DAY 1: Favorite Male Character - Prowl: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 2: Favorite Female Character - Blackarachnia: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 3: Least Favorite Characters - neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 4: Favorite Episode - "Garbage In, Garbage Out": neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 5: Favorite Season - Season One: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 6: Favorite Couple - Optimus and Prowl: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 7: Least Favorite Episode - "Three's a Crowd"
DAY 8: Least Favorite Couple - Bumblebee/Prowl
DAY 9: Favorite Villain - Meltdown
DAY 10: You Hated It, I Loved It - Prowl's Human Form: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 11: You Loved It, I Hated It - Human Error II: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 12: Least Favorite Season - Season Three: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
MEME LIST: neoyi.insanejournal.com/10921.…
EDIT: My Toonzone Blog review for Transformers Prime "One Shall Rise: Part 2" is up. Tell me what you think: www.toonzone.net/blog/blogs/43…Christ, this one took forever. My apologies for anyone who actually reads these. Okay, Great Character Arc. Well, actually, the answer is Prowl - I think he had the best one in TFA, but I already yakked on about him in the first Day. So let's go with my second choice: Ratchet. Let's talk about Ratchet.
Ratchet: We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense.
Omega Supreme: I...don't understand.
Ratchet: I'm not sure I do either.
Part 1: He's got more than just one servo in the scrapheap
Simply put, Ratchet is made of awesome. Like both Optimus and Prowl, Ratchet's introduction to the series wasn't completely one-noted. He's presented as a grumpy old vet with a lot of spunk and cynicism. Basically, the future I predict I'll have, except mines ends with a shotgun, incurable insanity, and an excuse to scare off teenagers with said shotgun. He's blunt with a no-nonsense personality and isn't afraid to lay some smack down. The majority of his complaints extends to the "young bots" and his disdain for his life on Earth. Prowl chooses to ignore humans in favor of Earth's nature (until "Survival of the Fittest" where he gained a greater respect for them). Ratchet openly remains hostile. He doesn't hate them, he just adds any screw ups they make to his list of complaints...ya know, like your grandparents do.
However, sprinkled throughout 1. 01 - 03: "Transform and Roll Out" you see softer sides of him; the one where's he Mentor!Ratchet. Wise!Ratchet. War Trauma!Ratchet. He makes it clear war is not a glory and refuses to even speak of his time in the Great War (for great reason). He spends most of the episode advising and warning Optimus that a heroic life comes with hard decisions and consequences; that what he's getting into ain't no picnic basket (though I don't think Optimus is being too naive, "Along With a Spider" proved that well). This makes a great deal of sense because he, too had suffered making tough decisions and seeing the cruelty that comes from it. Watch this episode and pay attention to him after seeing the rest of his story arc and it's almost uncomfortable to view knowing the shit he had to put up with.
Being the team's medic, Ratchet doesn't prefer to battle alongside his teammates and will often stay behind, but dude's been in war, he can get fighty if you piss him off. Ol' Grandpa's still got some tricks up his sleeve. Simply put, Ratchet is a badass. Too bad he never punched Megatron in the face. XD
"It's not that I don't want to remember - I have to remember it, for those who can't."
Part 2: Secret Pasts
1. 07 "Thrill of the Hunt" was the episode that apparently convinced a lot of naysayers that TFA is better than they gave it credit for. It also focuses on Ratchet's past. During the Great War, he meets up with young officer Arcee, a teacher who volunteered to carry the very important security codes for the then Omega Project. The latter isn't stated at all in this episode, but it's the first layer of Ratchet's key story arc. Here we meet a younger Ratchet: a lot less grumpy, a lot more hopeful. Maybe a bit of what Optimus is now? Having located Arcee, he transports her to safety under Ultra Magnus' orders until Lockdown intervenes and royally fucks shit up. Trying to save her from him, Ratchet accidentally ends up wiping her entire memory clean and she remains hospitalized to this day because of it.
There was also another in-canon story from "The Arrival" called "Bots of Science" where Ratchet helps out a near dying Decepticon Hippocratic Oath-style, only for him to bite him back in the ass (though unlike "Thrill of the Hunt", this one ends a bit more happier). It's any wonder he's so down. Arcee's unintended sacrifice (and later, the case of Omega Supreme) drove him to realize the world isn't exactly as half-full as he probably assumed prior. Unfortunately for the poor bot, this is only the first tragedy we've seen. There's fucking more. But it serves a serves as a very justified reason why Ratchet has been so mum about his time at the Great War. Opening up to Optimus provides a lot of character development for him and unleashes many of the guilt he's had over the years. Incidentally, it's also a character developing moment for Optimus when he gets a better understanding of why Ratchet's been reluctant.
1. 11 "Lost and Found" opens with the very real threat of Decepticon attack. With no option but to leave Earth to draw them out, Ratchet must work with that "Protoform" Sari in order to fix their ship. Since the latter doesn't want them leaving, she cops an attitude. Amusingly enough, so does Ratchet as the two bicker like a married couple (get that out of your mental image). Sari tries to sabotage the ship, but only ends up with a rebellious AllSpark Key and a whole lot of water that nearly drowns her (HA!) until Ratchet saves her. The old bot reveals the attachment he built up over both Earth and Sari afterwards and it's a great little scene. Granted, I do think it's a little slapped on because there wasn't any previous episodes of him actually ever connecting to humans or the Earth as whole (saving lives doesn't count - it's an obligation he holds and would have done to any species), let alone Sari, but the overall feeling makes sense. Coming shortly after "Thrill of the Hunt", he's channeling a lot of resentment over himself after failing both Arcee and Omega Supreme (possibly more - it's a war) and should he fail to protect both Earth and Sari, that would be another slap to the face. Taken in that context, it's a powerful moment. For goodness sake, Ratchet sounds like he's about to cry.
This is also the first episode that hints there's more to the ship than meets the...yeah, you know what I was going to say. It's fairly clever because the context of it makes it seem he's merely cuddling an inanimate (pfft, don't tell me you don't call your cars your "baby" and coo all over it), something Sari assumes. In reality, it's something more and props must be commended to the writers for providing foreshadows as early as this.
1. 20 - 21 "Megatron Rising" This is probably more a reaction to Optimus' behavior, but Ratchet is reluctant to take Sari's key away and the two constantly interact with one another. Just something to add since this takes place after "Lost and Found".
"Alright! You forced me to make the ultimate sacrifice, to do the one thing that requires more courage then anything I've ever had to do in my entire Autobot career. I...apologize."
Part 3: Nicer, kinder Ratchet
Not much happens to him until "2. 04 Garbage In, Garbage Out" when Ratchet is forced to get a fixer-upper from both Sari and Bumblebee. Not a literal fixer-upper, Optimus means he needs an attitude adjustment and we can't all just delete it all away like Perceptor did - that would be the easy way out. XD He struggles throughout the episode to little avail, including a pregnant woman which in itself is just hilarious (and ironic) on the amount of unintentional harm he is putting on her. One of the more intriguing portrayals of Ratchet is that he's not the kindly sort of doctor. He heals, but his mouth does the opposite, dispensing harshness whenever deemed appropriate...which is all the time, but hey. Wreck-Gar (a creature he likely considered even more annoying than Bumblebee) truly tests his limit until he realizes some of his (indirectly) bad behavior was caused by his bitchiness. Ratchet sincerely apologizes to Wreck-Gar for berating him and it all works for the better. Well, except Wreck-Gar falls into the ocean, but he'll get better.
Maybe it's me, but I noticed sometime after this episode, Ratchet actually does mellow out. That doesn't mean he won't dispense his crankiness here and there, but he takes a noticeable turn for the better starting here. Did you hear that, Transformers Prime? Someone is learning their lesson here!
"2. 07 A Fistful of Energon" is more Prowl-centric and Lockdown from here on out ends up pushing his character more than he does Ratchet. It's still an important Ratchet episode. Surprisingly, it's not really geared towards his malice with Lockdown, though by proxy, the two connect. Lockdown gives Prowl the upgrades he needs for the Starscream clones, Ratchet tries to talk him out of it when Prowl goes a little too drug-happy with them. Prowl learns his lesson (which is more than I can say for Discovery!Prowl who needs a good smack on the head) and Ratchet has this look that can only be described as, "Dad's proud of ya, son." XD
Also, he gets the best line in the episode, "Personally, I've always found Bumblebee's fake static to be a lot more convincing." PFFT.
"We didn't just lose a ship...we lost a friend."
Part 4: A Robot and his Giant Talking Spaceship
2. 13 "A Bridge Too Close: Part II" finally reveals the secret behind "Teletran-1". Using a few of the AllSpark fragments and Sari's key, Ratchet brings the ship back online. Omega Supreme. Immediately we get the notion that there's a past with these two, but the episode doesn't reveal the how and why just yet. But we do see Ratchet is very much concerned and overjoyed at this old friend. Too bad Omega sacrificed himself to save the others.
"3. 01 - 03 "Transwarped" finally reveals what "Thrill of the Hunt" first mentioned and what its connection to Ratchet is. After the Arcee incident, Ratchet accidentally end up downloading her security codes during a medical procedure. With little choice, Ultra Magnus and his team of nerds reveals the truth of what she was carrying: the activation code for Omega Supreme's "birth", so to speak. But since Ratchet's the one stuck with them and Arcee is out of the picture, it was his job to care and tutor him while the rest use him for war. Yeah, Ratchet didn't like that part much. It wasn't just an immoral, if not necessary, act from the Elite Guards, but Ratchet having grown accustomed to Omega Supreme. He says he's an "old friend", but they also have a somewhat father/son relationship. Omega is the "child" and his dialogue is often simple and straightforward while Ratchet fusses over him like a, well, parent. When you're essentially sending a kid off to war, this is especially true. When Starscream "possesses" Omega Supreme, Ratchet's the only one who can talk him out of it.
There's also a small plot point concerning his medical skills vs. Sari's key. Seeing as that plot device has been used to fix any major injuries the Autobots have suffered, it's about damn time Ratchet had some complaints about its overuse and perhaps contempt and inferiority over it. I wished this had been an element that would have opened up earlier since it seemed so logical to do so, but at least it wasn't ignored. Sari's key eventually leaves the plot after fulfilling its purpose, but Ratchet's questioning over his abilities isn't over yet. In fact, the second part of "Transwarped" had him going Vietnam Flashback again when he's left to fix a near dying Bumblebee. I'm beginning to think Ratchet hasn't treated major injuries in a while since the Arcee/Omega incident out of sheer terror who he'll lose next (he even refuses to send an unconscious Sari into battle despite Optimus' orders).
3. 11 "This is Why I Hate Machines" is a fantastic episode between Ratchet and Fanzone. What started off as basically a wacky Odd Couple situation ends up with another agenda concerning Omega Supreme when he warps to Cybertron with Megs and Screamer in toll. Sentinel wants to blast them out of the sky, Ratchet doesn't. Branded a traitor by Sentinel (because he's a jerk), Ratchet and Fanzone runs off, only to meet up with both the comatose Arcee and Shockwave. Ratchet and Shockwave struggle for Arcee who still has the codes needed to wipe out all of Omega's memory for Megs to use (and neatly does a good job explaining why Shockwave doesn't consider Ratchet's). Long story short, Omega didn't get blowy-uppy and he takes the Magnus Hammer without consternation outside of Sentinel (and Alpha Trion and pals probably only did it because they agree with Ratchet - he is not worthy to wield that hammer), but Arcee is in Decepticon hands and that will cause dire consequences.
3. 12-13 "Endgame: Part 1 and 2" The final two episodes pulls a full circle moment when Ratchet once again advises Optimus in his moment of hesitation, most importantly taking up the Magnus Hammer into battle. Also, he builds him a jetpack. His final character moment is solved when he is confronted with Arcee and is tasked once more to fix her. And it's...ruined. Sort of. He does fix her, but only because Sari cheaply finds a solution the Mary Sue way. This completely undermines his skills and character. Sari should not have been the one to figure out what was wrong with Arcee, that should have been Ratchet. She totally stole his thunder and his growth suffers a bit for it.
Overall, Ratchet is a compelling character who's suffered a great deal, yet never significantly gave up because of it. Cynical yes, grumpy, fantastically so. But out of all the five main Autobots, it's clear Ratchet is the one with the most
Next Up: Days 14, 15, and 16: Best Comedy, Tragedy, and Heartwarming Scenes
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