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Trukk and munky.
"Optimal Situation"
Season	3
No. in season	1
Production company	Mainframe Entertainment
Airdate	October 24, 1998
Writer	Bob Forward
Director	Steve Sacks
Animation studio	Mainframe Entertainment
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube

With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.

Synopsis

Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.

As a time storm ravages reality, Megatron gloats to the fading Maximals, since his attack on Optimus Prime ensures that the Autobots lose to the Decepticons, resulting in the Predacons having control of Cybertron. However, Blackarachnia, having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the Golden Disk to activate Teletraan I's security system, forcing Megatron out of the Ark.

It's not the Matrix. We swear.

Blackarachnia and Silverbolt activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the Autobot leader is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and Rhinox summons an Autobot repair device to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and Inferno arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, Waspinator provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected Axalon, Primal and Cheetor race off.

Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.

As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in stasis lock.

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that Rampage and the Arachnoids are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the Axalon. The Axalon plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

And in four million years, he'll tell Ratchet he had the strangest dream.

Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. Rattrap is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the Ark from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into Mount St. Hilary.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Well, that's just prime."
"Or what's left of him, anyway."

—Optimus Primal and Rattrap on seeing the damage Megatron dealt to Optimus Prime.

"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history."
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I might risk it."

—Megatron and Optimus Primal are badasses.

Megatron: This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again!
Optimus: Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron.
Megatron: Then they'd better stay out of my way!
Rattrap: Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him?
Optimus: I'm trying not to resort to that.

—The 'bots talk smack.

"Stay close, Maximals; it's time to transform and ROLL OUT!"

—Optimus Primal saying Optimus Prime's iconic phrase...maybe Prime's speaking through him?

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!"
"Well wha'd ya expect? He changes 'em often enough!"

—Cheetor and Rattrap, who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet a while."
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."

—Silverbolt and Blackarachnia have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them.

Notes

Script timeline

• First draft: 18th February 1998
• Second draft: 1st March 1998
• Finalised: 19th March 1998
• As Air: 19th June 1998

Animation and technical errors

• When Rhinox slaps Rattrap for cracking wise over Optimus Prime's ruined state, his green understructure clips through the gold surface of the lower rhinoceros jaw that covers his chest.
• When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
• When Primal first gets up in his new body, his left fist goes through the floor.
• When Megatron and Inferno fire at the Maximals inside the Ark, their projectiles move at an extremely slow speed — enough to let Primal throw his arm shields in the air, transform, catch them, leap in front of his comrades and provide cover for them.
• When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but it should house Optimus Prime's spark.
• Prime's spark is missing its nucleus in some scenes.
• After his near-death experience in the last episode, Inferno is extensively damaged even while confronting the Maximals in the Ark. After escaping from volcano with the Predacons however, he appears fully repaired again.
• During Primal and Cheetor's aerial attack on the fleeing Predacons, the cat's flight mode jets are not deployed as he swoops closer to "camera" in the medium shot following his initial approach, but well before he transforms.
• As the Axalon is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.
• In the Brazilian dub, Rampage is called "Destruição", but his name is "Violência". "Destruição" is Ravage's name.

Continuity errors

Geekery.

• The Maximals are fading out but Megatron isn't effected in any way, even though changing the Great War should surely have an impact on him too!
• The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the Matrix of Leadership. According to Ben Yee, the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from The Transformers: The Movie as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance.^[1]
  • Though the designs are similar, the "spark container" is much smaller, small enough that Primal's hands can grip both handles comfortably. The actual Matrix is large enough for an Autobot the size of Prime to do that. It's also missing the handy finger holes.
  • "Primeval Dawn" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a decoy Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
  • Look, just watch the episode, okay?
• While not exactly an error persay, Optimus Prime is the only Generation 1 Cybertronian seen in the episode, whereas in the previous episode, other inert Autobots and Decepticons could also be seen nearby on Megatron's path towards Optimus.
• Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the Axalon teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "Victory". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.

Continuity notes

Spider-brand, spider-brand.
Marks whatever Tarantulas can...

• The Arachnoids seen in this episode sport a special Tarantulas insignia, which they possess in all of their appearances from now on.
• Blackarachnia informally joins the Maximals.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • Optimus's wings can morph into shields for his fists, which he uses to defend the Maximals against Megatron's missile.
  • Quickstrike's snake arm can move around under its own power.

Transformers references

• Rhinox mentions that Optimus Prime's spark "has the Matrix with it". According to Ben Yee, this was part of some added exposition in an attempt to reconcile the spark holder that contained Prime's spark with its resemblance to the Matrix of Leadership.^[2] However, this only raised more questions than answers. Eventually, Yee explained further that "This spark has the Matrix with it," was meant to evoke a more spiritual/ethereal meaning, similar to the belief in Christianity (Yee specified Catholicism) that "God is with us."^[3] Optimus's spark was "joining the Matrix", so it had "the Matrix with it."
• When confronting Megatron on the Ark's bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by Ben Yee about this fact during the Madman Entertainment Beast Wars Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
• Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and roll out."

Real-world references

• Blackarachnia refers to Optimus Prime as "Big Mack", after the manufacturer of semi-trucks.
• The Autobot repair device used that fits over Prime's head unfurls in a distinctively layered fashion reminiscent of the exploding mask worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original 1990 Total Recall film.
• Optimus's slow, painful transformation into his new form — particularly when he watches his hand stretch — is a visual reference to the werewolf transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London.

Trivia

• The original title was "The Agenda (Part 4)".^[4]
• The show's title sequence has received yet another update for season 3. Similar to the previous update, it spoils the events of its debut episode, as well as introducing Depth Charge an episode earlier than his premier similar to the Fuzors from last season. Cheetor is notably absent from the new sequence save a for a tiny cameo towards the end, likely done to avoid spoiling his upcoming Transmetal 2 design.
• When lifting himself towards Optimus Prime to take on his spark, Optimus Primal shows his Transmetal body is capable of flying in his Robot mode using thrusters underneath his feet. Previously he was shown only capable of flight while in his Transmetal Gorilla alternate mode via hoverboard.
• Primal's voice becomes noticeably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
• Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
• Rattrap breaks the fourth wall after Cheetor mentions Optimus's new body, his quip accompanied by a rimshot.
• There is a real-life reason why the Axalon was destroyed; Optimus' new "Optimal" form simply would not fit in it. When the salvaged remains of the base have been set up, Optimus is easily twice as tall as the bridge.
• The missile that Rampage fires and Optimus inadvertently deflects into the Axalon bears a peace symbol on its nose cone.
• Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Quickstrike, Inferno, and Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).
• After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to stasis lock. The Binaltech story chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Situation Optimal" (Canada, "Optimal Situation")

Italian

• Title: "L'alba di una nuova era" ("The Dawn of a New Age")

• "Cybertronians" is translated as "cybertronici" instead of "cybertroniani" as usual.

Japanese

• Title: "Ōkiku Na~re" (大きくな～れ, "Gro~w Bigger")
• Original airdate: December 29 1999

Portuguese

• Title: "Situação Optimal" ("Optimal Situation")

Spanish

• Title: "Situación Óptima" ("Optimal Situation")

• Title: "Situación Optima" (America, "Optimal Situation")

Mandarin

• Title: "Zuìgāo Wēijī " (最高危机, "Supreme Crisis")

Home video releases

VHS

2000 — Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals — Groooww Bigger (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Free Video (Universal)

DVD

2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Vol. 1 (Universal)
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Third Season (Rhinomation)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Seasons 2 & 3 (Shout! Factory)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2006 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Season 3 (Madman Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: The Movie — Special Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Beast Wars — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

References