Siege episode 1: Difference between revisions
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===Animation and technical errors=== | ===Animation and technical errors=== | ||
*Megatron's fusion cannon disappears after he offers Wheeljack a chance to renounce the Autobot cause, and doesn't reappear until Optimus arrives. | |||
===Trivia=== | ===Trivia=== | ||
Revision as of 02:32, 1 August 2020
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| Episode 1 | ||||||
| Production company | Allspark Animation, Rooster Teeth | |||||
| Airdate | July 30, 2020 (Netflix) | |||||
| Written by | George Krstic | |||||
| Director | Takashi Kamei | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
Weary from war with the Decepticons and desperate for energy, Optimus Prime attempts to recruit an energon scavenger named Bumblebee to the Autobot cause.
Synopsis
War rages across Cybertron. Bumblebee and Wheeljack skulk about on the ravaged surface, hiding from the Seekers overhead. Wheeljack's stumbling nearly gets the pair caught by Skywarp; after the Decepticon abandons his quick search, Bumblebee berates Wheeljack for his lack of stealth. As Wheeljack grows impatient with the scavenger, Bumblebee leads him to a hidden chamber that contains a cache of energon. More surprising, however, is the presence of a derelict spacebridge! Wheeljack can hardly contain himself, earning rebukes from Bumblebee as he rushes to activate it. For Wheeljack, the spacebridge is a matter of the Autobots' survival and could turn the course of the war in their favor. But Bumblebee explains he was only hired to scout for energon and has no interest at all at choosing an allegiance in the Autobot-Decepticon war. Unfortunately, Jetfire and his Seekers arrive and force the issue.
Starscream prepares to attack them both, but Jetfire puts him in his place for overstepping his authority by slicing off his arm just above the wrist. An agonized Starscream accuses Jetfire of weakness before their enemies and rallies the other Seekers against him. As Jetfire battles against his own team, Megatron arrives, cutting off Wheeljack's and Bumblebee's retreat.
Megatron mocks the "disarmed" Starscream and offers empathy to the war-weary Wheeljack, claiming that he too wants the war to end. Wheeljack resists his attempt to recruit him to the Decepticon cause. Megatron then chastises Bumblebee for remaining neutral and orders that the two be executed just as Optimus Prime arrives. The two leaders argue, with Megatron claiming the war will end as soon as Prime signs a treaty. Prime rebuts that the treaty will enslave all of Cybertron. They discuss their shared legacy from Alpha Trion and lament how far they've strayed from his teachings. At an impasse, they begin to fight, with Megatron quickly gaining the upper hand. As Megatron prepares to deal the deathblow, Elita ambushes him from above, sending the Decepticons into disarray. Prime orders Elita to detonate hidden explosives around the Decepticons, covering the Autobots' (and Bumblebee's) retreat.
En route to the Autobots' base, Elita doubts Bumblebee's trustworthiness; he in turn has no interest in following the Autobots, but throws in his lot with them rather risk encountering the Decepticons again. He follows the Autobots into their hologram-cloaked base, a Vanguard-class starship. Inside, Bumblebee understands the Autobots' desperation for energon as he witnesses their beleaguered state; low on energon, many lie near-deactivated waiting for medic Red Alert to repair them.
Meanwhile, Prime goes to confer with military commander Ultra Magnus, after Elita expresses her concern over Prime's safety. Magnus believes that the interminable struggle is useless and urges Prime to sign Megatron's treaty. After Prime refuses to sign it again, Magnus bitterly notes his stubbornness and leaves.
At his repair bay, Red Alert patches up Bumblebee as Prime enters. Bumblebee is not moved by the Autobots' plight or mission, and rejects Prime's invitation to join them. As Hound and Elita express concern that Bumblebee may reveal their hidden location to the enemy, Prime demands they allow him to leave.
Meanwhile, Megatron gives a speech to the Decepticons, stating that the Autobots not only refuse to sign the treaty, but also attempted to assassinate him. This galvanizes the Decepticons to attack the Autobots and end the war as soon as possible. Afterwards, as Jetfire and Starscream bicker over how to destroy the Autobots, Megatron claims he knows Prime's weakness: his sense of honor and brotherhood.
This discussion is interrupted by the arrival of a lone, cloaked figure, seeking an audience with Megatron...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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|
|
Quotes
"If the Seekers were under my command, you would be dead by my hand."
"You mean that hand?"
- —Starscream got his arm sliced off by Jetfire, but it's Wheeljack who really cut him
"Cybertron needs freedom."
"Cybertron needs strength...my strength."
- —Optimus Prime and Megatron summarize their philosophies
"He’s a pain in the ass, that’s who he is."
- —Wheeljack’s low opinion of Bumblebee challenges the show’s TV-Y7 rating.
"No, I'm not signing up for your fight!"
"I was not asking you to—"
"You were about to."
"Huh...am I that obvious?"
- —Bumblebee is wise to Optimus Prime's game
Notes
Transformers references
- The series opens with Bumblebee and Wheeljack searching for energon while evading enemies, mirroring the first moments of the original Generation 1 cartoon pilot.
- Wheeljack speaks by flashing his "ears", a technique not seen since the original cartoon and briefly in the Bumblebee movie.
- A yellow/black, green/black, and blue/black trio of Seekers appear in the opening scene (the blue one is shot down immediately), but these are not Ion Storm, Acid Storm, and Nova Storm. The real Rainmakers in their real colors show up in Episode 6.
- Bumblebee mentions racing on Velocitron.
- As with many versions of the character, Jetfire starts as a Decepticon. However, his position as Starscream's commanding officer stands in contrast to their traditional portrayal as old friends.
- As he defies Megatron, Wheeljack quotes Optimus Prime's original motto.
- Red Alert is an Autobot medic, much like his Armada and Animated counterparts.
- As has become the standard for his character, Megatron is portrayed as a revolutionary who rebelled against Cybertronian corruption alongside Optimus Prime after ascending from a life in the energon mines and gladiatorial pits. His insistence that his followers were oppressed for how they were born draws parallels to Functionism.
- From its notable mentions of Alpha Trion as a revolutionary leader to Autobots and Decepticons being separate types of Transformers constructed for different purposes, Siege seems to be using elements of the G1 cartoon's Quintesson origin alongside the Aligned-esque conventions that Hasbro has tried to standardize in recent years.
Animation and technical errors
- Megatron's fusion cannon disappears after he offers Wheeljack a chance to renounce the Autobot cause, and doesn't reappear until Optimus arrives.
Trivia
- Unlike most of the cast, Bumblebee and Elita-1's designs are based on their appearances in the 2019 IDW continuity rather than any specific toy.
- Jetfire is seen using a forearm-mounted laser sword, a weapon not seen on prior versions of the character.
