RID2015 - Rumble in the Jungle - Review

If you want to read my reviews for previous Transformers shows, click here for the first archives or here for the second archives.


PREVIOUS SEASON ONE REVIEWS:
1+2. Pilot
3. Trust Exercises
4. More than Meets the Eye
5. W.W.O.D
6. As the Kospego Commands!
7. Collect 'Em All!
8. True Colors

As always, SPOILERS!









“Personal journal: I have driven 2,000 miles from the scrapyard and my pistons are positively tingling! Successfully completing this mission might mean a promotion. Sergeant Strongarm…Lieutenant Strongarm…President Strongarm!”

Here’s an interesting difference between Strongarm and Chase. The latter is presumably the Cybertronian equivalent of an adult and thus has come to an expectation that rules exist for a reason and must be followed to its strictest circumstances. He rarely bypasses this train of thought and is quick to whip out a code or law at any given moment. Chase doesn’t think outside the box that often – it’s such a foreign concept to him – and it takes time for him to bend the rules a little to accomplish his goals. Strongarm tries to live by this moral standard, but she’s a bundle of joy compared to the ol’ Rescue Bot. She’s very much a child and much like teenagers are apt to do, they tend to break or twist the rules to their own whim. Strongarm’s philosophy is exactly like Chase’s, but she finds loopholes or disobey her own line of thinking in order to get the job done much quicker than he did. A lot of this, I think, has to do with her youthful age. Strongarm leaps without thinking because she believes it’s justified through her central beliefs. Why wouldn’t she be right? She’s a cop who’s always obeyed the laws. That line of thinking might have worked for her back in Cybertron, but it only means so much on Earth. She’s had to adapt and change some of her perspective in order to survive, even compromising at times.

Strongarm’s the least adjusted of the five, as evident in “Collect ‘Em All”, but she tries. So when Bumblebee sends her on a solo mission, Strongarm has a chance to prove her worth to her superior and for all Cybertronian cops everywhere.  The opening intro reveals she’s got big dreams and possible delusions of grandeur, but her actions prove she’s got ways to go.  When Bee won’t stop babying her, Strongarm purposely lies to him about backup arriving in a bid to secure her original goal an ironically self-reliant, responsible cop. This is very much a rookie, teenage thing to do. Strongarm is so obsessed with what she thinks she can do that she doesn’t realize there are limits to her abilities and her ill-actions put her and Bee in jeopardy. Yet when given the chance, Strongarm is resourceful and she knows it. The episode is a humbling experience for her and a vital lesson on biting off more than she can chew.

Not that Bumblebee is any better. His heart is in the right place. He sent Strongarm on a simple recon mission, but sneakily tags along out of concern. Strongarm is not amused by this and questions her superior officer. It does say something about Bee’s leadership that he doesn’t trust her enough to work out a mission by herself, especially since he did give her the go-ahead. At some point, you gotta cut the umbilical cord. Buuuut she did bug him until he relented and her irrational behavior only prove Bee’s point. Lack of faith isn’t good moral support for your troop, but so is pride. There has to be a balance and compromises have to be made. Strongarm isn’t ready, but Bee knows if he keeps cuddling her, she won’t gain the experience needed for future missions, one where he won’t or can’t be involved in. He gives her another shot and she successfully captures Springload alongside her boss. Like strongarm, Bee’s internal logic is how to be a proper leader and making hard decisions like this is par for the course. You and Animated Optimus could have an entire plate of discussion there, buddy.



That’s also the central line of thinking with the Denny/Fixit subplot. Neither one refuses to acknowledge their skills, choosing to annoy one another until they give in. It is through the act of teamwork that they find a satisfying ground. They compromised and find a better solution to their woes. And hey, they fixed the Decepticon Hunter, so progress!
OUT OF FIVE STARS





DEMOCRACY IS THE RIGHT OF ALL SENTIENT BEINGS: Strongarm mentions being President someday. Is this the new line of government for the Autobots? Is presidency only relegated to a specific part of Cybertron? Either way, it’s a neat little world builder. Maybe the Autobots realized having a council is no longer the best method after the war ended. *shrugs*

OH THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! I don’t know why they bother to conceal Bee until the opening theme finished, it’s obviously him.

BEST LINE:

STRONGARM: Fixit, good news. Springload fell into my lap. I’ve made the arrest, no need to send in backup.
FIXIT:  All this happened since we last spoke 60 seconds ago?
STRONGARM: …Yes. Remember, we’re in a different time zone!
FIXIT: Oh! Well…good, congratulations and see all three of you when you get back.

This dialogue is better heard than written, but it’s a gem.

RUNNER-UP

DENNY: You moved my snow sleds next to the microwaves?! What kind of system is THAT!?
FIXIT: Alphabetical. Cybertronian alphabet.

Fixit, you troll.





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