Wise Counsel

I've always liked the aspect of Optimus as a mentor and father-figure.
Jack, more than any of the other human "sidekicks" I can remember, seems to emulate him. Over the three seasons of the show, there's little things like his body language, where he looks for approval, even the way he says certain things.

In "Rock Bottom", Megatron seems to be aware of some sort of bond between Jack and Prime. Enough that he knows that threatening to tell Optimus about their conversation in the mines will shake Jack up.

Then when Magnus showed up and strutted around like he owned the place, did you notice how Wheeljack isn't as tense after Jack very firmly states that his is only a temporary command?

I really wish that the show had expanded on that more, instead of cutting off so early.