My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic SPOILER TALK THREAD

I guess somebody got the release date for the toys mixed up with the show.

With the mention of Windigos and Flurry's powers, I'm now thinking about how awesome Flurry Heart: Commander Windgos would be.

I don't know if anyone else has been paying attention but three more episodes for season 6 have been revealed.

...And?

Links would be courteous.

edited 15th Mar '16 7:57:22 AM by KarkatTheDalek

Episode 4. Crusaders trying to figure out what to do now that they actually have their marks.

Episode 5. Spike is called upon to actually be competent for once. Hopefully that works out.

Episode 6. No real info for this one aside from the name

@Spike episode: Don'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuckdon'tsuck...

Not sure how to feel about the Spike episode. The premise sounds a bit more action-ish than feels natural for an MLP episode. Then again, the series seems to have gradually made that shift over the past couple of seasons, so maybe it'll work.

So we have an episode about the CMC disagreeing on how to help markless & struggling ponies? Huh.

Well, we've seen how much Spike SUCKS at holding down a SOL episdoe centered on him, maybe a more action one will work?

Eh, possibly. I think the fundamental issue with Spike episodes is that he was conceived from the beginning as a character who is defined mostly by his relationships to other characters. Spike episodes generally don't work that well because he was always meant to be a supporting character, not a part of the main cast.

Well, there's also the fact that most Spike episodes seem to revolve around issues that he causes by not thinking things through and then getting bailed out.

Or simply being turned into an incompetent moron for the sake of he plot.

Spike is a child. I don't really find being a bit impulsive and naive to be all that damning: God knows I would have made the same kinds of mistakes as a kid.

edited 15th Mar '16 2:18:34 PM by Zennistrad

Part of the issue is how inconsistent the show is about it. Like whenever he isn't the focus of an episode he's a pretty capable helper for Twilight, but put him in the spotlight and suddenly he can't make a glass of water without burning down the house. Hopefully this episode will have "actually kind of good at stuff" Spike.

I wonder how many episodes begin life as a pun someone thought would make a good episode title.

Yeah that is the issue, it's that we KNOW he can be a competent, effective character, and at times can be almost more mature and level headed then the Mane 6 about some stuff. But soon as he's the focus, he loses all that and becomes his own worst enemy.

Eh. I like the Spike focused episodes we have so far. Yeah Spike tends to be more stupid than usual in them but that's exactly why I find them funny.

I think that goes back to the whole "defined by other characters" thing. Spike's competency in most episodes is defined by his capability as an assistant to Twilight.

As a child character who no doubt still has a lot of maturing to do, when he's given the focus it's difficult to make him the level-headed and competent character he often is when he's on the sidelines, since that would make it easier to end up with a boring episode. We don't really see any of Spike's flaws when he's not the central character of the episode, so they feel less natural when he's brought into focus.

edited 15th Mar '16 4:18:25 PM by Zennistrad

Or they aren't natural, aren't part of him and just something writers toss in for the sake of 'drama' just to give an excuse for the plot.

Every single one of the Mane 6 has a character flaw that that's been brought into focus for at least one episode. The reason those work, though, is that we see hints of that flaw in episodes where that character isn't the focus, so it doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. We knew Twilight was an anxious neurotic, so when that character trait caused the contrivance that resulted in the plot of "It's About Time", it felt like a logical consequence of what had been established previously.

The problem is, there isn't a whole lot to work with in terms of character flaws as far as Spike's concerned that exist outside of his own episodes. They can't go with the same approach to him as the do the rest of the main cast because unlike them he's not all that developed otherwise.

edited 15th Mar '16 5:10:22 PM by Zennistrad

Even then, it doesn't excuse when what is a clear inherent flaw in one of them gets pushed to far to the extreme for the sake of the plot to be believable anymore, like AJ's overprotectiveness in Somepony to Watch Over Me, RD's ego in MMDW, (O Kay, that might be believable, but still annoying), etc...

Even if those are flaws in Spike's character, they get pushed to for, overemphasized, and focused on while utterly ignoring his more positive qualities to the point it's still unbelievable he could be that idiotic and/or incompetent.

I get that Spike is inexperienced and all, but it's just getting tired that every focus episode he gets tends to harp on that same point. The other cast members are flawed similarly, but there's more variety in how they're approached so it isn't as annoying. And it's usually balanced by them getting to save the day.

I've noticed the exact same thing. In episodes focusing on one of the main six, we get to see both their good traits and their bad traits. For example, Applejack is a very hard worker, but she tends to be very stubborn. With spike episodes however, we rarely see any of his good qualities that are shown in non spike episodes and all of his bad qualities are usually shown instead.

edited 15th Mar '16 9:00:54 PM by 09MurphyM

Long ago, the people of Equestria lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Dragon Nation attacked.

I'm open to the hope of Spike actually taking a level in badass, but- perhaps I'm just being picky- it's a little worrisome that it requires everypony else getting worfed again. Apparently. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

Yeah, he definitely needs an episode that doesn't suddenly make him an idiot.

But enough chitchat! Let's get into the REAL stone-cold meat here! You see, Rarity and Pinkie Pie now have to find a new gift for Maud.

I bet you can figure out the twist ending right away...