S04:E24 - Equestria Games

[Thespian 78]

I'll point out reasons I didn't like the episode that I haven't seen already stated.

 

Spike is still acting like a little kid. I know he's a baby dragon... But it's getting a little old that he is still acting like this. I feel like he should be maturing a little bit even though he doesn't have the dragons greed making him physically grow up.

 

Biceps didn't actually speak.

 

Spitfire didn't speak.

 

Luna didn't speak.

 

Griffons didn't speak.

 

Pinkie is still being annoying and obnoxious. Also a little bit thick headed.

 

Overall I thought the episode was ok. I had to stop watching a few times because of how embarrassed I was for spike. I would have preferred it not being a spike centered episode but oh well. Looking forward to next weeks.

[NavelColt 22,879]

• Well, people bitching about Spike getting mistreated and whatnot will look at this episode and stiffle xP This is the biggest boost for Spike's ego of the show yet Not misfounded though, it's nice to see that Celestia building him a window wasn't the only response he's gotten for his role in sending Sombra packing.
• Those are some baller effin' chairs the princesses have got at the games' stadium.
• 'Mister the Dragon' is a descedant of Spyro the Dragon.
• Would be hilarious to see Celestia or Luna doing some 'WOOOHOOO!'s at some point, after Celestia noticed Twilight doing so.
• '*yawn*. WE GROW BORED OF MISTER THE DRAGON'S FEABLE ATTEMPTS TO LIGHT THE TORCH. WE WISH TO SEE HUNKY STALLIONS PERFORMING FOR US. TWILIGHT SPARKLE, AID YOUR ASSISTANT SO THAT WE MAY MOVE ON.'
• Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Scootalove continuation :3 Small noticeable one-liner and action, but it was included as a part of a three sister line-up, so it counts.
• Act. Casual. *glasses* SUP.
• Whoa, those security gates for anti-magic are super cool
• Dash and Spitfire finally racing <3 And being epic friends about the outcome. Hngnongnoggngogngng.
• Man, this episode is full of cringe-worthy embarrassing moments for Spike. I can hardly watch any of them. Dear god, Spike stop singing. You're making me want to crawl into a hole and hide, for you. And all these horrified facial expressions. Spitfire looks like she just saw soeone get disembowled, and Soarin, someone ran over his pie. But hey, go Pinkie xD 'NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAILED IT.'
• Ice archers, huh. Those arrows are bad-ass. Ponies using bows and arrows has finally been seen :3
• Pinkie's being awesome again, this episode. Love how the crystal pony stallion she's standing on doesn't even look angry, just confused xD
• Epic ending Frozen ice arrow cloud is a neat concept. Certainly better than some last-minute villain or creature causing havoc that people would bitch about.
• Well, actually Cadence, we could turn back time, we just don't have time in the episode.
•  

Only complaint I can see and undertsnad is the focus on Spike rather than the games, but, I felt enough of the important parts of the games were shown personally, so it doesn't bug me personally. Had a good moral, too.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

Dunno what nation/pony parody nation they're supposed to represent though, but the new mare is cute and the other guy is pretty cool. Kinda wish we would've seen some griffin ruler representation too though.

 

The Mare seems to represent some sort of Asian nation. After playing way too much of Sid Meier's Civilization, I've come to the conclusion that the Stallion is most likely Persian. Maybe Egyptian. 

 

Anyways, this episode was good I guess. They just hyped up the games so much, and it was all for a spike episode.

 

I was expecting the games to be the finale. With all of the princesses in one place, I was just expecting it to be attacked. Also, all of the unicorns in the audience had their magic disabled. The games would have been very vulnerable to an attack.

 

Oh well though, I guess this works too. I still wish it was the season finale though. I would've loved to see more of the Griffons.

[KoolkatThePony 2]

**Did ANYPONY ELSE notice twilight's wing swap?!?**

 

Just noticed after seeing a second time. I've got eyes like a gryphon.  :okiedokielokie: 

[Thespian 78]

**Did ANYPONY ELSE notice twilight's wing swap?!?**

 

Wing Swap....jpg

Just noticed after seeing a second time. I've got eyes like a gryphon.  :okiedokielokie: 

I don't see what you are pointing out.

[mars 4,862]

My only thought as to why his flame is more orange, is because he's little? He's just a 'baby' dragon if you will. Maybe his flame isn't that developed to have a red color to it? Just a thought.

 

I really loved this episode, it's becoming one of my favorites!

His fire is usually green though. Maybe dragons breathe different color fire than others?

[StevieBond 13]

Found it to be quite a funny episode at times, but yes the anthem part was hilarious! 

 

However, the lesson at the end hit me closer to home, since I've gone through that phase during my music creation assignments back at University.

 

Anyways, onwards to the 2-parter season-finale by next week...even though I'll be moving home and will have no internet until it's done. 

[Rainboom Dash 1,055]

One of the season's best in my opinion. My only complaint was that given all the build-up there could've been a lot more focus on the games themselves.

[Batbrony 16,051]

Ah, apologies for the late review everypony!  Ironically enough, I was actually running a 5k this morning, and that's why I missed the episode when it aired.  Even better, I actually placed!  Got third in my age group (men, 19-24) with a time of 23:00.9, and got a medal and everything!!!

 

 

Look, it's so shiny!   

 

Anyways, let's get to this review proper.  I'll try to keep my "Equestria Games" review fairly concise, mostly because there was a lot going on.  So, without further ado, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!! (sorry, couldn't resist  )

 

Since there was so much going on, I think I'll divide my review to cover Spike, then the Mane 6, and then the various subplots and the games themselves.  That sounds good to me.  So to start, let's begin with Spike.  I won't lie that on paper I was disappointed when I saw that Spike was going to star in the episode covering the entire Equestria Games, which the show's been building up to since Season 3, mostly for two reasons: (1) the games were such a big event, and (2) Spike just starred in an episode last week.  Seriously, they did this last season too, they didn't space out Spike's episodes very well.  But no matter, for my disappointment in the premise was wiped away by the episode's execution.  The story direction was phenomenal, to say the least, namely in the attention that the subplots got; there wasn't too much time dwelt on them, but at the same time there didn't need to be, because it felt like they were picking up where the episodes that had set up said subplots had left off.  As such, despite everything that was going on, the episode never felt too jumbled or packed.  Everything got just the right amount of attention that it should have, including Spike.

 

So what did I think of the little guy?  Like last week's episode, I again didn't think he had as good of a starring turn as he did in "Power Ponies" earlier this season, but it was, at least for me, a MASSIVE improvement over how he behaved last week.  First of all, can I just say that it was SO NICE getting to see Spike get quite a bit of recognition for his critical role in saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra.  Pretty much every single Crystal Pony adored him, and Cadance herself was lavishing Spike with 'thank yous'.  It felt, just, right, it felt right, it felt like the little guy was finally getting the credit that he really didn't get in "The Crystal Empire" last season, besides the stained glass window Celestia commissioned with his image.  The honor of having Spike light the Equestria Games torch for his past heroism made a lot of sense, though I did find it kind of ridiculous that they only just told him at the last minute (plot convenience!), and once he started choking up, I was interested to see where this episode was going, because to be honest, until the message was delivered at the end, I kinda didn't.  Maybe it was the many subplots, maybe it was just the way it was executed, but kudos to DHX on surprising me.  Anyways, back to Spike, all of his reactions just felt very in character for him.  Last week, it was like he didn't know that Rarity was losing it, that that wasn't her, and it drove me up the wall.  This week, I got it, I understood why he was doing what he was doing.  He got a bad case of losing his cool in front of an entire stadium of ponies, he loved the attention the Crystal Ponies were giving him, he tried to make up for his earlier failure (that only he knew and the Mane 6 knew about) by trying to deliver a city's anthem (horribly, I might add.  Seriously, I'm a singer, so that hurt to watch  ), he got into a very understandable state of depression after humiliating himself in front of thousands!  I understood all this, because it highlighted two things: (1) Spike's still a baby dragon, so his mood can shift in almost and instant, but (2) he is maturing, or at least developing more mature emotions, in the sense that he decided he had to make up for his failure with the torch even though most ponies didn't know about it.  That belies a complex insecurity that was less subtly presented in "Power Ponies", that being that Spike often worries that he's not needed by the group, that there's really nothing about him himself that makes him special.  The way episode wrapped up, with both Spike just taking charge instinctively because that's what needed to be done, and realizing that sometimes the root of his insecurity in this instance wasn't his inadequacy but rather his own self doubt, was phenomenal!  It also somewhat hit home for me personally.  I've been out of college for about a year now since graduating, and while I've got grad school coming up in the fall, it hasn't been easy, let me tell you.  Living at home, working some temporary minimum wage job, not really doing much in your life, it can get you down, you really start feeling inadequate.  But things like the run this morning, or that episode's message, they reinforce that there are things special about each and every one of us, that we can all achieve remarkable things if we set our minds to it, and sometimes our biggest barriers to doing so can be our own self doubt or insecurities.  And if we ourselves can't figure that out, then sometimes it takes a great bunch of friends and family to remind us just how special we are.  Great lesson, great execution and delivery, and a great turn for Spike to be sure!

 

 

OK, I said he had a great episode, but a statue might be just a bit overkill.

 

Next, I'll cover the Mane 6, which shouldn't take nearly as long.  They all had nice turns for what they did in the episode, I thought.  Twilight most notably had a nice bit with Spike when she both lit the torch for him unbeknownst to everypony else, told him about it, and continued to try and raise his spirits throughout.  This episode probably was the best highlight of their close relationship since "Equestria Girls" (one of the few things I give credit to THAT thing for  ), and showed just how much trust and love there is between those two.  Twilight couldn't stand keeping that knowledge from Spike, but at the same time knew that it was going to devastate him nonetheless.  She did her best, given that she had to serve as a royal ambassador throughout the games, of lifting his spirits, and was extremely sisterly and motherly to him.  It's one of my favorite relationships in the show, and this episode highlighted it quite excellently if I do say so myself.  On top of that, Twilight seems to be becoming quite natural in her role as a princess, despite still not being totally accustomed to it.  It was also nice seeing her with Cadance a bit.  Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had pretty awesome turns themselves.  Flutters didn't speak too much, if at all, which I thought odd, but she played her role great on the team to a T.  Rainbow, as the leader of the Ponyville athletes, was AWESOME!!!  She took charge from the very start, she gave lots of support to her fellow athletes (aside from her bummer realistic speech about the relay team's chances, seriously, what the buck RD???), and seeing her race against Spitfire???  HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!  As for the other three, I was a little disappointed that AJ wasn't competing (seriously, there must've been some event she could've competed in), but they all had nice turns supporting Ponyville from the stands.  Pinkie was especially hilarious as Ponyville's #1 cheerleader, and AJ and Rarity were fine as well, even if they didn't do too much.  All in all, they all had a good episode and turned in a nice ensemble performance.

 

 

Seriously, I LOVE those two!!!

 

Speaking of ensemble performances, let's talk about the subplots.  CMC getting to carry the flag into the stadium (with just a bit of sisterly love and Scootalove mixed in there)?  Check!  Ponyville relay team turning in an awesome performance after qualifying in "Rainbow Falls"?  Check!  The Games in general being awesome?  Check, check, CHECK!!!  Seriously, the Equestria Games were sweet.  I do kinda wish that it had been a two-parter episode, just so we could have seen more of the games, but honestly given everything that happened they paced it spectacularly.  We got a train ride into the Crystal Empire, an opening ceremony, the games themselves, and a closing ceremony, AND IT NEVER FELT RUSHED!!!  Buck me DHX, can you get any better?  Seriously, can you, cause that right there was dang impressive?!  We had sweet moments, dramatic moments, cute moments, painfully funny comedy, and even some awkward moments, it was all there and it didn't feel jammed, not one bit!  Overall, as I said earlier, I just couldn't believe how spectacular the story direction, pacing, and execution were in this ensemble episode.  It was too good, just too good!

 

 

That right there is just one of many impressive shots dotted throughout this episode.

 

Finally, let's cover some miscellaneous elements.  First of all, DERPY!!!  OH MY GOSH, SO MUCH DERPY!!!!  She must be one heck of an athlete if she qualified for Ponyville's team!  She was in the episode SO MUCH in its first 5 minutes, she was adorable (especially in her uniform), and I like to imagine that she won whatever event she was competing in.    This episode gets so much love in my book automatically for that alone, no joke!  It was nice seeing a few cameos from Cadance, Shining Armor, Miss Harshwhinny, the Wonderbolts, etc.  Again, just an all around great ensemble episode that included so many more characters beyond the Mane 6 and yet didn't feel cluttered.  We got quite a few other background pony appearances as well, a nice bit from Lyra, Thunderlane, that pony pretending to be Blossomforth (SHE'S NOT BLOSSOMFORTH!!!  ), a whole bunch of ponies in the stands (that was an impressive bit of animation, there were quite a few shots where you could clearly make out all the fans, they were just one big blur, at least not for a lot of the time).  It was cool also seeing all the princesses together, even if Luna and Celestia didn't speak (which was kind of weird), along with some new and old faces among the other dignitaries (though seriously, Blueblood had a place of honor?  BUCK THAT!).  I was also a little confused by a couple things in the games themselves.  First of all, apparently there's no magical events considering that magic-neutralizing field (which is kind of disappointing, I mean, why wouldn't unicorns have their own magical athletic events?  Also, apparently the princesses themselves had their magic neutralized considering they couldn't do jack squat about that ice cloud at the end, making that barrier EXTREMELY STUPID!!!  I mean seriously, I get having normal unicorns watching the events getting their magic neutralized, but the princesses?  What if the Changelings had attacked or something???  I'm just saying, that's a horrible security risk!).  Second of all, again, there wasn't an event that AJ could've competed in?  Or maybe she just didn't want to.  I don't know, AJ not competing just confused me in general.

 

 

Derpy?

 

 

OH MY GOSH, SO MUCH DERPY!!!  AND SHE'S EVEN GOT A LITTLE UNIFORM!!!!!!!  SQUUUUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

But besides those minor issues, this episode was awesome, a fantastic penultimate episode for the season.  We've just got one adventure left to go on this season everypony, and I'm sure that it's going to be the most wonderful of rides!  Till next time my friends!!! 

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention this earlier, but another thing that really confused me at the end was how Ponyville managed to win the medal count???  Let's review this: Pinkie mentioned at the start of the scene that Ponyville had a one-medal lead in the medal count.  As far as we could tell, there were four finalists in the archery competition.  Two of them were from Cloudsdale (one of whom was the favorite), none of them were from Ponyville.  The best result that could've possibly happened given those circumstances was Ponyville and Cloudsdale tying in the medal count.  The only possible explanation I can possibly come up with is that maybe there were more finalists than we were shown, and that they all somehow beat both Cloudsdale finalists, including the competition favorite, but that's it.  Sorry, just had to mention how confusing I found that scenario to be.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Batbrony

[MrHaru 217]

 

It's interesting seeing how the voting of this came out...because for once I'm in the minority.

 

I'm going to be blunt, this is literally the first UNWATCHABLE episode for me.

 

I sat through Season 1, 2, 3, heck I own Equestria Girls. I'll even excuse the fast pacing of Season 3's finale because of how little episodes they had and time to get it out. But this? The Equestria Games? Hyped (hinted rather) since Season 3 and leading to "Spike has Spike problems"? Really?

 

- Why did it have to revolve around SPIKE of all people? No sooner the 8 minute mark hit I just blinked and said ".....we're gonna focus on this ONE THING here for the entire episode, aren't we?" and when he had that thing happen with Twilight talking to him, I just went all Big Macintosh and said "eeeyup. We sure are. :I"

- How did Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy come out with the 1 medal difference to win the EG if the VERY LAST EVENT with the ice arrows was the dividing point, pointed out by the 4 of the main cast that was sitting and watching?

- If ice arrows can so much as turn an entire cloud into ice by colliding with it, WHY wouldn't the alicorns (or even the event planners) keep that part of the skies clear, or close up the part of the dome with a tarp?

- This is what, the 4th episode revolving around stage fright as a story element?

- Was irritated we got to see ONE event and it was all "ok show's done. Now let's have fireworks".

- Literally could not watch the whole scene with Spike botching up the anthem. I have sat through 3 seasons and every episode on Season 4 no problem (including Equestria Girls) but this I couldn't stomach having eye contact with the screen.

As a big event hyped up for awhile I'm actually quite disappointed with the episode as a whole. For myself it's the bottom of the barrel as far as the entire show goes. 3/10 for me. 

 

[rjrgmc28 130]

♫ We want to share the centuries gone. A golden age will reign. Where the spirit of competition, burns so bright, in the eternal flame.... ♫

I never, ever felt so excited and yet anxious for a new episode in my years in the fandom. What I saw last night however was an episode that exceeded my expectations.

"Spike overcame his fears and yet again, he shone! An outstanding episode!"

While I didn't pay much attention to the writing quality or story, this episode brought back a lot of memories of not only my Paralympic torch relay experience but also those magical 16 days in Sydney 14 years ago.

I knew Spike was going to have some nerves and anxiety when he tried to light the cauldron and that reflected my experience when I had the torch go out on me twice in front of thousands of people at the Moss Vale Showgrounds when I tried to light it to begin my relay run. So I knew how he felt, minus the large crowd number.

The Aerial Relay gold medal race was another part of the episode that I really got into despite the BronyState stream deciding to crash at a crucial part of the episode. The race itself lived up to it's name with tension at every corner and the lead changing many times.

While Team Ponyville tried their best and came out with the silver medal, I had thoughts running through my mind about whether the local media would do what the Australian media does where if you fail to win gold. I won't mention what I thought about here, but I had genuine feelings that they were going to bag out Dash and the team for not coming up with the goods and pushing her to the edge of tears.

But in the end, it was a hoof bump between Dash and Spitfire and they accepted their medals, despite Spike's bad singing of the Cloudsdale anthem. Personally, I would have preferred if they played the Hymn de l'Avenir, aka the Paralympic anthem, but we instead got Spike trying his best to make up for the cauldron lighting mess.

"In the words of the late Juan Antonio Samaranch, the Crystal Empire has put on the best Equestria Games ever!"

In the end, was the Equestria Games worth it? Yes it was.

For many people like myself, the episode brought back some memories and for the show to cover an event like this was no easy challenge in it's self.

The only complaint that I have about the episode is, well I'll let my tweet sum it up:

"Oops! Almost forgot. One last bit to share. Don't forget the Equestria Paralympic Games comes after the Equestria Games."

While I enjoyed the episode, I was a bit disappointed that they didn't show many ponies in the Paralympic arena.

I know I am going to cop a lot of heat for this, but there is much more to the Equestria Games than the able bodied competition and it's Paralympic counterpart, even if it would be in the form of a animated short on it's own or even an episode of it's very own would have been a great addition as a nod to the Paralympic movement.

I also have written my full thoughts on the episode itself on my blog, which can be viewed here.

[Nature's Spell 526]

**Did ANYPONY ELSE notice twilight's wing swap?!?**

 

Wing Swap....jpg

Just noticed after seeing a second time. I've got eyes like a gryphon. :okiedokielokie:

Yes! I couldn't believe the artists could mess up something so easy like her wings. Really? Over all I thought it was a good episode and I'm psyched for next weeks!

[InkyJay 21]

At least this wasn't the season finale (unlike The Best Night Ever). No, that's supposedly going to be about a Tirek/Sombra-like bad@$$ who may actually worf bucking DISCORD!!!

 

 

Yeah, I suppose it would've been boring as part of a finale. At the very most, if it was a finale, it would probably be a case of someone stirring bad blood between the towns in order to gain an opportunity to steal the Crystal Heart.

[Rocky 68]

From what I've been seeing as far as feedback, I'm thinking that if you're a Spike fan, you'll really enjoy this episode.

 

If not, I'm not sure. Spike probably got a tad too much focus and more focus probably should have gotten more focus if you're gonna build them up as much as you did. If anything, you can play "Where's Waldo?" and pick out all of the background ponies! That's something, right?

 

In other words, I'm assuming most people who disliked this episode are Spike haters. I saw them last week and I'm seeing them here. And that's fine. To each their own.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Rocky

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

**Did ANYPONY ELSE notice twilight's wing swap?!?**

 

Wing Swap....jpg

Just noticed after seeing a second time. I've got eyes like a gryphon.  :okiedokielokie: 

There's been several other episodes of Season 4 where Twilight is flying and the animation on her wings is off, I think the episodes include "Three's a Crowd", and "Filli Vanili".

[crazitaco 596]

My only thought as to why his flame is more orange, is because he's little? He's just a 'baby' dragon if you will. Maybe his flame isn't that developed to have a red color to it? Just a thought.

 

I really loved this episode, it's becoming one of my favorites!

Well, the color that a flame has depends on the heat intensity and what chemicals are burning.

His fire his normally green, but when he melted the frozen cloud, it was orange. I assume that it was orange because the fire had to be spread over a much wider area than usual, and therefore the flame itself was less intense.

There's been several other episodes of Season 4 where Twilight is flying and the animation on her wings is off, I think the episodes include "Three's a Crowd", and "Filli Vanili".

Oh yeah, i saw it too.

I always thought Twilight's wings should've looked like that anyway.

Her current wings look to big on her.

[baba_booey 4,302]

Best Spike episode evar.

Also, Spike for best singer eva.

[PinkieAlliPie 421]

It was an awesome episode. Im not much of a Spike fan, but this was totally a win for him. Plus the cloudsdale anthem was hilarious The only downside is that I wished that it may be a little more focused on the actual games as well. We dont know much about the games and I was curious about that. Still a cool eppy.

[Pineapple Bloom 511]

It was a great episode! Not one of my very very favorites, but it was really fun to watch and had a good moral.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Okay, this is weird, because I usually don't like Spike episodes, and I particularly don't like Spike being mopey and unsure of himself, which he was throughout the entire episode. 

 

But this one I actually really liked! 

There's a lot of extra little details that I enjoyed (but Rarity going through special security because she's a unicorn, though...  Racial profiling is canon, I guess?) and I liked all the callbacks and whatnot to previous episodes. 

 

But most of all I'm surprised at how much I actually liked Spike in this episode.  Again, I usually hate mopey spike, but in this case, you really got to be in his shoes and empathize with his situation.  I've always said that relatability is overrated, except in the case of relatable emotional situations...  and of course having that kind of epic fail in front of a large crowd is certainly relatable.  Overall an enjoyable episode, in spite of it totally fitting the description of an episode that I wouldn't enjoy at all. 

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

I gotta say they did pretty good on this one. Not perfect, but good.

 

The moral especially resonates with me and probably should with many in this fandom. Self-esteem issues seem to be a more commonplace thing than anyone would like to acknowledge, and I think this is one of the best uses of the self-esteem moral that this show has ever done. Given Spike's position in the show, he was just the perfect character for it, right when he needed it.

 

The episode itself had a great atmosphere and definitely some of the best dialogue I've heard all season, even little things like the reference to a "disabling spell" was a nice addition, especially considering that it was brought up during the emergency with the falling cloud. We definitely would have been asking questions about this sort of thing had it not been written into the episode.

 

With that, there are only minor things I find fault with here. Getting the easiest one out of the way, the whole gag of Spike thinking he can set fires with his mind was pretty freakin' dumb and could have been done without, though I did like Spike's absolutely hilarious mangling of the Cloudsdale anthem. That Spike moment was made funny by not only the reactions to it but also Spike's hilariously sarcastic-sounding lyrics, and it was justified because of Spike's emotions at the moment, especially after being told off by Harshwhinny.

 

I can also see the problems with the hype backlash, considering that this episode was built up for more than an entire YEAR, probably longer and stronger than any other arc in this show. While the atmosphere created for the episode was great given standards, I think it would have been incredible if not only had it been done for multiple episodes, but also focusing on many different storylines, just like the buildup episodes did, to reflect the hundreds of diverse storylines that would surround a gigantic event like the Olympics. The buildup episodes actually had more payoff within themselves than the actual "payoff" episode did, especially considering the duds that were "Games Ponies Play" and "Rainbow Falls".

 

Now that we're finally done with the regular episodes, I'll start working on some material so I could rank the best and worst of the season. It's time to roll on to the finale, the only thing I could say is that dis gon b gud!

[Grumpy Enchantress 586]

This episode would have been alright, but that anthem singing scene was so cringeworthy and uncomfortable to sit through and it basically ruined the whole episode for me. What were they thinking? This isn't just me being a cynical ass like I usually am when I say something made me cringe, this was supposed to be cringeworthy and full of second hand embarrassment, that was intentional and they didn't do anything to make it funny or to at the very least not make the viewer cringe. It was literally painful to watch. What were they thinking? 

 

The rest was pretty good, though. I liked the development with Spike.   I wish there was more Spikeabuse that didn't make you feel for him and that wasn't painful to watch, though. I like him being the Meg of the show, but I don't want to sit there and watch him suffer in non-comedic ways like that. I ain't a sadist. 

[Radiance64 7,053]

Hm, watching the episode again, I liked it a little more, so I bumped up my vote to loved it, woot. I wouldn't say the episode entirely makes up for all the buttmonkey roles Spike has been relegated to most of the season, but it's a damn fine attempt at it and hopefully a good sign of things to come.

 

Oh God please let it be a good sign of things to come, the treatment of Spike was season 4's biggest flaw imo and I really hope that he's going to be written this well in seasons to come.

 

Also, I know Spike loves it in Ponyville, but life would probably be greater for him if he moved to the Crystal Empire... just sayin'. Maybe at the end of the series or something, I dunno.

[Thebronydog 19]

What happened to Rarity's eyes at like 8:50. They go all derpy

;

Her eyes go all derpy again at 9:02. What is happening to you Rarity. 

[pony.colin 156]

My Luna, a good Spike episode? Lies and slander – but no seriously “Equestria Games”, this is actually probably one of the few Spike episodes which I can say I actually enjoyed. That, or my standards have been proportionally low for the poor dragon to make it up before the season finale. However, this still was a relatively good episode, better than most Spike episodes.

 

I'll admit, the Olympic games never interested me much. I didn't even really watch the 2014 Sochi Olympics this year. So I was actually surprised at how much the 'Equestria Games' actually became the important backdrop rather than the main plot for this episode. I've said it a couple of times previously that I've been disappointed with how Spike has been written for this season. Perhaps it's because I expected better from him or to stop being the butt end of a joke or the buffoon that caused the major conflict.

 

Now I have to say this episode is put together nicely to me because it has a nice feel between focusing on the internal conflict of our dragon boy and still providing some interesting world building elements along with other things.

 

Now Spike getting anxiety for lighting the torch actually feels plausible and reasonable without being far-fetched. And this episode isn't purely focused just on him either. It's nice to see the lad actually finally get some respect being in the crystal empire; oddly enough I wasn't expecting it for some odd reason. But heck, he really did deserve some recognition for his actions with the Crystal Empire previously (statue was hamming it up, but not that over the top). We also get a fair amount of interaction between the CMC and Spike, it's nice that we have good callbacks to previous episodes (Flight to the Finish)

 

To have Twilight actually intervene on the behalf of Spike for lighting the torch AND actually tell him the truth, that felt well played to me. I was almost thinking that the point of the episode was going to be about keeping this secret from him (and that would have been annoying to me). The fact that it wasn't was great. Spike's self-confidence got deflated from the get go and he became disappointed in himself.

 

Spike's singing was absolutely cringe-worthy – that horrible cringe-worthy type where I feel so uneasy watching because I know this is a train-wreck that's about to happen. I would've been that pony covering their eyes, wanting it to just end. That was fantastic, Spike has something to prove, his pride and his standards. And when he messes horribly at the anthem singing, that just completely shoots his self-esteem. I don't think I could even bear to handle the aftermath of that disaster. It's also good to see the CMC try to get Spike to come back to see the rest of the games; it's good to know they actually cared enough to try (not exactly a strong attempt to convince him, but at least a reasonable attempt).

 

The other half is with Twilight's behaviour – it was excellent. I honestly view these two acting in a caring sibling relationship, given their history. And I would say it shows with genuine care.

 

 

Now Spike saving the day? Twice in the Crystal Empire (okay more like a section of the crowd, but still, very heroic). Spike actually pulls this off smooth and suave. Where was this quick thinking, fast action Spike in the previous episodes? Heck in most of the previous seasons as well? This was good of Spike. Yet he comes to say this was okay, “I guess.” What now your being humble? What more do you want Spike? (and self-realization, oh yeah, it's because he still feels like he failed his own standard and has low self-esteem at this point). And he wraps himself up to do a proper send off for closing the games. Well played dragon boy, well played.

 

• Other stuff:

• A unicorn disabling spell? Legit – wow that's pretty interesting. So there has been a previous history of cheating at the Equestria games, caused by Unicorns? I strangely loved this for no apparent reason other than interesting world building tidbit. Now I wonder, did Celestia and Luna have to go through this as well? If so, it might have taken their voices as well (seriously, they didn't say a word at all this episode speechless royalty, they were like total eye-candy today, Cadance did a better job today than them). (Oh wait, just realized, Twilight lit the torch – so probably the princesses are likely not forced to have their magic disabled)

• Great CMC interaction

• Nice roundabout of re-occurring characters.

• Good job on Spike overall – this was a good episode.

 

Nice snack before the finale. Hope Season 4 ends on a good note.