[6.6/10] This episode at least has more of a shape than the last one did. There’s a goal that obth sides are working toward -- finding the allspark -- and there’s ruminations on both sides of the war over what to do and whether it’s worth it to go after this artifact that could turn the tide of the war. That’s a structure at least, which is more than I can say for the last episode.
I also like the character of Ultra Magnus and his choice here. The notion that he’s someone with certain loyalties to both sides as the head of the Autobot forces who also fought alongside Megatron as “brothers” is a strong one that puts him in an interesting position. The gesture of surrendering to the Decepticons as a show of good faith and a belief that this conflict should be resolved peacefully adds intrigue to the proceedings.
I even like Megatron contemplating whether it would be worth it to pursue a weapon of mass destruction if it would end this war, even if there’s no honor in that. There’s some depth to the Big Bad here, which I appreciate, as his goals are not so one-dimensional as “crush the good guys.”
But the good guys continue to be pretty generic. There’s the hint of complexity whe Elita-1 tells Optimus that he’s putting too much faith in people (namely, Magnus) and walking into a trap when Magnus supposedly alerts them to the location of the all-spark. But the writing between them in particular is stock and full of rote “grimdark drama” tropes.
I especially lost interest during the big Autobots vs. Decepticons fight. Seriously, this show has waaaaay too many undifferentiated characters who get little beyond a “Hello, I’m ____” introduction for me to care about a dull firefight with scores of samey robots with nothing to distinguish them. The audience knows it’s a trap, so there’s no tension, and the action is nothing to write home about either.
On the whole, this remains watchable, but Magnus and Megatron are the only interesting characters so far, which doesn’t bode well.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-26T20:51:18Z
[6.6/10] This episode at least has more of a shape than the last one did. There’s a goal that obth sides are working toward -- finding the allspark -- and there’s ruminations on both sides of the war over what to do and whether it’s worth it to go after this artifact that could turn the tide of the war. That’s a structure at least, which is more than I can say for the last episode.
I also like the character of Ultra Magnus and his choice here. The notion that he’s someone with certain loyalties to both sides as the head of the Autobot forces who also fought alongside Megatron as “brothers” is a strong one that puts him in an interesting position. The gesture of surrendering to the Decepticons as a show of good faith and a belief that this conflict should be resolved peacefully adds intrigue to the proceedings.
I even like Megatron contemplating whether it would be worth it to pursue a weapon of mass destruction if it would end this war, even if there’s no honor in that. There’s some depth to the Big Bad here, which I appreciate, as his goals are not so one-dimensional as “crush the good guys.”
But the good guys continue to be pretty generic. There’s the hint of complexity whe Elita-1 tells Optimus that he’s putting too much faith in people (namely, Magnus) and walking into a trap when Magnus supposedly alerts them to the location of the all-spark. But the writing between them in particular is stock and full of rote “grimdark drama” tropes.
I especially lost interest during the big Autobots vs. Decepticons fight. Seriously, this show has waaaaay too many undifferentiated characters who get little beyond a “Hello, I’m ____” introduction for me to care about a dull firefight with scores of samey robots with nothing to distinguish them. The audience knows it’s a trap, so there’s no tension, and the action is nothing to write home about either.
On the whole, this remains watchable, but Magnus and Megatron are the only interesting characters so far, which doesn’t bode well.