S08E24: Father Knows Beast

[Wayoshi]

When a strange dragon crash lands in Ponyville claiming to be Spike's father, Spike is ready to do anything his 'dad' says in order to learn how to be a 'real' dragon.

This thread is for discussion of the episode. This episode airs at 8:25am AEST on Sunday, September 2 / 6:25pm US EDT on Saturday, September 1 on Boomerang in Australia!

Speculation about the episode is OK to post. Spoilers from other non-English releases are NOT OK to post.

[The Doctor]

Even if it's a short aside, I hope we find out how Celestia got Spike's egg in this episode.

[PonyHag714]

It was pretty good. Sludge was a slob and a phony, but his song was good. I am suprised the others didn't get suspicious of him sooner, but maybe they didn't want to hurt Spike's feelings.

Props go to Smoulder for backing Spike up.

[The Doctor]

An OK episode. Smolder saved the episode with some great interactions with Spike. The Sludge stuff, indlucing the song, were just meh.

I'm also let down that in an episode that touched on Spike's past, we end up learning absolutely nothing about it.

Twilight was a complete jerk for letting Spike faceplant during his training session instead of stopping him.

[Adiwan]

An disappointing episode through and through. It was nice to see the relationship between Twilight and Spike but the whole deal around Sludge was just disappointing. Even a teaser of a dragon in the background showing the potential parents could have saved this.
I get the impression that Spike has the same thing as Rey in Star Wars. I mean the message that the parent origin story doesn't matter for who they are now.
Just frustrating to watch.

[Applepie2017]

I also think it was pretty good.

[Captain Rufus]

I quite liked it. The song was quite 50-60s Disney and I almost figured Sludge (which is a name of a Transformer Dinobot who turns into a Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus or whatever that’s called this week.) was out to do bad from the start which was kind of sad but sad Twilight was more sad.

[Erythema]

I couldn't help but think that Sludge missed a real opportunity. Spike might be a dragon like any other and yet he couldn't be more different. What sets him apart are his connections to royalty: to Princess Twilight and the Mane 6, Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire, Princess Ember of the Dragons to King Thorax of the Changelings. The there are the more indirect ones such as Princess Twilight's connection to Equestria's royal sisters and Pinkie Pie's relations with Prince Rutherford of the Yaks.

Had Sludge played his cards right, he would have lied about being his father but realize that he's going to have to mindful about what he takes an what he gives. His biggest blunder was trying to mooch off of everyone. Had his relationship with Spike and his friends been reciprocal, he would have gotten away with it for much longer. Of course, he probably won't keep the lie forever so he will need a plan to come out with the truth eventually. If he proved himself to be a worthy father to Spike and a worthy friend to all who care about him, it would be possible that they'd be willing to overlook this deception if it meant normalizing relations. The idea would be that even if Spike never had a father the entire time, at least he made a good friend. It's a risky gamble but the potential payoff is pretty good.

[Fizzbuzz]

An disappointing episode through and through. It was nice to see the relationship between Twilight and Spike but the whole deal around Sludge was just disappointing. Even a teaser of a dragon in the background showing the potential parents could have saved this.

The episode's story was definitely bittersweet, but I wouldn't call the episode itself a disappointment for it. The lesson that you need not put up with assholes even if they are related (or claim relation) to you is a valuable one and is a lesson that often has to be learned the hard way. If this episode can teach that without as painful of a blow as being let down by your own family, it's a good one in my book.

[SlateSlabrock]

Pretty decent episode. Smolder and Spike work really well together in pretty much any episode, and this was no exception. Sludge's grift was pretty obvious from the start, but he did play it cool long enough to ingratiate himself with Spike. Calling Sludge's bluff was also a genuine moment.

If there's one thing I'd punch up, it's the confrontation between Spike/Smolder and Sludge. Smolder knows what real dragons are like, and she could've argued a bit more strongly about that with him than just "Uh-huh"/"Nuh-uh"/"Fine, I'm leaving and I'm not your real dad."

Also, this would've been another bingo square for me:


By the way, I wonder if Twilight was going to suggest to the others using the map to find Spike's real parents/his mother/this mysterious land Sludge claims to have visited. Would be nice if they did actually follow up on that next season, before they run out of time.

[PonyHag714]

I hated how Sludge used Spike and played on his feelings.

But as I mentioned above, I'm glad Smoulder stood up for Spike.

[Fizzbuzz]

It occurred to me earlier that this is the first time we've heard Klugetown's name mentioned. (Not once was it named by any of the characters in the movie, though the credits revealed the name.) I wonder if that name took a while to clear Hasbro's legal process for making sure the name could be trademarked.

[SigmasonicX]

The episode's story was definitely bittersweet, but I wouldn't call the episode itself a disappointment for it. The lesson that you need not put up with assholes even if they are related (or claim relation) to you is a valuable one and is a lesson that often has to be learned the hard way. If this episode can teach that without as painful of a blow as being let down by your own family, it's a good one in my book.

I appreciated that Spike stood up to Sludge before he learned he wasn't his real dad.

I liked the episode well enough while watching, but it'll take a rewatch to really hammer down how I feel about it.

[Fizzbuzz]

I wonder now if the joke about Sludge being "naked" was something that was originally in the script, or if it's something that effectively had to be added in once the episode reached the storyboard/animatic stage. Like if it felt more unnatural for Twilight Sparkle to not react that way when Sludge rolled out of bed, maybe? Either way, for a show where the joke way back in S1 was that the characters don't normally wear clothes, it's an interesting look at how the situation has evolved.

[Mechanical Ape]

If this is a teamup between Twilight’s dad and X-Men’s Beast, well, let’s just say I’ve read worse fanfics.

• Oh that’s right, Spike can fly now!
• Twilight and Spike having a scene together, outdoors, Twilight being nurturing and mom-like ... I know it’s cliche to say “it feels like S1” but seriously, how long’s it been since we’ve seen this? No royal duties, no map quests, just Twilight and Spike doing their thing as themselves.
• Of course then Smolder has to barge in and spoil the vibe.
• Sludge is the Kehaar of our pony gang, except unhelpful and lazy and an obvious scam artist.
• OH MY GOSH THIS IS LIKE THAT FRESH PRINCE WHERE WILL’S DAD COMES BACK. This raises the crucial question of which pony is Carlton.
• Sludge’s story is pretty awesome, pity it’s like a 99% chance of being made up.
• SONG
• Ha ha, bathing Starlight cameo.
• Sludge is a neat character with a cool design and I wish he actually was a good guy.
• Aw, the heartbreak.
• I dunno Smolder, that napping dragon from Dragonshy seemed pretty lazy to me. Although maybe he was an excellent parent, who knows, it’s possible.
• #NotAllDragons
• Awwww, momhug