Pardon my phrasing I meant season finale* I discuss season 2 in this video so we will be getting another season. - What I love most about EarthSpark is that the Autobots aren’t “pure good” and the Decepticons aren’t “pure evil” they both have different ideologies/ beliefs. They are much more human-like, with a variety of emotions. They all have their unique flaws. We see different perspectives on the war of the Autobots and Decepticons. I love it! - Share your thoughts below!
While I love earthspark for it's characterizations and almost everything about it, I feel like some of them are underused like Tarantulas wasnt even in the final battle of season 1, I would've loved it if Nightshade and Tarantulas had a reunion Heck. I would've loved it if we got an interaction with Tarantulas and Shockwave, and maybe some more beast wars characters like Dinobot so we can have some interactions of him with both Grimlock and Jawbreaker. But minus all of that, I still enjoy the show one of my favorites right under transformers Animated and Beast wars
this show I can say is on par with TFP, It's just that good. And finally they listened to the audience and had the children a little more relevant to the story this season. Too bad the last ep was soooo rushed.
Something that I noticed when watching the show was when Starscream tells Megatron "nowhere is safe if it's with you" Megatron has this look of realization on his face, it's as if that was the first time he realized how much he hurt Scarscream. That face of "Holy shit, I was a horrible person."
It's SUCH a good moment. And it seems to imply that the main reason he did it was the same reason he waged war to start with; Megatron is BAD at understanding the motivations of others and how he himself impresses upon people. He likely made the same assumptions as us; that whenever Starscream was being defiant, it was always inherently an attempt at playing for leadership, when the reality was more likely that Starscream just wanted the same things as everyone else; the respect of a man he clearly had some idolization of at one point, and an end to a bloody conflict that could render them extinct if allowed to continue. In the end, however, his attempts at proactiveness were read consistently as betrayal, and he was treated as such, to his increasing horror until he just couldn't stand it anymore and was driven into a desperate frenzy to avoid any and every return to that form of powerlessness. He had branded Starscream a selfish coward in his brain because of actions he personally felt insulted by without actually listening to or looking at WHY he took those actions, and in the end that treatment may have MOLDED Starscream into it because, well, if you're always assumed to be guilty with no trial, living up to that reputation can INCREASE your likelihood of survival. In that moment, Megatron is probably realizing not just how horrible he was to Starscream in particular, but realizing "Who else was I passing judgement on that harshly? Who am I doing that with RIGHT NOW and just hadn't thought about it?"
It is always funny to me that Starscream always gets flack for being a backstabbing traitor, when it’s likely Megatron’s fault to begin with. The abuse didn’t start after Starscream became treacherous, Starscream likely became treacherous because he was abused. Think about it this way: most incarnations of Starscream command an armada of seekers and show strong leadership capabilities. Megatron needs strong commanders, but he also needs to make sure no one contests his position. He rules with fear and domination. He punishes failure severely, no matter how trivial. He was probably making a statement out of Starscream ever since he brought his seekers into the Decepticon ranks. That type of humiliation, demoralization, and just straight up abuse would make anyone insecure, anxious, and cowardly. Insecure because you have had your confidence stripped away. Anxious because you do not know what will set Megatron off next or if he will decide to kill you this time. Cowardly because you are always walking on glass and see Megatron as larger than life. Anyone in that position would be too afraid to take on Megatron head-on, but they would still want a way out of their situation, and may even have an obsession with doing a better job in the leadership position compared to their abuser.
It's upposed to be G1 Starscream, though, perhaps the least sympathetic character in all of fiction. Incompetent, boastful, cowardly, disloyal, self-serving, arrogant, greedy and above all ruled by a blind ambition to take power by any moeans possible... he's the bad example that taught me why treachery and dishonest dealing were intolerable as a child. If Megatron was the merciless tyrant he's sold as, he'd have offlined the cog-weasel a dozen times over before they ever arrived on Earth.
@@jimmyjeff1777 Clearly not, I'm just saying by what they put on screen as the backlstory he's SUPPOSED TO be, and with the character's history it's a change that can never be more than a plot hole to me.
@@dialNforNinja I'm going to point something out- the backstory we "know" for earthspark is mostly told through comicbooks! Comicbooks that paint decepticons into an even harsher light, and autobots into an even more friendly one. So whilst yes, Earthspark starscream may be supposed to be based off G1- it's like G1 was the "exaggerated" telling of the story for earthspark. Not to mention, PTSD can cause some serious personality shifts as pointed out in the video- most of which are in no way 'good'. I personally have suffered, and Starscream has ALWAYS been one of my favorite character because I, in some way, can connect to him. I'm hoping they expand more in this series.
Bumblebee: "How long are you going to cling to this worn-out, narcissistic mask? Starscream the ruthless. The grand schemer. You haven't been that-just that-for a long time now. People expect things of you because they believe in you. And that should be something you're proud of. Not something you're determined to destroy. Why is it so important for you to be alone?" Starscream: "Because I am alone! Because the nanosecond I forgot that, life-most often in the shape of Megatron-beat the truth back into me. Literally!" -Transformers Til all are One #11
Finally a show with balls to depict Starscream as a likeable victim of abuse, just like in Armada. Double balls for depicting both him and Megatron as likeable character while both being abuser and a victim of abuse.
There's a reason why his slow, steady, but unflappable redemption arc in IDW is so revered and beloved, enough that it's impacted subsequent works Especially when you consider how monstrous IDW Megatron was throughout Phase 1, The fact that this iconic main villain who, almost no matter the incarnation or reinvention, is defined by his cruel vicious megalomania and hatred of organic life and those he believes weak and is willing to do anything and everything he deems necessary to obtain power and achieve "peace through tyranny", and the vast list of his atrocities that devasted other planets, Cybertron and Earth most tantamount of all, the fact that he was ALSO one of the most sympathetic depictions and that, having been put through the right circumstances and conga line, and actually being shown kindness by Bumblebee and other Autobots, his sworn enemies, that even he was able to realize where he went wrong and change for the better, That takes a specific type of talent and understanding of your audience, cuz we like to see that kind of stuff
I love how they actually addressed the abuse Starscream endured at the hands of Megaton. Just because Megaton turned over a new leaf isn’t going to wash away all the Ill deeds he committed prior.
@@kimhungnguyen8001 imagine if they made autobot megatron interact with starcscream, oh the pain and the angst. I relate to what comodin cam said. I want these two to see a therapist, hear both sides of the story considering both of them know and yet at the same, kinda not really know each other (Megatron being surprised that Starscream would actually place someone's well being over his own for example), and even when Starscream won't forgive Megatron (because he has every right NOT to), then at the very least, he gets to be something more than the typical starscream persona in most tf media, sorta like his armada incarnation and hopefully unlike said incarnation, doesn't die and actually gets to have a shot at a less crueler life.
@@kimhungnguyen8001 I've said it once and I'll say it again, IDW took the biggest risk of making Megatron an autobot, probably one of the biggest risks anyone's ever took when it comes to comic storylines in comic history, and imo got the biggest reward. Even when they explored his past further in the comics, not once did they ever use it to defend or justify his actions. If anything, mtme/lost light has been one of the "strictest" redemption arcs I've ever read or seen on media with how they remind the audience again and again of the weight of Megatron's actions. It's not like most redemption arcs nowadays where they kinda get brushed aside(?) and say "forgiveness is the best revenge" and whatever because no, it aint. Yes, IDW Megatron's abandoned his evil ways. Yes, he executed the DJD himself. Yes, he now teaches "Peace through empathy" rather than "Peace through tyranny". Yes, he lead the cybertronians of the functionist universe to freedom and saved billions of lives, both organic and mechanical, but none of them will ever erase the billions of others that he's taken (103 billion point something if i remember correctly). He still resumes trial and faces punishment, and whether he'll receive eternal solitary confinement or death, knows and even says it to Rodimus that whatever punishment he gets, he deserves far, far wrose. "You can save a hundred worlds and none of them will make a jot of difference."
As somone used to tf.Prime Starscream having that voice, I personally think it doesn't fitt this design but it's still better than that annoying, baby, whiny voice he usualy has.
The face Megatron makes after starscream says "no where is safe with you" speaks volumes as Megatron almost has a look of realization, showing Megatron's growth from the decepticon leader he once was but also starscream's growth as he leaves without hearing anymore of Megatron's words, like a abuse victim finally leaving the abuser
11:08 Anyone else love the look of genuine shock and surprise on Megatron’s face after witnessing Starscraem actually care for and try to save hashtag from the dweller, or is it just me?
I noticed that while watching the episode, and honestly thought it was both hilarious as well as interesting. I haven't finished season one but I feel like Megatron and Starscream's relationship may change a bit for the better. There will always be that tension due to the past of course, but they may atleast be able to end up feeling more comfortable around eachother, to a degree.
I have the more optimistic thought that it was both disbelief but subtle elation that Starscream, like himself, is starting to change for the better as well
The "nowhere is safe if it's with you" caught me, because for a second i forgot it was transformers, this line sounded so "human", I always keeped in mind how he was abused by Megatron, but hearing this, hearing something I said multiple times and see this type of thing be represented made me love even more this character, I could relate to him, I can understand his feelings, I can feel what he's feeling, I know how he felt, and the fact that is a character I like since I was a children is heartwarming for me. I don't care if it's just a transformers show for kids, for me this is art and I'm always here for every depiction of starscream, he's funny and he's tragic
Honestly, the pure fact that Hashtag believes Starscream and validated his trauma from serving Megatron is a great lesson for kids to learn about how to reach out to someone who was or is in an abusive situation. This could even teach some kids to recognize their own trauma in similar environments and seek help from people who are caring and supportive. Earthspark just keeps winning. ✨
Earthspark is honestly underrated because it isn't afraid to get serious or dark. Every time Mandroid is on screen is almost pure nightmare fuel. And then there's the way it treats trauma and the fact that even if the war is over, the fallout is still there. It is a really genuine show and I'm hoping it shows a new generation of transformers fans how these characters can be used to tell interesting and powerful stories.
ES Starscream is actually quite unique, sure we had the Armada take but this one felt just as interesting. I do like how he still had the usual qualities that a Starscream has with still making him relatable, his relationship with Megatron and his interactions with him were the best moments and really showed a new perspective from his side of things. I really wish to see more of him in season 2.
If you find Starscream's backstabbing and cowardice relatable, I'm not sure I want to hear any more... and it's not like he has any other character traits, aside from enough technical skill to build the occasional mad science McGuffin of the week.
You can tell Starscream is depressed and has PTSD, which is sad. I can only imagine what Megatron did to Starscream to make him this way. Poor Starscream, he needs a hug. ❤
"You believe me?" Shattered my heart. Thats a really sentence i have heard from friends that have been hurt and confided in me. A lot of people chose not to believe victims of abuse or make excuses as to why they deserve it. amongst friends and families that a very real anxiety. Or are convinced into silence or are told they are being over dramatic. We have a habit gaslight abuse victims into silence just for the sake of comfort. "Don't rock the boat" Even worse if your not a perfect person like starscream who id image is a very easy person to write off his abuse and not take it serious. I love seeing the cartoons take so much inspiration from the idw comics.
I feel like TFP starscream would have reacted similarly if someone had treated him like Hashtag did, if not at least be the first time anyone's tried to listen to his side of the story and start him on the path of believing that maybe he can trust some people
Definitely love how the Decepticons are given more layers to their character. Though, if they do bring back some more sinister and evil characters, I can see Earthspark bringing in the likes of Overlord. After all, he was pretty much an absolute monster in the IDW comics, and he had a massive axe to grind with Megatron, more so than most legacy Decepticons like Starscream.
@@fayeprime9631 So true on that, haha. Though, it makes me wonder if we'll see a few more Autobots and Decepticons ES hasn't shown yet, like Swindle's fellow Combaticons or the rest of the Stunticons like Motormaster.
I haven't been watching Earthspark (curse you streaming service exclusives) but I hope that the most competent Decepticon (AKA mah boi) Soundwave is in charge of the Decepticons.
As someone who's read the entire run of IDW's TF comics, EarthSpark Starscream feels the most like IDW Starscream; both have a very intense relationship with Megatron because of the past abuse they've suffered from him, and to see ES Starscream find Hashtag as a sort of daughter-like figure is such a unique and fun take on the character! I also hope like you that we don't see Starscream revert back to just being "evil" in Season 2; if anything, maybe an episode can be devoted to exploring Starscream's history with Megatron, maybe Hashtag even tries to have the two of them talk out their feelings and finally put their hatred and prejudices towards each other to rest. There's plenty that can be done with Starscream without making him revert back to the traitorous second in command of the Decepticons!
_"How long are you going to cling to this worn-out, narcissistic mask? Starscream the ruthless. The grand schemer. You haven't been that-just that-for a long time now. People expect things of you because they believe in you. And that should be something you're proud of. Not something you're determined to destroy. Why is it so important for you to be alone?"_ _"Because I am alone! Because the nanosecond I forgot that, life-most often in the shape of Megatron-beat the truth back into me. Literally!"_ -Bumblebee and Starscream
@@Wayte13 Centuries?! More like eons to be exact! Armada Starscream did say in the episode titled Rebellion that the war between Autobots and Decepticons is over 10 million years old, at least in that continuity.
I just wish they included Thundercracker. You can’t have two out of three seekers. I also wish they included Ionstorm and Acidstorm. It’s once again 1/3 components of a great team.
I feel Nova Storm briefly wanting to be a Autobot and her having Sonic Booms like Thundercracker and being the third seeker suggests that she was going to be Thundercracker at one point, but, Thundercracker got a G1 cameo in the G1 flashback. It would be amazing to see a IDW like Thundercracker in Season 2, going with the " Not all Decepticons are bad" theme.
ngl, i kinda imagine Thundercracker already being on earth but he's just chilling somewhere with Buster and writing up stories like the precious goofball that he is
@@bored_potato Imagine if there one day is an EarthSpark episode about Thundercracker, but he's working under a pseudonym to pitch his stories to publishers and screenwriters.
@@archalys0 Earthspark is supposed to follow on from a mildly-AU G1 where they never got off Earth again. G1 Styarscream is every negative character trait of cartooonish stupid evil shoveled into a pile.
My biggest hope for season 2 is that they follow up on the plot thread of Soundwave’s mission of vengeance against Megatron, maybe have him team up with Shockwave. Heck, maybe they could rope in Starscream, give him a bit of a crisis of conscience. Maybe he thinks the best way to protect Hashtag and the Terrans is to destroy Megatron.
Wouldn't be hard to convince me if i were in Starscream's shoes. Clearly Megatron still has that wrathful streak... Who's to say he wont fully return to the tyrant he was at any moment? Best to bump him off before we get there.
I think a really good way to handle Starscream in the future it's the keep Starscream as a recurring antagonistic Ally or friendly rival to the main characters as a sort of a wildcard. They could keep him in character by having him look out exclusively for himself and now his own group occasionally stealing the glory or interfering with the heroes but also occasionally helping them as he no longer has any ill-will towards them. Seeing as he's faced his abuser and faced his past behavior of abuse thanks to Megatron he still only cares about himself and his own people but is no longer the cruel schemer he once was. That way he keeps to being his antagonistic self without being evil or cruel. He can make a great anti-hero and/or anti-villain.
this is definitely one of my favourite Earthspark episodes, they could've easily made a bait-and-switch of Starscream not helping Terrans in the end but no they actually did in a way that works and i'm glad it did.
Basically how the scene went down Optimus: I know you always beat Starscream to the point where he was on the verge of death, so bring him back in good condition. Megatron: ok….I’ll only shoot him three times and beat him four. Optimus: Good… wait what!?
I feel like this also is a good representation of how even if an abusive person changes and becomes better, there will always be those who remember who they used to be. That, no matter how much you change, your past will always follow you. Personally, seeing this made me think of my grandpa on my dad's side. I only knew him as the old man who sat in a chair and was quite, but in the past, he was an abusive man who hurt my dad in many ways. My dad still cared about his dad, but he never forgot or forgave his dad for what he did. Even after grandpa had changed, the past will always haunt those who had to experience his abuse.
I was waiting for Starscream from the start wanting to see how they handled him. I’m a huge Starscream fan and pretty critical of how he’s handled (Bayverse). But they went above and beyond for my expectations. I could not describe my joy when they took Starscream’s abuse and how he’s a VICTIM, and isn’t some joke. Also him showing up in the end and him getting flustered over affection and being thanked is just- he’s 10/10. He might be my favorite version of Starscream. Edit: Season 2 ruined him for me. I just hate how they went “actually he’s always been evil”, when no he’s a victim. I wouldn’t have minded them have him be held accountable for his actions, and would have actually loved it, showing the healing process. But they went the “abused becomes abuser “ route with him, which sucks. Not only was that the opposite of season 1 him, but it also could negatively impact kids watching and make them think everything is black and white. I hate him so much now. I’m not sure if I hate him more or less than Bayverse because as much as I hate him, at least they tried something with him and stuck to it rather than doing a 180. It genuinely hurt because the one time Starscream was taken seriously, the only thing I’ve ever wanted, it was torn away and set on fire.
There is exactly one great moment from starscream in the movies. In Revenge of the Fallen, when Prime is murdering the Fallen and Megatron is injured, Starscream saves him and tells him, "Sometimes, it's the cowards who survive." He's comforting his master. And I'm mad that the movies never gave a damn about Starscream beyond that.
Starscream is a survivor and I can relate to his treacherous ways to survive. I can connect to that. Of all the transformers he is the one that shows more generic human attributes. The one that will do everything to survive every circumstances even if you fail to notice that your calculation of everything is wrong.
Considering how Season 2 has panned out, hearing the last few minutes "It'd be hard for Starscream to go back to being evil. It doesn't fit with his character" is painful. I felt so betrayed when I heard of what they did with him there
Well, that's putting it a little strongly... I mean, there's no question that the render quality and level of detail is better, but if you look at the actual animation, as in how characters move, original Beast Wars still has it over TFES, and any of the intervening 3D rendered shows as well. Mainframe Ent. had their issues, but were true masters in that respect. TFES is easily as good as any other recent 3D show, I'll grant, and lightyears better than the Machinima or Netflix TF series.
@@dialNforNinja For the most part that's true for a lot of the moment to moment animation for ES, but it really did shine in a good deal of the action sequences. Megs and OP vs. the seekers on the base was some slick animations sequences
I wonder if Starscream's reputation for treachery is because of Megatron slandering him. A lot of abusers slander their victims so they have no where to go.
It could be that Starscream, to an extent, internalized what others said about him, so he doubled-down on his treachery since that’s all people are willing to see in him, until he met Hashtag.
@@dubledolix0956 In the IDW comics Starscream idolized Megatron an cried the first time they met, because he was such a huge fan. He later turned against Megatron because Megtron was abusing Starscream. (if you read Megatron Spotlight fom IDW, you'll realize what I'm talking about)
Transformers writers have always been pussyfooting around the abuse Starscream went trough, in most series, comics. I really think the writers don't want to make Megatron unsympathetic, and try to portray him as someone of noble character, despite his brutality (esp in TP there are a lots of scenes where this is the case). And he gets new chances again, and again, but Starscream have never gotten the same treatment. The abuse Starscream went trough, in my opinion was most evident in the IDW series, here we have a whole issue about Megatron tormenting, beating down Starsceream both verbally, and phisically, in front of the other Decepticons, just because he was dissappointed in Starscream. It was also told in that issue, that Starscream used to idolize, look up to Megatron, but started to hate him after years of abuse. But IDW still treated Starscream's trauma horribly, while his abuser got a therapist and a shipful of people who kind of understand him on various levels and are willing to help him learn how to carry out his goals for life improvement. (T_T) I don't think we will ever see the story from Starscream's perspective, because the writers are cowards.
I feel that way too honestly. Authors often shy away from trauma, ptsd, mental health issues, and most commonly abuse. Its interesting how people always want to redeem Megatron, you know the big bad evil guy that ruthlessly beats people into the ground, but hardly starscream. A man who lost his friends, tried desperatly to survive the war, and was relentlessly beaten and scolded for making mistakes. Poor guy was abused but people want to focus on megatron, the abuser. Starscream deserves a good redemption arc. At least where he becomes a frenemy towards the autobots instead of a heartless villian. Funny how intentionally heartless characters tend to be treated with more sympathy than genuinely broken characters.
@@TheNameIsFa11 Agree 100%. I hope the Skybound comics will do something similar with Starscream, since it was shown in the comics that Strascream used to be a scientist who valued life more than anything.
EarthSpark Starscream's character is fantastic, I love that they didn't try to 'fix' his relationship with Megatron and let him set the boundary to not accept Megatron's offer of 'safety'. I cannot wait to see where season 2 takes the characters!
I feel earthspark Starscream is very similar to IDW Starscream. As he was written as an abuse victim and then had a redemption arc. While it’s not the same I get very till all are one vibes from this version of the character.
New deleted storyboard scene just dropped that explains A LOT about some of the scenes pertaining to Ravage and Starscream; turns out Soundwave and Starscream had a plot for Ravage to grab some device that would allow Starscream to release Shockwave in Warzone. Really should have kept that in.
As a loooong-time Starscream fan, I'm so happy they’re finally exploring this interpretation of him. Don't get me wrong, I love the classic treacherous schemer rendition, but I'm glad they’re mixing it and adding more character to my boy. On top of that, bringing back the childhood classic voice of Steve Blum, I really like this version of Starscream and hope they add more to him in future seasons. I’d be super down if they have him as a sort of anti-hero throughout the show.
I always looked at Starscream as an abused child, the way Megatron treated him was awful, he never treated any of the other Decepticons like that. S2 I would love to see a new Human who is a doctor and we see him sit Megatron and Starscream down and ask them each to give their own side of the story. Armada Astarscream was a great example of this he was abused and he didn't want the Minicons to go through what he did
Honestly Id love to see more characters get a chance to evolve even futher. One for me is Hotrod, he has been my favorite Autobot since his first debut in G1. But I would love to see him get the chance to evolve into that Rodimus Prime persona than just being forced into it. Like Id imagine Hotrod starting as that turbo reving young punk, to transforming into someone worthy of being a prime.
i think it'd be cool for him to already be a "prime" and have his relationship with optimus be kind of like a mentor-mentee thing also he could be thrash's dad2
I have dealt with PTSD for years And I get why starscream got so connected to hash tag It's hard to find people who understand And also willing To protect you.
This is kind of a sensitive issue, but often times abuse victims are not entirely innocent themselves. It is very possible that when serving Megatron that Starscream was insubordinate, was scheming, and was treacherous and as a result Megatron brutally punished him. PTSD is not black and white and sometimes those suffering from it were not purely moral. Even bad people can feel severe psychological pain and trauma, maybe this show is exploring this complex truth.
watching this now it just like "it would be really weird if starscream suddenly did something super evil after how he was written in this series" yea! it was!
I really hope we will get to see more of him during season 2! I really do things get better with the decepticons and the autobots and they can patch things up! I would really like to see Megatron and Starscream have a conversation about everything especially!
Anyone else notice the subtle shift in Megatron's face at 15:20 as he watches Starscream fly off? It almost looks like he's truly beginning to question the truth of their relationship
40 years for starscream is over a billion if you remember how long ago the war was but yes. Starscream has MANY. MANY. MANY years of abuse and for it to finally be addressed makes me happy.
I was so happy watching this video to see a good Starscream story and was really hopeful for the next season. That "nowhere is safe if you're there" line was SO FUCKING GOOD especially in the context of this series. Like, Megatron being with the autobots but we see him beat Starscream down and Starscream doesn't feel safe at all?? He didn't think Hashtag would believe that he was abused?? FUCK. I was do disappointed when I realized they ruined his arc :(
As someone whose read through the entirety of the 2005 IDW comic continuity, Earthspark Starscream reminds me heavily of IDW's Starscream. I adore the way that Earthspark chooses to give more nuance to most of the characters, Megatron in particular, but Starscream especially made me, and the friends I was watching with squeal whenever he was on screen. One of my majour gripes with Transformers Prime was how they handled Megatron's abuse of Starscream and by that I mean they didn't handle it at all. The end of Predacon's Rising where Starscream goes and basically cowers at Megatron's feet and seems really excited to see him made me so upset because Megatron spent the entirety of Prime's runtime abusing not only Starscream, but most of his employees bar Shockwave and Soundwave. To see Megatron state that he now knows true oppression after being possessed for like five hours and then just allowed to go free really rubbed me the wrong way. Earthspark was by far one of my favourite continuities before the latest batch of episodes dropped but with how they treat Starscream's abuse at the hands of Megatron just makes me love it even more. It's not a perfect show, I can fully admit that, but it's trying and it's showing that it really does care about the Transformers characters as a whole. I adore it when Transformers media actually gives the Decepticons personalities beyond one note character traits. I love IDW's Megatron and Optimus Prime for that reason in particular, but Earthspark definitely takes the cake for how it handles its legacy characters. Skywarp and Nova Storm live in my brain rent free and I want Starscream to go to therapy, god knows he deserves it. I also really hope that they don't turn him into a villain when season 2 comes around. I've seen people complain about the fact that Earthspark is too happy (which it's not, the latest batch of episodes is literally just, seven children get traumatised in increasingly concerning ways) but I really enjoy it when Transformers takes a break from the war storyline from G1 and actually chooses to step outside the bounds of what normally gets told. Again it's why I love More Than Meets The Eye so much, it's a character driven story that focuses less on action and more how war screws up people badly. I cannot state enough that a Transformers series that has hope in it is such a beautiful take on Transformers as a franchise. It's wonderful to see characters like Starscream finally get their abuse taken seriously, it's wonderful to see Grimlock treated like an actual person than a rage machine capable of only smashing his way out of situations, I love Optimus and Megatron's dynamic and I love every one of the Terrans to pieces. I freaking love Earthspark and I cannot wait to see where the story goes. Thank you for coming to my long winded, rambling Ted-Talk. I love robots.
Ive always viewed starscream as a broken person rather than a heartless villian. To me he's someone who only wants to be leader because he thinks thats the only way to feel adequate. When I was younger, I never thought his pain was funny. For how bad a person he might be, seeing him be both manipulated and physically/verbally abused made me empathize with why he feels the need to defend himself. Starscream is constantly in a survival state because of his previous loss and current abuse. And even in his quest to stay alive, he is beat by Megatron for not fullfiling all his duties. Abuse is no joke and I feel that starscream could be a perfect way to discuss it.
I absolutely love earthspark, it's one of my favorite transformers shows. It's so powerful to me that they've taken the step of exploring the more emotional side of the decepticons instead of writing them off as heartless villains. Even with characters like Soundwave and Shockwave that are usually portrayed as cold and calculated, they've started exploring the real effects of the war and Megatron's actions on them. I think earthspark gets a lot of unnecessary hate, personally I can't wait to see what happens next.
Honestly seeing how most of the Decepticons in this series are being portrayed in a more sympathetic light (especially in this 3rd batch of episodes), kinda makes me personally hope that Season 2 could introduce a few Autobots who are still bitter & resentful towards the Cons & refuse to believe that the war is over until all Decepticons are no more (similar to Shockwave’s initial appearance). Wherever it’s traumatised Autobots similar to IDW Prowl or hardened versions of the Wreckers who can’t believe that the war’s over.
I was hoping starscream would get more than a line or two and an occasional appearance as he is one of my favourite decepticons and thank you earthspark. I think to show him changing would be to have his eyes be red in the opening section and then when he speaks with hashtag his eyes gradually switch from red to blue further conferming his change
I fucking love Earthspark for how they are handling this and everything in general. As someone who has it I find their portrayals of PTSD really well done. For having to filter things through for a kids show, they are absolutely nailing it. So much subtext and I’m eating it up. Thank you for making a video on this.
I mean Optimus wanted to let him go but Megs didn’t and it’s not like he’s gonna get into a fight with him over it or is gonna try to restrain him because they are trying to trust each other more, remember they’re on the same side but it’s not like he can actually control Megs, so I think it’s a little unfair to blame OP for this, he was on a pretty tight leash with Ghost already
More likely OP is choosing his battles, knowing that Megatron is more "loosely allied, convinced by ideology" than truly accepting of a subordinate position, and has plenty of reasons to deserve first crack at offlining the backstabbing cog-weasel.
Like you forget Optimus has no reason to trust or even care for Starscream. Starscream has probably hurt Optimus and his close friend. starscream is still a villain in Optimus's eyes
Oaky, it seems finally somebody in Hasbro dared to write WHAT it has been obvious for 40 years now! (I mean, putting aside whatever happens in Season-2 of EarthSpark). The fact is every single incarnation of Starscream, he suffers a heavy abuse by Megatron's hands, no matter the contest or anything deserved or not. Even as a child, as I watched G-1, I got uneasy and scared by the heavy bashing he suffered in Megatron's hands. As you pointed, it could be written with comedic purpuses (splastic comedy, shorta), but I found it was unnecesary and cruel mostly times. Yeah, sure, D-Cons were horrible people in that series, but ol' Meggs never was that cruel with any other of his subordinates. Actually I wasn't the only one who realized about this. Over the time, I've met many (female) TFfans who think the same. And you know what? Many of the suffered Domestic Abuse in some part of their lives. I could met how many of them just stopped to see the series because of this; basically the portraying of this abuse like some short of comedy, made them sick and awakened horrible memories about their experiences. AS a result, some years ago, certain significative amount of these fans wrote an offical card to Hasbro, telling the writters about this particular issue. And now, we see the results. Perhaps that's not fully what we fans have claimed as obvious, but it's a remarkable change. Not only in EarthSpark, but also in IDW comics where Starscream also faces the result of this abusive relationship, and how he starts to grow up over it once the war is finished. Also, in War for Cybertron Triology, where he speaks openly about it to Terrorsaur and BlackAraccnia (althouht it isn't took seriusly here). Anyway, it's a very complex issue and it cannot be solved in just one episodie where he just meets somebody who actually doesn't juzgue him and believes in him. On the other hand, you could argue he still being a mean person. Sure, Armada is more like a lost child under a rudless ruler in a war he's involved with. But any other incarnation, he belongs to the EvilGuys, he's treacherous, etc, etc... Of course, fans who're aware about his PTSD (non post-traumatic, actually) don't forget this. The fact is both things are tied up together. Unfortunately, none series give a full B/G about how Screamer got into the war and this situation, so we don't know if it was his decission, or he was pressed to take this path, etc... But the fact is Abusive Relationships involved Co-Dependant relationships. This means, in a level, Megatron needs Starscream to break him for certain reason... and SS needs Meggs to get broken with him. That's why he's always being treacherious. He seeks for this destructive attention. And also, his survival instints drive him into a treacherous path in order to survive. And this also explains why he's egoistical. It's kind of amusing, though, he dares to change this when a (female) character has certain influence in him. This happened in Armada with Alexis, even if she was just a pre-teen. Also, in IDW comics with WindBlade, who he learns to care about and has in hight value. Or BA in WFC, who sides with him and dares to speak his fear towards Unicron. It would be pleasing to see him under this kind of hope.
I suffer from PTSD after my experiences in Iraq, I noticed real quick the symptoms Starscream portrayed. It was kind of hard for me to watch at times. It does make me wonder how delicate Cybertronian psychology is. Is it similar to humans? The Autobots and Decepticons were at war for MILLIONS of years, (although the G1 timeline can be attributed to the bots being incapacitated in Mt. St. Helens for 4 million years). How does the trauma of seeing friends, civilians or even enemy combatants die in many times brutal ways? I know living post-war is difficult, and sometimes I feel like I was better off living my rest of my life in a state of warfare, until I'm eventually killed. As weird as it may seem, things start to make sense on the battlefield and you morbidly miss it. I see alot of this in many iterations of Transformers.
I am happy to hear about this. Starscream may not be my favourite Con, but I always believed his character deserved better. I didn’t understand why they go through the same cycle of treachery and abuse. It never felt like they were moving the character any where. Especially in Prime. My favourite Starscream is Armada Starscream. It was the first time I was ever invested in his character. Armada may have had its problems, but it gave me my favourite Starscream that I found by mistake. This was post Prime ending. I love Prime, it is the first time I fell into Transformers deeply even if it’s flawed in certain areas. But Prime Starscream ticked me off. It felt like the writers just liked torturing him for no reason. Sure he’s schemer, but it wore off on me with how often they cycle through the abuse. What makes Steve voicing Starscream again fascinating to me is how his voice clearly conveys the character’s trauma. In Prime he conveyed his fear well when around Megatron, but now with his second time with character and actually giving him even more material-I hated how they dropped Starscream’s redemption arc in Prime because it was clearly going in that direction in season one after what happened in Rock Bottom, but the writers really liked torturing him, which I can understand the scene in Partners with Arcee, but it was annoying afterwards. Now that Steve can be given the chance to explore how that trauma effected Starscream is very poetic and justifying. Prime may be my favourite Transformers, but I am enjoying with what I am hearing about Earthspark. I agree with others in that there should be more slice of life episodes exploring the Decepticons, and the show gives a lot of lore with how the Cons felt under Megatron’s leadership. Ranging from fear to disappointment to betrayal. This show keeps reestablishing the need to explore the Cons than most series have done ever. I believe Cyberverse was the first to ask the question of what it means to exist on Post War Cybertron on screen, but Earthspark is the first I feel like could explore both the Con ideology, how it changed and the interpersonal dynamics. I hope they do that in season two. I want to like Mandroid…but he feels like discount Silas from Prime. Or just probably improved I guess. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I felt when I saw him.
In this universe it shows the decepticons as freedom fighters that went too far trying to fight the autobots becoming the bad guys. Optimus and most Autobots thought they were the good guys so they were willing to fight the decepticons instead of listening to them about the abuse from the Autobot council. Basically it's class warfare like in Russia in the early 1900s.
Actually you know, you're right. Megatron and the decepticons are the communists who swore to change a corrupt, outdated, opressive system. But just like th real world Communists, Megatron and his crew went too far, and ultimately became even worse than the old regime they sworn to burn down. The difference is (in the real world) that we didn't have a figue like Optimus who had enough charisma to rally people against the old revolutionists turned opressors. I wish people like Optimus actually existed. T_T
Honestly this was one of the few versions of starscream I actually like. It covers his abusive relationship with megatron and him and hashtag get pretty close enough for him to actually care about her
Hold up, a Starscream that reminds me of Armada? Finally a Transformers property I might be able to sit through. I am actually kind of hyped about it, even if it's cgi.
Getting hurt by someone you look up to, it's a bad feeling. You start to question who you can trust, you start thinking it was your fault, you can't trust anyone. Everyday you wake up you question, "Why me?", "What did I do?", "Is it my fault". It fucks with your mind. You get angry, and for someone to say "it's not your fault", you do get taken aback. All this time you question if it IS your fault, it's a weird feeling. It's make you feel relieved, but it makes you mad. "You don't know what I've been trough", kinda hits me. Cause I've said multiple times. You get down on yourself, especially during the first few year of being away from it. Any loud noise you hear, you have a sort of flashback. You get anxious, you jump and you get scared. It brings you back to the abuse. The affection. It's weird at first, but after awhile you get used to it. I can get much, much more into this, but, I kinda want to read other people's thoughts.
Prime Starscream had a lot more against him, Megatron had an entire warship and army at his disposal, I don't think Prime Starscream would've been able to have the ability to break away and get some good old character development. Him regressing was probably just the most logical way to survive in his mind.
If I was writing Earth Spark I’d take a leaf out of IDW and bring in Tarn, and the toxicity of being a decepticon. He has a list of cons who betrayed the cause, so why not have him be the bad along with Vos and the others? it would be incredible, and bone chilling. Plus give Megatron a chance to utter one of my favourite lines he says to Ravage. “Decepticon Loyalty, I forgot how toxic it can be”. And to have that unification of who Megatron was, the cybertonian who tore down a corrupt senate, who emancipated thousands and the leader he became. Tarn gives a chance for Megatron to be everything he is, and I think would be a good introspection for Starscream as well. Especially if he ended up fighting alongside Megatron to stop Tarn.
honestly, I've always been a diehard fan of Starscream (ofc not necessarily of his actions! :D) but of the character itself. Before I watched EarthSpark, I talked with a friend about how I felt Starscream was a victim of abuse and many of his actions stem from the abuse he faced (even if that doesn't rectify them, but it does make sense for him) and seeing this now thematised in EarthSpark is amazing. Plus I can't agree more. That's definitely not an animation error with the logo.
Thank you for this episode. It really spoke what I was feeling of this interesting development with the characters. I didn't even notice Megatron's symbol was a different when Starscream looked at him in that one scene, but then reverts back to the GHOST symbol again. Perhaps showing a glimpse of Starscream's mental trauma from all those years. Megatron wants to help Decepticons, yet he locks them up then not visits them again. The first thing he does is beating up Starscream who is with a Terran, unharmed. Megatron really needs to reconcile his relationship with the Decepticons in the future. Through therapy sessions. At least talk and live peacefully with the humans and Terrans. So glad the show didn't go back to the Autobots good vs evil Decepticons. Showing the character development and aftermaths these characters have gone through. Why are they like this.
14:33 In fact, if Starcream was thinking of an attack, he would have held his fist when he lifted null-ray. But he opened his hands and raised his palms forward. It's a clear defense.
This is my favorite starscream and i like how Every Terran has their own kind of like mentor in a way (Minus Bumblebee), Like Twitch and Wheeljack, Jawbreaker with Grimlock, Nightshade and Tarantulas, Thrash and Swindle, And now Hashtag and Starscream.
@@2bdaqueen268 That is true but Swindle is the only Legacy character (Minus Bee, Optimus, Megatron, Elita, Arcee, And wheeljack) that Thrash has Almost bonded with even though it caused some trouble later in that episode.
@@Cinder_the_Art_Gal8144 it’s true but it’s sad since swindle was planning to use Thrash from the start and almost ended up murdering him and his sis and later almost blew up his mom and bro, just pretty unfortunate the only character he had a spotlight episode with ended up being one of the scummier characters while everyone else even if the situation turned sour had a genuine bond or learned something important about themselves with their respective legacy character friend.
I LOVE how we just Cant tell what direction this show is taking, everything is so brand new, like they are not going for Unicron any time soon for example
It's an interesting point you make about Megatron having his Decepticon badge when he's assaulting Starscream. makes you wonder what sort of abuse he put his men through during the war
I liken your words on wanting this Starscream to stay descent akin to Armada to Energon. I adored the character work Armada did to Starscream. It really made me watch the series. Then Energon came by and-- chucked all that characterization out the window. I so noped out of the series when that occurred.
I want season 2 to come out already 😢. I only found out about this series last week and I binged all the episodes in 3 days and i love this series so much! As a Starscream fan (he is my fav transformer of all time) this new take on Starscream is so refreshing and genuine. It has so much potential and I hope he gets more character growth :)
I think Season 2 might involve the Cybertron Decepticons finally coming back to Earth, and it's going to be what the Earth based Decepticons will choose, Earth or Cybertron.
Thinking about a next season (and yes, I am craving for more background behind how Megatron was, and seeing more of the 'cons), I guess a faction they could bring as factions could be... the DJD. They are the guys who aren't gonna to stop believing in the cause and could seek the others peaceful decepticons who "ran out" the war
it'd be great for this show to finally animate something along the lines of the Necroworld moment. A statue of Megatron in the middle of a field of flowers as far as the eye can see with every one representing a spark ended by his hand, sure he may be a good guy now but that doesn't change the fate of the millions/billions he's already killed and he's the one deciding that Starscream doesn't have the capacity to change. I love what they've done with him in Earthspark so far, now they just need to truly drive the point home.
I love post war Transformers stories, and now that we have the Terrans origins over with and some character development done and out of the way, we can get along with a Post war, post Ghost Arc. I'd like to see what lead up to Megatron switching sides, and the three factions coming together. Makes me wonder who the big bad will be in season 2...I feel like we will see the Quintessons show up. Mandroid got the Sharkticons from somewhere afterall...I'm assuming he would have gotten the attention of the Quintessons. They might have even been the "Force" he freed them from, that he refers to.
I feel like Tarn and his goon squad would be another good option for main villains in S2. They'll need to be toned down to some extent ofc, but if Cyberverse can make it work, ES might have a chance.
It really sucks that season 2 ended up being such a disappointment, and washed away so much of the development the decepticons got. I LOVE that this series finally addresses Starscream's abuse and lets him seem to genuinely _change_ , or at least open up to other people in a friendly way. Then season 2 instantly debunked him into a completely twisted villain with 0 good intentions.
@@cybercase_7807They made Starscream and the other Decepticons the new “big bads.” I’m pretty sure it’s because the writers for season 1 got replaced, don’t take my word on it tho. Hope that helps ^^
Honestly, Season 2 would be great if the Autobot/Decepticon sides kinda fell off and they focused on other things in the TF series that can be antagonists. The sharkticons were great and could be expanded upon, as could the fact that Mandroid had a throwaway line about the Quintessons. There's also the always popular Unicron, which seeing how this series handles it's villains, could take a different twist on his relationship with Primus to give a more nuanced approach to both. They could also invent a new villain or take a lesser known transformer and bring them to the forefront. Honestly, there's a lot of openings rather then the often repeated "Autobots vs Decepticons" storylines.
Pardon my phrasing I meant season finale* I discuss season 2 in this video so we will be getting another season. - What I love most about EarthSpark is that the Autobots aren’t “pure good” and the Decepticons aren’t “pure evil” they both have different ideologies/ beliefs. They are much more human-like, with a variety of emotions. They all have their unique flaws. We see different perspectives on the war of the Autobots and Decepticons. I love it! - Share your thoughts below!
I like the fact at tfp starscreams voice actor does this starscream
While I love earthspark for it's characterizations and almost everything about it, I feel like some of them are underused like Tarantulas wasnt even in the final battle of season 1, I would've loved it if Nightshade and Tarantulas had a reunion Heck. I would've loved it if we got an interaction with Tarantulas and Shockwave, and maybe some more beast wars characters like Dinobot so we can have some interactions of him with both Grimlock and Jawbreaker. But minus all of that, I still enjoy the show one of my favorites right under transformers Animated and Beast wars
"More human" down to the faces being like, HOT even.. Is this the Tumbler effect?
Earthspark is amazing!
this show I can say is on par with TFP, It's just that good. And finally they listened to the audience and had the children a little more relevant to the story this season. Too bad the last ep was soooo rushed.
Something that I noticed when watching the show was when Starscream tells Megatron "nowhere is safe if it's with you" Megatron has this look of realization on his face, it's as if that was the first time he realized how much he hurt Scarscream. That face of "Holy shit, I was a horrible person."
Also megatron’s look of disbelief when starscream risks his life to save hashtag is great too
@@thatghostyboi9801I know right
It's SUCH a good moment. And it seems to imply that the main reason he did it was the same reason he waged war to start with; Megatron is BAD at understanding the motivations of others and how he himself impresses upon people.
He likely made the same assumptions as us; that whenever Starscream was being defiant, it was always inherently an attempt at playing for leadership, when the reality was more likely that Starscream just wanted the same things as everyone else; the respect of a man he clearly had some idolization of at one point, and an end to a bloody conflict that could render them extinct if allowed to continue. In the end, however, his attempts at proactiveness were read consistently as betrayal, and he was treated as such, to his increasing horror until he just couldn't stand it anymore and was driven into a desperate frenzy to avoid any and every return to that form of powerlessness.
He had branded Starscream a selfish coward in his brain because of actions he personally felt insulted by without actually listening to or looking at WHY he took those actions, and in the end that treatment may have MOLDED Starscream into it because, well, if you're always assumed to be guilty with no trial, living up to that reputation can INCREASE your likelihood of survival.
In that moment, Megatron is probably realizing not just how horrible he was to Starscream in particular, but realizing "Who else was I passing judgement on that harshly? Who am I doing that with RIGHT NOW and just hadn't thought about it?"
@@galaxycameratain IDW starscream did respect Megatron but lost his respect for him because he thought he was going insane
It is always funny to me that Starscream always gets flack for being a backstabbing traitor, when it’s likely Megatron’s fault to begin with. The abuse didn’t start after Starscream became treacherous, Starscream likely became treacherous because he was abused.
Think about it this way: most incarnations of Starscream command an armada of seekers and show strong leadership capabilities. Megatron needs strong commanders, but he also needs to make sure no one contests his position. He rules with fear and domination. He punishes failure severely, no matter how trivial. He was probably making a statement out of Starscream ever since he brought his seekers into the Decepticon ranks. That type of humiliation, demoralization, and just straight up abuse would make anyone insecure, anxious, and cowardly. Insecure because you have had your confidence stripped away. Anxious because you do not know what will set Megatron off next or if he will decide to kill you this time. Cowardly because you are always walking on glass and see Megatron as larger than life.
Anyone in that position would be too afraid to take on Megatron head-on, but they would still want a way out of their situation, and may even have an obsession with doing a better job in the leadership position compared to their abuser.
Honestly, the fact that they actually made a sympathetic starscream again so long after armada made me so incredibly happy
It's upposed to be G1 Starscream, though, perhaps the least sympathetic character in all of fiction. Incompetent, boastful, cowardly, disloyal, self-serving, arrogant, greedy and above all ruled by a blind ambition to take power by any moeans possible... he's the bad example that taught me why treachery and dishonest dealing were intolerable as a child. If Megatron was the merciless tyrant he's sold as, he'd have offlined the cog-weasel a dozen times over before they ever arrived on Earth.
@@dialNforNinja I get that, but in this show specifically he's not like that
@@jimmyjeff1777 Clearly not, I'm just saying by what they put on screen as the backlstory he's SUPPOSED TO be, and with the character's history it's a change that can never be more than a plot hole to me.
@@dialNforNinja well that's fair, we've got our own opinions, nothing wrong with that, in fact thanks for sharing
@@dialNforNinja I'm going to point something out- the backstory we "know" for earthspark is mostly told through comicbooks! Comicbooks that paint decepticons into an even harsher light, and autobots into an even more friendly one. So whilst yes, Earthspark starscream may be supposed to be based off G1- it's like G1 was the "exaggerated" telling of the story for earthspark.
Not to mention, PTSD can cause some serious personality shifts as pointed out in the video- most of which are in no way 'good'. I personally have suffered, and Starscream has ALWAYS been one of my favorite character because I, in some way, can connect to him. I'm hoping they expand more in this series.
Bumblebee: "How long are you going to cling to this worn-out, narcissistic mask? Starscream the ruthless. The grand schemer. You haven't been that-just that-for a long time now. People expect things of you because they believe in you. And that should be something you're proud of. Not something you're determined to destroy. Why is it so important for you to be alone?"
Starscream: "Because I am alone! Because the nanosecond I forgot that, life-most often in the shape of Megatron-beat the truth back into me. Literally!"
-Transformers Til all are One #11
In this scene... I wanted to hug Starscream.
Finally a show with balls to depict Starscream as a likeable victim of abuse, just like in Armada. Double balls for depicting both him and Megatron as likeable character while both being abuser and a victim of abuse.
There's a reason why his slow, steady, but unflappable redemption arc in IDW is so revered and beloved, enough that it's impacted subsequent works
Especially when you consider how monstrous IDW Megatron was throughout Phase 1, The fact that this iconic main villain who, almost no matter the incarnation or reinvention, is defined by his cruel vicious megalomania and hatred of organic life and those he believes weak and is willing to do anything and everything he deems necessary to obtain power and achieve "peace through tyranny", and the vast list of his atrocities that devasted other planets, Cybertron and Earth most tantamount of all, the fact that he was ALSO one of the most sympathetic depictions and that, having been put through the right circumstances and conga line, and actually being shown kindness by Bumblebee and other Autobots, his sworn enemies, that even he was able to realize where he went wrong and change for the better, That takes a specific type of talent and understanding of your audience, cuz we like to see that kind of stuff
@@TMF979Resurge agreed with starscream hard disagree with Megatron. That fragger in IDW did NOT deserve any redemption arc.
@@berilsevvalbekret772 Well I mean, he did pay for it with his life finally and accepted that by the end
Alot of starscreams have been sympathetic lately
I really enjoy them but I wanna see more like skybound being ruthless
Starscream is always likeable if ur not a coward
I love how they actually addressed the abuse Starscream endured at the hands of Megaton.
Just because Megaton turned over a new leaf isn’t going to wash away all the Ill deeds he committed prior.
I believe IDW shows that perfectly well in their comics
@@kimhungnguyen8001ehhh kindaaa?? i feel like they could've done it better but it's okay imo
Y E A H cuz even if you change there will always be consequences for your actions!
@@kimhungnguyen8001 imagine if they made autobot megatron interact with starcscream, oh the pain and the angst.
I relate to what comodin cam said. I want these two to see a therapist, hear both sides of the story considering both of them know and yet at the same, kinda not really know each other (Megatron being surprised that Starscream would actually place someone's well being over his own for example), and even when Starscream won't forgive Megatron (because he has every right NOT to), then at the very least, he gets to be something more than the typical starscream persona in most tf media, sorta like his armada incarnation and hopefully unlike said incarnation, doesn't die and actually gets to have a shot at a less crueler life.
@@kimhungnguyen8001 I've said it once and I'll say it again, IDW took the biggest risk of making Megatron an autobot, probably one of the biggest risks anyone's ever took when it comes to comic storylines in comic history, and imo got the biggest reward. Even when they explored his past further in the comics, not once did they ever use it to defend or justify his actions. If anything, mtme/lost light has been one of the "strictest" redemption arcs I've ever read or seen on media with how they remind the audience again and again of the weight of Megatron's actions. It's not like most redemption arcs nowadays where they kinda get brushed aside(?) and say "forgiveness is the best revenge" and whatever because no, it aint.
Yes, IDW Megatron's abandoned his evil ways. Yes, he executed the DJD himself. Yes, he now teaches "Peace through empathy" rather than "Peace through tyranny". Yes, he lead the cybertronians of the functionist universe to freedom and saved billions of lives, both organic and mechanical, but none of them will ever erase the billions of others that he's taken (103 billion point something if i remember correctly). He still resumes trial and faces punishment, and whether he'll receive eternal solitary confinement or death, knows and even says it to Rodimus that whatever punishment he gets, he deserves far, far wrose.
"You can save a hundred worlds and none of them will make a jot of difference."
All things considered, hearing Steve Blum voicing Starscream again is just music to my ears.
As somone used to tf.Prime Starscream having that voice, I personally think it doesn't fitt this design but it's still better than that annoying, baby, whiny voice he usualy has.
@@EvaEstera You kinda wrong, dude. 😑
YEEES this is EXACTLY how I feel.
Steve Blum is my favorite voice for Starscream, I am biased-
And I love it 🫶🫶💞✨
The face Megatron makes after starscream says "no where is safe with you" speaks volumes as Megatron almost has a look of realization, showing Megatron's growth from the decepticon leader he once was but also starscream's growth as he leaves without hearing anymore of Megatron's words, like a abuse victim finally leaving the abuser
To me it reminds me like a kid and parent leaving in an unforgiving note. I've seen it before
We don't know who started this abuse.
11:08 Anyone else love the look of genuine shock and surprise on Megatron’s face after witnessing Starscraem actually care for and try to save hashtag from the dweller, or is it just me?
Yeah he probably thought he was going to chicken out
I noticed that while watching the episode, and honestly thought it was both hilarious as well as interesting. I haven't finished season one but I feel like Megatron and Starscream's relationship may change a bit for the better. There will always be that tension due to the past of course, but they may atleast be able to end up feeling more comfortable around eachother, to a degree.
I shared it - iut's so massively out of character for Screamer to care about anyone but himself it would have broken SOD if Megs just accepted it.
I have the more optimistic thought that it was both disbelief but subtle elation that Starscream, like himself, is starting to change for the better as well
Yep, so satusfying.
I love how Starscream turns nice every time when woman appears in his life: Alexis, Windblade, Hashtag...
They really could fix him
I can fix him! 🥺🥺🥺🥲
it's the mom issues in him lol
@@zmbi.orionpedia Seeing how 2019 Starscream was with Cryak, yeah, it's 100% mummy issues
@@zmbi.orionpedia SO TRUEEEEEE
The "nowhere is safe if it's with you" caught me, because for a second i forgot it was transformers, this line sounded so "human", I always keeped in mind how he was abused by Megatron, but hearing this, hearing something I said multiple times and see this type of thing be represented made me love even more this character, I could relate to him, I can understand his feelings, I can feel what he's feeling, I know how he felt, and the fact that is a character I like since I was a children is heartwarming for me.
I don't care if it's just a transformers show for kids, for me this is art and I'm always here for every depiction of starscream, he's funny and he's tragic
Honestly, the pure fact that Hashtag believes Starscream and validated his trauma from serving Megatron is a great lesson for kids to learn about how to reach out to someone who was or is in an abusive situation. This could even teach some kids to recognize their own trauma in similar environments and seek help from people who are caring and supportive.
Earthspark just keeps winning. ✨
Earthspark is honestly underrated because it isn't afraid to get serious or dark. Every time Mandroid is on screen is almost pure nightmare fuel.
And then there's the way it treats trauma and the fact that even if the war is over, the fallout is still there.
It is a really genuine show and I'm hoping it shows a new generation of transformers fans how these characters can be used to tell interesting and powerful stories.
W show. up thete will the likes of TFP amd cyberverse
Its not the best transformers show but it has realistic problems and good character development
Is there really a character named Hashtag? 🤦♂️
@@cahe6161 yes
ES Starscream is actually quite unique, sure we had the Armada take but this one felt just as interesting. I do like how he still had the usual qualities that a Starscream has with still making him relatable, his relationship with Megatron and his interactions with him were the best moments and really showed a new perspective from his side of things. I really wish to see more of him in season 2.
I see we’re your going he had a similar but different arc to armada
Prime starscream was pretty unique too.
He had the elegance of armada star and the diviousness/cowardess of g1 star
@@ryanhernandez5632 true true
@@ryanhernandez5632he mostly just wanted leader ship😊
If you find Starscream's backstabbing and cowardice relatable, I'm not sure I want to hear any more... and it's not like he has any other character traits, aside from enough technical skill to build the occasional mad science McGuffin of the week.
You can tell Starscream is depressed and has PTSD, which is sad. I can only imagine what Megatron did to Starscream to make him this way.
Poor Starscream, he needs a hug. ❤
"You believe me?"
Shattered my heart.
Thats a really sentence i have heard from friends that have been hurt and confided in me.
A lot of people chose not to believe victims of abuse or make excuses as to why they deserve it. amongst friends and families that a very real anxiety. Or are convinced into silence or are told they are being over dramatic. We have a habit gaslight abuse victims into silence just for the sake of comfort. "Don't rock the boat"
Even worse if your not a perfect person like starscream who id image is a very easy person to write off his abuse and not take it serious.
I love seeing the cartoons take so much inspiration from the idw comics.
That's HAS happened to me too, I know how that feels... middle school is the worst
Too many fake cases to just brush off any accusation as "truth".
I feel like TFP starscream would have reacted similarly if someone had treated him like Hashtag did, if not at least be the first time anyone's tried to listen to his side of the story and start him on the path of believing that maybe he can trust some people
Si si I agreed
this
I feel like the only Starscream that could never be redeemed was Animated, so this is just so good to see after all these years.
@nocturnalcove9736 same also cyberverse for me
Definitely love how the Decepticons are given more layers to their character. Though, if they do bring back some more sinister and evil characters, I can see Earthspark bringing in the likes of Overlord.
After all, he was pretty much an absolute monster in the IDW comics, and he had a massive axe to grind with Megatron, more so than most legacy Decepticons like Starscream.
Would be interesting but I think Overlord would be TOO dark for ES xD
@@fayeprime9631 So true on that, haha. Though, it makes me wonder if we'll see a few more Autobots and Decepticons ES hasn't shown yet, like Swindle's fellow Combaticons or the rest of the Stunticons like Motormaster.
I am absolutely NOT opposed to Overlord coming in as the big bad of the series and being the most *IRREDEEMABLE MONSTER* given metal.
Still waiting for overkill’s return
I haven't been watching Earthspark (curse you streaming service exclusives) but I hope that the most competent Decepticon (AKA mah boi) Soundwave is in charge of the Decepticons.
As someone who's read the entire run of IDW's TF comics, EarthSpark Starscream feels the most like IDW Starscream; both have a very intense relationship with Megatron because of the past abuse they've suffered from him, and to see ES Starscream find Hashtag as a sort of daughter-like figure is such a unique and fun take on the character!
I also hope like you that we don't see Starscream revert back to just being "evil" in Season 2; if anything, maybe an episode can be devoted to exploring Starscream's history with Megatron, maybe Hashtag even tries to have the two of them talk out their feelings and finally put their hatred and prejudices towards each other to rest. There's plenty that can be done with Starscream without making him revert back to the traitorous second in command of the Decepticons!
IDW Starscream FTW.
Which? Shattered glass?
_"How long are you going to cling to this worn-out, narcissistic mask? Starscream the ruthless. The grand schemer. You haven't been that-just that-for a long time now. People expect things of you because they believe in you. And that should be something you're proud of. Not something you're determined to destroy. Why is it so important for you to be alone?"_
_"Because I am alone! Because the nanosecond I forgot that, life-most often in the shape of Megatron-beat the truth back into me. Literally!"_
-Bumblebee and Starscream
@@superthorc6894 LOVE that quote so much!
They did Starscream a really good job.
Almost everyone has PTSD in this show. I think it's really handled well though
Megs was the first I seem to recall
But being how some kids are raised vets aren't the only ones...
Because everyone who fought in the war prior to the series had lost people on their side, plus it looked quite brutal anyway.
Yes that's how centuries of war works lol
@@Wayte13
Centuries?! More like eons to be exact!
Armada Starscream did say in the episode titled Rebellion that the war between Autobots and Decepticons is over 10 million years old, at least in that continuity.
I just wish they included Thundercracker. You can’t have two out of three seekers. I also wish they included Ionstorm and Acidstorm. It’s once again 1/3 components of a great team.
Not just them.
Thrust
Dirge
Ramjet
Nacelle
Bitstream
Hotlink
I feel Nova Storm briefly wanting to be a Autobot and her having Sonic Booms like Thundercracker and being the third seeker suggests that she was going to be Thundercracker at one point, but, Thundercracker got a G1 cameo in the G1 flashback. It would be amazing to see a IDW like Thundercracker in Season 2, going with the " Not all Decepticons are bad" theme.
ngl, i kinda imagine Thundercracker already being on earth but he's just chilling somewhere with Buster and writing up stories like the precious goofball that he is
Thundercracker would be chill af
@@bored_potato Imagine if there one day is an EarthSpark episode about Thundercracker, but he's working under a pseudonym to pitch his stories to publishers and screenwriters.
THE FRIENDSHIP HE HAD WITH HASHTAG WAS SO WHOLESOME
_LOVE IT!_
It's interestiong, but so wildly out of character I boggled as hard as Megatron when it happened
@@dialNforNinjawhy do you think that
@@archalys0 Earthspark is supposed to follow on from a mildly-AU G1 where they never got off Earth again. G1 Styarscream is every negative character trait of cartooonish stupid evil shoveled into a pile.
My biggest hope for season 2 is that they follow up on the plot thread of Soundwave’s mission of vengeance against Megatron, maybe have him team up with Shockwave. Heck, maybe they could rope in Starscream, give him a bit of a crisis of conscience. Maybe he thinks the best way to protect Hashtag and the Terrans is to destroy Megatron.
Wouldn't be hard to convince me if i were in Starscream's shoes. Clearly Megatron still has that wrathful streak... Who's to say he wont fully return to the tyrant he was at any moment? Best to bump him off before we get there.
Even if Megatron having the decepticon logo was an animation mistake, I think it added to the scenes where it happened
Yea it's poetic
I think a really good way to handle Starscream in the future it's the keep Starscream as a recurring antagonistic Ally or friendly rival to the main characters as a sort of a wildcard. They could keep him in character by having him look out exclusively for himself and now his own group occasionally stealing the glory or interfering with the heroes but also occasionally helping them as he no longer has any ill-will towards them. Seeing as he's faced his abuser and faced his past behavior of abuse thanks to Megatron he still only cares about himself and his own people but is no longer the cruel schemer he once was. That way he keeps to being his antagonistic self without being evil or cruel. He can make a great anti-hero and/or anti-villain.
It basically let's us have the old Starscream but not get rid of all the new layers he's recently acquired.
I like the idea of a Shadow the Hedgehog-like take on Starscream! I'm sold!
There are enough villains that Starscream as the Venom/Shadow/Vegeta that shows up for the big moments works...
this is definitely one of my favourite Earthspark episodes, they could've easily made a bait-and-switch of Starscream not helping Terrans in the end but no they actually did in a way that works and i'm glad it did.
Basically how the scene went down
Optimus: I know you always beat Starscream to the point where he was on the verge of death, so bring him back in good condition.
Megatron: ok….I’ll only shoot him three times and beat him four.
Optimus: Good… wait what!?
Starscream had one too many moments of bad comedy
I now need to hear bad comedy get mentioned around starscream in this show now
@@TheFallen-ff4xn we need that
He definitely had to much of bad comity
Bro wasn't lying. He really was stupid.
Coronation starscream this is bad comedy
I feel like this also is a good representation of how even if an abusive person changes and becomes better, there will always be those who remember who they used to be. That, no matter how much you change, your past will always follow you. Personally, seeing this made me think of my grandpa on my dad's side. I only knew him as the old man who sat in a chair and was quite, but in the past, he was an abusive man who hurt my dad in many ways. My dad still cared about his dad, but he never forgot or forgave his dad for what he did. Even after grandpa had changed, the past will always haunt those who had to experience his abuse.
I was waiting for Starscream from the start wanting to see how they handled him. I’m a huge Starscream fan and pretty critical of how he’s handled (Bayverse). But they went above and beyond for my expectations. I could not describe my joy when they took Starscream’s abuse and how he’s a VICTIM, and isn’t some joke. Also him showing up in the end and him getting flustered over affection and being thanked is just- he’s 10/10. He might be my favorite version of Starscream.
Edit: Season 2 ruined him for me. I just hate how they went “actually he’s always been evil”, when no he’s a victim. I wouldn’t have minded them have him be held accountable for his actions, and would have actually loved it, showing the healing process. But they went the “abused becomes abuser “ route with him, which sucks. Not only was that the opposite of season 1 him, but it also could negatively impact kids watching and make them think everything is black and white. I hate him so much now. I’m not sure if I hate him more or less than Bayverse because as much as I hate him, at least they tried something with him and stuck to it rather than doing a 180. It genuinely hurt because the one time Starscream was taken seriously, the only thing I’ve ever wanted, it was torn away and set on fire.
There is exactly one great moment from starscream in the movies. In Revenge of the Fallen, when Prime is murdering the Fallen and Megatron is injured, Starscream saves him and tells him, "Sometimes, it's the cowards who survive." He's comforting his master. And I'm mad that the movies never gave a damn about Starscream beyond that.
Starscream is a survivor and I can relate to his treacherous ways to survive. I can connect to that. Of all the transformers he is the one that shows more generic human attributes. The one that will do everything to survive every circumstances even if you fail to notice that your calculation of everything is wrong.
Starscream having PTSD makes complete sense. Steve blums delivering of the tyrant line was so, human feeling.
Blum you mean
@@blueraccoon1088 yeah, thanks. :)
Blum is AMAZING at what he does
Considering how Season 2 has panned out, hearing the last few minutes "It'd be hard for Starscream to go back to being evil. It doesn't fit with his character" is painful. I felt so betrayed when I heard of what they did with him there
I honestly loved Earthsparks story and designs. AND THE ANIMATION IS SO GOOD
same! This Show has my heart
Well, that's putting it a little strongly... I mean, there's no question that the render quality and level of detail is better, but if you look at the actual animation, as in how characters move, original Beast Wars still has it over TFES, and any of the intervening 3D rendered shows as well. Mainframe Ent. had their issues, but were true masters in that respect. TFES is easily as good as any other recent 3D show, I'll grant, and lightyears better than the Machinima or Netflix TF series.
@@dialNforNinja For the most part that's true for a lot of the moment to moment animation for ES, but it really did shine in a good deal of the action sequences. Megs and OP vs. the seekers on the base was some slick animations sequences
Smooth
Nah the animation is ass but i like the rest
I wonder if Starscream's reputation for treachery is because of Megatron slandering him. A lot of abusers slander their victims so they have no where to go.
Doubt it, we’ve seen Starscream be a terrible person toward other bots and humans. Megaton was evil, but so was he as the second in command
Their right you know
It could be that Starscream, to an extent, internalized what others said about him, so he doubled-down on his treachery since that’s all people are willing to see in him, until he met Hashtag.
@@dubledolix0956 In the IDW comics Starscream idolized Megatron an cried the first time they met, because he was such a huge fan. He later turned against Megatron because Megtron was abusing Starscream. (if you read Megatron Spotlight fom IDW, you'll realize what I'm talking about)
I am so happy that Steve Blum came back to reprise his role as Starscream!
Transformers writers have always been pussyfooting around the abuse Starscream went trough, in most series, comics.
I really think the writers don't want to make Megatron unsympathetic, and try to portray him as someone of noble character, despite his brutality (esp in TP there are a lots of scenes where this is the case). And he gets new chances again, and again, but Starscream have never gotten the same treatment.
The abuse Starscream went trough, in my opinion was most evident in the IDW series, here we have a whole issue about Megatron tormenting, beating down Starsceream both verbally, and phisically, in front of the other Decepticons, just because he was dissappointed in Starscream. It was also told in that issue, that Starscream used to idolize, look up to Megatron, but started to hate him after years of abuse.
But IDW still treated Starscream's trauma horribly, while his abuser got a therapist and a shipful of people who kind of understand him on various levels and are willing to help him learn how to carry out his goals for life improvement. (T_T)
I don't think we will ever see the story from Starscream's perspective, because the writers are cowards.
I feel that way too honestly. Authors often shy away from trauma, ptsd, mental health issues, and most commonly abuse. Its interesting how people always want to redeem Megatron, you know the big bad evil guy that ruthlessly beats people into the ground, but hardly starscream. A man who lost his friends, tried desperatly to survive the war, and was relentlessly beaten and scolded for making mistakes. Poor guy was abused but people want to focus on megatron, the abuser. Starscream deserves a good redemption arc. At least where he becomes a frenemy towards the autobots instead of a heartless villian. Funny how intentionally heartless characters tend to be treated with more sympathy than genuinely broken characters.
@@TheNameIsFa11 Agree 100%.
I hope the Skybound comics will do something similar with Starscream, since it was shown in the comics that Strascream used to be a scientist who valued life more than anything.
EarthSpark Starscream's character is fantastic, I love that they didn't try to 'fix' his relationship with Megatron and let him set the boundary to not accept Megatron's offer of 'safety'. I cannot wait to see where season 2 takes the characters!
I feel earthspark Starscream is very similar to IDW Starscream. As he was written as an abuse victim and then had a redemption arc. While it’s not the same I get very till all are one vibes from this version of the character.
Starscream should have been an Autobot, he could have even been a Prime! Especially IDW comic Starscream.
New deleted storyboard scene just dropped that explains A LOT about some of the scenes pertaining to Ravage and Starscream; turns out Soundwave and Starscream had a plot for Ravage to grab some device that would allow Starscream to release Shockwave in Warzone.
Really should have kept that in.
Honestly, best Starscream appearance was in the 2000s Transformers Animated, he actually was competent and fought Megatron multiple times.
As a loooong-time Starscream fan, I'm so happy they’re finally exploring this interpretation of him. Don't get me wrong, I love the classic treacherous schemer rendition, but I'm glad they’re mixing it and adding more character to my boy. On top of that, bringing back the childhood classic voice of Steve Blum, I really like this version of Starscream and hope they add more to him in future seasons.
I’d be super down if they have him as a sort of anti-hero throughout the show.
I always looked at Starscream as an abused child, the way Megatron treated him was awful, he never treated any of the other Decepticons like that.
S2 I would love to see a new Human who is a doctor and we see him sit Megatron and Starscream down and ask them each to give their own side of the story.
Armada Astarscream was a great example of this he was abused and he didn't want the Minicons to go through what he did
Honestly Id love to see more characters get a chance to evolve even futher.
One for me is Hotrod, he has been my favorite Autobot since his first debut in G1.
But I would love to see him get the chance to evolve into that Rodimus Prime persona than just being forced into it.
Like Id imagine Hotrod starting as that turbo reving young punk, to transforming into someone worthy of being a prime.
I would absolutely love to see Hotrod again but fear that he'd get shafted out of becoming Rodimus Prime like in Cyberverse
i think it'd be cool for him to already be a "prime" and have his relationship with optimus be kind of like a mentor-mentee thing
also he could be thrash's dad2
I have dealt with PTSD for years And I get why starscream got so connected to hash tag It's hard to find people who understand And also willing To protect you.
I’m glad they actually discussed the abuse of Starscream and I’m glad to see someone actually believe and care about my favorite character Starscream
Ima say this, I wish we got to see more of Starscream’s and hashtag’s relationship. I was honestly sad to see how short it was.
I like how Starscream's PTSD is explored. Hell, it even made me really emotional by the end.
This is so sad reminding yourself that TF:ES had so much potential in season 1 and now season 2 is just lover than mid in comparison :[
This is kind of a sensitive issue, but often times abuse victims are not entirely innocent themselves. It is very possible that when serving Megatron that Starscream was insubordinate, was scheming, and was treacherous and as a result Megatron brutally punished him. PTSD is not black and white and sometimes those suffering from it were not purely moral. Even bad people can feel severe psychological pain and trauma, maybe this show is exploring this complex truth.
All valid points, sounds like something you’d see and hear in a Miyazaki Ghibli movie like Porco Rosso.
That's what I like about this show. The 'good' characters have done questionable things, and the 'bad' characters can be sympathised with.
I hope so.
For every soldier who regrets the things they've done, there's a family mourning.
watching this now it just like "it would be really weird if starscream suddenly did something super evil after how he was written in this series" yea! it was!
I really hope we will get to see more of him during season 2! I really do things get better with the decepticons and the autobots and they can patch things up! I would really like to see Megatron and Starscream have a conversation about everything especially!
Especially a Flashback episode and see what megaton use to be like and everyone else!
Anyone else notice the subtle shift in Megatron's face at 15:20 as he watches Starscream fly off? It almost looks like he's truly beginning to question the truth of their relationship
yes I noticed that it looks like he is questioning his former actions towards Starscream 😢
40 years for starscream is over a billion if you remember how long ago the war was but yes. Starscream has MANY. MANY. MANY years of abuse and for it to finally be addressed makes me happy.
I was so happy watching this video to see a good Starscream story and was really hopeful for the next season. That "nowhere is safe if you're there" line was SO FUCKING GOOD especially in the context of this series. Like, Megatron being with the autobots but we see him beat Starscream down and Starscream doesn't feel safe at all?? He didn't think Hashtag would believe that he was abused?? FUCK. I was do disappointed when I realized they ruined his arc :(
As someone whose read through the entirety of the 2005 IDW comic continuity, Earthspark Starscream reminds me heavily of IDW's Starscream. I adore the way that Earthspark chooses to give more nuance to most of the characters, Megatron in particular, but Starscream especially made me, and the friends I was watching with squeal whenever he was on screen. One of my majour gripes with Transformers Prime was how they handled Megatron's abuse of Starscream and by that I mean they didn't handle it at all. The end of Predacon's Rising where Starscream goes and basically cowers at Megatron's feet and seems really excited to see him made me so upset because Megatron spent the entirety of Prime's runtime abusing not only Starscream, but most of his employees bar Shockwave and Soundwave. To see Megatron state that he now knows true oppression after being possessed for like five hours and then just allowed to go free really rubbed me the wrong way.
Earthspark was by far one of my favourite continuities before the latest batch of episodes dropped but with how they treat Starscream's abuse at the hands of Megatron just makes me love it even more. It's not a perfect show, I can fully admit that, but it's trying and it's showing that it really does care about the Transformers characters as a whole. I adore it when Transformers media actually gives the Decepticons personalities beyond one note character traits. I love IDW's Megatron and Optimus Prime for that reason in particular, but Earthspark definitely takes the cake for how it handles its legacy characters. Skywarp and Nova Storm live in my brain rent free and I want Starscream to go to therapy, god knows he deserves it. I also really hope that they don't turn him into a villain when season 2 comes around. I've seen people complain about the fact that Earthspark is too happy (which it's not, the latest batch of episodes is literally just, seven children get traumatised in increasingly concerning ways) but I really enjoy it when Transformers takes a break from the war storyline from G1 and actually chooses to step outside the bounds of what normally gets told. Again it's why I love More Than Meets The Eye so much, it's a character driven story that focuses less on action and more how war screws up people badly.
I cannot state enough that a Transformers series that has hope in it is such a beautiful take on Transformers as a franchise. It's wonderful to see characters like Starscream finally get their abuse taken seriously, it's wonderful to see Grimlock treated like an actual person than a rage machine capable of only smashing his way out of situations, I love Optimus and Megatron's dynamic and I love every one of the Terrans to pieces.
I freaking love Earthspark and I cannot wait to see where the story goes. Thank you for coming to my long winded, rambling Ted-Talk. I love robots.
Beautiful just beautiful, thank you for giving this Ted talk
Ive always viewed starscream as a broken person rather than a heartless villian. To me he's someone who only wants to be leader because he thinks thats the only way to feel adequate. When I was younger, I never thought his pain was funny. For how bad a person he might be, seeing him be both manipulated and physically/verbally abused made me empathize with why he feels the need to defend himself. Starscream is constantly in a survival state because of his previous loss and current abuse. And even in his quest to stay alive, he is beat by Megatron for not fullfiling all his duties. Abuse is no joke and I feel that starscream could be a perfect way to discuss it.
I absolutely love earthspark, it's one of my favorite transformers shows. It's so powerful to me that they've taken the step of exploring the more emotional side of the decepticons instead of writing them off as heartless villains. Even with characters like Soundwave and Shockwave that are usually portrayed as cold and calculated, they've started exploring the real effects of the war and Megatron's actions on them. I think earthspark gets a lot of unnecessary hate, personally I can't wait to see what happens next.
Honestly seeing how most of the Decepticons in this series are being portrayed in a more sympathetic light (especially in this 3rd batch of episodes), kinda makes me personally hope that Season 2 could introduce a few Autobots who are still bitter & resentful towards the Cons & refuse to believe that the war is over until all Decepticons are no more (similar to Shockwave’s initial appearance).
Wherever it’s traumatised Autobots similar to IDW Prowl or hardened versions of the Wreckers who can’t believe that the war’s over.
I was hoping starscream would get more than a line or two and an occasional appearance as he is one of my favourite decepticons and thank you earthspark. I think to show him changing would be to have his eyes be red in the opening section and then when he speaks with hashtag his eyes gradually switch from red to blue further conferming his change
I fucking love Earthspark for how they are handling this and everything in general. As someone who has it I find their portrayals of PTSD really well done. For having to filter things through for a kids show, they are absolutely nailing it. So much subtext and I’m eating it up. Thank you for making a video on this.
Is this show more for kids or adults?
@@MaxRamos8i would say that it’s fine for kids to watch but it’s something that can also be enjoyed by adults :)
@@MaxRamos8what the person said above is right! tbh the audience could be anyone in my opinion idrk lol
So Optimus sent Megatron after Starscream despite being aware that he's been physically abusive of him in the past huh...what a hero.
I mean Optimus wanted to let him go but Megs didn’t and it’s not like he’s gonna get into a fight with him over it or is gonna try to restrain him because they are trying to trust each other more, remember they’re on the same side but it’s not like he can actually control Megs, so I think it’s a little unfair to blame OP for this, he was on a pretty tight leash with Ghost already
i don't think it's fair to blame op for this. he wanted to let starscream go after all 🫤
Oh what he knows of Starscream, hes incredibly evil and dangerous. Can you blame him?
More likely OP is choosing his battles, knowing that Megatron is more "loosely allied, convinced by ideology" than truly accepting of a subordinate position, and has plenty of reasons to deserve first crack at offlining the backstabbing cog-weasel.
Like you forget Optimus has no reason to trust or even care for Starscream. Starscream has probably hurt Optimus and his close friend. starscream is still a villain in Optimus's eyes
Seeing starscream and megatron’s relationship being explained to me properly like this actually made me cry. I feel for him
Oaky, it seems finally somebody in Hasbro dared to write WHAT it has been obvious for 40 years now!
(I mean, putting aside whatever happens in Season-2 of EarthSpark).
The fact is every single incarnation of Starscream, he suffers a heavy abuse by Megatron's hands, no matter the contest or anything deserved or not. Even as a child, as I watched G-1, I got uneasy and scared by the heavy bashing he suffered in Megatron's hands. As you pointed, it could be written with comedic purpuses (splastic comedy, shorta), but I found it was unnecesary and cruel mostly times. Yeah, sure, D-Cons were horrible people in that series, but ol' Meggs never was that cruel with any other of his subordinates.
Actually I wasn't the only one who realized about this. Over the time, I've met many (female) TFfans who think the same. And you know what? Many of the suffered Domestic Abuse in some part of their lives. I could met how many of them just stopped to see the series because of this; basically the portraying of this abuse like some short of comedy, made them sick and awakened horrible memories about their experiences.
AS a result, some years ago, certain significative amount of these fans wrote an offical card to Hasbro, telling the writters about this particular issue.
And now, we see the results.
Perhaps that's not fully what we fans have claimed as obvious, but it's a remarkable change. Not only in EarthSpark, but also in IDW comics where Starscream also faces the result of this abusive relationship, and how he starts to grow up over it once the war is finished. Also, in War for Cybertron Triology, where he speaks openly about it to Terrorsaur and BlackAraccnia (althouht it isn't took seriusly here). Anyway, it's a very complex issue and it cannot be solved in just one episodie where he just meets somebody who actually doesn't juzgue him and believes in him.
On the other hand, you could argue he still being a mean person. Sure, Armada is more like a lost child under a rudless ruler in a war he's involved with. But any other incarnation, he belongs to the EvilGuys, he's treacherous, etc, etc... Of course, fans who're aware about his PTSD (non post-traumatic, actually) don't forget this. The fact is both things are tied up together. Unfortunately, none series give a full B/G about how Screamer got into the war and this situation, so we don't know if it was his decission, or he was pressed to take this path, etc... But the fact is Abusive Relationships involved Co-Dependant relationships. This means, in a level, Megatron needs Starscream to break him for certain reason... and SS needs Meggs to get broken with him. That's why he's always being treacherious. He seeks for this destructive attention. And also, his survival instints drive him into a treacherous path in order to survive. And this also explains why he's egoistical.
It's kind of amusing, though, he dares to change this when a (female) character has certain influence in him. This happened in Armada with Alexis, even if she was just a pre-teen. Also, in IDW comics with WindBlade, who he learns to care about and has in hight value. Or BA in WFC, who sides with him and dares to speak his fear towards Unicron.
It would be pleasing to see him under this kind of hope.
I suffer from PTSD after my experiences in Iraq, I noticed real quick the symptoms Starscream portrayed. It was kind of hard for me to watch at times. It does make me wonder how delicate Cybertronian psychology is. Is it similar to humans? The Autobots and Decepticons were at war for MILLIONS of years, (although the G1 timeline can be attributed to the bots being incapacitated in Mt. St. Helens for 4 million years). How does the trauma of seeing friends, civilians or even enemy combatants die in many times brutal ways? I know living post-war is difficult, and sometimes I feel like I was better off living my rest of my life in a state of warfare, until I'm eventually killed. As weird as it may seem, things start to make sense on the battlefield and you morbidly miss it. I see alot of this in many iterations of Transformers.
I am happy to hear about this. Starscream may not be my favourite Con, but I always believed his character deserved better. I didn’t understand why they go through the same cycle of treachery and abuse. It never felt like they were moving the character any where. Especially in Prime.
My favourite Starscream is Armada Starscream. It was the first time I was ever invested in his character. Armada may have had its problems, but it gave me my favourite Starscream that I found by mistake. This was post Prime ending.
I love Prime, it is the first time I fell into Transformers deeply even if it’s flawed in certain areas. But Prime Starscream ticked me off. It felt like the writers just liked torturing him for no reason. Sure he’s schemer, but it wore off on me with how often they cycle through the abuse.
What makes Steve voicing Starscream again fascinating to me is how his voice clearly conveys the character’s trauma. In Prime he conveyed his fear well when around Megatron, but now with his second time with character and actually giving him even more material-I hated how they dropped Starscream’s redemption arc in Prime because it was clearly going in that direction in season one after what happened in Rock Bottom, but the writers really liked torturing him, which I can understand the scene in Partners with Arcee, but it was annoying afterwards. Now that Steve can be given the chance to explore how that trauma effected Starscream is very poetic and justifying.
Prime may be my favourite Transformers, but I am enjoying with what I am hearing about Earthspark. I agree with others in that there should be more slice of life episodes exploring the Decepticons, and the show gives a lot of lore with how the Cons felt under Megatron’s leadership. Ranging from fear to disappointment to betrayal. This show keeps reestablishing the need to explore the Cons than most series have done ever. I believe Cyberverse was the first to ask the question of what it means to exist on Post War Cybertron on screen, but Earthspark is the first I feel like could explore both the Con ideology, how it changed and the interpersonal dynamics. I hope they do that in season two.
I want to like Mandroid…but he feels like discount Silas from Prime. Or just probably improved I guess. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s what I felt when I saw him.
Good Analysis
Really hoping Starscream gets some Season 2 spotlight especially when its about his past with Megatron.
In this universe it shows the decepticons as freedom fighters that went too far trying to fight the autobots becoming the bad guys. Optimus and most Autobots thought they were the good guys so they were willing to fight the decepticons instead of listening to them about the abuse from the Autobot council. Basically it's class warfare like in Russia in the early 1900s.
Actually you know, you're right. Megatron and the decepticons are the communists who swore to change a corrupt, outdated, opressive system. But just like th real world Communists, Megatron and his crew went too far, and ultimately became even worse than the old regime they sworn to burn down.
The difference is (in the real world) that we didn't have a figue like Optimus who had enough charisma to rally people against the old revolutionists turned opressors. I wish people like Optimus actually existed. T_T
Coming back to this video after what I've heard about season 2. I'm just gonna choose to live in blissful ignorance
Honestly this was one of the few versions of starscream I actually like. It covers his abusive relationship with megatron and him and hashtag get pretty close enough for him to actually care about her
Hold up, a Starscream that reminds me of Armada? Finally a Transformers property I might be able to sit through. I am actually kind of hyped about it, even if it's cgi.
Isn't Transformers always CGI?
We need a Starscream show with Steve Blum in it, and the show would explore this relationship between SS and Megs
Getting hurt by someone you look up to, it's a bad feeling. You start to question who you can trust, you start thinking it was your fault, you can't trust anyone. Everyday you wake up you question, "Why me?", "What did I do?", "Is it my fault". It fucks with your mind. You get angry, and for someone to say "it's not your fault", you do get taken aback. All this time you question if it IS your fault, it's a weird feeling. It's make you feel relieved, but it makes you mad. "You don't know what I've been trough", kinda hits me. Cause I've said multiple times. You get down on yourself, especially during the first few year of being away from it. Any loud noise you hear, you have a sort of flashback. You get anxious, you jump and you get scared. It brings you back to the abuse. The affection. It's weird at first, but after awhile you get used to it. I can get much, much more into this, but, I kinda want to read other people's thoughts.
Prime Starscream had a lot more against him, Megatron had an entire warship and army at his disposal, I don't think Prime Starscream would've been able to have the ability to break away and get some good old character development. Him regressing was probably just the most logical way to survive in his mind.
If I was writing Earth Spark I’d take a leaf out of IDW and bring in Tarn, and the toxicity of being a decepticon. He has a list of cons who betrayed the cause, so why not have him be the bad along with Vos and the others? it would be incredible, and bone chilling.
Plus give Megatron a chance to utter one of my favourite lines he says to Ravage. “Decepticon Loyalty, I forgot how toxic it can be”. And to have that unification of who Megatron was, the cybertonian who tore down a corrupt senate, who emancipated thousands and the leader he became.
Tarn gives a chance for Megatron to be everything he is, and I think would be a good introspection for Starscream as well. Especially if he ended up fighting alongside Megatron to stop Tarn.
Yeah, & then it was all thrown away in season 2. His bond with Hashtag apparently had meant nothing to him, & he really is just evil I guess...
honestly, I've always been a diehard fan of Starscream (ofc not necessarily of his actions! :D) but of the character itself. Before I watched EarthSpark, I talked with a friend about how I felt Starscream was a victim of abuse and many of his actions stem from the abuse he faced (even if that doesn't rectify them, but it does make sense for him) and seeing this now thematised in EarthSpark is amazing.
Plus I can't agree more. That's definitely not an animation error with the logo.
Starscream has always been my favourite transformer in general, knowing this deeper part of his character makes me like him even more
Thank you for this episode. It really spoke what I was feeling of this interesting development with the characters. I didn't even notice Megatron's symbol was a different when Starscream looked at him in that one scene, but then reverts back to the GHOST symbol again. Perhaps showing a glimpse of Starscream's mental trauma from all those years. Megatron wants to help Decepticons, yet he locks them up then not visits them again. The first thing he does is beating up Starscream who is with a Terran, unharmed.
Megatron really needs to reconcile his relationship with the Decepticons in the future. Through therapy sessions. At least talk and live peacefully with the humans and Terrans.
So glad the show didn't go back to the Autobots good vs evil Decepticons. Showing the character development and aftermaths these characters have gone through. Why are they like this.
14:33 In fact, if Starcream was thinking of an attack, he would have held his fist when he lifted null-ray. But he opened his hands and raised his palms forward. It's a clear defense.
Huh- I didn't notice that
Even a show as lackluster as EarthSpark still writes Starscream well. Kudos.
Also, PRIME STARSCREAM'S VOICE ACTOR IS *BACK*
This is my favorite starscream and i like how Every Terran has their own kind of like mentor in a way (Minus Bumblebee), Like Twitch and Wheeljack, Jawbreaker with Grimlock, Nightshade and Tarantulas, Thrash and Swindle, And now Hashtag and Starscream.
Thrash’s ‘bond’ with swindle didn’t end so well compared to the others though lol
@@2bdaqueen268 That is true but Swindle is the only Legacy character (Minus Bee, Optimus, Megatron, Elita, Arcee, And wheeljack) that Thrash has Almost bonded with even though it caused some trouble later in that episode.
@@Cinder_the_Art_Gal8144 it’s true but it’s sad since swindle was planning to use Thrash from the start and almost ended up murdering him and his sis and later almost blew up his mom and bro, just pretty unfortunate the only character he had a spotlight episode with ended up being one of the scummier characters while everyone else even if the situation turned sour had a genuine bond or learned something important about themselves with their respective legacy character friend.
I LOVE how we just Cant tell what direction this show is taking, everything is so brand new, like they are not going for Unicron any time soon for example
Great episode. Also, loved the callback to S3 of G1's Dweller in the Depths. The Dweller was brutal.
It's an interesting point you make about Megatron having his Decepticon badge when he's assaulting Starscream. makes you wonder what sort of abuse he put his men through during the war
I liken your words on wanting this Starscream to stay descent akin to Armada to Energon. I adored the character work Armada did to Starscream. It really made me watch the series. Then Energon came by and-- chucked all that characterization out the window. I so noped out of the series when that occurred.
I want season 2 to come out already 😢. I only found out about this series last week and I binged all the episodes in 3 days and i love this series so much! As a Starscream fan (he is my fav transformer of all time) this new take on Starscream is so refreshing and genuine. It has so much potential and I hope he gets more character growth :)
Earthspark Starscream is the successor to Armada Starscream if you ask me. Not as good as Armada but still pretty damn good.
Finally someone else noticed the "animation error" too. I was rewatching the episode and noticed it and thought the exact same thing
I think Season 2 might involve the Cybertron Decepticons finally coming back to Earth, and it's going to be what the Earth based Decepticons will choose, Earth or Cybertron.
I hate s2 and s3 for fucking him up so badly, AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PAY TO WATCH IT
Thinking about a next season (and yes, I am craving for more background behind how Megatron was, and seeing more of the 'cons), I guess a faction they could bring as factions could be... the DJD. They are the guys who aren't gonna to stop believing in the cause and could seek the others peaceful decepticons who "ran out" the war
Starscream really has PTSD from TFP
(Edit: I haven't seen earthspark so I am really just guessing)
it'd be great for this show to finally animate something along the lines of the Necroworld moment. A statue of Megatron in the middle of a field of flowers as far as the eye can see with every one representing a spark ended by his hand, sure he may be a good guy now but that doesn't change the fate of the millions/billions he's already killed and he's the one deciding that Starscream doesn't have the capacity to change.
I love what they've done with him in Earthspark so far, now they just need to truly drive the point home.
they had a scenes with the flowers in the space bridge memorial episode.
Optimus - “I know you have a complicated history with Starscream”
Megatron - *“Did you forget about us?”*
I love post war Transformers stories, and now that we have the Terrans origins over with and some character development done and out of the way, we can get along with a Post war, post Ghost Arc. I'd like to see what lead up to Megatron switching sides, and the three factions coming together. Makes me wonder who the big bad will be in season 2...I feel like we will see the Quintessons show up. Mandroid got the Sharkticons from somewhere afterall...I'm assuming he would have gotten the attention of the Quintessons. They might have even been the "Force" he freed them from, that he refers to.
I feel like Tarn and his goon squad would be another good option for main villains in S2. They'll need to be toned down to some extent ofc, but if Cyberverse can make it work, ES might have a chance.
Yup
It really sucks that season 2 ended up being such a disappointment, and washed away so much of the development the decepticons got.
I LOVE that this series finally addresses Starscream's abuse and lets him seem to genuinely _change_ , or at least open up to other people in a friendly way.
Then season 2 instantly debunked him into a completely twisted villain with 0 good intentions.
I told myself that this series was too different but by god this has changed my mind sm, gotta love Star and actual personalitys. ❤
Season 1 did it good... THEN SEASON 2 SCREWED IT UP!
What happened?
@@cybercase_7807They made Starscream and the other Decepticons the new “big bads.” I’m pretty sure it’s because the writers for season 1 got replaced, don’t take my word on it tho. Hope that helps ^^
@@strings8061 nooooo, come on!
There was so much potential and they blew it. I feel like a parent. "I'm not mad, just disappointed." 😅
Love that Steve Blum is starscream again. Hopefully it happens more often.
Honestly, Season 2 would be great if the Autobot/Decepticon sides kinda fell off and they focused on other things in the TF series that can be antagonists. The sharkticons were great and could be expanded upon, as could the fact that Mandroid had a throwaway line about the Quintessons. There's also the always popular Unicron, which seeing how this series handles it's villains, could take a different twist on his relationship with Primus to give a more nuanced approach to both. They could also invent a new villain or take a lesser known transformer and bring them to the forefront. Honestly, there's a lot of openings rather then the often repeated "Autobots vs Decepticons" storylines.