Ah, apologies for the late review everypony! Ironically enough, I was actually running a 5k this morning, and that's why I missed the episode when it aired. Even better, I actually placed! Got third in my age group (men, 19-24) with a time of 23:00.9, and got a medal and everything!!!

Look, it's so shiny!

Anyways, let's get to this review proper. I'll try to keep my "Equestria Games" review fairly concise, mostly because there was a lot going on. So, without further ado, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!! (sorry, couldn't resist )

Since there was so much going on, I think I'll divide my review to cover Spike, then the Mane 6, and then the various subplots and the games themselves. That sounds good to me. So to start, let's begin with Spike. I won't lie that on paper I was disappointed when I saw that Spike was going to star in the episode covering the entire Equestria Games, which the show's been building up to since Season 3, mostly for two reasons: (1) the games were such a big event, and (2) Spike just starred in an episode last week. Seriously, they did this last season too, they didn't space out Spike's episodes very well. But no matter, for my disappointment in the premise was wiped away by the episode's execution. The story direction was phenomenal, to say the least, namely in the attention that the subplots got; there wasn't too much time dwelt on them, but at the same time there didn't need to be, because it felt like they were picking up where the episodes that had set up said subplots had left off. As such, despite everything that was going on, the episode never felt too jumbled or packed. Everything got just the right amount of attention that it should have, including Spike.

So what did I think of the little guy? Like last week's episode, I again didn't think he had as good of a starring turn as he did in "Power Ponies" earlier this season, but it was, at least for me, a MASSIVE improvement over how he behaved last week. First of all, can I just say that it was SO NICE getting to see Spike get quite a bit of recognition for his critical role in saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra. Pretty much every single Crystal Pony adored him, and Cadance herself was lavishing Spike with 'thank yous'. It felt, just, right, it felt right, it felt like the little guy was finally getting the credit that he really didn't get in "The Crystal Empire" last season, besides the stained glass window Celestia commissioned with his image. The honor of having Spike light the Equestria Games torch for his past heroism made a lot of sense, though I did find it kind of ridiculous that they only just told him at the last minute (plot convenience!), and once he started choking up, I was interested to see where this episode was going, because to be honest, until the message was delivered at the end, I kinda didn't. Maybe it was the many subplots, maybe it was just the way it was executed, but kudos to DHX on surprising me. Anyways, back to Spike, all of his reactions just felt very in character for him. Last week, it was like he didn't know that Rarity was losing it, that that wasn't her, and it drove me up the wall. This week, I got it, I understood why he was doing what he was doing. He got a bad case of losing his cool in front of an entire stadium of ponies, he loved the attention the Crystal Ponies were giving him, he tried to make up for his earlier failure (that only he knew and the Mane 6 knew about) by trying to deliver a city's anthem (horribly, I might add. Seriously, I'm a singer, so that hurt to watch ), he got into a very understandable state of depression after humiliating himself in front of thousands! I understood all this, because it highlighted two things: (1) Spike's still a baby dragon, so his mood can shift in almost and instant, but (2) he is maturing, or at least developing more mature emotions, in the sense that he decided he had to make up for his failure with the torch even though most ponies didn't know about it. That belies a complex insecurity that was less subtly presented in "Power Ponies", that being that Spike often worries that he's not needed by the group, that there's really nothing about him himself that makes him special. The way episode wrapped up, with both Spike just taking charge instinctively because that's what needed to be done, and realizing that sometimes the root of his insecurity in this instance wasn't his inadequacy but rather his own self doubt, was phenomenal! It also somewhat hit home for me personally. I've been out of college for about a year now since graduating, and while I've got grad school coming up in the fall, it hasn't been easy, let me tell you. Living at home, working some temporary minimum wage job, not really doing much in your life, it can get you down, you really start feeling inadequate. But things like the run this morning, or that episode's message, they reinforce that there are things special about each and every one of us, that we can all achieve remarkable things if we set our minds to it, and sometimes our biggest barriers to doing so can be our own self doubt or insecurities. And if we ourselves can't figure that out, then sometimes it takes a great bunch of friends and family to remind us just how special we are. Great lesson, great execution and delivery, and a great turn for Spike to be sure!

Next, I'll cover the Mane 6, which shouldn't take nearly as long. They all had nice turns for what they did in the episode, I thought. Twilight most notably had a nice bit with Spike when she both lit the torch for him unbeknownst to everypony else, told him about it, and continued to try and raise his spirits throughout. This episode probably was the best highlight of their close relationship since "Equestria Girls" (one of the few things I give credit to THAT thing for ), and showed just how much trust and love there is between those two. Twilight couldn't stand keeping that knowledge from Spike, but at the same time knew that it was going to devastate him nonetheless. She did her best, given that she had to serve as a royal ambassador throughout the games, of lifting his spirits, and was extremely sisterly and motherly to him. It's one of my favorite relationships in the show, and this episode highlighted it quite excellently if I do say so myself. On top of that, Twilight seems to be becoming quite natural in her role as a princess, despite still not being totally accustomed to it. It was also nice seeing her with Cadance a bit. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had pretty awesome turns themselves. Flutters didn't speak too much, if at all, which I thought odd, but she played her role great on the team to a T. Rainbow, as the leader of the Ponyville athletes, was AWESOME!!! She took charge from the very start, she gave lots of support to her fellow athletes (aside from her bummer realistic speech about the relay team's chances, seriously, what the buck RD???), and seeing her race against Spitfire??? HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!! As for the other three, I was a little disappointed that AJ wasn't competing (seriously, there must've been some event she could've competed in), but they all had nice turns supporting Ponyville from the stands. Pinkie was especially hilarious as Ponyville's #1 cheerleader, and AJ and Rarity were fine as well, even if they didn't do too much. All in all, they all had a good episode and turned in a nice ensemble performance.

Speaking of ensemble performances, let's talk about the subplots. CMC getting to carry the flag into the stadium (with just a bit of sisterly love and Scootalove mixed in there)? Check! Ponyville relay team turning in an awesome performance after qualifying in "Rainbow Falls"? Check! The Games in general being awesome? Check, check, CHECK!!! Seriously, the Equestria Games were sweet. I do kinda wish that it had been a two-parter episode, just so we could have seen more of the games, but honestly given everything that happened they paced it spectacularly. We got a train ride into the Crystal Empire, an opening ceremony, the games themselves, and a closing ceremony, AND IT NEVER FELT RUSHED!!! Buck me DHX, can you get any better? Seriously, can you, cause that right there was dang impressive?! We had sweet moments, dramatic moments, cute moments, painfully funny comedy, and even some awkward moments, it was all there and it didn't feel jammed, not one bit! Overall, as I said earlier, I just couldn't believe how spectacular the story direction, pacing, and execution were in this ensemble episode. It was too good, just too good!

Finally, let's cover some miscellaneous elements. First of all, DERPY!!! OH MY GOSH, SO MUCH DERPY!!!! She must be one heck of an athlete if she qualified for Ponyville's team! She was in the episode SO MUCH in its first 5 minutes, she was adorable (especially in her uniform), and I like to imagine that she won whatever event she was competing in. This episode gets so much love in my book automatically for that alone, no joke! It was nice seeing a few cameos from Cadance, Shining Armor, Miss Harshwhinny, the Wonderbolts, etc. Again, just an all around great ensemble episode that included so many more characters beyond the Mane 6 and yet didn't feel cluttered. We got quite a few other background pony appearances as well, a nice bit from Lyra, Thunderlane, that pony pretending to be Blossomforth (SHE'S NOT BLOSSOMFORTH!!! ), a whole bunch of ponies in the stands (that was an impressive bit of animation, there were quite a few shots where you could clearly make out all the fans, they were just one big blur, at least not for a lot of the time). It was cool also seeing all the princesses together, even if Luna and Celestia didn't speak (which was kind of weird), along with some new and old faces among the other dignitaries (though seriously, Blueblood had a place of honor? BUCK THAT!). I was also a little confused by a couple things in the games themselves. First of all, apparently there's no magical events considering that magic-neutralizing field (which is kind of disappointing, I mean, why wouldn't unicorns have their own magical athletic events? Also, apparently the princesses themselves had their magic neutralized considering they couldn't do jack squat about that ice cloud at the end, making that barrier EXTREMELY STUPID!!! I mean seriously, I get having normal unicorns watching the events getting their magic neutralized, but the princesses? What if the Changelings had attacked or something??? I'm just saying, that's a horrible security risk!). Second of all, again, there wasn't an event that AJ could've competed in? Or maybe she just didn't want to. I don't know, AJ not competing just confused me in general.

But besides those minor issues, this episode was awesome, a fantastic penultimate episode for the season. We've just got one adventure left to go on this season everypony, and I'm sure that it's going to be the most wonderful of rides! Till next time my friends!!!

EDIT: I forgot to mention this earlier, but another thing that really confused me at the end was how Ponyville managed to win the medal count??? Let's review this: Pinkie mentioned at the start of the scene that Ponyville had a one-medal lead in the medal count. As far as we could tell, there were four finalists in the archery competition. Two of them were from Cloudsdale (one of whom was the favorite), none of them were from Ponyville. The best result that could've possibly happened given those circumstances was Ponyville and Cloudsdale tying in the medal count. The only possible explanation I can possibly come up with is that maybe there were more finalists than we were shown, and that they all somehow beat both Cloudsdale finalists, including the competition favorite, but that's it. Sorry, just had to mention how confusing I found that scenario to be.