LZRD WZRD

What are you talking about? I've made no personal attacks. I never said the staff were infallible. Cleverclover asserted that he knows what Spike's character is supposed to be, which is an incredibly pretentious thing to say, unless he's talked to the people who run the show and created Spike. If he dislikes Spike's character, that's fine. But what he said was far more than that. Being fearful of Twilight abandoning him can stem from more than one place. If it's the act of being abandoned that frightens him, which seems to be what his parents did to him, then that doesn't mean it's out of character for him to abandon Twilight. That's akin to me not wanting my mom kick me out of the house, but me being fine leaving on my own terms. It's not contradictory. Also, Spike is competent at some things, but that doesn't mean he's a Mary Sue who is competent at everything. When in the series has he been shown to be able to carry out a specific task, only for him to be unable to carry out the same task in later episodes? How was he only annoying? I'm pretty sure the latest episode had nothing to do with Spike being annoying and more with him struggling to carry out his task and then later becoming addicted to power. Also, what other episodes was spike full of himself and greedy? Apparently this happens every season, but I don't recall this happening. Could you name some episodes?

It's pretty pretentious of you to assert that somehow you know what Spike's true character is as opposed to numerous different writers (ranging from Larson to Polsky). Do you not understand how this show works? You do realize McCarthy is involved with developing all of these stories in the episodes. All the writers do is flesh out the dialogue and scenes, but the overall structure is designed and approved by McCarthy. Not to mention, they reference the show bible frequently, so either 90% of the time they ignore it with Spike or, idk, maybe the way they're writing Spike is how Faust envisioned him. Personally I think he's being written really well, but I'm guessing you disagree.

I think the reason so many ponies were asking the princesses for help was because they were running the event and it was a rare opportunity to communicate with them (when they normally may not be as accessible). As for the workers, I doubt they have any reason to assume any dubious intentions. This is pretty much a crime-less world, so an event where the workers would be tricked would be very rare. As for blame, I think it does rest on Spike, considering it was already established that the princess had a ton of power. He knowingly abused it.

I'm not quite sure about the first question, could you reference some episodes please? For the second question, I'd say Spike has shown growth by not repeating past mistakes (getting jealous like in Owl's Well . . . or shoving his identity at others like in Spike At Your Service). Furthermore for development, I'd propose Spike At Your Service was the next logical step from Dragon Quest. Unable to find dragons he could identify with, Spike instead embraces part of what he sees being a dragon is (adhering to the dragon code) in an attempt to fit in. Since he can't fit in with dragons in person, he attempts to do so in spirit.

So I guess what you're saying is that you want a completely different type of conflict all together for Spike? I understand that, but for me I like seeing all of the different ways Spike has to deal with his issues, especially since they're never completely resolved. He still has yet to form a concrete identity which is what most of his episodes are about. Until that happens, until he gets that "ahah!" moment (just like the CMC), he's going to continue struggling with finding his role. He likes being Twilight's assistant, but previous episodes show he's not satisfied with who he is and how others perceive him. This one, which shows him living someone else's life, seems to affirm that he's still working on this. Personally, I find this to be one of the more interesting and relatable conflicts on the show and quite honestly I'm surprised it doesn't resonate with more people. He didn't turn his back on being a dragon. The very next season there was an episode called Spike At Your Service where the entire story is based around him trying to be associated with dragons (via his incessant adherence to the dragon code)

I see what you're saying, but all of those episodes deal with Spike and his self worth in different ways. Owl's Well is about him feeling insecure and taking extreme actions, rather than talking to Twilight about them. Dragon Quest was about him trying to find people he could relate to, but instead he realized that people who legitimately cared about him was more important than fitting in. See, they all come from a similar place, but they deal with Spike in different ways.

I must have missed the interview where Meghan McCarthy said that they don't care about developing Spike and see him as a joke character. You got a link?

I see what you're saying, but I disagree. When you make a mistake in real life, it doesn't mean you will never make the same mistake again. Especially when we're talking about a kid. Furthermore, I don't recall which other episode in the series Spike became addicted to power and abused it at other ponies' expense. What's the problem with that? I could say the same about Fluttershy, how she tried being a fashion model but decided she was content caring for animals. If Spike enjoys being a servant, what's wrong with that?

Flanderized? One-dimensional? In what way was Spike one-dimensional in the latest episode? This is a demonstrably false statement and ignores the entire premise of the episode. Spike starts off as a responsible and attentive servant, yet when given a taste of power, he becomes corrupted and selfish. He literally transforms from selfless to selfish over the course of the episode. So no, he's hardly one-dimensional and I'd argue he's being written with as much thought he's ever been. Instead of whining about Spike's actions, think about what they mean instead. Why is Spike corrupted when given power? What does this say about his character, his desires, and his relationship with others? These are questions that are brought up by these actions. To write this all off as lazy is just baffling to me. Actually, Dragon Quest does have a follow-up: Spike At Your Service. It shows Spike struggling to identify with his own race (following the dragon code is an attempt to fit into his image of what a dragon ought to be) to the point where it becomes clear that his actions are entirely self-serving (ironic considering the title of the episode). You misunderstand what a plot device is. When the story is literally about how a person is acting, they're not a plot device. Spike would be a plot device if he was greedy and that somehow led to problems for other people and this was all his character was ever used for. Also, greedy, selfish, and insecure are all legitimate character flaws. In real life, people have more than one flaw. Come to think of it, those 3 characteristics are often found together, so I fail to see how Spike having all of them is somehow a bad thing.

Was this episode good? Oh yah, you betcha

Actually my dream episode was pretty much The Cutie Map. A dystopian egalitarian society? Now that is some scary stuff.