Persuasion

« Transformers: Prime ep 63 »
"Persuasion"
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	July 12, 2013
Written by	Michael G. Stern
Directed by	Todd Waterman
Animation studio	Polygon Pictures

Megatron appeals to Ratchet; Optimus takes on Predaking.

Synopsis

Optimus Prime struggles to his feet after having been knocked out of the sky by Predaking, who transforms to robot mode and lands nearby. The Predacon charges up his blaster, but Optimus rebounds with a flurry of punches.

Inside the Solaris building, a firefight between Autobots and Vehicons is brought to a swift end by one of Wheeljack's grenades. The Autobots make their way into the next room, where Shockwave is overseeing the theft of the particle collider, and begin fighting the Decepticon forces there.

Outside, Optimus continues to hammer away at Predaking, temporarily keeping him on the defensive, but the Predacon lashes out with a savage kick that sends Optimus sprawling. Predaking transforms back to beast mode and is about to unleash a blast of flame at the prone Autobot when Megatron contacts him over the comm, ordering him to help secure the collider. Frustrated, Predaking fires his flame into the night sky.

Inside, the Autobots finish mopping up the Vehicons as Ultra Magnus beats Shockwave to his knees. He offers the Decepticon a chance to surrender before Predaking bursts in, makes short work of the Autobots, and flees with Shockwave and the collider. Outside, Optimus Prime rises shakily to his feet, just in time to see Predaking GroundBridge out.

Arcee radios Ratchet to return them to base. Fowler, Bulkhead, and Smokescreen are just coming to after being knocked out by Soundwave, and Bulkhead reports that Ratchet is gone.

Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron informs the captive Ratchet that he requires his assistance. Ratchet defiantly refuses to cooperate. Megatron says that cooperation isn't required, as Shockwave approaches the Autobot with a cortical psychic patch.

At the Autobot base, Arcee examines the piece of Laserbeak's wing that Smokescreen shot off while the young Autobot laments his poor aim. Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead confirm that Ratchet is nowhere on the premises, and that he didn't leave via the Autobot GroundBridge. Because there have been no ransom demands, Optimus reasons that Ratchet has something the Decepticons want.

Predaking learns that an Autobot is aboard the ship, and states that he's going to do to him what he failed to do to the Prime. Megatron explains that the captive is necessary for the restoration of Cybertron, but once that's no longer the case, he will be turned over to the Predacon.

While Fowler barks orders for increased surveillance and satellite monitoring into the phone, Wheeljack theorizes that the Decepticons took Ratchet for his synthetic energon formula. Smokescreen asks why that would be necessary when the Decepticons already control most of the planet's Energon. Optimus remembers Ratchet's belief that Megatron is attempting to rebuild the Omega Lock, and deduces that Synth En could be a necessary component. Fowler, now off the phone, relays his concern to the Autobots; if the Decepticons found Ratchet, it means they know the location of their base.

Shockwave reports that the psychic patch only confirms Ratchet has not yet stabilized the synthetic energon formula. Megatron tries a different tactic, waiting for Ratchet to revive and telling the Autobot directly that he wants to help him complete the formula. Ratchet rejects the idea outright, until Megatron reveals his intentions; that the Synth En, when combined with CNA, forms the basis for an alternative Cyber Matter that can be used to restore Cybertron. Ratchet refuses to collaborate with Megatron, calling him a barbarian responsible for destroying Cybertron in the first place and crushing Bumblebee's voice box. Megatron offers him a choice: the first option is to complete the formula. The second option is represented by an image of Jack, Raf, and Miko displayed on Soundwave's visor. Ratchet tries to feign disinterest in the humans, but the image on Soundwave's visor changes to that of the Autobot base. Megatron tells Ratchet that if he agrees to cooperate, the humans and the Autobots will not be harmed. The Decepticons leave him to ponder the offer, and Starscream asks if Megatron was being serious. Megatron says of course he wasn't, and tells Starscream to assemble his armada and destroy the Autobots' base once again.

At the base, Fowler and the Autobots are uneasy about the lack of Decepticon activity. Optimus notes that since the Cons aren't stealing Predacon bones or Earth technology anymore, there's no way to track them. Ultra Magnus suggests splitting into teams for some "old school" searching, but is interrupted by alarms signaling an incoming attack. As Starscream and a fleet of Vehicons emerge from the skies, soldiers rush to their jets to prepare a defense. Starscream commands his troops to concentrate their attack on Hangar E as the military jets open fire. Starscream evades the humans' artillery and lets loose a volley of missiles that hit Hangar E and reduce it to a fiery ruin. He reports to Megatron that the mission has been accomplished, and the Decepticons depart.

The Autobots watch as soldiers put out the flames amidst the rubble that used to be the mess hall, and Ultra Magnus muses that the Decepticons were fooled by a simple paint job. The actual Hangar E, now repainted to say F, is still in one piece.

Back on the Nemesis, Megatron has Ratchet released to give him a tour of the ship. Ratchet's first instinct is to attack, but he finds himself reluctantly impressed by the Decepticon technology. Megatron uses the opportunity to convince him that Autobots and Decepticons share a common goal in the restoration of Cybertron. Ratchet says that bringing back Cybertron would not stop Megatron's ambitions, which the Decepticon leader doesn't deny, but at least they would have a world worth fighting over. Ratchet asks what assurance he would have that Megatron would leave Earth alone. Megatron simply replies that no assurance is being offered, confident that Ratchet's desire to restore Cybertron will overpower his reservations.

At their base, the Autobots have realized that the piece of Laserbeak which Smokescreen shot off is his transponder. Raf hooks it up to his laptop and says that it's trying to communicate with the Decepticon warship. Jack asks how Raf can understand Cybertronian code, and Raf says that Ratchet used to teach him in his free time. Fowler asks if they can triangulate the signal, but Ultra Magnus reminds him it's going to a shielded ship. Arcee notes that if the transponder was still attached to Laserbeak, they could follow it. Wheeljack proposes giving it wings, and he and Raf start putting the idea into action.

Jack sees Fowler staring thoughtfully at the Apex Armor and asks if anything's wrong. Fowler admits he's been thinking of humanity's close calls at the hands of the Decepticons, and that technology like the armor could give their military agents a fighting chance even when the Autobots aren't around to protect them. He also suggests that Jack could be one of those agents himself someday, an idea he's apparently discussed with Jack's mother. Jack isn't thrilled to hear they've been talking about him, but his protest is interrupted by the result of Raf's work: Chip, a small flying device built to house Laserbeak's transponder, which will lead them straight to the Decepticon warship.

Ratchet posits that even if the Omega Lock could be reconstructed, there's no way to scientifically replicate the device's mystical properties. Megatron says they won't know until they try, and shows Ratchet their progress: an almost-completed Omega Lock, attached to the underbelly of the Nemesis. Realizing just how close they really are to being able to restore Cybertron, Ratchet agrees to complete the Synth En formula.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Optimus Prime (1) Wheeljack (4) Ultra Magnus (5) Arcee (6) Bumblebee (7) Bulkhead (10) Smokescreen (11) Ratchet (12)	Predaking (2) Vehicons (3) Shockwave (8) Megatron (13) Starscream (14) Soundwave (15)	William Fowler (9) Raf Esquivel (16) Miko Nakadai (17) Jack Darby (18)

Quotes

"This is no place for a one-handed Autobot."
"I'll take one bum hand over one good eye any day."

—Shockwave and Ultra Magnus trade politically incorrect barbs.

"Humans. Always the weak link."

—Starscream showing that he still doesn't quite get it.

"Ratchet didn't think this new hand he built for me was good enough. But I'll tell you what truly isn't good enough: giving up."

—Keep practicing those speeches, Ultra Magnus, profundity will come someday.

Ratchet: Megatron, you would just try to conquer Cybertron all over again, and enslave anyone who refuses to pledge allegiance to you.
Megatron: Of course I would!

—Decepticon or not, Megatron has little use for guile.

Ratchet: What assurance do I have that you would leave humankind be, and that you wouldn't instantly terminate me once you get what you need?
Megatron: None whatsoever. After all, we both know that as a Decepticon, any assurances I might offer would be worthless.

—Seriously, Megatron is crazy honest about lying.

"Miko, I needed that!"

—Raf hangs around Ratchet entirely too much.

Megatron: It will not take long for this Omega Lock's drives to be fully operational. All that is still needed to restore our home is the cybermatter to launch through it.
Ratchet: Which requires a stabilized formula for the production of synthetic energon.
Megatron: I have every confidence in you, doctor.
Ratchet: I'll do it. But then you already knew that, didn't you?

—Ratchet makes a deal with the aptly named Megatron, after which one can only hope that he has Daniel Webster on speed dial.

Notes

Continuity notes

• Megatron tearing out Bumblebee's vocoder is again referenced, this time explicitly. It was first detailed in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 1" and the novel Transformers: Exodus.
• Soundwave's picture of the children was taken way back in "Darkness Rising, Part 5".
• Starscream has previously described humans as "the weak link" in "Darkness Rising, Part 3".
• The Decepticons already destroyed one Autobot base in "Darkest Hour".
• Miko obtained the Apex Armor in "Chain of Command".
• Fowler mentions being stuck in Knock Out's trunk with June Darby, which occurred in "Plus One".

Transformers references

• Raf imitating Ratchet was influenced by Sari Sumdac imitating Ratchet back in Transformers Animated episode Lost and Found.
• Starscream being the sole Decepticon sent to destroy the Autobots yet the Autobots surviving using the power of deception is a reference to Dark of the Moon.
• Megatron is in great need of an Autobot's skills in engineering yet again.

Real-world references

• Fowler's dazed ramblings about there being "a man on the wing of this plane" refers to the famous The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".

Trivia

• Though Predaking named himself in "Evolution", this episode marks the first instance of him giving it to the Autobots.
• Shockwave mocks Ultra Magnus's bad hand during their fight, even though he likewise only has one functional hand and a permanently affixed cannon.
• This is the first episode to lack a title sequence since Darkness Rising, Part 5.
• When visiting the laboratory aboard the ship with Megatron, Ratchet notices and picks up a device, called Quantum Cyro Inducer. The design features of this device bear some resemblance to Shockwave himself. The sides look like they're stacked with rough mini versions of his head, while the top has something that could be interpreted as a big red eye.