#I think in Transformers Earthspark when the autobots would fight the explosions would be in 2D

[glitter50000]

[darkstarofchaos]

It is finally time to talk about Megatron and Starscream.

Spoilers for Transformers EarthSpark under the cut.

So to start, it's fascinating to me that people are only now complaining that Megatron's characterization isn't consistent. I've thought it was inconsistent ever since episode 8, and it's only after episode 21 that I finally feel satisfied with his portrayal.

Way back in episode 3, Bumblebee asks Megatron what he would do if his troops weren't listening to him. Megatron's answer was, "When I commanded legions of Decepticons, my strategy was always intimidation. A little brute force, make a show of my weaponry, that sort of thing." He also mentions a "signature move" called the Turbo Twister, and while the details of what that is are lost to an explosion, it's pretty clear that he was using violence to keep people obedient.

Compare that to episode 8, which he spends complaining that Optimus has no problem locking up Decepticons despite not trusting GHOST. He doesn't want to use excessive force on the Cassettes when fighting them, rejects the use of devices that trap bots in their altmodes, and generally just doesn't like how the Cons are being treated. At the end of the episode, Optimus allows Megatron to let the Cassettes go, and Megatron tells Optimus that, "Perhaps your leadership style is not so different from my own."

Um. Excuse me, sir, but did you or did you not advocate for violence as a means of controlling your troops?

That's a blatant contradiction, and honestly, Starscream's "You don't know the real Megatron," sums up my problem with Megatron's redemption perfectly: we don't know the pre-redemption Megatron. We don't know what he was like when he led the Decepticons. We don't know why none of the Decepticons joined him when he allied with the Autobots. We know nothing about pre-redemption Megatron. Nothing beyond his own, cheerful anecdote about how he kept his troops in line through intimidation, and a later remark in episode 16 that, "A human soldier showed more compassion for my people than I did" (note that there is no contradiction between Megatron's self-assessment and his approach to disobedience).

Except now, thanks to the newest episodes, we do have something else. We have Starscream's assessment, and he describes Megatron almost the same way Megatron described himself: "The ruthless tyrant who ruled over us with fear and intimidation." Starscream did not say anything Megatron himself hasn't been telling us, and yet it's only now that Megatron's behavior gets labeled a contradiction?

But that's not why it's being called contradictory. I know it's not. So let's get to the heart of the issue: it's not just any Megatron who hears that Starscream has escaped and Does Not want him roaming free. It's a redeemed Megatron. It's a Megatron who argues against Decepticons being kept in cages, has a human partner, and shows nothing but patience in dealing with the Terrans.

It's a Megatron who, on learning that one of his most troublesome soldiers has escaped, falls straight back into old habits.

We have no direct evidence that Starscream was as rebellious in this continuity as in others, but I think it can be inferred. Megatron described intimidation as his approach to dealing with disobedience, and Starscream starts to treat Hashtag the same way when she refuses to obey him - then backs off when she calls him on it. So we know Starscream wasn't very obedient, and that he was "disciplined" often enough that he outright tells Megatron he doesn't feel safe with him ("Nowhere is safe if it's with you").

This matters because, when Megatron hears about Starscream's escape, it's not just some Decepticon. It's a mech Megatron could never properly control, who probably ignored orders and did his own thing constantly. Starscream isn't just an escaped Decepticon: he's a bot Megatron has been controlling with violence for who knows how long. And when that bot is no longer contained, Megatron slips back into unknown years' worth of learned behavior. Because he never had an opportunity to unlearn it. How could he, when Starscream has been locked up and Megatron didn't have to think about him?

But he doesn't stay in that mindset. Yes, he attacks Starscream on sight. But he backs down when Hashtag intervenes (he's already lowering his weapon before she's even said two sentences in Starscream's defense), and he makes no further attempt to capture Starscream. Quite the opposite: at the end of the episode, he extends an offer of safety, and when Starscream rejects that offer, Megatron just... lets him go. Just like he let the Cassettes go back in episode 8.

Megatron's redemption wasn't somehow undone because he made a bad decision on impulse. Not if all it took for him to change his mind about Starscream was seeing him try to save Hashtag from the Dweller. If anything, it showed that Megatron is committed to his new ideals. Even if he slips up sometimes, he isn't going to return to his old ways. And I don't know about anyone else, but I needed that.

I have spent the entire season doubting Megatron's redemption. It didn't feel like redemption; it felt like the writers just wanted a nice Megatron, and his old mindset could be handwaved as, "Well, he was bad once, but he's good now". Seeing him default to old behavior, even just a little, connected the Megatron we know and the one we only hear about in a real, tangible way. And at least to me, that makes his characterization stronger.

Of course, there's still that contradictory comment about Optimus' leadership style being "not so different" from Megatron's. But I don't think a single line of weird dialogue is worth getting worked up over.

[logos-primes-pr-guy]

Earthspark Skywarp is Rekindling my Appreciation for TF Fight Scenes

Yes I'm rewatching Earthspark for the 994035th time. You can't comprehend how much I love this show, but especially the sheer creativity going into the animation, and especially Skywarp's teleporting. I'm just so glad they not only remembered to bring that back, but actually added to it. The 2D effects are gorgeous, and the way she interacts in partnership with Nova Storm is just plain awesome, and it's actually exciting to look at!

I often struggle with fight scenes due to my visual processing difficulties, so my brain tends to just phase-out excessive explosions and gunfire that most TF media opts for. But I can actually watch Earthspark, and enjoy it! The TFs use their powers and bits of their kibble and actually do interesting and fun things, they fight like how Cybertronians should fight, conveying their power, their difference, their alien nature. Everyone praises the Seekers vs Megatron + Optimus fight, but it's because it's so fresh. Earthspark promised it would bring us something new, and it really has. I don't think any other show has done such a good job of showcasing exactly why humans fear Cybertronians as well as that one shot of Skywarp clashing with OP as Dot desperately tries to get her family to safety. They're giants, with technology far beyond human understanding, almost mythic. Most of the humans there have military training, including Dot, but they all just scatter as soon as the Seekers touch down. There is absolutely nothing they can do against these monsters.

We don't get to see if Nova Storm has her outlier ability (or whichever term they might use in Earthspark), but I hope she does, and I hope we'll see the other Rainmakers (and the other Seekers!) She does notably take some significant knocks, including Megatron's fusion cannon piledriving move, and yet only Skywarp comes away with the slashed wing, so I have high hopes. They were a good pair to choose for this fight, because their abilities are formidable, but not so much that they couldn't be easily defeated by OP and Megs. It *feels* like a dramatic, high-stakes fight, because we see how afraid and vulnerable the humans are. Skywarp's flashy power gives us a glimpse at the more frightening aspect of Cybertronain nature - their unpredictability. Some of them can just do things even other Cybertronians can't replicate, let alone protect against. Optimus denies that the humans fear them, but how can they not, when even the Autobots can't explain or replicate every aspect of their species' technology? It would be easier if they could just be seen as machines, but outlier abilities are nearly supernatural, they show the Transformers to be so much more than that, and therefore, not trustworthy, not reliable, not easily defined or categorised in terms of threat level and hazard assessment.

And the fact is - Skywarp isn't even the worst of the Seekers, let alone Cybertronians overall. She looks like a top-tier threat, able to warp in close to Optimus and hack at him before he can stop her, to jump around faster than he can fire a blaster, making twists and air manoeuvres no human made jet would ever manage, but he so easily knocks her aside, he's more surprised she and Nova Storm are even trying to attack in the first place. Imagine how much devastation someone like Sunstorm could have wrought? The humans would have likely been killed immediately by one of their radiation bursts. Or, if Skullcruncher is here, imagine the horror of Mindwipe's ability? Overlord?

GHOST are established as throwing around their power over Megatron and the Autobots, but the moment a couple of beaten-down Seekers show up, who don't even have the benefit of working with their original trinemates, they're totally out of their depth, relying on Prime and Megatron to fight. The mystery deepens as to just how they're managing to hold any kind of sway over Megatron at all, and what happened to Skywarp and Nova's trines. We know Starscream is captured, but what of the others?

And why are the Decepticons in such bad shape in the first place?

I need the rest of Season 1 beamed into my brain now. I love Skywarp and Nova Storm's friendship so much, they're such an unlikely duo for mixing up trines, and yet it works so well.

I'm for sure gonna make more posts with some specific analysis of mythology and folklore in Earthspark and also Nova Storm and Skywarp's relationship because I have a LOT of thoughts but for now, watch Earthspark. Please, if you haven't already, support the show. It's so good, the writing is fun, it's visually stunning, please watch it.