Unpopular opinion time

@ColdhardSilver  
It had to be done.

@Crystal Neighybánya  
Aw, that’s adorable! :’D

@ColdhardSilver  

*Cracks knuckles*
 
Did I catch y’all having fun in this thread? No? Didn’t think so.
 
Hee hee I’m just screwing with you guys. Everything I wanted to add to this discussion was already said, yet I still wanted some kind of presence in it.

@DanielTepesKraus  
IF YA DON’T EAT YER HAY, YA CAN’T HAVE ANY CUPCAKES!  
HOW CAN YA HAVE ANY CUPCAKES IF YA DON’T EAT YER HAY?!

Toys still treating Rainbow Dash like her G3 incarnation…  
Though I admit, the toy looks cute.

@Kirb  
I don’t know why, but the voice sounded more nasally to me in Wonderbolts Academy  
She was presenting a different public face in WA; we’d previously only seen her when she was either chillin’ at the Gala for PR purposes or sheepishly thanking a talented n00b for having to rescue a bunch of A-List pros, but in WA she was at her day job as a recruit instructor at a paramilitary training facility and was absolutely not %&#@ing around. It would have been bad directing if she’d had the same tone and characterization.
 
@MadVillan  
There’s no possible way to justify this by saying he was just nervous or something  
Well, no, that’s just incorrect; contrary to herdthink opinion, all of his behavior– yes, including sucking at things he was usually good at– made perfect sense in context. After discovering that the only other Dragons who would talk to him were a box of tools, he was keen to reinvent himself on his terms, and of course he would be super excited and nervous about it and so desperate to make a good impression that he would blast along full speed ahead without regard for details, especially after Twilight just casually handed him his single greatest fear without even paying attention to how it affected him.
 
You’d think the Spike in these episodes where a different character all together  
Here’s a list of other episodes from Seasons 1-3 where he screws up stuff he’s normally good at, usually because he’s freaked out or excited:  
Library Assisting: 1, 9, 10, 24, 28, 36, 47  
Cooking: 63  
Understanding the difference between good food and bad: 3, 4, 46  
Cleaning: 10, 24, 28, 36, 46, 47  
Giving good advice: 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 25, 46, 62, 63, 65  
Communicating: 14, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30, 32, 63  
Staying calm: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 36, 46, 47, 49, 53, 54, 57, 62, 63, 64, 65  
Not destroying stuff: 24, 36, 48, 49, 63
 
Spike, who always goes out of his way to help others is suddenly an extremely selfish and lazy pseudo-mercenary who only cares about himself  

@SeraphimDawn  
That’s her girly twin sister Rainbow Dosh. 100% indistinguishable save for Dosh’s slightly longer hair and Received Pronunciation English accent. She’s into all that girly stuff.

@TexasUberAlles  
You think this episode an entire season later is meant to be seen as a direct sequel to the events of Dragon quest? Aside from that just not being likely due to the lack of development in general in the show, it’s actually completely contrary to the ending of Dragon quest. Spike here goes on about his “dragon code” while in the end of Dragon quest he’s resounded to be a pony and do things the pony way.
 
I don’t quite follow you logic either him “blasting ahead full speed” just sounds like a retconn to me. And Spike was shown to be terrible at cooking and cleaning before his conversation with Twilight, so its impossible for that to be the reason.
 
And your confusing slapstick/gags for genuinely not being able to do something. The occasional trip and fall doesn’t mean that he’s not good at something, in that episode there where no obstacles in his way yet he still failed,over and over again.
 
If Spike at your service was the only episode of MLP you saw then you would get the impression that Spike is a bad assistant who usually causes trouble for Twilight and always makes a mess of things.
 
I really don’t understand why you used that gif. from Some. Are trying to say I complain too much?

@TexasUberAlles  
Dude, you keep writing all the things I was gonna write before I can do it. At this point I might just retire posting long-winded opinions on a message board devoted to a cartoon show for eight-year-olds.
 
@MadVillan  
It’s from the episode where Spike’s selfishness literally turns him into a monster.

@MadVillan  
The occasional trip and fall doesn’t mean that he’s not good at something  
Um… exactly? The point I’m making is that he’s screwed up at all of these things plenty of times before but is still generally good at them overall, while your argument seems to be that we should think he suddenly and uncharacteristically sucks forever at them just be cause he screwed up that time. Bungling something he’s normally good at is completely in-character for Spike, both as Mr. The Dragon and as a child; kids make mistakes, especially when they’re excited– that doesn’t make them incompetent, it just means they’re kids.
 
no obstacles in his way  
He was his own obstacle; the whole point of it is that he was so determined to be helpful– and excited for the chance to do so– that he kept getting in his own way.
 
You think this episode an entire season later is meant to be seen as a direct sequel to the events of Dragon quest?  
…Yyyyes? Sleepless In Ponyville, For Whom The Sweetie Belle Toils, and Bloom And Gloom were a single CMC nightmare arc that went across three seasons; Amending Fences was a sequel to the first scene in the Series Premiere.

Everyone’s going on about the derailing of Spike’s character, while ignoring the derailing of another character.  
Apple Bloom.  
Seriously, she started out the series as a sort of Twilight-like leader of the kid-tier characters. She even served as the voice of reason in Bridle Gossip.  
Now, all she ever talks about is that stupid mark that’s not on her butt. Meanwhile, Sweetie and Scootaloo have had episodes delving deeper into their personalities.  
Sweetie Belle’s nightmare episode dealt with her jealousy toward her sister. Scootaloo’s episode dealt with the fear of looking weak in the presence of her idol.  
Apple Bloom’s nightmare? What if she never gets her “Cutie Mark”!  
Every other scene she’s in is to be a component of the indivisible blob of meh that is the Apple family.  
There was a glimmer of hope when she started studying potions. But they never went anywhere with that. I guess to do that, they actually have to use Zecora as a character, instead of a Deus ex Machina.  
But that’s an unpopular opinion for another day.

@Background Pony #7C74  
Bloom’s nightmare was about actually getting her cutie mark and how it would change her and the relationship with her best friends. I found it to be a fitting conclusion to the dream trilogy.

@Background Pony #7C74  
I was disappointed that Season Three ended without the CMC leveling up, much less them (apparently) going all the way to the end of S5; Crusadin’ was a fine enough subject for the first two seasons, but the longer they go without joining everypony else on the magic talent train the crueler it gets, and the more infantile it makes them seem even when they are in fact developing and progressing as characters. AB seems to have fallen to the Apple Curse, where aside from being thirsty for a tat she pretty much has her $#!+ together, and it’s a lot harder to write for stable and solid characters who aren’t constantly falling apart and needing the writers/fans to fix them; it’s obviously why a character as well-rounded and skilled at such a huge variety of endeavors as Applejack gets idiotically tagged as “boring”– she done got her stuff figgered out already and just gets on with life, so there’s not nearly as many flaws for fans to latch onto so they can “help” her.
 
the indivisible blob of meh that is the Apple family  
BO-EH, AH WILL FIGHT YOO
 
@Olpert  
how it would change her and the relationship with her best friends  
I did appreciate that subversion of the “But, Ah wan’ it NA-OW!” effect, and it definitely highlighted the growth she’s had in spite of being held back by the narrative; it only started as mark-chasing, but very quickly turned into worry about what that would mean to the things that are ultimately more important to her, and that is absolutely something that would never have occurred to Season 1 Apple Bloom.

@TexasUberAlles  

 
I completely agree with this; they should’ve gotten their marks towards the end of the third season. By focusing on it for so long, many fans now think of the Crusaders’ as one-dimensional characters with no defining traits whatsoever, when they really aren’t - it’s just that their Crusading has gone on for so long it’s come to dominate their overall characters. The writers also should’ve ended their little conflict with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and developed those two as characters.* Instead, we’re probably going to have to wait until the end of this season for anything like that to happen.
 
*Hey, if people can constantly complain about how Spike is getting the shaft, I can do the same with Tiara and Spoon. Plus, it’s kinda’ become my pet issue at this point.

@Crystal Neighybánya  
The writers also should’ve ended their little conflict with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon and developed those two as characters  
I admire your dedication.
 
I would very much like to see some explanation beyond “lol schoolyard bullies” for why those two are such unremitting little $#!+$, but I want to see it done in such a way that Spoon is the only one who gets redeemed; it would be a great message for Target Audience to hear– along the lines of Gilda until S05E08– that even if some people have reasons for why they’re jerks, you can’t always convince them to stop. Spoon just has so much of an air of Only In This For The Perks about her that it’s confusing to me that they haven’t done that kind of story yet; I was expecting them to use her for the One Bad Apple story template back in S3.

@TexasUberAlles  
Why thank you! I know I can probably get annoying sometimes, but I just feel very strongly about this issue - poorly written bully antagonists are kinda’ a pet peeve of mine (as strange as that may sound coming from someone who’s a fan of Tiara and Spoon).
 
Honestly, the writers’ should’ve used Silver Spoon instead of creating Babs Seed* - towards the end of S2, it looked as though she’d had a falling out with Di (note that she was nowhere to be seen in Ponyville Confidental) and thus it would’ve been the perfect time to try and develop her - not to mention it would’ve allowed for both Tiara and Spoon to have episodes where they were on their own.
 
In the past, I would’ve agreed with you about how Spoon is the only one who should be redeemed, but now I’m against the idea. It’s not 2012 anymore and that window of opportunity has passed; now I feel as though it’s either both of them or neither.
 
*I mean, it’s not like Spoon wouldn’t have a reason for being bullied - just look at those dorky adorkable frames of hers.

I’m consistently confused by the sheer dedication of Spike fans, but also more so by the reaction to them. Like, sure they’re salty but sometimes they do have a point.

@Itsthinking  
Well, it’s because a lot of them are total drama queens acting like Spike’s mishandling is the worst thing since Titanic.
 
I mean, they’re right drama queens, because the mishandling of Spike’s character is bullshit, but still.

@Itsthinking  
For me, I’ve just seen too many fanfics from Spike fans depicting all the ponies as heartless bitches and then somehow ending up with Spike being a powerful badass that rules over everyone.

@Crystal Neighybánya  
it’s either both of them or neither  
Tiara could be her Friendship Project, like Gilda has, uh… everyone else in Griffonstone. The show really needs more of that– showing the effect the Mane Six have on people and following up on how that changes them going forward. That’s one of the best things about most franchises’ “extended universes”, especially the Star Wars and Star Trek novels; seeing what new tapestries get woven in a setting once the plot threads of an episode or movie are sewn up and the main characters have moved on. Griffonstone and Amending Fences demonstrated that the show can in fact do that sort of thing quite well, and it would be pretty sweet to have a villain who’s about to triumph get kicked to the curb by a posse of folks showing up who’d been helped by the Main Seven in earlier episodes… which sounds like it might be an actual possibility for this Season Finale.

I’m not so sure I like the whole “ponies/characters that aren’t the mane 6 but the mane 6 helped will defeat the villain while the mane 6 are indisposed” coming full circle. They already did that in the premiere with … what’s his face, what’s her name, that one guy and … other girl…?  
The mane 6, other than Twilight, get shoved off to a corner enough I feel. Like running interference in the Crystal Empire (and not against the enemy, but the PTSD public) or getting bubbled and used as an ultimatum chip by Tirek…

@441TheSecond  
If it’s relevant sometimes their drama queen tendencies are warranted. If it’s say, wondering where Spike is in a depiction of the main cast, a simple “hey, where’s Spike?” would do instead of conspiracy theories.
 
@RaineV1  
To be fair some people do see it as a bunch of grown adults acting like carp around a kid. But that’s not really doing any character justice.

@Itsthinking  
Spike fans are annoying, just like all the other fans who take their love for character too far.

@ice1517  
Agreed, but they do have more ground to be upset to a degree than most. Obviously the ones who take it too far are too much.

@TexasUberAlles
 
I still maintain that the real reason Spike was screwing up more than usual in SAYS is that he took Twilight’s rather flippant dismissal of him a lot harder than he let on.