Partners (Prime)
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| "Partners" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | July 23, 2011 | |||||
| Written by | Mike Johnson | |||||
| Directed by | Vinton Heuck | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
The team is surprised to learn that Starscream wants to become an Autobot.
Synopsis
Aboard the Nemesis, Starscream confesses his sins before Soundwave and claims to have made peace with his position as second-in-command. He goes to the bridge where Airachnid is telling Megatron about one of his indiscretions, a failure to disclose the location of the crash site of the Harbinger, a Decepticon transport ship that crashed on Earth while containing an experimental weapon. Megatron orders him to lead Airachnid to the crash site to retrieve the weapon.
Arcee stands at Cliffjumper's graveside and talks to her old partner, promising to find the Decepticon responsible for his death.
Starscream and Airachnid reach the Harbinger crash site, but Airachnid is deliberately cagey about what the weapon is they're looking for. She's impressed by the fact that Starscream was the one who terminated Cliffjumper, but reveals she knows about the fact that Megatron was planning to terminate him at the energon mine. They burrow their way down to the buried wreck, and Airachnid accesses the ship computer to find the location of the cargo. Starscream warns that the signal might alert the Autobots.
Indeed, at that moment Ratchet alerts Optimus that the base sensors have detected an ancient Decepticon signal.
Airachnid finds that corridor to the weapon ends in a stone wall. The ship broke in half before crashing, and the weapon is in the other half of the ship. Starscream won't tell her where the other half is, so she binds him in a web, and threatens him until he blabs. She leaves him there with the suggestion that she might come back, but runs into the Autobots in a corridor. Forced to double back, she drills her way through the ground, and is followed by Arcee, much to Optimus's concern. On the surface, Airachnid swiftly gets the better of Arcee, but Prime's arrival forces Airachnid to retreat in 'copter mode. Optimus reminds Arcee that trying to seek revenge for Tailgate's death isn't a good idea. Bulkhead and Bumblebee resurface with Starscream as a captive, and they're all surprised when the Decepticon says he wants to switch sides. Optimus, Arcee, and Bulkhead have a brief discussion and decide to take Starscream along, for now.
Airachnid finds the other half of the Harbinger and pulls the experimental weapon, a staff, from its container.
The Autobots arrive at the stone arch. Optimus believes they should seriously consider letting Starscream join the team because allowing the Decepticons redemption will be important to establishing peace. He leaves Arcee guarding Starscream, and takes Bumblebee and Bulkhead to find the ship. As Prime's team approaches the Harbinger, Airachnid begins opening fire with the staff, a weapon named the Immobilizer, and freezes Bulkhead in place.
Starscream tries to convince Arcee that he's safe to let go, but inadvertently lets Arcee know that he was the one who killed Cliffjumper. He frantically attempts to convince her that is was a mercy killing, but Arcee doesn't buy it. She throws down the key to the cuffs so he can free himself and make it a fair fight, but he tricks her into getting close enough that he can wound her with his claws.
Optimus and Bumblebee take cover behind a rock, but Airachnid burrows underground, coming up behind them and zapping Prime. Bumblebee starts exchanging fire with the Decepticon.
As Arcee and Starscream fight, Starscream taunts her by asking if Tailgate was weak like Cliffjumper.
Airachnid gloats over her new trophies, but the dust kicked up by Airachnid's weapon strikes on a nearby rock gives Bumblebee an idea. He blasts the rock face some more, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Airachnid sweeps the cloud with the Immobilizer, and when the cloud clears, Bumblebee stands motionless. While Airachnid goes back to talking to Prime, Bumblebee sneaks up behind her and sucker punches her. As the Immobilizer is thrown into the air, Bumblebee shoots it and it shatters. Airachnid flees under fire from Bumblebee.
Starscream gets the upper hand in his fight against Arcee, kicking her around brutally. As he moves in to finish her off, she reveals she's been playing possum, and delivers a series of blows that brings him down. Arcee has her blades at Starscream's throat, ready to kill him, when she realizes that they're being watched by Bumblebee. She lets Starscream limp away and collapses.
Back on the Nemesis, Megatron is not happy at all with Airachnid, not because she failed to retrieve the Immobilizer, but because she left Starscream in the hands of the Autobots.
At the Autobot base, Ratchet has repaired the Immobilizer and used it to unfreeze Optimus and Bulkhead. Arcee has also been repaired, but blames herself for chasing away Starscream.
Elsewhere, Starscream bashes his clamp bonds against a rock wall, shattering them. He realizes that he is now an independent, beholden to no one.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"I have been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones. I now realize I was never destined to be leader, or even an equal partner. And, I am at peace with that. I have gained a clear understanding of my place in the universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be. STARSCREAM: second in command, humble servant to Lord Megatron. Thank you for listening, Soundwave."
- —Starscream speaks before Soundwave. Like talking to a brick wall.
"Hey partner, heck of a view you got up here. If there's even a small chance your spark is out there listening, well, we could really use you, Cliff. Seems like everyday a new Decepticon arrives on the scene. We're outnumbered and outgunned. Yeah, I know what you'd say, "Sounds like a fair fight", and if that's the world we live in, so be it. I just want you to know, I haven't given up. I'm going to find the Con who took you from us."
- —Arcee visiting Cliffjumper's grave, and foreshadowing all at the same time. Multi-tasking.
"Oh you would do well to respect me, Airachnid. Before I joined Megatron, I was Air Commander of a squadron of Energon Seekers."
"On Cybertron, and how many eons ago was that?"
- —Starscream tries to be hot, and gets burned by Airachnid
"Freeze!"
- —Airachnid, a bug with a pun.
"It is the external wounds which heal the quickest."
"I thought settling scores would allow me to move on... instead I chased away our hope of winning this war anytime soon."
"Wisdom is not granted, it must be earned. And sometimes at a cost."
- —Optimus Prime and Arcee on being the better 'bot.
"I have been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones. But I have gained a clear understanding of my place in the universe. Of who I am. Starscream: aligned with no side; servant, to no one."
Notes
Animation or technical errors
- For most of his scenes prior, Bumblebee's optics had their center blue piece. Just after Starscream frees himself, Bumblebee is missing this piece again. This has been a common occurrence through the show.
- When Airachnid freezes Prime, his battle mask is drawn back. Next scene, he has it out again.
- When begging for mercy as Arcee pins him to the ground, Starscream's eyes (save for the pupils) are completely red.
Continuity errors
Continuity notes
- Airachnid rejoined the Decepticons after the events of Metal Attraction. Good job that magnetism wore off.
- Starscream recalls how he did away with Cliffjumper in "Darkness Rising, Part 1". And gloats about it too.
- Arcee confirms Megatron's attempt to kill Starscream from "Rock Bottom".
- Tailgate's death is brought up. His death was originally shown via flashback in "Predatory".
- Optimus has replaced the trailer blown up by MECH in "Convoy" with an identical looking one.
Transformers references
- Starscream claims he used to be the leader of Energon Seekers. "Energon Seeker" is the Scientist chassis used by Starscream in the War for Cybertron game.
- Starscream also gives his previous rank as "Air Commander", a title used by the first Starscream.
- The Immobilizer is a weapon previously used by Decepticons, as well as the name for the episode it is featured in.
- Bulkhead sarcastically refers to The Fallen.
Foreign dubbing
Real-world references
- "Be still, my beating Spark" is a variation of the human phrase "Be still, my beating heart", which is most often recited after seeing one's romantic interest.
Trivia
- This episode was dedicated to Captain H. L. "Larry" Cullen, Peter Cullen's older brother, who served as a United States Marine in Vietnam and was the primary inspiration for Optimus Prime's voice. He died aged 70 on March 25, 2011, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on July 21, two days before the episode's broadcast.[1]
- Soundwave is a very good listener.
- This is the first episode to not feature, or even include, humans.
- This is the first time in this series--and one of very few instances in the entire history of the franchise--when a character's thoughts are heard out-loud.
- This episode also deals with something that is often not addressed throughout the franchise: Starscream, for all his weaknesses and flaws throughout his various incarnations, is a very important part of the Decepticon war machine. Megatron is more furious at his (believed) capture than he is at the loss of a powerful weapon like the Immobilizer (which he dismisses as 'some trinket').
- Ratchet gains yet another Decepticon weapon to study in this episode. Maybe he'll bring one into battle sometime soon?
