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transformers-nerd-13 · 5 months ago

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Can you do an analysis of Countdown to Extinction? That’s the only g1 episode that actually made me scared of Starscream. The whole thing with Arkeville was so messed up…

Ask and you shall receive! Here’s my analysis of Countdown to Extinction:

We start with a quick recap of what happened last time; the Decepticons brought Cybertron into Earth’s orbit in order to collect the energy that would be unleashed as a result of this (not sure if that’s how that works but okay), and even though they got Cybertron out of earth’s orbit (by blowing up the Decepticon’s new starship. Now I’m no mathematician but I don’t think an exploding starship would generate quite that much force) and the Decepticons were defeated, the world has been left in ruins.

The Autobots are helping to rebuild Earth. There’s a few shots of them helping to rebuild before we cut to the Decepticon starship which is now in the middle of the ocean somewhere.

Let me unpack this real quick: Number one; why do the Decepticons’ starships/bases somehow always end up in the ocean?? And Number two; You’re telling me, that your starship exploded, generated enough force to knock Cybertron out of Earth’s orbit and back to its admittedly probably not too far off corner of the galaxy, and your ship is still INTACT???

Ridiculous physics aside, we hear Rumble ask Skywarp if he can do anything right, to which Skywarp replies: “Watch it you metallic mini-meatball or I’ll step on you!” Which is one of my favorite lines from this show. “You and what army you maxi-turkey?” Rumble challenges. Skywarp kinda just…shoves him into a console which somehow fries said console.

Thundercracker tells them to shape up; they’ve still got a lot of damage to repair. Soundwave walks into frame and says “Look who’s talking Thundercracker.” This line doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me; they’re all working to repair the ship, Thundercracker used the word ‘we’ when he said they had a lot of damage to repair, so this just seems odd.

Thundercracker ignores Soundwave and instructs Rumble to start emptying the water pumps. (No idea why they have those.)

Frenzy crawls up from a hole in the floor (I believe this is Frenzy’s first appearance so that’s cool) complaining that he didn’t volunteer for this ‘geeky assignment’ (whatever that is) and that he wants Skywarp’s job (whatever that is). Skywarp tells him to butt out and that geek work is made for geeks like Frenzy as he tries to…step on the minicon for some reason. Frenzy proceeds to just. Throw Skywarp. I guess minicons have super strength??

Rumble takes a flying leap at Skywarp and sort of tackles him causing Skywarp to fall to the floor. Rumble hits Skywarp a few times while Soundwave just watches before Thundercracker pulls Rumble off of the purple Seeker. Megatron walks into the room demanding silence, and all of the cons in the room are all fairly surprised to see Megatron since they all thought he was dead. Megatron says he’s only lost a starship; not the war, and he has some unfinished business with Dr. Archevil (Ark-ee-ville)--I have no idea how to spell his name, I’m just guessing here. One of the two Skywarps who are now in the room tells him that the doctor is gone along with Starscream. “I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.” Megatron says. And y’know what I can’t fault him for that one, seems like a reasonable concern.

Laserbeak flies in and Soundwave plays back a recording he took of Starscream telling Archevil that since Megatron is dead, he is now the leader of the Decepticons and commands him to take him to his lab; he has use for his other inventions. Megatron declares that they must stop those traitors and he and a small group of Decepticons go to find them.

Cut to the Autobots who’ve finally finished fixing up Teletraan One. For some reason Teletraan immediately shows Megatron and the small group of cons with him (legit no idea why it did this). Optimus says that they can’t let Megatron regroup with his Decepticons.

I hate to break this to you Optimus but it seems like he’s already regrouped with them man.

Cut to Starscream and Archevil arriving at Archevil’s lab. Starscream transforms and more or less yeets Archevil out of his alt mode, catching him by the back of his coat. (Also yeah those stairs are completely inconspicuous nobody would ever think there was anything behind that boulder, nope never). Archevil brags about how his lab is an ‘impenetrable fortress’ until he says a particular sentence that will open the door. Starscream commands him to open the door. “I, Doctor Archevil, genius of science, say ‘Open Sesame’!” Archevil says, and the door opens. “How original.” Starscream says sarcastically. Since the door didn’t open enough for Starscream to get in, he shoves Archevil to the side and throws the door-boulder off of a cliff that appeared from the void. He picks up the human and tells him that that’s just a small example of what happens when someone tries his patience.

Again this line doesn’t make sense to me. It feels like maybe Archevil had another line before this one that caused Starscream to react like that, but it might’ve been cut for time. Archevil might be annoying, sure, but he hasn’t done anything to warrant being picked up and threatened; in fact he’s been pretty compliant about all this.

Inside the lab, Starscream finds an invention that Archevil told him about; an Exponential Generator which is apparently the ultimate power source. Archevil warns him to be careful with it; if the generator’s pulse was interrupted, the earth and every living thing on it would cease to exist. What happens to the non living things? Are they not affected?? Also this seems like a really stupid thing to tell Starscream of all people about; like what does he think Starscream’s gonna do with it?? Starscream tells him that he doesn’t care about this minor planet.

Cut to the Autobots who’ve caught up with the Decepticons. Rumble warns Megatron about the Autobots and dives to attack, except no he doesn’t because in the next shot he’s still flying in formation with the other cons. Megatron instructs Thundercracker and Skywarp to stop the Autobots.

Cut back to Starscream and Archevil where the mad scientist is telling Starscream that whatever happens in his lab must be done under his supervision. Starscream tells him to have patience; he’s almost finished.

These lines felt a little clunky because we didn’t know Archevil was in another room; it would’ve been better if we got a shot of Archevil in the other room delivering that line; it’d just make it flow a bit better.

Starscream tells him that he can come in and he enters the room. Starscream tells him that he’s improved the generator by interfacing it with a timing device; when he flips the switch, it’ll begin generating power at infinite capacity, and flips the switch. Archevil protests, saying that if it goes up to infinite capacity, it’ll explode and destroy the entire earth. Starscream tells him that that’s the plan; in 7 hours, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds, the planet will explode into a cosmic shower of free energy. Archevil once again protests, but Starscream tells him that he has no say in the matter; when the planet is destroyed, he’ll be on Cybertron, collecting the resulting energy.

Again I must state my case that Cybertron CAN’T be that far from Earth.

The energy that Starscream collects will give him limitless power; enough to take over the universe. Archevil says that he’ll stay here to make sure that nothing goes wrong, but Starscream isn’t falling for it; besides, he has different plans for the scientist. He transforms, Archevil climbing inside, and the two take off. We get a look at the timer on the generator which now says 7:58: 19 and is counting down. You’re telling me y’all did all that in one second???

After the commercial break we re-establish what’s going on with Starscream and Archevil real quick before we cut back to the Autobots on earth. One of the Seeker’s missiles hits the side of a cliff and causes a small avalanche of rocks that bury Bumblebee. Brawn digs Bee out from the rocks and Optimus instructs the other Autobots to transform and take cover. Wheeljack and Ironhide want to fight however and Wheeljack fires his shoulder missile at Skywarp, hits him (miraculously), causing him to fall out of the sky. Megatron instructs the cons to land and attack.

(Also I have to call out how silly this looks; it's like Megatron is trying to jump-scare Optimus lol) A short battle ensues that ends when Optimus yeets Megatron into a lake and Megatron declares a retreat, claiming that the Autobots were too hero-programmed to know when to quit.

What does that even mean??

The Autobots pursue the cons.

Cut to Starscream who’s arrived on Cybertron. He and Archevil enter Shockwave’s lab, Starscream telling Shockwave that he’s here on a most urgent mission. Shockwave interrupts him, telling him that the earth creature (Archevil) isn’t allowed in his lab under Megatron’s orders. “Megatron is no more! I now lead the Decepticons!” Starscream declares, holding up a normal Decepticon badge like that’s supposed to signify him as the leader. Shockwave says what we’re all thinking: “WHAT?!”. Starscream, giving a thumbs down for some reason, explains that when his starship exploded, Megatron entered oblivion. Shockwave says that’s impossible; Megatron is indestructible! “Why don’t you contact him, Shockwave?” Starscream challenges, to which Shockwave replies that he can’t get through; interference in the field (idk what field he’s talking about) has made outside communication impossible, but he assures Starscream that he’s going to keep trying. Starscream tells him that from now on, he’ll take orders from him, and his first order is no further attempts at contacting earth. At first, Shockwave ignores him and turns back to the monitor, but after Starscream fires a warning shot, Shockwave backs down and agrees defeatedly.

Has he forgotten he has a cannon on his arm or??

Starscream tells him that they must begin setting up energy collectors; in less than 3 earth hours, they would be receiving energy from a limitless new source.

So it took you 4 hours to get here? In your alt mode? Again, Earth and Cybertron CANNOT be that far apart and if the Decepticons can fly they could just, y’know, use their flight capabilities to go back to Cybertron once they collect their energy. I feel like they’re needlessly over complicating things for themselves with starships and ground bridges.

Starscream tells Archevil that he should feel honored as the only member of his race to survive his planet’s destruction. He declares that everything is ready and walks away. Archevil messes with the controls saying that while he may not be able to save the earth, he could prevent Starscream from taking the energy produced by its destruction. But before he can do much (if anything at all), he’s electrocuted. Starscream comes back into frame and laughs at him, calling him a fool, telling him that only a Decepticon can touch the controls when sentry mode is on.

Seems like a weird sentry mode but okay.

Starscream tells someone off screen to take Archevil to the repair bay. Reflector (who’s appeared from the void) does as Starscream tells them to do. Starscream says that Archevil must not have another chance to interfere with his plans.

Meanwhile, back on earth, Skywarp notices that the Decepticons are moving up their flight pattern. Megatron tells him that it’s because they’re headed for a scenic little place called ‘The Valley of No Return’.

That’s not ominous at all.

Rumble asks him why they’re going sightseeing, and Megatron tells him they’re not, but the Autobots will see something they’ll never forget. The Autobots–who’ve been tailing the cons this whole time–get suspicious that something’s wrong and find themselves in quicksand. In a desert. Why not?

Optimus tells them to transform. Megatron mocks them before telling Laserbeak to stay behind and make sure all of the Autobots went under before rejoining them.

This is a dumb plan for several reasons, but the top two reasons are that one: when you reach equilibrium in quicksand, you bob like a cork; you float. And two: even if they did fully sink, Autobots don’t need to breathe, so they’re just stuck down there, which is annoying sure, but they’re not going to die because of it.

Optimus tells Megatron that it’s not over yet. Megatron tells him that it will be before he and all the other cons (except Laserbeak) leave. Optimus asks Ironhide if he could shoot super cooled liquid nitrogen into the quicksand (idk why this would help but okay) and Ironhide tells him he might be able to if he could get an arm free. Laserbeak divebombs them for some reason and Mirage fires his shoulder cannon at Laserbeak, miraculously hitting him (apparently they have better aim with shoulder cannons than blasters), causing him to turn into his cassette mode for some reason, and Jazz catches him. Optimus commends them for a job well done and asks Ironhide if he’s having any luck. Ironhide gets his arm free and shoots liquid nitrogen at the quicksand which causes it to harden and allows them to get free (idk if that’s how that works but okay).

“Hey Optimus, how would you like to hear number one on the Decepticon hot cassette charts?” Jazz offers, holding up Laserbeak who’s still in his cassette mode. “As I believe the earthings say, lay it on me man!” Optimus replies.

This is one of the best interactions in the whole show; change my mind.

Jazz transforms and plays back the recording we heard of Starscream and Archevil earlier (because Jazz can apparently play back cassettes too??) They transform and head towards Archevil’s lab because they somehow know where that is. How, idk.

Cut to the Decepticons arriving at Archevil’s lab, finding the Exponential Generator. We get a look at the timer which now has just under 2 hours remaining. Rumble warns Megatron that the Autobots are here; Megatron says that’s impossible (press x to doubt) and Thundercracker tells him not to worry; “We’ll make them regret un-dooming themselves.”

The cons head outside and Megatron looks around for a second before Optimus uppercuts him in the jaw saying: “Hello again Megatron!”

How did Megatron not see him–

Megatron throws a rock at Optimus, but misses and instead hits Rumble. Optimus laughs and tells Megatron that his aim is getting better.

(Insert Stan Pines "my ex wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better" here) Sorry I had to. No I’m not a G1 Megaop shipper but this fits too well not to include.

Anyways, we cut back to Cybertron where Archevil is waking up from his time in the repair bay. Starscream tells him to forgive the cruel work of the droids; he’s not pretty, but he’s functional.

We see Archevil is now half made of robot parts. This is actually kind of a terrifying shot. We can see just how far Starscream is willing to go; he's willing to kill everything and everyone on Earth, and he turns Archevil into a monster in order to make sure he can't interfere with his plans. He could've let him die, but he instead chose to make sure that he would live, and would be helpless to do anything but watch. And Starscream grins. ....God Starscream is a dick. Archevil shouts that Starscream’s turned him into a mechanical freak, to which Starscream replies that he was heavily damaged by the sentry monitor and he should be grateful that he exists at all. Archevil tells him that he can’t move, but Starscream ignores him, telling him that he should rest; he’s probably exhausted from interfering with his affairs.

Meanwhile, Optimus has made his way into the lab and found the generator. Megatron threatens to fire at him, telling him to get away from it. Optimus says that Megatron isn’t foolish enough to shoot him while he’s standing in front of the generator, but Megatron tells him that he always hits what he aims for (press x to doubt). We see the timer again and now there’s just under a minute left. Optimus tells Megatron that the generator is in an unstable condition. Megatron tells the other cons in the lab to leave before he gets a call from Shockwave, telling him to disconnect the detonator on the Exponential Generator because it’s going to explode any astro-second. With 2 seconds left on the timer, Megatron removes the detonator. Shockwave sounds very concerned, asking if Megatron is still there; Megatron assures him that he’s still there and that everything is under control. I was actually surprised to hear Shockwave sound so concerned since I'm used to him being, y'know, emotionless. I don't have a lot to say on this other than it jump-scared me a little bit lol. He asks Shockwave where Starscream is and Shockwave tells him he’s on Cybertron and informs him of Starscream’s plan to destroy the earth. Megatron is pissed to say the least.

Meanwhile, Starscream is wondering why the planet hasn’t exploded and chalks it up to a malfunction in the timer. Starscream instructs Archevil to go to earth and check it out, but Archevil reminds him that he can’t get there even if he wanted to with his new robotic body, and that Starscream is the only one who knows how the timing device works. Starscream heads back to earth.

Meanwhile Megatron is doing something with the generator which has melted a bit of his plating. Optimus tackles him for the generator and the two wrestle for it. Optimus says to be careful with the generator since it was at a critical state.

Then WHY DID YOU TACKLE HIM FOR THE GENERATOR???

Optimus says the generator is going to explode. “Not here if I can help it!” Megatron says, getting to his feet, picking up the generator and runing outside. He tells Optimus there’s no time to argue even though he’s not arguing with this. He transforms into his gun mode and lets Optimus wield him as they fire the generator out into space where it hits Starscream and explodes.

For something that was supposed to be able to destroy the earth that was a pretty lackluster explosion.

Starscream crashes and Megatron finds him. Starscream fumbles for words, saying that he was sure—everyone was sure–that Megatron was dead. Megatron picks him up.

Cut to later where the autobots are driving home. Bumblebee asks Optimus what he thinks Megatron is going to do to Starscream, to which Optimus replies: “Nothing gentle I would say.” To which all the other Autobots laugh. “We’ve seen the last of old Starcreep alright, and that’s the first thing that’s gone right all day.” Jazz says.

And that was Countdown to extinction. While it still had all the wacky hijinks that come with being an 80's cartoon, it definitely felt a bit more serious. The stakes were of course ridiculous, but Starscream felt like a genuine threat throughout the episode. He felt, dare I say, more of a threat than Megatron. Megatron is dangerous, yes, but his plans don't usually include destroying the earth, and when they do, it's accidental and usually tries to prevent it which I find interesting. Anyways, I did a poll a while ago for which G1 episodes I should analyze, but it's pretty out of date now so I'll be putting up a new one pretty soon after I post this. Have a good day! :)

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