Some Thoughts on S5E10 "Princess Spike" · 5:14pm Jun 20th, 2015
On the one hoof, I did not like that the episode showed Spike being immature and creating a near-disaster with his folly. It was painful to watch. On the other hoof, it is quite plausible that Spike, who is now in a position where he is very likely in future to be a representative of powerful Ponies, would face this temptation, and fail the first time that he was exposed to it. This is very much a lesson which he needed to learn. It could have been worse ... at least he didn't screw up like this in front of RARITY.
We need to be aware that Spike, right now, is still young. Not a baby, maybe more than a child, but not an adult. And adults, in Spike's position, can and do get drunk with borrowed power. Read any account of any late 20th-century to early 21st century US Presidential Administration, and pay attention to the sorts of things the President's subordinates have been known to do.
I find what happened perfectly plausible. I just hope that we get to see Spike being heroic this season, too. I think we will -- I've noticed the direction the show's been taking with his character especially since Season Four.
Audience Reaction, which story I've attached to this blog post, is interesting in this regard as it shows a mature Spike, being a much more effective assistant -- to Rarity. In more than one way.
One other interesting point -- we now know that Celestia holds high medieval-style Parliaments. Because that is basically what that conference was -- she invited high-ranking delegates from all her lands to come and speak about their concerns. She may also have a more regular Parliament, but this looks to me very much like the intermittent parliaments monarchs would summon to grant or ask for special rights or grants of resources.
In the Shadow Wars Storyverse, of course, Luna's gotten the prototypes for many of the weapons and equipment for her New Model Guard -- repeating firearms, long-range rifled breech-loading artillery, heavier-than-air aircraft, etc. -- constructed, and . she needs money to push them into mass production; Celestia needs to arrange the construction of new training facilities to allow the rapid expansion of the Guard in an emergency. The preparations are now being made that will bear fruit in the Great Changeling War 8-10 years from now.
Which is a very good thing. For Chrysalis is already breeding new Warrior subcastes of terrible power, and Infiltrator subcastes of remarkable intelligence, stealth and flexibility. The Ponies had better be ready to match them with Equestrian technology.
Terrible episode. Literally Spike at Your Service part 2.
It's like he turn dumber this season. Can't cover his face when sneezine? Trying to get rid of the water with the bowl? Somehow Twilight's rest is more important than safety of Canterlot (the damaged pipes)?
When Discord make a mistake he usually work withing his line of logic. Yes he act silly in Smooze episode BUT he really thought that Fluttershy is abandoning him. His actions would be correct if that was really the case and Fluttershy would be the villain in this episode. He doesn't act stupid as in "well i will just summon something to destroy the gala", he simply went to sulk until he was invited by late tickets and only create problem when his delusions grow bigger than his reasonable patience. I can't say that Spike deserve Rarity more than Flash deserve Twilight. Almost all of his episodes are painfull to watch.
How are you able to view the eps earlier than broadcast?
3166193 He didn't. This was posted at 1:14, and the episode came out at 11:30 EST, which is my time.
3166236 ah, I'm viewing this at ~11:30 Mountain
3166193
I saw at it 8:30 Pacific, which is 11:30 Eastern time, morning today.
I have to admit, I did like seeing Spike let his newfound power go to his head a little. It made me laugh. I think they took it just far enough though I can see why Spike fans would be dismayed. Maybe the poor guy can not be shown as a goof for once in one of his episodes?
I did like the idea of the various ponies and other creatures being called together like that. Makes my idea for that upcoming story with the big diplomatic shindig to welcome the Crystal Empire back seem rather likely even in-canon. I assume they DID do one in-show, but it went quietly and thus there was no need to share it with the audience.
And that business with the Leonardo/Michelangelo pony painting that, shall we say,, very idealized portrait of Spike? Gee, I wonder who he'll be giving that too.
The problem is less a sort of ten year old making a mess of things. The problem is the utter lack of foresight they all seemed to have; surely, somepony must have briefed the princesses on what led to the disaster in "Spike at your service."
My one regret is that the disaster was the result of things Spike did to carry out Cadence's orders, rather than things he did for self indulgence.
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Yes. As far as I know, eating lots of gemstones simply ran up his (and Twilight's) debt to Princess Celestia, but it's been established that the sorts of stones he was eating, in the sizes he was eating them, are quite common in Equestria. He didn't really hurt anypony by doing that.
Some of the other stuff he did was hilariously hedonistic, but again, not harmfully so. Celestia was probably amused by it when she got the report.
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I actually liked that part of it. Spike's hedonism and letting power go to his head didn't actually harm anything; his obsessive prioritization of Twilight's sleep, which he was asked to do by a princess he respected, but who doesn't know him well enough to know that when it comes to trying to carry out his orders and help Twilight he can be almost as OCD as Twilight is, is what caused all the problems. And this seems to make perfect sense to me. Spike's a kid, a smart kid but he doesn't see the big picture. Give him the job "protect Twilight" and that's the only concern he has. He might even have been more broadly aware had it been, say, "protect Pinkie" (not Rarity tho :-)), but it's Twilight, who he's been serving faithfully his whole life.
Spike blames his slide into hedonism for the disaster, because that was the part he felt guilty about. The whole time that he was disrupting everyone else's plans to protect Twilight's sleep, he felt good about himself, because that was his job. He had one job, and he did it well -- he was supposed to let Twilight sleep. And he did.
Someone really needs to take Cadance to task for this. It will probably be Celestia. Cadance, who's pretty young herself and not an experienced ruler yet, made the bigger mistake here, not Spike.