The Round Stable

Now that the show has ended, what do you think of Spike? Have you become a fan in the last few seasons, when he finally got some good episodes?

I never disliked Spike, but while he was a good supporting character, his focus episodes tended to be pretty bad. Things improved in that regard later, but often Spike episodes were good because of characters other than Spike (most notably "Triple Threat").

I wasn't super crazy about Spike when I first saw the show, but he quickly grew on me. I was pleased when he got his time to shine in "The Crystal Empire" and his own stained glass window. And as a Thorax fan, I appreciated how Spike befriended and helped him.

If I didn't like him for any other reason, I think I would because his voice actor, Cathy Weseluck, is one of the nicest people around.

SigmasonicX wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 1:42 am

I never disliked Spike, but while he was a good supporting character, his focus episodes tended to be pretty bad. Things improved in that regard later, but often Spike episodes were good because of characters other than Spike (most notably "Triple Threat").

Which other Spike episodes were good because of characters other than him?

As said, Spike tended to be more enjoyable as a supporting character, almost serving as an audience surrogate and straight man, but his early episodes tended to have him be the source of the episode's problem...which wasn't always bad but sometimes it made for inconsistent characterization. Honestly I never minded Spike episodes as much as other people, but stuff like Inspiration Manifestation in later seasons was definitely better than stuff like Spike at Your Service. I also like that they showed Spike hanging out with Big Mac and generally implied that he had a life and his own circle of friends when he wasn't hanging around Twilight or the Mane 6. I can actually give or take him growing wings, honestly would have liked him to be a distinct wingless dragon species.

My biggest problem was that it was clear from the first season, (and confirmed in old Lauren Faust comments) that Twilight's test where she hatched him was a special test arranged by Celestia to test her for latent 'Chosen One' status magic powers. We don't see any other students with dragon familiars right? So where did Celestia find him and what was his relation to Twilight's unique destiny? I don't feel like we needed to see Spike's biological parents as much as we needed to see some follow up on how he came into Celestia's possession. We never even had Celestia explain where she found him in any capacity in any media whatsoever and it ties in with my frustration with how the show seemed to ignore some of the most interesting lore bits set up in season 1.

Ransom wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 5:03 pm

Honestly my biggest problem was that it was clear from the first season, (and confirmed in old Lauren Faust comments) that Twilight's test where she hatched him was a special test arranged by Celestia to test her for latent 'Chosen One' status magic powers. We don't see any other students with dragon familiars right? So where did Celestia find him and what was his relation to Twilight's unique destiny? I don't feel like we needed to see Spike's biological parents as much as we needed to see some follow up on how he came into Celestia's possession. We never even had Celestia explain where she found him in any capacity in any media whatsoever and it ties in with my frustration with how the show seemed to ignore some of the most interesting lore bits set up in season 1.

In a way, I appreciate the show leaving this a mystery. Father Knows Beast made it clear that the show's crew did not forget the question of Spike's origins, but felt a bittersweet story about him being glad for the family he grew up with would be better than revealing his birth parentage and the means by which Celestia obtained his egg. On that last point it felt like a reminder that even as the show's end approached, that Equestria still has mysteries to uncover and adventures to go on. Being glad for that might be me caring too much about the fandom and its creative output based on the show, though.

Fizzbuzz wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 7:00 pm

In a way, I appreciate the show leaving this a mystery. Father Knows Beast made it clear that the show's crew did not forget the question of Spike's origins, but felt a bittersweet story about him being glad for the family he grew up with would be better than revealing his birth parentage and the means by which Celestia obtained his egg. On that last point it felt like a reminder that even as the show's end approached, that Equestria still has mysteries to uncover and adventures to go on. Being glad for that might be me caring too much about the fandom and its creative output based on the show, though.

I understand that perspective, I simply can't reconcile the implication that despite Spike clearly wondering about his origins, apparently no one ever asked Celestia where she got his egg. That and the connection between Spike's hatching being uniquely tied to Twilight getting her cutie mark and Celestia recognizing her as the student who could bring balance to the force free Nightmare Moon and succeed the throne was clearly something set up (to me anyway) and could have been a very interesting story to explore.

I suppose it says something about me that this Spike discussion is circling around to my disappointment in the lack of Celestia exploring lore stories

Did Spike get any good episodes?

CastletonSnob wrote: ↑

Tue May 18, 2021 4:53 pm

Did Spike get any good episodes?

Gauntlet of Fire and Inspiration Manifestation are probably the best IMHO.
Not sure if Dungeons and Discords counts exactly but I'd put it up there.

Any besides that?

CastletonSnob wrote: ↑

Fri May 21, 2021 2:56 pm

Any besides that?

I don’t know, what do you think?

I don't know. I'm asking you.

CastletonSnob wrote: ↑

Sat May 29, 2021 3:16 pm

I don't know. I'm asking you.

You're allowed to form your own opinions on the show, its characters, individual episodes, etc. In fact, I typically recommend that people do this, and rarely (basically only with Over A Barrel and Brotherhooves Social) give a blanket warning about an episode being bad or problematic. Beyond that, what's "bad" is highly individual.