From last week's discussion
PaulloDEC wrote:I'm with Fizzbuzz and Foxfyre. Pinkie is just Pinkie. She doesn't suffer from any mental illness or condition, because that stuff doesn't exist in the world of MLP.
I was going to comment on this by citing this episode, but I didn't get around to it. Might as well do it now.
Spike, even though not necessarily having full blown depression, is definitely going through a depressive bought here. And it's not exactly the first time where our characters have had false perceptions of themselves either. I don't think I would say mental illness does not exist in MLP outright

Oh, also barking dog pony in Read it and Weep.
Anyways, this episode is pretty excellent, and manages to tell a really good Spike story while still balancing a little games time. The cringe song...not my cup of tea, but Pinkie's line saves it.
Ponyville winning the medal count is also a small flaw, but theoretically, it's not impossible. Lots of smaller countries compete or win medal counts through strategic investments and programs.
But other than that, this episode is very solid. And it astonishes me it got panned elsewhere because it didn't show more of the games.
