Teletraan-X (episode)
| This article is about the cartoon episode. For the eponymous character, see Teletraan-X (Cyberverse). For a list of other meanings, see Teletraan (disambiguation). |
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.jpg) "According to the control panel light up there, the entire building's gonna self-destruct in about six minutes. I'm pretty sure it's a problem with the light." | ||||||
| "Teletraan-X" | ||||||
| Season | 1 | |||||
| No. in season | 12 | |||||
| Production company | Allspark Animation | |||||
| Airdate | October 26, 2018 (Xfinity X1) November 16, 2018 (CN app/website) November 17, 2018 (USA) | |||||
| Writer | Kevin Burke and Chris Wyatt | |||||
| Director | Jean Texier | |||||
| Animation studio | Boulder Media Studio | |||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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Windblade and Bumblebee trace an Autobot signal and find themselves lured into a trap set by Slipstream and her Seekers.
Synopsis
Following the destruction of their starship, Bumblebee and Windblade are on the run; after a close call involving Nova Storm and a movie billboard, the pair take shelter at a nearby airport. Windblade realizes that they're too conspicuous together, and to cover more ground in their search for the Ark they'll need to split up. Her dramatic monologue about her faith in Bumblebee, however, is cut short when her friend picks up something unexpected: an Autobot distress signal emanating from nearby!
Abandoning their plan to split up, the pair head to an abandoned missile silo not far away. Clambering down into the depths of the facility, the signal becomes stronger and stronger, until they reach a large and heavily armored door. Windblade pries it open, and after a short jaunt down the tunnel they pair discover the source of the signal: Teletraan-X, a robotic drone designed to act as an auxiliary backup unit for Teletraan-1's data. Introducing itself, the device quickly identifies Bumblebee as a crew member of the Ark, but not Windblade, and refuses to answer any of her questions unless they're filtered through Bumblebee first. When Bumblebee tries to persuade Teletraan-X to reveal the Ark's location, however, the machine announces that they've been led into a trap... at which point, spotlights flare to life, revealing Slipstream and the other Seekers!
The two Autobots are surrounded, subdued, and quickly brought before Slipstream, who explains her need to bring the Autobots in alive: 'Bee is the only Cybertronian on Earth who can access the drone, and learn the location of the Ark... and Windblade's safety is the incentive to ensure Bumblebee cooperates with Slipstream. Windblade is tortured, then Bumblebee when he refuses to cooperate... but Slipstream has reckoned without Teletraan-X, whose overriding directive to protect the crew of the Ark spurs it into action, activating a defensive shield which it uses to bowl over the Decepticons. The two Autobots make a run for it, tailed by Teletraan-X and pursued by the Seekers.
Realizing that they need to protect Teletraan-X, the only clue they have to finding the Ark, Windblade tells Bumblebee to ensure that the drone makes it out safely, seconds before a Decepticon missile splits the party. Windblade defends Teletraan-X by bringing down part of the ceiling on Slipstream, Acid Storm, and Thrust, while Bumblebee uses his stingers to paralyze Nova Storm and Thundercracker before the trio reunite.
Using Teletraan-X's map of the facility, the group escapes to the antechamber where they came in, but their escape up the ladder is compounded when Slipstream and the other Seekers regroup and chase them up to the surface. Windblade falls back to make sure that the Decepticons can't pursue Bumblebee and Teletraan-X up the ladder, but with the silo doors—and their only means of escape—closing, and fast, Bumblebee has no choice but to leave Windblade to her fate. 'Bee escapes just in time to seal the Seekers underground, for the time being... but Windblade is trapped with them, her fate unknown, and with no other course of action Bumblebee is forced to take Teletraan-X and flee...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Quotes
Slipstream: "Finally this annoying little Ark drone is good for something... other than saying 'not crew'."
Teletraan-X: "Well, you're not."
Slipstream and Windblade: "SILENCE!"
"Look, I'm a diversion! This is a great time to escape."
"C'mon, 'Bee!"
"I'm helping! Wait for me!"
- —Teletraan-X saves our heroes
"Wind...blade..."
"The Decepticons will overwhelm her and come after us in a matter of moments. Would you like a list of nearby hiding places?"
- —Bumblebee and Teletraan-X
Notes
Continuity notes
- Windblade and Bumblebee lost the Decepticon scout ship they'd been using as a base, along with the cortical psychic patch during the events of the preceding episode, "Sabotage."
- Teletraan-X mentions that he hasn't seen an Autobot for "millions of years," providing some kind of timeframe between the various flashbacks on the show and the events of the present day.
Transformers references
- TBD
Real-world references
- The billboard at the beginning of the episode features an ad for "Return of Sharknator," spoofing both the Terminator and Sharknado franchises while also featuring a red Knight Industries Two Thousand. Also a red bandanna on his fin (along with wearing a bandoleer on his chest) is a reference to Rambo, the film's tagline on the billboard also spoofing the tagline of the original Rambo movie, First Blood.
Trivia
- This episode was originally scheduled to debut on Canadian television on October 21, 2018, several weeks ahead of its US broadcast. A re-run of "Memory" wound up airing instead. It did, however, run on Okto in Singapore on November 10, a week before its US air date.
- This episode was made available OnDemand for subscribers to U.S. cable provider Comcast's Xfinity X1 service on October 26, 2018, along with the ninth, tenth, and eleventh episodes of the series, "Shadowstriker," "Maccadam's," and "Sabotage," all prior to their Cartoon Network broadcast debuts. Initially, "Sabotage" was not included in this release, leaving a one-episode gap, but it was added before the end of the same day.
- After twelve episodes set on modern Earth, we finally get a glimpse of a human, which probably has to be some kind of record for Transformers media. In fact, this is the only instance of a human appearing on screen for the entire show.
- Given their need to hide from both humanity and the Decepticons, it's more than a little weird to have the two Autobots casually transforming into robot mode to hold a conversation in the middle of an airport parking lot full of cars.
- Bee deploys two stinger blades from the rims of his tires.
Animation and technical errors
- When Thrust grabs Bumblebee, Thrust's mouth moves, yet he doesn't speak, leaving only Bumblebee's dialogue.
- Thundercracker was the one holding the taser and standing next to Bumblebee when he collapsed, but when Teletraan-X comes in to protect Bumblebee, Thundercracker and Nova Storm have swapped places, with Nova Storm being next to 'Bee and holding the taser.
- Teletraan-X's size and scale is more than a bit cheatsy here; in most of his appearances, he's about a third of the size of the main cast, but during the final scene he's somehow able to fit into Bumblebee's vehicle mode.
- Nova Storm's cockpit framing, which vanished in the previous episode, is still missing in this one.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Teletraan-X"
- Original airdate: November 12, 2018
German
- Title: "Die Falle" ("The Trap")
- Original airdate: December 16, 2018
Hungarian
- Title: "Teletraan-X"
- Original airdate: December 9, 2018
Indonesian
- Title: "Teletraan-X"
- Original airdate: December 15, 2018
Italian
- Title: "Teletraan-X"
- Original airdate: November 29, 2018
Japanese
Portuguese
- Title: "Teletraan-X"
- Original airdate: December 25, 2018
Home video releases
- DVD
2019 — Transformers Cyberverse — Intégrale Saison 1 (ESC Éditions) — French audio only
2019 — Transformers Cyberverse — Terminal Velocity (Beyond Home Entertainment)
