Episode Three: "The Darkness Rising Pt. 3" By Scott Barker
PREVIOUSLY ON TRANSFORMERS PRIME REVIEWS...
Damn zombie Cliffjumper...you scary!
Arcee, kinda grumpy!
Megatron, you so huge!
MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!!
Episode title: The rise of darkness - part three
Autobot débuts: n/a
Decepticon débuts: Laserbeak
Episode synopsis:
We are recapped with the events of episode two, ending with Megatron roaring as the dark energon takes effect. The episode begins with Jack riding Arcee who playfully pops a wheelie and states Jack might enjoy the ride since they aren’t being shot at. Meanwhile, Bulkhead is parked up with Miiko inside as they discuss something. She convinces Bulkhead she is safe and he takes off, driving down a cliff face. We cut to bumblebee, where Raf is sat inside playing a racing game with the scout. Bumblebee is victorious and we cut again to Ratchet who is pleased to have the base to himself.
A noise interrupts his research and the sound is revealed to be the tiny cycloptic miniformer from the previous episode. It lunges for Ratchet and they fight but it is cut short by Optimus's rifle and a swift stomp, destroying the creature. Ratchet inquires as to what could’ve created the creature and Optimus grimly hypothesises...Dark Energon.
In the dark energon chamber aboard the Decepticon warship, Megatron is adjusting to the effect of the dark energon, stating it is like the blood of Unicron flows through his own veins. He leaves the chamber with a shard of dark energon, transforms and leaves the warship, leaving Starscream and Soundwave to ponder the changes he is undergoing, Starscream questioning Megatrons suitability to lead.
At Autobot HQ, Optimus has deduced the effects of dark energon upon the dead and realises Megatron has obtained a supply to use in bringing back an army of undead cybertronians. Ratchet is alarmed but scoffs at the idea, saying there’s nowhere on earth with that many cybertronian dead. The kids and their corresponding bots arrive, clearly having had a good time in their activities. Optimus orders them to remain where they are, leaving Arcee in charge as he and Ratchet plan to move out. He orders Ratchet to ground-bridge and they leave through it, their destination unknown. Arcee, annoyed at more babysitting, orders Bumblebee to accompany her on patrol, leaving Bulkhead in charge of the kids. Miiko takes it upon herself to form a band and begins playing her guitar but is cut short by an enraged agent Fowler arriving.
He is angry about the destruction of the energon mine which left a sizeable crater in Nebraska. The kids hide but the lead to Miikos guitar reveals them to agent Fowler. He tries to take the children into federal custody but Bulkhead declares they are under Autobot protection. Agent Fowler angrily leaves declaring it is not over.
We cut to a desolate rocky valley where Optimus and Ratchet make their way through. They are hunting for the site of the largest battlefield in our galaxy, which just happened to take place on Earth. A large-scale battle ensued over an energon deposit that had been hidden off-world on Earth. Optimus fears that Megatron is aware of the site too.
We cut to Agent Fowler who leaves the Autobot base in his helicopter. He contacts his superior and declares he is returning but his transmission is intercepted by Soundwave who relays it to Starscream. Starscream orders Soundwave to retrieve Fowler so that he can reveal the location of the base. Soundwaves front panels detach and transform into the drone-like Laserbeak, who flies out in pursuit of the agents helicopter. Despite some skilful flying to evade his pursuer, Fowler is ripped from the helicopter when Laserbeak rips the tail off of the helicopter and sends it into a free-fall.
Fowlers S.O.S reaches the Autobots base. Bulkhead loses the signal before its location can be determined and doesn’t seem to care, declaring the "Fowler is a jerk". The kids however are more concerned about the chance the Decepticons have him and the fact that Fowler could divulge the location of the base. When Bulkhead protests, Raf gets his laptop and offers to try and narrow down the possible area. He decides to try and hack the bureau to find the location of Fowler via a chip he has for tracking purposes.
On the warship, Fowler is brought before Starscream. Fowler is resistant and feigns ignorance of the Autobots existence. Back at Autobot base, Raf has determined Fowlers location which spurs Bulkhead into opening a ground bridge and leaving, assigning Jack as being in charge.
Bulkhead appears in a rocky valley, a short distance from the Decepticon warship which is heavily guarded by Vehicons. as Bulkhead moves into position, Miiko appears and asks what their next move is, revealing their position to a Vehicon who opens fire. Bulkhead interrupts the shot and grapples with the Vehicon, wrestling with him. He tells Miiko to turn away but before giving her a chance, plunges a fist into the Vehicons chest and pulls a handful of sparking wires away. The Vehicon collapses dead and the scene cuts to Arcee and Bumblebee who're on patrol.
At base, Jack decides to go through the still locked ground gate to tell Bulkhead that Miiko stowed away and puts Raf in charge, but Raf, as he is now alone, opts to accompany Jack. This however strands Arcee and Bumblebee who must make their way themselves.
We cut to agent Fowler who is now chained up and being interrogated by Starscream. His insolence drives Starscream to request 'the prod'. Jack and Raf arrive at the warship and are immediately set upon by Vehicons. Back with Fowler, Starscream begins to torture the agent for information.
Back in the dead valley, Optimus and Ratchet discover the site of the battle as Megatron lands and goads them on. Megatron produces the dark energon and hurls it into the floor. The entire area begins to glow as Megatron commands his army to rise and decrepit, mangled cybertronians pull themselves out of the ground and lurch threateningly toward Optimus and Ratchet.
Personal Opinion:
Well, that was quite the episode! A lot was covered, the bots and their kids have been bonding which is always nice, Megatron seems to be none the worse for driving a huge shard of dark energon directly into his spark chamber and the prospect of an entire army of zombie transformers is pretty drool-worthy.
Honourable mention must go to the début of Laserbeak! His updated design was very nice, reminiscent of a predator drone in real life but just bird-like enough that fans of the series instantly get who he is without having Soundwave announce him. Speaking of Soundwave, his role in the series seems to be a glorified dictaphone as he has not said anything using his own voice but by parroting other characters in the same way that Bayformer Bumblebee used his car radio to communicate. While this is quite a novel idea, I miss his dull, monotone voice and hope that he gets to cut the strings and speak his mind.
Megatron gets his wish and pulls forth a frankly awesome looking army of Zombots (coining the term now) which was both terrifying but also satisfying. The characterisations on the Zombots is also notable, they weren’t all stock characters, each one seemed to have been individually designed with the intent that you could picture them as live transformers pre-war. And one has a two handed serrated great-sword. Nice.
The kids involvement in the episode wavered between irritating and unbelievable, but without Rafs Gary Stu-like hacking ability, they'd never have found the warship so I'll let it slide. If we just pretend hes boosting his laptop with Cybertron tech it makes it more believable. Miiko however is becoming increasingly grating. While I don’t object to her character specifically (a metal-head in a series with robots seems kinda appropriate) but the way shes forced down our throats is a bit much. Hopefully over time she'll either tone it down or not get as much screentime. Time'll tell I guess.
I needed that!: YES
Best line: "I fear that when our master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of... space madness." - Starscream
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