Spike.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Why does it seem they can do every character BUT him well?

Should they not make any more episodes for him?

[Rocky 68]

Like I said before, I think they should just do away with giving Spike episodes since they can't seem to do them right. He seems to do much better at being a supportive character to the character in focus. Sure he won't be developed but if you think about it, is FiM really that kind of show anyway? 

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

But what other characters do the writers not seem to be able to do right?

[Melke 160]

From my own perspective, Spike's character was a near copy and paste from its origin for G1. The writers, in my own opinion, hit a sort of wall when they tried to give him the spotlight.

 

We see Spike's good side off-screen or out of focus when the other main characters are having their stories, I guess they wanted to counterbalance by showing his flaws when he is in focus. He was given the comic relief role and so his best is when he is not the focus. I think if they want to give him episodes centred around him, they should have done with him like how they did with Pinkie Pie. 

 

His prime episode was supposed to be Dragon Quest (the idea of it) where he truly faces a personal crisis and has to apply what he have learnt so far then the rest of Spike's episodes could be him teaching this lesson to others. But that episode came really early and it was not done very well. So now it is a sort of self-made blockade to the Spike that the fandom wants to see.

 

Personally, since G1, I felt that Spike had a lot of potential. He is an oddity; a dragon amongst ponies. He could have been written as one with an identity crisis and only sticks to Twilight and her group due to the friendliness and familiarity, also him seeing Twilight more as a mother/sister. There are really a lot of possibilities if it had been done right from the start.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

From my own perspective, Spike's character was a near copy and paste from its origin for G1. The writers, in my own opinion, hit a sort of wall when they tried to give him the spotlight.

 

We see Spike's good side off-screen or out of focus when the other main characters are having their stories, I guess they wanted to counterbalance by showing his flaws when he is in focus. He was given the comic relief role and so his best is when he is not the focus. I think if they want to give him episodes centred around him, they should have done with him like how they did with Pinkie Pie. 

 

His prime episode was supposed to be Dragon Quest (the idea of it) where he truly faces a personal crisis and has to apply what he have learnt so far then the rest of Spike's episodes could be him teaching this lesson to others. But that episode came really early and it was not done very well. So now it is a sort of self-made blockade to the Spike that the fandom wants to see.

 

Personally, since G1, I felt that Spike had a lot of potential. He is an oddity; a dragon amongst ponies. He could have been written as one with an identity crisis and only sticks to Twilight and her group due to the friendliness and familiarity, also him seeing Twilight more as a mother/sister. There are really a lot of possibilities if it had been done right from the start.

 

Would you like more episodes of him to see that potential?

[Melke 160]

Would you like more episodes of him to see that potential?

 

Comparing to the repetition that we are getting with his episodes, it would be a good change.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Comparing to the repetition that we are getting with his episodes, it would be a good change.

 

In other words, you'd like more episodes of him, but ones that show the potential you feel he has.

[Melke 160]

In other words, you'd like more episodes of him, but ones that show the potential you feel he has.

 

Yes, but if only they can pull it off. I have mentioned the difficulty that the writers now face if they want to fulfill that potential. That potential Spike had has diminished in my opinion. Also, I have neglected to mention that the writers have to keep with the intended target audience so that is an added challenge too.

[Truffles 2,033]

It is too bad the dragons were so unlikeable in "Dragon Quest", basically giving him no option of being anything but a pony for the rest of the series.

 

His other signature episodes were "Secret of my Excess" and "Equestria Games". (There are other Spike episodes, but nothing really defined his character in them.) In both of those they did a good job of portrayal, showed something new about him we didn't know before, and at least for me, are excellent episodes to watch.

 

In fact "Equestria Games" is pretty much my favorite Spike episode, even though it's hardly ever listed among the Spike-centric ones on this forum.

[Melke 160]

@@Truffles,

 

That is quite true and also sad that the writers choose to label dragons as a bad race. The comics tried to counter attack the show's canon but  it did not do very much. I do not understand the process for TV/Franchise writing so I do not know if it is really a decided decision or was an unpopular decision overruling the rest.

 

Dragon Quest's potential was a lot when it was a blank slate but it was badly handled in my opinion. "Secret of my Excess" made me raise an eyebrow as it introduced a mechanic, not a part of the character. To me, it sort of pigeon holed Spike as a dragon that should never grow up as he will harm those around him if he does. "Equestria Games" is one of the better episodes of Spike we have, not prefect but better than the awful ones we got.

 

I think what they meant to do is that Spike is a dragon with a pony heart. Right now, I think the fandom has better luck crafting their own headcanon to fill the gaps in Spike's character as the show is clearly going to be neglecting him.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

Chances of a Spike episode in S6?

[Melke 160]

Chances of a Spike episode in S6?

Likely but definitely would have to do a lot just to get people to watch.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

But Princess Spike is the only bad S5 episode so far.

[Melke 160]

But Princess Spike is the only bad S5 episode so far.

 

I think you have misunderstood what I am saying. I said that a Spike Episode in S6 will have a lot to do to get people to watch. I am not saying that S6 will have less people watching it.

[Truffles 2,033]

"Secret of my Excess" made me raise an eyebrow as it introduced a mechanic, not a part of the character. To me, it sort of pigeon holed Spike as a dragon that should never grow up as he will harm those around him if he does. "Equestria Games" is one of the better episodes of Spike we have, not prefect but better than the awful ones we got.

 

That's a great point about his monster growth being a mechanic. I guess what that episode did for me in regards to his character is it showed he isn't immune to the instinctive dragon greed previous episodes with dragons indicated was part of their being. ("Dragonshy", "Owls Well That Ends Well") Before that the only negative characteristic you could criticize him for was he was snarky towards Twilight.

 

Of course, then greed suddenly became a major thing that defined his character, getting revisited in "Just For Sidekicks" and, to a lesser extent, "Princess Spike."

 

Though I have to say I feel like his most major character trait isn't even one of his traits, but a trait of how all ponies eventually end up treating him poorly, then we get a lesson about that, and then they go right back to disrespecting him in the next few episodes...

 

I think what they meant to do is that Spike is a dragon with a pony heart. Right now, I think the fandom has better luck crafting their own headcanon to fill the gaps in Spike's character as the show is clearly going to be neglecting him.

 

Heh, that's for sure. I'm still not sure why it's hard for the actual writers to keep moving his character forward rather than fall back on the lessons he and how others treat him have already learned. I don't know if that is accidental or if Hasbro has some sort of edict that he must stay as generic and unchanged as possible so he can move effortlessly across the toyline generations.

 

Chances of a Spike episode in S6?

 

50%, but really it depends on how much DHX and Hasbro pay attention to the poor fan reaction of "Princess Spike".

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

When has he had any development?

[pony.colin 156]

From my own perspective, Spike's character was a near copy and paste from its origin for G1. The writers, in my own opinion, hit a sort of wall when they tried to give him the spotlight.

 

We see Spike's good side off-screen or out of focus when the other main characters are having their stories, I guess they wanted to counterbalance by showing his flaws when he is in focus. He was given the comic relief role and so his best is when he is not the focus. I think if they want to give him episodes centred around him, they should have done with him like how they did with Pinkie Pie. 

 

His prime episode was supposed to be Dragon Quest (the idea of it) where he truly faces a personal crisis and has to apply what he have learnt so far then the rest of Spike's episodes could be him teaching this lesson to others. But that episode came really early and it was not done very well. So now it is a sort of self-made blockade to the Spike that the fandom wants to see.

 

Personally, since G1, I felt that Spike had a lot of potential. He is an oddity; a dragon amongst ponies. He could have been written as one with an identity crisis and only sticks to Twilight and her group due to the friendliness and familiarity, also him seeing Twilight more as a mother/sister. There are really a lot of possibilities if it had been done right from the start.

 

A lot of this I agree with.  I have to re-watch Dragon Quest again to probably remember some exact details, but I agree that DQ could have had so much more potential to explore Spike's personal situation and self-identification.  The episode does a little of that at best, but the identity crisis seems largely averted and negated by the episode's conclusion.  I get that Spike came to his own conclusions that he identifies and feels secure and connected closer with his pony family than dragon kin.   It's not a terribl episode, but I guess I'm just griping over some potentially lost opportunities.

 

I guess one other thing is that I feel Spike still feels 'young' to me, in that sense that he won't feel compelled to ask really big life-meaning questions about his existence again, at least not yet maybe? I really would like to see them try another go with getting Spike to have some sort of identity crisis that gets more detailed and complex so that we see him get more fleshed out and developed in that regard. 

 

But I seriously don't want to see him get another episode if it's going to be something like Princess Spike, which was really horrible cringe-fest and facepalms for me. it seems like the writers don't know what to do with him other than giving him a rehash of the same probems or giving him really flawed problems and dilemmas that really don't seem to work out as a legitmate problem for him to solve or overcome.

[CastletonSnob 3,025]

But should he not get any more episodes?

[pony.colin 156]

@@VG_Addict,

 

I realize that maybe I didn't answer that question clearly when I wrote my reply.  I want Spike to get more episodes, but they seriously need to improve writing his character and make better episodes about him from here on out. 

[Rocky 68]

Let's just cherish what the fans have done with Spike in fanfics and fan art, okay? As well as how he's protrayed in the comics. Hey. It's better than nothing. I'm starting to realize that character development is kind of an overrated element in this show. A lot of the time a character is developed, they're hit with the reset stick the next time they appear in an episode. 

Edited October 5, 2015 by Rocky