I'll be blunt, the main crux of both characters is to be eye candy and a foil for Sam. The audience sees what a hot girlfriend Sam has, so maybe he's not as pathetic as he looks, and maybe the level of world-saving that he does seems slightly more plausible. Whatever impact either character has on the storyline outside of their relationship to Sam seems shoehorned, and is unrelated to the overall progression of the plot in that it doesn't really have any foreshadowing or after-impact.

Both characters function as a goal for Sam to pursue, which is sad, because it objectifies both Mikeala and Carly instead of integrating them more effectively into the story and Sam's character progression. In the case of Mikela, Sam is trying to pursue her romantically, essentially trying to "get the girl" (read: make the girl fall in love with him). Mikeala is defined as a "bad girl", more specifically through her familiarity with cars and her daddy issues (which I guess are supposed to make her seem more attainable). Basically, her existence in the story is supposed to be a motivator for Sam to get out of his comfort zone and get ye car, stay along for ye olde adventure, and save ye olde day. I didn't really mind this in theory, but I wish they'd done it with more depth, and made Mikeala grow as a real "partner" to Sam in terms of characterization. Instead, in ROTF she seemed relegated to eye candy, a pretty face to tag along with Sam and remind the audience how great he really is, and to look at between explosions in case we get bored.

Carly is introduced essentially as eye candy from the start. Sam's pursuit of her is more literal, as she fills a more traditional "damsel in distress" role. Again, we have a character who's essentially laid out as a competent, rich professional with good taste, and who loves and supports Sam, so there must be something to him. She gets captured and Sam has to go rescue her. And then out of nowhere she gives Megatron a peptalk that makes him go basically screw up his own plan. Which I suppose is still better than Mikeala in ROTF.

So overall, I guess I thought Mikeala was the better character, but the two of them are pretty much interchangeable.

 

nahh i disagree with you. mikaela was a good character in my opinion. and carly was okay, but not HORRIBLE.

 

Maybe not everyone's view, but probably a lot. I think it's like this with most things in life and first will always equal best for many. Imagine if we'd had a successful G1-centric movie first and then BayFormers came along as a reboot. I'm sure a lot of people would be going 'What is this shit?'.
Personally I'd have stuck with Mikaela just because it's neater than having to introduce a new love interest character to a third film when the first two spent so much time trying to make us believe she and Sam were meant-for-each-other soul mates (or some crap like that).

 

I would have hated it if Mikaela had been the one to annoy Megatron into reclaiming ''HIS PLLLAAAANEETTTTUH!!!''

 

Mikaela.
I managed to come to terms with her leave, but ...
She was a perfect pair for Sam. She was woman that found her happiness. She followed him everywhere, she rushed after him into any madness, she would die of grief if he would had not come to life in Egypt, she risked her life for him and the Autobots, she loved them as much as he did, similarly happily realized, that they is part of their lives! Oh, I would have given much for being in her place. Such life wasn't exchange for something else!

 

THIS!

 

And then she ditched them. Real strong emotional attachment there.

 

As a married man, I liked Carly MUCH better than Mikaela. Carly loved, supported, and encouraged Sam, while Mikaela was less than supportive. For example:
TF2: (First line) "I'm breaking up with you, Sam."

Plus, it doesn't hurt that Rosie is much better looking than Megan. And you can't beat an accent!

 

they were supposed to be 19 years in TF2. thats how young people act! picky! "im breaking up with you sam." lol she was mad at him so she was trying to get him to feel bad. she was going to miss him because he was going away to college, when she couldnt go because she doesnt have a lot of money. shes not supported by any father because hes in jail. i thought that was an interesting plot. she was beautiful, yet you would never know she wasnt financially supported.

 

That was just a lazy way of writing the character out of the movie. Didn't buy it for a second.

 

i'd like it better if mikaela was in part of the third, at least. like it shows her deciding one day just to get up and leave him. For a reason. Like, maybe she was worried after he almost died in egypt and she begged him to give up fighting for the autobots once and for all, and he just wouldnt do it. he told her no, and it finally worried her after a while, and she didnt want to witness him dying, so she left. and he didnt know where she went because she got up and abonded him because it would be too scary for her to fall in love with someone who is constantly in danger. That way, it gives her a reason, and it also kinda makes her look like a jerk-but a jerk for a reason. Like, why would you leave someone that you love, even if their life is in danger? but at the same time, you kinda understand it. thats how i wish it was done. that would have been much better.   anyone else have any ideas for reasons why she should have left?

 

Doesn't matter what you think of it, it's what happened.

 

I truly can't think of why she would other than what u stated. That's the only logical explanation, unless he cheated on her alot.

 

Well.....I like to think she got killed by the Dreads off-screen....but that's just me. 

 

Which is just one of the many reasons I'm not much of a fan of DOTM (and ignore it in my own personal head canon).

There are other ways she could have been written out that would make a lot more sense. I can't get behind such lazy writing, and that lazy writing didn't make me any less of a fan of Mikaela or any more of a fan of Carly. It was done too cheap.

 

Im gonna go with neither. Just because I hate love interests who are basically flaunting how much she is just there because she's hot.

 

Afters seeing Carly in the very first scene (don't ask) I would definatly choose her over Mikaela.

 

The only thing keeping Sam and Mikaela's relationship together was giant robot warfare. The only reason they were even together in the first place was because they were both being chased by Barricade. There's a real sturdy base for a lifetime commitment for ya.

"I really don't give two damns about you, but we're both probably going to die in five minutes, so I guess I like you now".

 

Yeah, but Mikaela didn't get with him after he saved the world. She was interested in him before. And I know there are exceptions, but Sam is a goofy bastard and their relationship didn't seem realistic.

 

............You really need to go visit a highschool if thats what you think.