Spoilers Obviously 
For a long while now I've been hearing, almost none stop, about how poor the writing in Transformers Prime is, how its been dumbed down for children, how it just doesn't match up against the writing of other cartoons or programs.
Due to all the cricism I read I didn't even put it very high on my "to watch" list, deciding for a few reasons to wait for the DVD.
Now that I've watched the DVD I don't get what all the complaining is about. Yes, its a show that by its nature has to be able to appeal to children on some level. Yes, we have the human characters, and everyone always hates the human characters in every Transformers series.
Because of the 25 years worth of people hating "the kids" in Transformers series I don't even pay attention to those critcisms anymore.
But then I heard about how bad the writing is. How its so inferior and not worthy of our incredibly advanced adult minds. Well, I'm going to argue against that thought and present the idea that Transformers Prime is a very well written program, with a clear and very creative narrative that does an excellent job of juggling the aspects of being a childrens program while providing a solid story(even numerous relevent real world issues), all while mixing various elements of the Transformers mythos in an engaging way.
"Blood of Unicron, how I might fathom the depths of your mystery, become worthy of wielding your astonishing power!" - Megatron in Darkness Rising
The series launches with
Darkness Rising, to me an interesting five episode arc that serves to introduce the characters, the setting and the general storyline for the enitre first season. I say this because they clearly had an end point in mind with all the
Blood of Unicron talk, as we later see in the One Shall Rise/Fall season conclusion.
That first arc also serves to do something that most series really don't accomplish. It actually makes the villians look dangerous, even twisted. Cliffjumper, something of a red shirt I admit, is killed by Starscream which to me went along way in establishing that the Decepticons were actually a danger.
Starscream is one of numerous characters that has really impressed me in this show. He's clearly still Starscream, but he's a lot more subtle and a lot more nuanced than he's been before. He's not just a goofball that I can't imagine actually ruling the Decepticons, he's cunning and dangerous, while even appearing and actually being loyal where it suits his desires.
"Decepticons, it is with deep sorrow that I note for the log...Megatron's spark has been extinguished. All hail Starscream." - Starscream
Another character who has had a very interesting character arc in this series is
Arcee. I really liked how the story continued to reference the loss of Cliffjumper and tied it into Arcee's backstory, showing how she was now twice scarred from losing her friend Tailgate. It also added so much to her relationship with Jack, gave their friendship real meaning past them just being buddies
All the characters that need development get some, from Prime to Megatron to Starscream to Arcee to even Bulkhead. Excellent side arcs like the story with the MECH terrorists really fit, seeming like something that would be very real. We get plot devices, but for the most part we're shown that winning the lottery(so to speak) doesn't happen.
Both Ratchet & Bulkhead get shown that you can't improve yourself by taking a short cut, both great one off episodes. Jack's mom coming into the mix added some nice dramatic tension as well. Yes they kept it light, but the seriousness of the situation of three kids being taken in by robots still showed. I thought it worked well without taking the show so far as to turn it into a drama.
"You mean my trophies. I collect endangered species. Of course, they aren't really endangered...until they meet me." - Black Arachnia(Known by some other silly name in this show
)
"Hey partner, heck of a view you got up here. If there's even a small chance your spark is out there listening, well, we could really use you, Cliff. Seems like everyday another Decepticon arrives on the scene. We're outnumbered and outgunned. Yeah, I know what you'd say, 'Sounds like a fair fight,' and if that's the world we live in, so be it. I just want you to know, I haven't given up. I'm going to find the Con who took you from us." -Arcee
"Watch out for the quiet ones…" - Knock Out
So yes, in conclusion I don't agree with the many harsh critcisms I've seen of this show. I think its a very well put togther program(at least Season 1) and in its own way is equal, if not better than, some of the 'adult' programs I enjoy like The Walking Dead.
It's Transformers, its for kids and adults, it needs to have its humor and balance the drama with that comedy. I think it does all that very well.
