“We’re free now! You don’t have to follow him anymore!”
Is anyone else really curious about this line and its implications in Earthspark? It’s spoken by Frenzy with a sort of relieved desperation, like they didn’t want to be following Soundwave to begin with? Or like Megatron did them a favor by “freeing” them from Soundwave?
Thiiiis strikes me as odd, if not morbidly interesting, because popular theory and interpretations of the Casettes and Soundwave are almost always portrayed as familial, and tight-knit, with the Casettes following Soundwave willingly because they like him or some other positive motivation. But this singular line almost seems to imply that they didn’t have a choice but to follow Soundwave - and I might even go so far as to say, with the way Frenzy’s voice wavers, that they were scared of him?
What happened to Soundwave? Frenzy and Laserbeak seem extremely wary of him, and Ravage is the only one who returns to Soundwave - and note that it’s immediately followed up with Soundwave using Ravage for something he clearly had planned for ahead of time. So, you tell me, did Ravage really return to Soundwave because he felt some sense of loyalty to him? Or did he return to Soundwave because he KNEW about his part in Soundwave’s plans later on, and felt obligated to? And if so, WHY are they all scared of him?
Did Megatron’s betrayal change him, maybe? Throughout the episode, he definitely seems more… expressive than normal - in a distinctly angry way. Like, I’ve never seen an iteration of Soundwave quite so livid in any situation. Annoyed? Yes. But Soundwave has always been characterized as the cool and calm and collected type - being suave and mysterious is kind of, like, his thing, alongside unmatched and unquestioning loyalty to Megatron and the ability to get shit done. But in Earthspark? Hachi machi, this man is ANGRY AS HELL, and it’s almost like his battling decisions themselves are suffering for it!
He attacks Megatron directly, commands his Casettes to attack Megatron directly - knowing FULL WELL that they can’t beat him and that they should probably be worried about the 2 other fully capable Autobots nearby - and is so off his game that he lets his primary weapon get disabled! He literally tells Megatron directly that the situation is personal, he throws Megatron’s own words back in his face, basically yells at him when he calls him a traitor, and then GROWLS at Arcee? Like, a VISCERAL goddamn rage reaction! This is not the calm and collected Soundwave we know from almost every other continuity! And… somehow, considering how spot on Earthspark has been with characterizing every other character, somehow I don’t think this is just a case of Earthspark writers making Soundwave out of character. I think Sounds is genuinely hurt, and sad, and angry in a way he hasn’t been in any other situation before, and I think it’s changed him and made him lash out in uncharacteristic ways because he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.
You could say “Oh, well his plan was obviously to get captured all along considering the end of the episode, so it’s probably just a ruse/act” - but was it though? Think of the beginning of the episode! He had the Casettes steal a badge to get into GHOST Headquarters! I think the original plan was to use that badge to sneak Ravage in, not to get captured on purpose. Getting captured was probably something he either had to come up with on the spot, or an emergency backup plan in the event that the initial one failed. An emergency backup plan they… ultimately ended up going with.
So… where does that leave Soundwave…? Where does that leave the Casettes…? Are they scared of him because they’ve noticed the change too? Are they scared of him because, god forbid, they’ve been on the receiving end of some of his anger? …Could they be scared of him because of the popular theory about what happened to Rumble…? If it’s true… are they angry with him? Bitter? Worried that they could be next, or that Soundwave no longer has their best interests in mind?
What happened to Soundwave?
turnnoffyourmind
jacobvanloon
vaporwave
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
dededos
kianamaiart
baratheonpilled
