Transformers: EarthSpark: Season 1

The sensibility was a little too kiddie for my tastes.

Couple of notes:

I like that Bumblebee used to be the VW bug, and has a legit reason why he isn't anymore. Also interesting that Bots seem to have the ability to change their alt modes in this continuity.

Whatever you think of the humans of GHOST, I think it's beyond cool they are able to hold their own during a Decepticon prison break. Humans on every other show are so freaking helpless. It's refreshing they are a physical combat threat here when they go up against the Transformers.

But it was a liitle too silly for me. 2 1/2 stars.

The stuff at the barn is the lamest part of the show, so it's frustrating that seems to be the main focus of the series.

Just to prove my point, the only really interesting scene was with Megatron. The way he bemusedly said nobody ever asked him about how he chose his Alt-Mode before made me a little bit sad. It suggests that the rest of the Autobots kind of take him for granted.

The show gets points for sticking to the moral that Jawbreaker didn't feel ready to choose an alt-mode yet. A lesser show would have had him change his mind at the last minute to narratively satisfy the impatient toddlers in the audience, at the expense of the character. I think this show's sensibility IS a bit too toy-focused (which considering the franchise is saying something). I like they didn't take the easy way out with that. 3 stars.

I thought it was nice. I especially liked that Nightshade basically told the Autobots Tarantulus was simply trying to protect him and that he deserved another chance. Of which Tarantulus is determined to make good use of. I love the show's nuanced take on Decepticons. It's not just Megatron that's interesting now. Exploring what good and evil actually is is a goldmine for storytelling pathos.

Really digging the show. 4 stars.

Well-earned drama and pathos. It's this episode that tells me above all others GHOST is a huge problem that the Autobots need to immediately divest themselves from. The world has ended because Megatron was right about them all along.

Damn, that was pretty painful for Bee and his Decepticon friend (forgot the name already). 3 1/2 stars.

That didn't work, if only for the reason that the bear was badly animated. No CGI animation in 2023 should ever look that clunky.

The tag was sort of interesting, but unrelated to everything else, so I don't know how much credit the episode deserves for it. 2 stars.

Megatron is the best character on the show, and you wish every episode was focused on him. The fact that they aren't is a selling point of the show. The show doling out the best part of itself in bits and pieces means we'll never get sick of him. He won't suffer the overexposure of Kenneth from 30 Rock. He's Creed from The Office. Or maybe the Transformers' version of Bill Murray if you like.

It's interesting Megatron's reform is down to one person: Dottie. I would very much like to see more flashbacks showing her teaching him caring and humanity at some point.

I want to see MUCH more of Megatron. And I also realize it's better for the long term health of the series if I don't. 4 stars.

I didn't like it. I felt it was too earnest and sappy. Having a Transformers show that wears its heart on its sleeve about love and family is not easy to get used to, and the episode did itself no favors here.

Grimlock was a nice surprise, although perhaps he should not have been.

Shocking absence of Optimus Prime for this last batch of episodes. He can be seen a couple of times in the flashbacks in the last episode, and is simply a nonentity otherwise. I think that is a mistake.

So if GHOST IS working with Mandroid and always was, then that means the Maltas and the Autobots need to cut ties immediately. I think GHOST only has the juice it does because of their alliance with the Autobots. If and when Optimus realizes Megatron was right about them all along is when the tide turns in the Transformers favor.

I liked that Stevie changed his tune at the end, but I found his bigotry a bit hard to swallow to begin with. He's a little kid. He should find giant robots awesome. Particularly giant robots that are considered practically superheroes by the Earth at large.

But it's interesting to show actual human prejudice for the first time. And while I think Mandroid is wrong about the reasons for it, as well as how widespread it actually is, he's right that this crap would exist with or without him, and will still be there after he's gone. Maybe the allegories about not giving up on family are clunky. That one feels all right to me.

Since it wasn't actually devised to be a season finale of ANY sort, Paramount+ stopping the episode drop here feels majorly unsatisfying too. Didn't dig it. 2 stars.

Keith David was a great choice for Grimlock. I like this version, especially because he's not dumb. 4 stars.

I love Swindle being annoyed that it seemed like Optimus had forgotten he was there. "It's rude." I love that a Decepticon is concerned about manners.

Mandroid being offended his robots were being described as "Level One Threats" was funny too.

Not really on-board with the humans being powered up. We'll see where both it and the temporary power / link loss goes. 3 1/2 stars.

I love this show. It's quite possible it will wind up even better than Transformers Prime, which was really the only previous Transformers project I DID like.

Speaking of Prime, bringing back Steve Blum as Starscream was the right move. Unlike Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, he's affordable, and because he did such a great job on Prime, there's really no need to fix what isn't broken. What's interesting is that while Starscream on Prime tried to feign interest in reforming, ultimately every time he went rogue was due to cowardice and weakness. This Starscream is selfish, but once Hashtag believes his story about Megatron, he's brave, and attempts to sacrifice himself for her before she saves them both.

What I think is something the rest of the Autobots don't understand, but Megatron himself does, is that just because Megatron reformed, doesn't mean that when he was leader of the Decepticons he was either fair, or a good guy. Starscream describes him as a tyrant. Perhaps the reason Megatron lets him go at the end is he has enough shame to recognize that fact about himself. It also might be why he's been a bit of an advocate for the imprisoned Decepticons with Optimus. He might have better context for why they were the way they were than people who only worked with Megatron after he turned over a new leaf.

The most significant moment of the episode for me, was probably the most significant one for Megatron too: Witnessing Starscream running into danger to sacrifice himself for Hashtag. The look on Megatron's face said he was currently wondering what else he's been wrong about. Maybe his reformation and defection to the Autobots is simply recognizing the surface problems of his previous actions. Maybe if he had ever afforded Starscream the respect, kindness, and understanding even ONCE that Hashtag did, maybe the other Decepticons would have been willing to take his changing of sides more seriously. Since it doesn't sound like he WAS a good and loyal leader, it makes sense the other Decepticons saw it as a betrayal instead.

I love that this show explores this stuff by the way. Prime did too, but this is it to the Nth degree. 5 stars.

It's a little sappy. On the other hand, I sometimes LIKE sappy. And it's not like there exists another sappy Transformers show. Maybe that specific thing is what the franchise needs in 2023. The 1984 series in particular, in hindsight, to me, seems to have utterly lacked a real conscience or sense of decency. It's amazing such a noble character as Optimus Prime was created for a show that trafficked so often in meanness, and when it came to the feature film, actual depravity.

In comparison to that, I'll take sappy and like it. 3 1/2 stars.

Great Shockwave cliffhanger.

I like that there ARE good GHOST agents and Croft's brother John is one of them.

I loved Megatron being impressed that Optimus is using deception. Gotta love him.

Gettin' good. 4 stars.

A lot of stuff happened. I liked it but the cliffhanger made the episode weirdly even more unsatisfying than it should have been.

I'll tell you what was good. Them giving the mom Dottie the epic fight and hero moment against Croft. Even on Transformers Prime Jack's mom was purely a sideline character. I like the mom on this show being permitted to kick a little ass. 3 1/2 stars.

Kudos to the show for not sticking us with a cliffhanger. I loved Transformers Prime but that was always obnoxious.

Very empowering ending. It's interesting Mandroid became the threat he did. He was treated as sort of a joke and a punchline as the series started but he devolved into a pure monster.

I loved Starscream's hero moment. Part of me thinks he only showed up because he had "an open invitation to give Megatron what-for". But whatever works, right?

I wish the Malto humans had been more involved with the episode before the ending, because the rest of the season has been treating them as the main characters. If there is a season 2 or 3 however, I don't expect them to be put out of commission in future finales so I'll live with it.

Super cool finale. 4 1/2 stars.