Thanks, that's what I thought but couldn't remember if anything official or credible leaks had been stated.

 

Earthspark is still far from g1/Beast and aligned tier level.

 

So apropos of nothing, I was going down a TFwiki rabbit hole, and I came across something that is very interesting. I have no idea if this was intentional or not, but the similarities between the two logos lead me to believe this is a really clever subtle homage.

 

Honestly I think my biggest issue with Earthspark so far is related to Megatron and his gripes with GHOST.

I'm aware GHOST are meant to be shady themselves but are we the audience meant to see them locking up Decepticons as a bad thing? Because, uh... I don't. Not really. Sure holding them indefinitely is a heavy-handed approach, but I think Megatrons response to how his former troops are being treated is a bit weird when you take into account a single pissed off Decepticon could hurt or even kill a lot of people. Plus we can plainly see there are Decepticons that don't consider the war to be over, so what else can they really do? While it definitely seems like some are content to just do their own thing, I think ones like Soundwave, Ravage, Starscream, Swindle & Hardtop, Skywarp and Nova Storm... should probably be behind bars, if not destroyed altogether.

But I'm wondering if the writers intend for us to side with Megatron and think "maybe he has a point..." or if we're meant to see him as being unreasonable and simply having an emotional response to seeing his men be confined, which I think is a more accurate assessment. He didn't like the transformation-disruptor gadgets but he doesn't seem to acknowledge that if it were someone like Skullcruncher or one of the Insecticons even if stuck in alt mode they could hurt a ton of people. At least I THINK That's how they work? Maybe they prevent them from transforming and moving, but if that's the case my point doesn't change too much.

I'm sure on some level he feels bad to see his former soldiers and possibly even friends locked away, but if they're seriously not interested in abandoning the cause... GHOST and the Autobots kind of don't have a choice other than TO lock them up.

It'd be different if perhaps GHOST were beating them up or experimenting on them... which we may very well learn to be the case, but even then it's tricky when we take into account this is a hostile alien force and naturally after all the conflict.... people like Mandroid will inevitably crop up. I think they need to introduce something further to make Megatron's feelings more justified.

Hm. It's possible? it could also just be a big coincidence, admittedly they DO Look quite similar though.

 

Keep in mind that the Autobots are also hiding the fact that Bumblebee is alive a secret from Ghost and we've yet to find out the reason for that as well, because up to now it seems like a bit of a contrivance.

 

Yeah that too... I'm assuming (and I could totally be flat-out wrong) but I think it may have something to do with the Allspark and the show may attempt to do a variation whole Tyger Pax storyline from the movie continuity. Something-something Bumblebee launches the Allspark-something he dies in the process... Prime did a similar thing IIRC.

I dunno, I'm not sure why his status as not dead would need to be kept a secret. D: Perhaps the Autobots don't want GHOST to know about the Allspark?

 

Bee was also a very public figure during the war (he's on comic covers plus there's Alex's fanboying of him), so I don't think it has anything to do with the Allspark being launched from Cybertron.

 

If making Frenzy purple was an intentional way to avoid the whole blue / red thing, that's pretty cheeky and clever.

Ah, yeah that's true.  

 

I think we might find something out in the ep that seems like it'll be a flashback (Bee was seen in the trailer with a different alt and bot mode).

 

I'm thinking Optimus had a gut feeling that Ghost was not on the level and so keeps Bumblebee off the radar to lead the Autobots in case everything goes tits up and Optimus ends up dead.

 

But then there has to be a plausible explanation for Bumblebee's "death" since he was apparently pretty prominent during the war. Either Ghost themselves tried to kill Bumblebee (and Optimus isn't supposed to know but found out) or something else shady is going on, but there's gotta be an actual reason to keep it a secret that Bumblebee is alive and training the Terrans (as well as the existence of the Terrans) from the humans that are claimed to be "allies".

 

Just because they're allies doesn't mean Optimus fully trusts them (and vice versa for that matter). Faking Bumblebee's death may be an insurance policy.

 

But why the fake out? I'm kind of wondering if GHOST didn't start out more like MECH from Prime. Mandroid being a former member of GHOST certainly seems to support that kind of thought process to me. Maybe there's still people within GHOST that share the more MECH like ideology and that's why Bumblebee is off the radar.

 

So my theory is that if Ghost should ever turn on the Autobots, they'll immediately start taking out the chain of command starting with Optimus and Elita and work their way down from there. Ghost wouldn't be targeting Bumblebee if they think he's already dead. With Bumblebee presumed dead, he can work behind the scenes and rally the surviving Autobots under his leadership. Basically, Optimus fears an Age of Extinction type of betrayal and has planned accordingly.

 

bumblebee is the ''we hide in the xantium rocket booster'' gamble in this show  

 

I put it below animated and maybe on the same level as Prime
My biggest issue with Prime is the world felt small and too many MacGuffin hunts besides that I liked the main bot/con cast, animation, and humor.

The main thing I like about earthspark so far is it's mixing up stuff a bit with things like the Terrans, good guy Megatron, and the plot taking place after the war. The only negative is Mandroid he seems a bit too generic for me so far my favorite human villains are still Meltdown and Sideshow Bob.

Also, I am no animation expert and this might just be me but the animation reminds me a bit of Into the Spiderverse which is also something I like

 

Might be because it's blending 3D with 2D effects animations like RiD '15 did.

 

Wait how did Ravage get into Soundwave when he was sent to G.H.O.S.T's Decepticon Holding Cells after he separated from the other cassettes after Soundwave was captured?!

 

But Bumblebee isn't really a leader in this continuity, hell he's barely a teacher.