The Journey
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 Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... | ||||||
| "The Journey" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | September 22, 2018 | |||||
| Animation studio | Boulder Media Studio | |||||
During its journey from Cybertron, the Ark's Energon supplies run low and the desperate crew is forced to enter stasis.
Synopsis
As the Ark continues its voyage through deep space in search of the AllSpark, Optimus Prime remains concerned about their dwindling levels of Energon — concerns that only worsen when Wheeljack's latest experiment to try and boost the ship's scanners leads to another blackout. Optimus warns Wheeljack that, until they can refuel their ship, they can't afford any more dangerous experiments...
... and, as the latest gap in Bumblebee's memory is filled, Windblade begins to piece together what might have happened to the AllSpark. As another memory comes back online, she asks Bumblebee to access it.
Some time later, the Ark's energon situation has become critical. The ship chances across a barren and seemingly uninhabited world, and when Teletraan-1 detects concentrations of Energon on the surface, Optimus assembles a survey team — consisting of himself, Grimlock, and Bumblebee — to scout out the situation. As the Ark touches down on the planet, Prime sends Grimlock and Bumblebee to investigate a nearby ridge. The pair find a massive canyon, but still no Energon, and turn away to regroup with Prime... but Bumblebee is none the wiser when a mass of tentacles slither out from the canyon and drag Grimlock into its depths!
Bumblebee races back to the Ark to warn Optimus of the situation, and when Prime is unable to raise Grimlock on his communicator, the two Autobots track his signal back to the canyon. A series of tremors knock them off balance and send them tumbling into the cave below, where they discover the source of the tremors — Grimlock, using his strength to slam the ground so as to ward off the "beasts" responsible for dragging him into the canyon. A more important discovery draws Prime's attention, however, and the three find a nearby cave, containing a reservoir of the Energon that Teletraan-1 had detected in the first place. As they approach the Energon lake, however, their presence attracts a swarm of the cave monsters, and a battle ensues as the three Autobots try to keep the aliens at bay. Their weapons have no effect on the creatures, however, and Optimus makes a crucial discovery: the creatures feed on Energon, and were merely trying to protect their food supply. Realizing that they can't jeopardize an innocent alien species, Prime orders the group to retreat to the surface.
Back aboard the Ark , Prime shares what he has learned with the other Autobots, but makes a crucial decision: in order to conserve what little Energon they have left, the Autobots will enter stasis, with Teletraan-1 taking control of the vessel. As the Transformers prepare to enter the ship's hibernation pods, Wheeljack races in to give Prime the news that he's successfully boosted the ship's scanning capabilities. With the Autobots sealed in their stasis pods, Bumblebee is the only Autobot conscious enough to see the ship's scanners successfully detect the AllSpark... a second too late to do anything about it.
Inside Bumblebee's mind, Windblade and Bumblebee speculate what happened to the other Autobots aboard the Ark, and Bumblebee vows that, no matter what, he'll find the ship.
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Others |
|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
Continuity notes
Transformers references
Real-world references
- The episode begins with a dramatic pan of the Ark as it travels through deep space, as Optimus Prime narrates another addition to his log, referencing the classic opening scenes of many a Star Trek episode.
- The massive stasis bay, and the radial design of the stasis chambers within resembles the Avalon's hibernation deck from the film Passengers.
Trivia
Animation and technical errors
Foreign localization
Home video releases
- TBA
