Rescue Bots - Turning the Tide - Review

If you want to read my reviews for Rescue Bots Season One and Two, click here: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/A…


PREVIOUS SEASON THREE REVIEWS

53. Land Before Prime
54. Big Game
55. Too Many Kades
56. Phantom of the Sea
57. Unfinished Business
58. No Place Like Dome
59. Bugs in the System
60. Switcheroo
61. Bot-Tastic Voyage
62. Quarry's Quarry
63. Did You See What I Thaw
64. The Attack of Humungado
65. All Bots Great and Small
66. Time After Time
67. Pirates Ahoy

As always, SPOILERS!









”In truth, High Tide has much to learn from the team as well.”

I love dogs; they’re my favorite animals. I was ecstatic when Noble briefly joined the crew back on "Rescue Dog" and I would not have minded at all if he was a permanent addition to the family, though I appreciated the route they went with instead. Adding new characters are either a cause for celebration or an invite to disaster and how they’re perceived and what they do can mean a world of difference. Bearing that in mind, I find Servo the robo-dog to be magnificently cheesy. Every time that dang thing semi-transforms and pops out a gizmo, I kind of purse my lips together. And he’s the one staying behind with the crew. I don’t know why this particularly pup rubs me the wrong way that Noble doesn’t. In comparison, maybe I just feel Servo is a little too…gimmicky? I feel weird using that term in a Transformers show. This is a franchise built on gimmicks. So why does Servo leave me with a dreaded feeling of Cousin Oliver Syndrome? As usual, I’ll wait and see how well he’s used for the duration of the show. Rescue Bots have always been more hit than miss, so the crafty canine still has a shot. I do like that Servo isn't just this awesome pet for Cody to coo over; Boulder spends a decent portion building an attachment to him, too. I like the idea of Servo being more than just "a bot and his dog" and Boulder definitely is the animal loving type.



There is much to celebrate with the introduction of High Tide. New robots are usually a plus in Transformers. It’s not just potential toys to pick up; I legitimately get excited to seeing more bots pop up, especially if their permanent members. High Tide doesn’t stay with the main crew, but he’s the first new bot in…well, ever! Evidently, the show must have gotten an increase in budget to create a new guy (and I know we’re getting more) and High Tide certainly leaves an impression. I’m just not sure the lesson was as smooth as it could have been.

“Turning the Tide” is a unique bully story. High Tide isn’t an asshole for no reason; it’s just in his nature to be rough with his crew to teach them vital techniques. This isn’t a case of some kid punching Cody for no reason or a bot coming out of nowhere and harassing Heatwave and crew. No, High Tide is a well-respected companion of Optimus and clearly knows what he is doing. His methods are blunt and hard to adjust to. I don’t know how military services work, but I assume soldiers deal with their leaders screaming at their faces because they need to built up a necessary mental defense to better serve out in the field, so the bully lesson is a strange one to attach it to.

But just for the sake of the plot, let’s go with it and see how it fairs. High Tide certainly doesn’t pull any punches, that’s for sure. He’s not going to baby anyone and I imagine that’s the case for a lot of military/boot camp/other related backgrounds. However, the episode makes it clear his constantly name calling and physical harassment are not conductive. Heatwave eventually has had enough of High Tide’s bullshit after a certain point and straight up tells him off like he should. No one should tolerant a bully. High Tide does realize at the end that what he did was not a good thing and that he needs to work on his attitude. It’s not just an anti-bullying message, but an episode about proper communication and teamwork through said communication. Optimus clearly sent High Tide not only to groom them for future rescue missions, but to undergo some bit of anger management from the Bots/Burns family. All well and good, buuuuut I felt the change of heart was a little too last minute.



Optimus tells Heatwave he has much to learn as High Tide does and I’m sitting here thinking, “Yeah, I guess?” This is probably why the tough drill sergeant act isn’t as convincing as I think it is to handle a bullying message. High Tide likely acts the way he does because it’s in his protocol. I’m going to assume this was even necessary during wartime (which I presume he served in or played a part.) There are moments where he goes off-limits on what is appropriate (if it wasn’t his gruffness, then it definitely was his disapproval of Blades leaving without permission to save a human), but if that’s the case, why should Heatwave go back and learn from him until he fixes his anger issues? The episode kind of compensates for it at the end when all High Tide cooperates; gives the Rescue Bots the gears they need; and lets them handle the majority of the rescuing, but the message was a veritable see-saw of “It worked” and “It Didn’t.”

My other problem is that after Heatwave is kicked off the ship, none of the other Rescue Bots attempt to join Heatwave. I feel like they should have out of friendship and loyalty. Teamwork and family has been the most important theme in Rescue Bots and for Chase, Blades, and Boulder to just stay put while Heatwave gets das boot is jarring. If anything, having everyone leave might have given High Tide some time to reflect on his actions, so his change of heart feels more natural.

This episode also begs the question of what High Tide’s job is if he’s from Cybertron. I mean, the robot navy, but…is there water in Cybertron? I swear there was at least one episode (probably from Transformers Prime, I can’t remember) where water was confirm to not be a thing that exists in that planet. Then again, Arcee did mention an oil bath, so maybe oil = water in Cybertron? High Tide does state Earth water is weird to him. Or again, am I just not suppose to think about this too much? Speaking of oil, that spill probably messed with the ocean badly. Oh God, I can’t imagine the damage this will have on the environment.
AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS





CAMERA SPLATTER: Did water splatter all over the “camera” in the beginning of the episode? That’s pretty neat.

BUT APPARENTLY NOT ENOUGH BUDGET… to show High Tide transforming. They did that whole “Bot-is-covered-in-a-school-of-fish-while-they-transform” gimmick when he turns into his alt mode.

BEST LINE: ”Oh, the smoke alarm! Meatloaf must be ready! Dinner!”

Dani, that is an altogether frightening sentence.

WORST LINE: "Rescue Bots, surf to the rescue!”

Eh, not one of your best, Heatwave.



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