Gauntlet of Fire is the name of the competition to find a scepter that will make the dragon who finds it first the LORD OF DRAGONS. This was one that I liked, and the furthest a Spike episode has pulled through. Let's get to it.
We begin in a visually appealing cave with gems. Of course, they don't explain why, so we have to assume it's for the same reason she looked for them in A Dog and Pony Show. Spike is out with Rarity again and Rarity has a fancy helmet. Which is good, wearing a helmet brings you nothing but safety.
And speaking of things that I don't really understand the purpose of, here we have Celestia and Luna. They got to visit, and it seems they're just as surprised that they have the time as the audience is. Twilight just bursts randomly that she would love to go back to Dragon-opolis to find out more information. I'm struggling to believe pony's know very little about dragons.
And hey, apparently they still know enough that they can identify what it means when Spike is mysteriously glowing. He is being called for the GAUNTLET OF FIRE!!!
And here we meet this guy again. His name is Garble, and maybe it's because going back to Dragon Quest wasn't really a big thing on my to-do list, this is the first time I learned the name. Here he is making a faic, mocking ponies.
He's admittedly entertaining in this episode. A lot more welcoming than the bully cliches from Sonic Rainboom. He's more of a jerk than a bully, and he's actually competent.
There are a lot of new dragon faces to meet in this episode. I'll be honest, this barely feels like a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode.
This is Lord Torch, and his reign will end after the Gauntlet of Fire. Whoever replaces him is the first dragon to bring him back the scepter he's holding. It had some name that I forgot. And that little blue speck is his daughter, Princess Ember.
Torch has some funny bits with the, "Agree with me" type lines. He's also a nice guy as shown at the end of the episode, and if ponies have been safe while he was ruling, I'm sure that further proves it.
And here is Ember up close. The R34 community is sure to have fun with her. She's pretty cute, especially when she's acting tough. And since this is the internet, I have to establish the obvious. No, I don't have any sexual attraction toward her. I have another soft spot for her because she reminds me of Cynder from The Legend of Spyro.
Here she is pardoning Spike from the Gauntlet of Fire saying he's too much of a runt to compete. The dragons seem to pay more attention to him leaving than they do with him leaving and pushing a rock.
In case you haven't noticed, Twilight and Rarity decided to sneak in with a new disguise. It's definitely more practical. I guess the dragons missed the four large eye holes, but I guess there are more things to focus on than the rocks.
And here is the crowd of dragons about to compete in the Gauntlet of Fire. Well, a close-up part of it. And it seems one of them is in disguise. I point this out because I didn't notice that they actually showed Ember's disguise before she was knocked into the water.
Lot of disguises today, aren't there.
This one is because Lord Torch won't let his daughter compete.
Not because he's concerned for her safety, of course, but because he thinks she's too weak to be the new ruler of the dragons.
Such a nice guy, he is.
And here's another disguise. They are basically the episode's running gag. It's nice how Twilight and Rarity are doing all of this just to support Spike. Spike is swimming since he can't fly, of course. Imagine Twilight and Rarity in the old dragon disguise trying to pass off as a legitimate dragon competitor....
After saving Ember from drowning and working with her to advance through the Gauntlet, Spike must now find the cave with the scepter in it. This is probably the fanciest disguise. I do like the igneous coloration of it.
But long story short, Spike finds the scepter and technically wins the Gauntlet. He commands Garble to give every dragon a hug without telling them why.
Wow, great leadership, Spike.
And then Spike hands the scepter over to Ember and let's her be the new ruler of the dragons.
I guess that's a bit disappointing for some people, but Spike doesn't mind.
And Ember becomes a dragon who has given in to the happiness of friendship.
No, I don't think the blush is the result of romantic feelings.
It's just her first time with friendship, is all.
And that's all I've got.
I liked this episode; probably my favorite of the season so far.
Sure, there were a few flaws in it. For example, the dragons don't really seem to make that big of a deal of Ember's identity. I mean, I guess they were more focused on the Gauntlet of Fire, and I suppose dragons don't recognize princesses the same way they recognize the ruler.
Still, there was also the issue with Twilight not teleporting at all when she was cornered. I swear, never let any of your characters teleport. It will create plot holes. The pacing was clunky in some areas, especially as Ember shifted from working with Spike to leaving him to working with him again.
But still, I enjoy the new faces we meet here, the visuals here are amazing, and Spike as the one teaching the lesson really works out. I think the Spike episodes that blunder typically do so because they screw up teaching Spike a lesson. But since Ember learned the moral from Spike, it was a lot better.
Next week is the currently little-known-about episode No Second Prances.
I don't know about you, but it sounds like the title of a Fluttershy episode to me.
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