Gauntlet of Fire, various thoughts · 4:39pm Apr 16th, 2016

This was a pretty sweet episode. Nothing spectacular, just enjoyable. Nothing much else to be said, but as the new writers grow, we might get something as interesting as it is sweet. Unto the thoughts~

—Princess Ember for Dragon Lord. I see why Spike relinquished his position to her. It's kind of refreshing to see him be a mature and pony-like dragon again, who doesn't succumb to his apparently inherent greed. I find it kind of odd he doesn't seem to struggle with it at all, so I figure Twilight's been treating him for it. I do find it somewhat of a waste in terms of narrative, though, since Spike still doesn't have any significant role in the story yet. Having be the Dragon Lord could have been a pretty good way to advance relations between ponies and dragons and would have enabled Spike to grow as a character.
—Speaking of Ember, her character design is such amaze. It's so simple, but I love it.
—Having Garble embarrass himself by ordering him to randomly hug other dragons is so perfect. He's probably going to be doing that for a while. I wanna see a story written about that.
—Ahh, I'm sad the princesses are there for just this one scene. I feel as though their presence could have contributed to the episode. I kind of wanted either more of plot or of character interaction, and their continued presence would be a sign of such. But nope, their absence creates an uneventful and predictable episode, which, while enjoyable could easily have been more than decent and outright good. Seriously, the show has proven itself capable of releasing a good Spike episode; Inspiration Manifestation is proof. But fair enough, this time Spike wasn't an idiot or a jerk.
—Wow the former Lord isn't a huge prick. I'm feeling ambivalent about the characterisation here, as well as everywhere else. Especially considering how bad Twi and Rarara are at reading Ember's attitude. One is a highly socially savvy character, the other is an intelligent bookworm. They should be more observant than this.
—This is quite a bit of world-building, but I wish more of the Dragon Lands would be shown. I mean, as hardened as they are, I don't think they necessarily live among the barren stone. Or do they, and live off cattle and animals? At least one dragon lived in a cave, I guess.
—The score for the episode is epic. This makes sense, as dragons are such ancient and powerful beings, and Spike seeks to glorify them by being the example of a noble sort. The dragon who is also a knight, who does battle against other monsters. Wow, the soundtrack this season's been great. Especially appreciated is the custom credits roll track it seems we'll be getting EVERY episode.:3
—Twilight is kyut, as expected. But so is that squeeing dragon.