Nightshade continues to define their own identity and in doing so, discovers that nothing is really as simple as they’ve been told.

Mae Catt’s script may be the best one the show’s had so far. In arc plot terms it continues to explore the expanded Malto family getting used to their new members and Jawbreaker continuing to look for his new alt mode. In fan service terms, it gives us a classic character with a very new twist and in thematic and personal terms, it focuses in on just how interesting Nightshade is.

The Malto family stuff is the lightest touch here but it all works. Benni Latham and Jon Jon Briones’ Dot and Alex are the stable core around which their chaotic and gleeful children orbit and they get some fun stuff here. Most notably, the moment where Tarantulas is about to erase their memories and Dot’s one thought is to reassure Nightshade that whatever happens the Maltos will still love their newest child is both flat out adorable and very much a line in the sand. Given the state of LGBTQIA* rights in the western world, a nonbinary character being assured of their family’s love shouldn’t be a revolutionary move but here we are.

The concept of identity as a spectrum is core to the show in one of the most graceful ways I’ve seen. Tarantulas’ portrayal is core to this and much like Wheeljack a few episodes ago, it’s a really interesting take on the character. I know Tarantulas from Beast Wars as a maniacal, shrill little arachnid mad scientist. Here he’s far more cautious, and Alfie Allen plays him as noticeably older than the other characters. He’s not evil but he is deeply traumatised. That trauma is expressed through his alt form and through his caution and hostility to others and again, it’s very meaningful to see Nightshade break through his shell. There aren’t just Decepticons, or Autobots, in this show. There are individuals and Tarantulas joins Megatron as one of the show’s most successful explorations and evolutions of its canon to date. Plus I really want to see them chat.

Then there’s Nightshade. Z Infante builds the character from a place of open, honest joy and you like Nightshade instantly. They engage with their world, and the bloody past of it, on their terms and the courage and strength that takes is focused here into the moment Nightshade chooses an alt form. The Northern Hawk Owl they choose has a lot of meaning to it as well. The fact that Nightshade chooses an animal, not a vehicle. The fact it’s the symbol of their new favourite series of books. The fact the owl, and the books, are about heroes defending their world but remaining unique within it. Nightshade’s new identity is, exactly as Tarantulas counsels, vital. But it’s also Nightshade’s choice and it doesn’t change them so much as focus them. A unique transformer in a unique new form, approaching and engaging with their world on their terms.

You don’t get much more heroic than that and you don’t get much better than this very strong episode of the best incarnation of Transformers in years. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart