Robot Wars Series VIII - Week 5 Discussion
Ok guys, biggest spoiler warning ever for this one. Watch it now if you haven't already.
Well, I'm not really sure what to do after this episode other than wave merrily to the rulebook as it flew out the window. I.. so many things happened this time that I still can't quite comprehend it. So ok, let's start back in the first round when things made sense:
Thermidor. I was really stoked to see them come back after so many appearances in previous wars. Sadly it seemed their machine just wasn't up to the standard of today's robots - I didn't see to much in the way of improvements for them, which is a shame. I think they might've fared better if they weren't put with two other spinners, but they were going to have to fight them one way or another. Commiserations to them for going out so early. Pulsar fell foul of Ironside's spinning bar and was counted out - but we'll get to that later, eh. That left an absolutely mangled Chompalot and a near mint Ironside 3 to go through. I was honestly expecting Chompalot to go out for damage at the end, but apparently a judges decision isn't a judges decision if a robot should've been counted out? I'm not sure. The second round was much more clear-cut. Infernal contraption once again failed to impress, sadly, and I don't think I've ever seen their weapon properly spin up enough to do any damage, which is a shame because I like their design. They were half-pushed, half spun into the pit by Beast, good driving on their part. Crazy Coupe 88 was bludgeoned into submission by Dead Metal. It seems you just can't get away with an 'off-the-shelf' bot these days, though you couldn't really before. But it does seem to me you stand a much greater chance of winning now if you have custom-built parts with hi-spec materials. Anyway, Beast and Gabriel made it through with what looked like minimal effort.
The first fight into the head-to-heads, and things started happening. Chompalot, clearly already on life support but resurrected by multiple teams in the pits, played host to our first LiPo fire of the competition due to (what appeared to be) the floor flipper's doing. Shunt's axe can't have helped either. Honestly, I think this episode saw the most action and aggression from the House Robots, all directed towards poor little Chompalot. And in a turn I never would have seen coming from a lightyear away, Pulsar was allowed back into the competition. I would've expected them to just have the three remaining robots carry on after Chompalot's withdrawal, but I guess that's the rules? I don't know. I was thrilled to see Ellis back in the competition though. For the record, I think Chompalot did fantastically for the part of the fight that they did stay alive. They got hold of Gabriel a couple of times, but it seems few robots are tall enough to attack Craig's machine effectively. Beast, meanwhile, had some bad luck in the head-to-heads. I saw very few flips, and their drive was regularly locking up or getting battered by Ironside 3 and Gabriel. I honestly thought they'd do better given Beauty's success as a featherweight, but it seems little armour is much more of a problem for heavyweights. In another act of House Robot aggression, Dead Metal attacked Beast after cease was called, and I'm honestly not sure what to think. I wanted more action from the house robots, but surely it's unfair after cease is called? In another ridiculous turn of events, in the fight between Ironside 3 and Pulsar, a judges decision was called after Ironside pushed an otherwise immobile Pulsar into the pit, while driving in themselves. I... honestly don't know what to say about it, but this is the most potent example of the need for Refbot to count people out, without relying on... some strange retrospective judge's decision? I thought Ironside had it since they pushed Pulsar into the pit at the end of the fight, and as they said, cease was never called and Killalot righted them. Controversial perhaps? I personally think Pulsar commanded most of the fight until they lost drive, and perhaps Beast should've been counted out and cease called. At the end of the day, I feel this was down to poor ruling and lack of firm communication on the show's part, and neither team was to blame. Very sporting of team Ironside to accept the loss so graciously though. Fair play to both teams, I couldn't have made that decision.
Meanwhile, Craig Colliass and Gabriel had been bouncing their way through the competition, due to apparently coming from wibbly wobbly HDPE giraffe world. It honestly was a joy to watch that machine in action, and it did a fair amount more damage than I personally expected, given its weapon. The final came down to Pulsar vs Gabriel, and it was a fantastic one. Again, Pulsar seemed to keep losing drive intermittently until it was knocked back to life by something in the arena. But given the solid design and aggressive weapon of Pulsar however, it seems they did enough damage to Gabriel's gigantic wheels to win overall. I don't think I've ever seen an episode of Robot Wars with as many twists and turns as this one, and I think this might just be my favourite. Also from what I could see, fantastic sportsmanship between the two heat finalists, I don't think I've ever seen two nicer teams. Honestly I can't wait for the Grand Final, and to see who the wildcard competitor is.
By the way Ellis, if you read this, what was going on with Pulsar's drive? It seemed to cut off over and over again, especially in that last fight. Hope you did well in the finals though, I'm really excited.
