• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

MLP:FIM S6E05 - "Gauntlet of Fire" - Grading & Discussion

Episode Grade

  • Total voters
    8
  • Poll closed .
A

Amaris

Guest
Episode Title: "Gauntlet of Fire"
Air Date: April 16th, 11:00 AM Eastern Time (3:00 PM GMT/UTC)

Summary: "Spike is forced to compete in a dangerous Gauntlet for the title of Dragon Lord in order to save his friends."


Live Streams:
HasbroMLP
BronyState Theaters
Brony Network
Equestria TV
Otaku Ascended

REMEMBER: NO OPEN SPOILERS UNTIL 3 PM ET (7 PM GMT)

=-

Ruminations:
A Spike Episode! This will be the first one of the season, though undoubtedly he got a nice bit of coverage in the premiere. Still, Spike episodes can be hit or miss, as Spike is usually hit or miss. I'm curious to see how this episode will play out, and whether we'll see some major growth and development from our resident dragon. Of course, the episode itself can be taken several ways: will it be a contest that Spike wins and then everyone forgets everything? Or will something happen to Spike that changes him for good? Who knows? This episode is written by Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco, so I'm not sure what to expect, as their previous episodes have been hit or miss as well (Castle Sweet Castle, Rarity Investigates!, Hoofields and McColts). Either way, we get a new episode, so let's hope for the best!


EPISODE TRAILER (possible spoilers):
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
​
 
Mostly because it concentrated on all the other dragons. I like the new designs, and having at least 2-3 female dragons finally. I wouldn't count on a lasting peace all of a sudden but given their life span, Ember has time to change things down the line.

Big JIm says there are "a couple more" Spike episodes this season so that dampens the good mood somewhat.
 
Yes, as in infant and teenager, why are people shipping Spike at all?

It's been about 10 years since he was hatched in Pony years, a hatchling in the centuries dragons live, that's...fucked up.
 
***SPOILERS, OF COURSE***

I've already shipped Ember with about a hundred other ponies. That's right:

weregoingshipping.jpg


(I love that meme, though I need to redo it because I don't like it saying "loser")

Anyway, on to the episode!

A good Spike episode is hard to find, and I think this one makes the cut.

Speaking of dragons making the cut, Ember is a great new character, and yes, I knew she would end up being the Dragon Lord. Still, the fun is in the journey when it comes to pony, and this was a great one. We got to see Spike actually work hard to accomplish something, and not falling back on false pride. I always hate the false pride, and feel it is beneath Spike's character. Yeah, he's a young dragon, but he's spent his life with Twilight, and never has she indicated that she inculcated such a trait in Spike. Back to Ember, I like that her growth was show on screen, and in a relatable way. She was clearly intelligent, so her coming to the conclusion that friendship can be beneficial to everyone was a sensible one.

I like that Garble kept getting beat up, because I can't stand him, and it's fun to watch someone's unrepentant hubris come back to repeatedly bite them in the posterior. The design of the Dragon Lord was a good one, conveying size and ferocity. Also, it is confirmed, Dragonlands are in Australia. :lol:

Did anyone else get a kick out of Twilight and Rarity's hijinks? I thought the two were adorable together, and I may have shipped them this episode. Speaking of shipping, Ember's adorable, and I instantly shipped her with a lot of other characters, though not Spike. I still consider Spike to be a baby dragon, though he's probably around the age of 12 in pony/human years, and I feel uncomfortable shipping him with anyone as of yet. Does that make sense when I ship the CMC with each other? No, but there it is.

Anyway, fun episode, great character moments, solid writing. This one gets an "A" from me!
 
I loved the Twilight/Rarity moments. :D

The Dragon Lord, wasn't actually that bad a guy in the end, but he's nearing retirement and I doubt dragons do much more than give each other a hard time, so he's not really evil to begin with.

I get the impression Ember has been having doubts and wanting to prove her own leadership skills for some time before the episode, Spike gave her that oppertunity. I think she's going to do well for herself and her kind, it'd be nice to see Twilight keep in touch with her later in the season.

And I don't ship the CMC with anyone, maybe little crushes or something but romanticism is something best left to the older Ponies.

I gave it a C for being a Spike episode, because even though it was the best of one of his, that's still not up to the standard of the good pony only episodes.
 
Chemahkuu said:
I loved the Twilight/Rarity moments. :D

The Dragon Lord, wasn't actually that bad a guy in the end, but he's nearing retirement and I doubt dragons do much more than give each other a hard time, so he's not really evil to begin with.

I get the impression Ember has been having doubts and wanting to prove her own leadership skills for some time before the episode, Spike gave her that oppertunity. I think she's going to do well for herself and her kind, it'd be nice to see Twilight keep in touch with her later in the season.

And I don't ship the CMC with anyone, maybe little crushes or something but romanticism is something best left to the older Ponies.

I gave it a C for being a Spike episode, because even though it was the best of one of his, that's still not up to the standard of the good pony only episodes.
Click to expand...
Yeah, of all the characters in this episode, for me Ember shines the greatest, and easily outshines Spike even though this is the first decent episode I've seen of his in ages. The Twilight/Rarity moments were gold, and I always love it when Twilight geeks out over something. Even Luna and Celestia were given her the "srsly?" look at the beginning of the episode. :lol:
 
Chemahkuu said:
The Princess Tea Party bit was probably a dig at G3, every time they had one, something went wrong too. :lol:
Click to expand...
I never thought of that, though I knew when Celestia started saying how well things were going, the other shoe was about to drop. :D
 
Luna's expression was great, she's happy enough to socialise again but still not putting up with other ponies nonsense.
 
Chemahkuu said:
Luna's expression was great, she's happy enough to socialise again but still not putting up with other ponies nonsense.
Click to expand...
We really need to see a Celestia/Luna specific episode, just to see what they do in their daily lives.
 
^That would be fun to see Luna's night and Celestia's day.
As for Spike with anyone shipping... I don't see him romantically involved yet. I always saw Sparity as rather one-sided and more along the lines of a crush. Rarity knows how he feels, but she loves him like a little brother.
I'm guessing that Ember is not that much older than Spike, but given that she has no real experience with friends, anything more than friendship isn't a good idea yet.
I'd love to know how dragon maturity is defined.
 
Peach Wookiee said:
^That would be fun to see Luna's night and Celestia's day.
As for Spike with anyone shipping... I don't see him romantically involved yet. I always saw Sparity as rather one-sided and more along the lines of a crush. Rarity knows how he feels, but she loves him like a little brother.
I'm guessing that Ember is not that much older than Spike, but given that she has no real experience with friends, anything more than friendship isn't a good idea yet.
I'd love to know how dragon maturity is defined.
Click to expand...
Too late. I have shipped her with a dozen different characters. Come at me, bro.
emot_colbert.gif


;)
 
Coloratura said:
Did anyone else get a kick out of Twilight and Rarity's hijinks? I thought the two were adorable together, and I may have shipped them this episode.
Click to expand...
I loved how they showed up in the most unsuspected places and also their disguises. I expect fashion-minded ponies to wear a rock costume or seaweeds in the near future. No shipping for me. I just saw them as two good friends helping another good friend.

That they stayed neutral and didn't try to get actively involved in the competition struck me as pretty clever, politically. It's what you do if you want to get or keep an ally in a hostile environment without undermining them. And indeed, Twilight confirmed this for me at the end when she stated that they had won a powerful ally in Amber. I hope we see some more of this.

Returning to fashion, I liked Rarity's helmet at the beginning of the episode.

Anyway, I thought this was a really good episode. I don't really get the Spike skepticism.
 
Count Zero said:
I loved how they showed up in the most unsuspected places and also their disguises. I expect fashion-minded ponies to wear a rock costume or seaweeds in the near future. No shipping for me. I just saw them as two good friends helping another good friend.

That they stayed neutral and didn't try to get actively involved in the competition struck me as pretty clever, politically. It's what you do if you want to get or keep an ally in a hostile environment without undermining them. And indeed, Twilight confirmed this for me at the end when she stated that they had won a powerful ally in Amber. I hope we see some more of this.

Returning to fashion, I liked Rarity's helmet at the beginning of the episode.

Anyway, I thought this was a really good episode. I don't really get the Spike skepticism.
Click to expand...
Well, take those shipping comments of mine as tongue-in-cheek. I mean, I'm bad, but I'm not that bad. :lol:

I did like Twilight and Rarity's silent, hidden approach. Of course, Twilight always reminds me of those British documentarians who sit off to the side and away from what they're observing, while whispering to the camera exactly what is going on in the tribal village and how they're at great risk just witnessing these events.

Now I kind of want to see a "Planet Equestria" narrated by Twilight Sparkle. :lol:
 
I'd get her to hire someone else to do the book cover. That cartoon Spike she scribbled on the cover of the notebook was a bit rough. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top