So, Transformers: Robots in Disguise is fairly monster of the week. And that’s fine; it’s still ostensibly a series aimed at children. It’s big on a teamwork message, and that’s fine too. I still don’t know what to make of Strongarm in this episode, though.
I guess I have to explain. See, Strongarm’s major characteristic is that she insists on going by the book. This causes some friction, because half the team (or a quarter if you count Denny and Russell) is made up of a delinquent and an ex-con (pun intended). So her habit of constantly citing the rules, especially in extreme situations that said rules were never meant to cover, can be a bit grating. So imagine my surprise when this episode came along.
Apparently, she scored herself a solo mission by bugging Bumblebee into letting her scout alone. She’s given the mission, with the stipulation that she check in every ten minutes. You’d think she would obsess over this, calling in every ten minutes on the dot. But no, for some reason she’s stretching it; every twelve minutes or so, when she remembers.
Bumblebee wisely tailed her to… Mexisouthamerico, or wherever their part of the episode takes place. He feels responsible for her and Sideswipe, since they wouldn’t be on Earth if it weren’t for him. Strongarm’s just pissed because it was supposed to be her first solo mission.
The “B” plot of this episode gets rolling at about this point. Fixit’s unhappy that Denny has seen fit to start monk eying around with Cybertronian technology. Denny’s unhappy that Fixit won’t let him help, even though he’s clearly mechanically minded enough to learn and help out. It eventually devolves into an all out prank war; Denny messes with the Alchemor, while Fixit reorganizes the junkyard in an attempt to make it impossible for Denny to find anything.
Back in Souxico, Strongarm is closing in on the signal. Unfortunately, she realizes that she’s being followed again. She pulls in behind a bush to let Bumblebee go by, then pulls him over. The entire scene plays out like a standard traffic stop. Complete with Bumblebee rolling his window down and asking her what the trouble is.
He eventually convinces her to let him tag along as an observer. They soon find the Decepticon they’re searching for, talking to the giant stone Mayincan heads in the jungle. His name is Springload, his robot form looks like a frog, he transforms into a small truck, and he’s gloriously insane. He’s spent his entire life looking for the Cybertronian equivalent of El Dorado called Doradas, which I now realize now isn’t much of a stretch, but serves as a clue in for the likely young audience. Anyway, you can probably guess how he wound up on the wrong side of the law.
They lose him, and Bumblebee reflexively calls Fixit for backup. This pisses Strongarm off, as she feels she could make the collar right then and there. After Bee walks off, she calls Fixit and tells him that they already caught Springload.
Back at the junkyard, Denny goes looking for the Decepticon Hunter with the intent to fix it. Fixit hid it, but gives the location away.
Bumblebee and Strongarm find the temple that Springload is hiding in, and this is where things feel sort of janky. Bumblebee wants them to wait for Springload to come out so that they can jump him with the element of surprise. Strongarm, however decides to cite Cybertronian police procedure for just such an occasion, which says to keep eyes on the suspect at all times.
You‘re breaking my heart, Strongarm!
At the junkyard, Denny and Fixit’s prank war starts to screw things up for everybody. It’s at this point that Russell gets Sideswipe and Grimlock on board to stop the whole mess. Russell sees the discarded Decepticon Hunter and hatches a plan.
Bumblebee and Strongarm hide behind some pillars in the temple. Strongarm tries to collar Springload, but he just so happens to be covered in acid. He shoves her into one of the walls and makes his escape through a hole into another. The statue Strongarm landed on just happened to be a trigger that causes the room to collapse. Strongarm makes the decision to blow a hole in the wall to get out over Bumblebee’s initial protest.
Bumblebee is pissed off; he tells her that they can’t wait for the others anymore since they lost the element of surprise. Strongarm confesses that she told Fixit not to send them behind his back. He’s not happy, but she manages to persuade him to let her lead, and that she’ll do everything by the book from here on out.
At the junkyard, the prank war has reached a fever pitch. Just as Denny and Fixit are at each others throats, Russell walks up with the Decepticon Hunter, and mentions that he doesn’t know what happened to it, but it’s now making a strange noise. Fixit tells Denny that fixing the problem would require two people since opening the device up requires it to remain perfectly still. They open it up and find the kazoo from earlier in the episode lodged inside. Relieved that it was nothing serious, they realize the power of teamwork. Also they fix the Decepticon Hunter so that it will actually work properly.
Back in the Mayinca temple, Strongarm and Bumblebee eventually catch up to Springload. After failing to catch him again, Strongarm finally asks Bumblebee for help. They corner him in a burial chamber, watching him melt down over being unable to get the spirits to speak to him. Strongarm manages to trick him into believing that she is the voice of the spirits, getting him in position for Bumblebee to push him in one of the stone coffins. Bumblebee complements her on finally making the right decisions, most notably asking for help and putting aside her pride to do so.
Overall, I felt weird about this one. I liked how Springload was off his rocker. But I felt the episode was out of character for Strongarm. She didn’t really make the sort of choices you’d think she would and it made things feel off.
Final Thoughts:
- The Decepticon Hunter seems to have an affinity for turning into a flail
- Frogtruck
- Messing with a man’s TV is going too far, Fixit!
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