Airs 5-24-08 in Canada, 5-31-08 in US.

Prowl goes off on his own to capture the fugitive Starscream, but finds some competition in the form of a Decepticon bounty hunter.

Just a question, could the bounty hunter by any chance be lockdown?

The bounty hunter was indeed Lockdown. And Prowl got some major upgrades. And Starscream is quite clever and resourceful.

This was an awesome ep from start to finish. Loved it!

I love samurai Prowl.. the sidecar is absolutely necessary! I want to see what craziness is cooked up with all those SS clones.

I think my favorite line of this episode goes to Ratchet after Prowl pretends his comm in shorting out.

"Frankly, I always found Bumblebee's fake static more believable."

Ironically enough, this episode has made me decide not to get the Prowl remold. The mods look cool, but he doesn't need them.

Heh, when Lockdown said Samurai Prowl reminded him of someone, I was totally hoping for a Bludgeon reference.

And yeah, Ratchet's "fake static" line actually made me laugh. This show is just so fun.

Personally, I rolled my eyes a bit.

It seemed like one of the usual 'zomg performance enhancements BAAAD' episodes that I swear must be federally mandated to two or three a season.

Also, the whole 'your upgrades have broken the eggs' drama point made me cringe. Unless I've forgotten, there was, you know, a WAR going on somewhere, I'd've thought they'd had seen worse than that...

Great, now I have to be angry that the Prowl figure can't use the EMP device.

Thinkin I should make it a rule, that Canadian Ep threads cant be made without youtube links in the opening post.....

Could have done without the Lesson, but I enjoyed the episode anyway. Ratchet's static line was gold. Lockdown's awesome--loved his clothing at the start. Anyone else catch Gerwalk Megatron?

I for one needed the lesson... Made me realise all the mods I've recently got have gone to my head

Didn't get to see the episode - can anyone lay out the details on teh Starscream clone(s)?

Utterly fantastic episode. Easily better than Thrill of the Hunt. Among Animated's top episodes, if not contending for 'best'.

Overall good ep, but two things bugged me:

1) As others have pointed out, the whole "mods are bad" lesson seemed overdone and out of place. Maybe if they explained it more as "the more mods you use, the more you tax your body"? I dunno. They did play up a bit of "makes you more aggressive and think you can do anything without thinking of the consequences" angle, but it didn't seem to cover all of it.

2) The bit with the bombs was just...ugh. Having timers that takes that long and ANNOUNCING it is just classic villain stupidity. Want to know what it takes to kill Megs, Screamer? Not stupidity.

Animation was nice and fluid though. I also liked the subtle changes to Starscream's color scheme (was wondering why he was crimson all of the sudden...)

EDIT: Octavius, not much information is given. We just see two of them for the episode, and at the end it's shown that Starscream is building them in the crashed Decepticon cruiser on the moon.

Helluva episode.

Loved the G1-colored Screamer clone.

I expect this is how we will get a Skywarp and Thundercracker.

I don't think the lesson was "Mods are bad." I think the lesson was more "Don't let the mods go to your head." At least that's how I took it.

The G1esque Screamerl ooked great! I noticed the color changes.. but didn't catch on to the clones right away. I totally should have though.. escpecially when they went out of theirt wat to say they weren't acting like Starscream.

Part 1

Part 2

That was a fantastic episode. Prowl's doin' it for the birdies.

This is going to result in repaints galore, I just know it.

Prowl's learnt his lesson about over-reliance on twinking up on raw power, I hope.

Amazing animation or sure. Did anyone notice for like two seconds, but inside Lockdown's car his gear shaft had a skull? Lol. Little thing, but again, awesome episode.

Ratchet's "fake static" line is gold, alright.

Prowl's "lesson" was a little old hat, but still a nice touch.

Fake Static and Mr. Happy Mod. Great Episodes.

indeed. and a chain steering wheel

Great episode - it was good to see Lockdown again appearing and not just as another Decepticon. I love that he regards the Elite Guard as cheap.

Prowl's armor/sidecar is cool - I'll be interested to see what the toy version looks like.

Not too much info on the clones...however, the 2 in this episode did seem to embody certain aspects of Starscream's personality. G1 clone = dealmaker/backstabber Purple clone = coward.
There's a ton of clone bodies at the end, too - at least 50 or so.

HIGHLIGHT to view:
Definitely enough to produce the Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, and Femme Seeker we've seen in A Bridge too Far.

edit: sorry about the lack of spoiler tags. I figured since we were discussing an episode that hasn't aired in teh US anyway, I may as well discuss other episodes that haven't been aired in the US.

Best part about this episode? No Bumblebee or Sari and very little Bulkhead. Sadly, Lugnut and Blitzwing were little used but then their only purpose was to act as backgroud Decepticons in this episode. The Dinobots were unexpected cameos but I enjoyed seeing them again.

And yes, the "fake static" line was classic.

Another great episode. I also noticed that Prowl's design of being based on a motorcycle cop was more prominent in this episode than previous ones. I knew it all along but "motorcycle cop!" just really stood out in this episode more than others.



Bulky I heard. Not sleek like in the show.

i want the shuttle to be a minicon.....

and thats what i get posting 2 minutes into a show.....

I just hope the explanation for the clones is done well. Given that he had to have the clones ready, just as soon as he made it back to Earth, I'm guessing that he started creating them back on the Elite Guard's ship (which also explained how he escaped).

I suspect Starscream's spark fragment, in addition to immortality, gives him a G2-like budding ability. Which is a nice little nod, I suppose.

Kevin

Hey, Octavius -- between this post and the one in the "bigger Soundwave toy" thread, that's twice you've spoiled later episodes in unrelated threads without using any spoiler tags or warnings.

Please stop?

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use extra caution in Canadian episode threads regarding spoilers.

I *REALLY* hate to come in here and spoil an episode I haven't seen because someone can't use spoiler tags for Dubai previews.

Agreed on keeping spoilers out. Show some regard for your fellow fan !

Anyway, this was definitely one of the top ten episodes. I liked how much they managed to cram into the limited airtime without making it feel forced.

Does hoping for a treacherous-G1 style repaint figure of Starscream make me a mindless consumer idiot ? I just might be one...

Lockdown really grew on me a lot. This added characterization beyond the vile villain of his first appearance is very much appreciated. I like characters that aren't 100% good or evil all the time - It feels more natural this way.

It was also smart that the writers managed to avoid a direct Autobot-Decepticon battle this time. It keeps the cons strong.

And that last scene was one of those delightful spittake_point-at-the-screen moments. I like those.

Loved it. Prowl twinking out on mods was pretty awesome, and I do hope he gets them back. After all, sometimes you do need the extra power. Depends how far one belives the old saying "the ends justify the means". But I doubt they'll come back to it, given that he's learnt his lesson.

Gotta agree that the "static" line was comedy gold. Lockdown was also suitably bad-aft, being completley driven by greed, making me wonder if he and HIGHLIGHT to view:
Swindle will be BFF. I also expect people to make ponchos for the figure.

Liked the Seeker Clone Army though. The fact they played up different aspects of his personality (Backstabbing git and coward) was rather nice, which does make me wonder if other clones will have other areas of his mentality. As for the stupidity, I think someone in an earlier ep thread proposed that the "regenerations" make him more and more insane. Or, will eventually turn him into Christopher Eccleston.

It was really nice to see Prowl once again played up as having his own set of personality flaws and faults. It keeps him approachable as a character. It's also funny to see him using the Bumblebee playbook (and I mean beyond the "fake static" bit... the "boosters", the showing off, the recklessness)... he better be glad Bee wasn't around to witness this, because man, he'd never let Prowl live it down.

Also glad to see Answer Studio put their good team on this one. Answer's episodes have been... sometimes, beautiful... other times... well, "Meltdown".

And the moral of the story, yeah, I don't think it's "mods are bad". It's "overeliance and reckless use of mods is bad". The problem wasn't using the gear, it was acting like a douche and going off half-cocked and wild because he HAD the gear. He was able to take down Grimlock with the EMP, and that kind of power went to his head.

Make you wonder just how he got on this washout crew, huh?

Maybe I missed it the first time we saw him, but... Lockdown has a chipped tooth-ridge. It's a small but nice touch.


M "I Could See A Fair Few Activators Redecos" Sipher

But thats Prowls schickt in this show. Prowls been Mr. Nature scince they got to earth. For him it's in character to see what he's done and take it badly. You can't blame them for trying to keep him consistent with the rest of his appearences.


Ya the whole static line was golden and Lockdown is again the chop bot of awesomeness, but just seeing the Gerwalk Megatron was plain awesome.

HIGHLIGHT to view:
I very much expect to see Thundercracker and Skywarp be the Voyager Starscream repaints and Sunstorm and Ramjet (and maybe G1Scream and Purplescream) be repains of the Activator mold. I'm holding out hope that Hasbro will do a deluxe version of the mold for the femme Seeker.

When the first Starscream clone showed up as purple I thought I was having G1 flashbacks when in one frame you'd all of a sudden have a different color for the same character. I mean...seriously. Hehe

They did make a point to remind people, with Prowl saving a nest of birds from Grimlock and watchign deer at the start. And Personally, I found the broken eggs to be one of the more shocking moments of the series, due to knowing that it wound Prowl deeply.



I'm really enjoying Lockdown, and I hope we start to see him more then just once a season.

It was nice to see the EMP again. Wonder why Ratchet never bothers to use it in battle. Guess he probably swore never to allow it to function as an offensive weapon again.

Grimlock appears to have grown since the last time we saw him. He used to be the same size as Bulkhead; now he's absolutely immense. Also, the EMP doesn't seem to affect him as much as it does Autobots.

Watching on a tiny screen kept me from noticing some of the nuanced color differences, so I wanted to ask: we didn't see any Starscream clones until Prowl and Lockdown got back to Earth, right? That was supposed to be the real Starscream on the moon?

I think you mean Mook, right? Because they did this episode and that one. According to the credits, looks like the same team from 'Survival of the Fittest', which makes me happy. 'Thrill of the Hunt' was great, but it and 'Sound and Fury' suffered from being animated by Answer Studio's B-Team, so I was glad to see Lockdown in an episode handled by one of the better animation teams.

Other than that, no complaints. Personally, I'm glad to see mods approached in such a light; upgrades have just been used WAY too casually over the years, so it was nice to see a bit of weight attached to them.

Oh. Mook, right. Was discussing Answer's disparity of quality elsewhere, and "Fistful" was part of that conversation, and without the credits to look at, well...

(Man. Rewatching the Grimlock fight? Really getting some major SWAT Kats intro flashbacks.)


M "What I Said About Answer In General Still Holds True" Sipher

Well, the Starscream that destroys the emergency shuttle is actually one of the clones, the same one that later offers the Autobots a truce.

I think before that, Starscream is the original, however there's no way to tell at this point.

Kevin

As for the "mods" lesson, remember that Prowl got his armor from Lockdown's trophy racks--meaning it was actually the severed, hollowed-out husk of another TF's dead body! Why do you think Ratchet was so horrified in Lockdown's lair, or even at the sight of an auto parts shop? Prowl was definitely going over to the dark side here, explaining everybody's reaction to his new accessories.

An odd tack for Hasbro to take on their own product: "Hey kids, here's something the character doesn't really need and is actually grisly and sorta evil too."

I thought it was a pretty interesting episode. I too want to know where SS got/made/whatever all those clones so quickly. Perhaps he was a busy little beaver prior to his capture in the first place. And he was missing for a really long time in Season 1.

I loved Ratchet's line about BB's fake static as well, it had me chuckling pretty hard.

As for Prowl and the whole lesson and the mods....I liked how the mods look, it certainly was cool. And I think they handled the end pretty well, showing how Prowl was going overboard instead of just using his wits and skills to tidily end things. I wouldn't mind seeing him use those mods again, but this time more in his usual style.

wow, good call, i didn't even think of that. <shudder> yikes.

Extremely good episode. I can see where folks would get annoyed by the "Mods" lesson, but it fit the context of the story.

Grimlock and the Dinobots were treats to see again. Though I can't help but feel slightly impatient when it comes to them. I think it's high time they stopped being territorial pseudo-animals and started joining the rank and file. At the very least get Swoop and Snarl some air time away from Grimlock to show themselves off - also get VAs.

Hell, Swoop is the only aerial unit the Bots have. I'd have expected efforts made to at least conscript him as a scout.


As for the Seeker Army - I wonder if Starscream hasn't been building them since the 50 year lull between the Autobots crashing on Earth and Screamer's arrival. There's a LOT of clone bodies there to have been produced since Screamer returned to Earth.


Also something interesting I wonder if anyone else caught about the Clones - When Coward-scream got blasted with the EMP Generator and Stasis Cuffed, when he came back online the Sound Effect for Starscream's "restart" by the Allspark fragment played. Also, they were able to track Coward-scream via an Allspark energy signature. Curiouser and Curiouser. Maybe Screamer found another fragment somewhere?



Also dug the car alarms going off in the background after the Clones detonated. It was a subtle touch, but made the explosion more believable.

It really works well in this series the Autobot culture seems to be all about the idea that the Autobots are morally against upgrading themselves just for the sake of power or strength. While the Decepticons are the opposite. Always obsessively looking for another way to boost themselves up. Other than the fact that those were parts of a dead corpse that Prowl used. Note that it kind of explained why the Decepticons are so much more blind to the pain they cause to others. They only think of the utmost necessity and the sacrifice of other things to what they think is the greater good.

It was really about why the Autobots aren't big hulking war machines now to compensate with the Decepticon threat that they have been fighting for millions of years.

"2) The bit with the bombs was just...ugh. Having timers that takes that long and ANNOUNCING it is just classic villain stupidity. Want to know what it takes to kill Megs, Screamer? Not stupidity."

Yeah but Starscream's attempts to kill Megatron are meant to be somewhat comedic releif. Granted Screamer may not be stable anymore. His earlier treachery was patient and naunced. While now he's somewhat desperately trying anything to kill Megatron.

One has to wonder though if this Screamer isn't the real one and if he's just a clone of the one that got the key stuck in his head. Note that it has no spark. Only shows a certain aspect of Starscream. His desire to kill Megatron and become leader. Starscream was much more balanced out prior to this. Waiting to kill Megatron only when the oppourtunity arrived and not making it clear.

If anything the real Starscream is not around for some reason and these are all budded of fakes created by a allspark powered clone of Starscream. Unless Starscream's Spark is dead but he's capable of making more of them with the Allspark fragment. It's odd he can't seem to create life either at the moment. Unless he just dosen't know how too...

Still im starting to think the one with the spark fragment in it's head isn't the real Starscream.

The real Screamer would have tried to get on Megatron's good side again. Or would have found a more subtle way to kill him. Something isn't right here.

Animation was nice and fluid though. I also liked the subtle changes to Starscream's color scheme (was wondering why he was crimson all of the sudden...)

Do we know how long a decacycle is in this continuity? Ultra Magnus said it took them awhile to recontact Optimus after Starscream escaped. Maybe he got free immediately after launched, and has had all the time from the end of ep. 19 to the start of ep. 23 to be building his army.

Assuming a "cycle" is a day, he's been free ten days. Regardless, I subscribe to the idea he's been churning them out in the last fifty years.

Even then, I'd say the ship had drone construction facilites onboard. There's no way five Decepticons would run a ship that size, and that's assuming Megatron would do be involved in maintenance. As such, I think Starscream has used that to build up an army.

Consulting the TF Wiki's units of time article, cycle has previously been used to mean two hours (Marvel UK comics), about a minute (Beast Wars), or one minute and fifteen seconds (IDW). Deca-cycle has been used to mean about a year (Beast Wars) and about three weeks (IDW), and thus has never actually meant "ten cycles" before.

Who knows what it means in Animated.

Speaking of time, the Elite Guard's ship sure is taking a looooooooooooooooooong time to get back to Cybertron.