The Riders of Midwinter
From Transformers Wiki
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 Dashing through the snow In an autonomous robotic organism | ||||||
| "The Riders of Midwinter" | ||||||
| Season | 2 | |||||
| No. in season | 20 | |||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | December 13, 2014 | |||||
| Writer | Greg Johnson | |||||
| Director | Nathan Chew | |||||
| Animation studio | Vision Animation | |||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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When a terrible winter storm threatens the holiday in Griffin Rock, the rescue team is called on to make some special deliveries.
Contents |
Synopsis
Blades pops up to the roof of the firehouse to admire the warm winter weather, but suddenly sees something that shocks him. Heading inside, he alerts the others to unauthorized use of a weather machine and they all rush out to see snow. They're about to raise the alarm when Cody points out it's just fake snow which Mr. Hooton is decorating for the holiday with. Cody is about to explain why Midwinter Morning is so important for Griffin Rock when the alarm sounds and the rest of the team comes running — a car is trapped under a collapsed pile of logs. The trapped person turns out to be Mrs. Neederlander, plus Mister Pettypaws. The team quickly realize that the logs are going have to carefully be lifted off to prevent the stack collapsing and crushing the car, so Boulder dangles from Blades and passes logs off to the other two Bots. Kade explains that the logs are for the Midwinter Morning bonfire. Finally Heatwave tears the door off Neederlander's car so she can get out, however she's none too happy about the mess her car is now in and a non-stop tirade of complaining begins, before Chief offers to drive her to her cabin on the mountain in Chase. Discussion turns to presents, but no one is giving away what they've bought, bar that the presents have been ordered online and will be over on the ferry.
Back at the firehouse, Cody explains how in 1713 there was a huge winter that covered Griffin Rock in snow, trapping everyone in their homes. With food running out, things looked grim until a mysterious stranger dubbed the Rider of Midwinter somehow slipped into the houses and left bread for everyone. Ever since, everyone's given each other presents, and an unknown person has kept on the tradition of leaving bread. The bonfire celebrates the fire the townsfolk lit back in 1713 to keep warm. Chief calls everyone up to the garage, where they discover that a storm has moved in, covering the town with snow. A week goes by, and the snow has only gotten worse. Huxley Prescott reports on the terrible conditions, and the fact that the Griffin Rock ferry hasn't yet arrived with the presents it's carrying. Out to sea, the rough swells are tossing the ferry around, until the container it's carrying goes overboard, taking a crew member with it. Captain Shaw calls for help, however only Blades and Heatwave are able to traverse the ocean to assist. Kade and Heatwave are able to pull the crew member to safety, but the container sinks, taking the presents with it. Word soon spreads via Huxley's broadcast, and the townsfolk are very unhappy.
Back at the firehouse, the team laments the lost presents. Cody is doubly sad because he's realized whoever the Rider is won't be able to deliver the bread. A call comes in from Mrs. Neederlander, to groans all round, insisting she needs them at her cabin. Grumbling commences, but Cody points out she might really need them. They break out the Mobile Headquarters, the only thing that will be able to brave the mountain road in this weather. Even so, as they head up the road, an avalanche knocks the MHQ off the road, and they have to use the winch to get back up to the road. On Chase's suggestion, they continue on foot and reach Neederlander's cabin. When it turns out Neederlander wants someone to deliver some packages, the team becomes infuriated, until Cody discovers the packages are loaves of bread. Mrs. Neederlander is the Rider of Midwinter — or rather the current one, as the role has been passed down over the years. The team resolves to deliver the bread.
Once the bread is put into sacks, the team heads down the mountain and begins using their tools to cut through the ice and snow, delivering all of the bread to houses around town. They arrive back at the firehouse as dawn breaks, with one loaf left for themselves, which Kade immediately grabs and takes a bite out of, much to everyone's disgust. Across town, the citizens wake to find the bread on their doorsteps. The bonfire has a huge turnout, and Dani presents Huxley with a cup of hot cocoa. Kade admits he doesn't like the holiday. Mrs. Neederlander asks the rescue team to take over as the Rider of Midwinter, and Chief accepts, with Dani announcing she can be in charge of the baking.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Humans |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"A 300 year old rider? I'm sorry, but I would not eat that bread."
- —Blades
"Hate to break it to you, Chase, but that air freshener: so not cutting it."
"Curse you, Mister Pettypaws."
- —Blades and Chase
"He made it! But that shipping container didn't."
"What?! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
- —Blades and Dani
"I am rather conflicted about eavesdropping."
"Think of it as covert surveillance."
"That works."
- —Chase and Heatwave
Notes
Continuity notes
- Weather machines have previously popped up in "Christmas in July", "Tip of the Iceberg", and last episode "Changes".
- Likewise, Chase's concerns about Doctor Morocco having possibly returned are based on Morocco's scheme in the previous episode.
- The Mobile Headquarters was introduced back in "Bot to the Future", though it hasn't seen any action since "Road Trip". Since the bots "ski" back down the mountain in robot mode, it appears they left the MHQ at the site of its near-demise.
Transformers references
- (tbd)
Real-world references
- (tbd)
Animation and technical errors
- (tbd)
Trivia
- Like "Chief Woodrow", this episode was held back from being played during the rest of season 2 in the United States. In this episode's case, it was so that it could air on the weekend of the actual midwinter.
- This episode's soundtrack includes a bespoke song by Clint Black titled "Light the Fire".
- Blades notes he has no feeling in his tail rotor and points to his backside, but his tail rotor becomes his feet!
- Blades can spin his rotors while in robot mode. While he is shown flying like that in a promo poster, he actually relies on his alternate mode for flight.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Le Chevalier de l'hiver" ("The winter Knight")
- Original airdate: ?
Italian
Portuguese
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- Probably due to its delay on the US, this episode is listed as the eleventh of the third season, even receiving a blatantly erroneous title that would be way more fitting to that season's actual episode 11, "Did You See What I Thaw?".
