Similarly Different
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 "She is seeing all of this for the first time. She does not even know what she is. She will kill everything that moves." | ||||||
| "Similarly Different" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | August 15, 2015 | |||||
| Writer | Derek Dressler | |||||
| Director | Frank Marino | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
A restless Grimlock ponders returning to old habits when another Dinobot goes on a rampage.
Synopsis
Russell Clay is having a rough time of it at his dad's trailer; his father's incessant snoring is keeping him awake, forcing him to sleep in the diner. The next morning, a groggy Russell confesses that their current living arrangements may not be ideal, inspiring Denny to build a brand-new trailer for his son. In his own words, it'll the "coolest trailer ever", a statement that worries both Russell and Fixit.
Meanwhile, Grimlock is on an uneventful solo patrol out in the woods. Grimlock is feeling increasingly restless and bored, and fondly remembers the days when he could smash things for fun. He eventually stumbles onto a human demolition site, where he notices something tearing down the abandoned stadium. The "something" turns out to be another Dinobot, who introduces himself as Scowl! Scowl explains that he was also locked up on the Alchemor, and invites the impressed Grimlock to help him smash the building. Grimlock, realizing that the building is already going to be demolished, happily joins his new friend. Together, they make short work of the stadium and most of the construction machinery. In the aftermath, though, Grimlock realizes that he has to do the right thing and arrest Scowl. Scowl wins him over, promising not to harm any of the "screamers", and Grimlock reluctantly lets him walk free.
Back at the scrapyard, an increasingly worried Russell tries to spy on his dad's construction efforts. Russell worries to Fixit about his dad's propensity to do things "Denny-style," although Fixit doesn't quite understand. They're interrupted by a suspiciously cheery Grimlock, who hastily assures Bumblebee and the gang that his patrol was completely uneventful.
Fixit, however, picks up a Decepticon signal in the woods, suspiciously close to where Grimlock was patrolling. Grimlock breaks down and confesses that he let Scowl go, but insists that Scowl wouldn't deliberately hurt anyone. Fixit calls up Scowl's criminal record, which reveals that Scowl used to work for Thunderhoof as hired muscle. Realizing that Scowl might lead them to Thunderhoof and the rest of Steeljaw's gang, Bumblebee orders his team to roll out. Meanwhile, Fixit and Russell continue to try and peek inside Russell's new RV, but Denny manages to keep his project a secret.
In the woods, Grimlock maintains that Scowl isn't a bad 'bot, and even suggests to Bumblebee and Slipstream that he could mentor Scowl in the same way that Bumblebee did with him. Before they can discuss the matter further, they're interrupted by Scowl himself, who pounds Grimlock and accuses him of being a traitor. Although Grimlock tries to talk to his old "buddy", Scowl brings down a tree on the Autobots and flees.
The Autobots catch up to Scowl at a nearby train station. Scowl throws a bus at his pursuers, then clambers up onto the tracks. Although Bumblebee tries to talk him down, Scowl simply smashes the bridge, intending to bring down the elevated tracks and derail the next train. The other Autobots work to repair the bridge in time while Grimlock and Scowl face off. Eventually, Grimlock gains the upper hand against Scowl, and punts him into the station roof, temporarily taking him out. Bumblebee realizes they can't hold up the badly-damaged bridge, and together the Autobots resort to grabbing the train and turning it around, sending it back the way they came. By the time they're ready to capture Scowl, however, they discover that the Decepticon has already disappeared.
"Yeah, so did Hammond."
Russell finally confronts Denny over his pet project. Denny admits that although the job isn't easy, it's something that he genuinely enjoys, and intends to finish off his work with a roof-mounted arcade, a feature that Russell finds genuinely cool. Unfortunately, the arcade is too heavy, and summarily flattens the rest of the RV. Denny is momentarily disappointed, although he and Russell agree to work together to re-build it.
Scowl is terrorizing more humans at a local spa, although he's pursued by the Autobots, who split up to keep Scowl contained on the property. Drift and his two students search the shower for Scowl, although he quickly gets the drop on the trio. Scowl and Grimlock tussle again, until Scowl comes across a group of meditating, oblivious humans. He tries to bring the roof down on them, only to be stopped by Grimlock, who keeps Scowl at bay while protecting the humans. Scowl manages to overpower Grimlock and knock him into the wall. Before he can finish him off, Grimlock has an apparent change of heart, and confesses that smashing is more fun and easy. Instead of giving his former buddy a tail-five, Grimlock dislodges a nearby stone ornament and sends it rolling toward Scowl, taking the Decepticon out of commission, Before Scowl passes out, Grimlock tells him just because something looks easy and fun...doesn't means it's right. Bumblebee consoles a saddened Grimlock, who muses that you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.
With Scowl in tow, the Autobots return to their base, where Denny, Russell, and Fixit are putting the finishing touches on Russell's new trailer. Russell decides to add a disco ball to the hood, and the trio decide to boogie down... much to the confusion of the other Autobots.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"I detect early onset stubbornness in Denny Clay."
"Me too. He's going to build me my own place to live and says it's going to be the coolest place ever."
"That sounds ominous."
- —Fixit and Russell showing confidence in Denny's interior design skills
"That was just a warmup! Let's you and me smash this lousy planet to splinters!"
"Uh, well Scowl, the thing is… I kinda have to arrest you now."
"What!?"
- —Scowl discovers that friendship is magic with Grimlock
Bumblebee: Ok, Autobots. Let's wreck and roll! [silence] You see, 'wreck' because Scowl wrecks, and then I was like 'roll' because… that's what we do.
Sideswipe: And 'lame' because that was lame.
- —Bumblebee still doesn't have it
"What if I take him under my... claw? I could be what you were for me! Y'know, a-a minotaur."
"Mentor. And I don't think that's a good idea, Grimlock. Based on his rap sheet, Scowl seems unlikely to change his ways any time soon."
"His name is Scowl. I mean, it's totally a bad guy name."
- —Grimlock, Bumblebee and Sideswipe discuss Scowl
"If you can't get in there, I'm gonna be stuck with a room decorated with all my father's favorite things! Eight-track tapes. Flowered wallpaper. Shag carpet!"
"It's too horrible to even imagine! And I don't even know what those things are!"
- —Russell and Fixit continue to show their confidence in Denny's skills
Notes
Animation and technical errors
Continuity notes
Prisoner manifest
- In stasis: Hammerstrike, Bisk, Chop Shop, Terrashock, Filch, Minitron, Springload, Ped, Quillfire, "that one with all the eyes", Malodor and the Skunkticons, Nightstrike, Vertebreak, Octopunch, Groundpounder, Headlock, Scowl
- Known at large: Steeljaw, Thunderhoof, Underbite, Clampdown, Kickback
- Released: Grimlock
- Countless others all missing, presumed at large
Transformers references
- Bumblebee's attempt on a catchphrase is 'wreck and roll', a play on the Wreckers' classic "Wreck and Rule!" This is not the first time a permutation of the Wrecker slogan has shown up in the series.
Real-world references
- Grimlock's fight with Scowl is reminiscent of dinosaur fights depicted in the Jurassic Park franchise.
Trivia
Foreign localization
French
Hungarian
- Title: "Hasonlóan különböző" ("Similarly Different")
- Original airdate: October 1, 2015
Italian
- Title: "Ugualmente diversi" ("Similarly different")
- Original airdate: September 21, 2015
Japanese
- Title: "Another Dinobot" (もう一人のダイノボット, Mou Hitori no Dinobot)
- Original airdate: November 15, 2015
Polish
- Title: "Niby tacy sami" ("Supposedly the same")
- Original airdate: September 17, 2015
