Spike's Dragon Code · 8:04pm Nov 4th, 2013
In my last update of Ponyville DxD I've mentioned Spike's personal dragon code. So I wanted to use this blog to talk a little about that and how some people seem to have a problem with it and the season 3 episode "Spike at your Service" in general, because that's where the notion comes from.
Now I will admit that the episode has its flaws, but the dragon code isn't one of them. I've heard many people argue (in reviews and commentaries) that his fixation on following this dragon code we've never heard of totally goes against the lesson learned in the earlier episode "Dragon Quest".
I disagree with that and would in fact argue that the dragon code is a direct consequence of that episode. So it's not chucking continuity out the window and character assassination. (His total ineptness to handle a mop on the other hand is.)
We've seen other dragons and how they behave on the show before. Next to "Dragon Quest" there was also "Owls well that ends well" and "Dragonshy." The lessons learned from those encounters lead to one inescapable conclusion. Dragons are jerks in the MLP universe. Do you really see them live by a code that says saving one's life needs to be repaid by a life of servitude? No.
Spike obviously made this code by himself. (As is evidenced by the art in the show. It's written in crayon, after all.) So he's not emulating other dragons with it. Spike has actually transcended his background into character development. He's taking the lessons he's learned from his pony friends to heart. But he also realizes that he himself is not a pony. And that's a good thing. Otherwise he'd be pretending to be something he's not and that's bad, m'kay.
Instead he's taken the best traits of both sides of his heritage to create this concept of a 'noble dragon' all by himself, because clearly dragons are anything but noble in this world. They are greedy and violent. Spike isn't and I feel that's mostly due to Rarity's influence. She's the Element of Generosity, his love and the mare that brought him back from his rampage in "Secret of my Excess". Hints of this can be seen as far back as "A Dog and Pony Show," where Spike envisions himself as Rarity's white knight. While other dragons use their immense strength for selfish gain, Spike has a strong desire to protect his friends and loved ones. That can also be seen, when he runs after Twilight during the opening of "Equestria Girls." He seeks to live up to a self-imposed ideal and that is why he feels so strongly about serving Applejack, even going so far as to leave Twilight, feeling that he must make this sacrifice to meet his own standards. (And it's not like he's never gonna see her again.)
It's not character inconsistency, it's character growth. Now in the end he realizes that this wasn't the right way to do it and that friendship and nobility/bravery aren't based on equal trade. It's just something you do. But that's natural, because Spike himself is still growing up and learning about these things. I'd like to think that Spike hasn't in fact given up on his ideal of becoming a 'noble dragon', but rather is still working toward that goal by constantly revising his code as he learns more and generally by trying to be the best friend he can be.
So, even if "Spike at your Service" made some mistakes, I really like that concept of Spike continuing his own path, learning from the ponies, but also staying true to his own ideals while acknowledging that he is in fact a dragon. And I hope we'll see more of that in Season 4.
How do you feel about the dragon code and Spike's growth over the past couple of seasons? Did you find "Spike at your Service" unwatchable or are you like me and at least appreciate parts of it? Let me know in the comments below.
I appreciate the concept of the 'Dragon Code' and your interpretation of it feels right and real. The episode itself, however, was unbearable for how it presented both the code and Spike himself. I like the idea that Spike is trying to make himself into a 'noble dragon' and the code is his way of giving himself a guideline to live up to. I'd actually love to see a story one day where - as a late adolescent - he goes over his work on the dragon code, possibly sharing it with someone, either Rarity, Twilight, or Celestia...or possibly Twilight Velvet. That would be a pretty interesting look into how he's grown and developed - not just physically, but also in his concept of nobility.
I like this interpretation, but I do think that episode makes no sense in many different ways. One problem with the idea that Spike just made it up is that Twilight does talk about it with Applejack as though it's a real thing, saying that "This is Dragon Code we're talking about. Surely you know how important the Dragon Code is to a dragon?" If Spike were making it up then surely Twilight would know that. Presumably she knows everything a non-dragon can know about dragons, and Spike himself probably doesn't know any more.
Unfortunately, I can't simply handwave it as 'Spike made it up'. Twilight specifically says in that episode, "Surely you know how important the dragon code is to a dragon!" Meaning, apparently it's been used by dragons before. This is the part I call BS on. As you said, dragons are jerks in the FiM-verse. They would never make a code that entails slavery to any other species that saves their life.
The episode itself is complete horseapples as well. The message I'm getting from it is 'If someone saves your life, you must then become completely subservient to them in an effort to repay them.' There's a word for this: slavery.
Honestly, if I were Applejack, I'd have gone with Spike back to Twilight's house when he 'talked' to her, and made sure she listened.
1481846>>1481857
Yeah, I know that line of Twilight's kinda undercuts my interpretation.
But maybe, just maybe, when Spike told her about his dragon code, she was reading a book and only half listening and she misunderstood it as something that was true for all dragons. Or maybe she meant to say "Surely you know how important this is to Spike" and misspoke due to the fact that she was mentally exhausted from reading too much, when AJ came to her. (I know, I'm bending over backwards here. I'd just hate to see a good idea for the future wasted, because it was executed poorly once.)
I disagree with that. The ultimate message was exactly that this wasn't the right way to repay your friends. "Next time one of us saves the other's life, let's just do it my way and say: That's what friends do." Granted, that moral was kinda shoehorned in at the end.
1481857 didn't Spike want to help Applejack with everything just because she saved him? he felt immense gratitude so he felt he needed to make it up to her, even though she said that it was unneccessary? also, Applejack didn't take advantage of it, so i'm pretty sure it's not slavery, especially since Spike wanted to help her, even though she didn't need it.
but i'm not sure, i haven't seen the episode in a while.
1481873 The point wasn't that Spike wouldn't have a code like that, the point was that it was specifically stated this is something other dragons do. Which is complete BS, given that other dragons in FiM are complete jerks.
1481869 Hey, there's nothing wrong with writing in your own interpretation of events. The canon was poorly executed, yes, but that's what fanon is for!
1481880 oh, sorry, i misunderstood...
i'll just sit in the corner.
halfwaybetweenthegutter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sitting-in-the-corner1.gif?w=451&h=451
1481880
Mind you... it does make sense that other dragons, being such jerks, would demand eternal servitude as repayment for helping someone. Spike may have picked up on a genuine fact and decided that it was a real moral principle for good dragons rather than just something bad dragons do to others.
Anyway, what 1481869 said is true: the point of the episode is that this is a terrible way to do things, not that this is how things should be.
1481880>>1481925
That's the worst thing about it. There were some good ideas and a decent moral present, but somewhere along the writing process it all became a mess.
Also consider this behind-the-scenes factoid: Originally this wasn't supposed to be an Applejack episode. This was supposed to be a Rarity episode. That would have immediately made Spike's internal conflict to leave Twilight and his desire to prove himself Rarity's white knight even more palpable. Maybe that episode would have been better.
I also just remembered that line about Rainbow Dash writing a novel. That was funny. There are nuggets of good in this script, they're just buried under a whole lot of crap to sift through.
1481946
Pinkie's moustache will live on long after the rest of us are dust.
1481946 If it HAD been Rarity, the thought of Spike making up a dragon code to stay with her wouldn't have been nearly as 'wtf'-worthy. Doing it to Applejack just makes one's head tilt... if not explode. Twice.
1481984>>1482092
I've just rewatched the episode and it appears to me that Twilight's quote is really the odd one out.
Spike always calls it "Spike's Dragon Code," implying it's his own personal creation. If you look closely in the screenshot, you can even see Spike written on the card he's holding. (It's just mirrored.)
Also when he argues with himself about leaving Twilight he says: "Come on, Spike. This is your personal, moral, ethical dragon code we're talking about."
Maybe Twilight just leapt to conclusions about all dragons making their own code, because Spike is the only dragon she really has access to. Spike made a code -> all dragons make a code. The code is important to Spike -> the code is important to all dragons. It's the kind of mental trap I can see her falling into, given the fact she has no way for comparison.
Or maybe someone just screwed up in the script editing or the line got slightly changed during recording without noticing how the implication changes. But based on the majority of the lines that clearly state the code as something personal to Spike, I would at least argue that the original intent during the planning of the epsiode was to make this something unique to Spike, which sets him apart from other dragons.
Just needed to get that out there, cause that one line has been bugging the hell out of me, since I first saw the episode.
1482170
Maybe so. That still seems to me to be ooc for Twilight, leaping to conclusions and stereotyping other races, but it seems like someone is going to be ooc in this episode and it may as well be the one who is possibly temporarily insane from reading twelve books in one sitting.