S03:E11 - Just for Sidekicks

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

I thought that this was a fine episode.  I don't mind Spike as a character, though I don't seem to like it all that often when he's the focus of an episode.  I almost feel like the writers try too hard to make him completely incompetent (much more so in Spike At Your Service, but it showed up a little here too).

 

I'm sure that the next two things have been mentioned before (I admit, I didn't read the entire thread...) but did anyone else notice that Rarity's jewel was the first that Spike gave up?  i understand that it was the smallest, but he made such a fuss about it when she gave it to him, I thought that he'd respect it a little more...  Are they foreshadowing future episodes?  Am I reading too much into this?  The second point I wanted to mention was how it made complete sense that Spike wasn't invited to the games at the Crystal Empire.  I mean, it's not like he's the savior of the Cyrstal Empire or something.  Oh wait....

[The Twilight Zone 15]

Have you seen Cheerilee and Big Mac hanging around in this episode? My heart broke into pieces when i saw them cause i'm a huge fan of Fluttermac :'(

As you said guys Sweetie Belle is so cute and sweet (just like her name) Today i got diabetes! She always have been my fave CMC!

[Two-of-Hearts 168]

Certainly not my favorite episode. It was clunkey, unlogical, hastily slapped together, and it doesn't help that I'm not the biggest Spike fan. The comedy just wasn't there for the most part. The only part that really made me laugh was the Winona flattened by the industrial hair dryer bit. I was however, more delighted than I thought I would be seeing Tank back again, and it was cute how he licked and nuzzled Rainbow Dash. Oh and Screw Loose too, glad to see her again.

 

A bomb episode, but hey, bombs happen.

 

 

Edit: I'm suprised how many favorable critiques this episode is getting. I'm starting to wonder if I missed something. Suppose I'll just have to watch it again.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Two-of-Hearts

[Broccoli 127]

I just watched the episode, and I thought it was great! It was quite intense, especially the scenes with Angel running away, and being on the train. Lots of humor involved too.

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

This was the stupidest episode ever . . .

 

And I liked it!

 

What can I say, it was a lot of fun, and I laughed quite a bit.  Spike was a jerk, but fate seemed entirely against him because of it, even sending him literally on a train right towards the mane six.  I thought for sure he'd be caught, but he was able to apologize to get out of it just in time.  Pretty well done overall.  In my opinion season three hasn't had a bad one yet!

[ShyForever 284]

I only have one question. Remember when the CMC got the gem from Spike? Well, they spent it on that gigantic blow drier thingy. 

 

This makes me question how much gems are worth in Equestria. Seriously, one gem bought that massive machine? How much are gems worth?!

 

I mean, when Spike and Rarity go gem hunting, can't they sell these gems and become the richest living beings in Equestria?

Well, based on my speculation that gems are worth a buck load.

 

...

 

And that might have been two questions.

Edited January 27, 2013 by ShyForever

[Thaliel 116]

Angel is best bunny

All the pets are back, yay

and spike learns a lesson...but does not send a letter

[MadDoggyca 710]

Rainbow dash's Noise rubbing scene was the best, other then that. i don't care to much for eps that are entirely based on spike.

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,275]

That episode was pretty good I must say, I'm not a big fan of episodes mainly focusing Spike but hey, at least he's getting screen time along with the pets that we barely see anymore! I thought Rainbow Dash and Tank were adorable in this episode ^.^ I was really glad I got to see Tank again, he's just a lovable guy. 

But did anyone realize that the CMC got an industrial blow-dryer from a tiny gem shard? It's such a small gem for a massive piece of equipment, imagine what you could buy with Fluttershy's gem o.o

[Sunny Fox 5,950]

That episode was pretty good I must say, I'm not a big fan of episodes mainly focusing Spike but hey, at least he's getting screen time along with the pets that we barely see anymore! I thought Rainbow Dash and Tank were adorable in this episode ^.^ I was really glad I got to see Tank again, he's just a lovable guy. 

 

But did anyone realize that the CMC got an industrial blow-dryer from a tiny gem shard? It's such a small gem for a massive piece of equipment, imagine what you could buy with Fluttershy's gem o.o

That's assuming that the value of a gem increases in proportion to its size. Even in real life, a gem can be semi-precious or precious. A small precious gem can cost more than a large semi-precious gem. Even within a particular category, the material, colour, clarity, etc all affect the value, not just the size.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Full Spectrum

[Jay 32]

Hey is Derpy in the show anymore?  I can't seem to find her anymore!  I think the last time I ssaw her as in Harricane Fluttershy"..

[Princes Cadance 345]

I only have one question. Remember when the CMC got the gem from Spike? Well, they spent it on that gigantic blow drier thingy. 

 

This makes me question how much gems are worth in Equestria. Seriously, one gem bought that massive machine? How much are gems worth?!

 

I mean, when Spike and Rarity go gem hunting, can't they sell these gems and become the richest living beings in Equestria?

Well, based on my speculation that gems are worth a buck load.

 

...

 

And that might have been two questions.

I think the industrial blow drier was more for comedic purposes, like hey didn't you see, we bought a big blow drier with the gem. Anyway I thought the episode was alright, not my favourite and the ending with spike hiding under the seat felt cheap. But I guess it was alright. 

[Feather Spiral 1,892]

I'm actually pretty disappointed with this episode.

 

First, as pointed out by quite a few fans, all those who had gone to the Crystal Empire before were invited again... except the one who pretty much saved the Empire.

Then, Spike giving up on the gems SOLELY in order of increasing size.

I was kinda weirded out when Zecora asked for a gem in return for her help... but then two things dawned upon me. First, it DID help motivate him to get himself out of the ropes; second, I realized at the end, that she just understood the root of Spike's problem, which was his greed for gems to make the cake.

At the end, when Rarity asked Sweetie how she knew about the snowglobes, I expected her to say something plausible. Like "Spike told us when he came back the first time" or "we overheard somepony talking about them when they got off the train". Not this "lucky guess" shit.

Lastly... Spike not learning from his mistake? Just for that "oops, did it again, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING" joke? Really?

A small precious gem can cost more than a large semi-precious gem. Even within a particular category, the material, colour, clarity, etc all affect the value, not just the size.

Yes, remember it was Rarity's "payment", one of the most demanding ponies who has the finest tastes in gems (and dresses).

[z11011 16]

I liked the episode, but Felt it was a bit rushed. 
I really enjoyed the appearances of Zecora, Screwloose and Tank, but why wasnt there a friendship letter at the end? Spike clearly learned a lesson.I was dissapointed at that, but it was an okay episode overall. O yeah, and the crystal empire was in it too. 

[Megas 27,629]

I'm glad to see Corey Powell's episode delivered just as well as the first.

 

-Tank and Dash are adorable together

-CMC for going skydiving and the Crystal Empire

-Speaking of which, it was great to return to the Crystal Empire

-PEEWEE!!! WWWHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

-Spike eating the gems without him knowing

-I actually didn't hate Owlicious in this

-Angel is a rascal

-Troll Zecora is best Troll

 

This probably rivals Secret of My Excess as my favorite Spuke episode. I give it a 8.8/10

[Mazapan 1]

this is one of my favourite episodes, mostly because it shows all the pets together (i love winona, its like watching my own dog in cartoons!) plus the CMC... it was so cute my head almost exploded 

 

But im not sure about spike, he isnt one of my favourites and i dont hate him... but meh

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,206]

I kinda have... mixed feelings about this episode. It wasn't very funny, other than the, "Angel." moments. I'm going to watch it again, just to see if it gets any better the second time I watch it. I did notice a few things though that made me smile. I saw Big Mac and Cheerile walking together, which hints that they may actually harbor feelings for each other, which would be cute. I also saw Carrot Top nuzzling some random stallion at the Crystal Empire train station and I would like to find out who that is! The pets were all so cute as normal! Over all, it was a good episode and some good Spike/CMC relationship building time.

Edited January 27, 2013 by TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos

[Appetite4Democracy 452]

Loved the episode.

-Sweetie Belle is adorable

-Zecora wants Spike's booty

-Gummy and Tank being awesome

-BILL COSBY REFERENCE

[DerpyFanatic 114]

Thank you! I can never find it by searching directly through Youtube. I had to skim lots of comments and try my best not to read it to find this!

 

THANK YOU

 

I couldn't find the ep searching on youtube, the top result was another trolling video by huputable. If you see that vid, please downvote and flag it for bullying.

[hawkflame 3,310]

I'm actually pretty disappointed with this episode.

 

First, as pointed out by quite a few fans, all those who had gone to the Crystal Empire before were invited again... except the one who pretty much saved the Empire.

Then, Spike giving up on the gems SOLELY in order of increasing size.

I was kinda weirded out when Zecora asked for a gem in return for her help... but then two things dawned upon me. First, it DID help motivate him to get himself out of the ropes; second, I realized at the end, that she just understood the root of Spike's problem, which was his greed for gems to make the cake.

At the end, when Rarity asked Sweetie how she knew about the snowglobes, I expected her to say something plausible. Like "Spike told us when he came back the first time" or "we overheard somepony talking about them when they got off the train". Not this "lucky guess" shit.

Lastly... Spike not learning from his mistake? Just for that "oops, did it again, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING" joke? Really?Yes, remember it was Rarity's "payment", one of the most demanding ponies who has the finest tastes in gems (and dresses).

 

Regarding the Crystal Empire, I'd withhold judgment until you see what happened and the reason for the invite.  As for the size of the gems... well, yeah.  If you were planning on eating the gems, wouldn't you want to give up the smallest, least appetizing one first?  Andhe did learn from his mistake, and apologized to Angel for not properly taking care of him, or the rest of the pets.

[Dark Qiviut 22,402]

This is the second episode this season featuring Spike. His previous episode, Spike at Your Service, was reviewed rather poorly because Spike was portrayed as incompetent and completely careless in his tasks. He was extremely out of character in SaYS, and with Powell (who wrote Sleepless in Ponyville) at the helm, I expected her to write him brilliantly in character.
 
Powell and the rest of the team did a great job in almost every part of this episode. What she did well were as follows:

• "Don't have your cake and it, too" was the main moral in this episode, and it was cleverly hidden in the canon. Instead of telling the moral, it was progressively demonstrated and shown in several basic steps.
• The Cutie Mark Crusaders were brilliant. In her two episodes, they have been written really well, and their characterizations have been intact. Sweetie Belle's cute as usual, and both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are eager yet still different to where they're not carbon copies of each other.
• The pets were absolutely great. One of the major criticisms this fandom has delivered was not giving the pets enough screentime, particularly Owlowiscious. This was the episode where they all shone.
  • Winona: Caring and honest. She genuinely wants to help and is a very likeable and loyal dog at that. Sometimes she gets a bit frisky and will carry herself a bit too much.
  • Owlowiscious: Level-headed, intelligent, and does whatever he can to keep Spike in line. Spike is still a kid, so when Twilight isn't around, Owlowiscious is there to watch out for him. Even with all those "whos," he has so much personality in the way he talks, looks, glares, and behaves. He's a character with a ton of depth.
  • Gummy: Just the cute, naïve, toothless alligator he's been. He still has that stare, but those angry eyes give him some personality.
  • Tank: He's extremely loyal to Rainbow Dash and just calm and affectionate. But because tortoises aren't natural fliers, his flying is rather clumsy, which brings on some nice comedy and awes for him. Tank is cutest MLP:FIM pet!
  • Opalescence: She and Angel have the strongest characters: troublesome, snide, and chaotic. But she was more subdued here, even though she was still troublesome here and there.
  • Angel Bunny is a lovable bastard from Hell. For a character with the name "Angel," he's spoiled and is someone who constantly misbehaves and starts trouble. He's the one who's been the biggest thorn in the pets' and Spike's side throughout. He's someone who fits the role of antagonist very well.
• There's extremely dedicated kinship between the Mane Six and their pets. From the way they talked and behaved with their pets, it's obvious that they're extremely close. The cutest was Rainbow Dash and Tank and how Dash tried to hide it in her typical tomcoltish fashion. Cute and funny.
• Angel's extreme suspicions with Spike. Since the beginning of the episode, he obviously didn't like the way Spike was handling himself and did whatever he could to embarrass the hell out of him and show to the Mane Six that he only took care of their pets for his own greed.
• The little tidbits of Spike having to release Peewee back where he belongs. Which I'll admit, I'm a bit sad. Through the pictures, Peewee was a great and troublesome little phoenix, yet still meant well. I'm glad he's back with his parents, but it's a little disappointing and unfortunate that we may likely never see him in the series again.
• The concept of the episode was simple, but great. It fits the scope of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic very well.
• After a while, we're seeing a bit more action from the background ponies. Cheerilee makes her season debut, and she and Big Mac are together (again). In addition, we see Screw Loose again! *…yay.* And Carrot Top, Berry Punch, Amethyst Star/Sparkler, and Colgate, too! The fact that they're there, even in non-speaking roles, helps give the environment so much life, and the world of MLP:FIM needs that to make it engaging to the audience.
• The pace was so smooth here. It flowed from one scene to the next without any need to rush, a role reversal to Keep Calm and Flutter On.
• Very subtle, but a silhouette of Derpy (no eyes, though) returns for the first time since Magic Duel! She can be spotted in one (maybe two) places:
  1. Take a look at the clubhouse and watch for the sky-diving poster at the right-hand side. There's a silhouette of Derpy's design for you to see.
  2. (Just as Twilight exits the library, take a look at the train station in the background. You'll see some distinct design of a mane and tail galloping towards the station. However, given the faded background, it's possible that this pony was actually Applejack.)
• The foreshadowing throughout the episode. Just like Keep Calm and Flutter On, there were layers of clues to hint where the episode would travel and resolve. Four big clues were featured: The cake, Angel being a conniving bastard, and Spike forcing to give away the jewels one by one were three of them. The other was Zecora warning him in her usual rhyming self to not let his lust for jewels go into his head.

However, just because I listed so many good things doesn't make it a genuinely good episode. Many of these things were from secondary to tertiary roles. Spike himself was the primary character, so the episode will focus on him dominantly.

 

And this is where Powell and the rest of the crew did so wrong: Spike himself was completely unrecognizable. As I watched the episode, I asked myself, "Did someone kidnap Spike and replace him with an imposter?" Besides his ability to cook and grousing for not being invited to the Equestria Games, his characterization and development from the rest of series were nonexistant. Instead of being completely careless in every single thing he did like in Spike at Your Service, this drastic bastardization in his character shifted to the other side of the scale. He was greedy, selfish, manipulative, and didn't care about the pets one bit. Instead of a balance between selfishness and selflessness throughout the episode, it was segregated, with his selfishness used as a plot device for almost the entire episode until the very end. He took advantage of his friends and used their pets as pawns to make his jewel cake.
 
In season two, the two episodes starring him included two huge facets that helped him grow into a much more selfless character:

1. In Secret of My Excess, we saw how much greed in a dragon can consume his or her soul. Spike since learned about the dangers of greed.
2. In Dragon Quest, Spike wanted to find his own in the dragon world, so he joined the migration, where he bumped into some very antagonistic dragons. But here, he also learned about how precious life and caretaking were when he refused to destroy the phoenix egg. He wasn't going to do something stupid, such as peer pressure from other dragons, get the best of him. Even in his short time, it's obvious he cared so much for Peewee.

It's particularly the absence of his development from Dragon Quest where there was such a big problem here. He wasn't going to sacrifice anyone's lives for the sake of sticking with the clan. But he also knew that being someone's caretaker required massive responsibilities, and Spike is someone who can hold his own despite messing up occasionally. For example, in Magic Duel, he was the one who kept the team together while Twilight was exiled in the Everfree Forest. It was a small scene quantitatively, but it gave him so much depth in his character. Here, he showed no care for the pets at all, a complete contradiction of Dragon Quest's resolution/moral and his affection and love for Peewee himself. This is a task that requires so much trust, and Spike didn't give a damn about what they were thinking until the very end. He came across as antagonistic, making him an unlikeable, out-of-character shell.

 
Even with a jewel cake that he would so love to bake, he knows very well that petsitting is a heavy responsibility. What an in-character Spike would REALLY do is put the cake business beside him and take care of the pets while they're gone. And he (and maybe Owlowiscious) would be the ones who would discipline the pets, especially Angel, whose trust for Spike and the other pets are thinner and more fragile than the graphite of a mechanical pencil. He may still have those thoughts about the cake, which would create some sort of conflict, but he'll promise to himself that he'll take his time disciplining the pets and sacrifice his cake willingly. Once he's done, then maybe he'll get jewels as a reward, and maybe he can successfully bake his cake (attempting to taste a jewel, but warned by Owlowiscious before he does). That way, the moral of "don't have all of your cake and eat it, too" can still fit yet keep Spike in character.
 
Frankly, this would have been much better if it were a season one or season two episode (pre-SoME or pre-DQ), where he wasn't given a lot of development and still had that extremely selfish streak in him. But it took place late in season three, and he received so much character development since the premiere. Therefore, it stuck out and just didn't fit him. This growth of his personality was absent in Just for Sidekicks.
 
Spike is a character who's had several important roles this season. Despite being minute, they helped him grow as a more mature character. To see that growth reversed in the two Spike-centered episodes this season is a huge disappointment. It's an even bigger disappointment here because Powell is an excellent writer with Emmy Award nominations to her credit. I've seen her work, so she has the experience and wherewithal to do so great. Sleepless in Ponyville is one of the best episodes in the entire series and was an amazing debut for her. She showed exactly what she can do there and even here in many places. To see that potential fall flat with an out-of-character Spike in Just for Sidekicks saddens me.
 
This was an episode with both a great concept and moral, and it was filled with so much potential. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and the pets were filled with character that resulted in plenty of laughs and conflict. But Spike was the focus in Just for Sidekicks, and he was extremely poorly written. Spike at Your Service disappointed me because he was written as carelessly incompetent, but even there did he show plenty of care for others. Here, his extreme selfishness and lust for a jewel cake were a sudden flip of his character development, and he didn't behave like the Spike I know and love. Overall, a severely disappointing episode.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Dark Qiviut

[roptiriolg 49]

I found this episode better than Spike at your Services, as it had funny moments with the mess the animals did. Overall, not too impressed, I think Dragon's Quest from Season 2 is so far the best episode featuring spike, this one however was also nice, just not as much as episodes featuring ponies.

[Lateon 589]

So, I enjoyed watching the episode about as much as I enjoyed watching Spike at Your Service. The comedy and stuff was fun, and I laughed here and there at the humor, especially at Winona turning into a puffball under the giant fan or whatever it was those crazy CMC bought.

 

The only problem for me was, once again, the botched characterization of Spike. While I didn't notice it at all during the episode, since I was so glad they didn't run with the whole "Spike's totally useless at everything" idea from SaYS, it is still there, and I'm sort of disappointed that the character development Spike received in Dragon Quest and Secret of My Excess (especially SoMS) was reversed here.

 

Is Spike just hard to characterize or something? Maybe Powell needs to have a go at it before she gets comfortable with him? Even then, I would think that the other writers would help out and keep the continuity going. I massively enjoyed her work with Sleepless in Ponyville, and so did a lot of others, so it isn't that she's incompetent all the time.

Edited January 27, 2013 by HandMan

[Wingnut 6,992]

OK, here is a more fleshed out post on my reaction to Just for Sidekicks. I found it to be another fun-filled episode by Corey Powell. There were a lot of subtleties I missed the first time I watched it yesterday. My roommate was cooking pancakes and distracted me a few times. So I watched the encore today and now I'm finally up to speed. Things I liked:

 

-The question of the baby phoenix and his whereabouts was finally answered. The sequence of photos at the opening of the show was a good idea. A trip to the forest to take Pee Wee home wouldn't provide enough content to fill an entire episode by itself.

-The Mane 6 assume a rare background role and the plot didn't suffer for it.

-I wasn't expecting to see the CMCs so they were a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, only Squeaky Belle stood out due to her...squeaking.

-Spike is totally in character which is a drastic improvement over Spike at Your Service.

-The return of the flying Tank! At first I couldn't tell if the yellow aura represented electric or magic power. But now I'm thinking that it's magic and that Rainbow Dash needs Twilight, or possibly Rarity, to recharge it from time to time.

-The ultra-modern appearance of the pet hair dryer. I'm guessing it's steam powered.

-Seeing Zecora and Screw Loose again. It was also cute to see Big Mac and Cheerilee together. Even if they're just friends, Big Mac was still too distracted to notice that the CMCs were missing.

-For all the mean-spirited things he does, Angel has a heart. Because of the way Spike put his desire for gems above the pets' well-being, Angel made life as difficult as possible. But when Spike finally understood how selfish his behavior was, the bunny decided not only to remain under cover but he retrieved the emerald originally given by Fluttershy so the dragon wouldn't have to go hungry.

-The fact that the Crystal Empire is less than a day's travel by train from Ponyville means it's easily accessible for this and any other episode if the plot calls for it.

 

I do have a few things to nitpick here:

 

-Today a train conductor can only allow unaccompanied minors to ride with written permission from a parent or guardian and arrangements for an adult to pick them up at their destination. I don't know if things were different in the late 19th/early 20th Century society that MLP is loosely based on. It is also possible the conductor couldn't judge a baby dragon's age and thought he was an adult.

-Although undefined, Ponyville and the Crystal Empire are still separated by a great distance, at least hundreds of kilometers. No train goes that far without a few intermediate stops. Spike and everybody else should have been able to hop off and await the first train going back.

-I disliked the way Twilight and others consistently referred to the pets as “critters”. It was repetitive to the point of being annoying. Even Tara must have noticed this, but she was just reading the script as it was written.

-The sudden use of gems as currency. Until now, I've only seen bits used as legal tender in Equestria. Spike has very expensive tastes indeed if his favorite treat is essentially money.

-As many of you pointed out, I didn't like the fact that Spike wasn't invited to visit the city he saved from King Sombra. Honestly the ponies should've taken a trip to another city to avoid the appearance of snubbing Spike that way.

 

In the end, the pluses greatly outweigh the minuses. This is the best Spike episode I've seen in a very long time, maybe the best since Secret of My Excess.  He nearly forgot the all-important lesson he learned about controlling his greed in that season 2 classic.  But he's just a kid and he's still going to be impulsive from time to time. 

Edited January 27, 2013 by ~Chaotic Wingnut~

[Saint Jimmy 5]

I wanted to see peewee elsewhere in the episode. but besides that, I loved the episode a lot. it was adorable. I enjoyed the entire thing an  it made my day a lot better than it was already.