Help! My Heart is Full of Pony! - Romance and Friendship · 3:06pm May 17th, 2018
Neighsayers have argued that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has gone as far as it can go – that all of the main characters’ hopes and dreams and aspirations have been achieved, and that there is very little driving the show forward anymore. Putting aside the fact that My Little Pony’s strength has always been its ability to tell slice of life stories, the assertion that all of the characters have fulfilled their dreams is simply not true.
Yes, Rarity has multiple boutiques, and Twilight Sparkle is a princess. Yes, Rainbow Dash became a Wonderbolt, and the Crusaders earned their marks. Yes, Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac even made peace with the death of their parents. In the midst of all this plot-resolved-yness, however, there is still one very major dream of one of the main characters that has yet to be resolved in the slightest - an aspiration that was established from the very first episode. I’m talking about Spike, and his infatuation with Rarity.
Perhaps there’s a reason we overlook that so easily. Perhaps we have collectively excluded this goal of Spike’s from our list of “character’s lifelong dream arcs” because we’ve all known from the beginning that it’s never going to happen.
The thing is, Spike has grown a lot over the last few years. He’s gone from the annoying tag-along kid – the sidekick - to the sardonic straight man, and the voice of reason. Over the course of seven seasons, Spike has even racked up quite a few impressive achievements of his own.
So I say it’s time. The show needs to resolve the Rarity-Spike story arc once and for all. Simply put, Spike needs to move on.
Here’s why:
For starters, Spike’s childhood crush on Rarity was just that - a childhood crush. Such things are not meant to last, and what Spike and Rarity have now is far more important – friendship.
Secondly, there’s the potential for an important lesson here. In television and movies, the guy always persists, and in the end, wins the girl. However, the human heart doesn’t actually work that way. You can’t make somebody love you no matter how deserving you think you are. The Hollywood model has lead to so much heart ache. There are men who actually think that, by simply being polite and by being there, they are entitled to the love and affection of the women of their desire. After all, they’ve seen that exact strategy work hundreds, maybe thousands of times in the media they grew up watching. Women, on the other hand, often feel guilty turning a guy down.
It’s not pressure anyone should ever have to feel.
I’m not going to get deep into a discussion of sexual politics, but I will say this: the examples that the media bombards us with, and the relationship models that they propose are incredibly unrealistic, and harmful to everyone.
These things seldom work out as planned, but it’s not a tragedy.
How great would it be for Spike to find another focus of his affection, and for Rarity to be genuinely happy for him? How great would it be for Rarity to actually come right out and say that they’re better off as friends, and for Spike to realize that she is right – that their friendship is a beautiful thing with or without romance?
Spike deserves a moving on episode, and it would be a great service to all of the viewers: boy, girl, man, or woman.
What are your thoughts?
-Sprocket
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Given how little mention has been made of Spike's crush lately, it seems like the writers are hoping that everyone will quietly forget about it. I hope Spike gets more resolution than that for one of his earliest defining traits.
Not something I'd thought of, but yeah, now that you've brought it up, it seems like a great idea. And not something that's so out there I think there's no chance of them doing it, at least, though it may be unlikely.
Well in all honesty, Spike hasn't shown any real romantic affection for Rarity in the show since about season 4 where he had to get over his infatuation somewhat to tell her that the spellbook was driving her mad. Of course, the MLP movie did implement it but that was a minor gripe for me. In all honesty, I don't think it needs a 'firm' end. A lot of crushes just meander and are forgotten or pushed to the side on their own, especially ones as a kid.
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They’re smart to steer away from it, and I do believe it was a conscious choice. It would be nice for them to give it closure though.
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Personally, yeah. I never cared for it myself since it felt more awkward then anything since Spike is still a kid. Still, it is indeed possible he will have a bit of closure by the end or possibly even this season.