Just thinking about how close Miko came to getting killed in TFP "Con Job"
But not the scene where Fake Wheeljack grabs her;
I'm talking about the scene where she's in a hallway deep in the base, alone with Fake Wheeljack
He asks for where something is, and her response is a deadpan "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to crush your spark" or something along those lines.
Fake Wheeljack isn't familiar with humans. He can't be 100% sure if that's a real threat or not. Sure, she's tiny and squishy, but what are humans capable of?
Fake Wheeljack has her alone, away from the others at least far enough that it might take a little time for them to respond to any screams.
He doesn't move to attack, because he doesn't want to blow his cover unless it's unavoidably necessary, and because if humans really can put up a fight, he wants her to take the first swing to see what she's got.
She may not register as that much of a realistic threat, but she did technically threaten him, and Decepticons (with the exception of Knock Out, via movie night) have little exposure to humanity. He may not understand human sarcasm.
And after all, scraplets are tiny little things, yet look at all the damage they cause. I think Fake Wheeljack is sizing up Miko, just for a moment here. Just waiting to see if she might try to act on that threat.
Miko breaks the tension with a quick "just kidding", but for a moment there, there is a real fear that he might just decide to snuff Miko out while he has a good, clear chance to do so.
Of course, Miko doesn't know how close she came to being killed.
She didn't know she was speaking to a Decepticon.
Sure, she likely realised after Fake Wheeljack was exposed as an imposter just how dangerous an encounter it was, but in the moment...
... It's a very adult fear, being evoked here.
It's a child speaking to an adult who is someone other than who they say they are, with hidden motives, while alone in a secluded space with relatively few places to run to. She trusts him, because she thinks she is a friend of her protector, an adult she already trusts. And her protector likes this guy, so why wouldn't she?
Miko thinks she's playing around with a cool tough guy buddy, but in reality, she is extraordinarily lucky that he did not take the very easy shot that he had to take her out away from the eyes of the others.
Later, he does directly threaten her life.
But I think Miko was arguably closer to death in this scene rather than when she was grabbed and held hostage; A hostage is protection. Fake Wheeljack likely wasn't actually going to kill her then, because there would be nothing stopping the Autobots from opening fire on him if he lost his hostage.
But in this earlier scene, nobody was watching. He could have killed her, walked out and claimed she was running around deeper in the base, pretending to be on a "mission", because that behaviour is in line with how he's seen Miko behave since his arrival. He knows she's a bit more energetic than the others, she's more into "being tough and cool", it's something she would plausibly do.
Fake Wheeljack would return, the Autobots wouldn't be overly surprised to hear Miko got distracted by her imagination while messing around in the base, and they'd give it just enough time before going to actively look for her that the ground bridge would be back online and Fake Wheeljack could make it back to the Nemesis -- Leaving the Autobots to find her body after he was already gone.
This would also potentially frame the real Wheeljack for her death, if Fake Wheeljack's cover wasn't blown before departing, in this scenario.
Really dark shit.
I haven't seen this episode in a while, but it popped into my head and felt like it was worth talking about, because TFP does a great job of utilising adult fears in a way that isn't blatant enough to upset younger audiences, while also registering the real depth of the potential threat to older audiences who will recognise things like this.
Anyway, glad Miko survived, because holy shit this could have been grim.
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