Human Error, Part II
From Transformers Wiki
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 That tiny thing at their feet? Yeah, that's right, that's their leader... | |||||||||
| "Human Error, Part II" | |||||||||
| Season | 3 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 9 | ||||||||
| Airdate | April 25, 2009 | ||||||||
| Written by | Tom Pugsley | ||||||||
| Directed by | Kalvin Lee Yosuke Hatta | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Mook | ||||||||
| Continuity | Animated cartoon continuity | ||||||||
While the Autobots are held captive by one of their deadliest foes, Sari must recruit a team of "Substitute Autobots" to rescue them.
Contents |
Synopsis
In Soundwave's virtual reality, the Autobots struggle to get themselves free of the giant Soundwave, only for a wire damaged by Sari's recent attack to sever Soundwave's connection to them. As Soundwave makes repairs, Prowl is briefly able to escape the virtual world using processor-over-matter. However, his attempt to free Optimus Prime is interrupted as Soundwave plugs him back into the VR computer. His control reestablished, Soundwave reverts the Autobots to their human forms. Recognizing that reprogramming will take longer now, Soundwave instructs his toy replicas to begin hypnotizing the humans of Detroit.
In the virtual world, Bulkhead has taken to smashing things in the hopes that it will get them out. Ratchet says that the only way they can do that is to find Soundwave's interface, a virtual icon with his representation. Bumblebee quickly notices a potential icon: Soundwave's vehicle mode, which nearly runs them down. Optimus orders the Automen to follow Soundwave in vehicles on which their own alternate modes are based, including the virtual Captain Fanzone's car. Upon looking at the driving equipment, however, Optimus realizes that he may be in a little over his head.
Heading back to Sumdac Tower, Sari seeks out her father's help. She is briefly found by a Sound Wave toy, but knocks it aside. Observing that she is immune to his hypnotics, Soundwave decides that she must be terminated. Finding her father in the lab, Sari is horrified when he tries to attack her, but is able to delay him by burying him under a fallen shelf. Sari quickly takes flight, hoping to find help elsewhere.
In the virtual reality, the Autobots are following Soundwave's avatar, but not very well: Bulkhead and Bumblebee keep ramming into other drivers, Optimus's fire-suppressant equipment is out of control, Ratchet is driving backwards, and Prowl is having trouble avoiding popping wheelies. Cornering Soundwave at a dilapidated drive-in movie, Ratchet is convinced that they have the Decepticon right where they want him—only for a dozen of the Soundwave vehicle modes to appear and surround them. It's a trap! As the Automen try to flee, Soundwave appears on the movie screen and begins broadcasting a reprogramming frequency. Prowl begins another processor-over-matter attempt, but one by one, the Autobots' optics begin to turn red...
On Dinobot Island, Sari looks for the Dinobots, but they find her when Swoop knocks her out of the air. Grimlock shows up and declares her an intruder. Sari says that she wants their help, but Grimlock informs Sari that Dinobots don't help puny humans—they destroy puny humans! The two Dinobots transform and Grimlock attacks, only for Sari to return fire with a blast from her weapon as well. Grimlock decides against destroying her, but says that they won't help either. Sari then notices that the triceratops is missing and asks where he is, but Grimlock says that they aren't talking to him, as Dinobots aren't pets. Heading to the shore, Sari finds Scrapper, who has been marooned for almost seven weeks, separated from Mixmaster and Dirt Boss after their last misadventure. Scrapper reveals that he's taken the triceratops as a pet and named him Snarl (as the Dinobot didn't take kindly to Slag). Scrapper also points out that even if he wanted to help, they're stuck on the island. Sari asks why he doesn't make himself a boat. Scrapper admits that he never thought of that.
On the way to the mainland, Sari says that the three of them will need to rescue the Autobots immediately, but Scrapper reminds her that he never said he'd help. He plans to take Snarl up north, having heard it's good oil country. Sari angrily tells him that it's time to be a hero, and a voice from underwater answers, jumping onto the raft—it's Wreck-Gar! Reluctantly, Sari takes him. As the Substitute Autobots reach the mainland, Sari tells them to roll out, but they quickly leave without her. Once she catches up to them, Sari and the Substitutes are quickly confronted by Soundwave, when the Autobots appear as well. Sari is relieved at the sight of her friends, as she had little hope for the Substitute Autobots. But her cheer turns to horror as she realizes that the Autobots are under Soundwave's control.
Converting to battle mode, Sari instructs the Substitute Autobots to attack. However, the Substitutes are not up to the Autobots' own skills. Wreck-Gar follows the orders of everyone too literally, Scrapper's snowball attack is just plain ineffective, and Snarl barely does anything. Sari is amazed that mindless zombies are more effective than her own team, until Scrapper comments that it's because they're being controlled by one guy. Sari realizes that he's right, and orders the Substitute Autobots to attack on their own. Sure enough, it works: Soundwave begins having trouble multitasking, and the Substitute Autobots' effectiveness begins to wear them down. One of Prowl's attacks even saves Sari from being blasted by Bumblebee. Soundwave eventually decides to use just Optimus Prime instead, and he is able to take down each Substitute Autobot until only Sari is left. Prime nearly slices her in half before Prowl throws his shuriken at Soundwave, knocking his keytar out of his hands and freeing the Autobots. Sari had suspected that he had been faking, but Prowl admits that it took a great deal of effort to fight off Soundwave's control.
Furious at Prowl's deception, Soundwave orders Laserbeak and Ratbat, the keytar, to attack. Ratbat dispatches Prowl, while Laserbeak goes for Sari. Soundwave himself tackles Prime and knocks Optimus's axe out of his hands, so Prime decides to use Soundwave's other axe—Laserbeak. The two engage in what may be the most epic rock-off of all time as they try to counter each other's harmonics. Ultimately, Optimus Prime uses the instrument-locked Laserbeak to shatter Soundwave and Ratbat, freeing the humans from Soundwave's control. However, Laserbeak grabs Soundwave's remaining functional piece and flies off.
Later, it's a very merry Christmas indeed for the Autobots and the Sumdacs: Not only are they freed of Soundwave's control, but Porter C. Powell is about to be financially ruined by the impending Sound Wave refunds. Scrapper decides to call it quits and head back to Dinobot Island for a long vacation, but Snarl refuses to let the Constructicon ride him. Wreck-Gar, however, chooses to stay and help clean up the mess from the battle, ending the fine career of the Substitute Autobots. Sari also has a better appreciation for what Optimus goes through being in command, while the Autobots understand the rigors of being human. As the Autobots reflect on their newfound understanding, Wreck-Gar begins distributing garbage to all the good little girls and boys.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Substitute Autobots | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Driver: Hey! Take it easy, leadfoot!
Bulkhead: What, it's not lead any more!
[Bumblebee's car hits Bulkhead's car]
Bumblebee: Virtual Fanzone's gonna be ticked!
Optimus: I have to hand it to the humans, driving is much more difficult than it looks.
Ratchet: [Driving backwards] This ain't so hard.
Prowl: It's merely a matter of becoming one with the machiAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! [Begins popping a wheelie]
- —The Autobots take their turn at driving... and fail miserably.
"Hey, weren't there three of you? Where's the other one?"
"Me Grimlock not talking to him. Him traitor. Dinobots not pets."
- —Sari Sumdac and Grimlock on the status of the Dinobots.
[Writing in the sand] "Day 48: Still no sign of my collea-...my buds. I have befriended and trained one of the local wildlife." [Tide comes up and erases writing] "Oh, not again!"
- —Scrapper just can't win.
Sari: All right. Substitute Autobots, transform and roll out!
Wreck-Gar: Transform. What a good idea!
[Transforms and drives off]
Scrapper: [Riding Snarl] Hi-ho, Snarl!
[Snarl slips on some ice, knocking off Scrapper, who transforms and follows]
Scrapper: Hey, Snarl, wait for Daddy!
Sari: Hey, wait for me! I'm your leader!
- —The Substitute Autobots aren't getting off to a good start.
Sari: All right, big guy. I'd hate to do this, but..
[Sari fires a blast at Optimus, but he uses Wreck-Gar as a shield, causing some of his junk to fly out and hit him]
Wreck-Gar: [Dazed] Ha ha! The mighty Wreck-Gar is no match for...the mighty Wreck-Gar. Wait, whose side am I on again?
- —Wreck-Gar, actually more confused than usual.
"Time to change your tune, Soundwave. Operation: face the music."
- —Optimus Prime, being awesome.
Notes
Continuity notes
- Soundwave toys are seen being sold at Wyatt Toys, previously seen in "Sound and Fury".
- Dinobot Island is missing a huge chunk of itself after the events of "Predacons Rising".
- Scrapper is revealed to have survived the explosion the Constructicons were caught in back in "Three's a Crowd". According to him, it's been forty-eight days since the events of that episode. The fates of Mixmaster and Dirt Boss, however, are less certain.
- Scrapper names the triceratops Dinobot "Snarl" as a second choice after the Dinobot took offense to "Slag", referencing the real-life name change for Snarl. This is the first time Snarl has been given a name in the cartoon—the pteranodon was never named in the show itself. The closest we got was Blackarachnia nicknaming him "Swoopy".
- Wreck-Gar has been at the bottom of the lake since his debut episode, "Garbage In, Garbage Out".
Transformers references
- While it's unclear if the reference is intentional, "Soundwave hypnotises humans using miniature duplicates of himself" was also the plot of TakaraTomy's Music Label toyline. A definite Music Label reference, though, is the coloration of Soundwave's virtual form at the beginning of the episode: it's based on the line's "Sonic White" Soundwave MP3 player figure.
- Soundwave is heard saying "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior" a reference of a similar line spoken by the original cartoon's Soundwave in The Transformers: The Movie.
- Soundwave's virtual avatars are depicted in the color scheme of the Electrostatic Soundwave toy.
- The traffic light Bulkhead swings around is based on the weapon that came with Prowl's first toy.
- Laserbeak carrying away Soundwave's core component is a reference to G1 Soundwave's minions carrying his remains off after his destruction in The Headmasters
Real-world references
- The "castaway" Scrapper is dressed in Robinson Crusoe garb, including a rust beard.
- Both Wreck-Gar and his voice actor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, play the accordion.
- Optimus refers to Laserbeak as an "axe" (a common nickname for guitars) before forcibly transforming him into his alt mode.
- Scrapper's cry of "Hi-ho, Snarl!" is a reference to the Lone Ranger's cry of "Hi-ho, Silver!"
- Sari's naming of her team as "The Substitute Autobots" is likely a reference to the DC Comics team the Legion of Substitute Heroes, as similarly rag-tag band of misfit "losers" mostly composed of rejected applicants to the Legion of Super-Heroes, who have nevertheless blundered their way into saving the Earth on occasion.
- The Christmas carols continue in this episode, as Scrapper starts singing a bit of "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and Wreck-Gar offers up his own unique version of "Deck the Halls" (given his voice actor, this isn't much of a surprise). Sari's comment, "It's supposed to be a 'Silent Night.'" as she shuts Soundwave off refers to the carol of the same name. As in the previous episode, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" is incorporated into the background music of this episode's final scene.
- Some of the sound effects used when Optimus attacks Soundwave with Laserbeak date back to Hanna-Barbara's Quickdraw McGraw, whose title character's alter ego, El Kabong, used a guitar as a melee weapon.
- Meanwhile, Ratbat's shrieks are taken directly from the original Scooby Doo, Where Are You! intro.
- The stylized animation of Optimus Prime's final strike with Laserbeak is highly reminiscent of Haruko Haruhara's attacks with her guitar in FLCL—one of Derrick J. Wyatt's admitted influences for this show.
- When Soundwave breaks apart and his mind control power dissipates, the sound effect is of a dial-up modem.
- After Soundwave bursts out of the street in front of Sari and the Substitute Autobots, Soundwave says "I am Soundwave; resistance is futile," which is a reference to the Borg from Star Trek.
Animation or technical errors
- After Soundwave catches up to the Autobots at the drive-in theater, Optimus' arm is missing as he leans out of the window.
- Human Ratchet has his scar on the wrong side of his face in one scene.
- After Sari says, "Well, I sure am glad that's over," Snarl begins to walk off, and puts some good distance between himself and the group as Scrapper talks. Immediately after Scrapper hits the floor when Snarl kicks him off, Snarl appears close up again to the group, almost as if he's just now leaving
- After Wreck-Gar is thrown to the ground by Optimus the hole in his backpack is missing although that AllSpark fragment could have fixed that.
- When Optimus is smacking Soundwave around with Laserbeak, the squares on Soundwave's backpack are the same lavender color as Ratbat, rather than the gold they should be.
- When Optimus delivers his final strike with Laserbeak, the force of the blow snaps off the Decepticon bird's frets, leaving a jagged break (circled in the image at right). When Laserbeak pops back up a few moments later to carry Soundwave off, however, he's still in one piece; at the very least, he should be missing his tail.
Continuity errors
- Sari's upgrade sequence from "TransWarped" is used as stock footage for her transformation sequence, even though she grows taller during the sequence.
Trivia
- Several questions were left unanswered in this two-parter, including how Soundwave was rebuilt after the destruction of his body in "Sound and Fury", and where Laserbeak and Ratbat come from.
- This episode marks the return of Captain Fanzone's car. Even in the virtual world, it's still absolutely filthy, inside and out.
- Soundwave says he "reprograms" the Autobots into Decepticons. However, it seems more like he put a receiver in their bodies and used them as puppets. If they were properly processor-washed, then they would do what he says on their own, not need directions from a remote. Perhaps the reprogramming is simply to make them easier to control.
- This episode marks the last appearance of quite a few characters, namely, Wreck-Gar, Scrapper, Soundwave, all three Dinobots, Porter C. Powell, Mayor Edsel and his aide, and the Witwickies.
- Captain Fanzone appears several times in the episode, but has no speaking lines. Even after coming out of hypnosis, he doesn't make a remark about his reasons for disliking mechanical entities.
- The tag on Fanzone's present reads "A machine even you could love."
- Who knew Optimus could shred?
- Angry Archer was meant to make his Season 3 debut in this episode, but the scene was cut during production. Also cut was a cameo for Reflector. Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Erreur humaine, partie 2" ("Human Error, part 2")
- Original airdate: ???
Spanish (Latin America)
- Title: "Error humano, segunda parte" ("Human Error, part 2")
- Original airdate: 1 December 2009
Japanese
- Title: "Virtual Reality no Wana" (ヴァーチャルリアリティの罠, "The Virtual Reality Trap")
- Original airdate: 27 November 2010
- Soundwave delivers the warning. For the intro, Optimus talks about being caught in Soundwave's virtual reality trap while Sari talks about her problem in the real world. Both mention that Sari's situation is similar to Momotarō on gathering extra help.
Home video releases
- DVD
2011 — Transformers Animated — Vol. 10 (Paramount) — Japanese audio only.
2014 — Transformers Animated — Season Three (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers Animated — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers Animated — Season Three (Madman Entertainment)
