Jump to content
Banner by ~ Ice Princess Silky

Thoughts on Spike?


CastletonSnob

Recommended Posts

I describe him as cute and annoying. But you can relate to him in some way if you've ever been thirten. With him it's kind of like linking park.

 

I like his character and the role he takes. Especially when he's in that Assistant-Role, i feel like in that role he shines most. Though, the annoying side to him is, well, pretty annoying. I don't like that side, since it's like more the young, stupid things doing, childish side. He's often just annoying and misused as a character. But it's also nice to see him develop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Season 6 premiere had the quintessential characterization of Spike. He has clearly defined character flaws that are natural for being a child; he tends to be bluntly honest, annoying, and sometimes doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. However, he is not only a helpful assistant to Twilight, but has learned enough from Twilight to serve as a surrogate in her absence (even if this has to be credited begrudgingly to "Princess Spike", a terrible episode to watch but may have contributed to this development in his character). It's the first real development we've had for him since maybe "Secret of My Excess" or "Dragon Quest".

 

Those two episodes are probably two of the best Spike episodes, but that's by the woeful standards that are set up for them. While "Secret of My Excess" develops greed as a character trait and "Dragon Quest" is the only episode that goes out of its way in an attempt to give Spike character development, both episodes arguably have the side effect of introducing excuses to keep him as an infantile and underdeveloped character (his inherent nature as a dragon and the danger of adult dragons). This may contribute to why he was largely shafted by the writers in Season 4 and mostly left untouched in Season 5.

 

Overall, he's a great character with an immense amount of untapped potential, and it's about time the writers stopped running out of talent when it came to him and started writing him better, considering that the other main characters have been largely explored for the most part.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has Spike had any development?

Very little. He has developed at a molasses pace compared to the other main characters, and the Season 6 premiere was a welcome burst of progress. However, he's still largely in the same place he was at in Season 1 with minor exceptions. No episode ever tackled his tendencies to be too brutally honest and speak up at the wrong times, which is why that character flaw is still largely pronounced. "Equestria Games" did show his ego to be a cover-up for the same self-confidence issues he had in "Dragon Quest". "Dragon Quest" tried to have him find a new lease in life only for him to realize that he should have been satisfied with what he had. "Secret of My Excess" introduced the flaw of greed into his character, which "Just for Sidekicks" dwelled on. "Spike at Your Service" really did nothing to advance Spike's character mainly because of Twilight's uncharacteristic support of the obviously fake "dragon code", although Spike's flaws in that episode may be tied to his self-esteem issues.

 

"Princess Spike" tackled a power lust which could be tied into his greed or as a justifiable backlash to the abhorrent behavior of the delegates that went unpunished in the episode. However, his lesson about responsibility in power could have carried over into "The Crystalling", which is why he serves as a great Twilight surrogate in the presence of Starlight Glimmer.

 

Should he not get any more episodes?

Only if the storylines and morals don't go in circles from what's already been done. He should also have more prominent supporting roles with characters outside of the Mane 6 to establish independence as a character and not just an accessory. "The Crystalling" was a shining example of that. He finally shows what he's learned; that he can temper his greed and shares some of Twilight's good character qualities while retaining many of his own.

  • Brohoof 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

(edited)

Very little. He has developed at a molasses pace compared to the other main characters, and the Season 6 premiere was a welcome burst of progress. However, he's still largely in the same place he was at in Season 1 with minor exceptions. No episode ever tackled his tendencies to be too brutally honest and speak up at the wrong times, which is why that character flaw is still largely pronounced. "Equestria Games" did show his ego to be a cover-up for the same self-confidence issues he had in "Dragon Quest". "Dragon Quest" tried to have him find a new lease in life only for him to realize that he should have been satisfied with what he had. "Secret of My Excess" introduced the flaw of greed into his character, which "Just for Sidekicks" dwelled on. "Spike at Your Service" really did nothing to advance Spike's character mainly because of Twilight's uncharacteristic support of the obviously fake "dragon code", although Spike's flaws in that episode may be tied to his self-esteem issues.

 

"Princess Spike" tackled a power lust which could be tied into his greed or as a justifiable backlash to the abhorrent behavior of the delegates that went unpunished in the episode. However, his lesson about responsibility in power could have carried over into "The Crystalling", which is why he serves as a great Twilight surrogate in the presence of Starlight Glimmer.

 

Only if the storylines and morals don't go in circles from what's already been done. He should also have more prominent supporting roles with characters outside of the Mane 6 to establish independence as a character and not just an accessory. "The Crystalling" was a shining example of that. He finally shows what he's learned; that he can temper his greed and shares some of Twilight's good character qualities while retaining many of his own.

Is Big Mac more developed than him?

 

Maybe the reception to Princess Spike was a wake-up call for the writers.

Edited by VG_Addict
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is Big Mac more developed than him?

I would say not. Big Mac barely even speaks. The only things we really know about him is that he only speaks complete sentences if he knows you're doing something wrong ("Applebuck Season" and "Ponyville Confidential") and that he has a sort of inferiority complex when compared to Applejack's heroics, fantasizing himself as a hero to compensate for his own self-esteem issue ("Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" and "Brotherhooves Social"). His possible relationship with Cheerilee was completely dropped (likely just a tease). There's really no need to develop Big Mac more than Spike because he's less important. However, more development for him as well would be interesting considering his similar self-esteem issue. I could see the two of them bonding over that.

Edited by Wind Chaser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as he isn't the focus of the episode and functions as a glorified background character he's absolutely fine. My problems with him arise when he's the focus, because I really don't think he's that interesting of a character. The closest thing to a Spike episode that I liked would be A Dog And Pony Show, and that wasn't really very much about him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spike continues to be one of the only males on MLP:FIM that I like - or can tolerate.  Even though I think the little guy had ought to be let off the hook where his unrequited feelings for Rarity are concerned, his affections for her were endearing at the start and made for a a kind of touching moment in "Secret of My Excess."

 

I actually like season three's "Spike at Your Service," but that has more to do with the Mane Six (or how Spike interacted with them in that episode) than anything else.  I mean, it gave us this moment:

 

And then there's this wonderfully "WTF"-eliciting Spike and AJ moment:

 

That episode's underappreciated, I swear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tbh, the big deal about Spike starts to get on my nerves. He has a lot of screen time and he is not THAT terribly portrayed, at least i haven't seen anything character devastating. Others haven't had much development either and still the fans demand for more Spike. It's almost like complaining about Luna being neglected in season five.

Edited by Swifty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just like I've said innumerable times on this site; He has a ton of potential and its terribly underutilized. I think, and I HOPE that this is the season where that gets rectified. Season 5 seemed to be the season of good characterization for Pinkie, this one might get some development for our little dragon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tbh, the big deal about Spike starts to get on my nerves. He has a lot of screen time and he is not THAT terribly portrayed, at least i haven't seen anything character devastating. Others haven't had much development either and still the fans demand for more Spike. It's almost like complaining about Luna being neglected in season five.

Yes. Spike has enough screentime in his assistant role. And that's the role he should stay in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spike is very poorly handled, in my opinion

 

He was a serious jerk in Bridle Gossip, and okay I get that he's a kid and kids are cruel, but I just didn't really see the funny side

 

Nearly every single Spike episode is "Spike doesn't feel special so he angsts so much the planets align so that he's given a situation to feel special".

And you can make the argument that the Mane 6 are the heroes, yes, but come on, you'd think he'd get the idea after at least the first two times.

 

The episode where he looks after the Mane 6's pets is alright, because at least it's showing him doing something productive instead of moping about not being a special snowflake. And it was legitimately funny.

 

I dunno, most of the time Spike just comes off to me as that kid in class who tries to be cool but everyone knows he's a whiny attention seeker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be honest, he doesn't really show any real purpose to the show other than being clumsy and showing off all the time. I mean if you get some other pony to do his job then there wouldn't be that much of a difference. Him having a crush on Rarity are starting to get old now and annoying since it's clear that she doesn't like him back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Join the herd!

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...