Line #7 TearJerker/TransformersArmada


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4	* Hot Shot's beating in "Credulous." He was trying to save Sideways from Megatron's wrath, and when he did, he was hit with a rough case of reality. Sideways kicks the Star Saber away from Hot Shot, and it lands in front of the then-evil Starscream. Hot Shot is ashamed and doesn't save himself from Demolisher and Cyclonus.
5	* The backstory between Hot Shot and Wheeljack in the "Past" two-partner deserves mention. Before Wheeljack defected to the Decepticons, Hot Shot used to be his supervisor until they were both trapped in a fire accident. To get additional assistance, Hot Shot runs out of the fire over Wheeljack's protest as he promises that he will return, leaving his friend waiting. But when Hot Shot made it outside of the flames, Hot Shot's superior refuses to let Hot Shot endanger himself by entering the flames again, leaving Hot Shot frantically screaming as he slowly the fire seemingly engulfs Wheeljack. Wheeljack believed that Hot Shot had abandoned him, and when Megatron found and rescued him, he swore loyalty to the Decepticon commander.
6	** To make things even worse, the same episodes in ''Micron Legend'' [[spoiler: clarify that Hot Shot did abandon Wheeljack out of cowardice and fear for his own life; his promise to get help was an excuse, and his attempt to rush back into the fire was guilt-ridden second thoughts, making the situation more heartwrenching and more of a tragedy that could've easily prevented. The scene when an injured Hot Shot straight-up admits that he left Wheeljack to die to a shocked Sideswipe in ''Micron Legend'' says a lot about how traumatizing the event was to him, and regardless of wherever he was at fault, it's hard not to feel just a bit sorry for Hot Shot.]]
7	* The ending of episode 37, "Crack," when Starscream chooses to abandon his new human friends he'd made among the Autobots for a chance to take down Megatron.
8	* All of Starscream's inner thoughts in "Crisis." He didn't want to harm the earth, and he didn't want to fight Optimus. By the end of the episode, he nearly got his ''former'' human friends killed, and he's at least partially responsible for the death of Optimus. No matter which universe you're in, it sucks to be Screamer.
9	* [[spoiler: Starscream's suicide-by-Megatron]] in "Cramp". It wasn't [[TearJerker/BeastWars Dinobot]] levels of drama, but it was getting there. Their last talk certainly helps bring on the waterworks.
10	--> [[spoiler:'''Starscream''']]: I tried to gain favor from you. But nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many battles I fought, [[WellDoneSonGuy you always found fault]]. [[AFatherToHisMen Then I saw how Optimus treated his men]], and I realized he was a leader of integrity. Unlike you.
11	--> [[spoiler:'''Megatron''']]: [[KickTheDog You were too weak to ever gain my respect.]]
12	--> [[spoiler:'''Starscream''']]: None of that matters now. You must listen, do as Optimus says and join forces with the Autobots, or else every last one of us is doomed! ''Please, sir...'' do it for me...
13	** To drive home the tragedy here, in the Japanese version, it's clearer that Starscream turns off his sword and lets Megatron finish him to make the point that infighting was pointless. Before this, in the Japanese dub, Starscream calls Galvatron the "ultimate fighter," making it even WORSE. Starscream could've won the duel but sacrificed himself for the greater good.
14	** That's not even the most heartbreaking part. It's when Optimus informs the children, and we see their reactions—[[spoiler:especially Alexis'.]] ''Ouch.'' ''Legends of the Microns'' even goes as far as to mute the kids' reactions completely, so you only hear the emotional music.
15	** There's also the way Starscream's Mini-Con partner Swindle (who Starscream ejected so he wouldn't share the same fate) reacted. He stands there in silence and asks Optimus if there's any hope of [[spoiler:Starscream being alive]]. The ''way'' he beeps hits you in the gut.
16	*** The truly touching thing was that Starscream was desperately trying to get Megatron to do the right thing, even if it cost him his own life. Starscream points out how he remembers that he made an oath to Megatron a long time ago and knows that he could never break that oath by striking down Megatron.
17	** In the following episode, when Megatron talks about Starscream, it may well be the only time any Megatron has ever shown any Starscream some respect.
18	* Optimus Prime's death in "Crisis." (It's Optimus, of course, he dies at least once.)
19	** A prominent part of Optimus's death in ''Armada'' was Jetfire's reaction, the screams, and then his discovery that all that remained of Optimus was his faithful Mini-Con holding his Matrix. He didn't seem to know what was happening, just that he had to hold on to that thing.
20	** How about the fact that, unlike other versions, this one isn't triumphant, nor does it look heroic? He turns to dust, and that's it for him.
21	** The Japanese version makes it more heartwrenching with Rad's ending narration, suggesting that the falling meteorites in the last shot aren't meteorites but might be fragments of Optimus's body.
22	** Hot Shot blaming himself for Optimus's death in the following episode hurts to watch, considering that he blamed him for Starscream's betrayal.
23	* After the final battle with Unicron at the end of ''Armada'', Optimus is alive, floating in space. He sees the Matrix floating nearby and thinks he's no longer worthy of wielding it, let alone of being a leader.
24	* [[spoiler:Galvatron sending himself to his demise, knowing that if he lived, the war would continue and Unicron would arise again.]] This show's got a high body count, but they make them all count.
25	** Putting this into greater perspective with everything else that happens in the series; [[spoiler: Galvatron throws himself into Unicron's maw after realizing that while Unicron engineered everything, ''Galvatron'' was his greatest pawn. ''He'' forged the Decepticons in the pursuit of the Mini-cons. ''He'' chose violence and callousness at every turn and alienated his men. ''He'' chose to listen to Sideways and Thrust. ''He'' was the reason Starscream got himself killed trying to prove a point. And in the end he catches himself far too late provoking war ''all over again'' just because he thought the consequences of it were over. It was just as much a last attempt at doing ''something'' right as it was his attempt to end the war.]]
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Context TearJerker / TransformersArmada