When discussing a property like Transformers, you definitely need to acknowledge that it primarily exists as a means to sell toys. While various iterations of Transformers have been able to tell a compelling story while marketing said toys, understanding the roots of the brand allows you to understand certain decisions behind things that happen in the various TV shows, films, and comics (most infamously beginning the 1986 Transformers movie by traumatising it's young child audience by brutally killing off most the beloved characters from the TV show since their toys weren't being made anymore).
Unlike the original Transformers series which shoehorned in new characters/toys to buy in practically every episode, Beast Wars has a much smaller number of characters with only a handful of characters in each faction. While this adds a lot to the show's enjoyment factor as it allows for more compelling characterisation and storytelling, it of course limits opportunities to show off what other toys are available. Like I said when discussing the opening episode, the show found a way around this through the inclusion of stasis pods orbiting the planet that would come down whenever Mainframe had time to model a new character.
Which leads us to this episode, the first episode to introduce us to a new character since the show's first episode. As a result, this episode is the one that feels the most like an advertisment for a toy, but thankfully it isn't something that gets in the way of the episode telling a compelling story.
At the start of the episode, a stasis pod enters the planet's atmosphere and lands on the planet. This is tracked by both the Predacons and that Maximals. Rather than going for the protoform straight away, the Predecons decide to ambush the Maximals instead, with the aim being to take out Optimus, the only Maximal with flight capabilities. When this succeeds, the Megatron sends his Predacons to beat the remaining Maximals to the Protoform in order for them to reprogram it as a Predacon.
The bulk of this episode is primarily a race between the two groups to see who will get to the stasis pod first. The tension is quite high throughout the episode, since whoever is able to get to the stasis pod first will have the advantage in numbers - tipping the odds slightly more in their favour. What adds to this tension is that the Maximals are at a disadvantage since the one flier they have is out of action, meaning that Rattrap, Rhinox, and Cheetor need to reach the stasis pod on foot whereas the Predacons still have Waspinator and Terrorsaur.
Speaking of which, the Predacons approach to the stasis pods arrival is a pretty clever plan. Rather than rushing straight for the Stasis Pod, they decide to anticipate that the Maximals will have the same plan, and instead opt to ambush the Maximal base and take out Optimus, therefore increasing their chances of getting to the stasis pod first.
This of course causes some divide with the Maximals. Optimus is adamant that they leave immediately, believing that the Predacons will also be heading after the statis pod, and wishing to beat them to it. Dinobot, being a former Predacon himself, of course suspects that his former associates will be planning something, and tries to disuade Optimus from heading out. Of course, Optimus heads out anyway and ends up getting offlined by the Predacons, meaning he needs to stay back at the base with Dinobot and recover while the other three head off after the stasis pod.
A lot of this episode takes place in a snowy landscape. This is a nice change of pace from the more rocky and grassy regions that we've spent a lot of time in during previous episodes. While of course the CGI has dated by today's standards, the snowy regions do look great for 1996.
Now we get to this episode's star - Tigatron. While he doesn't appear until the very end of the episode, he makes a really good first impression during his brief appearence. This makes sense, of course, since the idea of the sequence is to make the children watching want to go out and buy the Tigatron toy. Him appearing at the end is what makes the episode as a whole feel like a toy commercial, but this isn't a negative as the whole show in and of itself is a toy commercial - it's just this moment in particular feels explicitly like the show is trying to sell you a specific product.
In spite of this, it is a great moment. Both groups have met at the stasis pod, and it looks like the Maximals have won. However, Megatron plays upon the Maximal's empathy by threatening to kill some nearby white tigers. Of course, this forces the Maximals to stand down. Then as Megatron opens the Stasis Pod, it's empty. This is when it's revealled that the new Maximal has already awoken - and he was one of the white tigers. Tigatron then transforms and proceeds to single handedly take out the Predacons, forcing them to retreat.
This moment of badassery really helps to sell the audience on Tigatron, and he himself is an interesting character from his brief screentime. His identity circuits were damaged when his stasis pod crashed on the planet, which meant that when he awoke from cryosleep, he was unsure of who he was. His decision to fight the Predacons was made when the Maximals stood down to protect the white tigers. He opts not to come back to the Maximal base since he's more in tune with his Beast Mode, so prefers to stay in the wild. However, he does consider his fellow Maximals to be his allies. This is an interesting direction for the character, and it sets him apart from the other characters in the show.
Another interesting thing about Tigatron is that he initially wasn't going to appear in the show - his place was going to be taken by the character Wolfang. However, he got switched out for Tigatron simply because the Tigatron toy was simply just a recolour of Cheetor - this meant that Mainframe only had to modify Cheetor's character model in order to create Tigatron.
In spite of it feeling a bit more blatantly like a toy commercial near the end of the episode, this is a great introduction to a new character, and in it's own right, is an action packed and enjoyable episode with all the hallmarks that we've come to expect from the show (i.e. strong characters, great writing, and tense action sequences). By the episode's end, the Maximal's have strength in numbers - but for how long?
Next time: Rattrap's loyalty is questioned in 'Double Jeopardy'
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