Thanks! I'm glad to hear I did something good! No worries, sometimes a good show needs to be ranted over when it passed up golden opportunities for even more awesome content.
Now that you mention it, the "Orion Pax" arc was criminal for showing Optimus at like, three different points per episode, if we're lucky. They could have had (and should have shown) Optimus asking questions about how things have changed, why Megatron's title is "lord" now, and the manpower involved in hunting down a scant few Autobots (oh gosh, I just had visions of Optimus doing a rapid-fire questioning of things in the vein of Miko - that would have been awesome!) Seriously, Optimus is the leader, he needs to have more attention given to him.
Thank you, that means a lot! I'd have to watch the films in their entirety again myself, but I had the realization the other day that the Bayverse cast really does just...handle crap that's thrown at them better than Team Prime does. That's a good point, and now that you mention it, Team Prime comes off as a toxic family in many ways (side note, but if the family dynamic had been handled similarly to that of Star Wars Rebels' found family theme, then it wouldn't be so egregious. Heck, if they went that route for the show, then Team Prime being a "family" would actually be far truer than the show paints it to be.) What's amazing to me is that the main writers/"brains" behind TFP were responsible for the Bayverse films' scripts, or the initial ones anyway, and I have to ask myself: Was Bay really the problem there, at least outside of the human cast? (Also their "ganging up" on much needed fresh troops simply because they "don't catch on fast enough" or are "mavericks" is infuriating due to their history of the exact same, at least in their renegade behavior.)
It's a literal "all take and no give" situation. Optimus is the giver who receives nothing in return, while the others take from him without giving it back. It's almost like they're parasitical in their relationship with Optimus, not made better by the fact that they'll so readily pull iron on him, as you pointed out. Gosh, how did we all view this show as perfect for so long with the glaring flaws....?
See, on the one hand, it "infers" that Primes aren't supposed to be seen being what amounts to party animals, but at the same time....when the resident drama queen kid is the one to ask where your leader is out of concern, and is met with casual indifference.... Houston, we have a problem. Now that you put it that way, it's sad enough that you'd have to laugh over it to keep from crying, because Optimus is the one who's been suffering the most. No, he won't ever say it, or even think it, but he's been forced to lead in a war he never wanted, lives with the fact that thousands have died on his behalf, wonders if there was ever any good in his best friend turned mass murderer, and is constantly doubting his choices (which is NOT made better by how Team Prime always questions his decisions. Refresh my memory, how is that a healthy family dynamic?)
Oooo, good point - they really have a problem with this and all their beloved foils (don't forget, Bulkhead was happily going to let Breakdown get dissected while still alive until Miko intervened. Annoying as the show can be now, gotta love how she always advocates for an Autobot's life to stay online - yes I included Breakdown there, no I won't take it back.) He probably would have, which is why I prefer Bayverse's treatment of the moral dilemma: he still refused on his own to not kill out of revenge, whereas TFP throws Plot Armor in to keep Optimus from killing Megatron.
They were actually pretty against it for all the Decepticons. Ratchet wanted to chop up Megatron, Bulkhead kept begging for Megatron to die (see above for his thoughts on poor Breakdown), and Arcee - well, that buttload of evidence speaks for itself. (Lol, that would have been funny - sad too, because then there's more emotional damage Optimus has to swallow....might have led to Miko or Fowler calling them out on it, though.) That's a good point, they really don't like the idea of killing off Megatron. I mean it works in the first season - mostly, at least - but after that? You could at least keep it canon he's dead after the S3 finale, people.
Oh thank you! She deserves so much more than that (I, too, imagine her as alive - which is technically canon!) Oof, yeah. Arcee's preaching about "stronger as a team" and whatnot becomes very hypocritical with how she was gonna beat up Ratchet so quickly. Sheesh, this is why she's getting dialed down in my main AU; she needs development still, but golly is she otherwise such a contradiction that I need to reel it in for any character development to stick.
Oh yeah, that'd have been better - and if you'd wanted to truly have driven home how deeply it hurt Optimus, have the last name be Dion, or even if you wanted to keep a "lost Lenore" deal with Optimus while teasing us if Elita is alive or not, throw in Ariel at the end and then see Optimus stiffen as everything he thought he knew about one of his best buds comes into question (heh, thanks - I would be too. Yeah, I felt Optimus should be allowed to realize that maybe Ratchet's input isn't as invaluable as he thought - I mean, with how Ratchet's such an enabler himself, there comes a point where the person being taken advantage of, even if he's subconsciously taking advantage of another, needs to take a step back and set some boundaries.)
Speaking of how unfair it is for Elita to be Optimus' "dead partner" for personal woe, it's equally unfair that Cliffjumper's whole existence was just for that. But since the genders are reversed this time, I guess most people are willing to let it slide. Yup, yup, yup! That is exactly what Airachnid is all about, and the more challenging her "prey", the more "fun" she's gonna have.
Which also makes the "personal" stake in it for Arcee...confusing. You could have simply had her traumatized by her first encounter with Airachnid, and she falls for Airachnid's schemes out of desperation to protect others from her sadism (which, coincidentally, would have given credence to her informed "maternal/compassionate" role on the team.) But instead, Arcee is apparently so proud that the only reason she'll consider you a worthy target is if you take away someone she personally held dear. I also wish Airachnid had been better thought out enough that she could be independent of Arcee's trauma nonsense, especially since she climbed the ranks among the 'Cons as fast as she did. And yes, her vs Optimus is a match up we were denied! Seriously, it would be hunter versus warrior, cunning versus wisdom, and that would have been beautiful to see (speaking of, you're giving me confidence to make another thought post I had in mind regarding certain questionable choices with spider-themed Decepticons from the era of 2007-2013, so you may want to stay tuned for that if I decide to give it a go after all.)
Yeah, it's a fun episode for the action on Cybertron, but otherwise it really comes off as Arcee going "oh look at me, I've suffered so much" to a girl who is quite literally going through the most traumatic experience of her life. You don't do that to someone who is in shock like that, especially since you still don't know for sure if the object of the trauma is gonna pull through or not. (I just thought of this earlier, but did Arcee ever...tell Jack about either of her partners? Like, she just brushed it all off after Airachnid's appearance, and as far as we know, his only knowledge of Cliffjumper comes without the guy even being named in "Darkness Rising, Pt 5".) See, that's what's annoying: Smokescreen took the genuine steps to apologize, and showed that there was no ego involved as opposed to Arcee's claims, yet rather than be satisfied with it, Arcee just says "I already lost two partners, I don't need a rookie on my scorecard."
I'm sorry, since when were you fond of the guy enough to even deign to consider him a "new" partner? Are you that busy naval gazing that you 1 can't acknowledge and accept his apology, and 2 so intent on keeping him outside your little circle that you'll sooner kick him out with a snide remark like that than do - literally anything else?
Oops, I made this about Smokescreen, heh. But yeah, I agree, so much for her moving on...
Yes! Miko would have absolutely have reached out to Optimus, especially since he had to have been pacing or something as they waited for word on Bulkhead's health.
Oh girl, you just melted my heart! That would have been great! And funny, to see everyone flabbergasted over the development...
You're the second or third person I've seen suggest Miko as the holder of the Key to Vector Sigma, and that is honestly awesome the more I think about it! And definitely makes more sense than Jack - kid's got no spine, and to be "Prime-like" requires backbone and guts, both of which Miko has been blessed with to a staggering degree. And yes! That would have been beautiful and awesome, and in addition to giving her Ironhide for a partner, I am now totally gonna figure out a way to have her bounce between him and Optimus (it won't be that much of a stretch, tbh. They go back a ways, and I can see Ironhide coming up to Optimus when he's emotionally in a bad spot and basically just tossing Miko at him like "Woe, Miko be upon ye." XD XD XD)
Oh sweet! That's cool! Yeah, the "Operation: Breakdown" sequence helped me come to that conclusion, at least I think it did. Breakdown's definitely the most Autobot-like Decepticon, and given the amount of 'Cons becoming 'Bots we've had in the franchise, it's a crying shame we were denied that with Breakdown. Funny you should mention that, because when I was doing research, I found out that Breakdown used to work on a dam. So, you're not far off the mark, and I actually utilized that for an old idea where he and Ironhide had history in one of my early rewrites.
Indeed, especially since of all the background foils, Bee vs Dreadwing is the only one that makes sense from a plot standpoint (yes, aesthetically it's pleasing to have polar opposites, but there was no relevancy to the overarching story with Arcee vs Airachnid and Bulkhead vs Breakdown, though you could have swung it with the latter for Breakdown's eventual turn.) Because truly, if I were in Dreadwing's place, I'd ask for the name of the killer and hunt him down, not just grab any Autobot in sight for the kill. That is a very good idea for how it'd go down and you reminded me of how Blitzwing's getting development and his lost redemption arc in my AU as well, and YES, Dreadwing would not have his Spark snuffed out. He's crafty, more experienced, and more familiar with a hunt than Bee is. Scout's gotta stay on his toes!
No worries, and I hope the week treats you well, too. But before that -
#Just a bit of addition-but I've always found it OOC for Miko in particular to point her finger at Optimus in Nemesis Prime#This was the same gal who THREATENED Megatron and is VERY vocal with remaining on the the Autobots' side#Let's also not forget how she FIRMLY decided to stay with the bots both in Darkness Rising and when June was about to make her leave#I firmly believe it was an implicit attempt to “maintain” the connection between Jack and Optimus Post-Orion Pax#Especially since he was the ONLY human who BELIEVED Optimus#But now that I think about it-there was no reason for Fowler and Raf to be SUSPICIOUS of Optimus#ESPECIALLY Fowler since he's known the bots AND Optimus for far longer than the kids#And did Raf forget about the small moments he shared with Optimus in Scrapheap-the S1 finale-and the ending to the Orion Pax arc???#I'm getting a bit out of topic but i really dislike the special treatment Jack's getting BY THE SHOW#Anyways Miko would have been able to tear down Optimus' walls (just as she did Bulkhead's) via her own ways and I am 100% down for it
Oh heck yeah, and I wouldn't be surprised. They had to keep Jack relevant to a degree in order to have an excuse (or ten) to use Arcee non-stop, while I guess the initial whiners against Miko would have had a hissy fit if she'd gotten the Key (I also hate how much attention Jack consumed from the show's cast.) And really, what's with having Fowler or Raf turn on Optimus like that? Could they really not sell the Nemesis Prime arc that well, or were they just desperate?
Seriously, I gotta consider some Optimus and Miko content now. That'd be beautiful - though I also confess I can see Flint opening up to him a tad bit, too.
Let me know if I missed anything, and I hope to have you here or in my askbox again some time!