Nightstrike's Reviews: Transformers Siege (Netflix Original Series) Episode 1

Netflix has landed...on my television, that is. And I couldn't be more excited! Having finally laid eyes on this series (which is to be expected! I am a Transformers fan after all!) I have to say it's a lot better than I anticipated. While I definitely have criticisms regarding certain things (I mean, that's par for the course with any fandom, amiright?!?) this new series is shaping up pretty well. So, let's get to it, shall we?

Warning! Spoiler-Heavy Ahead!

Scene 1:

Bumblebee & Wheeljack hide from a Seeker, while also attempting to locate Energon. They shelter at a hidden building with a still-functional space-bridge, but Wheeljack turns the building's systems on, attracting unwanted attention. Several Seekers, including Starscream, Thundercracker, and their commander, Jetfire, have the pair cornered. Starscream remarks about how they should be killed, and as he is about to fire, Jetfire slices off his arm. Ouch. His pride wounded, Starscream declares that it's Jetfire's fault that they have failed to defeat the Autobots, and the rather dull Seekers believe him. Jetfire prepares to face off against his troops, but notices that the scavenging pair have taken the opportunity to flee, the Seekers begin to pursue, until Megatron comes into the room.

Okay, so let's just lay it all on the line right from the start: I'm a little tired of the typical Autobot-Decepticon conflict story that more recent series tend to perpetuate, as I'm FIERCELY loyal to the MTMTE interpretation of it, but this surprisingly seemed to lean closer to that than was implied. In particular, Megatron references that his followers were the lower-class members of society, thus hinting at a former caste system.

However, during this scene, several things were made apparent:

• Megatron has lips that would put Overlord's (and the entire Kardashian clan) to shame.

• Optimus has a decent voice-actor, but the pacing was a little off, and there were some awkward pauses.

• Bumblebee really is a neutral. Huh.

• Jetfire is a feral beast who will bite your face off. Which...if you think about it...is pretty much just what we want out of a Decepticon Elite.

So, after a brief fight, where Elita-1 provides cover-fire for the fleeing 'bots, the rest is just Bumblebee seeing the Autobots close up while Optimus fails to sway him to his side.

Regarding animation, the style is a lot better than Machinima's series, though the models have a minor bit of "squash and stretch," but it's not too noticeable. Elita-1 has the 'walk,' (if you know, you know) but what makes it even funnier, is that Bumblebee walks the same way. I was practically dying of laughter.