I agree Grimlock may have been wrongly imprisoned and that the council may be pretty dodgy (to be honest, I'm actually starting to think Steeljaw may have had a point). But nothing will be said about why they imprisoned someone who was clearly severely mentally ill, poss. Season 3 of RID improved on the character front, yes, but for the first and second seasons of RID, there wasn't much character development. I was not trying to make a blanket statement; I was merely saying the Decepticons in RID were less developed as characters than those in Prime.

That's a very shallow statement. The fact that Springload is suffering from a severe mental illness, which is obvious from his actions, doesn't make the Autobots come off as very sympathetic; again, there was no attempt at contact or middle ground with him before they started beating him up. Police officers don't need psychiatric degrees to know how to deal with mentally ill criminals.

Considering that the majority of the Decepticons on the show treated the Vehicons like garbage and viewed them as entirely expendable pawns, Breakdown (one of their senior officers, mind you) showing them some basic respect is a redeeming quality. Again, name me ONE point in Prime in which Megatron or Starscream treated the Vehicons with any sort of respect or decency. Breakdown treating the Vehicons with basic respect and decency is notable and a redeeming quality because Megatron and Starscream (and any other high-ranking Decepticon) don't do it; he's unique in that regard.

It's better than keeping them on Cybertron (or any other inhabited world) where they could break out and cause havoc. It certainly makes sense from a practical standpoint. And as for the reason why they didn't build a space station; it might be neccessary to move the prison, in certain circumstances.

I actually quite liked the political intrigue and tension of Barber's initial run on RID; however, keep in mind, I didn't just say Barber. My original point said that, if the writing level on RID was that of the current G1 comics from IDW, Springload would have been portrayed sympathetically or quasi-sympathetically; not a one-dimensional lunatic.

 

Springload is pretty much played for laughs. Doesn't bother me much. That said I kind of hope Dorados is real and he really was worthy after all, just for the laughs.

The corrupt council subplot I really hope they don't scrap now, after they finally addressed it in the Season 2(1/2) finale.

There is so many implications yet little time where they address them.

 

Did Prime have any of its "complex" characters in it's first season? Oh, and I think the episodes of RID15 we're currently watching were intended for season two, considering there's apparently only six of them. More of Cartoon Network chopping up their show.

Sure, talking might have been a better approach, but I doubt they're trained to. Besides, Springload had already been convicted, and it wasn't their place to question that. He was officially a criminal, and it's not like they caused him any permanent harm.

Name one instance of Breakdown giving a Vehicon orders. I'm not convinced he actually outranked them.

On the other hand, if there was some sort of system malfunction, things could be potentially worse than they would otherwise be, as was the case in the show, but even if it is more practical to keep them in a space ship, there's still no real evidence that they were permanently imprisoned on the ship.

Sure, but if they were more like Prime, or notRID, they'd be joyless shows. Sure, it's possible to tackle mature themes in a light hearted way, but that rarely happens, so I'd prefer a show that's fun, even if the criminally insane are treated as regular criminals. Also, I still uphold that Prime was no better written than RID15.

 

I think the Alchemor may have been taking the prisoners to a sun...

The fact that she was collecting random shiny things and incapable of basic speech was supposed to let us know we were not dealing with someone who could be held responsible for their actions.

 

There is no deeper discussion happening, there is a biased and quite frankly misguided person upset a comedic cartoon doesn't bend it's head to imaginary flagposts. You can't have proper analysis without reality and if you fail to realize the value of tone and suspension of belief in media then you shouldn't be engaging in the topic anyway.

Bumblebee flat out stated to some of the cons they faced they would be coming back to Cybertron and the Minicon group said they would be returning to Cybertron for incarceration. That is more evidence than any you've offered here with the Breakdown scene, in that it's plainly stated verbally. If you're going to nitpick children's media do it properly.

You are simply mistaken about the level of story writing Prime displayed, that is the same show that had the Autobots ignore the utter abuse Megatron put on Starscream and never ever had the good guys even apologize for the baby-predacon-murder because it wasn't interested in getting into that material because that plot line wasn't deep much less well thought it was a story excuse for Megatron to lose his gigantic dragon weapon before the finale and let the good guy wins even easier. And furtherly delusional for seriously being upset that a show aimed at 6 year olds doesn't have the same gray morality and thematic of comics aimed at actual adults.

 

I do really enjoy the new Decepticons that they put on this show, but why won't they bring back good old Megatron? I mean after Starscream said he wanted revenge on his old master, that means Megatron could be returning Idk??

 

Well after all the whining and given they allready brought back Starscream, i expect them to bring back all Prime characters eventually and put them in the spotlight making them out to be something special.

 

Doesn't matter. Someone is always whining about rid.

 

I have to agree with soundwaverulls here. This is not comon knowlege. You would have to
a: study psycologie,
b: know someone who has studied it or works in this field
or
c: be so fascinated with the topic to read about it as a hobby
to know this. For you it seems to be b but for most people its none of them.

 

Shallow it may be, but RiD, as much as I'd hate to admit it, isn't very deep.

As for how Springload is portrayed, well, he's just a generic crazy person, not intended to be sympathetic in the slightest.

 

Stop being so vehement in your responses. I was not trying to get RID to "bend to imaginary flagposts". I was not saying that I was upset by it or was trying to overanalyse it. You can have analysis without reality; people tend to analyse things even for the most trivial of reasons. and I understand the value of tone and suspension of DISbelief in media. If you're going to nitpick overanlalysing, please do it properly.

That would surely defeat the objective of taking prisoners offworld in the first place; why arrest them on Cybertron and take them offworld to simply return them to Cybertron again? There was no point in the series in which Fixit said the Alchemor was headed back to Cybertron before it crashed.

Prime appeared to be dismayed by the Predacon genocideThe Predacon genocide sparked Predaking's betrayal of, and rebellion against, Megatron; everything Megatron feared Predaking would do if the project had succeeded. Predaking's rebellion killed a number of the Vehicons (further depleting the already reduced Decepticon troops) and left the Decepticons weakened, allowing the Autobots to take the Decepticon ship, kill Megatron and restore Cybertron. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy; Megatron's attempt at changing his fate only sealed it.

As for Megatron's abuse of Starscream... Half the time he deserved it (well, I wouldn't be very sympathetic to the guy who tried to have me euthanized in order to take my position, either). And as for the Autobots ignoring it, considering everything Starscream's done (killed Cliffjumper, stole Bumblebee's T-cog, tried to kill them numerous times), I don't think they really feel much empathy for him.

And the idea that media aimed at children have to be simplified is completely and utterly wrong; Kung Fu Panda 2 has genocide and mental trauma (not kid-friendly subjects) as core themes. Comics and animated films have both tried to tell serious themes and touch upon subjects that aren't kid-friendly, whilst still being aimed at children; children's television hasn't made that leap.

 

This is a fair point; I understand that that sort of thing takes time. And as for the RID episodes being aired out of order... I'd guess not. If you assume that it was Cartoon Network chopping up the show, you had to assume that "Decepticon Island" was meant to be a mid-season finale, which is unlikely.

This is a fair point.

I can name several instances in which he appeared to be commanding Vehicons in episodes in Prime; "TMI" and the second part of "Operation Bumblebee" spring to mind. It's clear he did outrank them.

There's no evidence that they were being returned to Cybertron either.

As I mentioned above, things can be light-hearted and still tackle mature themes; Kung Fu Panda 2 has genocide and mental trauma (not kid-friendly subjects) as core themes. You can tell mature themes without being grimdark or super-serious. Comics and animated films have both done that, whilst still being aimed at children; children's television hasn't made that leap.

 

I don't find it unlikely at all. MECH's attempts to build a TF of their own was TFP's only ongoing story at first, yet that abruptly ended mid/late season two, just like Steeljaw's story.

Just skimmed through those two episodes. He doesn't give a single order in TMI, and Operation Bee part two doesn't even have Vehicons in it.

So basically, either options are just as likely.

I know, and I love it when shows can do that. However, TF hasn't had a good history with that. The only shows that have tried to tell complex stories in the last few years have been IDW, and maybe AOE and Combiner Wars. All of them, except maybe MTMTE, have been dark, gritty, and fairly miserable. AOE is perhaps the only one I got some joy out of, and it wasn't particularly good. Basically, my stance is if I'm going to watch/read mediocre stories, I'd rather they were fun stories that didn't try to be serious in the slightest, than shows that try too hard, and forget to have fun.

 

What I gathered from the ending of the Decepticon Island arc was that they were taking the Alchemor and its prisoners back to Cybertron to be reincarcerated because the fucking starship crashed.

Surely that scenario demands some paperwork. Plus Steeljaw and his numerous cohorts probably have to be processed again (or for the first time, in Fracture, Divebomb, and Airrazor's case) for the new crimes they committed after being freed on Earth.

Other than that, the Alchemor was just a big old Decepticon storage freezer that was drifting through space to keep any of the prisoner's allies from assaulting the ship and freeing them. How many employees in Thunderhoof's "empire" on Cybertron do you think might have tried to free him if his cell was just orbitting the planet? Toolbox even explains that this concern was why the Alchemor had cloaking in the first place.

This isn't even the topic we're supposed to be discussing here.

Springload just needs some compassion and a friend.

Who isn't Quillfire.

 

  at the last two lines.

 

I was actually thinking of another reason for why the Alchemor was floating in space. Take a look at bots like Steeljaw (a seditionist), Vertebreak (a mad scientist who was mutilating people), Underbite (who literally destroyed a city), Scowl (an ex-mob enforcer), Overload (an actual war criminal) and Nightstrike (a fucking serial killer). These are bots you don't want imprisoned on Cybertron, or anywhere else for that matter, because what happens if they escape? You can't put them on another inhabited world, because who knows what harm they could do to that world's population? In his very first appearance, Underbite would have destroyed Crown City if the Autobots hadn't stopped him. It's possible that there might be many ships like the Alchemor; Mini-Con staffed mobile maximum security prisons, which keep the worst offenders of the bunch away from Cybertron or any other inhabited world, where they can't do any harm.

The concept may have issues, but it's certainly practical.

So, back to the original point, I seriously doubt Springload is even aware of the crimes he has committed; Springload does not think he has done anything wrong. He's clearly seriously mentally ill and a dangerous individual who shouldn't be allowed to walk (or hop) free amongst the general populace, but he clearly does not belong on a prison ship with mobsters and thugs; Springload is more a mental patient than he is a criminal.

Now someone brought up Filch as an example of another mentally ill Decepticon. I, personally, don't think that Filch is mentally challenged. The reason why? She could have a damaged vocal processor, which makes all her words come out as "Shiny" and "Mine"; for all we know, she could be just a speech-impaired Cybertronian of average intelligence and a short attention span who prefers her beast mode to her robot mode.

 

....."How are you?"  

We know from the Autobot's taking over the bridge that the team Breakdown is checking on is a bunch of Vehicons

 

No, not really. I've seen much worse portrayals of characters with mental illness, like Furman's Arcee (mostly because of why she became violently insane) or the Earl of Lemongrab. Springload's basically someone you'd see in Looney Tunes.

Well, Bumblebee is Terry McGinnis...

 

I do remember that scene. I just don't think monitoring the progress of Vehicons is a definitive indication of rank. Heck, if it weren't for the gag, I expect that role would've been filled by other Vehicons.

 

First off we don't actuality know Springload was insane. We can't hear what's in his head. What if Doradas was real, the spirits were real, and only certain people like Springload can hear them. Supernatural things like that happen in Transformers all the time. The Autobots were tasked with arresting all criminals from the Alchemor. Springload attacked Bee and Strongarm. He may not have mental issues and even if Doradas is fake there is a difference in believing in something fake and being menttally ill. Not everyone who believes in ghosts is insane. The Autobots didn't have enough to assume he was insane so they handled him like any other Alchemor prisoner. If someone says oh he talked to the statue in Denny's scrapyard Terrashock did it first. In fact many of the Alchemor prisoners due to silly things like that. Filch can be said to have OCD. Nighstrike and Razorpaw could be called cannibals, Overload is actually crazier than Springload. If he was insane he would act eratically all the time. He would just randomly jump around or freak out for no reason but perhaps he actually hears spirits.