Sometimes you have to wonder why certain devices were ever created, considering how easily abused they become.
What They Say:
Deus Ex Machina – Going to Greece to recover an Energon Harvester.
The Review:
Transformers: Prime has done a decent job of getting around and about over the course of its run so far, but it’s largely kept itself to the United States. With this episode, events shift to Greece which gives the animation crew a chance to do some very different settings than before. The town near where the Autobot base has been pretty bland and a lot of the opening arc was the same, but since then we’ve had a run up to the Arctic and some areas where there were actually blue skies, green trees and a feeling of life about it. Going to Greece has the show still having a dark look to it with dusty browns and the like, but some of that feels like it’s just related to the poor quality of the broadcast overall and the continued use of near-sunset style scenes.
The focus of this episode takes an interesting turn as it’s discovered that there’s an Energon Harvester on Earth. These devices are definitely dangerous in general as they can extract energy rather easily and in the hands of the Decepticons they’d be able to eliminate the Autobots without much effort. It doesn’t take much for the Decepticons to learn about it, as one of the new arrivals to the team in the form of Breakout and Knock Out, two rare ones that actually transform into cars rather than planes like most Decepticons. This sets the stage for trying to get the Harvester out of the museum where it’s on display as a piece of Greek history since the Autobots go back a very long way on Earth.
The action component of the show feels a bit off though. The Autobots set up a perimeter around the museum while the human crew goes in to grab the metallic orb that looks anything but Greek in nature. The initial attack comes from Breakdown and Knock Out and they’re able to run roughshod over them all, Prime included, in a way that feels very out of the ordinary. Even Soundwave manages to get involved in the attack by going to grab the Harvester out of the kids hands. Of course, you know Starscream is going to bungle the situation in some way with his inept nature, especially with such a powerful weapon in his hands, and he doesn’t disappoint here. There is something to be said for just laying low after you pull off a coup like gaining a weapon such as this, rather than going to an obvious place to harvest some Energon so that the Autobots won’t find you right away.
In Summary:
After the fun of the previous week, Transformers: Prime feels a little off this week, from its story execution (such as not really saying the museum is in America) to the oddness of the Autobots getting trounced so easily by the new characters of Breakdown and Knock Out. The introduction of the Energon Harvester, which I believe first made mention in the second live action film, is a potentially interesting weapon that could easily be abused. The focus for this episode is largely on Bulkhead and Miko and the pairing continues to be one that I like, though it took time to grown on me, and Miko herself is a good bit of fun here since she’s not like most girls you get with shows like this. Her raw side and the way she’s a lot like Bulkhead while still being girly in her own way has her definitely following her own path. Adding in her being from Japan gives it a little more as well that can be used for some interesting stories in the future. There are lots of good bits in this episode, but as a whole it feels weak.
Note: Transformers: Prime returns on April 8th after taking a bit of a break.
Grade: B-
