
| Anonymous #1173584 3 months ago |
Uploader: Another factor that I left out was that this is still a little girl’s show and this still a lesson for them. I suppose we can’t have little girls beating up bullies and standing up to them any “further” than what was shown in this episode which was either a World of Cardboard Speech or a brief review about the importance of friendship. Especially since they might have to deal with that bully every 5 days of the week and the annoyance of if they ever fought back, they have to worry whether the “adults” that run the school or day care won’t just turn around and call them bullies instead. I guess all the fighting should really be reserved for boys or something.
Anyway, I really just want to get all of this off my chest as I said in the comic. It’s just that I felt like this episode made Spike seem weaker to me. I guess that’s all I wanted to say. Another thing I’m surprised there’s hardly any Dragon Quest series parodies about this episode. inb4 TL;DR |
| PhilSrobeighn #1173596 3 months ago |
Makes sense. |
| misnamed #1173600 3 months ago |
I doubt the dragons were too strong for them (hello Rainbow Warhead Dash) but I do agree it's best not to fight at all in the first place |
| Lium #1173609 3 months ago |
Dash and Twilight woulda smeared 'em without the flightest bit of effort. |
| Jack-o-Lantern #1173610 3 months ago |
Super sentai team? Thats the kind of fic I'm working on! |
| BackgroundPony17 #1173618 3 months ago |
The conflict here wasn't between Spike and the dragons. The conflict was between Spike and himself. Spike had to choose between behaving like the creature he was born as--a dragon--or behaving like the good creature he was taught to be. When he spared the egg despite being urged to destroy it, the good Spike won out.
At that point, the rest of the "conflict" was immaterial. There was no shame in running away from the dragons, even if Spike could've somehow beaten them. |
| PonyRIG #1173625 3 months ago |
TS;DR
and that is not a typo |
| Saint_Braeburn #1173628 3 months ago |
Possibility #1 made me think of the movie Wild Hogs.
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| PVRyohei #1173640 3 months ago |
It would be cool to have seen them fighting, but it makes sense. They had nothing to win, and everything to lose.
Also, Yuujou Sentai Ponyranger, make it happen. |
| Dragoon #1173646 3 months ago |
Nice theories.
And Anon you sound like someone I know but I can't tell since you're an anonymous |
| LightningLazer #1173648 3 months ago |
Point Proven. And if other bronies refuse to believe this type of logic, then that means that they have too much pony in them and they're stubborn as hell. (imo) |
| Jack-o-Lantern #1173659 3 months ago |
Yes Pvryohei I am trying to make it happen! And its Tokusou Sentai Poniranger! |
| RepentantAnon #1173677 3 months ago |
bah. yes, those are possibilities, but that's just it. possibilities. they couldve also had them just mop the floor with the dragons, because its a show, and a show is meant to cater to its intended audience. but seeing as the audience was little girls... yeah. i still wanted to see a brawl. >:( |
| Anonymous #1173698 3 months ago |
Uploader:
@Lium Which is one of the reasons why I felt they should've taken them, but given the factors and possibilities... @BackgroundPony17 You know, you reminded me of that One Piece episode where Luffy refused to fight back against the pirates who were beating them up because they weren't worth it. Then in the next episode Luffy proved just that after they given him a good reason to fight. @PVRyohei They had nothing to win except for pride and it wouldn't have kept the egg safe either. :( |
| Anonymous #1173712 3 months ago |
It taught me to not fight against bullies, but to run away... |
| Shin32 #1173907 3 months ago |
While I agree with these points, I still wish they took them on. Those dragons were just assholes the entire episode and finally showing them how wrong they were about ponies would have made me feel satisfied.
I think my problem with the episode (Or at least everything concerning the dragons) is that FiM has usually been very good about dealing out punishment to antagonists whether it's obvious (Ursa Minor proving Trixie was not as Great and Powerful as she claimed to be and Discord getting hit with the Rainbow of Light) or subtle (Flim Flam brothers may be free to continue their business in another town, but they left with dissatisfied customers and without a single bit). Even the Sports Trio at least apologized to Rainbow Dash. With this episode, I never felt they got their just deserts. All the dragons get are burns on their face from the phoenixes and "maybe" a bump on their heads from colliding into trees, which compared to their bullying of Spike, their disrespect of Celestia (Honestly, while there are a couple of good pics of her doling out punishment, the lack of videos is really disappointing when Pip and Applejack get "TO THE MOON" videos minutes after the airing of their respective episodes), and their attempt at essentially murdering babies is nothing. Again, I understand the points, but it really doesn't ease my disappointment. |
| marioandsonic #1174141 3 months ago |
Hmm...interesting... |
| Zancrow #1174351 3 months ago |
You get bonus points for using Dragon Quest 8.
One of the best games of all time. Of all time! |
| Natry #1174735 3 months ago |
Considering that they are dragons that seem to enjoy wrestling with each other on a daily basis, humiliation by tree probably did more damage than just beating them up. |
| I_Like_Your_Mane #1175575 3 months ago |
> FiM has usually been very good about dealing out punishment to antagonists
Gilda was just shamed into leaving. The Red Dragon got a talking-to. Cockatrice got a talking-to. Hydra literally chased all ponies out of Everfree. Photo Finish just did her thing and Fluttershy just quit being a model, the 'Rainbow Crash' bullies just became impressed with Dash, Green Dragon chased Twilight/Owlicious/Spike out, etc etc. Sure, the ponies can put up a fight, but they haven't ever truly beat an antagonist into the ground or anything. There's a bit of a McGuyver ending to all of them in that they use craftiness to win the day over. And sometimes, running away is the smartest thing to do. |
| Anonymouz #1175612 3 months ago |
"Bullies won't stop bullying you until you stand up to them."
Been discussing it in ponychan and many agree the scene could have been written better. Maybe it WAS written better before editing but due to the 22 min time constraint, stuff had to be removed. Garble looked pretty reasonable. He genuinely liked Spike and gave him every chance to join the gang eventually being impressed by Spike during the lava scene. If the phoenix egg scene had Spike stand up to him, a fight wouldn't even be necessary. I could imagine Garble being impressed by Spike's guts and then just leave. There was also a very incomplete message in the end. Its true that "just because Spike is a dragon, doesn't mean he has to act like one but it also doesn't mean he shouldn't learn to be one." Its also not fair to compare the DDog encounter to the Dragon Gang encounter. With the DDogs, Spike was risking his life to protect Rarity. With the Dragon Gang, the ponies were risking their lives to protect Spike. I think Spike would prefer to risk his life for his own friends but would never let his own friends risk their lives for him. By running away from the Dragon Gang, the ponies never needed to put themselves in danger. |
| Shin32 #1176275 3 months ago |
I_Like_Your_Mane:
I guess "punishment" is too strong a word or even just the wrong word in general, but that exactly what I'm talking about. Yeah, you have the Green Dragon, but each of the antagonists had been dealt with in a fitting manner. Gilda being shamed and alone after RD sees what kind of jerk she is. Trixie's inability to back up her words when an Ursa Minor comes to attack. Jet Set and Upper Crust trying to kiss up to Fancypants in order to cover up their snootiness. Then again, it could just be me venting my anger towards the dragons or just bullies in general. |
| Anonymous #1177530 3 months ago |
Uploader:
@Anonymous #1173712 Then what would you do if you're corner? As a little sparrow once told me, if you run all the time it's not going to help you much when you get into a situation where you HAVE to fight. @Shin32 My thoughts exactly, I'm still disappointed but I have to agree that running away is the better option. @I_Like_Your_Mane Huah, I suppose it's true that they never truely beat an antagonist up, but I thought this would've been the perfect time for the ponies to show them that they were wrong about them. It's just I don't feel that "Dang, I can't believe we let a bunch of namby-pamby ponies get away from us," is not as humilating as being defeated by them. @Anonymouz Well I don't see Garble stopping the battle before it even begins to admire Spike's guts, since Spike ticked him off by refusing him. But I could see him stopping his gang in the middle of the fight and be impressed that Spike and the ponies can actually hold their own in the fight and leave them alone (not without leaving a couple of threats to never return though). I suppose, in the end, that's why running away is still a better idea which goes along with my first factor. The dragons are not worth the incoming injuries for Spike's friends even if they are defending him. |
| Anonymous #1178730 3 months ago |
It makes me wonder if Garble is related to the Red Dragon from Dragonshy. An identical dragon appeared in Dragon Quest for a second resting on the cliff of the crater. |
| Sjogre #1183378 3 months ago |
Here's the thing.
If they'd fought Garble and the other two, Spike would have been in the least physical danger, but also would have contributed the least. He'd be putting his friends in danger for no reason besides his own pride, and since he would basically be having them fight for him, that would kill his pride right of the bat. Even after Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity won, all he gets is the shame of endangering them, and risking the egg. And while they would have won, even a glancing blow would have incurred some nasty injuries. With the decision to run, Spike at least knows that he did what he could to protect them. Running, in that situation, also did a better job of preserving his own pride, if not theirs. While standing your ground and fighting back is a good lesson, when one character can teleport and another can fly, it's hard to avoid situations where they could just run. I think that if they had more time, they might have scripted a fight scene. |