S04:E24 - Equestria Games

[Morning Glory 177]

I enjoyed this episode a lot c: 

 

We got to see many ponys all together in one place, and I, for one, find that really cool

 

Also, derpy Rarity during this episode anyone? 

 

[twiia 1,842]

Well, it was a bit cringeworthy, I can't stand to watch Spike's stage fright. Its an okay episode though.

[Manard 7]

I feel like this episode probably spawned a great number of fanfics.

Not bad, though.

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

spike tries too hard to be a daredevil, but only turns out to be a dumb wimp

[Amethyst Splash 86]

This episode was good enough but CLOUDSDALE DOSENT HAVE TREES!!!!!!!!! Well maybe if you bring some.

[cmarston1 5,959]

Despite the cringe inducing Anthem, I really liked this episode.

The moral that Spike learned this episode is one of my all time favorites to come out of this series.

[Sonic5421 423]

I think this episode was one of the most cringe-inducing episodes I've seen, plus there was a ton of plot holes in it just so Spike could learn a valuable lesson in self-confidence.

 

However, for anyone who thought that the Princesses did jack squat when it came to the ice cloud, I've proven that when Rainbow, Fluttershy, Bulk, and the other Pegasus ponies fly up to the ice cloud, that last few frames catch Celestia and Luna flying up to it as well, possibly to supervise, especially considering if and only if their magic had been disabled as well since you have to consider that even if they could straight-up melt the ice cloud themselves or blast it apart, with Rainbow, Fluttershy, and all those Pegasus ponies there, the Royal Sisters had to consider the chance of collateral damage if they tried to deal with the cloud themselves. Melting it would soak everyone in the vicinity, themselves included, so they would be unable to keep flying, and blasting it apart would just make things worse because of the smaller shrapnel that would be created as a result, so there was not much Celestia and Luna could do at that point once they joined Rainbow, Fluttershy, and the Pegasus ponies. All they could do was supervise until Spike stepped in to deal with it himself. And that does consider how we don't see Celestia and Luna again until we see them back on the ground with Cadance as she thanks Spike for his heroism. We never see them fly clear of the cloud when Spike tells them to move and regroup with Cadance back on the ground either.

 

Plus, it is clear that Nicole Oliver and Tabitha St. Germain, Celestia and Luna's voice actors respectively, did not record any dialogue for the Royal Sisters this episode as they were not credited with voicing them in the closing credits, and when the Royal Sisters say "You guess?!" with the Mane Six and Cadance, it is clear they designed that scene to make it look like the Mane Six and Cadance drowned Celestia and Luna out to cover up the truth that Nicole and Tabitha took this episode off from voicing the Royal Sisters.

 

I don't think I'll be watching this episode again on TV anytime soon, and as for my rating, I give it a 5/10. Sorry, but for me, this episode sucked big time.

[Thrond 3,262]

A shame about the pacing of some scenes, but I actually rather like this episode. Spike's struggles with self-confidence are something I found very sympathetic, and even over-extended scenes like singing the national anthem were points were I could really empathise with what Spike was feeling. It's got deep themes and, in a rarity for this season, expands organically on a character and actually feels like it pushes them forward. It was around season 4 that I began to really like Spike episodes, because they always seemed to deliver the character depth and development I always considered this show's strong point, and even if the episode trades way too much on cringe comedy - seriously, the scenes of Spike embarrassing himself really are too long - this is an episode that not only makes me feel things, but also makes me feel like the show is moving forward. The games never really mattered, but what we got here is one of the few things which really does this season. 

 

I'm also really happy with the characterization here, particularly of Rainbow Dash. After the shaky quality of "Rainbow Falls," it's good to see her demonstrating all of that character development we're used to. I'm a little less fond of Twilight being the moral delivery system, as this season's attempts to make Twi seem perfect make her a lot less interesting, but I do like her apparent discomfort with actually being a princess, and wish this went somewhere a lot more interesting than I remember it going in the finale. Will have to see how that one holds up for me.

 

Re-watching season 4 has been a lot better than I thought it would be. It's a lot more fun and moving than I remembered, and while I've found myself liking some episodes a fair bit less, this re-watch was where one or two others finally clicked with me. I can see why I found the season tiringly familiar at the time, but I also forget that I was mostly having fun even when I started feeling like the show wasn't moving forward. Perhaps it's that disappointment combined with how much less fun I had with the much more ambitious season 5 that tainted season 4 so much for me. In retrospect, it doesn't even seem that bad. 

[Tropical Melody 5,945]

This amazing scene of the 'royal box' reaction to Spike trying to light the flame and failing. It's only on screen for literally a couple of seconds which is a shame cos it's a fantastic picture with lots of detail. Somebody has spent not inconsiderable time figuring it out and drawing it. I pulled off a full-screen sized still of it just so I can look at it at leisure. Love the ponies in the front row, speshly the magnificent guy on the end left, with the blonde Mohican, and her with the enormous fan-shaped headress.

 

 

 

 

Whatever its shortcomings may be I do like this episode and have seen it a few times now, also it was one of the first MLP episodes I saw very early on, out of sequence, and so is also one of those that made me want to watch more MLP - so it must be doing something right. If only for that reason, it's still in my list of favourites.

 

 

[Larrydog 320]

I like this episode quite a lot and I can relate with the message of being happy with yourself with how hard you try with something since that is something I'm still trying to learn.and also I think the cringe comedy was done well in this episode when I don't think it is normally on any show.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

This Episode was okay enough, it was entertaining but it was also weird. So Spike had fear, by presenting a flame in front of many Ponys, so instead, he trys to do something as equally frightening to him, by presenting something in front of all the Ponys again? Why did he think, that it would be better this time? I thought he was afraid? And watching him sing a wrong Song, was just embarrassing.

[Thrond 3,262]

Is Equestria a country or not? It's confusing that individual cities have their own anthems. 

Anyway, I think this takes a lot of big risks which people don't give enough credit. It'd be more effective if Spike didn't essentially bring the singing upon himself, but even for that, I can see how the bravado brought on by the Crystal Empire's adoration and his friends' awesomeness would effect him. I mean, Twilight serves as an adult role model for him, so it'd be weirder if he didn't have overly high expectations of himself. You see Twilight as a princess, Rainbow and Fluttershy competing in the Equestria Games, and the others having saved the world way more times than he has, and you can see why he'd have an inferiority complex. But what he doesn't understand is that life isn't about being the best. It's just about doing the best you can, being able to move on and learn from your mistakes, and taking pride in your own accomplishments. That's what the cold open is about: Rainbow has already learned many times to try her best and accept what comes. So rarely is this show willing to sit through an extended scene of awkwardness not as a joke, but just to help its audience understand the characters' emotions. If I were to pick out an example of this show at its most mature and sophisticated, this would be a contender. This episode is great. 

And it's filled with all sorts of nice little visual details. All the shots back to the throne section are terrific: Twilight being awkward about sitting up there, Cadance waving at her, Luna's reactions to everything, etc., and there's all sorts of fun little moments from background ponies as well. Wing push ups! Nervous audience members! Even the crystal archery is cool, and seeing the determination of the competitors just hammers in the main themes. They know to roll with the punches, and that's what Spike needs to understand here. 

Score:
Entertainment: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Themes: 10/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 83/100

Oh, and as with "Trade Ya!," I like how well this leads into the themes of the finale. What Twilight learns there - that she can be a good princess just by being herself - complements what Spike learns here rather nicely. 

[bigbertha 414]

This is one of the best Spike episodes. His journey is relatable and very engaging. The moral is mature and the episode is really funny, especially the Cloudsdale Anthem. 

Score: 9/10

[Meushell 52]

This one is harder to judge because the games were set up through multiple episodes, but then we didn’t get to see them. I suppose that might have been boring. I don’t know.

I liked the Spike plot, except for his belief that he could suddenly make fire with his mind. Even in a world of magic, that made no sense, especially the way bragged about it.

Overall, it was a good episode. I enjoyed everything I saw with the games though, and I wanted to see more.

[qwerE 96]

I didn't really like this episode. The plots felt unnatural, probably because of the pacing. And for the Spike's singing, did the show writers have to make us listen to the whole song? I get the point, but a quick skip after ten seconds or so would have made it much less cringeworthy. The ending was much better, though.

[bigbertha 414]

This is a pretty good episode, but there is one big problem. The episode feels unfocused since it keeps cutting between stuff from the games and Spike's conflict. Every time the games interrupts Spike's conflict, the dramatic tension is lost. It's like the episode doesn't want to disappoint people by not showing that much of games, but showing less of the games would've been forgiven (at least by me) since it would've resulted in a more focused and entertaining episode. On top of that, the scene with Spike thinking he can light things on fire with his mind is not only filler, but is tonally inconsistent with the rest of his conflict and also contributes to the loss of dramatic tension.

But when the episode does give time to Spike, it can be great. Spike is very relatable here and the lesson her learns is a really good one. And the games do look interesting from what we see even if we don't see enough to really care about it. 

Score: 7/10

[Rushing cash 836]

I liked this episode, spikes humiliation when he tried to sing the anthem was the most memorable part, I found it slightly cringy(but in a good kind of way) but hilarious, spike kind of deserved it in my opinion, at least pinkie loved his performance.  7\10  

[Misty Shadow 7,798]

I always really liked this episode, the hate it got when it first came out is easily one of the best examples of reviewer hate bandwagoning based on emotions and not legitimate, objective assessment of the episode. Pardon me, some people would actually rather watch Spike go through a complex character conflict and grow from it than watch "sports". 

[North Star 5,064]

Wasn't a fan of this ep at the time, but enjoyed the re-watch. The Cloudsdale anthem was difficult to watch. Great message about self-forgiveness which I had completely forgotten having written off the ep.

I also liked Cadance and Twi in this ep - great caretakers to Spike :3

[Astralshy 26,282]

It's a good episode and I think the morale is a really important one. I want to emphasis this, because self forgiveness is something many people have problems with, this includes me.

This episode had also some fun moments, but majorly I remember from this one the sad feeling I had for Spike. It was kinda hard to watch when he tried to sing the anthem .. But this is the only negative point I have. Especially when I consider this is the finale episode of a plot line which is there since season 3.

Despite of this I think it's a good episode for spike. He has issues and overcomes them. This is the only thing which matters

[Hadrien 949]

So Spike get stage fright, screws his big moment, and then tries his hardest to overcome feeling bad about himself. He tries a lot of things, and even saves a bunch of ponies by acting like he normally would, but even when everyone cheers for him, he can get himself to feel good about it because it's his default. In the end, he lets go of his disappointement in himself and soar to new heights.

I can relate a lot to my little buddy, being often dissapointed in myself for the most trivial of perceived weaknesses or flaws, only to have to be reminded by those around me that I am indeed worth something and have qualities and strengths that no one else have. In the end, we all need to learn to be a bit more lenient with ourselves, and to let go of things that are bothering us about us, to be able to fully understand how uniquely awesome we are.

This is a good episode, if a bit cringe at times, but the moral and value it adds to the watching of the show is fully worth it. Spike growth here is a great foreshadowing of the things he'll be able to accomplish later.

6.5+0.5/10, okay episode, bonus point for the moral.

[Antiyonder 826]

YouTube upload of the episode: