--> Back to the main page '''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E21DragonQuest HERE.]]'''
----

* AbortedArc[=/=]TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: A lot of the questions that Spike goes on his quest to answer are pretty much ignored. Sure, he decides that some of them aren't important, but that doesn't cover everything.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: To the dragon species as a whole. One can easy see the teen dragons as {{jerkass}} and the adults as uncaring of the situation of what they do, but it could be seen as [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy a dragon's way of life]]. With the teens not being mean to Spike but actually toughening him up. Most reptiles have little involvement in child-rearing. On the other hoof, Spike may have just chosen the bad crowd when it came to dragons and the teens are just sadistic bullies.
** Also, since phoenixes are apparently immortal, smashing their eggs may just be a way of keeping their population in check.
** Did the dragons accept Spike into their gang and respect him? Or did they just want to use him as bait for the phoenixes and not give a flying feather on what happened to him?
* [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ensemble Darkdragon]]: Crackle, memetic character from even before the episode was aired.
* HilariousInHindsight: The teenagers think that anything that has to do with ponies is sissy and girly. [[PeripheryDemographic Hmm, how ironic.]]
** The ColdOpening has Rainbow Dash and Twilight try to convince Fluttershy to conquer her fears to join in on a group activity. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E22HurricaneFluttershy Guess what the plot was for the very next episode]].
* MemeticMutation: The shot of Rainbow Dash holding a photo to Fluttershy has become an visual exploitable. Same with Garble reading the letter from Princess Celestia that Spike belched up.
** Some people assume that Crackle is the dragon version of [[MemeticBystander Derpy]].
*** [[{{Snowclone}} Crackle is best dragon.]]
* MoralEventHorizon: The teenage dragons were already giant {{Jerkass}}es, [[spoiler:but they definitely cross that line during their Dragon Raid, willing to attack and eat a bunch of phoenix chicks and then urging Spike to smash the left over phoenix egg]].
* OneSceneWonder:
** Crackle, who had fan art before the episode even aired (due to being shown in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBTq2fUs-_c the second preview clip]]).
** Likewise Spike's pet Phoenix, Peewee, was an instant hit with fan art trickling in less than an hour after his debut.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** Some viewers were hoping for some WorldBuilding. This episode didn't even tell what the point of the migration was, and finding out that the dragon life cycle has a teenager phase didn't answer much of anything.
** So, you like the idea of Spike adopting Peewee and keeping him as a pet? [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E8JustForSidekicks Well, too bad!]]
* UglyCute: Crackle, the only dragon named in the show, manages to look so terrible that it is adorable.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: What gender is Crackle supposed to be anyway?
* TheWoobie: Poor Spike.
----