“Knock Out is the most overrated character in TFP. His characterization was interesting in “Speed Metal” and the second half of “Stronger, Faster,” but other than that there isn’t much to him. He has the least amount of depth, he’s the only Decepticon whose motivations we know nothing about, and I think people tend to exaggerate how great he is because he’s the most stereotypically gay character on the show.”
^ this.
It doesn’t matter to me that ppl think he might be gay or whatever, even if he was, it wouldn’t change anything. It annoys me that he doesn’t get some more depth or at least some more good screen time like in ep. 10 for example!!
Good looks isn’t everything, you know?!?
Maybe they’ll develop him more in future episodes… At least that’s what I’d like to see. At first I really loved KO because he was fabulous yet deadly, but he sort of became a parody of himself.
I mean, I cracked up for no reason when he started to talk in the first episode of season 2. That has to mean something, I guess.I think it’s there if you look. He does need more development (give it time people, again, 2 spotlights in 28 episodes with 13 other characters to compete with is not a bad average) but the most obvious things I read in him are as follows:
He’s more self motivated than motivated by ideals or causes. Self preservation, agency/independence, privilege… Because I’m a nasty, mean person, I desperately want to see them put him in a situation where he has to choose between himself and Breakdown.
Of the above, the biggest one is privilege. He wants it and preferably with the least amount of work possible. He made a try for a command position because with it brings security and privilege, but pretty swiftly found it to be more work/trouble that it was worth. He’s not power hungry per se, so the cost and risk versus the benefits is not high enough. A command position also actually means less freedom because it’s more responsibility.
I’m sort of rolling around in the lovely irony of Knock Out essentially being called shallow. Which currently, both as a person and what’s visible of the meta-character, that’s true… but I get the feeling from a meta standpoint that’s exactly what he wants us to see. He’s not crazy about battle unless he knows he can win, so as a ‘Con he needs to take other measures to protect himself in a very dog-eat-dog world where strength = power, (his relationship with BD may even be a method to compensate for this). He’s quite good at coming across as non-threatening to his fellows when he wants to be, and being shallow I think is part of that. Being a medic has a ton to do with that too; not only does it make him useful in an uncommon and high demand way but he can collect debts to use them as leverage later on. But now I’m rambling…
Lastly, what does being stereotypiclly gay have to do with exaggerating how great he is? He can’t be a likable character period? =\
Oops more spontaneous meta word puke, haha. I just need to make a post about this crap and get it over with. (WTB more hours in the day)
And I would also love to see Knock Out in a crisis situation where he had to choose between Breakdown and himself. And fervently hope he would choose Breakdown. I still see BD as the only person KO would put before himself if pressed.
And YES on the feeling that part of KO’s shallowness is exactly what he wants people to see….