The Transformers (TV Series) The Return of Optimus Prime: Part 2 (1987) User Reviews

My favourite Transformers episode ever

[tomgoodwin815 · 10/10 · 11 October 2016]

Even with four seasons and five movies (so far..), I don't think the Transformers saga has ever been better than 'The Return of Optimus Prime'. Split into two parts, both of which are brilliant, this is undoubtedly the superior one. In the story, the 'hate plague' has spread across the universe, infecting almost every living creature. Sky Lynx and a lone Quintesson have attempted to revive the long-deceased Optimus Prime, which has proved successful. Optimus sets out to reverse the effects of the plague, but the only way he can do so is with the Matrix, which lies within the infected Rodimus Prime. Despite being part of a series watched mostly by children, TROOP (as I like to abbreviate it) is actually quite violent under the circumstances. It's not difficult to imagine six year olds becoming traumatised at the sight of their favourite transformers being struck down by the plague. As a child, I watched the animated 1986 Transformers movie and was genuinely upset when I saw half of the original Autobots massacred within the first 5 minutes, the protagonists failing to save a dying Optimus, and Megatron being fatally wounded and abandoned by his own brigade. TROOP is similar, in a way. By the time this story reaches its climax, Optimus and the Quintesson are the only two remaining organisms left uninfected, and all seems lost. Even Rodimus Prime, Season 3's hero, is turned into an deranged villain who attempts to kill the title character. Ultimately, Optimus does, however, triumph over the plague, when everything seems to be hopeless, essentially sacrificing the Matrix to do so. 'The Touch' song, which featured in the 1986 movie, is also included and is a great reference. Optimus Prime's reappearance is superb. For me, Rodimus wasn't as good, so it's great to see the Autobots' original leader make his comeback ("and now, no force in the universe will stop me"). Bumblebee, who didn't feature much in Season 3, also gets to make an appearance, which I'm sure was popular amongst fans of the previous seasons. TROOP can actually be quite moving at times, such as the climatic scene in which the Quintesson begs, in vain, Galvatron and the other infected transformers not to destroy Optimus. This episode would have made the perfect finale to 'Transformers', ending the series on an all-time-high, and it's unfortunate that the actual series finale, 'The Rebirth', was nowhere near as good as this.