YMMV / My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S3 E8 "Just for Sidekicks"

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• Accidental Innuendo:
  • Winona excitedly puts her front paws on Spike's back when Applejack brings her to the library. Spike is very disturbed by this.
  • Zecora: "But before I can do my duty, I'm going to need some of your booty."
• Alternate Character Interpretation: Was Angel avoiding Spike because he wanted to see Fluttershy or was he afraid Owlowiscious might eat him? Or was he just being a dick to Spike?
• Broken Base:
  • Peewee's offscreen departure. Some fans were upset at Spike keeping Peewee rather than returning him to his parents and thought this was an fix. Fans who liked the idea of Spike having a pet though view it as They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character.
  • Spike's treatment in this episode. Some found it funny, others found it unintentionally sad, the latter due to him not being invited to help welcome the inspector.
  • Fans are even divided on Zecora's role in this episode. Granted, her intentions for donating one of Spike's gems to charity were good, but it's hard for fans to decide whether it was an all-around good deed to get Spike to think straight or a major Disproportionate Retribution (considering how some even interpret the way Zecora went about it and compare Spike's greed in this episode to his greed in "Secret Of My Excess"). It doesn't help that she leaves Spike to handle the pets alone afterwards, the problem he wanted her to help with in the first place. Even worse, her action becomes even more glaring when the episode's climax reveals that Spike cannot control his hunger for gems.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Spike's take on Bill Cosby's "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast" routine becomes harder to watch after Cosby's numerous rape allegations.
• Jerkass Woobie: Although he gives Spike a hard time, it's hard not to feel bad for Angel when his reason for going to the Crystal Empire is made clear. He just wants to see Fluttershy again and Spike denies him the opportunity by causing a distraction with his last gem. Angel more than makes up for it when Spike apologizes for caring more about the gems than watching over the pets.
• One-Scene Wonder:
  • Screw Loose, previously seen as an asylum patient during the end of "Read it and Weep". Her short cameo in the background of this episode showed her in a house. Fans of the show were very happy to see her again and also happy that she apparently no longer thinks she's a dog.
  • The skinny nerdy pony from "Putting Your Hoof Down" is back as well, and running his own potions business as well.
  • A little Girl Scout (Filly Scout?) pony, seen only briefly when Zecora took one of Spike's gems and donated it to charity. The bronies have already embraced her and named her "Tag Along", after a brand of Girl Scout cookie.
• Take That, Scrappy!: All of the pets share the fandom's dislike of Angel Bunny, including Gummy, who normally doesn't show emotion. Owlowiscious even gives Angel an Implied Death Threat at one point.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Spike's treatment is supposed to be karma for pawning off his responsibilities on others and taking on more than he can handle. Unfortunately, the episode begins with him not being invited back to the Crystal Empire which he helped save, which makes it hard not to feel sorry for him, and led several fans to feel his Butt-Monkey treatment was in poor taste. The next season revealing that he suffers from self-esteem issues didn't help.