In Search of the Griffin's Nest
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 Somehow Heatwave is going to pin this on Blades. | ||||||
| "In Search of the Griffin's Nest" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | June 7, 2014 | |||||
| Writer | Zac Atkinson | |||||
| Director | Nathan Chew | |||||
| Animation studio | Vision Animation | |||||
When metal objects begin mysteriously being pulled into the air, attention turns to Wayward Island as the location of Griffin nests.
Synopsis
Cody Burns reads aloud the story of the origin of the griffin atop Mount Griffin, as he and three other Lad Pioneers hike up the side of the mountain. Cody demonstrates a trick shot with his slingshot, bouncing a stone off the rock griffin, but just then there's a tremor that shakes the island. Chase and Chief Burns stop their patrol so that Chief can get Graham to check the sensors. Chief contacts Cody to tell him to get off the mountain in case of rockslides, but Cody reports that there's only a flying car. The car in question flies over to the top of the mountain and then drops like a rock, forcing the kids to take cover. As Chase arrives on the scene, they discover the car is empty, and Chief has Dani and Blades locate the owners.
As everyone arrives back at the fire station, Kade and Heatwave announce a string of burglaries within the last half hour. Dani and Blades report that Mr and Mrs Rubio were picnicking when their car inexplicably flew off into the air. Graham reports the tremor was centered on Wayward Island, and wants to go out to check on a sensor which is no longer working. Cody volunteers to go too, as he believes the island to be a nesting place for invisible female griffins. When the others find he's been reading "Old-Timer's Guide to Maine Island Folklore", they opt out. Cody's assertion that he wants to go for his folklore patch results in Heatwave volunteering the Rescue Bots to go along — minus Chase, who has to help investigate the burglaries.
Graham, Cody and the Bots are soon heading out on the Darby Ava, with Blades scanning the sky for griffins, however Cody informs him that female griffins may become invisible when away from their nests. Reaching the island, they start hiking towards the sensor, while Cody fills in the Bots on griffin nesting techniques, and he and Blades quickly reason that the stolen objects were taken by a female griffin to build a nest. Back at the fire station, Chief Burns and Chase discuss the missing objects, which were all taken from the island's higher elevations. On the island, the tramping party are lost, thanks to something interfering with Graham's compass. They swiftly find the culprit — a large magnetic lodestone with griffins carved on it, which Graham believes are viking in origin. Moments later, the three Bots are suddenly pulled up into the air. The Darby Ava is pulled out of the water and its engine ripped out, while on Griffin Rock, the Rubio's car and a tow truck are whisked away.
Chasing the Bots, Cody and Graham are narrowly missed by the Darby Ava's engine. They eventually find the three Bots, and Blades thinks it was a griffin. Meanwhile, Chase and the rest of the family head for Wayward Island on Doc Greene's floating lab. Chief is unable to raise the others on the island due to interference. The group on the island find an arch with a statue of a griffin on it, and beyond, an ancient temple. The Bots are again pulled into the air, and though they cling to trees, the engine from the Darby Ava knocks Boulder loose, sending him flying. Chase is likewise sucked from the floating lab, along with everything else metal, and is grabbed by Heatwave as he flies past. Boulder, having been deposited in a temple, calls to the others. Unfortunately the area is thick with traps, one of which flings a huge rock at him. His warning to the others comes slightly too late, as the other three Bots accidentally hit a trigger to close the door, and Graham and Cody have to run to join them. Transforming, the Bots race across the temple floor in order to outpace the flying rocks, with Blades forced to run as there's not enough room to fly.
At the end of the temple, they find a huge rock with what appears to be a griffin's nest atop it, full of metal objects. They quickly realize it's another Viking sculpture, and that the lost quake sensor is inside. As the sensor's power surges, the lodestone used to make the nest becomes a super-magnet, and the four Bots suddenly find themselves pinned to it, hanging over a stream of lava. Heatwave tries to shut the device down, but is unable to move. More metal debris comes through the air, including the tow truck, narrowly missing the Bots. With the Bots in danger of falling into the lava, Cody uses his slingshot to fire a trick shot, breaking the sensor and freeing them. Heatwave grudgingly admits the whole adventure had been kind of exciting. As the family and Bots head back for Griffin Rock, Cody finishes his folklore report for his Lad Pioneer patch.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans |
|---|---|
|
Quotes
"Good luck solving the mystery!"
"And good luck to you in locating the nest of an imaginary lion/eagle hybrid."
- —Boulder and Chase
Heatwave: I know what you're thinking, and it was not a griffin.
Graham: No one's thinking that.
Blades: GRIFFIN!
Graham: Except maybe Blades.
"This... is unfortunate!"
- —Chase, being pulled into the air from the boat.
"You will be amazed at how fast I can run with giant rocks flying at me."
- —Blades
Notes
Animation and technical errors
Continuity errors
Continuity notes
- The Darby Ava was damaged in its last appearance in "Tip of the Iceberg", but has been repaired.
- The floating lab was previously introduced in "Deep Trouble".
Transformers references
Real-world references
- The temple and its traps are reminiscent of the Indiana Jones movies, a homage made blatant as Cody replicates a sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark though with his book rather than a hat.
Trivia
- In two places during the episode, we get shots from Boulder's POV, with text in the Ancient Autobot alphabet:
- Easter Egg: We love our fans and hope you enjoy the rest of season 2 Frank and Bryan
- Easter Egg: I hope you like the love and care we put in the show. We work hard for our fans. Cheers, Nathan, Kevin, Jerry, Tim, Zac, Austin, Lemon, Eric and Watt
Foreign localization
Hungarian
- Title: "A griffmadár fészek" ("The Griffin Nest")
- Original airdate: 24 November 2014
