Episode Review: Transformers S01 Ep10 – “War of the Dinobots”

“The meteor could be a power source of incalculable strength!”

Chip is at an observatory observing a meteor that’s heading to earth. The Autobots are called in to try to defend the earth from the menacing meteor. Optimus Prime decides that he will call in the Dinobots to help so that the Autobots can get to the meteor before the Decepticons do.
Coincidentally, the Decepticons are pondering how to overcome the Dinobots power, and Megatron sends Soundwave to probe them to find their weaknesses.

“Meteorini Chiperoni or something…!”

The meteor crashes onto the earth exactly where predicted. The Autobots take a sample of it to analyse, while leaving the Dinobots in charge of guarding it. Optimus Prime states how pleased he is with Dinobots, and asks Wheeljack and Ratchet to create two more. Chip helps them decide on the two forms that the new Dinobots will take-a Stegosaurus and a Pteranodon-giving the Autobots a little more aerial firepower.
Meanwhile, Soundwave is able to conduct brain scans of the Dinobots guarding the meteor. The results enable Megatron to find their weaknesses. He plans to use Grimlock’s arrogance, Slag’s hostility and Sludge’s stupidity to turn them against Optimus Prime and gain control of the power of the meteor.

“Dinobots Transform!”

Megatron and the Decepticon jets confront the Dinobots, and after holding off a brief attack, Megatron convinces Grimlock that he is stronger than Optimus Prime and manages to convince the Dinobots to destroy Prime, so that Grimlock may lead instead. This gives the Decepticons the window they need to drag the meteor off and Megatron adds fuel to the fire by giving Grimlock the plan he needs to destroy Optimus.

“In a real fight we’d have creamed them………maybe!”

The Autobots are hard at work creating their new Dinobots, while Wheeljack discovers that the meteor sample they have is highly unstable and could explode at ay moment. Prime heads off to destroy the meteor before it can cause harm to the planet.
In the meantime, Snarl and Swoop, the new Dinobots are introduced to the Autobots and their powers are tested.
Optimus Prime turns up to the location of the meteor to discover that it is no longer there, and he is quickly attacked by the Dinobots. Left no option than to fight back, he engages them one on three!

“Traces of Autobot training…remain in your circuits!”

The Dinobots are surprised to see that despite their best efforts, they are unable to destroy Optimus Prime. This plants seeds of doubt in Grimlock about his previous thoughts about Optimus. Despite this, Prime is weakened, and the Dinobots fly off to take him to Megatron.
As the Decepticons are using the meteor to create energon cubes, Starscream expresses his concerns over how unstable the energy from it is. The Dinobots arrive on scene with Optimus. Megatron asks why Optimus has not been destroyed and Grimlock blasts Starscream when he suggests that he would never destroy his former leader. Prime tries to warn Megatron that the Meteor is ready to explode at any moment, but Megatron ignores him, accusing him of lying.
At Autobot HQ, Teletraan-1 has picked up the location of the meteor, which looks “ready to blow” and they send their new Dinobots to intervene.

“New Dinobots…..Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Transform and attack!”

Some of Megatron’s meteor powered energon cubes explode as new Dinobots Swoop and Snarl arrive on scene. The war of the Dinobots begins as Megatron sets Grimlock, Slag and Sludge against them. As the Dinobots fight, Megatron, Starscream and Prime see that the meteor is about to blow. Megatron and Starscream attempt to flee, while Prime risks his life to save Grimlock from the blast.
Recognising that Megatron set him up and Prime had saved him, Grimlock goes to attack Megatron, who was unable to escape due to getting caught by the blast. Fearing for his life, Megatron orders a Decepticon retreat. Understanding the error of his ways, Grimlock asks Optimus Prime for forgiveness. Like the legend he is, Optimus focusses on the fact that the threat from the meteor has gone and embraces Grimlock.

Key Scenes, Plot Points and Characters:

Seeing Soundwave sneak around behind the Autobots backs to spy on them and conduct brain scans of the Dinobots is a brilliant example of a scene which shows his character and the role he plays for Megatron. The fight that breaks out amongst the Dinobots towards the end of the episode is very well done, and you can almost feel the power of the beasts coming out of the screen as they use their own unique strengths against each other. Starscream recognising the instability of the meteor is a reminder that while he is now a power-hungry warrior, his scientific background that we learned about in “Fire In The Sky” still resides within him.

The Verdict:

This is a very well-paced episode. A very good balance of storytelling and action, while also emphasising character traits of many of the lead characters. I score this episode 10 energon cubes out of 10.

Afterthoughts:

I initially scored this episode 9 energon cubes out of 10. When I came up with this initial score, I was bearing in mind future episodes that I know will score a 10. However, when reflecting on this one, there wasn’t anything I could find fault with, so decided to increase my score to 10.

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About Steve Shreeve 68 Articles
When he isn't writing about Transformers, Steve runs Shreeve Health and Fitness, using his online training service to train people in any location. Steve loves Transformers and Star Trek, retro toys and cartoons, sharks, and nature.