Season 6 Episode 5: Gauntlet Of Fire
Admittedly, I've been putting off this episode for a very long time. Why? This episode involved Spike going to meet with his fellow dragons. I still have flashbacks of season two's Dragon Quest, *shudder*. Fortunately though, this episode is a *marked* improvement! The general concept of this episode is that Spike is called to the Dragon Lands, where he competes in a challenge known as the 'Gauntlet Of Fire'. He must retrieve the Bloodstone Sceptre in order to become the next 'Dragon Lord', and teams up with new friend Ember in the process.
The episode begins with Rarity roping Spike into manual labour, so not much is new there. Spike starts emitting a luminescent glow, which is awakens in the bats in the cave where they are digging for gems. Unsure of what this means, the duo head to Twilight, who just so happens to be meeting with the two (original) royal princesses. By another stroke of luck, Luna has encountered this before, and explains that it means that Spike is being summoned by the Dragon Lord to the Dragon Lands. The only way to make the radiance stop is to answer the call.
Twilight and Rarity accompany Spike to the Dragon Lands, and it's not long before we bump into Garble and co. Oh boy, just when I thought this episode was showing some promise. Garble is still just as annoying and condescending as ever. The reigning Dragon Lord, Torch, speaks, informing those gathered of the basics of the competition. I simply cannot get over how much this Dragon Lord reminds me of the judge from Turnabout Storm! After hearing the rules of the competition, Spike decides it's not for him, and attempts to leave. Torch stops Spike in his tracks, but Torch's daughter Ember comments on Spike's small size, so Torch begrudingly allows him to drop out of the competition. It's interesting to note that Spike and Torch are the only dragons who differ in size. Spike is still technically a 'baby dragon', but Torch is massive compared ot all the adult dragons, who are all roughly the same size.
Some dragons comment on what they would do if they won the competition. One makes the remark that *she* would make burps the official greeting. Ugh, this episode couldn't be turning into Dragon Quest... could it? After hearing of the terrible things the other dragons would do, Spike decides to compete in order to prevent them from being able to do so.
The competition is beginning, and the first task is to reach a volcano on a remote island. Spike cannot fly, so is forced to swim there, though it doesn't help that Garble knocked him off the ledge into the water in the first place. On the way to the island, Spike stops to rescue a fallen competitor. Upon arriving at the island, the competitor is revealed to be Ember, who has decided to compete to prove to her father that you don't need to be big and strong to be successful. It's a great message, although sets up a fairly flimsy premise. This is a Hasbro show -- we immediately know who is going to be more successful out of Ember and Garble.
Despite being rescued by Spike, Ember shows disdain, complaining about how dragons work alone and don't make friends. This certainly hearkens back to Gilda in The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone. Rarity and Twilight have donned a new disguise, which is seen through by Ember. She is taken abake at seeing ponies there, though mentions that she doesn't really care. Straight after this, Garble is hit by a rogue attack and knocked to the ground next to Spike, pinned under a boulder. Spike rescues Garble, and rather than thanking him, Garble mentions that being around ponies has made Spike soft. He's just about to see through Rarity and Twilight's disguise, though Ember covers for them. I have to believe that this is a metaphor for the brony ideology -- a perception of softness in males, though the addition of friends who will have your back. Either way, Spike suggests teaming up with Ember, though Ember is apprehensive. Eventually the two agree to team up for the remainder of the competition.
The next part of the gauntlet involves flying through a chasm while avoiding boulders being flung at them and enclosing cavern walls. Ember flies Spike on her back, and in exchance, Spike points out obstacles to Ember, acting as a second pair of eyes. There is deliberate emphasise here on Garble struggling to perform the tasks by himself, in contrast to Ember and Spike woroking together. The two make it through the chasm, and Rarity and Twilight reveal themselves in yet another disguise. Ember questions how the two made it through, and this is never answered. I can only assume that as unicorns, they teleported. That might also explain how they weren't seen by any of the other competitors.
Strangely, after a short scene in which Spike saves Rarity from falling into lava, Ember decides that their philosophies are too different, and decides to part ways. She comments about how there can only be one winner, which is a valid point, however, she also states that she and Spike are not friends. Spike feels dejected, although comments about how she saved him, which makes them friends in his eyes. It's at this point that I noticed that Ember does seem quite a bit like Spitfire -- the staff sure seem to be running low on new character concepts lately!
Spike finally makes it to the central cave, where the fabled sceptre resides. It would appear as though Spike is the first there, although Garble is hot on his tail. With Garble's larger size and better strength, he picks up Spike in one hand, and is about to throw him into the fire. All is not lost though, as Ember swoops in at the last second to save him. Ember explains that she came to the realisation that the two of them really are friends. Rarity and Twilight have their disguise blown by Garble, who proceeds to go after them as well. Despite Twilight's immense power, the two cower in fear and back up on a ledge, until Ember comes to the recue again.
In the commotion, Spike claims the sceptre, and thus is crowned as the next Dragon Lord. For his first act, he commands Garble to go and hug all of the other dragons, but not to tell them why. His reign lasts less than sixty seconds, however, as he relinquishes the sceptre to Ember, stating that the true Dragon Lord is whoever returns with the sceptre; he was simply in it to protect the ponies. Spike gives Ember a hug, who doesn't understand the concept. This is out of place, as Garble immediately understood the concept mere seconds ago. Ember not only saw Garble hugging another dragon, but also is much more reserved than Garble -- surely she should have known of the concept, even if Garble did not. Either way, Embre states that Spike will always have a friend in her.
The two return to the Dragon Lands, and Ember reveals to her father that she is the new Dragon Lord. While initially angry with Ember for defying his orders of not competing, Torch is eventually persuaded that Ember's intelligence and inner strength would make her a great leader. She is presented to the crowd as the new Dragon Lord, and and Twilight speaks of how she will make a powerful ally and a great new friend.
The final line of the episode is Rarity talking about how she gained a great new idea for camoflague clothing, calling it "Camo-Maud". I can only assume that the idea came from the various disguises the two ponies were wearing, which were all obvious, and none of which were clothing of any descript. The 'Maud' is obviously reference to Maud Pie, but where's the secondary reference... her obsession with rocks, and the fact that volcanos spew out rocks? It's a poor line to end the episode on.
Overall, the episode was enjoyable. There were a few cringe-worthy moments, particularly with Garble. The who 'intelligence and teamwork over brute strength' mantra is fairly played-out, but still makes for a decent concept for an episode. Ember and Torch both make great new characters, though hopefully we won't be seeing any more of Garble any time soon.
Back To My List Of Reviews