#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.

[onewingedsparrow]

I love how Optimus subconsciously lowers himself to listen to Arcee the exact same way I subconsciously lower myself to listen to a toddler LOL The height difference between these two will never not delight me.

[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

[artificial-absinthe]

If she was going to be like her iteration of the Covenant of Primus, I'm glad that she wasn't implied to be deeply related to Optimus. And even if she was different and deeply related to Optimus, it would still be opposite to him to be beating a friend.

It made sense that he beat Megatron so furiously when the last "killed" Bumblebee, (and not even then he had enough fury to bring himself to swiftly kill Megatron), but that he would hit his friend no matter what he said would be totally inconceivable.

ms scott, so I have a really important question about "stronger faster" and a birdy told me something about how, the part where ratchet told Optimus that 'he's too soft, and that's why he didn't pound megatron when he had the chance etc" well I also heard something about elita being mentioned in there that ratchet would of told optimus "and tHAT'S why elita died" and this has been eating at me forever and I have to know if it is real so yes please tell me its important its for science.

Ah…yes. In the first draft I wrote for “Stronger, Faster” I did include a line after that moment (where Ratchet berates Optimus for not fighting Megatron sooner/harder) to imply that Elita One had died during the war and Ratchet was blaming Optimus for it (I don’t remember the exact wording, something opaque like “Where’s Elita now?”). Then Optimus clocked Ratchet in the face.It never made it past the first draft. My Story Editor didn’t want to have Optimus lose his cool there (a perfectly reasonable choice) and so there was no reason for the line.that made him lose his cool (especially since it would have also locked us into a significant piece of backstory in the first season). It happens all the time.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Shout out to all artists who had to work without any strong direction or instruction.

I wish you a merry “the client likes it anyways”

[10thmusemoon]

Zhangmen-Sidxiong and Sid Jiu should not exist, yet I love them deeply. May MXTX strike me down for my sinful hand.

[wizard-legs]

Chilchuk panel drawing based on this post lol! I’ve been trying to emulate ryoko’s style for linework as practice for my own lineart so this was fun :P

[justc2world]

His voice went from 👶 to batman

[koumouby]

My Saiyan OC, Pepper (Like, Chili pepper)

His backstory is that someone found him as a stray on a random planet then thrown to Nappa. Now he's part of the gang.

[tfp-is-my-lifeblood-lol]

Wouldn't it be funny if synthetic energon did ABSOLUTLEY nothing?

And the crazy shit Ratchet did in "Stronger Faster" was 100% the placebo effect?

I mean, we know that isn't true, because we literally SEE Ratchet's vital stats change, plus he passes out, and his eyes turn green, but wouldn't it be funny, though?

Imagine: It's completely harmless, basically just green water, and Ratchet's like "wow this is the good shit" and goes on a rampage because he thinks it's magical energon steroids cocaine.

[antlerlad]

he lived. he served cunt. he died. he got resurrected. he lived. he served cunt. he died

[mixelation]

i think in reborn au when tori starts getting Kind Of Good, she keeps doing this thing where she's like "oh it's a friendly fight/spar, listen, okay, i will just explain to you how to win" and then you fucking don't

[gai-sucks-titties-in-my-basement]

Gai has plummeted from the sky exactly twice in canon, one was his fall after releasing the 8th gate. A serene acceptance of his own end. And the second was off the Tobisachimaru, where Kakashi caught him and they fell hand in hand. Kakashis Story (the book) opens up to Gai I think at his most honest, he is childish and selfish and desperate. He threatens Lee into getting him on a flying boat for absolutely no reason, other than to feel the importance of being one of the first Shinobi to be on it. He is striving for a significance the universe stole from him by allowing him to leave past his prime, his moment with Madara where he was no longer human; but God. Kakashi has spent the entire novel not scrutinizing, but pitying Gai for a lack of understanding of what they have left. But Kakashi, who has lived in the past for nearly his whole life, is met with a woman who lives in that same war; who’s leaking grief out onto Kakashi the entire novel. In a moment of her exposition, her; the embodiment of past, weeping before Kakashi, Gai is falling off the boat. A descent into oblivion; an oblivion he wants but was denied. And Kakashi cannot care about the war or the woman or the past, all he does is jump after Gai. And hold his hand. It is by outside, coincidental forces (Sai, on a bird.) that either survive. Kakashi refused Gai to descend into oblivion alone.

This novel is also the first instance of Kakashi being relevant with both of his eyes. I like to think it’s them falling together that Gai really understands that this is the first time he’s looked into Kakashi’s eyes since adolescence.

[zerguette]

@cosmicdenro i saw you're a fellow Repeater enjoyer -handshakes you-, and I instantly had to went and draw a stick holding a repeater;;;

[ooftheartist]

Stronger, Faster.

Pls be patient while I try and figure out how TF to color/render art how do ya'll do ts it's so hard 😭🙏🙏🙏 not to mention backrounds..😨