The beautiful irony of Prowl's character arc in TFA is that his journey to commune with the Allspark - and find redemption from his past - is actually his journey to find belonging and purpose.
Communing with the Allspark - and by extension finishing his Cyberninja training - required deeply knowing himself.
Deeply knowing himself required discovering parts of himself that Prowl didn't even know existed until he discovered earth's organic world, and spent time with Optimus's crew. It also required revisiting some of his most painful memories, and taking his own power back from the traumas that had burdened him for millions of years.
Prowl's self-inflicted isolation obviously served a protective purpose. But it hindered his growth as a person. Forming bonds and building trust with others was uncomfortable at times, but it gave him the opportunity and motivation he needed to grow as an individual. Cultivating healthy new relationships made him stronger, so that he could eventually process the loss of his beloved master/only family without shame.
Processing the horrors of his past, and discovering who he was in his spark, is what enabled Prowl to finally connect with the Allspark and tap into its power.
Finding a family of his own, and figuring out what cause he wanted to fight for, was how Prowl finally discovered who he was and where he belonged. The family he belonged in, and the cause he fought for, also turned out to be what Prowl was willing to die for.
And dying for who and what he loved most is what gave Prowl the sense of redemption he'd been looking for from the start.
Now, did Prowl have to die to find redemption, or could he have found it another way? Did Prowl even need redemption, since Yoketron's death and the theft of the protoforms wasn't his fault? And was there a way for Prowl to save the day without sacrificing himself?
Well, those are questions for another post. 😉
