The Transformers (TV Series)

The Burden Hardest to Bear (1986)

Dick Gautier: Rodimus Prime, Hot Rod

Photos 

Quotes 

• Kup : Heck of day...

  Rodimus Prime : Tell me about it; I was at the Imperial Palace all afternoon with the Prime Minister.

  Kup : Ah, you've had worse times.

  Rodimus Prime : Yeah, when do they get better? That's what I wanna know.

  Kup : What's eating you?

  Rodimus Prime : I don't know Kup. I feel... boxed in.

  Kup : Like the weight of the world rests on your shoulders?

  Rodimus Prime : Yeah...

  Kup : Like you wanna... run away?

  Rodimus Prime : Yeah, and how. The responsibilities...

  [Marissa drives up behind Rodimus and comes running out of her vehicle] 

  Marissa Faireborn : Hey Rodimus, we've got a problem! Earth Defense Command needs...

  Rodimus Prime : Not you too! Gimme a break, will ya? Since when am I the only one who can solve everbody's problems?

  Marissa Faireborn : But... but...

  Rodimus Prime : [transforms and drives away]  Just leave me alone!

  Marissa Faireborn : What's with him?

  Kup : Giri.

  Marissa Faireborn : Giri?

  Kup : Japanese word; it means "the burden hardest to bear."

  Marissa Faireborn : Ah, he's feeling the pressures of leadership; is that it?

  Kup : Same thing happened to Optimus Prime after the Matrix was passed to him; Optimus learned to live with his Giri and respect it.

  Marissa Faireborn : And now it's Rodimus' turn. Is there anything we can do to help?

  Kup : Nope. He's gotta resolve it for himself.

  Marissa Faireborn : Still, maybe he could use somebody to talk to.

• [as Hot Rod observes a Kendo training session] 

  Kendo Sensei : You are troubled, Autoboto-san?

  Hot Rod : Who, me? Nah.

  Kendo Sensei : You are lying, Autoboto-san.

  Hot Rod : Yeah, I am.

  Kendo Sensei : You wonder why I tell young Osu to banish thinking; to expect nothing. You wonder how victory can be achieved without expectations.

  Hot Rod : The thought crossed my mind, yeah.

  Kendo Sensei : One cannot think of victory, without also considering its opposite.

  Hot Rod : Defeat.

  Kendo Sensei : And thinking of defeat distracts the mind from what must be done in order to win.

  Hot Rod : Gotcha. And what must be done?

  Kendo Sensei : Whatever destiny obliges one to do; one's Giri. For he who deserts his obligation is already defeated.

  Hot Rod : Thank you, Sensei. You've given me a lot to think about.

  [bows] 

• [Rodimus, after losing the Matrix, has reverted back to Hot Rod] 

  Hot Rod : Oh, my aching head! What hit me?

  [notices the others looking at him] 

  Hot Rod : What hit *you?* What are you all staring at? You look like you've seen a ghost!

  Ultra Magnus : We have... Hot Rod.

  Hot Rod : Hot Ro...

  Ultra Magnus : You no longer possess the Matrix.

  Hot Rod : Yeah, I thought I felt something different!

  Springer : How do you feel, Roddy? Strong enough to go after them?

  Hot Rod : Wait a minute, what's the rush?

  Ultra Magnus : The Matrix is the essence of the Autobots; our link to our history, and our future. Without it...

  Hot Rod : Aren't you getting a little carried away here? I'm still me, you're still you, Matrix, schmatrix!

  Marissa Faireborn : Hot Rod, listen to what you're saying!

  Hot Rod : I know exactly what I'm saying! I'm telling you - *all* of you - that I'm sick of being responsible for the preservation of the universe and its outlying suburbs! Day in and day out, punch this Decepticon, bash that Decepticon, what's the point? This has been going on a few dozen millennia now, and I don't see it changing! Do you? You want the Matrix back? Swell! Go get it! But find some other sucker to carry it!

  [walks off] 

  Hot Rod : Cause I QUIT!

  [transforms and drives away] 

• Old Woman : We're trapped! We'll be killed!

  Scourge : Remarkable, the woman is clairvoyant!

  [Hot Rod shows up to save Osu and the old woman] 

  Hot Rod : Scourge?

  Scourge : Yes! And now you shall feel the destructive power of your own Matrix!

  Hot Rod : The Matrix did this to you? Then I *have* to take it back! I see now it is *my* obligation! I belong to *it*... as much as *it* belongs to me!

• Hot Rod : The Matrix did this to you? Then I have to take it back. I see now it is my obligation. I belong to it... as much as it belongs to me!

• [last lines, as Rodimus returns to his friends after regaining the Matrix] 

  Rodimus Prime : Looks like you did okay without me.

  Ultra Magnus : Hot Rod! Uh, Rodimus!

  Kup : Well, son of a gun. Found that missing part, huh?

  Rodimus Prime : Not just the Matrix, Kup. A missing part of... myself.

  Kup : That's the point, son. No matter who carries the Matrix, that part's what you'll never lose.