Crisscross (episode)
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 They'll make you jump, jump. | ||||||
| "Crisscross" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | June 25, 2011 | |||||
| Written by | Joseph Kuhr | |||||
| Directed by | Vinton Heuck | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
Airachnid teams up with MECH to get revenge on Arcee and Jack.
Synopsis
Silas and three MECH soldiers are searching through a wooded area for a Decepticon. They jump into a web-shrouded ravine, but the three soldiers are snatched from the ground and stuck on a web by Airachnid. Silas takes a shot at Airachnid, and is promptly thrown against a rock wall and webbed there. The Decepticon threatens to eviserate him for what MECH did to Breakdown, but wants his help in finding Jack Darby and will give them Arcee.
Jack arrives home with Arcee, to find his mother mad that he's breaking curfew and neglecting his job and schoolwork. She believes he may have been racing his motorcycle and grounds him for the next few weeks — no motorcycle use. Arcee says she'll miss Jack for the next few weeks, but he points out that if she doesn't stay in the garage, his mom will think he's breaking her rules. Arcee promises she'll try to be back in the garage before his mom gets home each night.
The next day, as Jack's leaving KO Burger, he gets a call from his mother who is on her way home early to make dinner for him. He frantically contacts Arcee, who's with Bumblebee in the middle of a fight with some Vehicons. Arcee leaves Bumblebee to it and bridges out. June Darby arrives home to find the garage empty, and blows up at Jack as he arrives on his bicycle. Arcee bridges into the garage behind her, but this merely results in June thinking one of Jack's friends snuck the motorcycle in. Jack spills all about the Autobots, but when Arcee refuses to transform, Jack's mom asks if he's been hanging out with a science fiction club. She leaves to return to work, the conversation unfinished.
Silas uses images from the black box from Airachnid's ship to track down information on Jack, including the identity of his mother. A MECH vehicle is soon picking June up as she leaves the hospital.
Jack arrives home on his cycle to find Arcee, but no mom. There's a package waiting for him, which turns out to be a MECH communicator. Silas tells the pair that MECH has June, and there are GPS coordinates that will lead them to the temporary MECH facility. Arcee attempts to contact base and gets an instant headache — as Silas explains, the communicator will scramble her brain as well as Autobot communications. Jack and Arcee follow the communicator's map to a disused factory, where they're met by Silas and a bunch of MECH goons. They race past the MECH guys to look for Jack's mom and instead find Airachnid. Airachnid webs Arcee, who is then zapped by a MECH goon. The 'Con tells Jack he has until midnight to rescue his mother. Jack tries to plead with Silas for help, but the MECH leader pushes him back. He leaves, running to find his mom, followed by Airachnid. Silas tells his men to start working on Arcee, as he suspects Airachnid will double-cross them.
Jack runs through the factory, but is unable to find June until Airachnid points her out, dangling in a web cocoon from a building. At this point, June comes around to discover both her predicament and to spy Airachnid. Jack tells Airachnid he's found his mom, but she points out the task was to rescue mom. Webbing Jack's hand to the ground, she prepares to move in.
The MECH surgeons finish cutting through the web holding Arcee, and Silas instructs them that as they only have time to take one part, go for the heart. Arcee has recovered consciousness by this point, and tosses the MECH guys aside before leaving to help Jack.
As Jack continues to try to free his hand, Airachnid moves in on June. Before she can lay a hand on mom, Arcee comes barreling up a nearby roof and tackles her. Jack gets free and goes to help June, while Arcee and Airachnid battle on the factory superstructure. They eventually reach the ground, but Airachnid's laser fire damages the platform June is dangling from, and Jack has to scramble to avoid falling. Jack accidentally knocks a lever pouring concrete into a concrete truck on the ground. Arcee manages to kick Airachnid into a container nearby, and with Jack's help, pours concrete in on top of her. Airachnid starts climbing out, but is frozen by the quick-drying concrete. Arcee goes to help June, but the concrete wasn't enough, and Airachnid webs her back to the ground. Luckily the cavalry arrives in the form of Agent Fowler with three helicopters armed with chain guns.
Silas wonders how Fowler was alerted, and then realises Jack stole his radio earlier.
The helicopters stop firing, but this just allows Airachnid to scan Fowler's chopper and make her escape in her new altmode. Her scanning process is also observed by Silas.
Fowler introduces himself to June and attempts to weave a cover story, but June doesn't buy it. Jack introduces her to Arcee, and they go to the Autobot base so she can meet the rest of the Autobots.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Ah, the mother lode."
"Government database?"
"Social networking page."
- —Silas teaches Airachnid the fastest way to track down a teenager.
"Now, I know we promised the spider-bot that she would have first crack at you, but something tells me she's going to turn our mutual crisscross... into a double-cross."
- —Silas
"Jack, your motorcycle?"
"I can explain, Mom. Wait, I already did."
- —Even with June Darby in mortal peril, Jack can still crack wise.
"Oh, not again!"
- —Agent Fowler is exasperated at Decepticons copying his vehicles.
"So that's how it's done. Genius."
- —Silas on seeing how Airachnid scans a vehicle mode.
"Mom, meet my science fiction club!"
- —Jack introducing June to the Autobots
Notes
Animation and technical errors
- Airachnid scans Agent Fowler's helicopter, which resembles a UH-1 "Huey", but the alt-mode she adopts is of a completely different design, resembling a futuristic RAH-66 Comanche.
- When Jack returns home and opens the package left for him in the garage, the garage door is open. But immediately afterwards when we see Jack and Arcee from front-view, the door is shown to be closed in the background.
Continuity errors
Continuity notes
- Airachnid wants revenge on Arcee and Jack for the events in "Predatory".
- Airachnid has heard of Breakdown's treatment by MECH, which happened in the previous episode.
- Messages on Jack's social networking page refer back to "Speed Metal" (Sierra refers to a race) and "Con Job" (Miko's message about a monster truck rally references a line of dialog from that episode).
- Agent Fowler previously had a vehicle of his scanned for an alternate mode by Skyquake back in "Masters & Students".
Transformers references
- The final sequence of Arcee and Jack taking June to the Autobot base is an almost shot-for-shot replica of the first time Jack, Miko and Raf were taken there back in the pilot. Even the same musical piece "We Have Returned" is used.
- Trying to confess about Transformers and not being believed (along with an Autobot refusing to break cover) is also something that befell Coby Hansen and Lori way back in Cybertron.
Trivia
- The name of the social networking page is partially obscured, but begins with "Some Social".
- Fowler got someone else to pilot his helicopter for him this time.
- Silas calls June Darby "Miss Darby", but Fowler calls her "Mrs. Darby".
- Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Raf, and Miko all cameo at the end, but have no lines.
- The way Airachnid says 'Transformer, was it', implies that Cybertronians don't use that term themselves and that it's mainly an invention of humans.
- This is the first time anyone from the Autobot's team meets Silas face to face.
