I think Ben kind of has like a bit of a narcissistic and Addiction related personality, so he has to often fight within himself relapsing into chasing fame, and stimulation, which is why these themes repeat. Like being an alcoholic is taboo, but being a fame Junkie isn't, so itst kinda hard to shame Ben in universe to not chase fame as much, and Ben can justify to himself that's it's fine that he chases fame, like he did in the beginning of the episode. It's not being instilled that Fame is a shallow virtue, and being a famous person is just a job like anything else, like how Ben had to sit there above the dunk tank. Also, he doesn't control that he's so inclined to chase fame, which is why around 24:59 he admits to himself that it's not the way.
Look, I'm fine with the repeated moral here. Ben knows what it means to be a true hero. But that doesn't mean he's not allowed to want to feel appreciated or celebrated. You can recognize junk food is unhealthy but still want to eat it. It's only a problem if Ben lets it get in the way of being a hero or his personal relationships which he doesn't do in this episode.
The issue isn't really that Ben isn't allowed to like being appreciated or celebrated, it's more that they imply that's his deepest desire - which is kinda insulting. That and the fact they have him go through that again, and again, and again. Regardless of how justified it is, it feels repetitive and we'd like to see him go through other stuff.
I think that Ben having to relearn the same lessons over and over again is very relatable. Sometimes, in life, we need to be reminded constantly of who we are and what our true values are in order to be the best people we can be. We are flawed beings who strive to be better than our past selves and mistakes
I think something you overlooked that is worth noting is that at 23:10 two of the people in the crowd cheering for Ben are Pakmar and Mr Bauuman, the two people who express frustration towards him for destroying their stores.
this scene shows me that what Ben really wants is not just to be famous (he already was famous) but to be beloved, that's why the beginning of the episode was so important, because shows that his "fans" dont really care for him or respect him the way he thinks that he deserves
@@rubendelgado5098 yeah! I like this theory....more than being famous since he already has it is being liked😊, like we see multiple times one of the first things Ben fans ask Ben is to transform or that they don't like the alien he currently is😂
Ben's gone toe to toe with interdimensional beings without even flinching but when Malware shows up, he genuinely scared. Really goes to show how much Malware traumatized him.
Has he? Unless you count Hex and Charmcaster people from other dimensions have always given Ben pause, especially Diagon. Heck even Dr. Animo after a Null Void power up was beating Ben like a rug when they fought.
4:48 Kuro's still not over the flower from Eunice's episode in UA lmao. Love it. Also as some people pointed out in the comments, it's probably not Ben relearning the lesson again, but moreso learning that he has to take action for what he's learnt, and simply just understanding his mistakes isn't enough, which is why debatably I'd give the Characterization a 4 rather than a 3, since it's something new in my eyes for Ben and the Psycholeopterran jumpstarted his mental attitude there. (Terroranchula is my favorite predator personally, I love mean monster designs a lot) Beautiful animation for Heatblast though, I love seeing him on screen everytime.
I think the crew has said that the flashbacks are more like weekend trips, so grandpa knowing them to get hurt, at least makes some sense by the way, there’s anyone else think ben mentioning Ghostfreek species was a hint that some predators may be useful against multiple different species that never went anywhere
I really like Ben remembering that Zs'Skayr named drop his species since that was like 4-5 second moment that he could forgotten but he didn't, showing how smart even Kid Ben is.
It's actually terrifying to think if someone with human level brain could us the nematrix without the losing mind part. Slamworm and the hypnomoth could end Ben's life 10 seconds flat, if used correctly.
I've always interpreted this as a proof of his development. Of course Ben still wants fame and glory but he doesn't let it get on his way anymore, so he snaps out of the tentation by himself, and the hole thing with the charity being an acknowledgment of the problems with his development and proof that despite sometimes getting distracted, in the end of the day he still carries his lessons with him
I love this episode, one of my favourite Ben’s reaction seeing Malware again after he thought he destroyed Malware was great animated and voice acted, like he was 11 when he removed Feedback from the Omnitrix, it still haunts him to this day.
I know buglizard shows up alot but maybe there is some logic here, Ben does transform into multiple aliens that could be considered "weak" to buglizard right before the attack so maybe kyber was being strategic.
Also in comparison to the other predators it's both similar to Zed's normal body and has really good mobility. Most of the other predators are really destructive or clunky while moving.
I've had a theory for YEARS about Ben's repeated character arc. In Ben 10,000, young Ben learns the TOTAL wrong lesson from his future self, thinking he's "such a jerk," and as a result, Ben actively avoids maturing.
@@mechajay3358 yeah, like the person above said, he had no choice in the beginning, and also was out of practice. He hadn't used the omnitrix in 5 years, and had adjusted to life as a normal human kid. Becoming Ben 10,000 wasn't something he was worried about until it became apparent that he wasn't removing the watch again any time soon.
The Hypnotick scene to me felt less like "Ben learning the same lesson" and more like he was trying to shake off the hypnosis by reminding himself that fame isn't important to him anymore
Bens reaction to Malware is the best part of the episode. Fear from Malware and Feedback. Confusion from him being alive. The threat being scared. And i think the first time ever, Ben actually is going to kill Malware
Breakdown series since Classic really changed the way I watch animated shows. I would love to see Kuro's reactions to some of the most famous scenes from some other shows like the Bill Cipher battle from Gravity Falls or Rick Prime battle from Rick and Morty.
7:37 If I was dunking Ben, I would have asked for Diamondhead. BTW I love his 5YL design. Then again, it is really hard to do him wrong, (UAF still somehow managed to do it) but the 5YL design really feels like Diamondhead.
So an interesting fact, Corey Burton (voice of Malware abd brainstorm) and Paul Eiding (voice of grandpa Max) have worked together before voicing G1 transformers characters (Corey voiced Shockwave and Eiding voiced Perceptor). What makes it fun is that in transformers animated that Derrick J Wyatt worked on, Corey Burton voiced the characters megatron, Ratchet and reprise his role as Shockwave alongside other voice actors who voiced ben 10 Ov like David Kaye and Bumper Robinson. So seeing these guys now voicing ben 10 is pretty wild for transformers fans.
I feel like we're meant to assume Nemetrix has a counter for all of Ben's aliens, and it just happens to be these guys that we see. But also, Zed is pretty good at also using predators against unconventional prey, like when Crabdozer wrecked Spider-monkey. So it's not like Ben can switch into anything, and he's safe.
When you think about it, Julius saw Ben saving the day on this episode, so when Ben knocked on the next episode at Mr Smoothie's he was thankful and opened for him...
You and I interpreted that one scene very differently. Every instance before then, ben had only "consciously understood" the lesson. It was never internalized. It's the difference of "knowing right from wrong" but still wanting to do the wrong thing vs "not wanting something that's wrong". In that scene, it was hypnosis. A mental projection. Aka, "in the mind", so I think that scene represented his subconscious. He always had the dark desire. . . but only now did he, on a subconscious level, actually change his desires. From this point onward, his actual "internal" desire is to do the right thing. Until outside influences change his internals again that is. Ben is adaptive. . . even to a fault. If the situation shows fame is bad, he adapts to embrace that. If another instance rewards ben for fame, he then adapts to "fame is good". Being adaptive is a core characteristic of ben, so I think it's neat that even his morals, his own subconscious. . . is NATURALLY adaptive as well. It shows what makes him a flawed character and yet also a good hero. This is my headcanon for the resets. The natural adaptiveness of ben makes him more susceptible to outside negative influences where he only acts against those influences when they show themselves as bad (like when ben was ready to kill kevin AS SOON AS he turned evil again). That's how wishy-washy adaptive ben is as a character. And he's CONSISTENTLY been this way.
@@theamazingspooderman2697 I added this comment in the community poll too. I did slight edits there that re-enforce the focus and removed the context of it relating to this episode. It might be a better screenshot than this comment. . . if you can find it that is. xD
Ben 10 going through a Peter Parker development. The moment he matures and develops, he gets sent back to being the same classic for new audiences. He can never be a adult.
but the last two episodes aren't exactly character reset moments though also how many times have u and me learnt the same thing more than once in our lives? plenty right? thats why these two are my favorite characters (btw a new Ultimate Spider-Man comic is coming with Peter as father and husband)
6:15 - huh that’s an interesting factoid, Sapmi/Sami people founded Bellwood is not what I would have guessed. This should theoretically cement Bellwood in the roughly New England area, but who knows at this point considering they’ve had a straight up Desert wasteland outside Bellwood IIRC, Celestialsapiens are a meme
The reasoning I have for why Zed is always Bug Lizard is that the nematrix transformations might be painful, and since they both have similar body shapes, it's less painful to become big lizard. At least that's my idea.
0:52 I don't agree that the omniverse one is about that at all. i've always seen it as self-forgiveness and not letting your past mistakes affect your future for what i can recall that's a first in terms of development for ben
I feel like this isn't the usual he forget and need to relearn the same lesson episode; at least if it were, it would be the more central point of the episode than this. On the other hand, I really like it because it feels like they kept his progression, like the Hypnotick forced him to see the fame dream, and he instantly snapped out of it by himself. I mean, no one is teaching him that same old lesson in this episode, right?
Ben relearning the same lesson, and more of using the lesson he had learned in practice. There's a stark difference between learning you need to change, and actually putting it into practice. And to me, this episode feels like the latter, with the hypnosis just giving him the kick to realize that he's regressing.
I can see the Plumbers setting up the Mount Rushmore base since the Omnitrix attracts villains, but then after Ben took it off within that year, Magister Gilhil deemed the threat level on Earth to be low and packed up shop. Then the reason for why Magister Gilhil said "5 years ago" instead of "4 years ago" could just be a rounding error on his part.
Honestly a pretty good episode to introduce Malware to Ben and really sets up a lot of interesting things for the Malware Arc. Happy it got a good score
The way I like to interpret it is that Ben is already famous yes, but it's not really what he envisioned it, and sure, he's learned that being a hero is not about the fame and praise, but he's young and despite getting that it shouldn't be that way, deep down he still kinda wishes he was getting praised at every moment, I think it's a case of him having to be reminded sometimes of that to keep those feelings in check until they truly go away, sure, it'd be better if he didn't had to be reminded as often as he does or at least if it wasn't portrayed as him forgetting his development, but I did like how this episode portrayed it with Hypnotick going for those inner feelings and it being Ben alone who pulls himself out by acknowleging that being a hero isn't about that, because he's learned that multiple times in the past, even when that day he was feeling kinda humiliated by the fact that his first public appearance after some time was a water dunk, he then takes it with pride and even the earlier kid apologizes for being kinda mean to him.
Just in case you haven’t seen it, there’s a very interesting video theorizing that predators are not for one species exclusively but to a trait in particular various aliens share It makes a lot of sense and it makes the season one finale a little bit better ;)
I always felt that the ciclic personality of Ben is his inner figth between "what I want to do and what I have to do" And I think that's reflected in the episode when he knows that is not about the fame, but he wants the fame. It happens to me, I do and think things that I know I shouldn't, but you always have monents of weakness when you lose control of your mind. For example I know that I should respect myself more, and sometimes I do it, and others I "forget" all the realizations I had in the past. And I think that has sence on Ben because, you really are giving infinite powers to a kid, that's a huge ego boost. A kid gets a new Playstation and already feels that is the king of the world. If anything is remarcable that Ben is not a jerk after growing up with the power of a god.
If I were to be hypnotized by the Hypnotick, my biggest desire would be to be a superhero like Ben or Hal. Very simple, but damn the Omnitrix and Lantern Ring are so cool.
You could argue that the nemetrix messes with the omnitrix which is why he can only get the natural prey aliens. Sense in alien force azmith explains that there can't be more then one omnitrix. But that's my head canon.
1:48 Honestly, I think this could’ve been a fun plot point to mess with. Like, at some point, Azmuth realizes that the bouncing between species and their respective intelligences is really screwing with Ben’s mind.
Azmuth, the most intelligent being in 5 galaxies, not thinking about the possibility of the Omnitrix causing damage to someone's brain is kind of bullshit. It doesn't make sense for this to be a relevant plot xD
If Big Chill's predator hypnotized me, I would probably either see a crowd of fans who like my art or a woman who said she just wanted to be with me and was genuine about it.
My head canon for this episode when the hypnotic tried using its powers on ben in the flashback it somehow sensed Bigchills DNA in the omnitrix even though ben wouldn't have access to him for another 4 years
Okay so, When these breakdowns first went into not being every episode, I was wondering about how Kuro would tackle the bell and heatblast Cause it does make sense it wouldn't catch on fire because Walnut is a hard wood
I also noticed Malware's Tachyon cannon being on the other arm in the present day, and then I looked at all the other episodes we see his third form in, and even during the flashback in Showdown part 1 it's always on his left arm. Although Malgax manifests it on both arms at one point so I guess he can switch it around due to his Mechamorph abilities. Also Corey Burton is so good especially in this episode, I didn't immediately catch it but he also voices the Plumber with red hair who greets Max, and he's the alarm voice when Malware attacks the base, in addition to playing Malware and Brainstorm.
10:21 maybe it’s because bug lizard is the predator with the most similar shape to Zed’s natural form Slam worm, hypnotic, omnivoracious, mucilator and vicetopus and all wildly different shapes and proportions And crab dozer and terrorantula seem to have more drastic size changes, and in an early episode of OV Zed shakes heavily as she transforms, maybe it’s slightly uncomfortable to change into these monstrous aliens so she defaults to bug lizard It might explain why Ben always goes for his more humanoid aliens eg four arms and humongousaur over aliens with more drastic differences to Ben’s natural form like stinkfly, amphibian or brainstorm
If it hypnotized me it would be like that scene in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, where Rocket was begging to go with the otter and his friends. Because the thing I want most is to die and be good enough to reunite with my dead loved ones. I just desperately want a family again.
Ben wanting to be a beloved hero being a lesson he needs to relearn doesn’t feel like a flaw since people can want something to happen but they also have a conscious that holds them back for various reasons like how it can affect others or the means to reach that desire. Basically like intrusive thoughts but it’s more broad than that.
I always took Ben's hypnosis scene as him overcoming his own deep selfish desires. He wants everyone to love him. He wants to be famous and this creature is giving him what he wants. But he knows the truth. Sure the fame is great, and he has had it already. But the rewards for seeing a happy person who he saved is better. And this creature can't give him what he already has. What he already went through. So his subconscious mind is breaking free of this hypnosis to continue the good fight.
I certainly am fond of this episode! Hypnotic is a predator with a very useful ability with a lot of creative potential, and I adored seeing malwares new form emerge from absorbing the tachyon cannon. Personally I like the moral learned in this episode since even though ben is tempted he still reminds himself about what's right himself without others telling him so in the hallucination. 10:34 I love buglizard! 14:33 oh that is pretty neat actually. 18:06 ehhh I'd probably live as one of my weird sonas or OC's, or at least a more 'pampered' and exciting life of theirs without the written risks. 21:50 the transformation is cool! My favorite of malwares pretty much, but Damn! The proposed effect of his gun always put me in awe! I made you think that whole town might be at risk if malware even shot one person!
20:40 The soundtrack is also present in the episodes hot stretch( the opening scene ), rules of engagement ( the opening scene ), showdown part 1 ( heatblast scene ) and the ultimate heist ( the opening scene ). That is from what i can remember
Love the shirt rip for the stinkfly transformation, it like explodes outwards and immediately wraps back inward, stretching up when the transformation has him haunch down for a sec.
I think Omniverse Ben always has the time out when transforming back, even when doing it on purpose, so I don’t think it’s a time out… prob just always added in.
I feel like this isn't a rehash of the same lesson, this episode is showing that he already learned the lesson, and that he can use the lesson to deal with his own like, vice
10:06 shout out to the background character who is a girl with a giant bow. Up to this point, she's seen in many episodes, sometimes even changing hair color.
On one hand, I do love how fans interpret Omniverse episodes. But on the other hand, I hate that fans have to pick up the slack on Ben's regressions, and interpret a reason that the writers did not have. Because the difference between knowing you need to change and fully internalizing it could be a great concept. But that's not what the writers want.
The idea I always thought would be cool (I haven’t watched the whole series so they might do this idk) is a situation where Ben turns into an alien and ZED has to improvise with their own predators
It's interesting cause I literally never noticed Malware changing appearance in this episode(and in general) when I first watched Omiverse but that's cause i was still trying to take the design in and the only thing i really retained was color scheme and aesthetic i guess
While I was also irritated by the whole Ben having to relearn his lesson, I still consider this episode was worth the watch mostly for the progress on the Malware arc. It was nice that they explain where he got his second form from, and the fact Ben was afraid of him did make me intrigued about him further.
My Hypnotick hallucination would likely be me as my truest self, surrounded by cats and close friends, far far away from the rest of the world. Likely somewhere people couldn't hurt me and my crew emotional or physically. Either that, or just being in a rocket flying to some other place in the galaxy, while watching the stars go by. I suppose my hallucination would be about being somewhere peaceful and safe is what I'm saying.
6:14 Or… just ignore it. It doesn’t matter anyway. But about Ben, when you have as much power and fame as he does, it would be easy to forget that you aren’t the center of the universe. Especially when, you know, you can literally remake the entire universe and have done so on at least one occasion. 14:07 Granted, Echo Echo could probably use that attack on anyone and anything and get a kill. He’s actually really deadly.
I always thought Teen ben in hypnosis wasn't wanting to be famous (because he already is) but wanted everyone too like him because he has so many people (like Pakmar who you can see in the vision) hate him.
Not gonna lie, my greatest desire would be to have a mudsdale, rapidash, or scoliopede or(this list kinda goes on for a while) and just kinda snuggle on a pile of hay in a stable/barn on a warm golden afternoon.
Yea i agree completely bens personality is all over the place but that particular big chill scene lust felt like reaffirmation, like looking into the mirror ro remind yourself wha you stand for, not that he's learning it again, but yes most of the time thats just what they do they reset him
Ok HEAR ME OUT 👀....The celestial sapiens being behind Ben's character arc can be a good enough reason cz he's the only mortal to harness a celestial sapien dna with full efficiency almost....breaking beyond the triple consciousness problem......so they can see him as a threat and try to change his character arc again and again in hopes of preventing him from u locking entire potential of Alien X or just think of him as being unworthy but necessary for universe and that's why as a sign of dilemma or regret they keep changing his character arc 🤔
Honestly what i think is that just one or two episodes wont change a person, thats Ben and its tough for him to change himself. He has changed from when he was a kid, you can see it in UA when he met his young self.
I genuinely don't know what a Hypnotick's hypnosis would show me. As someone with heavy Aphantasia, I feel like it would either just be something super simple that I would want in that moment OR just not work at all since I can't mentally "see" things. Or maybe it would just hijack a different but vision connected sense like hearing, since the predator's visions put you into a full mental minds eye.
I imagine the reason Ben turns into the prey aliens of the predators is because the watch was (in part) made to allow the user to walk a mile in another species shoes. The watch detects the predator of an alien it has, so it turns the user into that alien because they’re both from the same planet. Not really a good theory but best I can imagine why it happens
I agree with Ben always having to repeat his character arc. But then again, this series predates action series like Star vs the Forces of Evil or later Adventure Time seasons. That was a time when character development in cartoons actually mattered. It's been like that ever since.
A interesting personal conflict that I could see ben 10 grapple with more deeply (and it kinda has a little) Is the idea that ben subconsciously wants there to be people in danger so he can be the hero.
I don’t know which episode it is. But I’m pretty sure there’s a moment when Rooks at the Burger Shack & Julius also works there. But he has a different voice, skin & hair colour. Kind of just funny because if this show came out today you would not be able to get away with clear colour swapping on established models.
