Ben 10 2016 Reboot Episode Review: Riding the Storm Out
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Episode Links:
http://nayavideo.com/ben102016s01e11ridingthestormouthdtvx264-deadpool_v27285Review (Contains Spoilers):
And here we pretty much have ANOTHER remake of an OS episode. This time being a remake of Dr. Animo and the Mutant Ray. So how does this episode do here? It's average at best. Either way, I consider it at least mediocre and here's why.We get introduced to a new set of villains called the Weatherheads and these guys are quite the set of villains that are annoying, bland, and forgettable. Throughout the entire episode, there is a constant joke on how they don't feel any emotions, considering that they're robots, even though they actually do. It got annoying quite quickly. Most of their abilities also confused me here. One of them can shoot out lightning, which I can understand. However, another of the three can chose where heavy rains can come down onto and the third of the three is apparently an air bender. Well, I guess the one controlling air is doing so through using an air cannon but the one robot that can bring down heavy rains is the one that confused me the most. How does that work? Anyways, again, these villains were just annoying, bland, and forgettable. They just felt more like villains that would best fit in a filler episode. Then again, each episode so far pretty much feel like filler episodes.
Anyways, to the story. The main characters set up camp at...somewhere...and Ben tried to use Heatblast to light the camp fire only for the Omnitrix to time out as soon as Ben transformed. Noticing that the Omnitrix has been acting up lately, Ben tried to fix it using a pocket multi-tool kit...that has a fully functioning drill? Anyways, this backfires, of course, and this results in Ben's fusion aliens (I'll get to them later). Before Ben's attempt to fix the Omnitrix, Gwen tried to inform Ben about being patient...and here we get the hand fisted moral of the episode. One thing that I want to mention is that why is the Omnitrix acting up and malfunctioning now? From what I can recall in the previous episodes of the reboot, Ben never or barely even messed with the Omnitrix. In the OS, Ben messing and fiddling with the Omnitrix was what's been causing its malfunctions and technical issues. I don't recall seeing any of that in any of the previous episodes. The Omnitrix never even mis-transformed Ben into the wrong alien in the reboot either. Again, why is the Omnitrix having technical issues when it was barely or never even tampered with?
Anyways, so the trio noticed the Weatherheads causing havoc on the camp grounds and Ben uses the Omnitrix to transform into an alien to fight them with. The first fusion is that of a mix of Four Arms and Grey Matter. With this fusion, Ben goes up against the Weatherheads and...gets zapped before he even does much of anything. Doesn't even throw a single punch. That's it. He gets zapped and retreats. Well that was a waste of time.
After transforming back to his human self and learning that the Omnitrix is rebooting itself to fix the damages that Ben caused from tampering with it, Ben along with Gwen and Max focus their attention on evacuating the camp ground by directing people through a tunnel that will lead them to off the camp ground. Well, "tunnel" aka a hollowed out tree log (how the hell did the writers miss that?). Oh and as Max escorts the campers through the "tunnel", a bear follows up right behind them. Well, I know who's pile of bones and bloody remains I'm going to find in there. Yes, I know that the bear also following the campers is a joke but really? Just really?
After evacuating the campers, Ben and Gwen notice a tall weather machine suddenly appear. Yeah, I wonder where that idea came from? Also, the Weatherheads build this machine from the three suitcases that each of them were carrying. How the hell was there enough space inside those suitcases for that entire machine? The Weatherheads activate the machine and unleash a large tornado...which by the looks of it, Ben and Gwen are standing right in the center of it. I guess they're really supposed to be outside the tornado but it looks like they're inside it. Either way, how is it that with a tornado that close, Ben and Gwen aren't being sucked right into it? Do the writers not know how a tornado works?
One of the Weatherheads unleashed its usual water attack on Ben and Gwen (oh no, water, so threatening and harmful) before Max comes in with the Rustbucket and rescues them. Ben wants to use the Omnitrix but Gwen tells him to be patient and wait for the Omnitrix to finish rebooting. The Rustbucket soon after gets sucked into the tornado (oh so NOW the tornado does what it's supposed to do) and, while somehow not sustaining serious injuries, Ben used the Omnitrix to transform into another fusion alien. This time it's a mix of all of Ben's aliens with Ben's head sticking out of the top. Deciding to go with what he's got, Ben goes to fight off the Weatherheads and the fight scene just doesn't seem to be well animated. Once again, the animations felt stiff in this episode much like with the other episodes. Anyways, Ben noticed that the storm reaches out into space and the Weatherheads mention how emotions are weak and unpredictable, giving Ben the idea to annoy and frustrate the Weatherheads in order to gain the upper hand and tricking the Weatherheads into destroying the weather machine. This I did like. Seeing Ben being able to figure out the best strategy to defeat his enemies such as in this episode is a good thing to see out of Ben because that is part of what makes Ben at his best. He's a doofus and isn't the brightest character in the series but it's moments like this during his battles that does help make Ben show his true colors. Although at the same time, this also troubles me because there are other moments in the reboot that shows Ben being too stupid than he's actually supposed to be, such as when even as Grey Matter and with Dr. Animo telling Ben his actual plan, Ben still doesn't understand why Dr. Animo was involved with the monster attacking the museum. Like many other elements of the reboot, Ben just feels more and more inconsistent.
Ben defeats the Weatherheads and learns to be more patient while the Omnitrix is covered with a...cone. Do the writers know that Ben can still activate the Omnitrix? That cone is going to do nothing. Ben is also concerned as to whether or not the Weatherheads have any more and bigger plans for Ben and the universe in the future.
I hope not. Again, this episode was just mediocre. The Weatherheads were just annoying, bland, and forgettable. I didn't even find any of the jokes to be funny and there are some puns and whatsoever that some of the characters say that just come off as being cringing than funny. Let's get to the fusion aliens. They look ugly and poorly designed. It's like the team just decided to just mash the aliens together and use the first draft that came out as a result of that. The fusion aliens in the OS episode, Dr. Animo and the Mutant Ray, were much better designed and had more care and effort put into them to make them look unique and cool. The fusion aliens in this episode were just disgusting to look at. Another thing to take note of is that many consider this episode as the point in the reboot that signifies it having a main, centrally-focused storyline. I guess maybe that's the case but if it is, and I mean IF, this is it? This is the episode that introduces the main story arc for the reboot? The Weatherheads are the main villains? These annoying, bland, and forgettable robots are the "Vilgax" of this reboot? I hope not. I really hope not. I know that they can do better than this. I know that Man of Action and Cartoon Network Studios can do better than this. Just look at the 2005 original series. Anyways, there's my review of this episode.
