Alright, here is my belated review for Father Knows Beast.
Well. What do I think? I can see why someone would hate it. Was Spike out of character to turn on Twilight like that? Considering how he often was portrayed as loyal to Twilight and pretty close to her (regardless as a son, brother, or sidekick). Yet you could argue that his insecurity over being not "dragon" enough, fears over his image in general and him becoming a teenager could be enough justification to fuel this. I still find it slightly suspect that Spike would treat TS this way but I can't say that it is something that is completely unjustifiable in of itself. Which brings me to the next point of contention...
Sludge. This character is a complete deadbeat. I can see why someone would be ticked off with Spike following him over his family, even for a short time. I think the question would be does this make Spike seem stupid? Is his abandoning what is a pretty well developed moral compass by this point and ignoring red flags? This I think is the greater folly. Arguably, even with his dragonhood being an established issue, I'm not sure how much since it makes for him to be so trusting of his "father" like this compared to previous times where I think he showed more judgement just by virtue of how slimy Sludge seems.
Overall? 5.5/10. I do think that with some slight changes it would be more palatable but it does have a lot going against it. I haven't even got to how them finally touching on Spike's orphaned status and not revealing anything of worth other than acknowledging it or some considering it a half rehash of Dragon Quest. Still, it's not the worst of the worst. I'm honestly just indifferent to it personally.
Other notes: This Episode pushed it hard that Twilight is a mother figure to Spike: >Spike: Actually, I was orphaned as an egg, and Twilight raised me. So these ponies are more than my friends. They're my family. >Spike: That's because you raised me. Now I finally have a chance to see how I'm supposed to be. >Twilight Sparkle: I don't think you're supposed to be any different than who you are. >Spike: Maybe you just don't like that I have a real parent now. https://mlp.fandom.com/wiki/Transcripts/Father_Knows_Beast She talks as if it's been her responsibility. She worries she failed. It breaks her heart when Spike has a real parent now. How does this reconcile with Sparkle's Seven? IDK. It's too strong to ignore and I think I have to investigate further to see which one, if either, fit better with how they have interacted.
