jen's watching transformers prime m'lads

:3

Oh. Oh boy. Y’know, earlier I was so convinced that this guy would be redeemed in some way, or at least disengaged from the villains’ side, but now? Nah. He thinks he’s in control now. He’s gotten everything he wanted- control.

Although I’ll be honest here- I DOUBT Megatron is dead. I seriously doubt it. My theory is that he was pulled through the portal right before it exploded, and that he’s back on Cybertron. He’ll be back, I bet on it. I bet he’s gonna try cruising on over to Earth the slow way, with his new army in tow. You know why I think that?

Because I’ve seen the episode titles, and I know the finale has episodes named “One Shall Fall” and “One Shall Rise.”

And honestly the quote “One shall stand, one shall fall” strikes me as one that can easily be of thematic relevance between Optimus Prime and Megatron. So yeah, I believe he’ll be back.

This is so sweet hhhh! They’ve only known each other for maybe a day or two, but already they’re this close! Surviving together through such chaos will do that to you, ya’ know? Bonds forged in fire, this group.

Hhh good kids.

Not gonna lie, I was really scared for a second that they were gonna kill Arcee too, because they were so nonchalant about brutally killing off someone in the first ep. I’m really glad that it seems she’s gonna be okay. I really love her. At this point, she’s probably my favorite of the Autobots. And Raf’s my favorite of the kids. I love em all, though.

In sum: Holy HECK, this was indeed A Fiery Start to this show. I really enjoyed this, and am eager to watch more.

As per ratings, I will be rating each individual story. I’m giving Darkness Rising as a whole a solid 8/10. Some nice stuff being set up here. 

Whoa there, who’s this piece of work?? I feel like I’ve seen them before, but also I can’t place a name. Nevertheless, they’re up to no good in this lil’ military base. Which is surprisingly empty- Miko brings up as such. Makes me wonder if there were some... altercations... shortly before the kids arrived. Y i k e s.

Hhh this shot of Raf deserpately trying to get the schematics on his thumbdrive while his friends are gettin’ thrashed by this robotic tentacle thingy... M’dude, you’re one brave cookie. 

I just think this screencap is pretty. I love the colors.

This show... hnnnng.... so pretty...

We catch up with Jack, and it’s immediately obvious that the idea of working at his job, taking care of all that normal, everyday stuff... is not super alluring anymore after getting to experience the stuff he did. 

Nice to see Arcee keeping tabs on him, too! 

Hhhhh I just love her a lot. So, so much.

Raf and Bee’s sweet relationship will probably make me cry, and I, for one, can’t wait.

Y’guys, look, it’s my wife

Raf, I like the way you’re thinkin’ mister! Except that’d mean you’d have to break in, and-

I’m really glad there’s some mounting conflict between them, and that they’re specifically bringing up how Unsafe they are. So far TFP is absolutely not slacking on establishing clear stakes for everyone involved, and I respect that. Sometimes shows kinda dance around that issue, and I far prefer when they don’t, so yay!

But anyways, Jack is over here being a big fat relatable mood. All of this, it is... a lot. I get that. I understand why he’d want to leave it all behind. But I fear leaving it behind will pretty much be impossible... The Decepticons already have seen him. I’m sure they can find him and use him against the others.

I’m glad that Miko came to check in with Jack. But honestly, if Jack wants to leave that’s his biz. Miko seems to be all for a more exciting life, but not everyone wants to step out and be “more than normal.” Nice to get some backstory on Miko’s past, though. So she’s an exchange student from Tokyo! Nice!

Oh yikes. YIKES. I kinda feel really bad for Starscream here. This makes me wonder if my theory that Starscream can be possibly talked over to our heroes’ side might actually happen one day. Who knows...

This... is flat out terrifying. Mmm gotta love when the villains blatantly threaten torture. Also, hello futuristic cattle prod.

I wasn’t able to get any good screenshots because I was entranced by the scene, but... the sequence with all the Autobots fighting and the three kids just ducking from open fire as best as they can, with nothing but low music playing under all the chaos? That sequence was stunning, and also super harrowing to watch. Good golly. These are KIDS.

I’m pretty sure I was gonna comment on how freaky it was seeing him just overpowered by the army of the dead here, but looking back at the screenshot I can’t help but laugh. The timing of the subtitles make it look very shitpost-y.

Um. You THINK, Miko?? You almost died, child!

Honestly, I don’t know how the three of them are still this functional after being exposed to such scary stuff! Mad impressed, but also- geeze, these kids are gonna need therapists, aren’t they? Like, Raf legit had to run off and cool down. He’s 12. I don’t blame him at all. I very much appreciate that Jack and Miko immediately went to go check up on him and were ready to support him in any way.

Oh hell. Oh shit. Here we go, son. Here we fucking go. None of this is good.

I’m... really messed up over this, honestly. That’s so terrible. Megatron is pulling the bodies of the deceased into his war, just flat out using them. Hhhhh. 

Miko snuck along once more, I see. Will she ever learn? More at 11.

Though I wonder how she got in there in the first place. I laugh at his lil’ disgruntled :O??? face in reaction to her.

All that said and done, however... Maybe NOW Miko will finally start to understand the stakes she’s just rushed into here.

None of this is a game. This is literally war.

Bonus:

Oh my god she followed Bulkhead. Oh heck, this can’t be good. Honey, I’m glad you wanna help wherever you can, but you haven’t seen them in action yet! Please be careful!

And meanwhile back at the base, Jack and Raf are ready to follow... Here we go... These kids are willfully walking into danger, into the world of Autobots and Decepticons. No turning back now.

Meanwhile at Bad Guy HQ, Agent Fowler is a cold hard badass, even when strung up in chains in true Ford Pines fashion. (Shhh, I’m still a hoe for Gravity Falls and it’s all I can think of. Honestly, please get ready to expect a lot of parallels I point out throughout this whole liveblog, because that’s simply how my brain works.)

Particularly, with the line “right after you eat my star-spangled shorts!”

Like, damn son. I’m liking you more and more every time you open your mouth. I really hope you remain a part of this show and get to know everyone. 

Miko... you’re so enthusiastic and you barely even know what’s going on omg

Nerrrrrrds <3 I expect by the end of this they’ll be real close.

...and I must give a big “what the hell” to the ending of this episode, because. Truly. From the bottom of my heart. What the hell. He just summoned an entire living dead army from the corpses of the long departed? Bruh, in any other show that’d be series finale level stuff, and Transformers Prime is really over here pulling it out in the middle of the series opener?? WHAT ON EARTH IS THE FINALE GOING TO BE LIKE, THEN? Goodness.

Ratchet. I love you. You’re a nerd. Please never change.

I mean, to be fair Miko does have a point. Although from the vibe I’ve gotten so far, Bulkhead is mostly a gentle giant, so maybe he just doesn’t desire to be the leader of the crew. I wonder what his history with Optimus is. In fact, I wonder what everyone’s history is. How’d they all get involved as a team? How’d they meet? I hope we get backstory on this!

Heck yeah, Dad Bulkhead is in the house! You tell him.

“What in Uncle Sam’s beard?”

Okay, so at first I didn’t really wanna like the guy, because he seemed like another annoying antagonizing government agent type, but some of the one-liners he drops, oh my g o d...

Absolute legend. We stan.

Speaking of that, re: the line...

“Wanna dance, Con? I’ll lead!”

Arcee giving Jack a nice, danger free ride! Now that’s the content I wanna see!! Some good bonding time! (For all of the kiddos! Raf got to play some games with Bee, and Miko had some off-roadin’ time with Bulkhead!) Gotta say, one of the things I’m most excited to see right now is the bonds these kiddos make with all of the Autobots.

Meanwhile, back with Ratchet... Y I K E S, that’s not fun. Big nasty spindly thing. Giving me flashbacks of the evil hat in Meet the Robinsons, lmao.

God. Once more, absolutely stunning. Look at those CLOUDS.

Oh boy.

Can I just say, I love their designs a lot? Especially the hair! For early 2010s TV animation it looks super good. And they all have some distinctive colors/vibes about them just from their clothes- you can tell a lot about their personalities.

Jack... well, his clothes absolutely give me vibes of a teen in love with the idea of owning a motorcycle, I can say that. I still kinda feel like I know the least about his personality so far, though? I wanna get to know him more.

Rafael is a nerd, (bless his heart, I love him) and his cute lil’ shirt and vest ensemble quickly establish that.

Miko wears loud and quirky colors, and... thus far, that absolutely reflects her off-beat personality. 

Lee I s2g... XD

I too want to touch everything ahahah. I can relate.

Some meta courtesy of @inktheblot... It certainly makes a lot of sense why the Decepticons are going to such lengths to get every last scrap of energon they can. Kinda sad, too. 

And then... re: Megatron speaking with that glowy purple rock thingy that I totally forgot the name of at this point... and then him talking about meeting Optimus Prime again...