An explanation for Twilight's ignorance is the self-density principle where, most of the time, people do not grasp any social constructs that relate to them. However, they do understand others as they are just an objective outsider. It is like when people don't believe that someone is in love with them, but don't realize it until they spell it out. If they looked at it objectively, they would see it a mile away.
The main issue with early Spike episodes is the fact that Spike is a "butt monkey." He ends up only existing to suffer and cause problems. Thankfully he not treated as bad as Meg or Squidward. Though he does share similar issues; like Spikes likably comes from pity rather than praise.
Then there are the protagonists who you're supposed to root for, but they're either loud and annoying, cocky, or treat everyone like dirt Then there are those who are generic and boring Luckily, there are protagonists that are more entertaining, but when the main character is someone you wanna punch in the face instead of rooting for them, then there's a problem
It's why I'm glad for the writing shift that happened during season 5, the new writers clearly love Spike and want to do stuff with him. Especially Josh Haber, who every time he has a two parter makes sure Spike's got some role in it.
You point about showing people that you care is something a lot of people struggle with. And Twilight does seem like the sort of person to have this problem. Heck, we see her have this problem several times throughout the series. I don't see that as a problem with the story, I see that as a character flaw and potential for character development. I will agree the writing is a bit awkward. This season one, right? Season one had a lot of awkwardly written scripts. MLP has improved a lot over the years.
I think part of the problem is that the show never actually explores Spike and twilight's relationship beyond him being her assistant, they even fluctuate on how old Spike is mentally. The only consistent thing about him is that he's the boy of the group, but even that is inconsistent. its because Spike is a side character and only gets the occasional focus episode, so his character isn't as defined as the Mane 6's
I think this episode does explore it. About how much he wants Twilight's approval and how much he ties his identity to being her assistant. I disagree that his character is not defined. He does have motivations, interests, characters traits and things that are important to him.
NOTE TO SELF: Schedule an extra therapy session with Dr. Wolf for Josh once this trilogy is done. And possibly ask WhiteDoveCreations if she could spare a Celestia plush for Josh to cuddle.
They're not...but Joshie here has been in a AMWDW as himself with a live action Doc. The Doc was even there for him when he was angsting over Antlantica from KH2 in one of his lists.
That Owl's last appearance was in S5: What About Discord? We see him in some photo's in Twilight's room in S7, but the animal itself has been missing for over 2 seasons making it the least seen pet as of late.
Remember Peewee and Philomina? Neither does "Has-Beens". Giving Celestia and Spike their own pet Fire Birds for only one episode: and _never_ bringing them back or mentioning them, ever again. This is stellar market-based writing that is worthy of an Oscar.
On FOBEquestria, when I search "Gauntlet of Fire," all that shows up is your video on Alternate Element Bearers. Have you actually done a "Too Seriously" for GoF yet, Josh? Or is that coming in the future?
I actually had the exact same thought. XD But good to hear it'll be coming along anyway. I miss getting reviews on this channel of episodes Josh likes. XD Not that I don't enjoy these. And I suppose it must be done eventually. XP
10:20 - Umm, when has Twilight EVER shown that she loves Spike before this episode? Before this episode I can't recall when she was shown to be loving towards him, treating him either as a useful assistant, or an annoyance. So her claiming she loves him when (far as I can recall) she's never acted in a loving manner before this point is a joke. Sure we can take on faith that she loves him, but that's bad writing if you go by the "tell, don't show" rule.
We all knew it was a terrible idea when the trailers launched. If they weren't going to surprise us by putting in effort a la the Lego Movie, why did they even bother? All the money from the hour and a half ad they made?
Eh, I actually never got through a number of Season 5 episodes. Princess Spike for being predictable (though I could go back to it), Party Pooped because I hate the yaks, What About Discord because Twilight's point of view hit too close to home, so to speak, A few others (I'm not gonna list ALL of them), and skipping to Season 7, Triple Threat. I can narrow down the Season 5 skips to specific elements, but Triple Threat was just a total slog.
Triple Threat is an episode where the last 5 minutes is better than the first 18 minutes. I recommend looking at the end of that episode for the good character moments contained there.
14:48, I totally agree with this. I was spoiled about the ending to Citizen Kane before watching it for my Intro to Cinema class. But when I did watch it, I was amazed at the film and the hints that it gave and it made me love it even more than I might have if I knew nothing about it in the first place.
That one is more about personal failure, and being willing to accept your own mistakes, so it should get a decent rating. Plus, Josh works in live performances, so he's likely dealt with some of the same issues there.
Spike's jealous? Let's deny it and even give the new owl assistant the same gem bedazzled bow tie Spike received the other day. "I need help at night, when you're supposed to be sleeping. Let's have the owl work/help during the day too!" So, when does it sleep? I do agree that it could have been handled a bit better. Honestly, when watching this review, I started thinking that this was all a dream Spike had. They shower him with so much praise earlier, only for the shift and conflict to happen, followed by the "resolution"... oh well. Nice video!
I think it's actually quite a strong episode and it foreshadowed what Cindy Morrow was great at. Spike was wrong for not being clear to Twilight about how he was feeling. Twilight meanwhile didn't try to look into it and just blindly copied what I think Celestia did to her. Cindy Morrow is best at feels scene's and making neither side right or wrong and it shows here. It highlights both characters weaknesses, Spike in keeping too much inside and Twilight for having poor social skills. I don't get why it's so hated, I think it's one of the strongest episodes of season 1. One thing though is that it doesn't really feel like a season 1 episode but more like a season 2 episode. With how flawed the characters are portrayed and how much it focuses on their relationships and emotions. The whole thing where Spike runs away is really just an afterthought and instead parenting is the main focus. The plot has always been Cindy's weakest element. Her strongest has been the emotions of the characters and making them realistically flawed. That is on full display here though because it has more plot than something like Sisterhoofs social has it's not as good. But that moment where Twilight says how disappointed she is in Spike is amazing. It's still I think one of the strongest mamma Twilight scene's. What makes it even better is how she later apologizes to him. It's not underdone nor overdone, it's just the right amount. She doesn't retract her verdict and she still says she is disappointed in Spike, but that doesn't mean she suddenly doesn't love him anymore. It also shows her inexperience in relationships and how to be a mother. She's far from perfect but she means well and she's good enough. I actually think that's a very strong lesson to kids. You can have problems and can disappoint your parents. Yet that doesn't mean they don't love you. Trying to hide it only makes things worse and running away won't get you anywhere.
Mar Otto I actually kinda like Twilight as an Alicorn better I like how she’s the more mature voice of reason in the group. I just like moments like this and it shows how much she’s grown. And some of her quirky spazzy moments in the first season kinda annoyed me to be honest.
Pretty sure you're misunderstanding Twilight's role here. She may be a guardian, but looking at the history, she's not all that much older than Spike. I would say she's anywhere from 5-10 years older than him so expecting her to be the parent in a situation like this is going to end... kinda like how this episode did. Twilight herself is not mature enough to care for someone in the best way, which is probably why many fans see Spike more like a little brother to her than a son. Bottom line is that Twilight is not a proper parent for Spike, especially not this early in the show's run.
Angel Perkins If you go by the comics, yes it is Celestia's fault. There's not been a show explanation as to why or how she kept Spike that I know of yet.
There are certain episodes where Applejack isn't all that great with Apple Bloom. She also isn't raising her alone. Big Mac and Granny Smith are still alive.
Unlike many who see Twilight and Spike's relationship as mother-son, or siblings on equal level, I've always seen them as sibling-like with a significant age gap between them, such that one holds more responsibility than the other... almost exactly like Nani and Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch." I was pleasantly surprised to see Josh himself echo this when he called Twilight's relationship to Spike something to the effect of "older sibling taking care of younger sibling when both parents are gone," specifically referencing Lilo and Stitch for an example of that kind of relationship. I don't remember which video that was in (please tell me if you know), but he did mention that, and I was so happy to see one of my favorite reviewers agree with me on a detail I disagreed with most others on. But back to the main point Josh was trying to make, regardless of Twilight's familial relationship to Spike, her role is essentially that of legal guardian--he having been entrusted to her from hatching--so she is responsible for his safety. Not entirely like a parent, but still responsible enough to be called out for her neglectful behavior in this episode.
This was one of the first MLP episodes I ever watched, and it was just on the telly by chance. I didn't really find it all that offensive because I didn't know the characters and really didn't expect much from My Little Pony, as I'd only known G3. The only thought I really had was wondering why on earth a Princess would care at all about some kid getting jealous when Twilight sent Celestia her letter. But after seeing some of the better episodes (Equestria Games and a Discord episode, though I don't remember which one) I watched the show, and this episode was so much worse for it. Twilight was my favourite character at that point and seeing her act that way was just really off. It's interesting to me how loving something more can increase how badly you notice the flaws, and how we really only pick apart episodes like this out of love for a normally good show. And that is my ramble over.
You think Scootaloo grabbing the half eaten apple with her mouth was bad? What about poor Mr. Cake who had to CHANGE DIRTY DIAPERS with his mouth? I think those ponies have had to develop some strong stomachs to deal with the fact that many times their mouth is the only thing they can grip with.
You know what would have made this episode better? If it took place mostly at NIGHT. That way what Twilight said about Owlowiscious helping her at night would make sense instead of it being a rotten *excuse* in this episode. Maybe also make Twilight not be so oblivious! Spike would still get jealous, despite the fact that he is not really able to help at night since he needs his sleep. He tries to help Twilight at night, but of course he ends up falling asleep out of exhaustion. In the morning, Twilight talks to him about how how he should let Owlowiscious help her at night and that she will not replace him. However, he still thinks that Owlowiscious is taking his job, despite that not really being the case. Eventually, he lets it get the best of him like in the episode and at night tries to accuse Owlowiscious of killing a field mouse. Then, he runs away and yada yada it plays out like it already did in the episode... Except Twilight actually was more sensitive... Oh and no praise for Owlowiscious from the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike overhearing it. He just thinks that he's being replaced when he isn't.
On a seperate note; I think the comparison to Toy Story isn't bad, but I feel it's better to compare Twilight and Spike's relationship to being more like Nani and Lilo's from Lilo & Stitch.
I honestly like the owl hoot joke, even if it is overused. Yeah, it doesn't work as well here as the writers wanted. A better example would be from 'Sword in the Stone.' But it's cute and classic.
For the first three seasons, we got one/at least bad spike episode per season. Season 5 gave us another underwhelming Spike episode. Season 6 however, gave us Gauntlet of Fire, which was a great Spike episode. Season 7 gave us another possibly good Spike episode. It certainly had him be a lot more sympathetic and sort of reasonable in my opinion. Spike episodes seem to be a "Once a season" thing. Maybe the next Spike episode will be good as well? Spike is a good character who just needs more good episodes. Him being a very young dragon might be part of the reason why the writers aren't making many good episodes? On a positive unrelated note, at least Thorax is turning out to be a good male character that has gotten good episodes. Considering the sheer lack of good reoccurring male characters in the show, this is a good sign of progress. :)
I've checked. You're right, there is at least ONE "bad" Spike episode in each season... EXCEPT Season 6. Both Spike episodes were awesome, and to top it off, Spike didn't cause the problem 🤩
Holy crap, I just realized this episode happened to me! Back in 8th Grade there was the guy named Aidan Barret, who I still go to school with and he was just like me, he opened the door for people, he was nice and he liked Star Wars, and what made it worse was he was in almost every class with me and in speech class he would get all whiney because he was missing resource class (and he was dopey looking) But at the end of the day it was a coincidence that he was just like me. Also he's dating one of my friends and I still don't like him. And I felt the same way with my little sister Leslie.
3:45 oh dear god, that thousand-yard stare with bohemian rhapsody playing in the background. I can't...I can't I pfffffft **breaks into hysterical laughter**
Well, you're right that she should have talked things out with him. But in addition to making for a much shorter episode, people sometimes can be oblivious or have trouble talking in real life. Sometimes people ignore someone's bad mood hoping they'll just get over it. It's not right. But it does happen. I guess what you say about mother and son makes a difference. But I tend to see them more like siblings. One thing I notice here is how much better the episodes have gotten over time.
I agree with a lot of this, but there are a few things worth remembering about this situation. 1. Twilight, if we're going with Spike being an analogue to her child, was still incredibly young when Spike was born. Wayyy younger than a teenager, an age range that has massive difficulties with child care. This compounded with Twi spending her own formative years engrossed in study, it's reasonable to imagine she's a very inexperienced guardian despite the time she had to learn with Spike. 2. The world of MLP treats the threat of death and destruction far lighter than our own. Cataclysmic events end in new friendships, like the arc with Starlight Glimmer. The ponies within Equestria are far quicker to forgive and forget compared to humanity, and treat life-threatening situations casually after the fact. Projecting more human approaches to things like crime, attempted murder, world-ending horrors and the like generally become a moot point after you remember that the morals of humans are different from ponies. 3. This was still in the early stages of MLP, before they got their more practiced hand in writing. I'm sure we can point to a fair few episodes from S2 where the writers missed the mark they were aiming for. While this doesn't excuse writing flaws, it did explain them a tad. Still a good review/critique from you, even if the episode in question was lackluster.
In defense of Twilight, Spike did let his jealousy get the better of him. Instead of talking to Twilight about it (like you accuse her of not doing), he decided to go all supervillain and went to sabotage Owlowisious by causing a mess and framing the owl for it. Kid or not, Twilight had every right to scold him for it because Spike responded to his jealousy by being a selfish brat.
Ok I'm glad me and josh said the same thing here 13:19 And yes I tend to openly argue and yell when watching reviews for movies and tv show episodes on RUclips...
I actually like this episode more than Goblet of Fire. In Goblet they were hyping up Spike so much and he's just a child. I like characters in smaller stories and I think this really made Spike a very unique character. He is a fully fleshed out servant character who does have depth to him but still entirely ties his identity to someone else. With how much self realization is emphasized nowadays I really liked that MLP FIM could still have characters like that. I also like that they put Spike firmly in the wrong but for very believable reasons. He wasn't a holy right like he somewhat was in Goblet.
2 comments to the editor: 1) The constant background music was a bit distracting. Not enough that I dislike this review, but noticeable in a few places that it didn’t fit very well. 2) That gag at 8:35 was one of the funniest things ever done in a Firey Joker video. Thanks you so much for whoever decided to put that in there!
The best utilization of background music is when it doesn't distract. And here, it mostly helps hold moments of the video together. In other words, either using it or not can work fine. Keep playing with the balance as you see fit.
Owl's Well That Ends Well (Sofia the First Version) Characters in Order of Appearance Clover - A rabbit and friend of Sofia, whose gluttony sometimes interferes with Sofia's royal duties. Crackle - Vivian's pet dragon who has an obsessive crush on Clover. Unlike her quiet and reserved owner, Crackle is loud, hyperactive, and outgoing and breathes fire when excited, which is most of the time. When Crackle was younger, she used to be very shy. She is also jealous around anyone when they are near someone she cares about, or if they grab the attention. Praline - Princess Amber’s loyal and fashionable pet peacock, is revealed to be much like Amber, posh and stylish. He is also very fond of apples, very sensitive as well as proud of his tail feathers and can be quite serious at times. Praline often accompanies Amber on her adventures and adds an extra touch of elegance. Freedo - Prince James’ pet baboon. He is shown to be playful and enjoys a game of fetch. However, sometimes, his playful running around can cause problems and bother the other pets, especially Praline. Rex - A foxhound and James' dog. It turns out that Rex loves to play games and like all dogs, he loves to bury bones. He is a bit goofy, but he claims he is smarter than he looks. Rex is also shown to be a bit forgetful. Princess Sofia Balthazar-Winslow I née Cordova - Sofia Baltazar is an 8-year-old girl with shoulder-length wavy auburn hair. She has fair skin with rosy cheeks and large light blue eyes. A kind and adventurous village girl who becomes a princess after her mother, Miranda, marries King Roland II. Sofia is a mix of ethnic nationalities: Galdiz, Miranda's homeland, and Freezenburg, the homeland of her deceased biological father Birk Balthazar. After becoming part of the royal family, she becomes the current bearer of the mystical Amulet of Avalor, which Roland made her promise never to take off. It grants her various magical abilities, namely the ability to understand and transform into animals. Princess Amber Winslow - Praline’s owner, Sofia's older stepsister, and James' twin sister. She is initially vain, spoiled, and impatient, but over the course, Sofia helps her become a better person and friend and she develops a love of astronomy and adventure. Honoring her title as princess, she devotes her life to jewelry and keeping everything clean. Prince James Winslow - Sofia's older stepbrother and Amber's twin brother, as well as Roland's son and Miranda's stepson, who aspires to be a knight when he grows up. Unlike Amber, he is adventurous, playful, and outgoing, like Sofia. Princess Vivian - Sofia's friend, who is the music-loving princess of Zumaria. Princess Hildegard - One of Amber's best friends and the princess of Freezenburg. Like Amber, she is snobbish and vain until she befriends Sofia. She has a pet mink named Lulu. Ruby Hanshaw - One of Sofia's best friends from the village. Plot Sofia realizes that Clover, being a bunny, is unable to stay awake to help her with her astronomy studies, but gets help with a new pet owl, Owlowiscious. Clover becomes jealous of Owlowiscious, thinking the owl wants to replace him as Sofia's assistant and pet. Later, a transition from Sofia gently praising Clover as he sleeps to angrily confronting him about the astronomy book Clover burned by accident is very sudden and shocking (As Clover drifts off to sleep, Sofia says that he'll always come through. Then, it abruptly cuts to Sofia finding out about the astronomy book Clover burned by accident, which she slams near Clover, waking him up) and scolds him for hiding it from her, and later still expresses disappointment when he tries to frame Owlowiscious for killing a field mouse by stealing Praline’s toy one, from Amber, and ketchup to make it look like blood. CONTENTS 1. Star Party! 2. A New Assistant?! 3. Clover Is Jealous 4. Clover in the Doghouse 5. Clover Learns a Lesson Chapter 1 Clover and Sofia are getting ready for the meteor shower which happens every 100 years, and when Sofia asks Clover for an astronomy book she wanted to give Amber, Clover goes to get it, only to accidentally burn the pages away due to him sneezing from the dust, which makes the candle fall on the pages. Rather than tell Sofia the truth, he tells Sofia someone else must have checked out the book. They arrive at the spot where they meet with their friends, and Clover enjoys being admired as "Sofia's #1 assistant". He eventually falls asleep during the party in the punch bowl, leading Crackle to comment that "the punch has been... Clovered!" Chapter 2 Sofia eventually takes him home. After getting Clover to bed, Sofia begins to write about meteors and a gust of wind blows away the paper. An owl grabs it for her, but when it's a o fly away, Sofia asks him to accompany her during the night. When Clover wakes up the next morning, he notices the owl, now named tOwlowiscious, now is helping him with the daily chores as the junior assistant. While Sofia leaves, she asks him to introduce himself to the owl. Chapter 3 However, Clover gets suspicious and starts to get jealous at the possibility of being replaced, as Sofia shows off Owlowiscious to her friends and basically having most of his chores done by the owl, leaving Clover with little to do. When her friends are worried of Clover's jealousy, Sofia reassures them that Owlowicious would never replace him, although he thinks otherwise. Chapter 4 Sofia finds the book Clover burned by accident and is angry and disappointed in him for lying to her. In response, Clover steals Praline's toy mouse from Amber, then tries to use ketchup as blood and feathers to frame Owlowiscious as a mouse-killer. Sofia catches him in the act, and expresses her deepening disappointment by saying "This is not the Clover I know and love!". Clover is distraught at the notion that Sofia doesn't love him anymore. Chapter 5 When Clover decides to run away from home, Sofia decides to show him how much he really means to her. After they discussed their issues, they tried to follow the relationship of Amber and Praline, which had to do with this misunderstanding as it was stuck in their mind. Sofia tells him he'll always be her #1 assistant and friend, and that Owlowiscious is to help her at nighttime (so Clover can sleep)...not to be Clover's replacement. They both apologize, Clover for being jealous and Sofia for not being more sensitive. Clover then apologizes to Owlowiscious for his jealousy. Sofia and Clover decide to write the weekly letter to the Three Good Faires, learning that telling lies and being jealous gets you nowhere, and there's a lot of love for everyone to go around.
I'll be honest, while the background music is nice and fitting to that "review feel" (if that makes any sense at all), something about it is distracting. I don't know if it was a little too loud or just the mere presence of the music was the problem, but I had to rewind a couple times so I could better grasp what was being said. So, yeah, I think I prefer the quiet, but if music is a nice change for everybody else, it's a change I can accustom myself to without needless nitpicking. ...oh, right, I should say something else, too. Twilight was a b**** in this episode. She's my favorite of the Mane Six, but it's safe to say that she had massive character improvement from this low point. And as much as I love owls, Owlowisious really should have had a better introduction episode. Something that wasn't lazy or irritating as this. As for the next episode...hoo boy. I remember only watching it once and thinking, "Meh." I really don't recall what I liked/disliked about it, so that review will be very enlightening to me. (May Celestia save your soul, Josh.)
*when twilight is talking about needing the owl at night* Me: Wait, Then why did you get his help during the d- Josh: THEN WHY DID YOU GET HIS HELP DURING THE DAY?!?
O.O "The punch has been spiked" traditionally refers to putting alcohol in the punch bowl. Like at a high school dance or something. Still a bit of an older joke for kids but not nearly as inappropriate as making a reference to the date rape drug. Otherwise, can't help but agree. I don't know if I'd give Spike quite as much of a pass as I don't think "He's a kid" is an excuse to not hold someone at least partially responsible for their actions (unless we're talking about someone younger than say 8 but Spike is clearly built up to be more mature than that given all the things he's given responsibility over). But I agree that it is still mostly Twilight's fault for not sitting down with Spike and actually talking to him about what's upsetting him like an equal so they can come up with solutions for the problem together. You know... childcare 101.
As long as I can still clearly hear you, I'm fine with background music. Also, love your videos, Josh! You're without question the best brony in this fandom.
I'm pretty sure the reason the book burned up and didn't get sent to Celestia is because the paper the scrolls are made out of seem to have some kind of magical charm on them to ensure they get teleported without getting damaged. When he uses fire breath on objects that don't have this magical charm, they burn as they normally would.
I know this is a three-year-old video, but great review! Your comments are the exact problems I had with the episode. There’s just one other thing I’d like to add. Spike apologizes for being jealous. I understand what the writers were going for, but I personally don’t like the execution. Something that I’ve learned and something we should be teaching kids is that you have a right to your feelings and that they’re neither good nor bad. Rather, it’s what you do with them that’s good or bad. Now, if the writers had him apologize for running away or taking his jealousy too far, that would have been better.
Yay! Finally someone explained why I actually like spoilers. People always seem to think it's strange that I like spoilers. Even if something is given away or predictable I still like to see if I'm right and how it gets from point a to point b.
It's kinda annoying how stupid Twilight is in this episode. In a Canterlot wedding, while everypony thinks that it's Cadence, Twi is convinced that it's Chrysalis, and she was right, while she was with Cadence for her childhood, which many ponies and people may not fully remember. (I can barely remember from a few years ago) Spike has been with Twilight for a long time too, so she would be able to tell.
10:49 and depression. Well done Twilight! You're paying the hundreds of bits for therapy! Spike is a kid, and Twilight should be more considerate! Twilight went crazy for a letter! A letter is child's play compared to spike. Kids commonly exaggerate what they are hearing or getting told, like if they hear that a guardian is disappointed, they might think that they don't love them, or if parents argue, that they may break up, and if they have a good friendship with a sibling, that they'll never see their brother/sister again. (One time for me, my mum said that she was going to put the Christmas tree in the bin, which she didn't, she didn't mean it, but I took it literally and started crying, thinking that Christmas was cancelled and that we wouldn't get gifts.) sorry for that little rant, It's just that Twilight sucked in the episode
This was a good review. I liked the little comedic moments, especially when you pretended to laugh at the 'who' joke. Heh xD I remember watching this myself and being so angry, I always hate when characters are feeling bad yet are put at an expense due to a dumb misunderstanding... Also that ending surprised me xD
Josh, I'm pretty sure you're taking the "spiked punch" joke further than ANYONE intended. I'm not sure about you, but when I hear that someone's "spiked the punch" I immediately think of *ALCOHOL* . Slipping someone a Rohypnol or Rufinol is usually referred to as "being Roofied." Just wanted to mention that as I didn't see it in the comments and I doubt even Animanics would go *THAT* far with a joke.
16:38. Any way I could help? Do I need to ask Dr Wolf to schedule another appointment regarding this? Or do we need to put you in a straight jacket and padded cell for a but so you can vent and not break anything-explosion- or that. May the review be merciful to you. Have a good day and I hope the jokes weren't too much and if so, my sincerest apologies for that. Personally, I like the use of background music; it helps me understand the theme of the review and helps me know the pacing a bit as well as the augmentation of the humor as well. Happy late Halloween and early Los Dios De Los Muertos!
the next one "spike at your service" is the one episode that i don't remember finishing. i have seen clips from it, but i barely remember any of it. so this is gonna be interesting.
"I didn't know Spike could set things on fire with his mind."
He didn't know it either until "Equestria Games."
Staaaaaaaaaaare
An explanation for Twilight's ignorance is the self-density principle where, most of the time, people do not grasp any social constructs that relate to them. However, they do understand others as they are just an objective outsider. It is like when people don't believe that someone is in love with them, but don't realize it until they spell it out. If they looked at it objectively, they would see it a mile away.
The main issue with early Spike episodes is the fact that Spike is a "butt monkey." He ends up only existing to suffer and cause problems. Thankfully he not treated as bad as Meg or Squidward. Though he does share similar issues; like Spikes likably comes from pity rather than praise.
Then there are the protagonists who you're supposed to root for, but they're either loud and annoying, cocky, or treat everyone like dirt Then there are those who are generic and boring Luckily, there are protagonists that are more entertaining, but when the main character is someone you wanna punch in the face instead of rooting for them, then there's a problem
It's why I'm glad for the writing shift that happened during season 5, the new writers clearly love Spike and want to do stuff with him. Especially Josh Haber, who every time he has a two parter makes sure Spike's got some role in it.
RUclips: Local Marine Loses Mind Because of Magic Horse Show
More about this at eleven And now for sports
Spike episodes are like a roller-coaster, some ups, and some downs, Owl Well That Ends Well being one of the downs.
Is it an up or a down? You made that kinda ambiguous.
Giovanni Orellana, the first 5 min were good but the rest of this episode was garbage.
Liam White Oh a down. I should edit that comment.
A deep dive into the underground down, like Roller Coaster Tycoon designs.
Well, for some the entire roller coaster is enjoyable.
You point about showing people that you care is something a lot of people struggle with. And Twilight does seem like the sort of person to have this problem. Heck, we see her have this problem several times throughout the series. I don't see that as a problem with the story, I see that as a character flaw and potential for character development.
I will agree the writing is a bit awkward. This season one, right? Season one had a lot of awkwardly written scripts. MLP has improved a lot over the years.
"I didn't know Spike could set fire to things with his mind."
No Equestria Games reference? Nothing? I'm disappointed.
I think part of the problem is that the show never actually explores Spike and twilight's relationship beyond him being her assistant, they even fluctuate on how old Spike is mentally. The only consistent thing about him is that he's the boy of the group, but even that is inconsistent.
its because Spike is a side character and only gets the occasional focus episode, so his character isn't as defined as the Mane 6's
I think this episode does explore it. About how much he wants Twilight's approval and how much he ties his identity to being her assistant. I disagree that his character is not defined. He does have motivations, interests, characters traits and things that are important to him.
Twilight holds the idiot ball in this episode.
8:19 Lucky for her, Spike didn't bring that to her.
NOTE TO SELF: Schedule an extra therapy session with Dr. Wolf for Josh once this trilogy is done.
And possibly ask WhiteDoveCreations if she could spare a Celestia plush for Josh to cuddle.
Gamemaster Anthony I don't think the fiery joker and commander firebrand are the same character though
They're not...but Joshie here has been in a AMWDW as himself with a live action Doc. The Doc was even there for him when he was angsting over Antlantica from KH2 in one of his lists.
The next one is THAT?
Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and pray for your well-being, Josh.
That Owl's last appearance was in S5: What About Discord?
We see him in some photo's in Twilight's room in S7, but the animal itself has been missing for over 2 seasons making it the least seen pet as of late.
Remember Peewee and Philomina? Neither does "Has-Beens". Giving Celestia and Spike their own pet Fire Birds for only one episode: and _never_ bringing them back or mentioning them, ever again.
This is stellar market-based writing that is worthy of an Oscar.
@@0hvist PeeWee was seen later.
Aw, I was hoping you would end the Spike marathon on Gauntlet of Fire, a fantastic Spike episode and one of my favorite episodes in general.
That'll be on the FOBEquestria channel
joshscorcher 🤣 Oh, you. That makes so much sense... and thinking.
On FOBEquestria, when I search "Gauntlet of Fire," all that shows up is your video on Alternate Element Bearers. Have you actually done a "Too Seriously" for GoF yet, Josh? Or is that coming in the future?
I actually had the exact same thought. XD
But good to hear it'll be coming along anyway.
I miss getting reviews on this channel of episodes Josh likes. XD
Not that I don't enjoy these. And I suppose it must be done eventually. XP
Jacob Bielski
pay attention to his wording. He said "that'll be on..." not "that is on..."
10:20 - Umm, when has Twilight EVER shown that she loves Spike before this episode? Before this episode I can't recall when she was shown to be loving towards him, treating him either as a useful assistant, or an annoyance. So her claiming she loves him when (far as I can recall) she's never acted in a loving manner before this point is a joke. Sure we can take on faith that she loves him, but that's bad writing if you go by the "tell, don't show" rule.
that Emoji movie never should have been thought of.
BLUERAYGUNNER Nor mentioned like the Revoke Existence MTG card.
Amen to that!
We all knew it was a terrible idea when the trailers launched. If they weren't going to surprise us by putting in effort a la the Lego Movie, why did they even bother? All the money from the hour and a half ad they made?
I never saw the Emoji movie.
A. Piziks
Me neither is it really that bad?
1:51
Yep, all because a little dragon went “Ka-choo!”
Welp, this episode does explain one thing. Why Twilight won't let Spike have a mustache…
You know when we have lost josh when he starts spitting at 13:25
My man was done
i agree with you Vernal
3:39 Spiked non-alcoholic drinks? I guess that means the King's Game exists in Equestria.
Naoto: Are you a pack of imbeciles?!
You actually never finished this Episode? This ought to be good.
M.D. Webster neither did i....
Eh, I actually never got through a number of Season 5 episodes.
Princess Spike for being predictable (though I could go back to it),
Party Pooped because I hate the yaks,
What About Discord because Twilight's point of view hit too close to home, so to speak,
A few others (I'm not gonna list ALL of them),
and skipping to Season 7, Triple Threat. I can narrow down the Season 5 skips to specific elements, but Triple Threat was just a total slog.
Triple Threat is an episode where the last 5 minutes is better than the first 18 minutes. I recommend looking at the end of that episode for the good character moments contained there.
14:48, I totally agree with this. I was spoiled about the ending to Citizen Kane before watching it for my Intro to Cinema class. But when I did watch it, I was amazed at the film and the hints that it gave and it made me love it even more than I might have if I knew nothing about it in the first place.
That added sound effect when Twilight turns her head at 8:33 got me.
It's the little details.
Wait, so he can set things on fire with his mind, even though everyone though he was ridiculous for thinking he could in Equestria Games. I knew it!!!
8:44 Wait 'till you watch the episode Equestria Games.
He has...
That one is more about personal failure, and being willing to accept your own mistakes, so it should get a decent rating. Plus, Josh works in live performances, so he's likely dealt with some of the same issues there.
I legitimately forgot about this episode completely.
I did that with Dragon Quest.
3:46 the joke may have been horrible and dark but your reaction was hilarious
I legit forgot that Owlowiscious even existed duie to how little he appeared ever since the treehouse got destroyed.
Spike's jealous? Let's deny it and even give the new owl assistant the same gem bedazzled bow tie Spike received the other day. "I need help at night, when you're supposed to be sleeping. Let's have the owl work/help during the day too!" So, when does it sleep?
I do agree that it could have been handled a bit better. Honestly, when watching this review, I started thinking that this was all a dream Spike had. They shower him with so much praise earlier, only for the shift and conflict to happen, followed by the "resolution"... oh well. Nice video!
"Next up is "Spike at Your Service""
Well, there goes my lunch.
I think it's actually quite a strong episode and it foreshadowed what Cindy Morrow was great at. Spike was wrong for not being clear to Twilight about how he was feeling. Twilight meanwhile didn't try to look into it and just blindly copied what I think Celestia did to her. Cindy Morrow is best at feels scene's and making neither side right or wrong and it shows here.
It highlights both characters weaknesses, Spike in keeping too much inside and Twilight for having poor social skills. I don't get why it's so hated, I think it's one of the strongest episodes of season 1. One thing though is that it doesn't really feel like a season 1 episode but more like a season 2 episode. With how flawed the characters are portrayed and how much it focuses on their relationships and emotions. The whole thing where Spike runs away is really just an afterthought and instead parenting is the main focus.
The plot has always been Cindy's weakest element. Her strongest has been the emotions of the characters and making them realistically flawed. That is on full display here though because it has more plot than something like Sisterhoofs social has it's not as good.
But that moment where Twilight says how disappointed she is in Spike is amazing. It's still I think one of the strongest mamma Twilight scene's. What makes it even better is how she later apologizes to him. It's not underdone nor overdone, it's just the right amount. She doesn't retract her verdict and she still says she is disappointed in Spike, but that doesn't mean she suddenly doesn't love him anymore. It also shows her inexperience in relationships and how to be a mother. She's far from perfect but she means well and she's good enough.
I actually think that's a very strong lesson to kids. You can have problems and can disappoint your parents. Yet that doesn't mean they don't love you. Trying to hide it only makes things worse and running away won't get you anywhere.
And people say Twilight was better as a unicorn.
She was though
Mar Otto I actually kinda like Twilight as an Alicorn better I like how she’s the more mature voice of reason in the group. I just like moments like this and it shows how much she’s grown. And some of her quirky spazzy moments in the first season kinda annoyed me to be honest.
[Sees the title of this review is "Owl's Well That Ends Well"]
OH NO!!! *This* episode!
Kind of laughed how you used Rainbow to sneeze away the Intro!
actually it was spike lol
Pretty sure you're misunderstanding Twilight's role here. She may be a guardian, but looking at the history, she's not all that much older than Spike. I would say she's anywhere from 5-10 years older than him so expecting her to be the parent in a situation like this is going to end... kinda like how this episode did. Twilight herself is not mature enough to care for someone in the best way, which is probably why many fans see Spike more like a little brother to her than a son. Bottom line is that Twilight is not a proper parent for Spike, especially not this early in the show's run.
DJSkywalker So it's really all Celestia's fault for forcing a teenager to be a single parent?
Angel Perkins If you go by the comics, yes it is Celestia's fault. There's not been a show explanation as to why or how she kept Spike that I know of yet.
she is still responsible, hell AJ had to raise AppleBloom
There are certain episodes where Applejack isn't all that great with Apple Bloom. She also isn't raising her alone. Big Mac and Granny Smith are still alive.
Unlike many who see Twilight and Spike's relationship as mother-son, or siblings on equal level, I've always seen them as sibling-like with a significant age gap between them, such that one holds more responsibility than the other... almost exactly like Nani and Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch."
I was pleasantly surprised to see Josh himself echo this when he called Twilight's relationship to Spike something to the effect of "older sibling taking care of younger sibling when both parents are gone," specifically referencing Lilo and Stitch for an example of that kind of relationship. I don't remember which video that was in (please tell me if you know), but he did mention that, and I was so happy to see one of my favorite reviewers agree with me on a detail I disagreed with most others on.
But back to the main point Josh was trying to make, regardless of Twilight's familial relationship to Spike, her role is essentially that of legal guardian--he having been entrusted to her from hatching--so she is responsible for his safety. Not entirely like a parent, but still responsible enough to be called out for her neglectful behavior in this episode.
This was one of the first MLP episodes I ever watched, and it was just on the telly by chance. I didn't really find it all that offensive because I didn't know the characters and really didn't expect much from My Little Pony, as I'd only known G3. The only thought I really had was wondering why on earth a Princess would care at all about some kid getting jealous when Twilight sent Celestia her letter.
But after seeing some of the better episodes (Equestria Games and a Discord episode, though I don't remember which one) I watched the show, and this episode was so much worse for it. Twilight was my favourite character at that point and seeing her act that way was just really off. It's interesting to me how loving something more can increase how badly you notice the flaws, and how we really only pick apart episodes like this out of love for a normally good show.
And that is my ramble over.
You think Scootaloo grabbing the half eaten apple with her mouth was bad? What about poor Mr. Cake who had to CHANGE DIRTY DIAPERS with his mouth? I think those ponies have had to develop some strong stomachs to deal with the fact that many times their mouth is the only thing they can grip with.
You know what would have made this episode better?
If it took place mostly at NIGHT. That way what Twilight said about Owlowiscious helping her at night would make sense instead of it being a rotten *excuse* in this episode. Maybe also make Twilight not be so oblivious!
Spike would still get jealous, despite the fact that he is not really able to help at night since he needs his sleep. He tries to help Twilight at night, but of course he ends up falling asleep out of exhaustion. In the morning, Twilight talks to him about how how he should let Owlowiscious help her at night and that she will not replace him. However, he still thinks that Owlowiscious is taking his job, despite that not really being the case. Eventually, he lets it get the best of him like in the episode and at night tries to accuse Owlowiscious of killing a field mouse. Then, he runs away and yada yada it plays out like it already did in the episode... Except Twilight actually was more sensitive... Oh and no praise for Owlowiscious from the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike overhearing it. He just thinks that he's being replaced when he isn't.
I don't know why, but, you making Twilight's neck crack at 8:35 really made me lose it XD
Wasn't expecting a jumpscare at the end when you yelled "Help!" XD
1:48 *Currently*
Tirek: Allow me to introduce myself.
I thought the background music was all right although there were a couple spots in the middle where it was distracting (around 10:00)
Not one of my favorites but I still liked it. I do see your point though about the ep over explaining everything though.
On a seperate note; I think the comparison to Toy Story isn't bad, but I feel it's better to compare Twilight and Spike's relationship to being more like Nani and Lilo's from Lilo & Stitch.
I honestly like the owl hoot joke, even if it is overused. Yeah, it doesn't work as well here as the writers wanted. A better example would be from 'Sword in the Stone.' But it's cute and classic.
For the first three seasons, we got one/at least bad spike episode per season. Season 5 gave us another underwhelming Spike episode. Season 6 however, gave us Gauntlet of Fire, which was a great Spike episode.
Season 7 gave us another possibly good Spike episode. It certainly had him be a lot more sympathetic and sort of reasonable in my opinion.
Spike episodes seem to be a "Once a season" thing. Maybe the next Spike episode will be good as well? Spike is a good character who just needs more good episodes. Him being a very young dragon might be part of the reason why the writers aren't making many good episodes?
On a positive unrelated note, at least Thorax is turning out to be a good male character that has gotten good episodes.
Considering the sheer lack of good reoccurring male characters in the show, this is a good sign of progress. :)
I've checked. You're right, there is at least ONE "bad" Spike episode in each season...
EXCEPT Season 6. Both Spike episodes were awesome, and to top it off, Spike didn't cause the problem 🤩
7:23 Yup, it's a huge violation of "show, don't tell."
mondenkindqueen Plus, It’s not shakespeare.
I knew Spike's attempt to frame the owl wouldn't work, but I didn't expect he'd get caught in the act.
You didn't censor "shit" with a Fluttershy "yay"?
BLASPHEMY!!!
Try with "Revenge" (it is the new improved Fluttershy).
Wait, when?!
Holy crap, I just realized this episode happened to me! Back in 8th Grade there was the guy named Aidan Barret, who I still go to school with and he was just like me, he opened the door for people, he was nice and he liked Star Wars, and what made it worse was he was in almost every class with me and in speech class he would get all whiney because he was missing resource class (and he was dopey looking) But at the end of the day it was a coincidence that he was just like me. Also he's dating one of my friends and I still don't like him. And I felt the same way with my little sister Leslie.
3:45 oh dear god, that thousand-yard stare with bohemian rhapsody playing in the background. I can't...I can't I pfffffft **breaks into hysterical laughter**
9:00 If I could screech, it would be like a banshee out of pure frustration.
Well, you're right that she should have talked things out with him. But in addition to making for a much shorter episode, people sometimes can be oblivious or have trouble talking in real life. Sometimes people ignore someone's bad mood hoping they'll just get over it. It's not right. But it does happen. I guess what you say about mother and son makes a difference. But I tend to see them more like siblings. One thing I notice here is how much better the episodes have gotten over time.
I agree with a lot of this, but there are a few things worth remembering about this situation.
1. Twilight, if we're going with Spike being an analogue to her child, was still incredibly young when Spike was born. Wayyy younger than a teenager, an age range that has massive difficulties with child care. This compounded with Twi spending her own formative years engrossed in study, it's reasonable to imagine she's a very inexperienced guardian despite the time she had to learn with Spike.
2. The world of MLP treats the threat of death and destruction far lighter than our own. Cataclysmic events end in new friendships, like the arc with Starlight Glimmer. The ponies within Equestria are far quicker to forgive and forget compared to humanity, and treat life-threatening situations casually after the fact. Projecting more human approaches to things like crime, attempted murder, world-ending horrors and the like generally become a moot point after you remember that the morals of humans are different from ponies.
3. This was still in the early stages of MLP, before they got their more practiced hand in writing. I'm sure we can point to a fair few episodes from S2 where the writers missed the mark they were aiming for. While this doesn't excuse writing flaws, it did explain them a tad.
Still a good review/critique from you, even if the episode in question was lackluster.
10:37 Am I the only one who's heart broke at this scene, Spike is a kid who thinks his mom doesn't love him anymore.
Gosh that end scream scared me. Another great review, Josh!
*sends help*
Good review josh, also i think the background music is good.
In defense of Twilight, Spike did let his jealousy get the better of him. Instead of talking to Twilight about it (like you accuse her of not doing), he decided to go all supervillain and went to sabotage Owlowisious by causing a mess and framing the owl for it. Kid or not, Twilight had every right to scold him for it because Spike responded to his jealousy by being a selfish brat.
I adore your choice for the credits music. Also, oh so looking forward to Spike at Your Service!
Ok I'm glad me and josh said the same thing here 13:19
And yes I tend to openly argue and yell when watching reviews for movies and tv show episodes on RUclips...
Really the Evil Mustache and TOP HAT Gag? Really? that's been done to death in 100 other movies and shows It's NOT Even Funny Any More
Honestly, that *"HEEEEEEEEELLLLP!"* At the end could be used as a jumpscare...
"Spiked" can also refer to mixing in alcohol. It's most likely referencing that.
4:28 Oh come on! The potential for a Bill Wertz reference is so obvious!
I actually like this episode more than Goblet of Fire. In Goblet they were hyping up Spike so much and he's just a child. I like characters in smaller stories and I think this really made Spike a very unique character. He is a fully fleshed out servant character who does have depth to him but still entirely ties his identity to someone else. With how much self realization is emphasized nowadays I really liked that MLP FIM could still have characters like that.
I also like that they put Spike firmly in the wrong but for very believable reasons. He wasn't a holy right like he somewhat was in Goblet.
I wonder if Josh's voice is raspy from screaming for 17 minutes
2 comments to the editor:
1) The constant background music was a bit distracting. Not enough that I dislike this review, but noticeable in a few places that it didn’t fit very well.
2) That gag at 8:35 was one of the funniest things ever done in a Firey Joker video. Thanks you so much for whoever decided to put that in there!
Great review! And honestly, you're rocking that beard and mustache look! It really suits you!
The worst part in this episode is Twilight it’s like she is making Spike jealous just so he can learn a lesson in the end.
The best utilization of background music is when it doesn't distract. And here, it mostly helps hold moments of the video together. In other words, either using it or not can work fine. Keep playing with the balance as you see fit.
Owl's Well That Ends Well (Sofia the First Version)
Characters in Order of Appearance
Clover - A rabbit and friend of Sofia, whose gluttony sometimes interferes with Sofia's royal duties.
Crackle - Vivian's pet dragon who has an obsessive crush on Clover. Unlike her quiet and reserved owner, Crackle is loud, hyperactive, and outgoing and breathes fire when excited, which is most of the time. When Crackle was younger, she used to be very shy. She is also jealous around anyone when they are near someone she cares about, or if they grab the attention.
Praline - Princess Amber’s loyal and fashionable pet peacock, is revealed to be much like Amber, posh and stylish. He is also very fond of apples, very sensitive as well as proud of his tail feathers and can be quite serious at times. Praline often accompanies Amber on her adventures and adds an extra touch of elegance.
Freedo - Prince James’ pet baboon. He is shown to be playful and enjoys a game of fetch. However, sometimes, his playful running around can cause problems and bother the other pets, especially Praline.
Rex - A foxhound and James' dog. It turns out that Rex loves to play games and like all dogs, he loves to bury bones. He is a bit goofy, but he claims he is smarter than he looks. Rex is also shown to be a bit forgetful.
Princess Sofia Balthazar-Winslow I née Cordova - Sofia Baltazar is an 8-year-old girl with shoulder-length wavy auburn hair. She has fair skin with rosy cheeks and large light blue eyes. A kind and adventurous village girl who becomes a princess after her mother, Miranda, marries King Roland II. Sofia is a mix of ethnic nationalities: Galdiz, Miranda's homeland, and Freezenburg, the homeland of her deceased biological father Birk Balthazar. After becoming part of the royal family, she becomes the current bearer of the mystical Amulet of Avalor, which Roland made her promise never to take off. It grants her various magical abilities, namely the ability to understand and transform into animals.
Princess Amber Winslow - Praline’s owner, Sofia's older stepsister, and James' twin sister. She is initially vain, spoiled, and impatient, but over the course, Sofia helps her become a better person and friend and she develops a love of astronomy and adventure. Honoring her title as princess, she devotes her life to jewelry and keeping everything clean.
Prince James Winslow - Sofia's older stepbrother and Amber's twin brother, as well as Roland's son and Miranda's stepson, who aspires to be a knight when he grows up. Unlike Amber, he is adventurous, playful, and outgoing, like Sofia.
Princess Vivian - Sofia's friend, who is the music-loving princess of Zumaria.
Princess Hildegard - One of Amber's best friends and the princess of Freezenburg. Like Amber, she is snobbish and vain until she befriends Sofia. She has a pet mink named Lulu.
Ruby Hanshaw - One of Sofia's best friends from the village.
Plot
Sofia realizes that Clover, being a bunny, is unable to stay awake to help her with her astronomy studies, but gets help with a new pet owl, Owlowiscious. Clover becomes jealous of Owlowiscious, thinking the owl wants to replace him as Sofia's assistant and pet. Later, a transition from Sofia gently praising Clover as he sleeps to angrily confronting him about the astronomy book Clover burned by accident is very sudden and shocking (As Clover drifts off to sleep, Sofia says that he'll always come through. Then, it abruptly cuts to Sofia finding out about the astronomy book Clover burned by accident, which she slams near Clover, waking him up) and scolds him for hiding it from her, and later still expresses disappointment when he tries to frame Owlowiscious for killing a field mouse by stealing Praline’s toy one, from Amber, and ketchup to make it look like blood.
CONTENTS
1. Star Party!
2. A New Assistant?!
3. Clover Is Jealous
4. Clover in the Doghouse
5. Clover Learns a Lesson
Chapter 1
Clover and Sofia are getting ready for the meteor shower which happens every 100 years, and when Sofia asks Clover for an astronomy book she wanted to give Amber, Clover goes to get it, only to accidentally burn the pages away due to him sneezing from the dust, which makes the candle fall on the pages. Rather than tell Sofia the truth, he tells Sofia someone else must have checked out the book. They arrive at the spot where they meet with their friends, and Clover enjoys being admired as "Sofia's #1 assistant". He eventually falls asleep during the party in the punch bowl, leading Crackle to comment that "the punch has been... Clovered!"
Chapter 2
Sofia eventually takes him home. After getting Clover to bed, Sofia begins to write about meteors and a gust of wind blows away the paper. An owl grabs it for her, but when it's a o fly away, Sofia asks him to accompany her during the night. When Clover wakes up the next morning, he notices the owl, now named tOwlowiscious, now is helping him with the daily chores as the junior assistant. While Sofia leaves, she asks him to introduce himself to the owl.
Chapter 3
However, Clover gets suspicious and starts to get jealous at the possibility of being replaced, as Sofia shows off Owlowiscious to her friends and basically having most of his chores done by the owl, leaving Clover with little to do. When her friends are worried of Clover's jealousy, Sofia reassures them that Owlowicious would never replace him, although he thinks otherwise.
Chapter 4
Sofia finds the book Clover burned by accident and is angry and disappointed in him for lying to her. In response, Clover steals Praline's toy mouse from Amber, then tries to use ketchup as blood and feathers to frame Owlowiscious as a mouse-killer. Sofia catches him in the act, and expresses her deepening disappointment by saying "This is not the Clover I know and love!". Clover is distraught at the notion that Sofia doesn't love him anymore.
Chapter 5
When Clover decides to run away from home, Sofia decides to show him how much he really means to her. After they discussed their issues, they tried to follow the relationship of Amber and Praline, which had to do with this misunderstanding as it was stuck in their mind. Sofia tells him he'll always be her #1 assistant and friend, and that Owlowiscious is to help her at nighttime (so Clover can sleep)...not to be Clover's replacement. They both apologize, Clover for being jealous and Sofia for not being more sensitive. Clover then apologizes to Owlowiscious for his jealousy. Sofia and Clover decide to write the weekly letter to the Three Good Faires, learning that telling lies and being jealous gets you nowhere, and there's a lot of love for everyone to go around.
Another excellent review, Josh. The constant background music was a bit distracting, though.
"Oh, how could this wonderful, sexy, intelligent man ever follow up on that?"
Not even 30 seconds in, and I'm wheezing with laughter. Thank you, Josh!
5:30 Ha, that something new.(usually make The Exorcist joke)
I'll be honest, while the background music is nice and fitting to that "review feel" (if that makes any sense at all), something about it is distracting. I don't know if it was a little too loud or just the mere presence of the music was the problem, but I had to rewind a couple times so I could better grasp what was being said. So, yeah, I think I prefer the quiet, but if music is a nice change for everybody else, it's a change I can accustom myself to without needless nitpicking.
...oh, right, I should say something else, too. Twilight was a b**** in this episode. She's my favorite of the Mane Six, but it's safe to say that she had massive character improvement from this low point. And as much as I love owls, Owlowisious really should have had a better introduction episode. Something that wasn't lazy or irritating as this.
As for the next episode...hoo boy. I remember only watching it once and thinking, "Meh." I really don't recall what I liked/disliked about it, so that review will be very enlightening to me. (May Celestia save your soul, Josh.)
*when twilight is talking about needing the owl at night*
Me: Wait, Then why did you get his help during the d-
Josh: THEN WHY DID YOU GET HIS HELP DURING THE DAY?!?
O.O "The punch has been spiked" traditionally refers to putting alcohol in the punch bowl. Like at a high school dance or something. Still a bit of an older joke for kids but not nearly as inappropriate as making a reference to the date rape drug.
Otherwise, can't help but agree. I don't know if I'd give Spike quite as much of a pass as I don't think "He's a kid" is an excuse to not hold someone at least partially responsible for their actions (unless we're talking about someone younger than say 8 but Spike is clearly built up to be more mature than that given all the things he's given responsibility over). But I agree that it is still mostly Twilight's fault for not sitting down with Spike and actually talking to him about what's upsetting him like an equal so they can come up with solutions for the problem together. You know... childcare 101.
9:48 what was that footage with the talking eagle from?
Stuart Little 2
@@tylerfish2701 wow. It's been way longer since I last watched that movie if I couldn't recognize it myself 😅
As long as I can still clearly hear you, I'm fine with background music.
Also, love your videos, Josh! You're without question the best brony in this fandom.
I'm pretty sure the reason the book burned up and didn't get sent to Celestia is because the paper the scrolls are made out of seem to have some kind of magical charm on them to ensure they get teleported without getting damaged. When he uses fire breath on objects that don't have this magical charm, they burn as they normally would.
I know this is a three-year-old video, but great review! Your comments are the exact problems I had with the episode. There’s just one other thing I’d like to add. Spike apologizes for being jealous. I understand what the writers were going for, but I personally don’t like the execution. Something that I’ve learned and something we should be teaching kids is that you have a right to your feelings and that they’re neither good nor bad. Rather, it’s what you do with them that’s good or bad. Now, if the writers had him apologize for running away or taking his jealousy too far, that would have been better.
So, the question that's on EVERYONE'S mind!
Who's the lucky lady-wife, Mr. Burner?
I need that clip of you screaming “HELP” as a GIF.
Think we can get Lesson Zero soon? That episode had ALOT to talk about.
Sorry, no background music throughout the review I think it’s fine without it unless it is used in a moment.
Yay! Finally someone explained why I actually like spoilers. People always seem to think it's strange that I like spoilers. Even if something is given away or predictable I still like to see if I'm right and how it gets from point a to point b.
Well at least the review of Spike at your Service will come out around my birthday
This just in Rainbow Dash really wants a slave. Let's just hope it's not a zebra
8:35 That sound effect had me laughing way to hard for what it is
It's kinda annoying how stupid Twilight is in this episode. In a Canterlot wedding, while everypony thinks that it's Cadence, Twi is convinced that it's Chrysalis, and she was right, while she was with Cadence for her childhood, which many ponies and people may not fully remember. (I can barely remember from a few years ago) Spike has been with Twilight for a long time too, so she would be able to tell.
10:49 and depression. Well done Twilight! You're paying the hundreds of bits for therapy! Spike is a kid, and Twilight should be more considerate! Twilight went crazy for a letter! A letter is child's play compared to spike. Kids commonly exaggerate what they are hearing or getting told, like if they hear that a guardian is disappointed, they might think that they don't love them, or if parents argue, that they may break up, and if they have a good friendship with a sibling, that they'll never see their brother/sister again. (One time for me, my mum said that she was going to put the Christmas tree in the bin, which she didn't, she didn't mean it, but I took it literally and started crying, thinking that Christmas was cancelled and that we wouldn't get gifts.) sorry for that little rant, It's just that Twilight sucked in the episode
This was a good review. I liked the little comedic moments, especially when you pretended to laugh at the 'who' joke. Heh xD
I remember watching this myself and being so angry, I always hate when characters are feeling bad yet are put at an expense due to a dumb misunderstanding...
Also that ending surprised me xD
13:25 Is that the first time Josh has literally been upset enough to (unintentionally) spit at the camera?
I don't mind the background music if you feel like it :)
Also nice use of Spike's sneeze for the main theme XD
Josh, I'm pretty sure you're taking the "spiked punch" joke further than ANYONE intended. I'm not sure about you, but when I hear that someone's "spiked the punch" I immediately think of *ALCOHOL* . Slipping someone a Rohypnol or Rufinol is usually referred to as "being Roofied." Just wanted to mention that as I didn't see it in the comments and I doubt even Animanics would go *THAT* far with a joke.
Exactly what I was thinking. Alcohol
16:38. Any way I could help? Do I need to ask Dr Wolf to schedule another appointment regarding this? Or do we need to put you in a straight jacket and padded cell for a but so you can vent and not break anything-explosion- or that. May the review be merciful to you. Have a good day and I hope the jokes weren't too much and if so, my sincerest apologies for that. Personally, I like the use of background music; it helps me understand the theme of the review and helps me know the pacing a bit as well as the augmentation of the humor as well. Happy late Halloween and early Los Dios De Los Muertos!
I loved that megamanx4 music.
3:46 Oh God, that was too good! 🤣
Spike got wet in the rain! He's completely useless, now...
I'M CRYING
SpongesonicPictures HHHHEEEEEEEE
Was that an FMA reference?
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Quick! Call the Riza Pony to bail him out!
This episode answers His question in the times they are a changeling "if he has ever run from danger"? yes, he has he ran from a huge dragon here.
2:30 oh burn
the next one "spike at your service" is the one episode that i don't remember finishing. i have seen clips from it, but i barely remember any of it. so this is gonna be interesting.