S05:E10 - Princess Spike

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Princess Spike is not a good name for this episode

"God dang it Spike" is a better one

 

I figured this episode would be sub-par, and unfortunately I was right. Once again Spikes Potential is entirely squandered, we learn nothing new about his character that we didn't already know, the resolution was far to contrived for my liking, and the structure of the episode itself was just wonky and disjointed. 

 

Its frustrating because I like the Concept of Spike and what you could DO with a character like him, but this episode further illustrates that the writers just have no CLUE on how to deal with him. Until they do, they really REALLY need to stop making episodes with him as the center of attention. 

 

By far my least favorite episode of the season, even the now infamous A.M.W episode (which marked the departure of a couple brony youtubers) had a good moral to it. This was a meandering mess which does nothing to make Spike better in the eyes of the audience. 

 

They really need to stop doing this to Spikes Character, its been 5 seasons for goodness sake, let the dragon grow and mature already.  

[Batbrony 15,994]

OK, welcome back everypony to another addition of "Batbrony Reviews."  So after last week's bit of amazing that was the 100th episode, unsurprisingly I don't have quite as much to say about this new episode as I did last week.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy, there were quite a few elements that I liked about it, it just didn't come anywhere close to the levels of awesome that "Slice of Life" did.  Without further ado, let's take a look at "Princess Spike."

 

So first of all, let's talk about Spike himself, starting by getting something off my chest.  As with most Spike episodes since I wanna say Season 3, we yet again have a lot of bronies complaining about so-called "Spike abuse," the notion that Spike is a special sort of punching bag for the writers in any episode that he stars in.  Let me just come out and say that while I understand some bits of this notion, overall I think it's overblown.  The writers have shown plenty of times in the past and this season that Spike can be and is written well plenty of times.  If he ever does come across as an idiot in starring roles, let's keep two things in mind: (1) he's still a baby dragon, and we have no idea how quickly or slowly dragons normally age, much less one being raised among ponies like Spike, and (2) the main characters of episodes are almost always at the root of the problems caused in those episodes!  I don't ever hear anybody complain about Applejack being written like an idiot in "Applebuck Season," people just accept that that's an extension of her stubborn personality getting the best of her, and that's fair because it's true.  But for some reason some people seem to want Spike to be Mary Sued anytime he's in a starring role, and I don't get it.  I think it goes back to "Spike At Your Service" and how mad people were and remain that Spike was so incompetent at basic tasks (a point that I get, "Spike At Your Service" is a pretty problematic episode), but the fair points that people raise about that episode have warped into this twisted notion that Spike is always going to get this treatment now.  That's just not true, and certainly not here.  Spike got in over his head quite reasonably so because he prioritized one task ahead of the others (a task involving his mother/sister figure Twilight, the closest pony in his life, mind you), got a little power-crazy as well because he was feeling inadequate alongside four pony princesses (understandable given that he's still very much an outsider for most of pony society), and didn't think through the long term consequences of some of the things that he did (understandable given that he's both an adolescent and not used to organizing or running an event as large as a nationwide gathering of ponies in one of Equestria's largest cities).  Yeah, he bucked up, he bucked up hard, but the fact that he bucked up should hardly be surprising, and not because Spike's stupid or unfairly written as being stupid, but because that makes sense for his character in this particular situation.  So there, that's that.  As far as I'm concerned, Spike is not written nearly as badly as some of the fandom remains convinced that he is, and I thought he was fine here, aside from how maddening some of his decisions got, but I would've had the same reaction to those if any of the Mane 6 were doing what he did as well.

 

 

What fell, new sorcery is this?   

 

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about what else I liked.  Twilight was super adorable (Sleepy Twilight is officially most adorable Twilight for me now  ), and Cadance had a surprisingly very good showing here.  Definitely her best appearance in a slice of life episode, even more so than "Three's a Crowd" just because she didn't really do much in that one besides tag along with Twilight.  But here, we got to see some of her own brand of wisdom and how Cadance works as a princess, I liked that.  Seeing Luna and Celestia two weeks in a row was super surprising as well (not to mention hearing from Luna too), though I would've liked to see just a bit more of them besides the opening scene, mostly because their absence raised many questions, namely, where the buck did they get off to after the opening scene?    Ah well, probably were playing video games or something. 

 

 

I've got my eye on you, Mime Pony.    #don'ttrustmimes

 

But my favorite aspect by far of this episode was its setting and supporting cast.  I love slice of life episodes that take place in Canterlot and give us the chance to see more of that city, it's definitely one of my favorite settings in the show to this day.  Not to mention we got to see a lot of very cool ponies from all over Equestria.  Fancy Pants, a pony with a chainsaw that may have been Canadian but I prefer to think of him as a Wisconsin cheesehead (since I love Wisconsin  ), the Manehattan delegate that was very much the New Yorker, the Winnyapolis (or Winneapolis) delegate who was the most obvious Minnesota/Fargo reference ever (and stop saying she was Canadian, people who are saying that, she wasn't  ), that adorable nerdy pony that Spike met with, the return of Fluffy Clouds, polo-playing ponies, a mime-pony, what I can only describe as Richard Simmons-pony, an awesome griffin with the cat portion of its body being a tiger's (SERIOUSLY, THAT IS SO COOL!!!!!!!!  ), plenty of Canterlot ponies, and many, many more.  Sure not a lot happened in this episode, and the lesson Spike was gonna learn was fairly obvious from the start, but it was a pure Equestria episode that was completely comfortable in its setting even though it was introducing a very much new event to both the show and the audience.  I love any slice of life episode like that, so yeah, for what it was, this episode was solid in my book.  Nothing more, nothing less, just as good as it needed to be.  See ya'll next week everypony! 

 

 

Yah, sure ya bet'cha, us Midwestern ponies are pretty friendly around these parts, don'cha know? 

[Dolphanatic 298]

For me, this sounds more like to look for excuses to hate on her transformation.

 

Spike was a klutz in his episodes, before Twilight ascended, so i don't really see what one has to do with the other.

 

Are you kidding me?! The very basis of the episode's synopsis revolved around Twilight's royal status. Yes, Spike has always had it rough, but things like this have only made it worse.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Dolphanatic

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

Are you kidding me?! The very basis of the episode's synopsis revolved around Twilight's royal status. Yes, Spike has always had it rough, but things like this episode have only made it worse.

 

Okay, i leave you alone. I rather keep enjoying my ponies.

[Dolphanatic 298]

Okay, i leave you alone. I rather keep enjoying my ponies.

 

I hope you realize that you don't have to be a fanboy to enjoy something. Just acknowledging the show's flaws doesn't automatically mean that you don't still like the show. I'm sick and tired of people saying that I'm "not a true fan" simply because I don't treat the show like it's utter perfection.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Dolphanatic

[Gearbox10mm 794]

Definitely the weakest episode of season 5 so far, but I'm not a very big Spike fan so maybe I'm a little biased.

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I hope you realize that you don't have to be a fanboy to enjoy something. Just acknowledging the show's flaws doesn't automatically mean that you don't still like the show. I'm sick and tired of people saying that I'm "not a true fan" simply because I don't treat the show like it's utter perfection.

 

Have i said that?

 

I am leaving because of your hostile opinion. If i want to talk to a wall, i can do that too.

 

Don't label me a fanboy, because if i am, i would love this episode to no end.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,239]

OK, welcome back everypony to another addition of "Batbrony Reviews."  So after last week's bit of amazing that was the 100th episode, unsurprisingly I don't have quite as much to say about this new episode as I did last week.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy, there were quite a few elements that I liked about it, it just didn't come anywhere close to the levels of awesome that "Slice of Life" did.  Without further ado, let's take a look at "Princess Spike."

Gotta say, that was a really good review mate. I have not read many of your reviews (mostly because I never got around to it) but I applaud you for this review. You actually looked at the episode from all angle's and you pointed out many positive aspects that even I missed. 

 

Like I said above, I enjoyed the episode, more than I expected, but I may enjoy it even more now when I watch it again. :3 Honestly, I have no real problem whatsoever with Spike being a very clutzy character that tends to make a lot of mistakes and your reasons that you provide are exactly why. I still think this episode had issues, but something having some issues doesn't mean it cannot be enjoyed, another thing your review seems to point out. I like that. :3

[Batbrony 15,994]

I hope you realize that you don't have to be a fanboy to enjoy something. Just acknowledging the show's flaws doesn't automatically mean that you don't still like the show. I'm sick and tired of people saying that I'm "not a true fan" simply because I don't treat the show like it's utter perfection.

 

No one's saying that and no one should be saying there's any such thing as a "true fan" who only thinks certain things of the show.  Hypnosparkle's not being a fanboy, and I respect your right to critique what you believe is Spike abuse, though I myself think the notion is overblown.  Yes, "Spike At Your Service" is a problematic episode, but the notion that Spike has been consistently written just as poorly ever since I reject, most certainly here.  It made perfect sense that Spike behaved like he did in this situation, heck, that's a situation I wouldn't want to be in, much less if I was a baby dragon with no experience running to a large extent a national conference (not to mention, as I said in my episode review, that main characters of episodes frequently are at the center of causing whatever conflict or problem happens in an episode).

[Dark Qiviut 22,160]

When Discovery Family doesn't show a teaser at any point throughout the week, that proves a complete lack of confidence they had for it. Even Appleoosa's Most Wanted had a teaser.

 

After torturing myself to finish Act 1, I can see why. Besides all of the unnecessary exposition, the annoyances Spike had to deal with were incredibly painful to sit through. Rather than have the conflict flow naturally, contrived cartoon logic creates a ton of nuisances just to make Spike's assignment more difficult. Every joke fails because Spike is just trying to do his job. Spike has been a stagnant butt of jokes for five seasons now! Jesus Christ, can we actually have another Spike episode that treats his character with some level of RESPECT?!

 

I prefer to watch an episode and feel bored than watch an episode and cringe at so-called "humor." At least if I feel bored, I can watch the episode and catch some extra shuteye. I can't muster any strength to watch the next two acts because the stupidity grates my ears.

[Cleverclover 1,525]

 It made perfect sense that Spike behaved like he did in this situation, heck, that's a situation I wouldn't want to be in, much less if I was a baby dragon with no experience running to a large extent a national conference

 

The problem is that Spike simply cannot win. He is seriously incapable of coming out on top.

 

This is exactly why when things blew up in his face, the problems he caused originated from his original selfless act of ensuring that Twilight got her rest, implying that even what little right he did in the episode was wrong.

 

This is also why after owning up to his mistakes, he still presumably destroys the statue again. 

 

He can't win, and that's another thing I hate about this episode. 

Edited June 20, 2015 by Cleverclover

[Scootaloo Is Best Filly 576]

I really wasn't expecting to much with this episode. At least it started off good. Spike was just doing what Cadence had asked him to do, This was one of those forgetful Spike episodes.  

[Argumedies 1,748]

Filler episode is filler...

 

Standered Spike episode... Once it got past Luna, it was all downhill from there.

[Ninja(Pinkie)Midget 180]

Another predictable spike episode, but better than the others, imo.  I wish they would do one more like A Dog and Pony Show.  That was a good one, and spike was still his clumsy self, but at least he was likable.

[Batbrony 15,994]

Gotta say, that was a really good review mate. I have not read many of your reviews (mostly because I never got around to it) but I applaud you for this review. You actually looked at the episode from all angle's and you pointed out many positive aspects that even I missed. 

 

Like I said above, I enjoyed the episode, more than I expected, but I may enjoy it even more now when I watch it again. :3 Honestly, I have no real problem whatsoever with Spike being a very clutzy character that tends to make a lot of mistakes and your reasons that you provide are exactly why. I still think this episode had issues, but something having some issues doesn't mean it cannot be enjoyed, another thing your review seems to point out. I like that. :3

 

Glad you enjoyed it, always happy if someone enjoys my review.  If you'd like to read more in the future, you can just go to my blog posts, I store all of them there.  Easy way to find 'em. 

The problem is that Spike simply cannot win. He is seriously incapable of coming out on top.

 

This is exactly why when things blew up in his face, the problems he caused originated from his original selfless act of ensuring that Twilight got her rest, implying that even what little right he did in the episode was wrong.

 

This is also why after owning up to his mistakes, he still presumably destroys the statue again. 

 

He can't win, and that's another thing I hate about this episode. 

 

Spike can't win?  "Power Ponies," "The Crystal Empire," "Equestria Games," "Equestria Girls," "Secret of My Excess," "A Dog and Pony Show," "Dragon Quest," Spike has been an agent in righting things or even being a hero in all of these episodes/movie, even if in some of them he contributed to the problem in the first place (though again, he doesn't in every instance).  I fail to understand this Spike abuser argument that bad things ALWAYS happen to him.  Not saying he doesn't have his bad episodes, but every character does.  Spike has good AND bad episodes like everyone else, he is not this sad character who bad things constantly happen to.  Is he comic relief more often than some characters?  Yes, but I like to think of that more like the same way Daffy Duck was a bad-luck character in the Looney Tunes.  It's not because any writer genuinely hates Spike or is out to get him, it's because they're just used to making him comic relief.  Whether or not you respond positively to that is your decision, and you're free to not like it, but me, I'm fine personally with how the writers treat Spike for the most part, despite a bad episode here or there.

[Scootaloodle 1,621]

I liked the Fargo reference:

 

Apart from that I thought it was a pretty boring episode.

[StitchandMLPlover 930]

Are you kidding me?! The very basis of the episode's synopsis revolved around Twilight's royal status. Yes, Spike has always had it rough, but things like this have only made it worse.

I don't really want to get involved but the writers could have this same plot more or less without Twilight's status. Say unicorn Twilight or Rarity put him in charge of something very important(ordering fabric,filing, organizing a ponyvile event) The writers could still have him take the job too seriously and get ahead of himself then let the power go to his head and have it come out messy. The problems with this episode have nothing to do with Twi.  And especially NOT her princess hood. We have seen Spike want to serve Rarity so badly that he didn't stop her in "Inspiration Manifestation" for crying out loud. (I like Inspiration Manifestation more because Spike was scared to lose Rarity instead of greedy)

Edited June 20, 2015 by StitchandMLPlover

[Antidaeophobia 299]

I didn't like the episode, and that's saying quite a bit. I feel like Spike never really learns his lesson, and I wish that sometimes Twilight would just send him to a time out, or give him a spanking as a proper punishment, because he never learns. I'm not saying I don't like Spike, I just don't like the things he does. He's got way to much freedom and decision making abilities for a baby dragon. I wish Spike had been actually punished for his behavior. Somebody should have stepped in and taken over if they knew Twilight was sleeping. So I'm going to have to put some of the blame on the other Princesses

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

I thought this was an okay episode. It was interesting to see Spike, Twilight and the other princesses instead of the rest of the mane 6 being in Canterlot as well. It was also nice to see other characters there at the summit such as griffons, crystal ponies, and others as well. I think it was nice of Spike to help out Twilight while she got her rest and some of the decisions he made were made in good judgement. I thought it was pretty cool that they brought back that version of Spike from his fantasy in "A Dog and Pony Show" when they made that painting for him. I felt that the water main flooding was kind of obvious because the episode set it up a lot and it felt like that problem was going to happen when it happened. It was nice to see everyone help Spike put the statue back together after everything that had happened. It was also pretty funny when the episode ended right when Spike was about to sneeze because it just leaves us with an imagination of what would happen and the after effects it would leave. All in all I think it was okay episode and I felt there could have been more with the things he got by using Twilight's princess status besides the painting and other things, but it was still an okay episode.       

[Dolphanatic 298]

Have i said that?

 

I am leaving because of your hostile opinion. If i want to talk to a wall, i can do that too.

 

Don't label me a fanboy, because if i am, i would love this episode to no end.

 

You're just upset because I debunked your flawed arguments. Even if you aren't a fanboy, you sure are acting like one by the way you're claiming that I'm somehow not enjoying the show by saying it has problems.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Dolphanatic

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

You're just upset because I debunked your flawed arguments. Even if you aren't a fanboy, you sure are acting like one by the way you're claiming that I'm somehow not enjoying the show by saying it has problems.

 

Well when you say the show is "ruined forever." It sure sounds like it.

 

Also, me upset? Please. There is so much stuff going on in my life, that i could care less about being upset, about colorful ponies.

[Frostgage 7,972]

I thought it was pretty good. Not too surprised at the reactions though

[Luffyiscool 397]

I didn't mind this episode, but I did think it was very slow and monotone, especially after the excitement of last week. 
So I voted meh, and I wasn't surprised to see that the majority felt this way too. 

Best thing about this episode: Adorable sleepy Twilight. I'm sure the memes and fanart will soon take off. 

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

 

we learn nothing new about his character that we didn't already know

Maybe because he's a baby dragon and there's nothing left to learn about him that we don't know already. I mean, he was able to summarize his entire life to Fluttershy in the amount of time it took to walk from the park to the treehouse.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Maybe because he's a baby dragon and there's nothing left to learn about him that we don't know already. I mean, he was able to summarize his entire life to Fluttershy in the amount of time it took to walk from the park to the treehouse.

Pardon my french, but that's bullshit. JUST with the stuff established about his character you could make an entire SEASON exploring him as a character, but they ignore it entirely in favor of this stupid theme of him being the equivalent of every 90's sitcom dad ever.

-stupid man is stupid

-stupid man who is stupid makes stupid decisions which makes him go "uh-oh, hope the Mrs doesn't find out"

-stupid man who is stupid tries to fix stupid decisions he stupidly made only further complicating the problems because, of course, he's stupid

-Mrs. Finds out, stupid man spouts moral he didn't learn but parrots anyway, episode ends

sound familiar? 

 

This is NOT a plot structure you use for a f*CKING MAGICAL DRAGON for F*cks sake.