Review: Princess Spike

After the big event that was the 100th episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, people knew that whatever was to come next would have no chance of topping Slice of Life. And when people heard the next episode would focus on Spike, they were pretty much right to assume that. But was it was bad as a lot of the neighsayers are making it out to be? Is Princess Spike one of the show's worst episodes?

The episode focuses on yet another ceremony. This time it's a summit in Canterlot which features delegates from all over Equestria. However Twilight overworks herself in preparing and has to get some sleep. Her trusty dragon assistant Spike has to watch over her to insure she gets some much needed shut eye. However, when delegates want to get Twilight's opinion on certain matters, Spike begins to speak for her. The power goes to his head, and chaos ensues until he learns his lesson that he shouldn't use his friendship with someone of power to make himself more important.

And that's kind of the episode in a nutshell. Spike just standing and talking, followed by more standing and talking. You do get a scene with him overdoing it on his new found power, but it's too brief for any real substance to be found. While there a few chuckle worthy moments in the episode, it's far from one of the show's funniest. The moral  even feels like one we've seen before, and feels like the wrong one to end on. Instead of it being you shouldn't speak for others when they wouldn't want you too, they use the moral of don't take advantage of a friend's higher status to benefit your own greedy means.  This moral was done better in Twilight Time with a more fun premise and more interesting protagonists in the Cutie Mark Crusaders,

When you break this episode down even further, there really is no reason for this episode to ultimately exist. Here's a random event because the show just can't have ordinary days happen anymore. The delegates go only to Twilight for advice, and not the other three princesses. Speaking of which, where are Celestia and Luna when all this went down? Why would no pony ask Cadance for advice, and why is Cadance relegated to just finger wagging Spike instead of trying to stop him? Why does this episode even need to be in Canterlot? Why not have it in Ponyville where it would make more sense seeing as Twilight's the only princess there. Why are there no other mane sixers there or anyone that Spike could play off of instead of just Cadance for brief moments.

I don't want to be a complete pessimist over an episode of the show. There were some okay things about the episode. Some great new character designs, a couple cute moments with sleepy Twilight, Cadance gets a decent role in this. The episode definitely felt like there could have been something in there to really stand out, but suffers from a plot of just Spike standing and talking with no real standout moments within. And that kind of is Spike in a nutshell. A character who works best as a comic relief than as a strong character. His episodes usually rank as the worst of the series by most fans (though I do enjoy some of them), mainly due to him being such a weak lead.

Overall, this is a filler episode in every way, shape, and form. You could watch it, get a couple snickers, and then just move on with nothing of substance being given. I'm seeing so much pessimism over season 5 for episodes like Princess Spike and Appleoosa's Most Wanted. People saying that because this season has weak episodes that it means the show's quality has finally vanished. Most seem to forget that every season has its weak episodes, especially seasons 1 & 2. I have faith that this season is still set to provide us with some excellent episodes as we move forward. And even the worst this season are far from the most offensive. Yes, Princess Spike is no classic, but it's far from a flop like something like Dragon Quest or The Mysterious Mare Do Well. And the next episode is a Pinkie Pie episode, which at least should be hilarious. So in the end, the show is not as ruined as people say, even is Princess Spike was a royal pain to get through.

RATING: D