Fighting the cassette bots, Prime and Megatron clash over ethics, and a ‘substitute’ teacher makes waves for Bee and the Terrans.

This is great. For a start, Broadnax, Robinson, Khavari and Mikayla all get some fun stuff to work with as the kids and Terrans have their first mission and their first substitute teacher. Through some clever action beats the former makes it clear the Terrans’ small stature is a real asset able to keep pace with the cassette bots in the exact way the hulking Prime and Megatron can’t. The latter shows that they’re growing into their roles. Martha Marion as Arcee gets the best entrance of the season, screaming into view as an old fashioned muscle car and proceeding to big sister all over the show. Arcee is a top-class fighter but she’s also very smart and the show gives us some room to decide if the emotional lessons she sets Bee and the kids are deliberate or not. I come down very much on the side of deliberate and she’s great fun throughout. She also gives the show’s version of Bee some welcome context; he’s absolutely as good as he thinks he is but he also has a charmingly fighty big sister to keep him honest. The moment where she tries to take over the kids’ training permanently and he stands up to her feels like a major turning point for the show. Bee’s a Malto now and Arcee helps him see that.

The episode isn’t close to done though. We get a lovely return for classic villain Soundwave and cassette bots Ravage, Laserbeak and Frenzy. All three are fun and the designs are lovely but Frenzy steals the show. Redesigned with a David Bowie flash over one eye, a weaponized guitar and voiced by the brilliant Tiana Camacho, Frenzy is the lead vocalist of the group and the centre of the plot that surrounds them. Namely, Megatron and where his loyalties lie.

McCann and Tudyk haven’t been used much so far this season but they’re onscreen constantly here and it’s fantastic to watch. The show leans hard into the two characters’ conflicts as Megatron feels protective of his old followers and deeply unsure of GHOST’s methods and Optimus’ willingness to go along with them. McCann plays this note perfectly and you can see the old soldier in Megatron struggling with which side he’s on.

For his part, Tudyk’s Prime is painfully aware of how precarious their situation is and questions every choice he’s made. His honesty, and willingness to trust how Megatron wants to do things is so refreshing not to mention emblematic or the show’s willingness to push the world in a new direction. This isn’t Megatron re-entering his villain era, it’s two soldiers in an impossible situation finding solidarity in that shared impossibility.

Verdict: Wickedly smart emotional stakes, character beats galore, fantastic guest appearances that all add value to the story and a hell of a cliffhanger. This is how it’s done. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart