Tunnel Vision (episode)
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| "Tunnel Vision" | ||||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | May 5, 2012 | |||||
| Written by | Andrew R. Robinson | |||||
| Directed by | Shaunt Nigoghossian | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
Arcee and Bumblebee go deep into New York's "underground" in an attempt to beat Megatron to the next four Iacon relics.
Synopsis
The Autobot team, having obtained the same coordinates for four Iacon relics as the Decepticons, plan their next course of action. Optimus suggests a dispersal so they can obtain all the relics simultaneously. Despite initial resistance from Arcee, the New York site and the relic contained beneath its streets are selected for Arcee and Bumblebee to scout. Miko volunteers her knowledge of subways and Jack his ability to cover for the mission; all four prepare to roll out.
Having moved away from Manhattan, Megatron assigns Knock Out the discreet task of obtaining the relic there. At a disadvantage without Breakdown, Knock Out is unwillingly appointed an Insecticon partner, along with a small detachment of Vehicon miners. Beyond frustrated with Knock Out's lack of concern beyond his paint job, Megatron sends them off.
In a New York alleyway, Arcee, Bumblebee, Jack and Miko bridge in. They quickly locate a construction site where they can enter the vast subway network. As they walk, Bumblebee nearly steps on a third rail, but Jack warns him of the danger just in time. A familiar sound echoes through the tunnels—a Decepticon drill, which Miko pinpoints the direction of. She tears off through an access tunnel, Jack in tow. On the other side, they are confronted by Vogel, a sweeper train operator, and Miko constructs a hasty lie that saves their tail. He offers to take them for a ride.
Vogel's personality soon becomes clear as he recounts tales of monsters that creep through the subways—including the mole men, who he believes are amassing their armies. Miko and Jack make an escape jumping off the back of the train, Vogel totally oblivious.
Arcee and Bumblebee find Knock Out and the miners, but don't see the Insecticon creeping up behind them. It attacks the duo, alerting Knock Out to their presence. Arcee and Knock Out exchange blows while Bumblebee occupies the Insecticon; Arcee makes a grab for the relic, but is knocked out by an electron prod to the back. Bumblebee is also quickly floored by the Insecticon. Satisfied, Knock Out cracks the relic's packaging and prepares to field-test the device on his new subjects.
Jack and Miko bicker in the tunnel about Jack's sojourn to Cybertron, but are stopped in their tracks by the sound of footsteps. It's Vogel, none too happy about being ditched. Miko, capitalizing on the man's conspiratorial bent, gets Jack to tell him the truth. Vogel is enthralled and they all board his train to find their friends.
Knock Out's field test is interrupted by the arriving sweeper. The Insecticon sidesteps it, but Knock Out is hit and dragged a distance between the wall and train, suffering serious cosmetic damage. Arcee and Bumbleebee, now conscious, start fighting back as Knock Out peels out with the relic. Arcee goes after the train with the Insecticon following while Bumbleebee chases after the fleeing medic.
On the train, Vogel reveals that the brake line went out and that their course is for a dead end. Arcee is able to catch up with the train and jump onto the back of it. Informed of the approaching wall, she drives ahead for the turn switch. Trying to change the tracks, she snaps the lever, forcing her to change the track alignment physically. She succeeds just in time and with the train safe, she faces her foe. Recalling Bumblebee's previous encounter, Arcee lures the Insecticon into touching the third rail, which instantly kills it.
Knock Out faces off against the Autobot scout in a chase. Bumblebee accidentally activates the relic during a tussle which clamps onto his wrist. The train barrels in and heads straight for an oblivious Bumblebee, whom it passes right through without a scratch. It instead strikes Knock Out, grinding his face and body on the pavement for a good distance before the train comes to a stop. Horrified at his total cosmetic disfigurement, he flees, minus a wheel.
The relic is revealed to be a phase shifter, which allows the user to pass through solid objects. The problem turns to Vogel, who knows about the Cybertronians. A hasty call forces Fowler, who's now awake back at base, to deputize the worker as a "deputy of interstellar relations". Vogel is ecstatic about his new position even when he is told to maintain complete radio silence until he is called upon. As Vogel watches the Autobots and the kids leave, he ponders the idea of robots disguised as vehicles while looking at his sweeper train.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Face."
- —Jack, throughout the episode.
"Well, I've actually been in subway stations. I grew up in a major metropolis. Unlike Mr. 'I've never been outside of Jasper, Nevada'."
"I have been to Cybertron."
"Cybertron doesn't have subways! ... Does it?"
- —Miko's argument against Jack soon falls short.
"Bananafish!"
- —Agent Fowler
Knock Out: "You have lovely features. Perfect for a painful little procedure I like to call the nip and tuck."
*Arcee dodges, and kicks Knock Out*
Arcee: "Dodge and kick."
*Arcee runs for the relic, but gets plugged in the back by Knock Out's prod*
Knock Out: "Shock and drop."
- —Knock Out and Arcee carry on witty repartee.
"You scratch my face, I scratch yours!"
*Arcee and Bumblebee cock their blasters*
- —Knock Out tries and fails to reference a previous episode.
*Vogel watches the Autobots and kids leave*
"Robots who turn into vehicles. Hmmm..."
*Vogel turns to look at his sweeper train*
- —It's okay, Vogel, we've all done it before.
Notes
Animation and technical errors
- After the phase shifter attaches itself to Bumblebee, he stands straight up while inspecting it. However, his position is reversed when he stands: Knock Out is now in front of him instead of behind when the runaway sweeper train comes around the corner.
- The scratch marks from Knock Out's first encounter with the sweeper train seem to have disappeared after his transformation into vehicle mode onwards.
- Jack and Miko tell Arcee and Bumblebee to stay away from the third rail or they will be fried. However, they touch it multiple times throughout the episode, then Arcee uses it to kill the Insecticon.
- Vogel's fire axe ends up back on the wall without him actually putting it there.
Continuity notes
- Agent Fowler is still recovering from getting zapped in the previous episode.
- Knock Out wants to retrieve the relic in memory of Breakdown.
- Miko's starting to hate trains.
- Knock Out refers to how Bumblebee was unable to transform in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 1".
- The phase shifter was alluded to in "Sick Mind" by Megatron when he was trying to figure out why he couldn't attack Bumblebee while they were in his subconscious, but he called it phase displacement armor instead.
- Near the end of the episode, Fowler appears to be communicating with someone, telling them to "dump that rock and come on home." A later episode will reveal that he is talking to Bulkhead.
Transformers references
- The Autobots receive help from a human labourer wearing a yellow hard hat.
Real-world references
- The zoom-in from the sweeper train to the dead end references to the elevated train scene in Spider-Man 2.
- Jack's description of the third rail on subway trains is real, as is the fatality of touching it.
- Knock Out's "nip and tuck" line to Arcee is a colloquial phrase for cosmetic surgery.
- Jack claiming to be the "Face" and his explanation for it might be a resemblance to Templeton Peck from The A-Team, who was also mostly known as 'Face'.
- Vogel shouting "Welcome to Earth!" as he prepares to attack Arcee is an echo of when Will Smith punches the alien in the movie Independence Day.
Trivia
- This is the first episode that we see Knock Out mention his partner's death.
- There is a surprising lack of trains in the tunnels of New York.
- Insecticons are revealed to have blasters in their robot modes. Unlike most transforming guns seen so far, their blasters emerge from their forearms.
- In the first episode, the Autobots take on the burden of watching over and protecting the human children because they witnessed them in robot-mode or got caught in the crossfire of a Decepticon battle. Vogel, despite having the same "qualifications", is dispatched with a hasty cover story and left to fend for himself without Autobot protection. Apparently, you only get a "guardian" if you're tiny and cute.
- Vogel's name is most likely a reference to The Hub's Mike Vogel.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Im Untergrund von New York" ("At the Subsurface of New York")
- Original airdate: 12 November 2012
Japanese
- Title: "Dakkai Henkei! Daitokai Chika no Tatakai" (奪回変形!大都会・地下の戦い, "Recovery Transformation! Battle in the Metropolis Underground")
- Original airdate: 22 December 2012
Brazilian Portuguese
