Transformers: Robots in Disguise occasionally has episodes that don’t really do anything in particular. This is one of them. I still liked it anyway.
The bots start off headed for a fire that they have every reason to believe is being caused by a Decepticon (it is, by the way). Bumblebee stays back to stop the fire, sending Strongarm ahead. Grimlock decides to follow her by pushing his own trailer which is supposed to be faster than just running. It isn’t.
Strongarm quickly catches up to Crazybolt and Slicedice (their names, seriously) by stepping right in a glue trap they laid down. They’re sort of like that guy you probably know who spews a bunch of pseudo-political/philosophical nonsense and probably believes in the Illuminati thanks to Dan Brown (thanks a lot, Dan Brown). They destroy anything meant to slow them down due to their beliefs. Strongarm bullet-times their attack, but they get away because they’re just that fast.
She gives chase through a busy highway, but they cause just enough chaos to get away. Strongarm’s attempt to continue her pursuit winds up putting a human driver in danger of falling from the overpass. Bee and Grimlock arrive in time to save the vehicle, but Crazybolt and Slicedice are long gone.
Strongarm blames herself for the incident. Her recklessness almost got someone killed, so she hands in her Decepticon hunter and puts herself on administrative leave. This is like the stereotypical movie cop handing in their badge and gun to a Chief that’s completely clueless as to why they’re doing so. She even refers to herself as a loose cannon as she does it.
Since she’s decided to put herself on administrative leave, Bee takes Denny’s advice in giving her something relatively safe to do and build her confidence back up. He asks Fixit to build a remote console that she can actually work on and at least help them with the mission. Fixit screws up the wiring, though, and her first attempt at using it turns on the defense systems, causing her to spiral deeper into self loathing.
Bee gets her to snap out of it to help them keep track of their ‘Cons. Bee and Grimlock catch up with them basically starting a forest fire. Their brief fight only complicates matters, sending more of the forest up in flames. While searching for the ‘Cons they realize that the forest isn’t, to use the series’s term, “automated”. Realizing that he and Grimlock aren’t equipped to save the extreme birdwatchers, Bee decides to snap Strongarm out of her funk by giving her his final message to Optimus, asking for forgiveness for failing to secure the area before engaging Crazybolt and Slicedice. This helps her realize that her guilt isn’t quite so insurmountable as she thought it was.
It gives Denny and Fixit the joy of making something to solve a problem that would normally take 30 minutes to resolve. But it works out and Strongarm gets her confidence back. And marks the second time in this season of Transformers: Robots in Disguise they’ve failed to catch anyone. That’s got to be hurting their batting average.
Final Thoughts:
- I get the feeling there are more than a few parents working on this show that are sick of their kid’s phone obsession.
- I have no clue what they are. They may as well be a helmasaur and a psychotic razor-clawed chihuahuagon.
- Seriously, how do you not look up from your phone when your car is about to fall off a bridge?
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