My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Analyzing Themes - The Saddle Row Review

The Saddle Row Review is one of the more charming episodes Friendship is Magic has seen in its run, and it’s one I feel many will remember fondly. It’s silly and easy going, yet amongst all the drama and humor it never feels cynical, and there’s always a feeling of lightheartedness and innocence in the many gags and scenarios that play out, and it feels like an episode that really captures the purity and fun of childhood. And while that is a great element to have that already lets the episode shine, there’s a heartwarming and sweet core within, once which, upon examination, reveals a lot about the show’s characters and their development.

One of the more interesting things about Saddle Row Review is that it feels unique due to its structure of constantly switching between the main event that happened in the past, and the present interviews that feature the mane characters retelling the story. Yet if we take these away for a moment, the core story and development is very similar to some past MLP episodes. Rarity Takes Manehattan from Season 4 is the most obvious one, but you could go back even farther to another episode, one that I feel says a lot about this one; Suited for Success, the very first Rarity episode of the series.

Suited for Success was an episode that dealt with Rarity and her friends clashing over how to create their dresses, leading up to the realization that some things should be left to the artists, and that you shouldn’t impose your ideas on others, and should at least get their input. The thing about Suited Success that makes it so similar to The Saddle Row Review is that while it was a Rarity episode, it was very much about the other mane characters. They were the ones who triggered the conflict and ultimately pushed it down the wrong path, and were the ones who had to realize their errors and help Rarity to redeem her fashion show. And this whole structure, this is almost exactly what happens in The Saddle Row Review, with a few key differences.

Probably the most interesting difference between the two is the cause of the conflicts, as they are almost exact opposites. In Suited for Success, the main conflict stems from the mane characters wanting their dresses to be done their own way. They are so absorbed in themselves and their own desires that they forget to acknowledge and consider Rarity’s position and views. In The Saddle Row Review, the ponies do the opposite, focusing too much on what Rarity would want an do in their position, so much so that they suppress their own ideas that would certainly help the situations a lot more.

I can’t help but speculate if perhaps The Saddle Row Review is an effect of the events of Suited for Success, and that after learning to consider Rarity’s ideas more, the ponies take it too far in not wanting to let her down during the big opening of her Manehattan boutique. I like this development a lot, because it implies that the moral of Suited for Success was taken to heart by our heroes, but also because it’s easy to understand why they would choose those decisions, while also seeing the error of their ways.

In a hilarious twist of events, the very ponies that learned that they shouldn’t be the ones designing dresses and should leave that to the specialist, were the one who didn’t leave the animals to the animal care taker, or the organizing to the organizer, instead choosing to let the fashion designer handle all of them. They reached the same mistakes in both situations, yet from completely different angles.

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A few weeks ago I did a write up for another episode of Season 6 of Friendship is Magic, that being On Your Marks. In it I concluded that as the characters of the show grow and change, we lose certain types of stories, but gain new ones in the process. Yet, with everything I’ve said about this episode, I can’t help but begin to question my previous conclusion. The Saddle Row Review deals with dilemmas new to our heroes from their growing changes, that being Rarity expanding her business to Manehattan. Despite the new scenario, the core themes are still very much about friendship, with lessons being learned that callback to the ones learned in the very first season. 

And this makes sense. After all, even though Twilight is now the Princess of Friendship, she still has much to learn about friendship, just like everyone else. So with all this in mind, I can't help but look at my last write up and wonder. Maybe, just maybe, even though the Cutie Mark Crusaders now have their cutie marks and their journey to find them has ended, their journey to understand and find the meaning in their cutie marks can start, which might not be so different from their previous one, such that we’re treated to episodes that feel similar to previous Cutie Mark Crusader episodes. 

Let me take a moment to appreciate that this episode feels like a callback, without feeling like a regression. I’m so happy this show has been able to retain excellent writing 6 seasons and going. Bless you Friendship is Magic team, and thank you so much

Regardless, The Saddle Show Review is an excellent and fun episode that calls back to the fun innocent heart that I love about this show. When viewed next to Suited for Success, both shine even brighter. Where Success was about learning when to back down and let others take reign, Saddle Show is about learning when to step out and express yourself, not being afraid to do things your way when the opportunity arises. Despite the ponies’ fears of letting down Rarity, they did everything they could to give her boutique their own unique flair, and it ended up all coming together in a beautiful fashion.

And for one last neat parallel, despite the ponies’ fears of being honest about themselves to the reporter who printed their story, their honesty paid off, as it allowed for the article to be honest and heartfelt from all of them, and allowed Rarity to realize that through her chase for perfection, she hadn’t seen that she already had the perfect friends.