You know it’s funny in all the years watching MLP I’ve only ever liked 2 Spike centered Episodes: Dragon’s Quest and Gauntlet of Fire. I don’t hate Spike but for some reason he just never has good focus episodes

@Background Pony #8E90  
Crystal Empire wasn’t a Spike episode. He just had a big part in the end. Secret of my Excess was a pretty awesome episode, even if it just left more questions than answers like Dragon Quest.
 
Equestria Games is also an amazing episode that only gets the amount of hate it does because there’s far too many immature people who lose their ability to objectively appreciate something if its not exactly what they were expecting. Meaning, since most people expected the games themselves, they automatically hated that it wasn’t about them, thus hating what it was instead: a Spike episode. But if you see it without any previous bias, just for what it is, is a very solid episode with good humor, a great moral that most people can identify with (whether they want to admit it or not) and even a crowning moment of awesome for the little guy…something he desperately needed for a while.

I think for some of these you could find better screencaps that more exemplify either his problem or where he winds up as a character. PeeWee is cute but he was removed very quickly and didn’t impact Spike’s plot very well. Would be better Spike saving the egg… probably.
 
Why is… the Equestrian Games episode him looking stoned?
 
And you’re missing one: Lesson Zero.

@Background Pony #8E90  
To me is Lesson Zero

I think the best Spike episodes are Inspiration Manifestation and The Crystal Empire.