Was writing Spike out of "The Cutie Map" a good idea?

[Dark Qiviut 22,585]

I agree with the majority of the people here, along with the OP. Having Spike in the episode could do nothing but distract the plot. Given his past history of being written in as comic relief, it would hamper the plot.

 

However, notice the "could." There's the "what if" idea of being possibly beneficial to the plot. It's not as big a problem as many make it out to be (not just T_O, but the others who have this same problem), but there's a possibility of not being the end-all, be-all distraction, either. It depends on the writing, though I don't trust DHX's handling of him post-EQG. So I went with the neutral choice.

[Justin_Case001 4,933]

That being said, I do hope that he accompanies the mane six on the rest of their adventures throughout the season. I'll be quite annoyed if they continue to write him out. 

Agreed.  He's too good of a character with too much potential to be written out, or cast aside as just mere comic relief.

 

But I also see why they didn't have him accompany the ponies to Pleasantville.  (Yes, that's what we're calling it.  Pleasantville.  If it hasn't caught on yet, it will soon.)  I think that his presence would have meant an instant solution, and thus, no real conflict or lessons learned.  I believe he would have been immune to SG.  So, obviously, it would have been extremely advantageous to have him there, but then the episode would have been over in about 5 seconds.  That, or the writers might have possibly just used him as unnecessary comic relief, and have him be more of a bumbling (see Spike At Your Service) fool who just muddies things up.  I'm glad they didn't go that route, either.  That would have soured the episode.  I want him to get more awesome as time goes on, not more bumbling.  He was never more awesome than when he melted the lock on the Inspiration Manifestation vault.  "Lock?  Heh.  F*ck your stupid lock."  But anyway, I think The Cutie Map was good as is.

[CT-1138 3,184]

Eh, I can't reallythink of any way to write him into the plot, actually. The basic premise is evil pony tries to take cutie marks from ponies. Spike isn't a pony, so his inclusion just wouldn't have been adequate to the plot.

[Megas 28,100]

Both the show and the comics in that past has proven that adding unnecessary characters to the plot won't always work

 

The episode was fine without him

[Honsou 399]

Spike had no real relevance to the plot. I think it honestly went better with Fluttershy as the clutch, instead of having Spike save the day like he did in the Crystal Empire. Mostly because no one expects Fluttershy to truly face her fears.

[Twilight Frost 271]

I wouldn't really mind if there was a lot less spike from now on! I really do not like spike at all. He is probably, imo, the worst character in the show.

 

I could almost say I hate spike. The relation with Rarity, his whiny childness and fact he is a dragon and a younger character. I really really REALLY just do not like spike.

[Sidral Mundet 1,666]

From a story perceptive yes.  Spike's addition pretty much brakes the story as it was set up, though it does leave an interesting plot hole in Starlight's plan (and potentially show that Equestria may have some speices issues) such as how does one explain creatures without cutie marks? I mean we know, cow, donkeys and dragons are all sentient creatures yet only ponies have cutie marks.  But anyways the story in question would have Spike be either too OP or underutilized so it's probably for the better he wasn't present.

 

That being said, he should have been written out better.  I mean there's this new map and Twilight needs support, but no he's going to watch hoofball.  I mean at least give him another reason to not be involved instead of a cheap joke. Maybe Celestia is coming to visit and needs someone to go over the castle with her, just something more than a lame joke should explain why Spike's not going.  

Edited April 10, 2015 by Sidral Mundet

[Adorkable 2,737]

It's cool for people to like Spike, but I think if the writers are aiming for a flawless story, it's best to leave Spike out. They've been trying different things here and there with his character, some good and some bad, so I think it's best to leave him out of premieres or other big episodes.

[Troubleshoes Clyde 107]

I personally see it a good idea Spike was written out of the episode. If he did go and the writers didn't come up with some good reason for Spike's ability to breath fire to go like he had a cold or dragons happened to have invisible cutie marks, the episode would be over very last forobvious reasons.

[UnknownFry 169]

It was a good idea to remove to him due to his lack of a cutie mark, but Starlight could have taken care of him with magic with ease with a different spell anyways aside from the whole burning the door bit. Spike is not much of a fighter and even his magic fire breath can go on the fritz sometimes.

 

Bottom line is that Spike is irrelevant to the narrative here, and at least the show bothered to explain why when it could easily ignored the point without losing anything.

 

That being said, I do hope that he accompanies the mane six on the rest of their adventures throughout the season. I'll be quite annoyed if they continue to write him out. 

 

Spike should be used sparingly at best, and children should be kept out of harm's way as much as possible.

Edited April 12, 2015 by UnknownFry