The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

So Last night i was watching G1 and i saw Dark Awakening, I honestly don't really know what to say other than it's just weird how they brought Optimus Prime back as a zombie and to only kill him off at the end.

I think Season 3 was trying to toy with us, After the 86 film everything started going downhill from there. I mean Season 3 was a weird and wacky train ride from hell, I mean their were some really good episodes (like my personal fav "Fight or Flee) but this episode really shows the dark and gruesome side of G1 we weren't ready to be exposed to.

I think this episode was actually a Dark Awakening for me, I realized that 1. Rodimus was entireley pointless, he never got any real sort of charecter devlopment, infact i would rather saying undevelopment as bad what had happened to likes of Energon Dimolisher. I understood they wanted Rodimus to be imperfect but they make him sulk about being never as good as a leader than Optimus and 2. I really found it eerie the part when Spike and Daniel mention how they might have to suffocate or smother, The whole episode is errie in entirley how the Autobots have so much faith in Prime that they don't find it at all strange how Optimus is suddenly back from the dead and just willy-nilly give his position and Matrix back, I understand Optimus was the greatest of all Prime's but still very scary........


I also thought that Prime's death at the end was actually sadder and more heroic than his death in the 86 film but of course at the end of certain versions of the episode they say stay tuned because "Is this really the end of Optimus Prime? Wait for his truimphant return or something like that." I felt the episode was really entirely pointless, eventually Optimus Prime came back for the 3rd time and everything went back to normal.......well not really by then it was too late.


I guess i'd rate it a 6/10, I just find it to be way to strange and dark for a episode in a cheeseball tv show like this, Also I hate Quintessons with a passion now but that's a rant for another time.......

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

I recommend re-watching it in context, as you may see a different view of some of your points.

The Autobots' faith in Prime is true but certainly wasn't willy-nilly.
Magnus and others objected to him assuming command, as he was in no shape for it. Rodimus agreeing was very much in character; especially how in anticipation to becoming HotRod again, he was being more rash.

Also later on, Perceptor certainly had his doubts and even disobeyed Prime.

And this ep was not pointless. They needed a setup for Prime's body being near the origine of the hate plague and the anti-radiation coating that was required.

Also without this ep, they coulda had the hate plague, needed Prime, but it would be too far a reach to just say "Let's bring Prime back to life!"
This ep bridged that reach by having the Quints revive Prime, so that it became an option for Rodimus in The Return of OP.

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

I forgot that this was a set-up to Return of Optimus Prime, I hadn't seen The Return of Optimus Prime in years.

It's a pointless episode because they could have just revived Optimus Prime at the Masesoleum when the Hate Plague struck insted of reviving him, then getting killed only to be revived once more but this time for good.

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

One of my fav. season 3 episodes.
Badly animated ( not as bad as Carnage in C-Minor though ), but an important episode nevertheless to showcase Primes fate ( and other Season 1 casualties ) to kids and fans at the time who didn't see the animated movie that Summer inbetween seasons 2 & 3.

I still recall grade school friends asking me movie plot details once season 3 aired ( as i was one of the only kids in my class to have dragged my parents to take me to see the movie that Summer ).
Season 3 started and the lot of the them were clueless to the new faces & timeline, not to mention the Zombie Prime episode.

I'm wondering now if Hasbro or Takara are considering making a classics Prime "DarK Awakening" episode figure variant with battle damage & half removed face? I mean, we already have MP "Sleep" Convoy, afterall..! ( shudder )

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

personally loved that episode, dark, creepy, zombie prime, what's not to like?

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

There was one bothering thing between the connection of Dark Awakening to Hate plague: Optimus was damaged while he was trying to ram a ship into the asteroid, yet in Hate plague, he was good as new and there was no quintesson firing in that scene. What is up with that? That is the one big contuity error that Hasbro or noone has reconciled with. I should also ask Hasbro about that contuity error if I go to the Transformers Convention. What are your opinions on that continuity error? Although the continuity error could just be dismissed and not be bothered with by saying the Unicron singularity did it since it sucks up continuity (Yes I read transformers wiki on the Unicron singularity).

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

^^i dont think asking about g1 continuity is worth it... it is what it is.

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

A wizard did it.

Ran

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

My biggest issue with Season 3 is the sheer lack of continuity to the previous 2 seasons. I'm not asking for a seamless transition between seasons, but we are talking about a whole different world, 20 years in the future from where we previously left off.
Transformers went from realistic vehicles integrated and hidden on earth to futuristic intergalactic ambassadors not unlike the crew of the USS Enterprise without so much of an quick voice over before the movie as too why.

Re: The Dark Awakening was a Dark Awakening.
 

I think it's important to note that The Return of Optimus Prime was not originally in the season 3 plan. Dark Awakening was supposed to be the last we were to ever see of Prime as he sacrificed himself one last time to save the Autobots. It was only after seeing how upset the kids were that Hasbro decided to bring him back. But, by then, season 3 (or much of it) had already been produced.

There are two versions of Dark Awakening: The first was during the original syndicated run that did not have the voiceover at the end telling the viewer that Prime would return. The second with the V/O was aired directly before TRoOP (some time had passed between the airing of the rest of season 3 in its entirety and TRoOP).

As for the bit of continuity mess that this caused between the two episodes, it's really best just to let it slide since the writers had painted themselves into a corner (let's face it, he done blowed up real good, no two ways about it), and there was no way to go back and change Dark Awakening to match what would happen later. Besides, they probably figured that the kids would just be happy with their hero back, and not be too worried about the details. :)