Are the Spike episodes really that bad?

[Dark Qiviut 22,173]

 

Spike's not that bad of a person, right?

No, he's nowhere near a bad character. If anything, the past two seasons have given him so few roles that seeing him receive more spotlight is a breath of fresh air. The problem with many of the Spike episodes is how the writers portrayed him into someone he's not.

 

Owl's Well that Ends Well: a tired, clichéd plot while running with it. Spike turned into someone who was extremely jealous and wanted to do whatever he could to humiliate Owlowiscious and drive him out of town (if not worse). Spike treats his subjects, ponies or not, with more respect than that. I was okay with the episode, but it was definitely not a good one.

 

Spike at Your Service: Incompetent and careless in methods that contradict the canon. He has known the characters for some time now and comprehends their personalities and expectations. In addition, he's an excellent cook and housekeeper, so seeing him screw up and then not totally care for the consequences doesn't work.

 

Just for Sidekicks: An unrecognizable mess. Selfish, antagonistic, gluttonous beyond what he's capable of, lustful for jewels, and was extremely irresponsible in his petsitting duties. The way he was written contradicts the growth he receive from Secret of My Excess, Dragon Quest, and even the prologue of the episode itself. The rest of the episode was very good, but Spike was primarily focused on, so the way he was written really determines how good or bad the episode objectively is. In some ways, he was written worse than Spike at Your Service, so the episode is bad.

 

There are two Spike episodes that wrote him very well:

1. Secret of My Excess. Here, we saw his inherited greed that's consumed many dragons in their lifetime. He accepted gifts and wanted more, leading to his premature growth as a dragon. The way the episode handled him was fantastic because it introduced more into worldbuilding into the canon and character development to Spike. Here, he learned about the extreme dangers of greed.
2. Dragon Quest. Wanting to learn more about himself, he joined the Dragon Migration, where he bumped into some very rude teenager-like dragons and had to learn the consequences of peer pressure. In this episode, he learns about how precious life can be (not permanently killing the phoenix and getting acquainted to Peewee when he hatched) and refused to follow orders just because of peer pressure. He may be a dragon, but he wants to be one who was better than the teenagers he tagged himself with.

Both Dragon Quest and Secret of My Excess are objectively excellent Spike episodes (and FIM episodes altogether). Which one you like more depends on your mileage.

 

Strangely, the Spike-centered episodes this season portrayed him in out-of-character extremes that don't make sense given the canonical timeline, but the more minute roles were not only extremely in character, but also really developed him, such as he doing the best he can to return the Crystal Heart back to the temple and keeping the team together while Twilight was in exile.

 

Spike is a great character when written right, and as a fan of him, that's what I yearn for in the future. I like to see his episodes treated more as a balanced character (or one where "new" flaws aren't inserted in a half-baked fashion). His episodes in season two balanced his strengths and flaws and developed him while keeping him in character. His episodes in season three didn't give his character any justice.

[Feather Gem 965]

I don't know why everyone dislikes him so much.

He's a kid (baby actually but whatever)  He has much left to learn. 

(actually...that's all I can say.  Because I really don't know why people dislike him.)

[PoniesPlease 365]

I'm I alone when i say there's not one bad MLP episode out there? Regardless of Spike, CMCs, Mane 6, Luna, outside characters etc.?

 

Seriously?

[BronyPony 575]

I'm I alone when i say there's not one bad MLP episode out there? Regardless of Spike, CMCs, Mane 6, Luna, outside characters etc.?

 

Seriously?

The Season 3 Pinkie Pie episode lacked a bit, I didn't like that one.

 

The CMC episode was kind of...good but still lacked(however, despite it all I LOVED IT)

 

Other than that, most episodes were great or okay.

[Cantankerous 106]

As much as I like Owl's Well that Ends Well and Just for Sidekicks I do agree that Spike has been depicted with quite enough negative qualities at this point and that it's about time to see the character get an episode where he shines in some fashion. Dragon Quest was good in that regard but he needs more. In particular, I'd like to see an episode where he confronts his dragon greed and takes great strides to overcome it (though the battle will never be fully won). Additionally, it should be reconfirmed at some point that he's a capable assistant to Twilight to make up for the damage Spike at Your Service did.     

[hawkflame 3,308]

The problem is, I don't think Spike makes for a very good lead. He's great as a supporting character, someone for another pony to play off of or maybe provide the occasional quip. But it seems that the writers have difficulty coming up with real conflict without making him look bad. So they make him incompetent, or into a jerk, and aI think that becomes annoying.

[The Twilight Zone 15]

I prefer "Spike at your service" more than "Just for sidekicks", but they aren't great.

I'm not a huge fan of Spike though, maybe that's why i don't enjoy Spike's episodes like the other ones.

At the same time, i think Rarity deserved her episode and she didn't have it

[Brainstorm 4,092]

I have a suggestion, I think they show how Spike learns how to control his Dragon abilities. So Spike has made some mistakes, but, like Zecora said, "With each mistake, you learn something new, growing into a better you." I will agree that Spike has made some mistakes, but everypony makes mistakes.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Brainstorm

[Hazel-Beam 88]

Dragon Quest was great, but the rest of his episodes I just don't really care for. *shrug* Not that I dislike him, I just prefer when the episodes are centered around the ponies, I guess.

[~Silver Essence~ 2,621]

Spike is an ok character, the fact that he gets a few episodes of his own and that his development grows is great!

I do admit, sometimes, he just seems dumb for the purpose of the episodes like spike at your service, but he is a great character too!

I also personally find his adoration to rarity to be pretty adorable at times.

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

Owl's Well That Ends Well is meh.

 

A Dog and Pony Show is great.

 

Secret of my Excess is one of my favorites.

 

Dragon Quest is underrated.

 

Spike At Your Service is not nearly as out of character as people make it out to be.

 

Just For Sidekicks is much more out of character then people make it out to be.

 

I'm a minority on this opinion, but I really like Spike. While it's true that he seems to be more consistent when out of the spotlight, I (mostly) enjoy when the writers actually focus on his mindset and personality. I think he's possibly the most inherently interesting characters on the show, he has a great arc going on, I like the sibling/mother-son/scholar-assistant relationship with Twilight, dragons are awesome, and Cathy Weseluck doesn't get nearly enough props.

 

His writing isn't always the best, but that can be said of any character on the show.

 

Also, Sparity is Best Ship.

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

I don't see the problem with Spike's episodes at all! Spike's funny, witty and a great character! He deserves a little more respect than he gets from some bronies, because he is just a brilliant character!

[~Starlight~ 764]

Personally I love Spike episodes, I love spikes sorta sidekick personality and the way he acts without his 'master' at his side, I also love when he turns into a dragon, and stops because of Rarity, c'mon guys ADORABLE!!! 

[ManiacForPonies 27]

I actually really like spike episodes. Specially Secret of my Exes. It´s a nice change. However  I don´t really think That there should be more than 2 per  season. 

[Windwaker 194]

When I started watching MLP, I really hated spike. Now....Yeah. Spike is the second worst character in the entire franchise. (You heard me, FRANCHISE!)

 

Oh, wait, are we talking about gen 3 spike? On, no? Oh, ok.

 

GEN 4 SPIKE!

 

Hs actually one of the most developed characters in the show. I like spike a lot.

 

Favorite episode from him? I guess Secret of my Excess. (I watched the episode just because I ship Spike and Rarity. I seriously SQUEED when Rarity kissed spike on the cheek. All it needs is some lip action, and Sparity will be canon!)

[Lo23 31]

I do like Spike for having a bit more snark than the other characters, but his episodes really push his flaws and I understand that is the formula of the show with having a character flaw, addressing it and learning to overcome it. Spike's flaws are just realy pushed to the point of unlikable sometimes. I really do like his character and Spike is nice to have a male character to give a bit of balance to alot of the female characters. Personally I like his episodes, but they would not be any of my favorites since they are just 'ok'. But opinions are opinions.

[Sweet Dreams 1,893]

The only one of the Spike episodes I thought was really good was Secret of my Excess. The rest of them I find kind of average; I don't hate them, I don't love them. Just somewhere in between. I have nothing against Spike as a character, though, I think he can be almost as funny as Pinkie Pie at times.

And he's had plenty of character development. 

[True Rarity 1,239]

In my opinion, Spike is an adorable, sweet, kind, and overall AMAZING character! He made all my siblings laugh today (I just watched the first two episodes), and he's just... just... SPECTACULAR! I can't see Friendship Is Magic without him!

 

P.S. ^^There's my Rarity side flaring... 

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

I love Spike, but I think he's a lot stronger as a supporting character than a starring character. Anytime he's helping Twilight he shines like the sun, but when the spotlight is on him, he can come off as unlikable due to his exaggerated flaws. However, I don't think this is such a bad thing. I think people need to remember that MLP is a cartoon, and Spike is very much a slapstick character, meaning he tends to do a lot of humorous things that don't make much sense. I for one enjoyed both of his episodes in season 3 because of their light-hearted humor.

 

Spike wasn't out of character in Spike At Your Service, he simply got carried away and happened to mess things up.  We've seen him goof up many times prior, so why is him goofing up in this episode any different? He still managed to successfully clean Applejack's pig and counted every blade of grass at the farm, so he wasn't totally inept. Usually he is a better baker and cleaner, but he tried too hard and did things too hastily resulting in his failures.

 

Just For Sidekicks highlighted his greed, which we had previously explored in Secret of My Excess. Again, he got carried away with himself because he loves to eat jewels and he wanted to make himself a luscious cake, but he didn't want the responsibility of actually watching the pony pets. A lot of younger kids do this. They finaggle their peers into giving them what they want by promising to do something, only to not do what they promised once they receive what they wanted. I've got a younger brother who did this all the time, and Spike reminded me of him in this episode. Spike's actions were quite believable. He is a child after all. And for all of his jerkiness, he was still able to make the mental jump on his own, realizing his mistake of not caring for the pets.

 

And I don't think Spike's other episodes had any problems with his character. I think people take this cartoon too seriously at times. Spike's personality has never been totally consistent, but a lot of the things he does are quite believable, being that he is a young boy. Sure, he has his fair share of jerky moments, but so does every other main character. He has to make mistakes in order to learn from them. That's the whole point of the show.

 

I think Spike is a great character, and I've enjoyed each of his episodes to varying degrees.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,274]

I don't see what's so bad about Spike episodes, I guess it's no the best episode or whatever but it's not that bad xP I found Secret of my  Excess and Just for Sidekicks pretty entertaining to me. Other episodes weren't that bad either but I didn't really like them nearly as much as other episodes but it doesn't mean I completely disliked it, I just thought it was average.

[WarGrowlmon1990 94]

The only episode I've ever disliked is Ponyville Confidential. I think that the Spike-centered episodes are rather cute. Sure, he can get cocky sometimes but that's just one of his flaws. He learns his lesson at the end of each of those episodes.  And, like Sugar Cube said, he really is just a young boy.

Edited April 19, 2013 by WarGrowlmon1990

[Stormwind 53]

i actually enjoyed just for sidekicks even though i found spike at your service and secrete of my excess forgettable. I just think spike is a little to one dimensional when compared to the mane 6 and so his episodes generally fall flat in my opinion.

[Gourgeist 262]

Spike is a great character to be honest. He has quite the personality since he's non pony and has a major part in the show. None of his episodes were bad and I think the best was Secret of my Excess. I love godzilla like things so that's why I like that Spike episode the most. 

[DJRainbowDash 723]

I understand and do like the qualities that Spike does add to the show. But as much as I try to like the episodes hes in, I just can't. They write him to be so out of character sometimes where it actually is quite annoying. That, and I think the focus of the episodes are better on either to CMC or the mane 6. 

 

However, Secret of my Excess was very good, and is the only one of the Spike-centric episodes I really did like a lot. I thought that it was also the best at illustrating the Spike and Rarity relationship, and the part where they are both falling is one of my favorite scenes from that season.

[Dreadmallon 353]

   I liked Secret of My Excess, Dragon Quest, and I still don't believe Spike at your Service to be that bad. It was cliché, yes, but so is a lot of MLP:FiM episodes, and I still believe they executed them well. However, I haven't seen the episode where he manages the pets, so I cannot judge that episode.