It entertained me, so it was reasonable at least :V

Still think the smash-and-cremate strategy should work for Timber wolves, at worst you just need to add oil or something.

Also, I think there are restrictions on the production team in terms of what they're allowed to do with fire in the show. There was a mention on twitter last week about how difficult it was to work the "Spike = lighter" gag in due to them. Basically, even attempting to burn animals alive is a big no-no.

edited 29th Dec '12 10:51:42 AM by PerpetualLurker

Yeah, I'm honestly kinda surprised they even got away with the "smashing the timberwolves to bits" thing.

@Lurker: Sybil Ramkin-Vimes would have protested Spike's treatment in that scene :V

Even if the animals are mystical/magical constructs of broken pieces of wood and leaves. Because damnit, Hasbro doesn't need to argue with PETA about the morality of ponies and dragons defending themselves from the dangers of a High Fantasy world.

Watsonianly, I get the feeling that Spike wouldn't have thought about burning them while he was in a panic like that.

Yeah, that too. Mortal terror isn't really good for rational decision making. Also, the timberwolves are magic, so who knows if Spike could have even hurt them?

After she saves Spike. She's really just kind of there after that.

The fact that they can reassemble from any wood and not just the wood they're originally made of suggests that burning them would only be about as effective as breaking them apart, anyway. Also, now I'm imagining a timberwolf made entirely of ashes, and it's pretty freaking terrifying.

Now y'all are giving me funny mental pictures of PETA trying to protest to an unamused barbarian that he's not supposed to hunt owlbears

@Lurker: Rainbow Dash used WHIRLWIND! Ashen Wolf was swept away...

edited 29th Dec '12 10:59:22 AM by AceOfScarabs

She's the character that Spike's actions are affection, so yeah, most of what we see of her is in response to that. Interesting to note how she never feels like telling him off directly. She's polite to a fault sometimes.

edited 29th Dec '12 11:01:26 AM by Enlong

I think, Anarchist, you are perhaps looking at this a tad too doylistically. Consider it from a character viewpoint: Why did Spike not burn the Timberwolves? Well one, we don't know that that would work. They're made from enchanted wood, that shit could react funny. Second, Spike is a child. If he sees a pack of monsters running towards him, is his first reaction going to be to fight back? No, it's probably going to be to run, because he was frightened.

On the note of running, this is far from the first time we've seen the girls run fro ma monster, even ones they saw coming - this time, the Timberwolves got the drop on them. Saviors of equestria, sure, but the girls aren't warriors. We've seen them run away before. In fact the only times they've stood up and fought was when they had to, so we've no reason to assume their first reaction would be to fight if they thought they could get away. Hell, AJ dove right into the fray when she saw Spike in danger, and even then her strategy was to distract them from Spike so they could both get away. That's neither inconsistent nor misogynistic, that's demonstrated and realistic behavior for the girls.

As for Spike being clumsy, well, he's a personal assistant, not a labourer. He helps Twilight organize books, something that doesn't tend to involve lifting things several times larger than him - and on the occasions it does you might notice he tends to drop them too.

@Ace Only to reassemble again...

edited 29th Dec '12 11:00:30 AM by PerpetualLurker

Case in point, the hydra. But yeah, running away on a few occasions =/= weak or misogynistic writing.

@Lost Anarchist

Alright, let me give my counterargument.

Spike's flame isn't too big, and applied to an angry wood construct might only make things worse. Same reason why flamethrowers are a bad option against zombies: It'll eventually kill them, but right now you only have an angry enemy who's also on fire. This assuming Spike was thinking logically enough to even think "wood creature + fire = dead", which he wasn't, due to being attacked by angry timberwolves bigger than he is.

And confronting something has always been a last resort for the mane six. They fought their way to Nightmare Moon because running away would not have helped get them closer to the temple, they fought the diamond dogs because they had to rescue Rarity, etc. They are ponies, after all, and they run away like them until cornered. Plus, in this case they also fought back, or at least AJ did. And going so far as to call misogyny is too far.

The clumsiness, I agree, it might have been over the top. But even then, Spike could pull off some other chores, like the massage. Still, the rule of funny might have been stretched a bit too far, but, to me, it wasn't nearly as much as you say. And we don't even know if all dragons have the code, only Spike, and he could have perfectly well made that up because of a trait in himself rather than all dragons. In fact, that's what it was hinted at being.

And don't try to call your opinion the truth. It's an opinion.

Everyone else, I'm sorry, but I had to.

Host another one of those Apple Family Reunions and ask Spike to wash all the dishes once it's over. That mighta stopped him. Maybe...

Even if you could fight a hydra or a Timber Wolf, you'd still run if you were caught unprepared :V

I'm glad you're not trying to cuss me out here, and you have a point, but I still stand by mine. Take it from me, someone who doesn't post here much, if ever:

The only saving grace of this episode was up until the end where Spike rags on the Mane 6 for the fake Timberwolf puppet. Overall, "Spike At Your Service" is just an insultingy/glaringly stupid/disappointing episode IMHO, with the only saving grace being the Timberwolves and their fusion ability. Other than that, this felt like the Western Animation equivalent/rendition of a bad filler episode from a shounen anime (and personally, to tell everyone my opinion on anime in general - I hate 98% of anything Japan puts out, especially today!). It is in my prayers to God Himself that this is NEVER FUCKING BROUGHT UP AGAIN.

Defeinitely not helping is that BOTH Williams & Polsky are NOT worth defending anymore after this! Sad, too - because I genuinely have enjoyed their past episodes, but this.... is inexcusable and an a weaker show than this one would be hated on very easily. Seriously, If I saw this shit go down badly enough in lesser shows I actually like like Kick Buttowski or Jimmy Two-Shoes (and both these shows had some disappointing enough episodes in their respected 2nd Seasons... but they weren't enough to turn me off like some people surprisingly enough!) I would never watch these shows again. EVER. Seeing my favorite character, who truly is Spike on this show, act like a clown out of a Robin Williams film, was like seeing Robin Williams attempt to act smart - IT JUST DOESN'T FUCKING WORK!

I was really hoping Williams & Polsky had finally been redeemed in the fans eyes after Too Many Pinkie Pies (My Example of a GOOD Polsky episode) & Wonder-bolts Academy (My Example of a GOOD Williams episode), but this puts them BOTH back on the hook heading for the incinerator, along with this season at its weakest points IMHO! All I can say is that those two need to stay as away from Spike-Centric episodes (ESPECIALLY since he's my favorite fucking character on this whole damn show and seeing him portrayed like this sucks ass!!!) as possible as its quite obvious neither can write the little guy to save their lives. And it really pisses me off.

I just hope next time Spike gets an episode they let someone like Larson, Meghan, Corey, or Morrow write it. Little guy needs more actually good episodes like "Secret Of My Excess" more than ever, especially after this!

That's my view, as (unfortunately) harsh as it is, and I'm going to stick with it! If anyone is angered by this, simply ignore it - but I respect anyone who will logically and effectively defend it (which all of you who have have done a good job of, BTW!) To me, this episode DOESN'T EXIST and DID NOT HAPPEN. Personally, I hope that's how it's treated by the writers as well... Thanks for understanding.

EDIT - This is the last time I will harp on this episode here; I Don't want to ruin anyone's good time with this show by bashing something of it just because I hate that particular something...

edited 29th Dec '12 11:13:31 AM by LostAnarchist

We're getting a break before the Discord episode, yah?

Can we still wear the mustache?

Yes, I believe it's three weeks unitl the next one.

edited 29th Dec '12 11:14:07 AM by JMQwilleran

@Ace: I believe we we're not getting new episodes next week or the week after.

Of course.

Funny thing, that, they haven't referenced Mare-do-well since then :V

Now I'm hoping for some trolling by the writers >:D

Mustache is fine? Sweet :{)

edited 29th Dec '12 11:16:09 AM by AceOfScarabs

@Ace: Which is sad, because the concept could have been amazing if they had handled it better.

There have been visual references to MMDW, such as leftover Rainbow Dash memorabilia in the CMC clubhouse.

In after missed potential :V

Well, it's easy to see why Spike has a bit of a needy nature, he takes after Twi, his big sister/mum figure.

@Lurker: Haven't see the suit around though. It'd make for some fun fanfic fuel to let somepony new take the cloak and become the next Mare-do-well.

edited 29th Dec '12 11:18:02 AM by AceOfScarabs