Jawbreaker’s turn in the spotlight becomes his turn in front of the camera, as he and his sister use the Malto family video camera to make a documentary about choosing your alt mode.

The middle of this unofficial trilogy focuses on Jawbreaker and it will melt your heart. Cyrus Arnold plays the biggest Terran with this completely open sincerity that is so sweet and nearly counterpoints his sister. Lemelin’s Hashtag is great fun here as the increasingly maniacal director of the movie but Arnold’s calm, grounded, big guy is the T-Cog that’s the secret to it all. Where Hashtag was desperate to fit in, Jawbreaker just wants to make the right choice. He’s physically huge, sensitive, kind-hearted and, in one of the moments only a show like this could do, admits he doesn’t like cars. I’m a 6’2 nerd who is built like a friendly door and has struggled with how I’m seen and who I am my whole life. This episode helped me. I can only imagine how much kids built like Jawbreaker and who feel like him will be affected by this and I’m so glad the show has taken him this way.

They do so via a couple of impressive pit-stops too. Rory McCann’s Megatron is interviewed for the movie (Jawbreaker calls him ‘sir’, it’s adorable) and we get some welcome context for his new alt mode and loyalties. Cissy Jones’ Elita-1 gets the emotional beats though, giving Jawbreaker the heart-to-heart he needs after putting him through her terrifying workout course. Elita-1’s physical strength and emotional awareness, matched with Megatron’s stoicism and quiet penance, give us a view of Cybertronians as a culture that’s not really been since the epochal comic series More Than Meets The Eye and Lost Light. They also give Jawbreaker what he needs to make his decision; he’s not ready. Yet.

Rounded off with a nicely frantic arachnabot chase, this is another deep dive into the mindset of the Cybertronians and a welcome spotlight for another new character. Jawbreaker and Hashtag couldn’t be more different but both are well-rounded, interesting, inclusive characters who are also giant robots that sometimes change into other things.

Verdict: Fun, smart, kind and clever. A great episode of a barnstorming first season. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart