S06:E05 - Gauntlet of Fire

[Liam_marshall 42]

a spike episode that i loved what a great episode  

[MovieLord101 140]

Also, BOY do most of those dragons don't know how to think or feel without the Dragon Lord telling them. I cracked up at the "BE SAD!" part!

[PiratePony 8,473]

Best Spike episode ever + great new voice actor in Madame Dragon Lord + Rarity's hard hat makes me very happy.  

 

A+++

[Liam_marshall 42]

Also, BOY do most of those dragons don't know how to think or feel without the Dragon Lord telling them. I cracked up at the "BE SAD!" part!

 

yeah that was funny even i laughed at that bit 

[Truffles 2,033]

Yesss! The background dragons were my favourite part of the episode! 

The pink mantis one is just so adorable, I HAD TO do a fan art of her~ 

 

My fave is the brown one next to her that wanted to raid Equestria for all its pillows. 

I love those long, curved spines and frankly he actually looks like a dragon nice enough to be swayed over to the light side of friendship.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Did you guys see Big Jim confirmed that there's going to be TWO more Spike episodes this season?! I swear, things just get better and better for him! Perhaps we might see a dramatic change in his life, much like Crusaders of the Lost Mark was for the CMCs, and Magical Mystery Cure for Twilight! Maybe a song or two outta him.

[weesh 690]

my favorite 3 fan creations so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

lol!

 

Edit:
I just noticed that flaming ponyville is reflected in their eyes!
Nice touch!

Edited April 18, 2016 by weesh

[Totally Nyx 35,500]

I really liked this episode. Dragonlord Torch was hilarious and Ember was amazing. It felt like they stuffed a bunch into a 20 minute episode but they did it very well, seemed well paced throughout.

 

Also I for one support this new ship. Don't get me wrong, I like Spike and Rarity, but Spike with another dragon could actually work and I loved Ember.

[Abavus 4]

I liked the new episode, but I think it was too short: they've put too much action in ~20 minutes.

Anyway, it was good. Better than PSSD for sure -_-

[Solid 1,326]

Princess Ember knows her CQC. I approve.

[weesh 690]

Anyway, it was good. Better than PSSD for sure -_-

 

What does that acronym mean?

[Totally Nyx 35,500]

I think Pie Sister Swap Day?

[Moon Sugar 532]

Ember's design was a little strange, but I really really liked her voice!

[CT-1138 3,180]

Ember's design was a little strange, but I really really liked her voice!

Now, I found her design both feminine and fierce. 

[weesh 690]

Now, I found her design both feminine and fierce. 

 

assuming you are talking about her visual appearance, what was feminine about her besides her eyelashes?

[Rawzy 1,302]

Haven't got around to watching it yet, it looks good though so I rate it Spike/10

[CT-1138 3,180]

assuming you are talking about her visual appearance, what was feminine about her besides her eyelashes?

Well, speaking from a design standpoint. she has very feminine design features: soft edges, lithe physique, pleasing color scheme, and rounded corners. Contrast her to, say Garble (a dragon of a similar age group): 

 

Sharp edges, thick trunk, pointed corners, tattered wings, aggressive color scheme. Right off the bat, you're meant to identify one as a male, and the other as a female. Doesn't mean she can't kick Garble's ass, though. 

Edited April 19, 2016 by Dinos4Ever

[LHfunk 422]

This episode was an okay Spike episode and then there was Ember. She's awesome. One of my more favorite characters now, and making me think I should get a dragon OC. She's a lot like me, and her voice is great and her design is really good. I wish she was a more recurring character.

[Music Chart Fan 818]

Overall, this was an okay episode. It seems to rely a fair bit on cartoon cliches, but the action is entertaining enough. Ember is also a likable enough character in the end, especially with her "Please don't make me talk about my feelings!" line. Spike is positively portrayed as confident in who he is and how he's different than most of the other dragons, although this episode might take his altruistic, friend-making personality a little too far into naivete. And seeing Celestia and Luna having casual tea with Twilight at the beginning of the episode is also nice to see. However, while the episode tries to say that the Gauntlet is a high-stakes contest, with the fate of ponies in Equestria hinging on stopping the other dragons from winning, it too often doesn't feel that way with how the characters are treating it. Garble's one-dimensional gratuitous bullying schtick quickly became annoying to watch; even if the point is to make him unlikable, his bullying isn't really entertaining. And there are several distracting contrivances throughout the episode - Spike demonstrates shocking physical strength at times; somehow only Spike, Ember, and Garble end up contending for the scepter; Twilight and Rarity have to be "saved" by Ember because they seemingly forget that they can use magic; and we don't really know why Ember changes her mind about being friends with Spike in the end.

 

A lot of questions I have from this episode revolve around just how high the stakes are for Spike to win the Gauntlet and prevent other dragons from becoming Dragon Lord, and why this is a problem now when it didn't seem to be before. In the episode, Spike worriedly says that NONE of the other dragons can win, because "Equestria's in big trouble if any of them are in charge", and therefore, winning the Gauntlet is the ONLY way to protect Equestria from the dragons. But how does he know that? He (and we) only saw two dragons who said that they would pillage or attack ponies if they became Dragon Lord. This makes me wonder how dragons in general feel about ponies. Do they share Garble's intense hatred of ponies, but perhaps fear the consequences of provoking or attacking them? Do they generally not like ponies, but don't find it worthwhile to mess with them? Are they just indifferent to ponies altogether? I don't think we or the characters in the episode (Spike, Twilight, Rarity) know.

 

Speaking of how other dragons feel about ponies, Garble does say that he wants to become Dragon Lord so he can "get revenge on those puny ponies". But why hasn't he just gone ahead and tried to do so anyway? (Or, for that matter, why hasn't the dragon who wants to pillage Equestria for its pillows done that either?) Has he been unable to convince other dragons to help him attack the ponies? If that's the only problem, is it because the other dragons just don't care enough to do so? Has Dragon Lord Torch decreed that dragons not attack ponies, and Garble has to follow that decree? Is the fact that Garble and other dragons haven't seemed to attack ponies yet proof that attacking ponies may not actually be that easy for dragons to do? Or is Garble just all talk and no action?

 

Similar possibilities seem to arise when we ask the question of why exactly ponies haven't seemed to have problems with the dragons so far. Again, has Dragon Lord Torch decreed that dragons not attack ponies, and that decree has protected ponies from dragons up to this point? If Torch made such a declaration, why? Is Torch neutral toward ponies, even as other dragons like Garble or the dragon complaining about pillows dislike or hate ponies? Or, again, does Torch perhaps not like ponies, but recognize that attacking ponies would be infeasible or incur heavy costs?

 

The situation with the dragons and the ponies up to now is also important when we consider what will happen with the dragons in the future with Ember as Dragon Lord. Ember could decree that the dragons are to, at minimum, leave ponies alone, and maybe she could even go further, initiating or strengthening diplomatic and trade relations with the ponies. However, how would all of this be received by dragons in general? Would they more or less go along with it? If so, would that be because they see the value in it and don't actually dislike ponies, or would it only be out of fear of punishment by the Dragon Lord? And if dragons only previously refrained from attacking ponies because of fear of Dragon Lord Torch punishing them, would that same fear carry over to Ember, who isn't physically imposing like Torch? Is there a danger of Ember's decrees being ignored, or even Ember herself being overthrown in a coup, by anti-pony dragons, perhaps spurred to action by dragons like Garble? There are still a lot of unanswered questions and potential problems at the end of the episode, and hopefully Twilight, Rarity and Spike will talk to Celestia and Luna about all of this.

 

Another big thing I noticed throughout the episode is that even as Spike, Twilight, and Rarity believe that Spike's winning the Gauntlet is essential to protect the ponies from an anti-pony Dragon Lord, they (as well as Ember and Garble) act surprisingly lackadaisical about the whole thing. The three of them and Ember repeatedly waste time talking to each other, and even Garble wastes time talking to them on the beach. Spike and Ember stroll around, seemingly without any sense of urgency. When Ember wants to stop working with Spike after getting through the tunnel, Spike's primary concern seems to be whether Ember is actually friends with him, rather than how he's going to win the Gauntlet without Ember's help, or somehow convincing Ember to stick with him and help him because he can't afford to let Garble or the others win. Even after Ember takes off ahead of Spike and leaves him behind, he, Twilight, and Rarity also proceed to stroll around without any sense of urgency. And in the final room, more time is wasted talking, and Garble also gets distracted by acting menacing toward Twilight and Rarity, rather than, you know, getting the scepter first.

 

But I guess it's funny that, even after wasting all that time and seemingly not taking the Gauntlet that seriously, Spike, Ember, and Garble are the only three dragons that even come close to being the first ones to grab the scepter. And that's after Spike takes the time to save Ember, swims to the island, waits for her to come to on the beach, spends more time talking (including with Garble), decides to work together with Ember, talks some more at the top of the mountain, saves Rarity and talks again in the lava room after the tunnel, and casually walks around the final maze area enough to see the same crevasse three times. Did Spike's and Ember's being small and working together really confer that much of an advantage? Then, in the final room, there's still enough time for Spike, Ember, and Garble to fight with each other before any other dragons show up. I would have expected some other dragons to show up and grab the scepter while the three of them were fighting with each other.  So, overall, it seems rather unrealistic that the main characters don't really seem to take the Gauntlet seriously, yet manage to be by far the first ones to reach the final room before any of the other dragons.

 

Now for a few other major points: first, considering that Ember and her armor were heavy enough to sink beneath the surface of the water fairly quickly, I'm pretty surprised that Spike would have the strength to single-handedly haul her up out of the water in a matter of seconds. Plus, where did Spike learn to swim like that? Spike also demonstrated surprising strength by pushing away the boulder pinning Garble down with relatively little effort. With this scene, I agree with @@Truffles's point that it would have been better to see Spike grapple with the moral dilemma of whether to leave Garble pinned down by the rock. After all, what would have happened if Spike and Ember just left him there? It didn't seem like Garble was in danger of imminent death or serious injury if Spike didn't act immediately. Garble may even have freed himself eventually, in which case the only effect would have been to slow him down a little. Spike's immediately saving Garble here could also tie in with my point above about his not seeming to take the Gauntlet as seriously as he perhaps should.

 

Also, in the final room, as Garble is menacingly approaching Twilight and Rarity, I was thinking "Use some magic!" - teleport themselves away, teleport Garble away, levitate and immobilize him, shoot a magic laser blast at him, something other than just backing away wide-eyed. Maybe Garble would respect ponies a little more if they used some magic to fight back or protect themselves, rather than backing away or running away scared from him. If Twilight and Rarity planned to stay in the Dragon Lands and cheer Spike on, shouldn't they have had a contingency plan in case they were spotted and put in a dangerous situation? I understand Twilight's and Rarity's not interfering with the contest to help Spike, which could invalidate his victory while making the dragons angry with ponies in the process. But in this case, Garble's threatening them has nothing to do with the Gauntlet, and I would think that protecting themselves by taking action against Garble is justifiable.

 

Finally, the episode doesn't really establish what caused Ember to change her mind and decide that she and Spike are actually friends, and that she should therefore intervene to protect him from Garble. Ember tells Spike that they're friends and that "I never should have left you back there", but what happened in the meantime for her to come to that conclusion?

 

Now for my other miscellaneous observations:

 

When Spike is talking to Rarity about Garble near the beginning of the episode, he says that "Garble would have burnt us to a crisp if you weren't there". But does Spike's "you" refer to Rarity specifically? Twilight was the one who teleported the four of them out of danger; I don't know what Rarity specifically did to prevent Garble from burning them to a crisp. Or perhaps Spike's "you" is actually referring to Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash.

 

I don't know, it seems unusually callous for Twilight to think first about dragon research in the Dragon Lands and not about supporting Spike, only to have everyone else present have to remind her of why she should want to go. Twilight is Spike's primary family, after all.

 

Rarity gets excited about still having the costume they used last time they went to the Dragon Lands, but didn't they have several close calls with that costume, either almost blowing their cover or almost getting themselves hurt? It seems weird that Rarity doesn't recall those problems and consider how they might do better this time.

 

Why does Twilight talk out loud to Rarity when Garble is literally sitting right on top of them? And how does Garble not hear her talking?

 

Torch catches Spike trying to leave, but Torch said that they would gather at the cliff when the sun is at its peak, presumably sometime in the future. So what are the dragons supposed to do until then? Stand around and do nothing? What if they want to make preparations for the Gauntlet? I don't necessarily see why Spike's going in the opposite direction should have drawn as much attention as it did.

 

I mentioned above that one of the dragons complains about how ponies get to be comfortable with their pillows while they sleep on rocks, and his solution is to become Dragon Lord so they can pillage Equestria for their pillows. Or, you know, they could make their own, or buy/trade for some. Being able to buy pillows would be one benefit of having trade relations with ponies, if they don't already.

 

Do ponies in general have a distinctive smell that Garble can recognize and track? Are dragons known for having a good sense of smell, like dogs?

 

Ember says "Why did you cover for me? You could have had one less competitor" - I can't help thinking "fewer!".

 

In the lava room after the tunnel, the ground rumbles from the volcano geyser and Spike has to save Rarity from going over the edge. But how hard is it for Rarity to just keep her balance, or even fall over deliberately in a safe position, rather than stumbling around and almost falling off the edge? The other three don't seem to have any problems staying in place.

 

When Ember first swoops in to push Garble away from Spike, Spike starts to fall off the cliff, but we also see Garble tumble and run into Twilight and Rarity, and the three of them fall somewhere out of sight, i.e., not just on the ground next to them. Yet the next time we see the three of them, they don't appear to have fallen to a lower ledge or anything.

 

When Garble complains "I'm sick and tired of you two helping each other! Dragons don't do helping!" it sounds like he's just whining that they found an advantage that isn't technically against the rules, but that no one expected that they would do.

 

Why does Garble act so shocked that Spike got the scepter? I mean, couldn't he have seen Spike running up to get it? And who else was around who could have picked it up?

 

When Spike hugs Ember, she acts like she's never heard of the concept. But when Spike commanded Garble to give every dragon he sees on the way back a hug, Garble knew what that meant, and Ember didn't act confused after hearing that command or seeing Garble do it.

 

It's a little odd that Garble continues to follow Spike's command of giving every dragon a hug even after Spike is gone. I suppose Garble left before Spike handed the scepter over to Ember, but Garble must have seen Ember with the scepter later, and in that case, since Spike isn't the Dragon Lord, wouldn't Garble no longer have to comply with Spike's command? I don't know, maybe he figured Ember would still command him to do it, anyway.

 

Finally, Ember apparently told Twilight that she could write Ember with questions about dragon culture, so I guess it's confirmed that Ember, at least, can read and write. I wonder, though, whether that's something that dragons in general learn to do. Is Ember's being able to read and write part of her being smarter than most of the other dragons?

[Grtxkkyz 387]

Well, that was easily one of the bestest (if not the best) Spike episodes ever! And all that world building too! Glad to see not all dragons are inherently evil beasts. Ember was a pretty likable character and her father may be harsh, but he's shown to be a reasonable authority on his own, despite his brashness (take that, Prince Rutherford!). Plus, it seems dragons and ponies will be more open to each other. Certainly looking forward to it! Oh, and new monsters for the bestiary! The Ankylosaur-things are Slingtails, but i wonder what's the name of those eel thingies... Yup, this is my most fave episode of the season as of currently

Still, i hope Asian-themed dragons show up sometime. And an episode where Fluttershy manages to conquer her fear of adult dragons. 

[hollow-shades 129]

Is it bad that while Twilight and Rarity were cheering for Spike I was like "YOU ARE A ALICORN PRINCESS OF MAGIC YOU CAN ENCHANT HIM WINGS OR SOMETHING!!!"

 

Also, female dragons! yey. Also, the red dragon is kinda racist against ponies.

 

Hm, and I'm still questioning how Twilight uses her magic. The part that the red dragon was threating them I was screaming "YOU HAVE MAGIC! YOU CAN THROW HIM AT HIS DEATH IWEWIEHWIHSHU"

 

Oh and Ember X Spike.

[weesh 690]

Is it bad that while Twilight and Rarity were cheering for Spike I was like "YOU ARE A ALICORN PRINCESS OF MAGIC YOU CAN ENCHANT HIM WINGS OR SOMETHING!!!"

 

That would be MAJORLY interfering in dragon politics.  

The ponies can defend themselves against a dragon attack from a few dragons, but helping spike take the scepter could be seen in an extremely offensive and even militant act.  

 

Could you imagine the United States invading a latin american country to support a leader that couldn't otherwise win?  Such an act might be unpopular and have long term consequences.  

[Lucky Star 971]

It's almost like I can hear their thoughts.
Rarity is like, "This is about Spike, Darling. Spike! Not studying."
Spike is like, "Oh Twilight, not again."
Luna be like, "Our sister did not jest when she told us of your over zealous study habits."
And Celestia is just giving that motherly smile she always does thinking, "Oh Twilight, you never change, do you? That's why I'm secretly in love with you." 

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by Lucky Star

[Truffles 2,033]

Or is Garble just all talk and no action?

 

I tend to believe this. He probably has insecurities over ponydom which is why he he keeps repeating the line "puny ponies" to cover it up.

 

Did Spike's and Ember's being small and working together really confer that much of an advantage?

 

It seems like it did, which I guess was one of the themes of the episode. None of the other dragons worked together, so they all failed miserably. Garble seemed to be following Spike and Ember, which is why he's the only one that got close.

 

Is there a danger of Ember's decrees being ignored, or even Ember herself being overthrown in a coup, by anti-pony dragons, perhaps spurred to action by dragons like Garble?

 

I'll submit that the scepter binds itself to the Dragon Lord in some way (note the flames that encircle the bearer's arm when both Spike and Ember became Dragon Lords.) It may be that it's enchanted to protect the bearer in some way in case a coup is launched against the Dragon Lord.

 

I don't know what Rarity specifically did to prevent Garble from burning them to a crisp. Or perhaps Spike's "you" is actually referring to Rarity, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash.

 

I have to think he's referring to all three of them from "Dragon Quest." Technically, it was Twilight's final teleport that allowed them to escape from Garble and Co, the dragons all getting stuck in a tree trunk in the end, and not anything Rarity did. Or maybe Spike is just kissing up to Rarity because he still likes her?

 

Or, you know, they could make their own, or buy/trade for some. Being able to buy pillows would be one benefit of having trade relations with ponies, if they don't already.

 

I wanted Rarity to get all giddy over the prospect of providing pillows to the entirety of the dragon lands. They could trade her some of those high-end dragon-cut gems in exchange for a bunch of pillows. (She'd have to put an assembly line together, though. I don't think she could do what she did in "Canterlot Boutique" and expect every pillow be made by her alone.)

 

Do ponies in general have a distinctive smell that Garble can recognize and track? Are dragons known for having a good sense of smell, like dogs?

 

I always assumed the latter with the way their snouts are long like a canine's. I even wrote that idea into my fanfics, and it's nice to see it possibly confirmed! Like I said in my story - dragons like gems, and they don't have a pony like Rarity to help them find where they are buried. So they must have evolved a decent sense of smell to be able to locate them since that's a major food source for them.

 

When Spike hugs Ember, she acts like she's never heard of the concept.

 

The real question is how dragon eggs are made if they don't even understand the concept of a hug. How does one make babies without the faintest notion of intimacy? "Excuse me, sir, can I have some of your gametes?" "Why certainly, here you are." <censored>  "These will do. Thank you for the future hatchlings!"

 

since Spike isn't the Dragon Lord, wouldn't Garble no longer have to comply with Spike's command?

 

I presumed he had to follow whatever order was given until he had completed it due to their code of honor, even if the Dragon Lord changes claws. If Torch had given Garble an order before relinquishing the throne, I imagine he would have to follow it the same way he did for Spike.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Truffles

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

 

Swiggity swooty, Garble's coming for that booty.

 

...

 

And I never thought I'd find myself saying that.