On Rarity

Yes, I know I didn't have a blog post scheduled today, but this came up and I had to address it.

One thing I noticed get drummed up a lot in the reactions to yesterday's episode is the subject of Rarity. Not only does she not get an episode this season, but the episodes where she played a major role have apparently dumbed her down to being a vain, petty, fashion-obsessed annoyance. Even I called her out for giving Spike just a tiny speck of a gemstone (although, as everyone has pointed out by this point, it was still valuable enough to buy an industrial-sized pet hair dryer). So have the writers forsaken Rarity? Has she been reduced to a mere prop to be used for ridicule and cheap jokes? What happened to Faust's glorious vision of a show where girls of any type can be celebrated?

Nothing.

Rarity has admittedly been out-of-focus this season, primarily as a consequence of the half-season order. Instead, more attention has been paid to characters like Applejack and Spike, who have traditionally been ignored by the show at large and either turned into jokes themselves or forced into the background. In fact, not counting the group episodes, Rarity really has only played a major role in one episode this season, "Sleepless in Ponyville," and even then she was portrayed as a camping-hating girly-girl who exploited her little sister to carry her luggage.

But here's the thing: That's all in Rarity's character.

Out of all the Mane 6, Rarity is the most flawed from a pure virtue/vice standpoint. She's obsessed with making things beautiful, including herself, and almost everything revolves around her fashion career. She's not about using her good looks to get what she wants. She despises getting dirty and "roughing it." She's bossy, greedy, and a drama queen. All of these are long-established character traits, dating as far back as the first season.

The problem with Season 3 and Rarity is that we haven't had anything that focused on Rarity's career itself. Her best episodes are the ones that highlight her attempts to advance Carousel Boutique's fame and glory, all while remaining true to her friends. And she has had a lot of them in the past, while Spike's episodes have almost always been hack jobs at best and Applejack's second episode overshadowed her with a disastrous pandering exercise. Going by the show's continuity, she's now well-known in Canterlot, her goal since the Pilot, and has made contacts with Hoity-Toity and Photo Finish, two of the leading figures in Equestria's fashion world. And even in the third season, she managed to bring her sense of fashion to the Crystal Fair, even creating a trendy hat with just a few pieces of straw and making it work.

But what of Generosity? The fact is that while Rarity can be greedy at times, she's still shown a great deal of giving in the past. And while she hasn't had a chance to shine this season, she still gave a wagon full of supplies to Applejack in "Apple Family Reunion." Even if she charged for it, she'd still give a rather great discount, and made sure the ribbons tying it together matched perfectly. If you wanted to go into full-on headcanon mode, she probably even helped pick out the colors and fabrics.

And Faust's glorious vision? If we're going by a strict, technical interpretation, it was violated as early as "Ticket Master." Rarity has always had her vices, and has often been shown in a less-than-favorable light, but unlike with Spike I don't feel anything really mean-spirited about it. She's still a successful business owner, loves her career, and while she has fights with her sister from time to time, she was still willing to race her in "Sleepless in Ponyville" and look out for her when she was scared. The first two seasons celebrated her career skills and drive, but after the events of "Sweet and Elite," there's really not much other ground they can cover. She's achieved her dream of becoming world famous, and not just because she controls part of a magical superweapon. So that leaves her with her base character, warts and all, and I disagree with the notion that she's been run through the mud or ruined. The only episodes post-"Suited for Success" that I really didn't like Rarity in were "Putting Your Hoof Down" and "Dragon Quest." And even then, the former still had me feel for her when her life's work was torn to shreds, while the latter showed her caring for Spike and being willing to fight for him.

Perhaps it's because Rarity has unfortunately sunk to least-favorite (you can thank "TMPP" and "KCaFo" for bumping up Pinkie and Fluttershy, respectively), but I really don't see the problem others are having. She's still the same character she's been since we first heard "Art of the Dress," but in a shortened season she just has to take a rest and let the others shine. And that's my take on it.