Maximal, No More.
I'm kind of loss here. Why does Dinobot go back to the Predacons? Is it some trick? There''s several scenes where he's quite committed (ie. having to think twice about killing Rattrap) and so on. Some good moments though but it was kind of confusing. The only rationale I have for it is Dinobot has a scheme in mind...
Other Visits Parts One and Two
Pretty mediocre first half. It was mostly setup but there were two key highlights.
1.) The Maximals deciding to go on the offensive. Just a badass moment.
2.) Megatron knowing he can't kil Tarantulas.
Apart from that though it did feel rather pedestrian. Oh and mighty lame-o is the Tigatron/Air Razor r/ship. They hold hands and that's pretty much it, they're an item. *pukes*
Part Two was heads and shoulders superior to the first part. So much happened I hardly believed it was an episode. Megatron gaining control of the ship, the Maximals taking Rhinox and Dinobot back and then getting back to launch an assault. Tarantulas working with the Maximals. I like him. He's creepy.
The other thing is that surfboard Primal has is neat. At first I felt it was corny and lame but it does open up new visuals in fight sequences and I think the animators are getting better at capturing that.
It was quite strange with this episode. I fell asleep watching the 2nd part here and had to rewatch it afterwards. I thought I dozed off b/c it was mundane. How wrong I was.
Bad Spark
Now this surprised me. I'd actually been reading a fan comic series (Shane Anderson's at TFW2005 which is highly recommended) and it spotlighted Blackarachnia and silverbolt as an item. I was like "huh? Stupid idea. Never would work. Some fan lost his marbles." Then I started watching this episode and realised it was actually part of BW continuity!!!
And did I like it? Hell yeah. Silverbolt was pretty meh to me initially. Those little medieval horns that sounded every so often he had a heroic thought was starting to make him really irksome. But played against Blackarachnia, he really works and is twice as interesting as a character. It's chivalry and boundless optimism vs. pragmatic and sneaky. It's an interesting relationship and in my mind the best fembot-malebot r/ship I've had the pleasure of following.
I do hope more gets developed here. I felt Blackarachnia's growth as a character skyrocketed here. She is definitely the most interesting fembot ever. It's interesting how she progressed from wanting to doublecross him to falling for him.
And i loved Megatron's response to the forming r/ship.
The romance issues aside, my fave Tarantulas getting slagged? Nope, that won't do. I look forward to him coming back...
The Predator X stasis pod was s definite improvement on the "oh another Transformer b/c of a stasis pod" gimmick. I liked the backstory and the acknowledgement of Starscream's sparks uniqueness. It does a lot to explain why he returned in G1. It's a moment that had me feeling giddish in a fanboy type of manner.
Rampage will be an interesting addition. I look forward to see where the character goes.
This was an excellent episode in my mind. One of the best.
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Now having said all that, I've come to the conclusion that Beast Wars is a terrible cartoon. No, I'm serious. I just think the writers wrote way above the intelligence of the intended audience. And that's a bad thing. Criticise Cybertron/Energon as I may, I at least understand where it's coming from.
Beast Wars in its 2nd season is proving to be inaccessible. The plots are dangling and require the child to remember key plot developments from episodes ago. The storytelling is dependent on previous stories.
Yes, I appreciate that this is what makes this series so thoroughly enjoyable to older fans but ultimately I can't help but feel it's sorely misdirected. This series was doom to failure in my opinion and I think Season 3 would have been cut due to this. Season 1 had more standalone plots but now everything is weaving into each other way too much.
As good as this is, it's not for the young ones. And I think that in that sense it is a failure. I can't see any kids (the intended audience) being that patient. You really need to be in the age bracket of 14 upwards to enjoy this.