This musing took me in the direction of reflecting on the current state of affairs for super grim-dark, depressing media and how I'm over this type of thing being touted as "realistic."
The reason why I'm posting this in the BW Talk section and not the rant section is that this thought process brought me to a revelation. In my mind, Dinobot is about the perfect level of grim-dark as TF should get. He is the tragic hero who is tormented by the difficult position he is in fighting with his identity and what is means to be himself. But it's not all doom and gloom. He has a sense of humour. He is loyal. He is willing to sacrifice for a cause he believes in. Nobility and tragedy all mixed into one.
Just a personal opinion but I'd be interested to see if anyone else has any other thoughts on the matter
I think if this moment didn't happen no one would think Dinobot would do such a thing, but he did. It makes him more complex of a character. He laughs, loves, and shows respect and honor to towards who show it. It makes him a real. Similar to Megatron in a way as well since, even though Megatron is an irredeemable pomopous jerk with delusions of grandeur, he has complex motivations and emotions as well as a sense of humor about himself. A dark sense of humor, which fits his character, but still, a sense of humor regardless.