Ho, boy.
Two episodes in a season with Rarity featured prominently? What is this madness?
Rarity takes Manehattan would be a tough act to follow, and this episode does not attempt it. Instead, we are treated to the most cringe-worthy Rarity, we have ever seen. It is high comedy, playing off standard tropes, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I usually do not like cringe humor—it just doesn't
do anything for me, and I'm sure that there are a whole bunch of scenes in this episode that others found funnier than me. What saves those scenes for me is Tabitha St. Germain, who once again demonstrates what a tremendous VA she is (by far my favorite VA of our generation). She has excellent range and superb comedic timing, and she showcases both in this episode.
As for Rarity. You'd think that the mare would learn… but as Orange Fluffy Sheep pointed out above, Rarity is a romantic. I have always held that she has next to no experience in actual romance (as opposed to what you'll see stated rather often elsewhere)—her dithering upon seeing Prince Blueblood in Best Night Ever is proof enough of that—this is no experienced seductress. Her notions of romance is based more on novels rather than anything else. Not changing who you are is pretty much Romance 101, but she doesn't have the experience to know that. Add to this her passionate nature (this lady does not do
anything by half measures. Not her gestures, not her dresses, and not her feelings), and we are set for drama. Of course, she goes all in, it's who she is. (That said, the shrine was probably overdoing it, but I recognize a comedic prop when I see it).
Is this a Rarity Snaps episode? I believe it is. Those are actually true rarities. Rarity may wail and flail, or perhaps unleash her fearsome temper, but she rarely goes
crazy (as in Party of One or Lesson Zero crazy). Her propensity for emotional outbursts acts as her safety valve—she nearly always lets off steam before she explodes. Only when she is well and truly overwhelmed does she snap. Until this episode, I consider only Sonic Rainboom as a Crazy Rarity episode, because the fabulosity of those wings snapped her mind like a brittle twig. So too, it would appear, does the appearance of Trenderhoof, though she of course herself had been stoking that boiler for some time.
So, Rarity rejects Reality and substitutes her own (well, it works for Adam Savage…), trying harder and harder to bend herself to conform to How It Ought To Be. That rarely works, and certainly doesn't here—the strain on her (true nature) increases until Applejack and a healthy dose of mud finally snaps her out of it.
Pacing wise, I think I would have liked to see 30 seconds less Country Crazy Rarity, if that 30 seconds could have been added to the ending. We could have the reconfirmation of the great friendship between Applejack and Rarity extended upon. We could have seen Rarity go full Super Saiyan to make up for lost time (because evidently she managed to realize her vision JIT), and that is something I still hope to see someday. As it stands, those things are implied.
Applejack and Rarity continue to work well together. They were the first great comedic duo of the Mane Six in Look Before You Sleep, and they carry on in this episode. I look forward to an episode where Rarity helps Applejack realize something. Mud need not be involved.
All in all, an enjoyable enough episode. Just as The Straight Story was told straight, Simple Ways does not try to be especially clever, and while this particular type of comedy is not exactly my cup of tea, Tabitha St. Germain carries the day.
As for Rarity being vain? Fiddlesticks! She just happens to have a keen and precise understanding of her own appearance. She is beholden to beauty, so she can hardly be blamed if mirrors are a distraction for her
