Simple Ways Review

- The thought of Rarity obsessing over an upper class Stallion is not anything new.  After all, she was shown to have a crush on Prince Blueblood, and may have even been interested in Fancy Pants.  Introducing a brand new character for Rarity to obsess over without any buildup beforehand is…a little unexpected.  Although making Rarity and Applejack the main focus of an episode is something that I’ve certainly been wanting to see again.  After all, Sisterhooves social still remains one of my personal favorite episodes if only for the scenes between Rarity and Applejack.  Applejack tends to bring out the best in others, even when a character like Rarity loses focus.  But while the relationship between Rarity and Sweetie Belle had been given time to develop before reaching Sisterhooves Social, it will be difficult to convince the audience to be invested in something like Rarity having a crush on someone we haven’t met before.  But let’s take a look at how well the writers can put this together here.
- We see Rarity being chosen to direct the Ponyville Days Festival, and she’s already going all out on adding her own touch of elegance to everything.  Of course the rest of the Mane Six are contributing in their own small ways.  But thankfully, there isn’t all the much focus being put on the majority of them.  They’re kind of just there, but not in a distracting way.  What really stands out the most in this scene though is the fact that Rarity talks about a new stallion coming to town by the name of Tenderhoof.  And apparently Rarity has been obsessing over this guy for so long that she has a shrine dedicated to him.  So, let’s talk for a moment about this element that I’m sure is rubbing a few people the wrong way.  Introducing a character with no buildup for one of the Mane Six to have a crush on.  All for the sake of the story and the moral.  When I was watching this scene, I could already imagine how some people would start talking about how Rarity is being forced into this position by the writers just for plot convenience.  And…yeah, I CAN understand where they are coming from here.
- But, that doesn’t necessarily make the episode weak, provided they do something interesting and/or entertaining with it.  And I was willing to give this a chance, if only so I could see Rarity having her highly enjoyable freak out moments.  Now, when Tenderhoof starts developing a crush on Applejack, I could already tell what Rarity would end up doing next.  And I have to admit that parts of it did feel a little underwhelming.  There were some funny moments here and there, but I don’t think there were many standout moments during the second act.  I will say that Spike being calm and taking everything in stride actually shows some Maturity on his part.  And really, I thought that the story might be heading towards Spike being the one who would teach Rarity the lesson about being yourself.  That really would have shown how much Spike has grown as a character.
- But the focus seemed to stay on Rarity and Applejack, with Tenderhoof making occasional appearances here and there.  And while I was enjoying moments like Rarity sitting on a plow trying to get it to move, I wasn’t really sold on scenes where Rarity is trying to force her ideas on others.   But while the second act doesn’t really have that much to make the episode memorable, I was thoroughly enjoying all the moments when Rarity changes her accent and actually sounds pretty natural with it.  Seeing Rarity act like a country gal and playing the part fairly convincingly was a real treat.  And when Apple “Jewel” manages to pull of the elegant fashionista I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.  Both Tabitha St. Germain and Ashleigh Ball put together some fantastic performances here.  This is really what made the episode for me, when I was watching these two polar opposite personalities actually playing these parts so well.  It was almost like going back to Look Before You Sleep again, except this time each of them were trying to act like the other.
- Once again, Applejack plays the role of a wise mentor.  Doing something way out of her comfort zone in order show Rarity why this behavior doesn’t work.  And I wasn’t feeling any ill intent on Applejack’s part here either.  She came up with a brilliant and effective way to drive the lesson home without making herself any less likeable.  And while I probably would have preferred seeing Rarity understand the lesson a bit more on her own, I think this final act of the episode played out rather well.
- In particular, the message of the episode is really good.  And it’s something that is actually more for adults than for children.  I’m sure that every one of us have had moments in our lives where we feel the need to change who we are just to catch the attention of others.  And by itself, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  When we feel the need to improve upon who we are because we are inspired by the character or actions of those we admire, then it can become a driving force for good in our lives.  But when we start putting aside who we are and start doing things we would normally never do just for the sake of catching someone’s eye, then we can easily lose so much of what makes us unique.  The phrase “There’s something unappealing about a pony who changed themselves so much just to impress somepony else.  If somepony doesn’t like you for who you are, then that’s their loss.”  I love how they worded this message.  And I’m sure that a lot of us can learn from that phrase.
- I will say that Tenderhoof as a character was almost instantly forgettable.  He really wasn’t able to establish himself beyond just being a driving force for the plot.  I’m sure the writers could have done Something with his character to make him stand out a bit more.  After all, Coco Pommel was able to leave her mark on the fandom, and she had even less screen time than Tenderhoof.  But while the set up to the episode had a few issues, and the second act didn’t really grab me, I really enjoyed the episode for how it all came together in the end.  Probably not something that I would watch over and over like some of the more brilliant episodes in the series.  But for what it was, I think Simple Ways has some stand out, enjoyable moments, some great interaction between characters, and a very worthwhile lesson.
- But now I would like to hear from each of you.  How do you feel about Rarity developing a crush on a character that we’ve never seen before?  Do you think that Spike could have been the one to teach Rarity this lesson if given more of a chance to be in the spotlight?  Do you think Rarity’s actions fit with what we know of her?  Does Applejack’s role as the wise mentor still fit with her character?  What do you think about Rarity and Applejack switching roles?  I would like to hear your thoughts on Simple Ways, and here’s to hoping that we get some more stand out performances from the ever talented voice actors in MLP.  I am DRWolf, and I look forward to hearing from you.