, Fancy Pants gets all the ladies. He needs a reappearance.

[ZooZLight 64]

 

That's all I have to say... Yay!

[NightGlade13 120]

To be honest I totally respect Fancy Pants. He truly is nice. He expired rarity and the other ponies for who they were.

[SnowSunbeam 41]

To be honest I totally respect Fancy Pants. He truly is nice. He expired rarity and the other ponies for who they were.

Don't you mean 'exposed'?

[TheJLeeTeam 914]

This was a decent episode. It involves Rarity wanting to impress Fancy Pants and become popular in Canterlot. And she has 2 parties at the same time so she switches between them. The song is pretty good but not one of my favorites.

[Pastel 7,627]

Great episode, although I found it a little weak for the (amazing) season 2.

But the end was perfect !

Edited October 23, 2014 by Blobulle

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

I loved that episode, I found it to be rather successful one . Great episode

[Godot 15]

Just going with the flow of things sometimes works, and sometimes... not so much. Not the biggest fan of this episode, but Fancy Pants is actually becoming one of my favorite characters.

[Luna_tic 120]

Twilight's dancing.  Need I say more? Fantastic episode about never being ashamed of your friends or where you come from.

[BlackWater627 700]

Twilight's dancing.  Need I say more? Fantastic episode about never being ashamed of your friends or where you come from.

 

And aside from Twilight's moves and the great message, one of the greatest songs of the show...though I accept that may be my personal opinion. Rarity owned the stage. 

[slumberparty101 21]

I liked how Fancypants was so accepting of Rarity's friends - perhaps shows that his fair-mindedness has paid off. You get two kind of upper-class types: snobs and successes.

 

I think given enough time with the Mane Six, Rarity would eventually see through the façade of Canterlot high society: a gold-plated cage of social conformity and hollow expectation. I get the impression that Princess Celestia is quietly reluctant to take part in it as well, given how she called the Grand Galloping Gala a constant bore.

 

Applejacks fritters > garden party hors d'oeuvres

[powerpuff-tsubasa 447]

i liked the french rarity scene. other than that, this episode was alright

[twiia 1,842]

Nope, this sucked. I just don't really like canterlot episodes...