Parley

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The representative from Cybertron has the floor...
"Parley"
Season	2
No. in season	7
Production company	Allspark Animation
Airdate	September 1, 2019 (Australia/NZ) October 11, 2019 (CN app/website) October 19, 2019 (USA)
Writer	Gavin Hignight
Director	Jean Texier
Animation studio	Boulder Media Studio
Watch this episode on YouTube

With the threat of Starscream looming, the Autobots and Decepticons attempt to negotiate an alliance.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Featured characters 3 Quotes 4 Notes 4.1 Continuity notes 4.2 Transformers references 4.3 Real-world references 4.4 Trivia 4.5 Animation and technical errors 4.6 Foreign localization 5 Home video releases

Synopsis

At Maccadam's, Optimus Prime and Megatron attempt to negotiate a peace treaty, but cannot agree on the terms. As Megatron storms out, Optimus is discouraged, but Maccadam passes him a drink, reminding him that it took 4,233 attempts to figure out just the right energon mixture, and that it doesn't matter how many times you fail as long as you succeed in the end.

Outside the Ark, Wheeljack deploys a pop-up meeting space to act as neutral ground. As Megatron and the Decepticons approach, the other Autobots remain distrustful, but Optimus is hopeful that this time, they will be able to achieve peace. In the abandoned missile silo, Starscream coddles his new army of Scraplets, convinced that he has brought back the sparks of the ancients and implanted them in these new vessels to make everyone rejoin the Allspark. Unconvinced, Slipstream declares Starscream insane and attempts to flee, but Starscream sics the Scraplets on her, wounding her. She takes off in vehicle mode, pursued by the Scraplets and the other seekers, barely managing to escape.

Inside the meeting space, Optimus and Megatron agree that Starscream's possession of the Allspark and Vector Sigma poses an immense risk to both sides and begin to discuss the terms of an Autobot-Decepticon alliance. Outside, however, tensions remain high despite the cease-fire, with no one convinced that anything will come of these negotiations. As Bumblebee and Hot Rod explain to Cheetor, these peace talks are attempted every thousand cycles or so, but they always end the same. Even in the meeting room, Soundwave and Shockwave are getting on Windblade and Grimlock's last nerve, but before they can come to blows, Megatron and Optimus order them all out so they can continue uninterrupted.

As Soundwave approaches the Nemesis, Slipstream appears and asks to speak with him, but Soundwave declares her a traitor and attacks her. Slipstream attempts to explain that she is not with Starscream, but Soundwave is having none of it and continues his assault. Downing him with a lucky blast, Slipstream retreats to find someone else who will listen, unaware that she is being watched by Bludgeon. As dusk falls, Optimus and Megatron still have not emerged from their meeting. Bumblebee is surprised, as this is the longest their negotiations have ever lasted. Even more surprising, the other Autobots and Decepticons are actually getting along, much to Cheetor's delight. Inside the meeting space, Optimus and Megatron are coming to an understanding, both wishing they had done this long ago.

The talks continue well into the night, but as Windblade stands guard, she is approached by Slipstream, who begs her to listen and reveals Starscream's location and plan, certain that he will destroy them all. As they move to tell Optimus and Megatron, Slipstream is stabbed from behind by Bludgeon, falling to the ground. Enraged, Windblade draws her sword and attacks, but is overpowered by the Decepticon swordsman. Before he can finish her, Bumblebee and Hot Rod open fire on Bludgeon, which in turn causes Shadow Striker to come after them. One by one, the Autobots and Decepticons turn on one another, all too eager to see the end of the cease-fire, and an all-out brawl erupts. The fight comes to a head when Grimlock knocks Shockwave through the meeting room wall. Convinced that Optimus has betrayed his trust, Megatron angrily declares there will be no agreement and leads the Decepticons back to the Nemesis to depart, with Optimus deciding they will have to stop Starscream themselves. As Cheetor holds Slipstream, he watches her optics blink out and declares that she has returned to the Allspark.

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Optimus, I have the best mixture of energon in all of Cybertron, don't I?"
"Yes, Maccadam, you certainly do."
"It took 4,232 failed attempts until I found the perfect mixture, but oh, the 4,233rd time? That made it all worthwhile."
"I understand. No matter how many attempts fail, all that matters is the one that succeeds."

—Maccadam gives Optimus Prime some sage advice.

"Starscream, I understand everything now. Your plan couldn't be more clear to me! I will tell all the world of your great... INSANITY!"

—Slipstream can tell Screamer's lost it.

"We should have talked like this ages ago, Prime."
"So much history between us..."
"...And yet so little trust."
"As the Earthlings would say, trust is a two-way street, Megatron."
"Most roads on Cybertron are one-way."

—Megatron and Optimus Prime start to reconnect.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted."
"No, it wasn't."

—Wheeljack and Shockwave get back to shooting at each other.

Notes

Continuity notes

• Based on the state of the street around the bar, the opening flashback takes place sometime around the second flashback in "Maccadam's".
• Soundwave accuses Slipstream of treason because of how the Seekers stole Vector Sigma and then went completely AWOL in "Bring Me The Spark Of Optimus Prime".
• Shockwave confirms that his drones can still dance on command, an ability they demonstrated back when they were first constructed in "Maccadam's".
• Wheeljack protects himself using his force shield blaster, introduced in "The Visitor".

Transformers references

• Starscream claims that the sparks of Solus Prime, Megatronus, and Zeta Prime are among those that dwell within the Scraplets.

Real-world references

• Shockwave's drones dance to an arrangement of the traditional Russian folk song "Korobeiniki".

Trivia

Animation and technical errors

• The Scraplets are smaller than they were in the previous episode, now only being about ankle-height compared to Starscream.
• When Starscream calls one of the Scraplets "Zeta Prime", the Netflix subtitles say "Sata Prime" instead.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Négociations" ("Negotiations")
• Original airdate: September 22, 2019

German

• Title: "Verhandlungen"
• Original airdate: October 19, 2019

Indonesian

• Title: "Perundingan" ("Negotiations")
• Original airdate: October 19, 2019

Japanese

• Title: "Minna Nakayoshi!?" (みんな仲良し!?, "Everybody's Chummy!?")
• Original airdate: October 26, 2019

Malay

• Title: "Perbincangan" ("Negotiations")
• Original airdate: October 23, 2019

Portuguese

• Title: "Negociação" ("Negotiation")
• Original airdate: October 29, 2019

Home video releases

• TBA