Past II
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| "Past II" (Kecchaku Kōhen) "Past, Part 2: Conclusion" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-32 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | April 5, 2003 (English) 15 August 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Shōji Tonoike | |||||
| Director | Shigenori Kurī | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
Hot Shot refuses to do to Side Swipe what he didn't to Wheeljack.
Synopsis
Wheeljack fires a shot into Hot Shot's chest at close range, to finalize his switch to the Decepticons. His business for the day concluded, Wheeljack vanishes, leaving an injured Hot Shot wondering how his friend could have made such a dramatic turn for the worse. Unable to cope with the trauma, he blacks out.
Hot Shot wakes up in the Autobots' infirmary, having been brought back to the Autobots' base by Side Swipe. Wondering how he could have been so betrayed, Hot Shot tries to recall the last time he saw Wheeljack.
On a fiery battlefield on Cybertron, Wheeljack is left held down while Hot Shot runs to get some help to help lift the debris. But after getting out of the blaze, Hot Shot's superior refuses to allow Hot Shot to return. Ignoring his superior's orders and threats, Hot Shot runs back into the fire, but passes out from the heat. Later, he wakes up alone.
Optimus Prime reveals to Blurr that he knew about Hot Shot losing his friend, which is why Hot Shot was one of the troops chosen to come to Earth. Back in the infirmary, Side Swipe tries to convince Hot Shot to forgive himself, even if Wheeljack won't. Trying to collect his thoughts, Hot Shot drives out on his own, and runs into Thrust.
Wheeljack and Hot Shot meet up at an abandoned industrial station. Wheeljack relates the Transformers' obsession with wars to the humans' own tendency to wage wars. The two battle, but Hot Shot shows an initial reluctance to fight back. When Wheeljack draws his weapon, Hot Shot offers to let Wheeljack execute him with no resistance. Side Swipe interferes, and a failed attempt to save Hot Shot sets the industrial complex on fire. Wheeljack laughs and takes advantage of the situation by abducting Side Swipe. As Wheeljack carries Side Swipe into the inferno, he mockingly suggests Hot Shot save his sidekick.
Hot Shot crawls through the burning factory looking for his friend. Thrust tries to play a part in Wheeljack's grudge match, but Wheeljack blasts the Decepticon jet away—revealing his own location to Hot Shot. Working his way through the flames and metal, Hot Shot locates and frees Side Swipe. The two barely manage to get away as the container Side Swipe was set on explodes. Meanwhile, Wheeljack encounters Megatron.
On the Moon, Wheeljack pledges his loyalty to the Decepticons.
At the Autobot base, Side Swipe declares himself "like family" to Hot Shot and chases Hot Shot for hugs. The other kids have a laugh at Alexis becoming too attached to the video game she learned to play from Billy and Fred.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"I've come to get my revenge."
- —Wheeljack, who isn't out for revenge, no sir.
"I wonder what's clogging up his tailpipe. Boy, those Autobots sure are a moody bunch."
- —Thrust
"Side Swipe, I'm on my way to help you! Sit tight!"
"No, don't come up here, it's too dangerous! Would ya get out of here? This tank is gonna explode!"
"No chance pal, I'm coming to save ya?"
"Then would ya hurry up?"
- —Hot Shot and Side Swipe
"I think somebody needs a hug!"
- —Side Swipe, chasing Hot Shot.
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
Animation and technical errors
- Hot Shot is briefly drawn with a Decepticon logo.
- After catching Side Swipe, Wheeljack is drawn with an obvious Autobot logo on his forearm for several shots.
Continuity errors
- How did Hot Shot know to meet Wheeljack where he did? Blame a bad translation.
- In the flashback, Megatron is shown in his current earth form. However, at the start of the series, before the characters' reformatting, Megatron looked different. Granted, it could be that he has changed back to a look he had before, but it seems unlikely.
Transformers references
- At one point when playing the game, Alexis hums the opening theme.
Trivia
- So the video game the kids are playing somehow involves recovered Mini-Cons as puppets, forcing them to battle each other? Are we sure these are the good guys?
- When Alexis realizes she's playing the game too much, you see a stylized Megatron on the screen.
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 8 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:10 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Flashbacks (Rhino Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part Two (Rhino Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Armada — The Collector's Edition (Universal)
2009 — Transformers: Armada — Volume Two (New KSM) — English and German audio.
