The Human Factor

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Soundwave! TellDr. Frankensteinhe forgot something!
"The Human Factor"
Season	2
No. in season	19
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	September 14,2012
Written by	Robert N. Skir
Directed by	Scooter Tidwell
Animation studio	Polygon Pictures
Watch this episode on YouTube

After Silas is integrated into Breakdown's body, he approaches Megatron with a plan to join the Decepticon ranks.

Synopsis

In aMECHbase, a small team of surgeons and technicians hookBreakdown's reassembled remains up to their computer and infuse them with electricity and Energon. Breakdown awakens, only it's not Breakdown—MECH has implantedSilaswithin the Decepticon's corpse. Silas is impressed with their ingenuity, but decides that, as he is no longer human, he no longer needs their services, and slaughters them.

BRAIN SET!

Some time later, Silas drives up to the entrance to a military facility, stopping at the gate to introduce himself. Meanwhile in theAutobot base,RatchetandMikoare trying to encourageBulkheadto keep up his recuperation, despite the Wrecker's belief that he is being replaced.Smokescreensuggests he uses theApex Armorfor extra strength and power, but Bulkhead sees it as a crutch and knocks it aside, causing it to damage the computer system. As Ratchet grumbles over the negative atmosphere,Jacktalks withRafon the phone and is surprised to learn that Raf's been grounded for his slipping grades.

Would you buy a used Decepticon from this man?

The Decepticons on theNemesis,namelyKnock Out,are likewise surprised when Breakdown's signal shows up on their scanners. Knock Out and someVehiconsare sent to investigate and find the military base wrecked. Moments after they arrive, what appears to be Breakdown strides out of the smoke. In response to the Decepticons' reaction to his marred appearance, "Breakdown" asks in Silas's voice to be taken toMegatron.

Agent Fowlerbriefs the Autobots on the theft of theProject Damoclessatellite apparently by Breakdown assisted by a human whom Fowler believes is Silas. Ratchet strongly dismisses the idea of Decepticons and humans pairing together, rebuffed only by Jack's reasoning of the alliance working for the Autobots. Aboard the warship, Megatron is introduced to the Breakdown/Silas combo, now calling himself Cylas: "Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis". Though Megatron is disgusted by such an abomination and Knock Out is keen to dissect Cylas as revenge for Breakdown's torture and the subsequent desecration of his body, the MECH commander wants to strike a deal with the Decepticons and offers the Damocles weapon as a token of friendship, telling him it's the best he has to offer. As Fowler's briefing in the Autobot base ends, the Autobots realize they must protect the satellite's interface codes, currently stored on servers inColorado.

I SEND THE THUNDER FROM THE SKY
I SEND THE FIRE RAINING DOWN

Soundwavehas already gotten to the Colorado base, clearing it using a recording of Fowler's voice, and by the time the Autobots get there, the place is already heavily guarded by Decepticons. Cylas points out to Megatron that since Soundwave is now connected to the mainframe, he can operate the satellite. The Damocles satellite is duly launched from theNemesis,and Soundwave starts targeting the Autobots on the ground. His first shot narrowly misses Smokescreen, andOptimus Primecontacts base for backup. Bulkhead is ready to go but Ratchet stops him as Optimus is actually aftertechnicalhelp to disable the satellite. Ratchet decides Raf is required for this mission and so Raf gets unexpected visitors in the form of Fowler, Miko and Jack.

While the Autobots try to keep Soundwave distracted, Bulkhead attempts to talk Ratchet into sending him to help. Ratchet finally concedes, but has his own ideas. While Raf works on a way to crash the satellite and Fowler tries to work out a way to get to the toilet without Raf's mom seeing, the Decepticons detect Raf's hacking attempt. When they track the source toJasper,Megatron sends Cylas to deal with the matter, despite Cylas's chagrin. Cylas soon hauls up outside Raf's house and takes aim, only for Bulkhead to come barreling down the street and slam him into a nearby drainage canal. After a tense reintroduction, Bulkhead realizes his opponent is not Breakdown — and is shocked to find that it is actually Silas/Cylas operating the Con's body. The pair start fighting, but Bulkhead's weakness quickly begins to show.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's none of the above!

Ratchet contacts Optimus who is still running from the Damocles beam, to report that Bulkhead needs backup. Indeed, the Wrecker is still not operating fully and not doing well against Cylas, but the addition of Smokescreen to the fight helps. Megatron, impatient at Cylas's failure, orders Soundwave to target the source of the hack. The Autobots take advantage of the cessation of the Damocles attack to try to storm the command center. The kids, meanwhile, see that the satellite has moved and is now aiming at them. Raf manages to get the satellite's thrusters under his control, and the shot does little more than knock the corner off theKO Burgersign before the satellite starts reentry. Their celebration is interrupted by Raf's mom, but luckily they break out the "study group" defense. Meanwhile, the Autobots break into the command center in time to see Soundwave leaving. Elsewhere, Cylas begins to lose his fight and is called back to theNemesis.Bulkhead and Smokescreen see the satellite's reentry and congratulate each other.

Back on the ship, Megatron announces that Cylas has earned his place at the table—Knock Out's dissection table, that is—explaining that the MECH commander was correct about the human factor tipping the war's scales, but in the Autobots' favor. Cylas is then zapped from behind and dragged away for "study", much to his fearful displeasure and Knock Out's delight.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Thank you all for your dedication and a lifetime of service. But I now seem more suited to keep the exclusive company... of titans."

—Cylasbefore killing his own men. Cold.

Jack:You've got to be kidding, Raf! You of all people, grounded?
Raf:Big time. I misplaced some homework and blew a couple of tests.
Miko:Translation, A- instead of A.

"Breakdown may act the brute, but he's a maestro behind a rotary buffer!"

—Knock Outlaunching a thousand slashfanfics.

"Megatron, relax."
*Megatron glares and growls at Cylas*
"'Er,LordMegatron. "

—Cylas

"What? No! If my mom sees you..."
"Relax, I trained in covert ops."
"I don't care if you were trained by a ninja! My mom has eyes in the back ofyourhead. "

—RaftellsAgent Fowlerwhy he can't use the restroom

"For the record, I studied every one of the Wreckers' battles."
"There's hope for you yet, newbie."

—SmokescreenandBulkheadearn each other's respect

Megatron:Cylas, you have earned your place at the table.
Cylas:Lord Megatron, I am honored.
Megatron:Knock Out's dissection table!
Knock Out:Breakdown would be tickled.

—Well,Knock Outfinally gothiswish.

Notes

Continuity notes

• The base in which Silas is revived is the same one used in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2".
• During Cylas's revival, one of the console's screens depicts the blueprints shown during Breakdown's dissection during "Operation: Breakdown".
• MECH was preparing to save Silas using Breakdown's corpse at the end of "Nemesis Prime".
• Silas refers to his merger with Breakdown's corpse as "the perfect meld of man and machine", the same line he used to describeNemesis Primein its eponymous episode.
• Smokescreen offers Bulkhead the use of the Apex Armor, which he took from Starscream in theprevious episode.Bulkhead's resentment of the newbie also started in that episode.
• Bulkhead uses thelobbingball from "Con Job"as a medicine ball.
• Cylas uses his real name (Leland Bishop) to introduce himself to the guard at the military base, which was first revealed by Fowler in the episode "Grill".Likewise, Project Damocles was first mentioned in that episode.
• After taking crippling injuries in "Toxicity",Bulkhead is finally well enough to go out in the field. He's far from 100%, but he can put up a fight.
• Knock Out references the events of "Operation: Breakdown"and wants vengeance for it.
• The place in which Cylas, Bulkhead and Smokescreen fight is the same place Arcee and Bumblebee engaged the Vehicons back in "Darkness Rising, Part 1",and it is shown to be —as Raf said in that episode—" right up the street "from Raf's house.
• Before fighting Bulkhead, Cylas states that the former will never again interfere with his operations, which references "Operation: Breakdown".
• Soundwave displays the picture he took of Jack, Miko, and Raf back in "Darkness Rising, Part 5".
• And with this, MECH is out of the show. Cylas will appear again (much) later, but his organization is gone.

Transformers references

• This isn't thefirst timea human mind was placed in a robot body to preserve it.
• Nor is it thefirsttimethe Decepticons attempted to target Autobots from space.

Real-world references

• The surging electricity and twitching hand during Silas' revival reflects toward the animation ofFrankenstein's monster.
• The missing-eye appearance on Breakdown's face resembles that of theTerminator.
• Cylas' request of "take me to your leader" is a stereotypical phrase used in early sci-fi movies involving aliens arriving to Earth from another world.
• The satellite's name, Damocles, refers to the ancient anecdote referred to as "the Sword of Damocles".Fittingly, the satellite itself resembles the hilt of a sword (with the laser as its" blade ").

Errors

• When Knock Out detects Breakdown's signal, the image of Breakdown on the screen shows his current appearance, when logically the last image they should have had on file would be one with his optic patch. However, this may not be a mistake, since it is unclear how such images are obtained in the first place. Cybertronian self-portraits may well update themselves, much like real life technology is capable of similar things.
• On the same screen as Breakdown's image, the map of the United States shows the state of LouisianainsideTexas, with an empty spot where it's supposed to be. The same map error reappears when Soundwave begins operating the Damocles satellite.
• Raf's house, previously seen in "Out of His Head",now has a lamp post in the pavement in front of it.
• When Cylas targets Raf's house, he initially zooms in on one of the front windows, but the view showing the room's occupants is of one of the side windows.
• The final shot of the satellite fires parallel to Raf's house. To do this, the satellite would have to be in position below the equator. When it fires, it is shown to be above North America, and burns up in the skies above Jasper not long after. In addition, the beam is constant, even though it should be changing position with the satellite.

Trivia

• We learn Raf's full name in this episode: Rafael Jorge Gonzales Esquivel.
  • We also learn Mrs. Equivel’s maiden name: Gonzales. Hispanics typically have two last names - the first one from their mother and the second one from their father.
• One of Silas' biological eyes appears to be permanently dilated, known medically asanisocoria.Not only does it match Breakdown's uneven eye look, a permanently dilated pupil can also be a sign of serious cranial injury.
• Silas renaming himself Cylas ( "Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis" ) is reflected in the end credits.
• The episode title is also a song by the band Metal Church. Along with "Toxicity","Speed Metal"and possibly"Hurt",it would appear someone on the episode naming team is a big heavy metal fan.

Foreign localization

French

• Title:"L'Homme et la Machine"(" The Man and the Machine ")
• Original airdate:?

German

• Title:"Der menschliche Faktor"(" The Human Factor ")
• Original airdate:16 February2013

Japanese

• Title:"Jinzō Henkei! Kaettekita Hakai Senshi"( nhân tạo 変 hình! Quy ってきた phá 壊 chiến sĩ," Manmade Transformation! The Warrior of Destruction is Back ")
• Original airdate:9 February2013

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title:"O Fator Humano"(" The Human Factor ")
• Original airdate:27 June2013

Italian

• Title:"Il Fattore Umano"(" The Human Factor ")
• Original airdate:11 February2013

Home video releases

DVD

2012 —Transformers Prime— Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2013 —Transformers Prime— Vol. 23 (Avex Trax) — Japanese audio only.
2013 —Transformers Prime— Folge 11: Die Omega-Schlüssel (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
2014 —Transformers Prime— Volume 4: Unclear Objectives (Madman Entertainment)
2014 —Transformers Prime— Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2014 —Transformers Prime— Season 2 Vol. 3: Toxicity (Primal Screen)
2014 —Transformers Prime— Saison 2 Vol. 3: La course aux reliques (Primal Screen)
2015 —Transformers Prime— Stagione 2 Vol. 3: Il Tox-En (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.
2015 —Transformers Prime— Intégrale Saison 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 —Transformers Prime— The Complete Season 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 —Transformers Prime— La Seconda Stagione Completa (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.

Blu-ray

2012 —Transformers Prime— Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2015 —Transformers Prime— Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)