My overdue Human Error response.
Apr. 27th, 2009 05:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seiberwingI'm calling it now: Human Error is the best episode we've had all season.
I got a definite feel that the writers were trying to tie up a lot of the loose ends left in earlier episodes and give everyone a place to be. In "Five Servos" we found out what happened to Swindle (or rather, what didn't happen), now we know that Wreck-Gar's made it out of the lake, Powell's still being a corporate asshat, and that the Constructicons didn't die in the explosion. Off the top of my head, the only other people left in limbo who isn't guaranteed to come back at some point (i.e., Megatron and Starscream) are Meltdown ( and I can safely say that most people would be totally cool if he stayed there), Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Girlscream. Here's to hoping we see the last three again.
They also managed to put in a number of plot ideas without really making it overcrowded. Pretty much everyone (bar someone who I should probably still be apologizing to at this point) guessed they throw in the "Autobots turn human" plot from the title alone, but unlike a similarly named episode in G1 that wasn't the whole point of the story. Sure, we had the Automen (*snicker*) wandering around confused for a while and a brilliant way of faking us out by having Sari away from the Autobot base for most of the episode so we wouldn't think they were actually in different "worlds". I didn't figure it out until things started getting really WTF, but I think the foreshadowing was carried off very well. But then we have the stuck-in-VR plot, the Soundwave is back and controlling people subplot, the Substitute Autobot with Sari as leader subplot, and it was a Christmas episode. And it worked.
On top of the plot-related awesome, I loved all the cute and hilarious moments. Sumdac's dancing was adorkable, but then again he's always like that. "I got you a new Soundwave, to replace the one that tried to take over the world! It's made in China, not by Megatron." He seems to have been a lot more attentive as a father since he got back and I'm liking the change.
And Scrapper in pants. With stubble. There is no reason he should be in pants with stubble but I don't care because it's Rule of Funny. I'm glad they got him as well as Snarl, as I like seeing members of groups get to act on their own. And...Wreck-Gar. Seriously, just Wreck-Gar. Do I need to say anything else?
And on that topic, OPTIMUS/SOUNDWAVE GUITAR DUEL. You can't tell me that wasn't awesome.
The whole processor-over-matter thing is getting a bit too much overuse for my taste, it's like the new Sari's Key of "do whatever the fuck we want". Also Prowl as levitating Jesus is just creepy. Sari, on the other hand, really isn't bothering me as much as a female character being half-robot, flying, and having laser powers should. I dunno, she should be a Sue but I'm just not feeling it, possibly because her blasts are pretty low-power and as leader of the Substitute Autobots she mostly just handed out orders and stood back rather than actually being powerful enough to do significant damage to anything taller than her knee. The new maturity doesn't hurt much, either, although it is a bit on the dissonant side compared to her old/young self.
I think the only major problem I had was the hypnotize-the-humans subplot. It never went anywhere. I'm willing to accept that Soundwave could do it, being as this is Transformers, but it could have been left out completely without changing any of the plot.
...oh, and the bit with Bulkhead's digestive tract. I could have lived without that scene.
I got a definite feel that the writers were trying to tie up a lot of the loose ends left in earlier episodes and give everyone a place to be. In "Five Servos" we found out what happened to Swindle (or rather, what didn't happen), now we know that Wreck-Gar's made it out of the lake, Powell's still being a corporate asshat, and that the Constructicons didn't die in the explosion. Off the top of my head, the only other people left in limbo who isn't guaranteed to come back at some point (i.e., Megatron and Starscream) are Meltdown ( and I can safely say that most people would be totally cool if he stayed there), Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Girlscream. Here's to hoping we see the last three again.
They also managed to put in a number of plot ideas without really making it overcrowded. Pretty much everyone (bar someone who I should probably still be apologizing to at this point) guessed they throw in the "Autobots turn human" plot from the title alone, but unlike a similarly named episode in G1 that wasn't the whole point of the story. Sure, we had the Automen (*snicker*) wandering around confused for a while and a brilliant way of faking us out by having Sari away from the Autobot base for most of the episode so we wouldn't think they were actually in different "worlds". I didn't figure it out until things started getting really WTF, but I think the foreshadowing was carried off very well. But then we have the stuck-in-VR plot, the Soundwave is back and controlling people subplot, the Substitute Autobot with Sari as leader subplot, and it was a Christmas episode. And it worked.
On top of the plot-related awesome, I loved all the cute and hilarious moments. Sumdac's dancing was adorkable, but then again he's always like that. "I got you a new Soundwave, to replace the one that tried to take over the world! It's made in China, not by Megatron." He seems to have been a lot more attentive as a father since he got back and I'm liking the change.
And Scrapper in pants. With stubble. There is no reason he should be in pants with stubble but I don't care because it's Rule of Funny. I'm glad they got him as well as Snarl, as I like seeing members of groups get to act on their own. And...Wreck-Gar. Seriously, just Wreck-Gar. Do I need to say anything else?
And on that topic, OPTIMUS/SOUNDWAVE GUITAR DUEL. You can't tell me that wasn't awesome.
The whole processor-over-matter thing is getting a bit too much overuse for my taste, it's like the new Sari's Key of "do whatever the fuck we want". Also Prowl as levitating Jesus is just creepy. Sari, on the other hand, really isn't bothering me as much as a female character being half-robot, flying, and having laser powers should. I dunno, she should be a Sue but I'm just not feeling it, possibly because her blasts are pretty low-power and as leader of the Substitute Autobots she mostly just handed out orders and stood back rather than actually being powerful enough to do significant damage to anything taller than her knee. The new maturity doesn't hurt much, either, although it is a bit on the dissonant side compared to her old/young self.
I think the only major problem I had was the hypnotize-the-humans subplot. It never went anywhere. I'm willing to accept that Soundwave could do it, being as this is Transformers, but it could have been left out completely without changing any of the plot.
...oh, and the bit with Bulkhead's digestive tract. I could have lived without that scene.
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:18 pm (UTC)Levitating Jesus didn't bother me so much, but the "processor over matter" thing *is* getting overused. Let Prowl have some other abilities, too, willya? It bothered me how many times he took a hard fall. Isn't he supposed to be a ninja? And have jump rockets?
I think the "hypnotize the humans" thing was just so that there would be an excuse for no "innocents" getting involved in the massive destruction going on in the street, allowing the animators to focus on the primary characters. Maybe?
And the Bulkhead/bathroom scene could have been much more over-the-top. Just sayin. :D
Ratchet freaking out over being stuck as a "flesh-bag" was my favorite. I just love the old coot.
Yep, awesome episode. The best so far.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:24 pm (UTC)They've never really needed that before. Most highway battles tend to have the humans gtfo before the action starts.
And yeah, he's got his jump rockets and his holo projector and...hm. No wonder Lockdown liked him so much. It's that sort of little detail that makes me feel almost like this season is written by someone completely different, with the basics there but things ever so slightly different. And more violent.
Quite a nice spray on our mandatory corpse today, wasn't it?
no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:25 pm (UTC)Processor Over Matter is getting old, but Prowl playing with a baby was sweet
no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 09:34 pm (UTC)That or something happens to the lot on Sentinel Prime's ship, thus proving that Sentinel is incapable of moving Decepticons from point a to point b without incident. My personal hope is Team Chaar breaks them out.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-27 10:01 pm (UTC)Oh yes, we need more Team Chaar. I miss Rodimus' team too.
no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 01:11 pm (UTC)And on that topic, OPTIMUS/SOUNDWAVE GUITAR DUEL. You can't tell me that wasn't awesome.
I COULD
BUT I'D BE LYING <3
no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 02:54 pm (UTC)"Professor Sumdac, that's a jar of pickles."
"But it works on everything else!"
*sigh* "Mmmmmmmmm..."
no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 06:10 pm (UTC)Also! Something that not a lot of people seem to have brought up: BLITZWING WAS OMGADORABLE Y/Y? "What--? HOW--?! Oooh, look, I have a hole in my rockets! 8D *topple*"
no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-28 08:17 pm (UTC)Or something. XD
no subject
Date: 2009-05-02 04:03 am (UTC)Sorry, but it caught me off-guard. Sure, figured he was the "youngest," but not THAT young.
(Sorry for the late comment. Argh. ><)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-02 06:05 am (UTC)