S03:E09 - Spike at your Service

[The Soldier 2,043]

I bet we're not noticing the Sweet Apple Acres had eggs. EGGS. Eggs that are, technically, meat. But what were the ponies again? Oh, I don't know: HERBIVORES.

[Stellafera 3,836]

It wasn't great, it had it's issues, but I found this twice as enjoyable as Apple Family Reunion, which just...bored me.

 

I feel like this is going to be the Mare Do Well of season 3.

 

 This episode, like others by Merriwether Williams, once again seemed like a typical cartoon episode - entertaining enough, but not really great, with its share of good moments and annoyances.

 

Apple Family Reunion was boring and awkward and had very few really good moments.

 

WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO HATE THE STUFF I LIKE? Then again, I suppose that comes with the territory as the forum's official Merriwether Williams Appreciator. Apple Family Reuinion was written by Cindy Morrow though...

 

(I guess the fact that Apple Family Reunion was my favorite Applejack episode is probably going a bit against the grain then?)

Edited December 31, 2012 by Stellafera

[Commander Bubbles 1,343]

This whole "Dragon Code" thing just seemed all at the spur of the moment. I mean, he's been saved trillions of times in the past, why did the Dragon Code not kick in there? Maybe Spike used it as an excuse to be with Applejack (I bet all those Applespike fanboys/girls were raving about this episode)? Either way, I found the episode to be quite enjoyable. Maybe I just enjoy Spike's silly antics getting him into trouble, or because there's more Applejack, but I think this is one of the best episodes from Season 3 so far.

[Stellafera 3,836]

There have been a lot of moments where Spike almost kisses or awkwardly hugs Applejack, haven't there? I see it more as a running gag than shipping though, because he's clearly in love with Rarity.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Stellafera

[Jokuc 8,172]

I haven't seen this episode yet since I missed it but it sounds like you guys thought it was okay atleast..Or what do you say? I guess I'll watch it next week or something..

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

Im conflicted about this episode. It had the continuity flubs and it was arguably out of character for spike. However the humor worked very well I thought. There were quite a few fun moments in this episode. It is my least favorite episode of the season, but I did enjoy it. Adifficult conumdrum indeed.

 

Yes, there definitely were slight redeeming factors that saved it a little. I thought the Mane 6 were perfectly in character the entire time, and I enjoyed them and their miscellaneous antics more than the plot of the actual episode.

[Yellow Diamond 7,564]

There have been a lot of moments where Spike almost kisses or awkwardly hugs Applejack, haven't there? I see it more as a running gag than shipping though, because he's clearly in love with Rarity.

 

Spike basically feels up Applejack on the spur of the moment, and AJ reciprocates by humming with pleasure. What more do you need for shipping fuel?

 

This is worse than Rainbow asking Spike if he's "ready for another pony ride" in "Fall Weather Friends."

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

I'm a day late for the weekly festivities. Pardon me; I was busy reading fanfics and brushing up on my facebook fan page to notice... hehe. Sorry 'bout that.

 

This episode was, like all AJ episodes, sincere, humble, and did not try to force things in terms of character flow. Although things were a bit rough around the edges, it was acceptable considering that it was Spike handling most of the workload and thus we all had to adjust to it, but for good effect. It didn't give off the relaxation vibe you would also normally expect from an Applejack episode, but considering the stakes that were presented here, such as not only one, but two life-death scenarios involving beasts from the Everfree Forest itself, it was a noticeable and worthwhile exception that passed on the "action" element into the episode quite well. But moving on, I'd like to touch up on the characters most involved here rather than the actual plotline.

 

Spike sure has come a long way from being just a side character and simple assistant to Twilight. Over the course of season two we've seen that he is very capable of surprising the audience as he's much more than just the lousy "kid" you would come to expect out of most group of friends. He's conquered his greediness and craving for material goods, letting his bonds with ponies like Rarity empower him to the point where everypony is happy, faced his fears and stood up to the likes of three intimidating - and might I add, large - dragons out to raid phoenix eggs for their own gratification, and even in the premiere his experience of being Twilight's number one assistant was put to the test as he was ultimately entrusted with the crystal heart to save the Empire from destruction. Even so, he has had his faults like any other kid his presumed age would - in this case, striving to be helpful when his presence, to be blunt, is actually detrimental but assuredly admirable nonetheless. Not a lot of kids his age would have the heart to do what he did for Applejack, staying committed to a code which, even though it is practically required of a dragon, is a difficult task to manage. Tasks which, even though were unsuccessful to say the least, such as the big wallop in making the pie and then sending it to Rarity, it was sweet and thoughtful. But hey, that's what happens when you get to spend all your life around the Mane Six. Spike's in excellent company and it really showed in this episode. Although it was slightly awkward watching him fail repeatedly with whatever it is he was trying to do, ranging from baking pies to washing pigs, it showed how much time and effort each of the Mane Six put into grooming Spike's character and making him out to be more than just some lousy kid. Not a lot of cartoons can exhibit that sort of result, and luckily for Spike fans, this result is well-deserved.

 

The animation has also gotten much better from season one, but of course we already knew that. Still, it was nice to see Timberwolves in CGI trying to tear apart Applejack and Spike in both occasions. While it wasn't particularly thrilling or nerve-wracking, it did good to show off just how far the animators have come to creating their episodes. Not only that, but yes, life is pretty dangerous in Equestria if you aren't careful! Beasts from Tartarus exist and creatures from the Everfree Forest are not really any different. Luckily, AJ has both guts and the smarts to figure out the best way to outrun a Timberwolf, albeit in very humorous fashion. Splendid showing, though I did find the second instance of the much larger Timberwolf falling to pieces to be funnier. Spike's got game.

 

And... Twilight Sparkle, where to begin? Even though she wasn't showcased as much here, save for the plan of tricking Spike into believing the fake Timberwolves were real, she was downright adorable. Maybe I'm letting my bias slip by my rationale this time, but oh well! She was super cute and it showed. From her OCD with reading books to letting out that small giggle at the end of the episode, Twilight Sparkle fans would coin it to breathtaking. I've grown attached to her character for all the right reasons, I'm afraid (or am I?) - please Studio B, whatever you do, don't let up. If there's any fictional character you would want to be attached to, it would be Twilight Sparkle. She's well-read, diligent, kind-hearted, essentially a genius, and even her occasional bouts of concern/craziness are quite cute. Break out the Twilight Sparkle romance fics, because it's all true.

 

[dreaper 136]

You know, when I read the synopsis for this episode I got a bad vibe from it. Besides the cliched plot, It  also sounded like this episode won't make Spike justice and probably make him look like doofus... But I thought to myself: "Stop being so cynical lol!! Sure the plot is cliched but I'm sure this is going to turn out well in the end" ... boy how wrong I was...

 

The plot is cliched and overused, and the episode did nothing to add nice twists to it. They played it safe here.

 

This episode butchered Spike's character... They took away probably the only thing he is good at, that is being a good assistant, and turned him into an incompetent mess, he can't cook nor clean, without making a mess... how the fuck does that make sense! He was shown to be good at those things before why they made him so incompetent all of a sudden? Because of plot convenience and rule of funny! But in this case it doesn't work. It wasn't believable nor funny.  And that "dragon code" was basically a cop out, it added nothing to Spike's character nor to dragons in general.

 

There were some nice things though... the interactions between the mane 6 were nice and funny, and Applejack sure shined here... at the cost of making Spike look bad... Spike is a character that most bronies forget he exists, and this episode did nothing to change that. 

[Modphase 1,271]

Not much to say about this episode. It was good, save for the spontaneous dragon code and all that jazz, but otherwise I liked it. Also, the Timber Wolves really remind me now of Stalfos.

 

Also, for some reason, I found Twilight so cute in this episode. I don't know why, but I did.

[Budding Night 1,043]

This episode was quite boring, really. I think the way the timberwolves stood out was kind of werid and uncalled for.. I don't have much else to say, really.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Budding Night

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Meh, other than the obnoxious change out of character Spike had I would say this episode was alright at best. The Timberwolves were, in my opinion, a really nice addition to this episode and is what made it tolerable.

 

Pinkie's mustache was pretty funny too

[Arcanel 3,041]

AAAAAAlright! Finally one of my 4 favorite favorite characters got an episode! And it is Spike! Which reminds me...

 

like all AJ episodes

THIS WAS A SPIKE EPISODE YOU DAMN FOOL!  But you know, it is true. Or if anything one that has shared protagonism. Like we've seen plenty of times done with just two characters.

 

But anyway, yes, I might as well be slightly biased due to being a Spike fan, so I guess you could say to take what I think with a small grain of salt, but that's up to whoever.

 

First things first, the timberwolves.......I must admit that the first thing I thought was NONE of the other things the rest thought of. Instead, I was brought back to old cartoons. Nickelodeon's cartoons to be exact. As back as Nickelodeon not even shorting its name yet.

 

Rugrats and The Thornberries.

 

You might be wondering "Wut...", but I honestly gave me the same feel. I remember that one of the first cartoons that I saw that had different style of animation was both of them, because if I'm not mistaken, both cartoons actually showed in a few episodes the same animation style that FiM used with the timberwolves. I'm not completely sure but...it just brought so many memories...so I can't say I didn't like them in the slightest. And plus, if you take out the fact that the timberwolves were controlled by magic, to me, it would have felt like something that came out of The Thornberries.

 

Then staying with the same subject...I had seen the preview, so I was wondering "What...there must be something else..." and they revived. Three times. So I got silightly surprised you could say.  And as for the big timberwolf getting destroyed with just a pebble...I think I have a theory for that.

 

There might be a reason for the timberwolves having such bad breath. They obviously seemed to have come to life thanks to some strange magic provenient from the Everfree Forest. So that magic is kind of what's their breath. Their lungs. And they probably need an exit for that magic. So, basically, the pebble clogged the magic exit, ergo, "ARGH...*falls* *CRASH!* Did it seem anticlimatic? Maybe so, but since Applejack saved Spike with pebbles, I think it stands to follow the...er..."symbolism", so to speak, of that to carry to the next time they seem to be out for good when Spike saves Applejack. Besides, it's like he could think he can take out the gigantic timberwolf with his fire, let alone think of using it, when all he could think was:

 

1. Save Applejack.

2. Fear.

 

And as a plus, we don't know if the fire would have worked on the timberwolves anyway. For all we know, being from the Everfree Forest, they might as well be fire resistant.

 

Then, Kyronea, and others have put in show the great interactions of the mane 6, and I completely agree. Every gag they used was BRILLIANT! Plus.

 

Applejack- Unfinished novel.

Rainbow Dash- Finished story.

 

I was probably not the only one who laughed his/her flank off when this things were heard. Especially Applejack's face. Applejack...Rainbow Dash...writing...try to get yourselves with THAT train of thought without letting your headcanon invade. Wow. THAT. WAS. MARVELOUS. Seriously. And also Rarity's self-sacrifice. And Twilight's OCD and over concentration. And Pinkie's plan. *thumbs up*

 

I must also admit I raised my eyebrows when I saw the Polsky/Merriwether combination. I could only think how interesting it was. And I think I could see elements from both writers. Polsky definitely had a hand at the disaster master part. And I realized Merriwether wrote this when Fluttershy had her "If she needed help, I think she would realize" THAT, cracked me up. Personally, I don't think this went wrong at all. Although I knew there were going to be a few "Oh lord no...please no..." in the crowd.

 

Then, we have some of the things Spike did. Let's deal with the small ones first. Spike smelling his feet? Well...that seems like the typical boy thing they would put in any other cartoon for sure.  Besides, I think his sigh was more of "Oh...Celestia...why haven't I washed them yet...?" or something similar. The drama over asking Twilight for her permission...well...this is kind of a combination of things. For one, he probably knew that Twilight knew about the code, ergo that's one thing. Then he also remembered how occupied she was for theHUGE amount amount of books she had to read. He probably felt better not to interrupt her than do so, EVEN THOUGH, it was an important thing. Maybe that shows then amount of respect and love he has for her.

 

And then one of the huge things. Spike being, as I said, master disaster. I think I can actually explain this one, by diving his parts into two completely different things.

 

Job and duty.

 

Yes, I know that sounds almost silly and even the same thing, but follow me. The chores he does for Twilight are more of his job than anything he'd like to do. Yes, he'd them anyway because it's Twilight the one who asks him for it. But he WAS happy when he was relieved of his tasks. That's the job part.

 

The duty part comes one what he WANTED to do. He felt he needed, wanted, to do any chore available no matter how small or silly it was. The difference lies in that these two things would probably put someone in the different mindset.

 

Doing things when you don't want to, but you know ponies are gonna get mad if you don't do them well (Twilight), and then trying to help out as much as you can because you WANT to do it, but in that mindset become oblivious to your surroundings. I might be wrong on the used words, but I hope I explained it better.

 

My thought is that Spike wanted to help so much that he lost focus in what he was doing, even when they are chores he should know how to do.

 

And as for the mane 6 and their not so foolproof plan...well...what else could they have done? Rainbow Dash's growl was simply and purely AWESOME. So they were safe on that part. But they can't exactly replicate a timberwolf now can they? And they had to do it in an as controlled environment as possible. This is Spike. As much as they respect the little guy, NONE of the mane 6 will be willing to put his safety in jeopardy. Yes, it probably was something they expected Spike to be oblivious enough...but I think it was the best they could do. Plus, Applejack is, along with Rainbow Dash, are probably the worst actors.

 

AS the Dragon Code thing...well... my own theory would imply that he made probably some time after Dragon Quest and I also like the theory that was used before that it was to differentiate himself from from other dragons. And that the reason it wasn't used before was because of the heat of the moment. Main two "saved my flank" moments were when RD and 'Shy saved Spike and Rarity...right after the guy was about to confess to RARITY AND became a gigantic dragon that almost destroyed Ponyville...I don't know about you but I wouldn't pull off any code there. And the other moment was with Princess Cadence...right when King Sombra was being destroyed, the fact Cadence is a princess, the whole Crystal Princess of the Crystal Empire thing as well...yeah, I wouldn't bring my code out there too. However, even I admit after reading the comments and opinions that the reason for it to work would be slightly too complicated for it to be acceptable, and even I think it was pulled a bit out of nowhere.

 

What I don't understand is the people complaining about "overused plot"...um...WHEN have we NOT seen an overused plot? I'm serious! People say "overused this and that" but honestly, I give writers a loooot of credit, but even they can be allowed to use plots that have been IN THE CARTOONS FOR YEARS NOW. The importance of it, is how well it is executed. Whether you like it or not, that's a completely different story and you can like it or dislike it. But it seems a bit unfair that the episode had an overused plot and that that was a bad thing. Because otherwise, we would be having to write to every single show that did the same thing. It would probably take a long while.

 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode, like I always do. It's not "HOLY HELL THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL!" episode to me, but it's not that below in my favorite episode ranks. And I liked this Merriwether/Polsky combination. Not bad at all.

 

And as for Celestia sending that much books....welll........either Twilight Sparkle is Spencer Reid from Criminal minds who reads 10,000 words per minute, or this is the "up the ante" tests for something that is upcoming.

 

 

Oh and, Spike.... It's a bit creepy when you tell someone in front of them they look good while they're chewing...

Given how creepy Spike is sometimes when showing his love for Rarity...I wasn't even surprised.

 

 

Shouldn't that hot air balloon be tied down more securely by more than one rope? It seems like if Spike hadn't bumped into the post, the hot air balloon would have untied itself sooner or later. Furthermore, if Spike or Applejack were riding in the hot air balloon, it would have enough lifting power to keep them afloat, so how can either of them individually keep it held down on the ground?

The reason for either of the to hold it down, was because of the force each could actually put below. Maybe it actually HAD some weights in it? I wouldn't really know to be honest and the same thing would apply for the rope, so I can't say I would have an answer for this.

 

 

Then again, I suppose that comes with the territory as the forum's official Merriwether Williams Appreciator.

Haha, I'm not exactly a Merriwether Williams Appreciator, but I support her fully, you know? 

 

 

Are we supposed to giggle at Spike's sudden obsession with fulfilling life debts, or is this an indelible part of his character that was somehow overlooked in the midst of previous life-threatening instances?

I don't think we're going to get that question answered unless a similar situation happens in the future that would require the Dragon Code to activate. But that's a good question. Especially if the Dragon Code doesn't come back. It could be that we were told that only Twilight and Spike would know the severity of it but...with the knowledge afterwards, it doesn't seem that great to laugh at the poor guy's "till the end" attitude. I'm not sure.

[dreaper 136]

Job and duty.   Yes, I know that sounds almost silly and even the same thing, but follow me. The chores he does for Twilight are more of his job than anything he'd like to do. Yes, he'd them anyway because it's Twilight the one who asks him for it. But he WAS happy when he was relieved of his tasks. That's the job part.   The duty part comes one what he WANTED to do. He felt he needed, wanted, to do any chore available no matter how small or silly it was. The difference lies in that these two things would probably put someone in the different mindset.   Doing things when you don't want to, but you know ponies are gonna get mad if you don't do them well (Twilight), and then trying to help out as much as you can because you WANT to do it, but in that mindset become oblivious to your surroundings. I might be wrong on the used words, but I hope I explained it better.   My thought is that Spike wanted to help so much that he lost focus in what he was doing, even when they are chores he should know how to do.

 

 

The way you put it. Spike doesn't like that much assisting Twilight at the library, yet he does a good job it, but when he really wants to help, he messes up.

 

Sorry but I don't agree.

 

Assisting Twilight is more than a job for Spike, is the only way he knows to get appreciation and love. Remember in the Owl episode when he freaked out at the thought of being replaced? If being Twilight's assistant was just "another job" for Spike, he wouldn't have gotten jealous, in fact, he would have been pretty cool with it.

 

I understand the logic of Spike messing up because he was trying too hard. But I didn't buy it here because he messes things up from the very start he tries to help. I would have believed that if Spike does a great job in the farm at first, but he gets worse and worse the more overzealous he gets at trying to help.

[Arcanel 3,041]

The way you put it. Spike doesn't like that much assisting Twilight at the library, yet he does a good job it, but when he really wants to help, he messes up.   Sorry but I don't agree.   Assisting Twilight is more than a job for Spike, is the only way he knows to get appreciation and love. Remember in the Owl episode when he freaked out at the thought of being replaced? If being Twilight's assistant was just "another job" for Spike, he wouldn't have gotten jealous, in fact, he would have been pretty cool with it.

Oh, I'm not saying that he doesn't enjoy being Twilight's assistant. Far from it. But he has shown how bothered he is when has to make ALL the chores from inside the library. As much as he loves Twilight, it's not something he would like to do forever and ever, UNLESS it was the bidding of Twilight, where the two love the other a lot.

 

I understand the logic of Spike messing up because he was trying too hard. But I didn't buy it here because he messes things up from the very start he tries to help. I would have believed that if Spike does a great job in the farm at first, but he gets worse and worse the more overzealous he gets at trying to help.

Well, the thing is he WAS, VERY overzealous from the start. And that overzealousness carried through all his tasks. 

 

Another thing could be if the difference lies in that Spike does the chores of Twilight for it being a different kind of obligation and connection. With Twilight...well...º1 assistant, almost mother figure, has been with her his whole life, etc, etc. With Applejack is the fact he actiavated his Dragon Code which sounds like a different reason altogether, and therefore, enables a different mindset.

 

I'm pretty sure I could actually be wrong, but I think that is a firm theory, IMO. Please correct me if there's something that doesn't really make sense. Or is repeated.

[Pumpkinbot 69]

I'm gonna say that it was less about Twilight specifically and more about being unwanted and unloved by anypony.

 

He was fine with leaving Twilight because he had Applejack to work for and be useful to and be loved by.

 

...(Be useful to? Eh, screw it.)

[NavelColt 22,877]

This is one of the few times I've been able to say I honestly did not like an episode, and the for first time in Season 3. This episode had some maaajor inconsistencies that I just can't overlook. Someone's already made a topic about how Spike's Dragon Code doesn't fit with other episode, and that bugged me a lot. His uncharacteristic clumsiness as well. But what struck me even more then that, and I don't think I've seen anyone point this out yet, is how easily Spike left Twilight.

 

In The Crystal Empire Part 2, Spike looks into Sombra's magic door and though we don't see what he's seeing, we hear him saying "Please, I don't wanna go! Twilight, don't make me!" with tears in his eyes, as though Twilight has just fired him from her service or is forcing him to leave. Twilight then describes the door as "a door that leads to your worst fear."

 

SPIKE'S WORST FEAR IS HAVING TO LEAVE TWILIGHT.

 

But then, he gets his life saved by Applejack, gets a few inattentive grunts from Twilight, and he ditches her without any real fight. Sure he had tears in his eyes, but he didn't beg and plead like he did in the Crystal Empire. In fact, in the next scene he seemed perfectly okay that she had just let him go.

 

This episode really fell through for me unfortunately, ending Season 3's streak of excellent episodes...

Your topic, 'What really bugged me about Spike at your Service', has been merged with the overall Spike at Your Service discussion thread. Any thoughts about the episode overall should really go in the official topic for it, as opposed to creating a new topic for it. That other topic you mentioned, the one about the dragon code, got merged into this topic for the same reason :3

[Sunny Fox 5,935]

This episode was not as good as it could have been. I have two main gripes.

 

1. There was a total derailment of Spike's character. (And Pinkie's, but I'll get to that later) He is trusted with royal business on his own in Canterlot ("Look Before You Sleep") and is an invaluable assistant to Twilight in the library. He is competent at his job, not the walking disaster zone that they made him out to be in this episode. If he was like that all the time, I don't think Twilight could bear to have him around. As for Pinkie, the randomness level was way too high. What was the purpose of the mustache? At least in "Swarm of the Century" we were given an explanation for her apparently random behaviour. Pinkie should not do odd stuff just to be a gag character. For both cases, the reason I don't like it is that I feel writers should never sacrifice characters in order to drive the plot forward or for cheap laughs, and that is exactly what happened here.

 

2. The Timber wolves were an extreme case of Conspicuous CG. I know the entire show is animated in Flash, and is technically all CG anyway, but this was an entirely different look, and it was extremely jarring to me. And then they make it even more conspicuous by actually using the normal animation technique for when the giant Timber Wolf was forming, as if to highlight it. "Yes, we could have just used the usual, consistent animation style, but we didn't feel like it." I simply don't understand how they could have sat down and watched those scenes and think they were okay. They should just have stuck with the same animation style throughout.

 

That's for the bad. Now for the good.

 

Rarity was so much on form. Really, for me the entire episode was only bearable because of her. I also like that they are keeping up with the continuity. This seems to be what Celestia meant by "the next stage of your studies": having Twilight read many books, practicing spells in "Wonderbolt Academy." It's good to keep reminding us that there is an overall arc unfolding, which hopefully will be something truly awesome coming our way later in the season.

 

Summary: Spike and Pinkie got flanderized for the sake of the plot and gag humour respectively, the CG for the Timber Wolves was awful, Rarity was great, and there were enough nods to continuity to keep things interesting. Maybe a 5/10.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Full Spectrum

[Jammo 986]

Anyone else notice some disturbing implications in this episode?

Spike being a live-in servant to a Southern American-style Farm, refusing to leave master?

Edited December 31, 2012 by Jammo

[Starswirl the Trixie 974]

Was I the only one...shocked by this episode?  The sheer number of references to death (now a bit more explicitly than in previous episodes) and the rather adult nature of the plotline and humor.

 

By the way,

 

Mustache!

____

I've been looking through some comments on this forum and on Youtube, and I am utterly flabbergasted by the people criticizing it as "one of the worst this season".  I actually don't see many flaws with this episode.  Timberwolves weren't explained, but we gained new insights about them.  I would have liked that they had spent more time addressing the "Dragon Code", but they mentioned it a bit.  Twilight was a bit...off, but not seriously.  And I suppose that some people may have been put off by the weird CGI animations...

 

But honestly, what was wrong with this episode?  And don't think I just scream "WOOOO BEST EPISODE EVAR" after every episode; on the contrary, I am a Brony who is often very critical of the show.  Can someone please explain this to me?

Edited December 31, 2012 by Starswirl the Goateed

[Tall_But_Short_37 233]

Was I the only one...shocked by this episode?  The sheer number of references to death (now a bit more explicitly than in previous episodes) and the rather adult nature of the plotline and humor.

 

By the way,

 

Mustache!

____

I've been looking through some comments on this forum and on Youtube, and I am utterly flabbergasted by the people criticizing it as "one of the worst this season".  I actually don't see many flaws with this episode.  Timberwolves weren't explained, but we gained new insights about them.  I would have liked that they had spent more time addressing the "Dragon Code", but they mentioned it a bit.  Twilight was a bit...off, but not seriously.  And I suppose that some people may have been put off by the weird CGI animations...

 

But honestly, what was wrong with this episode?  And don't think I just scream "WOOOO BEST EPISODE EVAR" after every episode; on the contrary, I am a Brony who is often very critical of the show.  Can someone please explain this to me?

 

Spike was wrong with this episode. The rest of the Mane 6 were spot on in character, but Spike was just a bumbling mess who screwed up simple tasks that we've seen him complete with ease before (cooking, cleaning, etc), but then can stack a perfect tower of odd shaped rocks. The Dragon Code came out of nowhere and contradicted previous episodes where he'd had his life saved. There were lots of smaller details that were good parts of this episode, but Spike, the main focus of the episode, failed for me.

[Cantankerous 106]

Possibility exists that I'll warm up to this episode. After all, my initial response to Wonderbolt Academy was rather vitriolic but you won't find that comment because I edited it so much I eventually replaced it entirely. Rather embarrassing, really. But for the moment, put me in the group that found Spike's behavior terribly out of character and annoying. There were things I liked, AJ getting Twilight's attention by putting one small item out of place thus triggering her compulsive nature was a nice touch and there were several interactions between the main six that were entertaining. Problem is, what I liked were the little things, the main plot was left in shambles due to Spike's terrible writing.
 

Edited December 31, 2012 by ByTheTides

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

The two characters I was in love with this episode:

 

Rarity

Twilight.

 

Rarity's drama queen mode and her general screen time on the episode was really entertaining and cute.

 

Twilight's "Dunno what I'd do without you" and "Hehe. awww.." at the end were, for some reason, two of the cutest things I've seen every on this show. Call me crazy O_o

[Cantankerous 106]

Just finished rewatching it, there is a lot to like; the animation is beautiful, getting to see what a badass AJ is was awesome, it pulled off the life or death situation at the end well such that I believed they were in real danger, all the main six are in-character and they get little yet meaningful chances to shine. In particular, that AJ knew to get Twilight's attention as she did shows she's close enough to Twilight to understand her. Neither Pinkie Pie nor Fluttershy had much screentime but for their parts Pinkie Pie was random is precisely the right way and Fluttershy had her timidness dialed back which is refreshing. How each of them reacted to Spike's behavior was spot on... but that behavior itself was not. I'm sorry, for as much as there is to like I'm not going to regard an episode that butchers Spike's character like this positively. I give this episode a 4/10.

Edited December 31, 2012 by ByTheTides

[Gamzee Master of the Faygo 20]

Am i the only one around here who got 6 minutes into the new episode stopped it  said this is bull shit    spike aint that clumsy   went to this thread   then changed their mind because everyone else says he is that clumsy