#stronger faster

[dragonsgirl572]

Optimus: GET BACK HERE YOU DUMB FUCK!

Ratchet, who's high on Synth-En: LET ME RUN FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS!

[tfp-is-prime]

Transformers: Prime Season 1, Episode 22: “Stronger, Faster”

Original Airdate: September 17, 2011 2023 TFP Rerun Date: September 17, 2024

[Watch on YouTube]

Synopsis, courtesy of Apple: Ratchet, experimenting with synthetic Energon, injects himself with the substance—which makes him a menace to the Decepticons...but also to the Autobots and himself.

[rentfree-quotes]

"Does your boss know you have a potty mouth?"

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, People, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 22: Stronger, Faster

Please reblog or comment on this with your thoughts! I really want to know what your opinion of the episode was!

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:03 - Said no one to a transformers fan ever.

00:15 - I don’t know what happened to Ratchet’s lip-sync.

00:26 - *throws to the Ratchet fans* FEAST!

00:33 - Raf’s a smart character, wouldn’t he know that Ratchet needs to test it a few times to make sure it’s stable? …Or does Raf want to put Bee’s life at risk?. O-Ó

00:58 - I get the other shots, but why the Cliffjumper one? His death didn’t have a negative effect on the energon supply.

01:41 - It’s like listening to your parents discussing the taxes.

01:59 - aww.. baby no! I wanna put him in a blanket.

02:08 - could you imagine being a parent in the early 2010s, thinking your child’s just watching an innocent show, then walking in and watching this scene? The episode is honest to goodness about drug addiction and there’s nothing anyone can say that would disprove it.

02:19 - Imagine if that had actually killed him? Like everyone returning after a mission to find Ratchet dead on the floor.

~intro~

03:12 - an amusing sight

03:24 - Ratchet’s first move to check if he was better than fine was to rotate his arm/check his shoulder. For anyone who theorises hidden, long-term injuries on the bots, there’s one for ya.

03:28 - I’m sad that his energon was so low… but which one belongs to the others? A possible consideration would be that Optimus is the bottom, then Bulkhead’s above Ratchet, then Arcee, then Bee, from their frame sizes and such. Where Bulkhead and Optimus use up more energon due to their larger sizes.

03:56 - that’s so strategically cruel.

04:49 - Oh Damn.. Optimus ain’t playing around (obviously) but he doesn’t use that tone at any other point. It’s so… uncharacteristically in character of that makes sense.

05:08 - way too high risk. Slim odds of reward. Arcee has a bad habit on taking on too much during fieldwork. It’s incredible how she hasn’t been held back more often.

05:53 - Mm.. there’s not enough appreciation for the way vehicon’s prepare to land.

06:10 - why would he put the ground bridge up there?? HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO GET BACK? + could you just imagine Bee, Bulk and Optimus waiting behind the rocks, trying to make small talk.

06:18 - Slay Ratchet. Damn.

06:50 - so that idea from before… still imagine that. Just because it doesn’t work in canon, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be pictured.

07:16 - now I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t say that the fact that they included this shot could’ve meant something important, especially how the camera lingered on Bee for a second before the zoom (he’s the focus point in the shot. He’s the least blurry in the zoom). This will not be the last comment I make that’s probably me just thinking too hard.

07:22 - the side eye.

07:23 - That sounds familiar..

HA CALLBACK.

07:32 - *cri* He looks so proud. Good.

07:36 - Oh n o ✨ he’s now become aware of the size difference in a way that isn’t making him worried for the safety of the children (also Ratchet’s canonically called Raf ‘little fella’ I will now abuse this fact.)

07:46 - ‘no secret’ then proceeds to reveal that he’s on drugs.

07:48 - you can see the shift in the other bots features.

07:57 - … what. Did. He. Say?. W H Y A R E T H E R E N O H I N T S ? !

08:04 - this one’s a quick translation.. *concerned husband noises* + that slight glare though.

08:09 - Now kids remember, don’t do drugs. And if Arcee suggests it’s a good idea. It isn’t.

08:20 - Optimus probably has some history with drug addiction/abuse (might not have been him, but a friend *cough cough* Megatron)

08:26 - Damn, Optimus really on edge this episode.

08:43 - expressive story telling.

08:46 - Under influence or not, Ratchet still called Bulkhead ‘Bulk’. He must’ve done so before, but still.

08:50 - Bulkhead’s more likely to respond with a nickname if he gets addressed with a nickname.

08:51 - Ratchet just bitch-slapped Bulk. Damn.

09:16 - oh hells no. Ratchet’s fist should never be that close to Bee’s face like that. + From experience, when someone air punches so close so your face, once you recognise that you’re not actually going to be punched, you relax, but if you still believe you're in danger you're going to remain on edge. Bee keeps himself tilted away, meaning he still sees Ratchet as a threat.

09:22 - *cri*

09:25 - Bee’s eyebrows raise higher after Ratchet insults him.

09:29 - pretend he was straight? Yeah. But seriously, what an uncomfortable situation for all of them.

09:42 - that’s a dependency. It’s never a good thing.

09:52 - Arcee’s tone indicates she’s still upset, otherwise she would’ve been a bit higher pitched.

09:57 - There’s something about the way Optimus reactions (physically) when Bulkhead stops him that’s really interesting. I cannot work out what though.

10:05 - that’s how Knockout stands.

10:10 - I very seriously doubt that Ratchet chose Bumblebee to stay back as a randomised choice. If he had called him ‘Bee’, maybe, but he didn’t. He said ‘Bumblebee’. It was intentional. Considering that Ratchet’s still very strategic, despite being under influence, he would’ve been more likely to put Arcee on the sidelines (she goes against orders, makes unnecessary risks and is not as good at fighting compared to the others + the others are a bit more durable.). There are a few reasons why he might’ve chosen Bee. Although I want to say that it’s super unlikely, I cannot rule out the idea that a drugged up Ratchet could be a bit ableist, explaining why he’d first remove the disabled bot- but, as I said, highly unlikely. What’s more likely is that he’s putting Bee on the sidelines because he sees him as the weakest after he immediately backed down from a challenge. Then you also have the idea that there’s still apart of Ratchet that would put himself in the face of danger to protect Bee.

10:13 - WHAT DID HE SAY?! THE SYLLABLES RARELY MEAN ANYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO BEE’S DIALOGUE SO THERE’S NO HINTS!

11:01 - He’s an ass, but he’s got a point.

11:47 - what was gonna be the plan?

12:03 - this is a serious part, why would they include something so comedic? + he do be having a really good aim tho.

12:29 - Torture for the location of something important… the irony. (IYKYK)

12:41 - Optimus’s reaction shot is like every animal reaction to a loud noise in the distance.

12:44 - Really reflects on how often Autobots torture someone from the way everyone reacts.

12:47 - the shot would’ve been more impactful had Ratchet been kneeling, rather than leaning over.

12:57 - Nothing can stop the indestructible force that is Optimus putting his hand on someone’s arm/shoulder to make them calm down.

13:02 - Bulkhead and Arcee standing in the back watching them.

13:08 - Miner vs Minor. Both make a lot of sense before the rest of the dialogue.

13:11 - ‘servant class, not warrior class’, I need to do my research, damn. Are there classes between Servant and warrior? I imagine there’s probably ones below Servant and above warrior, so the lowest class the autobots would fight is warrior. Are the classes the same for the autobots? *

13:14 - his headlights weren’t coloured properly.

13:17 - with each shot the camera gets closer to them. + Optimus’s really fed up.

13:20 - he got the Lego mouth.

13:33 - I refuse to believe that the nemesis isn’t moving every five minutes.

14:24 - OH. WOW. Low blow.

14:59 - That was quick. Especially considering that that was not the original coordinates.

15:18 - they established early on that Ratchet could do that.

15:23 - ..where is he going?

15:34 - they either removed a scene or there’s a giant error. Bee wasn’t with them.

16:11 - domineering: asserting one's will over another in an arrogant way.

16:34 - I stand corrected, Megatron isn’t on the ship… for some reason.

16:51 - Knockout hasn’t fought Ratchet before.

17:16 - underrated line + delivery.

17:20 - Megatron’s got a big hand.

17:23 - that’s what it feels like to loose an arm wrestle.

17:31 - Knockout immediately suggesting drugs.

17:37 - WTFRaG.

17:49 - …Okay but like I know he doesn’t mean it this way, but I prefer to imagine that Megatron’s witness Ratchet sitting in Optimus’s lap.

17:53 - dude wants to drug a whole army.

17:56 - first move. Call out husband’s name.

17:58 - second move. Admit to wrong-doings.

18:05 - Optimus grabbing onto the handrails (I wasn't able to get a clear shot)

18:08 - He’s so concerned.

18:10 - FRAGGIN FINALLY I CAN GUESS. ‘Yeah? -on it.’

18:14 - Optimus didn’t even finish his sentence before running to the rescue.

18:23 - her legs are moving faster than she is.

18:26 - NOTHING CAN STOP HIM NOOOOW.

18:32 - he won’t stop moving. It’s beautiful.

18:38 - Oh dear.. oh Ratchy no!

18:44 - Knockout’s had like a 0% success rate with that saw.

19:35 - his eyes are blue

19:50 - THAT LINE DELIVERY!

20:07 - he k n e e l s

20:12 - that pool of energon wasn’t there before and he wasn’t actively bleeding.

20:14 - smexy scenery.

20:21 - babes has been by his side the whole time.

20:24 - ‘you bled out’ >:)

20:31 - Aww! But also.. he punched Bulkhead.

12:32 - shut up. You’re crying.

20:35 - he finished his sentence.

20:41 - AAAAAAAAA

20:52 - so energon is a blue crystal that needs to be mined, where it’s then turned into glowing light blue cubes where it becomes a dark blue liquid and is injected into the arm? But if it’s purple it’s dark energon. If it’s green it’s Synth-en. But dark energon stays in crystal form and doesn’t need to be replaced, while normal energon needs to be stocked up and can burn.

21:24 - this is just the plot of Hercules (the Disney movie)

———————

And that was Stronger, Faster

A lot lighter and darker than I remembered it. A very good watch and even if it’s just known for being the drug addiction episode, I’m glad that it’s known.

It’s a very dark topic, but I think it was addressed well. 10/10 would watch in a binge and when being selective about episodes.

*so this touches on my question

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Reasons I like tfp #222:

"Let me see what you have!"

"A KNIFE!"

"NO!"

[elindae-writes]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Ratchet’s desire to improve himself grows and the entire team struggles to hold back his growing recklessness, especially Optimus and Starscream. Ratchet finally decides he is strong enough to take on their ultimate enemy—Megatron.

[dabbingonronpa]

Transformers: Prime Director’s Cut, Ep21-23

T.M.I. (n/a)

Stronger, Faster (Mairghread Scott, Shaunt Nigoghossian, Jeffrey Combs)

-first episode Mairghread got to write

-Shaunt’s fav episode

-”I wanted to prove that [Ratchet] could be the war hero” -Mairghread

-”I wanted someone to stand up to Optimus, to talk about how frustrating this is” -Mairghread

-VA’s don’t get much time to practice, script comes 1-2 days before recording

-”I like that I get to beat the holy... poo-poo out of [the Jeticons]” -Jeffrey 

-*scene: Ratchet backflips into the air, grabs a vehicon’s head and smashes it into the ground* “That move there was supposed to be him doing that to Megatron at the end, but we had to cut the ending” -Shaunt about Ratchet’s first fight scene in the episode

-Synth-en was green because it wouldn’t have been as obvious of a color chance bc the other Autobots have blue eyes

-”This was my favorite in the record, because you [Jeffrey] were just sitting there, wacking Kevin [M. Richardson] on the shoulder, ‘COME AT ME BULKHEAD, COME AT ME’. I thought he was gonna hit you back!” -Mairghread

-”Ratchet needs a leather jacket right now”

-episode was cut-down a lot bc too many good moments

-”Don’t worry, I’m an emergency vehicle” was the story-editor’s addition to the script

-(laughs at miner con getting conked on the head with the rock) “We’re mean spirited people” “We are”

-instead of the rock, ratchet was initially going to chase the miner down in alt mode

-Mairghread was surprised the blowtorch scene w/ ratchet made it through

-”Frank actually puts his hands out in front of his face [in the same manner as Megatron]”

-”Originally, I had Megatron turn his back to Ratchet, and that’s how Ratchet got the sucker punch” -Mairghread

-wiping the energon off of Megatron’s lips was Mairghread’s husband’s idea

-Knock Out, Starscream, and Ratchet were the most fun to write

One Shall Fall (Nicole Dubuc, Joseph Kuhr, Vinton Heuck, Augusto Barranco)

-This episode was going to be the s1 finale, and the following 3 as a mid-summer special, but all four ended up airing as a four-part finale instead

-”if you’re watching this 10 years from now, there was a meme about LOLCATZ”

-Originally, in the first skirmish of the episode, Breakdown was present, but was cut to streamline the story

-Bumblebee’s mirror rotating to see Raf’s hand falling is the “I’m not dead yet” moment to give a sigh to the audience

-The original premise was that hurting Raf was intentional on Megatron’s part, and that he would start “transforming” and a psychic connection between him and Unicron would form, but was cut to keep focus more squarely on Optimus and Megatron

-Originally, Ratchet and June were going to work together to treat Raf

-”[Optimus + Bulkhead] are too unforgiving to those troopers”

-the establishing shots of Earth were used as a timer ticking down, but were going to be more explicit beforehand (ie 30 days and counting)

-the color department has notoriously had trouble with bright purple colors bc it became pinkish

-*Optimus: ‘Do not believe everything you read’* “...which is not Optimus telling children not to read. I read that comment online somewhere.” “That’d be a great library poster” (laughter)

-to save Raf, an energon defibrillator would have been used but was changed to the chamber because they thought it’d be like zapping a bug with a bug zapper

-the wheel-to-the-face almost didn’t happen, because his armor wouldn’t happen normally, but was able to stay in because Hartman insisted it be kept in to Polygon

-originally, the episode ended with the other Autobots running to Optimus’s location a few moments after where the current episode ends

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Reasons I like tfp #227:

Knockout is cat. I don't make the rules.