Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the next episode’s recap? Watch this.
While Bumblebee struggles with living up to the leadership expectations set by Optimus Prime, a powerful juggernaut of a Decepticon is let loose upon a human museum in the city. Can the Autobots stop Terrashock, who’s even more physically powerful than Grimlock, and will Bumblebee be able to live up to his predecessor, friend, and idol’s standards as an Autobot leader?
“W.W.O.D.?” is the fifth episode of the first season of Transformers: Robots in Disguise. It’s the sequel series to Transformers: Prime, and revolves around Bumblebee and his group of cadets on Earth, with a subplot involving Optimus Prime pursuing a mystical mission in the afterlife. This episode sees the Autobots going after the Buffaloid enforcer Terrashock.
“W.W.O.D.?” is a very explicitly humour-focused episode, but it doesn’t skimp on the action though. It feels like a very “Rescue Bots” type of episode, with the large role that humans play in it, and the fact that it’s not actually a battle between good and evil. Rather, it feels like a sort of rescue mission where they’re doing as much damage control as possible. There’s quite a lot of comedy gold in poking fun at Bumblebee’s desperate attempts to live up to Optimus’ standards too.
Highlights
Bumblebee’s failed rallying cries and Optimus mimicries
The episode takes a fun tongue-in-cheek look at how “Transformers: Prime” approached every situation, in that it was always about an epic struggle between good and evil. Here, Bumblebee repeatedly attempts to emulate Optimus’ voice and stature as he tries to control his rebellious Autobots – much to their amusement and his chagrin. It’s nice to see this kind of self-referential humour that can only come from creators who know their source material intimately (and of course, what fans think of their beloved characters). I hope the failed rallying cries from Bumblebee continue though!
Interesting character development for Bumblebee
I don’t think we’ve ever seen Bumblebee this vulnerable in the series (though it’s still early), or even in the preceding series. I guess it humanises him in the sense that he’s not perfect the way Optimus is, and that he still has the same sort of insecurities that we do. I’m not entirely sure if I like that in an Autobot leader, given how the previous Autobot leaders always seemed to have an unfailing sense of what their mission was, regardless of how dire the circumstances looked. Remember Optimus’ unfathomable expression when the Star Saber was broken? Still, I guess it makes Bumblebee connect more with the kids’ audience.
Russell and Denny covering up for the Autobots’ shenanigans
Just when you thought it’d only happen once, they come around and spin up tall tales for the Autobots’ wanton destruction of public property! It’s good to see them serve a function other than hostage or convenient exposition drum. Also, it again pokes fun at all the damage that the Transformers usually do, and how they seemingly get away scot free for it.
Humans are actually useful in this plot
As with the previous episode, I like how the humans are genuinely useful, rather than being force into a role that makes them only contextually useful (such as “oh only a human can fit into this small pipe” type of situations). It feels more organic and less forced, and also serves to bolster their role and importance on the show and to the Autobots. Go humans! For now, that is.
Letdowns
Optimus Prime doesn’t really play a part in this episode
Despite one quarter of the title of the ep, Optimus doesn’t actually appear all that much in the story. Sure, he’s mentioned a few hundred times, but it’s sort of in a posthumous kind of way. It would have been good to see more of Optimus’ story, since it’s been a while since we saw him, and also for him to give Bumblebee a fair bit more advice than he does. Then again, if Bumblebee comes to be so reliant on Optimus Prime, I guess he won’t grow into the leader that he’s destined to be by the end of the series. Pros and cons in that regard.
“W.W.O.D.?” is ultimately a fun episode that understands the tropes of Transformers, and uses that knowledge to good effect. It gives Bumblebee some development and establishes his leadership style, and is representative of how good, comedy-wise, “Transformers: Robots in Disguise” can get.
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