fan-fucking-tastic!!!!!!!! i loved every moment of this episode! so much win, as they say!
loved the Soundwave kicking ass part, "watch out for the quiet one"   and the history/flashback was well done. and when Fowler hugged June, i just had to gasp and laugh

the quick "death" of Unicron was kinda disappointing, but the whole OP & Megatron teaming up part made up for that. amazing! i hope to see more of it in Season 2, seeing as they're 'buddies' once again.

i've read some 'votes' for Rodimus or Ironhide or Ultra Magnus to show up and become temporary leader. sure, why not? i'd love it!! hell they should just show up no matter what

yes i saw that too. very well done. i'm hoping that now we'll get to see the 'other' side of Optimus - funny, fun to be around, etc

in any case, can't wait for Season 2. it's one of those "well how can they top this???" but i know they'll find excellent new storylines and characters. and i don't think we've seen the last of Unicron, especially when they explain in Ep 25 how they can't leech him out but rather have to subdue him or whatever

 

You guarantee it? We'll see, come November. I for one would love to see Ratchet and/or Arcee take command of the Autobots for exactly all the reasons you stated. It would make for some great stories to see how hard it is for them to keep it together and prevent their team from falling apart.
Magnus, Prowl, Springer or whoever else are not wanted (by me). There's a real potential for some great conflict and drama and just good stories waiting to be told with the Autobots leaderless. To bring in someone that snuffs all that out and brings it all under control- what's the point? Showing the 'bots all disorganized and struggling to keep it together would only emphasize how important Optimus is to the team.

 

wow, I was about to say the same...
this is TFP, not another generation... (yeah, not G1, not RID, not Unicron Trilogy, etc) characters can easily be similar or not to other of their incarnations (as Wheeljack for example)
I can't wait for the surprises in season 2  

 

Wow!

Can't wait for the next episode...!



LOL ''So this is where the magic happens...''  

 

Amazing finale. All 3 (really 4) parts were HUGE, emotionally-charged and totally engaging viewing. Just mind-blowing on every level. So much '86 Movie love, too. And capping off on one HELL of a cliffhanger, for sure! I was speechless. There is all-out madness and pure majestic brilliance flowing through the veins of this series!  

And what a stellar opening season overall. Just one mediocre episode IMO (T.M.I.) - the rest were either good, great, or absolutely fantastic - a few even bordering on or achieving arguable instant-classic status. As much as I love Animated, not even its first season was this freaking good. I think this series is on its way to becoming the greatest of them all once all is said and done. It's an updated and darker G1 in my eyes, with far superior storytelling and sophistication running under the hood. And I so look forward to where the rest of this wild and awesome ride will take us in the days to come. Roll on Season 2 right now, muthafuckaz!!!!  

 

I loved this episode way too much, defo 10/10.

 

megatron.... he's one of us now

 

I went back and watched War Dawn last night. I love how they still managed to follow a concept from back in G1 days.

It's almost like old Obi Wan saying that Anakin was a good friend, and then seeing it played out in Clone Wars. War Dawn showed a super super simplified version of what happened in Exodus (and referred to in this Finale), but it's nice to see that they tell a very similar story.

 

Other than Ratchet , team prime is pretty boring and disinteresting, they need new characters in there. Ratchet and the others have shown they rely on a higher commander and none present can be leader.

Arcee should be scrapped by now, shot from megatron in the end of darkness rising should have killed her if they were going with a real vibe instead of cliffjumper looking weak. I know they wanna present her being strong and all but that shtick has gotten old now and all current characters have been fleshed out, we know we're getting new bots so it's not a case of if, it's a case of who and when.

 

Gotta' disagree on Bee being fleshed out. Looking forward to what they'll do with him in season 2. And I happen to like team Prime, especially Arcee and Ratchet.

 

I can see Orion getting a weaponized alt mode while he is with the decepticons. It could be interesting to see what happens when he has to fight the autobots.

 

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN this just got interesting

 

well lets face it, unless he gets his voice back he won't be and personally can't see how he'll be any more interesting than any other character. Arcee is an ok character, personally I want to see her scrapped.

 

The Exodus-similar story of Optimus' past, Optimus and Megatron fighting back to back, Soundwave taking down Airachnid, Optimus unleashing the Matrix of Leadership, and of course the final surprising development (amnesiac Optimus!) were all great stuff in this final ep. of the season. Unicron's defeat was predictable, but he served his primary role in these finale eps.: to provide reason for bringing up ancient Cybertronian history and delving into Optimus' past and Prime lineage, and bringing about an alliance between Optimus and Megatron.

Many of us had been saying from early on in the series that Optimus lacked much character. We've waited a whole seaon, but the "One Shall Rise" finale eps. have finally begun to closely address the Autobot leader. And with the unexpected final plot twist of him losing his memories, an opportunity opens up to explore his character in even greater detail. The "One Shall Rise" finale eps. have not really been an end to season 1 so much, but rather a tantalising setup for season 2.

I love this shot too. I'm not sure why it is that he looks much younger there. Maybe the raised eyebrows? Amazing how many years raised eyebrows can take off a guy!

 

Yeah I think it's the raised eyebrows too. Makes him loose his stern expression and makes his eyes seem bigger, giving that look of youth and innocence. I think it's also the fact of him kinda...not looking squarely at something? You watch his eyes and he's often looking around (almost curiously) instead of the usual straight look. What I thought of anyways when he was looking at Bee, kinda looking him all over.

 

Great observation! The lowered eyebrows really make him seem kind of weary, but slightly raised and he's youthful. I never would've noticed!

 

I have to say that this episode won me over on Prime. I was kind of indifferent to Prime before. I'd watch a cluster of episodes here and there. but I was not really into it. But this episode I dug. I really like the back story and how it finally gives a decent connection to War for Cybertron/Exodus. It also had some nice G1 refrences. I like how War for Cybertron can kinda act as both a G1 prequel aswell as a Prime prequel.

Also the ending was unexpected and a nice change of pace. I wonder where this development is gonna go from here? Also,I wonder if they'll find a way to bring unicron back. His death was a little disapointing. I also hope they find a way to bring him back in his true form.

Overall, great episode and finally got me excited for Prime!

 

WARNING: SEASON 2 SPOILERS:

Spoiler

Well, BB and Soundwave may talk in Season 2, if you trust the spoilers.

 

unicron cracked me up doing a nod to star wars leave him to be i'll deal with him myself

 

I'm going to try not to crease my brow so much now, maybe it'll do wonders for my youth too!  

But seriously, it's like all the weight of Prime's years just vanished from his face. Makes you realise how just how burdened and low he was before. If not for him falling into Megatron's hands, this 'rebirth' could have been a mercy for him.