Episode Re-Review: Dragon Quest · 6:37pm Mar 6th, 2021
So, after getting a Twilight focused episode I guess it was natural to have a Spike focused one too (probably not by design, just like I don't think they meant to have Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom focused episodes back to back). But Merriweather Williams was in the writer's seat, and by this point Merriweather didn't seem to have anyone willing to defend her writing. So, is it possible that time has lessened the sting of this episode like some of her other works? Well, let's find out.
Right from the get go you know you're gonna be in for a bad time. Why? Because we see Twilight and Rainbow Dash trying to drag Fluttershy to see a once in a lifetime dragon migration even though Fluttershy insists she doesn't want to go. They know she's afraid of dragons, so why are they trying to force her into something she wants no part of? Oh, but just when you might be tempted to feel sorry for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash presents a photo of her attending a "boring" butterfly migration and says Fluttershy owes her one. And what does Fluttershy do in response? She snaps, tackles Rainbow Dash (and stomps on her stomach briefly) and then flees through a window. So they put Rainbow in the right to make her be in the wrong? What's so wrong about asking a friend to do something you want to do after you did something they wanted to do?
Well, Fluttershy is a no show and Applejack and Pinkie Pie have finished digging a trench. Then Rarity shows up wearing a very lavish outfit while saying "Who says camouflage needs to be drab?" even though the whole point of it is to blend in and not stand out.
The dragons show up after Rarity comes down into the trench, and for a little bit it seems like things are okay. But then Spike shows up wearing a pink apron and pushing a cart, serving muffins to his friends. Immediately, Rainbow Dash starts making fun of him for it and the rest of the mane six (except for Twilight) join in. And if you thought the teasing was bad, just wait until you get a load of this! Spike is told he's not like other dragons even a little, but then Applejack asks "Why would you want to?". The implications are just flying off the page at this point. You could substitute anything you wanted for "other dragons" and it would be just as bad if not worse. And does Twilight, the only one not making fun of Spike do anything at all to stop the teasing or the insulting? No. She just stands there and seems completely unaware of what's unfolding. So we have a mix of not thinking through your implications like "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and Twilight being blind to what's right in front of her like "Look Before You Sleep".
Things do seem to pick up that night when Spike is lying awake, wondering who he really is even as Twilight tells him she doesn't know because she was given his egg. It still raises the question of what the exact intention was with it for the entrance exam, and yet neither of them think to maybe write to Princess Celestia and see if she can help. They do settle on something just as promising, researching dragons together. Yet somehow, even though they migrate through Ponyville, there is no information at all on dragons. And yet it's also known that they can sleep for a thousand years and can grow big through hoarding. If it's that easy to fact check and find contradictions then the script needs to change. Did no one proofread this at any point, not even just a quick glance over? This feels like something you would catch in editing.
Rarity and Rainbow Dash show up at the library to invite Twilight to breakfast, and then Spike decides he'll pack up his things and join the dragon migration. I know I'm supposed to care when Rarity and Rainbow Dash both object to Spike going off on his own, but after what they said yesterday I don't feel like their comments are sincere. Especially since they still keep belittling Spike and patronizing him. Twilight lets him go, actually showing some common sense. But as soon as Spike is out of range she confirms to Rarity and Rainbow Dash that they're going to follow him from a distance. So what was the point of telling Spike he was free to go by himself if you were just going to tail him as if to say you don't trust him?
We get a montage of Spike traveling alone for a while, even riding a raft down a river with Cranky Doodle Donkey. Eventually, however, he comes to some cliffs and lava pits and finds dragons everywhere. He decides to go hang out with teenage dragons because they're apparently on his level (even though he's a baby dragon). And it's here that we meet Garble, though he isn't identified by name. From here on out the episode is spent on bland and uninspiring (dare I say insulting) stereotypes of boys. They're disgusting, they're rude, you get the idea. Yet when Spike belly flops into lava they seem impressed and make him "rookie". Nothing else really happens though until they decide to go off and raid a phoenix nest (because they're bored, I guess). Spike initially tries to get out by taking advantage of the fact that he can't fly, but the teenage dragons just pick him up and take him with them anyway. And of course they make Spike be the bait to lure the parents away from the nest, which he accomplishes by throwing a rock.
Unfortunately for the teenage dragons, all the eggs in the nest have hatched and even the babies are too much for them. But by a stroke of luck, Spike manages to get an egg that hasn't hatched yet. The teenage dragons pressure him into smashing it but he refuses, drawing a similarity with his own egg. Garble naturally doesn't take this defection well and corners Spike. But then Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash (who have been hiding in a poorly made dragon costume this whole time) show up and it looks like they're going to fight. What they end up doing instead, however, is running away.
Spike decides to come back and live with the ponies, wanting nothing to do with the dragons anymore. And while he's writing his friendship lesson to Princess Celestia about how where you're from isn't the same as who you are, we see pictures of the mane six without Spike that Spike had to insert a picture of himself into. I have no idea why they put that in there because it isn't funny, it's insulting and makes the mane six look really bad for excluding Spike from things for no reason! Then the egg hatches and Spike names the baby phoenix Peewee. However, the writers would forget all about Peewee and hastily write him out. They might as well have just had the episode end by stating that Spike wasn't going to get to keep Peewee and would have it to give him back to his family. At least then it wouldn't feel like an insult to have him be forgotten so abruptly.
And that's the story, so what do I think of the episode? Well, there's no denying it, it sucked! It's with this episode that Merriweather Williams eclipsed Charlotte Fullerton as the black sheep of the writing staff, because at least Fullerton had written "Suited For Success" which everyone loved. Merriweather had yet to pen a success, and a performance like this cast a huge cloud over her writing that eclipsed even that of "The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well". The first half of the episode is spent watching the mane six, our "heroes" insult and belittle Spike for wanting to know more about who he is and to be more like a dragon, to the point where they don't even think he can fend for himself. The episode itself goes on to punish Spike for wanting to seek answers, basically saying he should be glad he doesn't act like a dragon because all dragons are brutes and bullies who just pick on others for the fun of it. You wanna see this episode concept done right? Check out "Dipper v.s. Manliness" from Gravity Falls. In that episode at least they had the courage to call out the stereotypes and point out how that doesn't define what a "real" representation is supposed to be. I'm thoroughly convinced this is a first draft that Merriweather wrote and turned in, and no one bothered to look over it. Because there's so many things that I think even just a quick glance over would've caught. And there's a reason why you never go with your first draft, it's never going to be polished and you're going to make mistakes that will need to be corrected. This episode easily gets an F-, it's the worst of the unholy trilogy of Spike focus episodes and probably his worst episode overall, it's that bad!
Well, things should pick right back up with "Hurricane Fluttershy" which is regarded as one of Fluttershy's best outings and one of Rainbow Dash's better showings. And boy did both need it after what Season 2 had offered them up to this point.
This is definitely the worst episode of the season, and for a brief time, it was my least favorite episode of the series.
And even the ones I like less are arguably slightly better written, but they make me angrier
Remember back when I said there was a Season 2 Merriweather Williams episode I think is worse than The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well? Well in case you haven't figured it out by now, it's this one!
The reason I consider this episode worse is because of one little detail; it's unskippable. Say what you will about The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. At least you can ignore it and lose nothing. This episode, however, is one you have to watch because there are several episodes later on that reference it, such as Just for Sidekicks, Gauntlet of Fire, and Molt Down.
I am utterly shocked that this episode managed to be both racist and sexist at the same time.
They did my boi Spike dirty in this episode
5469213
Yup
Yeah, I agree that this episode is one of the worst in the early seasons.