Did the Nightmare Rarity arc compensate for the lack of an S3 Rarity episode?

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

Whenever I look at the lack of a Rarity episode, and the way in the comics she was abducted and turned into the villain, Nightmare Rarity, I almost get the feeling that the writers of the show as well as those of the comics despise Rarity.  I mean, I know that they couldn't make "Spike At Your Service" a Rarity episode because she would've been too mean to Spike.  But, every time I look at all this, it almost reminds me of Megaman and the way Capcom reduced him to a joke, from Bad Box-Art Megaman appearing in Street Fighter X Tekken, to three cancelled Megaman games in a row.

 

So I have to wonder.  Did Rarity's transformation into a villain in the comics compensate for her lack of a Season Three episode?  Or, did it reduce her to more of a joke than S3 did when it replaced Rarity with Applejack in "Spike At Your Service"?

[Ianpiersonjdavis 514]

No, it didn't feel like it to me.

 

But, IDW seemed to have been trying and I give them points for that.

 

My reasoning is that the Nightmare Rarity story arc gave her more significance and character than the entirety of Season 3 as her fear of being forgotten and subsequently abandoned by her friends made her feel more complex.

[deadprofile 1,123]

Something tells me that the lack of a rarity episode in S3 and her "villian-afied state" in the comic arc aren't too much related. The lack of a rarity episode by the sound of it, is going to be made up for a great deal in Season 4.  Plus, she's already ha quite a few character based episodes in previous seasons that focus on her AS a character.  We already have a well rounded picture of her, who she is as a character and what she brings to the table as far her friends are concerned and community abilities.  We know Rarity at her best (and not quite her worst).  With the other 5, we see them at their best AND worst (Twilight Sparkle- S3 finale vs. Lesson Zero

Rainbow Dash- Wonderbolt Academy vs. MMare Do well

Fluttershy- Keep calm and flutter on vs putting your hoof down

Pinkie Pie - not sure which shows her at her best...maybe Too many Pinkie's or Swarm of the century vs Party of One

Applejack- best supporter pony (any episode she does this is her at her best) vs. Applebuck Season....

Rarity....well, her at her best would be Suited for Sucess I would believe...but her at her worst...well I could say Sonic Rainboom, but I always thought of that episode the same way BronyCurious interprets it so that can't be at her worst (taking a character flaw and focusing on it) and besides that episode focuses on Rainbow Dash with Rarity as a negative stimulator to the episodes primary conflict. The Nightmare Rarity arc of the comics NOT ONLY delves into Luna's background (the comics ARE show canon) as to why she became Nightmare Moon, but also delves into Rarity's insecurities that are deeper than her artistic desires (i.e. her breakdown in Suited for Sucess).  This comic arc delves into her character in a way that the show cannot because she a more mature pony and the comics are more mature and darker than the main tv show.  It really gives Rarity a depth to her that the show cannot portray.  She was the perfect pony of the Mane 6 to get consumed by the darkness.  Her lack of show-focused episodes in S3 seems mostly done in part due to the her low ratings as charcter among the targeted demographic (she and Applejack are in the same boat in that regard, just look at the toy market).  I believe a combition of executive decisions, and limited episodes of S3 made Rarity unfocused in the show's last season, and instead they opted for more Spike and CMC centric episodes as well as throwing the Crystal Empire in there to keep that place somehow in kid's minds.  Sorry I'm babbling again, but I don't really see the Nightmare Rarity arc as a bad thing at all (well, I don't exactly have favorites for the Mane 6 and come on, who didn't want to know how Luna became bad?)

Edited November 12, 2013 by Treble Bolt

[FNGRpony 658]

if they would have made spike at your service with rarity, spike would have ended up being shipped LOL.

I mean seriously, this wouldn't be like spike doing farm choirs, i'm pretty sure rarity could have spike model  (excessive cross dressing humor),

hum....

Okay so one of two things would happen.  Spike would either fall deeper in love with rarity,

or find out he's more in love with the idea of rarity.  either of which, might not be where the show wants to go.
I'd find it funny.

But even if you ignore the anti shipping police, and totally made a better episode...

hum, you know, i can't finish that sentence.

 

Apple jack needed some air time.  lets leave it at that lol.

[Jamesblorg39welsh 125]

No it didn't count not enough people read the comics for it to count intact are they even sold in the UK I wouldn't know I'm in the us

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,696]

For me, it did not. For one thing I felt the second set of comics was a big step down from the first, especially in the writing (thank goodness Katie Cook and Andy Price are coming back to do the third). The angle could have been great, but somehow they managed to make an evil Rarity story dry and uninteresting. I was really let down. Also, the show and the comics have a separate canon, so even if I enjoyed Nightmare Rarity it couldn't compensate for the lack of a Rarity episode in Season 3.

 

The only thing that might do that is Season 4. 

[Scootalove 10,692]

No, because Season 3 and the comics are not related to each other at all. They are pretty much separate in canon, so no. Season 4 should supply us with some Rarity episodes.

[ReverseFaller 2,484]

Not really...I do love the comics though, and I consider them canon enough. In my mind, Nightmare Rarity happened, and boy was it awesome! Anyways, I'm sure we'll get a Rarity episode in Season 4 so there's no need to worry about that.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,879]

No!!!

 

I get ready to start punching shit when it comes to they way Rarity got handled by the writers in S3!

 

I have a song I play whenever I start talking about this subject:

 

 

Anyway.....

 

Considering the way Rar was portrayed in that monstroisity that some people call a season, I think making her a villain in the comics made things worse!

 

I refuse to accept Nightmare Rarity as a character, and I probably never will change that.

 

The only episodes in S3 I'll ever watch again are The Crystal Empire, The one with Babs Seed (Don't really care to remember the names), MMC and Games Ponies Play.

 

The rest can fuck off.

 

I'm hopeful for S4, though

 

But if the writers continue to abuse my favorite character ever, out of any series I've watched, I...

 

...hell. I dunno what I'd do.

 

It'd break me in half to see S4 treat Rar like S3 did.

 

And Nightmare Rarity was just BS.

 

...Yeahh. That's honestly the way I feel, and DON'T expect me to change it.

 

I refuse to budge on this subject.

Edited November 17, 2013 by ghostfacekiller39

[Sir Wulfington 276]

Does it really matter? As much as I love Rarity (she's my favorite character), the writers should make episodes staring characters if there's a good episode plot about that character to be made. The writers shouldn't be trying to pander to people who want x or y in the show. NEVER write to please your audience, write to write a good story. That said, I'd like more episodes staring her, but only if there's a point and they writers can come up with good ones.

 

I wouldn't say Nightmare Rarity made up for it because I never even read the comic, nor do I intend to, I just decided to spoil it for myself, which isn't the same as actually reading it, so I can't judge.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Sir Wulfington

[Winona the Dog 1,984]

I never read the comics but Nightmare Rarity seems to get more popularity than Rarity did in the entirety of season 3 so as far as I'm concerned; yes.

 

Nightmare Rarity is interesting all on its own but I do think that they should only write episodes for Rarity unless they have a good idea for her and simply not because the fans want more of her.

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

I never read the comics but Nightmare Rarity seems to get more popularity than Rarity did in the entirety of season 3 so as far as I'm concerned; yes.

 

Nightmare Rarity is interesting all on its own but I do think that they should only write episodes for Rarity unless they have a good idea for her and simply not because the fans want more of her.

I wish there were more people like you who believed that Nightmare Rarity compensated for the lack of an S3 Rarity episode, and not inadvertently reduced Rarity into a joke almost the same way Capcom did Megaman.

[Nightmare_Shinigami 31]

I'm honest... I hate the Nightmare Forces and I will never accept them as Part of Lunas Backgroundstory. And getting Rarity possed by those Nightmare-wanna-bes is just insulting.

[Malinter 3,064]

It is possible that Nightmare Rarity isn't to make up for a lack of her in S3. if we go of the assumption that the "Nightmare" needed to posses someone who can do magic and is an element bearer, it leaves only Twilight and Rarity as beings it could possess.

 

Twilight is the focus of the EoH so it can't of been her [other wise, gamer over man, game over XD] so Rarity was picked instead.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Malinter

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

Really, so many of you have doubts that the Nightmare Rarity arc compensated for the lack of an S3 Rarity episode.

 

As of right now, Rarity received two Season Four episodes of her own, one of which she had to share with Applejack.  But, I get the feeling that it's going to be an afterthought or niche market novelty, once it eventually turns out that there won't be a third or fourth S4 Rarity episode.  I know the writers don't hate Rarity, and actually like her as a character, but based on the way they're treating her, it seems like they're degenerating her into an afterthought compared to her friends, albeit unintentionally.

 

I just want to believe that Nightmare Rarity compensated for the lack of an S3 Rarity episode.  After all, it was all about Rarity's fears and insecurities about being abandoned by her friends, and by the end, the girls rescue her by teaching the same lesson they taught Pinkie Pie in "Party of One": That her friends would never abandon her, no matter what.  But how can I, when more of you doubt it than believe it?

[True Rarity 1,240]

Apparently the writers said that the reason there was no Rarity episode in Season Three was because "Spike at Your Service" was going to be hers, but they made her look like a tyrant and changed it.

[Commander_PonyShep 349]

Apparently the writers said that the reason there was no Rarity episode in Season Three was because "Spike at Your Service" was going to be hers, but they made her look like a tyrant and changed it.

Well, at the very least, the bright side was that they did consider a Rarity episode, and did not forget about her.

 

Plus, I've changed my mind about the Nightmare Rarity arc.  Even though a lot of people keep saying that it wasn't designed to compensate for the lack of a Season Three Rarity episode, I think it did Rarity justice by giving her an internal conflict that further fleshed her out as a character.  Yes, it meant having her emotions consumed by the nightmare forces, allowing them to possess and transform her into Nightmare Rarity.  However, by the end, her friends free Rarity and help her win her own internal conflict, by reminding her about the very generosity she gave to them, and that they owe her everything, right down to their friendship.

 

So really, why should I depend on other people's opinions, when I could just create my own, even if it might conflict with someone else's?  I think Nightmare Rarity did compensate for the lack of an S3 Rarity episode, albeit unintentionally, again because of Rarity's internal conflict.

Update: So I tweeted Heather Nuhfer about the Nightmare Rarity arc, and she said the following:

 

— Heather Nuhfer (@HeatherNuhfer) https://twitter.com/HeatherNuhfer/statuses/434469296916283392[/indent]

' class="bbc_url">@

https://twitter.com/WanWeengedAnjil I hope so! I firmly believe in as much Rarity as possible.

— Heather Nuhfer (@HeatherNuhfer) https://twitter.com/HeatherNuhfer/statuses/434469296916283392

 

— Heather Nuhfer (@HeatherNuhfer) https://twitter.com/HeatherNuhfer/statuses/434471099733008384[/indent]

' class="bbc_url">@

https://twitter.com/WanWeengedAnjil We don't (usually) know what's planned for the show. My NR arc idea was a happy coincidence that gave Rarity some lovin!

— Heather Nuhfer (@HeatherNuhfer) https://twitter.com/HeatherNuhfer/statuses/434471099733008384

 

Technically, according to Nuhfer, the Nightmare Rarity arc didn't really compensate for the lack of a Season Three Rarity episode, and that it was coincidentally released after a Rarity-less S3.  However, she thought the Nightmare Rarity arc gave Rarity the attention she deserved, but in the form of her fighting off her fears of being abandoned by her friends and turning into Nightmare Rarity as a result.

Edited February 16, 2014 by Commander_PonyShep

[Whatevs 377]

I loved the characterization it gave Rarity. Fears of loneliness and being unwelcome, like an unwanted gift. Perfect for the element of generosity.

This also shows up in several episodes like S&E and Manehattan.

But she still doesn't let her insecurity get her down...to often