I actually don’t have a problem with KO’s “Predacons Rising” heelturn. But I do think there was a more dramatic way they could have gone:
Megatron does NOT kick Silas out of Club Decepticon. Megatron doesn’t see him as an equal to a Cybertronian, but decides to wring what use he can out of Silas. Also totally expendable soldier, yes good.
Logical from Megatron’s POV, betrayal from Knock Out’s POV.
Imagine him fuming as he watches Silas walking down the halls in his partner’s animated corpse. Imagine him having to attend meetings with this monstrosity. Imagine him having to FIX him after missions.
Knock Out starts trying to sabotage Silas. Fixing him in such a way that the repairs will fail later. “Accidentally” leaking info on Silas’s upcoming missions to the Autobots. Framing Silas so it looks like he’s leaking information to Unit E. It doesn’t matter to Knock Out that Silas is the enemy of Unit E; all humans are the same to him.
But all humans are not the same to Soundwave, who actually keeps track of such things, and Knock Out is caught. Confrontation between angry Megatron and angry Knock Out. Megatron is annoyed because he doesn’t want to kill his only medic over a stupid human, but he cannot be seen backing down either. In the end he dumps KO off the ship, expecting him to come crawling back after a couple weeks.
Instead Knock Out joins the Autobots. Out of spite. Nothing about this is pleasant for the 'Bots; Knock Out is still seething, hates their crapass base, hates their soppy ideals, hates (and cannot be trusted around) the children, and only goes on missions where he thinks he’ll get a shot at taking down Silas. Silas, Silas, Silas. He also blames Optimus “for starting the war” which killed Breakdown. (To be fair he blames Megatron just as much.)
All this overlaps with Starscream’s exile from the Nemesis. And guess who Knock Out is helping on the side? Starscream. Because that is yet another way to spite Megatron, and because oh my GOD the Autobots drive him crazy and he needs to talk to someone normal and Decepticon once in a while. Eventually the Autobots catch on to this and of course they flip out, because their supposedly ex-’Con recruit is chumming it up with the Decepticon SIC, like what the hell Knock Out?? (Also KO has specifically given the Autobots the impression that Starscream is still on the Nemesis, ‘working on a special project’, so that they won’t go looking for Starscream. lol LIES.)
Brief interlude where Knock Out leaves the Autobots to live with Starscream in a sitcom the Harbringer.
KO helps Starscream get the Omega Keys (including raiding Autobot base) and they return to the Nemesis with Starscream. Megatron offers Silas to Knock Out to lure him back. Silas hasn’t even done anything wrong, Megatron is just like, “We need our medic back. Here’s Silas, do whatever you want with him. I never liked that fleshbag anyway.”
Knock Out experiments on Silas, the Dark Energon Terrorcon thing happens, and Silas dies. But the Nemesis is dark and depressing and Knock Out can’t help remembering how Silas was shambling down its halls for so long. The only time Knock Out ever really liked Earth was when it was just him and Breakdown driving around in the bright sun looking for energon.
In the end he just leaves. He scrapes by for a while, mourning a little bit because he finally can, without having PEOPLE all around him. The Autobots eventually approach him, cautiously asking for any information he might have for breaking onto the Nemesis, because they need to rescue Ratchet from Megatron’s sexy clutches. To his own surprise as much as anyone’s, Knock Out not only agrees to give them information, but joins the mission. He is less surly than anyone remembers (though not friendly) and quieter than he used to be.
He doesn’t know why he’s taking this stand.
He just knows it feels right.
