Possession

Waspinator finds himself possessed by none other than the original Decepticon traitor, Starscream!

Summary
A violent storm rages, causing significant damage and knocking out power to both Maximal and Predacon bases. While the Maximals stash their extra ammo deeper in their ship's hold to prevent undue accidents, Waspinator attempts to get a Darksyde computer console online...only to be greeted by a ghostly, shrill voice from it. A power surge hits the bugbot soon afterwards, and when the other Preds begin to wonder what has happened to him, in he comes, announcing his return "at long last" in the same eerie voice.

The voice belongs to Starscream, air commander of the Decepticon forces and second in command to the original Megatron, whose spark had been tumbling through time and space for an unknown number of years before settling within Waspinator; as he puts it, he was destroyed defending Megatron from the Chaos Bringer Unicron, but his spark endured. As a show of his good faith, he pledges his loyalty to the Predacon Megatron, revealing vital information about the state of the Maximal base due to the storm that he could use to plan a sneak attack. Intrigued by the idea, Megatron accepts Starscream into his ranks, but warns Scorponok in private to watch their new ally closely.

The next day, as the Maximals are making repairs to their base, they are suddenly attacked by the Preds, Starscream's intel proving very useful in catching them off-guard. In the ensuing firefight, Dinobot is inured and the Decepticon Air Commander flies rings round Optimus, forcing the Maximals to abandon ship and regroup outside. Happy with their victory, Megatron puts Starscream in charge of holding the Axalon, with Scorponok and Blackarachnia under his command, while the rest of the Preds return to their base, in case the Maximals decide to go for a sneak attack of their own. Once they're alone, though, BA shows off her knack for history by correctly pointing out to Starscream that he was murdered by Galvatron (the Unicron-reborn Megatron) after he betrayed the Decepticon commander; she's willing to keep this a secret, though, if she's let in on his real plans: to destabilize Megatron's control and rule both factions.

Deep in the forest, as the Maximals recover, Optimus voices his confusion and concern over Waspinator's new personality; he isn't entirely convinced he is possessed by the spark of Starscream, but as the Maximal Elders had long since sealed the Decepticon's records, they're not able to confirm or deny it, either. Fortunately, Dinobot's as much of a military history buff as BA is, commenting on how Webster's Cybertronian Dictionary has pretty much replaced all definitions of "traitor" with Starscream's name. Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Optimus?

He is. Returning to the Axalon, the Maximals call Starscream out to announce their surrender, citing the need to use the ship's RC Chamber to repair Dinobot's (now exaggerated) wounds. Feeling generous, the Decepticon Air Commander allows Optimus and Dinobot to come on board, but as predictably as night follows day, betrays them and strips Optimus of his weapons and locks him up in the hold as soon as he steps on deck. With their leader now his prisoner, Starscream orders the other Maximals to attack the Darksyde, over the token objections of Scorponok. They comply, and the trap is set.

Unbeknown to the Air Commander, he's been duped by the oldest trick in the book; by allowing himself to be betrayed, Optimus has put himself and Dinobot in the perfect position to retake their base, which they do in a dazzling display that forces Starscream to retreat back to Pred territory. Optimus pursues, and manages to best the Decepticon in an aerial dogfight, leaving him grovelling at the Maximal's feet...until Blackarachnia shows up, prompting Starscream to plead for her aide, believing they can still complete their coup. No dice; this new generation is much less gullible than their ancestors, and BA has skillfully pulled off a double-cross on the double-crosser, igniting a small energon cache underneath Starscream to "exorcise" the Decepticon's spark from Waspinator's body.

At the end of the day, Megatron gets done fixing the now-normal Waspinator as BA explains her betrayal; if she didn't, she maintains, she wouldn't have been able to sniff out Starscream's true motives. This is seemingly accepted as a viable excuse by the Predacon commander, but he warns her that it still doesn't invoke confidence in her loyalties. Back at the Axalon, the Maximals are finishing up repairs of their own...everyone but Cheetor, who's slacking off with a bout of stargazing, quipping "Twinkle, twinkle, little Starscream" as the camera pans up to beyond the planet's orbit, showing Starscream's spark screaming mech fluid-drenched vengeance on all within the Beast Wars as he drifts away into the void...

Stats
Original Air Date: February 3, 1997 Written by: Ian Weir

Featured Characters
(''Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes
"What is this? Program does not respond!  Waspinator does not understand!" "I'll bet Waspinator seldom does! But try not to let is depress you, bug face."
 * -- Waspinator, about to be possessed by Starscream

"Starscream, perhaps the centuries of weightlessness have taken a toll on your neurological circuitry."
 * -- Megatron

"I'd say it's tramplin' time!"
 * -- Rhinox, free to open a can of kick-keister.

Animation and/or technical glitches

 * At the beginning, Megatron has his Dino arm and his arm had no tail, but for a brief second, his dino hand is missing. It returns, though.

Continuity errors

 * Megatron knew a great deal about Cybertronian history, yet apparently did not know the real nature of Starscream and his demise. However, Megatron might have been playing dumb to lure Starscream into being bolder with his actions. It should also be of note that both the Predacon and Maximal Elders had a large portion of his records sealed due to his history.
 * Oddly, despite being born from a Maximal Protoform, Blackarachnia refers to the Decepticons as "our" (the Predacons) ancestors.
 * Inferno is absent for the entire episode.
 * Why does Starscream imprison Optimus in shackles that he can break out of in about five seconds flat?
 * In an interview about the fact above, it is stated that Primal originally had a very complex way of breaking free, but due to budget and time restrictions, this was changed to just him "Busting out".

Real-world references

 * Optimus Primal says "Hasta la vista, Starscream," paraphrasing a famous line from Terminator 2.
 * As he flies away immediately after saying this, Optimus Primal is seen wearing a pair of sunglasses, aping Arnold Schwarzenegger's trademark look from the movie.

Transformers references

 * Obviously, Starscream himself firmly ties Beast Wars to established G1 history.
 * Starscream's spark, or "ghost" as it was then called, had possessed several Decepticons (including Cyclonus, Scourge, and Trypticon) in the G1 episodes "Starscream's Ghost" and "Ghost in the Machine."
 * One of the Predacon insignias on the side of Waspinator's cranium changes into Decepticon insignia while Starscream's spark is inhabiting his superstructure.