Escape From Earth

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Now let's blow this thing and go home!
"Escape From Earth"
Season	2
No. in season	13
Production company	Allspark Animation
Airdate	September 14, 2019 (Australia/NZ) November 22, 2019 (CN app/website) November 30, 2019 (USA)
Writer	Mae Catt
Director	Jean Texier
Animation studio	Boulder Media Studio
Watch this episode on YouTube

With AllSpark in hand, the Autobots launch a daring mission to return it to Cybertron.

Synopsis

Optimus Prime runs through a corridor that suddenly morphs into a pit, sending him crashing to the floor below. As he rises, he is surprised to find himself staring at the back of his deceased mentor Alpha Trion. Attempts to speak with the shade go unanswered, and as Optimus tries to turn Trion around he finds himself facing his mentor's back again. And again. And again. Horrified, Optimus cries out...

And in the real world, Bumblebee is relieved to see Optimus's comatose body finally show signs of life. As he and the others rush Optimus to medical, Grimlock contacts Ratchet to receive them. Meanwhile, Starscream regains consciousness to find himself in the Ark's brig, where Prowl welcomes him to his new home. Starscream's attempt to attack using the power of the AllSpark results in nothing but mocking laughter from Rack'n'Ruin, and as a furious Starscream blames Optimus for the loss of his power, Prowl warns him that he'd better hope Optimus recovers.

Ratchet correctly diagnoses Optimus' condition as having something to do with the Matrix of Leadership since he can't find anything wrong physically, proven when Cheetor expresses confusion as to why the AllSpark can't heal him. Sure enough, Optimus finds himself floating and confronted by a gigantic image of the Matrix.

While Optimus is incapacitated, Hot Rod decides to carry out a plan Optimus had already developed earlier. With Grimlock acting as mission control, Prowl, Bumblebee and Cheetor, Windblade, Jetfire and Autobot soldier "Red Five" all prepare to launch shuttles, intent on carrying the AllSpark through the space bridge high above Earth and back to Cybertron. As the five shuttles launch, Windblade reviews the plan once more: four of the five shuttles are decoys and only the one with the AllSpark needs to reach the Space Bridge. She grimly notes that this will be a one-way trip, as the Decepticons will eagerly destroy all five shuttles for the AllSpark.

Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron listens in on their plan and is happy to oblige, ordering the ship to take off in pursuit. Quickly catching up, the Nemesis deploys fighters in pursuit of the Autobots. The "battle" is as short as it is one-sided, as despite being able to take out a number of Decepticon fighters, one-by-one the Autobot shuttles are destroyed. Jetfire and Windblade are the last to perish at the cannons of the Nemesis...

Or so it appears. With their remote controlled shuttles destroyed and the Decepticons suitably distracted with sifting through the debris for the AllSpark, Hot Rod gives the order for the Ark to launch. Teletraan-X soon reports that the Ark is on a direct course to the space bridge and then to Cybertron. As the Autobots cheer, Bumblebee wishes Optimus was there celebrating with them. Optimus has his own concerns, however, for he is being drawn into the gigantic Matrix in his vision and vanishes into it as the talisman slams shut.

Shockwave reports that the AllSpark is not aboard any of the destroyed shuttles, but as Megatron comes to terms with this news, not all is lost for the Decepticon cause: Sky-Byte, not fooled by the Autobot ploy, has launched a one-robot assault on the Ark and breaks onto the bridge to attack the command crew directly. Grimlock manages to knock the shark off the ship, but Sky-Byte has bought time for the Nemesis to arrive and the Ark is soon bombarded by the warship's full destructive power.

As the smaller ship crumbles under the firepower of the Nemesis, Optimus is jostled awake and begins making his way to the bridge. Starscream demands to speak to Cheetor, urging him to use the AllSpark. Seeing little choice, Cheetor obliges, the artifact repairing all the damage sustained thus far and restoring the Ark to pristine shape. With this second wind, the Ark outpaces the Nemesis and heads right for the space bridge.

An infuriated Megatron declares the Autobots must not use the space bridge, an assessment Shockwave agrees with as he presses a button and causes the Space Bridge to explode. The stunned Autobots are shaken out of their despair by Optimus' return to the bridge. Taking his place on the captain's seat, he orders Teletraan-X to set course for Cybertron and the Ark quickly heads into deep space.

Meanwhile, Megatron is outraged, demanding to know why Shockwave resorted to destroying the space bridge, only for the cyclopean scientist to reply that he did no such thing, merely used a hard light hologram to fool the Autobots. A pleased Megatron praises Shockwave's deception and gives the order for the Nemesis to pass through the space bridge, intent on "welcoming" the Autobots when they reach Cybertron...

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in dream sequences.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Others
Optimus Prime (1) Alpha Trion (2) Bumblebee (3) Grimlock (4) Cheetor (5) Windblade (6) Autobot soldiers (7) Prowl (8) Rack'n'Ruin (10) Ratchet (11) Hot Rod (12) Jetfire (13) "Red Five" (14)	Starscream (9) Generic Seekers (15) Soundwave (16) Shockwave (17) Shadow Striker (18) Megatron (19) Sky-Byte (21)	Teletraan-X (20)

Quotes

"The Decepticons will have to destroy us all if they want to stop us!"
"Destroy them all!"

— Windblade and Megatron engage in a bit of comedic timing.

"Ow! It hurts!"
"Bumblebee! Are you all right?!"
(WINK)
"....Ow-it-hurts-me-too! Oh-no-we're-doomed!"

--Bumblebee and Cheetor are more than meets the eye.

"Did you really think your ploy would fool me?"

— Sky-Byte expresses his criticism of the Autobot decoy tactic.

Notes

Continuity notes

• Earth's space bridge was repaired and claimed by the Decepticons in "The Extinction Event."
• Wheeljack was trying to make the Ark space-worthy in "The Visitor." Evidently he got the Mega Fuel working.

Transformers references

• Hot Rod takes command of the Autobots in Optimus Prime's absence, similar to his G1 counterpart in the movie. Unlike the movie though, Optimus is not dead.

Real-world references

• The red generic is referred to as "Red Five" and declares he is "standing by", obviously referencing the original Star Wars film, where Luke Skywalker went by the same callsign and said the same line during the attack run on the Death Star.

Trivia

• While this episode was ambiguous as to whether Sky-Byte and Vector Sigma had been left behind on Earth, the "Battle For Cybertron II" confirmed that both had returned to Cybertron.
• Barring the flashbacks in "Wild Wild Wheel", this is the last episode of the series to feature Earth.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Tragi-comédie" ("Tragicomedy")
• Original airdate: October 13, 2019

German

• Title: "Flucht von der Erde"
• Original airdate: November 30, 2019

Indonesian

• Title: "Melarikan Diri Dari Bumi" ("Escape From Earth")
• Original airdate: October 22, 2019

Japanese

• Title: "Cybertron-sei e Mukae" (サイバトロン星へ向かえ, "Head to Planet Cybertron")
• Original airdate: December 14, 2019

Malay

• Title: "Bebas dari Bumi" ("Free from Earth")
• Original airdate: October 23, 2019

Portuguese

• Title: "Fuga da Terra" ("Escape from Earth")
• Original airdate: December 10, 2019

Home video releases

• TBA