Scattered

Scattered is the second episode of the third season of Transformers: Prime. It is the fifty-fourth episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
The Autobots search for signs of each other, but started to lose hope while the Decepticons welcome Shockwave to their ranks. Meanwhile, a win for Wheeljack may ultimately lead to an Autobot defeat.

Plot
Megatron and Starscream are both surprised to see Shockwave, having believed him dead. Shockwave then explains that after his battle with Arcee and Cliffjumper in the Space Bridge, he found himself marooned on Cybertron. After repairing himself, he continued his experiments until an energy surge led him to Knock Out's team in the Sea of Rust. He asks Starscream pointedly why he was left for dead, and judges the response logical enough. Megatron appoints Shockwave first lieutenant in charge of science, something Starscream doesn't seem that happy with.

Jack and Arcee stop at a deserted farmhouse for a break and Jack worries that they're all that's left of Team Prime. Arcee says there are other Autobots out there who escaped in the Ark, but scattered to the winds? Meanwhile, Raf is surfing conspiracy websites in search of Autobot sightings. He hits dirt in the form of a photo of Ratchet in a junkyard outside Woodland Park. Starscream, doing likewise, finds the same picture, but before he can draw the other Decepticons' attention to it, Raf replaces the picture with a dancing monkey. To quell Megatron's displeasure, Shockwave suggests using a Cortical Psychic Patch on Wheeljack. Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Miko are waiting fruitlessly at the Wrecker meeting spot.

Shockwave reports that the patch didn't yield any new information. Starscream announces he'll see to Wheeljack's termination, and soon Wheeljack is standing on a platform over lava. The attendant Vehicons push Wheeljack towards the edge, but he grabs one of them and throws it off before jumping himself. The Vehicon transforms to flight mode, and Wheeljack lands on its back, proceeding to go on a Vehicon-trashing flight before driving off. Megatron is very upset until Starscream reveals he's planted a tracking device on Wheeljack so the Autobot can lead them to his friends.

Bumblebee and Raf reach the junkyard to find Ratchet sitting in vehicle mode and sporting the surliest mood as the Autobots have patently lost. The pair suggest that they can use the Harbinger's resources to fight back, but Ratchet has no hope they can do anything, and tells them to leave him alone.

Meanwhile, Smokescreen has been unable to salvage anything medical from the ruins of the base. When Optimus Prime asks about the Forge of Solus Prime, Smokescreen reasons it must be in the fortress somewhere, and goes to look for it, in hopes of helping Optimus back to health.

Bulkhead and Miko's waiting is finally rewarded by the arrival of Wheeljack. The Decepticons, monitoring Starscream's bug, see that their plan has paid off, and Starscream sends out his Vehicon seekers. The Decepticons arrive at a river, but all they see is a log floating downstream. The log turns out to have both the tracking device and a grenade attached, the latter of which takes them all out. Watching from a nearby hill, Wheeljack reveals how he found the tracking device, and says he has some more explosives.

Raf and Bumblebee try unsuccessfully to power up the Harbinger, only to be pleasantly surprised when Ratchet arrives to help. Elsewhere, Jack and Arcee's journey is interrupted by the surprise arrival of a starship. It lands in front of them and out steps none-other than Ultra Magnus.

On the Nemesis, Megatron rages over Starscream's failure, but Shockwave reveals he has a wild card of his own, sitting in his lab on Cybertron. Taking a trip back to their home planet, Shockwave returns through the Space Bridge with the huge creature he has cloned—a Predacon.

Cast

 * Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime
 * Frank Welker as Megatron
 * Steve Blum as Starscream
 * Daran Norris as Knock Out
 * David Sobolov as Shockwave
 * Jeffrey Combs as Ratchet
 * Nolan North as Smokescreen
 * Sumalee Montano as Arcee
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Bulkhead
 * James Horan as Wheeljack
 * Josh Keaton as Jack
 * Andy Pessoa as Raf
 * Tania Gunadi as Miko

Quotes
"I find your reply to be... logical."
 * —Shockwave's response to Starscream's explanation.

"Careful, Starscream. You may dislocate a landing gear patting yourself on the back."
 * —Knock Out snarks at Starscream's billionth "I killed Cliffjumper" gloat.

Continuity notes

 * Shockwave's battle with Arcee and Cliffjumper took place in "Out of the Past".
 * Starscream brings up the fact that he offlined Cliffjumper, yet again.
 * The photo Raf uses to replace Ratchet's is the same one he used in "New Recruit".
 * Jack mentions the Key to Vector Sigma, which Optimus gave him in "One Shall Rise, Part 2" and was returned in "Orion Pax, Part 3".
 * Wheeljack counts Miko among the Wreckers when he reunites with her and Bulkhead, having unofficially inducted her into the group after she offlined Hardshell in "Hurt".

Transformers references

 * Much like its Generation 1 equivalent, Darkmount has a smelting pool.
 * As of this episode, the silver Jet Vehicon Generals are identified as "Seekers" by both Starscream and the end credits.
 * Starscream's tracking device looks like a smaller version of Dreadwing's bombs.
 * Like in other continuities, Shockwave has been stuck on Cybertron as he reveals in this episode as his past.

Real-world references

 * Shockwave notes that "Reports of my demise were greatly premature," a paraphrase of a famous quote from Mark Twain.
 * The photo of Ratchet homages a particularly iconic image of Bigfoot.

Animation and technical errors

 * Like in the previous episode, Wheeljack is perfectly clean despite being pulled from the wreckage of his ship relatively disheveled and somewhat damaged. He does retain the scars on his chest, but these don't carry over to his vehicle mode.
 * As Arcee chats with Jack about other Autobots who left Cybertron, the "wings" on her back are missing in one shot. Later on, Bumblebee is missing one of his car door wings when he and Raf try to talk to Ratchet.

Trivia

 * The worldwide premiere screening of the first three episodes was held at the Globe Theater in Universal Studios Hollywood on March 14, 2013.
 * The worldwide television premiere of "Scattered" was a day later on okto, a Singaporean channel, where it aired back-to-back with "Darkmount, NV" and "Prey".
 * Raf is an amazing hacker. He not only replaced the image file of Ratchet where it was found on the internet, he also somehow managed to change the already downloaded image on Starscream's open browser window.
 * It takes Ratchet mere seconds to deduce that Starscream was using the Harbinger as a base of operations back when he was an independent agent. Surely this would have been useful when he stole the Apex Armor, the Red Energon, or the Omega Keys.
 * By the same token, it seems odd that Starscream simply abandoned the Harbinger, rather than have the Decepticons occupy it upon his return. He is aware that the Autobots know of its location, and it's the only available source of Cybertronian technology on the planet for them to make use of now that their base has been destroyed. This would later be addressed in "Rebellion".
 * Knock Out is the third Cybertronian to be amused by human humor. The first two were Ratchet and Starscream, respectively.
 * Starscream seems to be terrified of Shockwave.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Predaking.

Gallery
Main Article: Scattered Gallery

Promo
Note: Promo has bad quality.