[Plot Details] [Opinions] [Great Moments] [Caption Weirdness] [Rating]

Spider's Game In a Nutshell...
Tarantulas wants off the planet. Like, now. He needs a stasis pod to do it. Fortunately for him, one conveniently crashes. Unfortunately for him, the guy who comes out of the stasis pod is just a wee bit psycho...

All The Gruesome Details

Warning! Warning! Major spoilers ahead!

Don't want to read everything that happened in the episode? Well, fine then! Be that way! You can just darn well click here and skip to the next part, you spoilsport.

Ooooooh, pretty little stasis pods, all in a row. You do know what that means by now, don't you? Yup, one of 'em's gonna get smacked with a floating piece of space debris, sending it hurtling to the planet below, whereupon the protoform within will be twisted by the Predacons to serve their evil ways and live a horrible life for all eternity... Really! Isn't that how they all go?? Well, except in "The Spark." And "Fallen Comrades." And...Oh, nevermind!

Well, as it turns out, this stasis pod doesn't get smacked by an asteroid. It just up and decides to land for no apparent reason. But that's OK by Tarantulas, who's laughing and plotting away in his lair. (One question...Why does Tarantulas's spider butt shake when he does his Evil Chuckle™? Just a wonderment...) He's apparently been waiting for a stasis pod to drop in for a visit for some reason. So he activates a thingamajigger (An "ECM Array") that temporarily shorts out both the Maximals' and the Predacons' sensors (And just about everything else, too, including the Preds' floaty platform thingies--Good thing there wasn't any lava for Scorponok to fall into. Wouldn't want any premature senseless deaths now would we?), so they won't notice the stasis pod heading in. Megs, instantly surmising that the Maximals caused all of the Pred base's systems to crash, orders all the Preds back to their base...

Over at the Axalon, meanwhile, it's snowing. And the Maximals are having the same problem with their systems, much to Optimus' chagrin--He claims he was running a "strategic simulation" when the blackout hit. (Yeah, I'll bet that's what he was looking at... ;) ) Rhinox notes that it was a "magna pulse" that hit them and, of course, he blames the Preds for it. (Well, Ranty is a Pred...sort of...) Meanwhile, Optimus announces that he's going to fly out to find the other Maximals...

Back with Ranty, he's ordering the computer to calculate the coordinates of the stasis pod's landing site when Blackarachnia rudely interrupts, demanding to know what Tarantulas is up to. Much to Ranty's surprise, she's found his lair. He transforms, all defensive, but Blackarachnia's not in a confrontational mood. She saunters up to him with a "Cool your gears, tall, dark, and gruesome" (Hey, isn't that Brawn's line?) and says that she just wants to talk. Tarantulas demurs, claiming that he's "engaged in important research for Megatron" (HAH! Yeah, right...) and that he has no time to talk. The two spiders then play an interesting little game in which Blackarachnia tries to see what's up on Tarantulas' computer screen while Tarantulas tries to block her view with his body...to no avail, though. BA deduces that he's trying to steal a stasis pod and reprogram the protoform inside into a Predacon loyal to him rather than Megatron. "Oh dear, you've found me out," Tarantulas moans melodramatically. (Methinks the arachnid doth protest too much...:) ) He wants to know what BA's going to do about her discovery, to which BA replies--with a seductive chuckle, her face centimeters from Ranty's--that she's going to "help him, of course." (Though of course, she's not offering the kind of...er, help...that I'm sure Ranty would prefer... :) )

Ahhhhh, my man Tigatron... :) He's prowling, of course, wending his way through a rather dense patch of forest. As a flight of birds takes off, startled, he pauses in his wandering, spooked, no doubt, by their sudden flight. He listens intently, looks around...And then, with one of the growls that I so love, he takes off at a run. Emerging from the forest, he utters another growl (Woo hoo! :) ) as he sees the stasis pod streaking through the sky and notes that another Maximal warrior has arrived (Well...You're half right, honey. :) A warrior has arrived...but don't be too sure about the "Maximal" part... ) He announces that he must get to it before the Predacons do, and then takes off. (Of course, he could have done that without announcing that he was going to do it...Apparently my man's picked up some bad habits in the expository speech department from a certain simian Maximal leader... )

Meanwhile, the pod comes in for a soft landing--as opposed to the horrible crashes that we've so far seen--near a colony of red ants. (Gee, wonder why they went to the effort to show us the ants...?) The pod cheerfully begins its activation program, scanning around itself. Just as it finishes that, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia arrive on the scene, the former with an Evil Chuckle™. "Completely intact" he notes with glee. He then goes to work on the pod, fiddling with the computer panel. The lid of the pod pops open. While Ranty works, Blackarachnia comes up behind him and wraps her arms around him, praising Tarantulas for his cleverness (Work it, girl! Work it!), noting that his cleverness must be the reason that Megatron fears him so. To which Ranty snippily asks if that's why she's helping him betray Megs. With a pout, BA pulls back from him, contends that Megs is "strong but inferior," that she would make a better leader--and then she wraps her arms around poor Ranty again and declares, "Besides, you're so cute!" as she rakes one claw down his chest and tickles him under the chin with the other. (Work it, girl! Wor-- Oh, said that already... :) )

Meanwhile, the stasis pod's computer announces that the DNA sequencers are online, which prompts Tarantulas to get his rear in gear. He does all kinds of techie stuff, moving chips around and replacing them with other chips and so forth and then, when the computer announces that it's proceeding to scan for life forms, Tarantulas offers up another black widow to be scanned (What is it with him and black widows?)--but too late! The stasis pod's already found a compatible life form. Ranty's pissed, but at least, as he notes, the resulting 'bot will be a Predacon.

Meanwhile, my man's still running. But he's being watched. Waspinator's perched in a tree, spying on tiger-man, and then he takes off after him. Tig's oblivious, even after Waspy yells, "Waspinator, terrorize!." But Waspy gets his attention by almost shooting him in the butt. (Missed him by that much...) The shock's enough to send him flying head-first into a conveniently-placed boulder, though, with a signature Tigatron "AAARRRGGGH!" (He does them so well... :) He does everything well. Rowr! :) ) Get out the Excedrin for Tigatron! As Waspy's crowing over his apparent victory over "Tiger-bot," Airrazor arrives on the scene and shoots him, which pisses him off. "Waspinator will scrap!" he yells at her. Airrazor laughs him off, knocking aside the missile he shoots at her and then sending off a couple wrist missiles at him. They shoot off Waspinator's wasp wings, sending him plummeting head first to the ground. His head ends up underground, where an indignant rat (No, not Rattrap :) ) chews on an antenna. "Waspinator hates birdbot," he moans. Poor, poor Waspy...

Meanwhile, Tigatron's getting to his feet as Airrazor lands at his side. "I'm all right," he insists, machismo getting the better of him. ("Macho, Macho 'Bot! He's got to be...a Macho 'Bot!" Sorry...Village People moment there. Scary, isn't it...? :) ) "No internals damaged," he reports. (Mmmm-hmmmm...Suuuuure...) He insists that Airrazor head off after the pod, that she can get to it faster than he can. As she takes off, Tigatron orders his computer to "begin internal repairs." (Well, at least he's not one of those whiny males who moan melodramatically if they've just got a pain in their pinky toe, like a certain purple T. rex I know...:) Or like my husband, for that matter... :) )

Meanwhile, the stasis pod's glowing and humming and out pops a "ginormous" red ant. BA's reaction? "Ewww, another insect! How depressing..." Tarantulas, meanwhile, introduces himself as the big-ass ant's creator. He's not impressed, though, says "Spiders! You dare invade the colony?!" (Nice touch, too. In real life, ants and spiders reallllllly don't like each other...) "Inferno, terrorize!" the ant adds. He transforms and levels a really big, bad-looking gun at the spiders. "Incoming!" BA gulps, to no avail. The blast sends both Blackarachnia and Tarantulas flying. Inferno, satisfied that his colony is safe, begins marching back and forth in front of his stasis pod, guarding it.

BA, after she and Tarantulas transform to beast mode, notes that the "six-legged freak" nearly destroyed them. She's confused because she thought he was supposed to be a Predacon, to which Tarantulas replies that his "beast mode is dominating his logic circuits," meaning that, as BA puts in, "he thinks he's a real insect" and that he thinks the pod is his colony. BA wants to use her cybervenom on him and heads off to do just that, but Tarantulas leaps on top of her (Woo hoo! :) ) and stops her. He doesn't want to risk damage to the pod. BA wants to know why, but Ranty tells her that's not for her to know.

Meanwhile, Airrazor's arrived on the scene. Inferno spots her and deems her an invader. "You will buuuuurn!" Inferno promises. Meanwhile, BA tosses Tarantulas off of her and heads off to watch the next turn of events. Inferno launches himself into the air to face Airrazor by means of the helicopter rotor-like thing that his ant butt forms when the four sides of it open up. Thinking that Inferno's a Maximal, Airrazor pleasantly introduces herself to him. (Here's a hint, 'Razor: If it's got insect-looking kibble stuck on its body, it's probably not a Maximal...) Airrazor learns this lesson the hard way as Inferno fires his big-ass gun at her. She dodges and indignantly yells that "You're no Maximal!" BA, meanwhile, transforms and takes care of Airrazor, blasting her out of the sky (As usual...). This makes Inferno take notice. He confronts her, but BA convinces him that she's a "personal friend of the Royalty."

And while all of this is going on, Tarantulas hauls Inferno's stasis pod away with some spider silk attached to the nose of the pod. "At last I have the means to escape this dust ball!" he crows. (So that's why he wants the pod...)

Meanwhile, Inferno's landing to talk to BA, only he gets a case of the energon surges. Blackarachnia tells him to transform, but he doesn't get it. BA explains that the Predacon destiny is to conquer and rule, and that, since Inferno is a Predacon, that's his destiny, too. Inferno begs to differ, though. In his little ant mind, only the Royalty rules; as a soldier, his sole purpose is to defend the colony. (And that's true. Guarding the colony is usually a male ant's sole purpose in life. Gotta love social insect society. :) ) But then, as Inferno explains his destiny, he notices that his "colony" is gone! BA sees Ranty hauling it away and Inferno transforms and heads off after him. "It was the pod he was after all along," BA muses and then transforms and follows Inferno. Airrazor, meanwhile, moans. (She's really good at doing that...)

Eventually, Tigatron finds Airrazor, just as she's picking herself up off the ground--with more moaning, I might add... Tigatron wants to know what happened and Airrazor gives him the low-down. Tigatron announces that he's going to go off to track the Preds and tells Airrazor to find Optimus. Airrazor notes that Tigatron might need backup (Hah hah! Not my man, lady... :) ), but Tig notes that he "hunts better alone" (That's my boy! :) ) and runs off. Airrazor wistfully notes that there is such a thing as being too alone... (Actually, I'd argue that point, as a person who often prefers solitude myself...)

Scorponok, meanwhile, sees Tarantulas being "chased" by a stasis pod. He reports this to Megs, who's frustratedly trying to fix the computer screen in the wake of Ranty's magna pulse. He sees Ranty with the pod and deduces that "that scurrilous spider's up to his old tricks again." ("Scurrilous"...Good word, Megs! :) I love it when Megs talks in big words. He reminds me of G1 Megs when he does that...OK, maybe I don't love that so much, then... :) ) Meanwhile, Ranty's noticed that Inferno's following him, unerringly tracking down his colony. He decides that it's time to "deal with" Inferno. Megs, meanwhile, has noticed Inferno as well. The computer reports that the unit has a Predacon energy signal, but it can't identify it. So Megs calls on loyal, trusty, and just slightly dim (but still totally adorable! ) Scorponok...

Meanwhile, Inferno's found his colony. Unfortunately, he also finds Tarantulas, who pins him to a boulder with one of his energon webs. But then Scorponok appears and informs Ranty that Megs wants the stasis pod and Inferno brought to him. Ranty trembles with rage...but then the point is made moot as incoming fire blows up the stasis pod, sending Ranty flying. And Scorponok, too. He ends up getting his head flattened by a Falling Giant Boulder™, poor boy. Tarantulas picks himself up, notices the stasis pod in itty-bitty pieces, and gives us a tortured, "NOOOOOOO!"

And who was it who blew up the pod? Why, my man, of course! "You won't be learning any of our secrets from that pod," he notes in a macho growly voice. Unfortunately, BA's snuck up on him and clocks him over the head, sending him falling down the small cliff upon which he'd been standing. He lands with an "oof." "And you won't be getting any older, Stripes," Blackarachnia notes. Tigatron picks himself up, just in time to come under a barrage of machine-gun fire from Ranty's spider legs. They do far more damage than they normally do, leaving Tigatron...bloody? (I swear to Primus there's bloody patches on him!) And then Megatron arrives, too, as if to add insult to injury. This spooks Ranty and BA, who run off while Megs transforms out of dino-mode. Tigatron, meanwhile, is shuddering, apparently badly injured. Megs threatens him, and Tigatron puts on a good show of machismo. But it's just a show, unfortunately. He's basically done.

Inferno, meanwhile, has noticed that his "colony" has been destroyed. This royally pisses him off. He busts out of Tarantulas' web and launches himself into the air, screaming incoherently, prompting Megs to comment, "Oooh! I like him! Yeeees." "Who is the one who has destroyed the colony?" Inferno demands to know. "He did it!" Megs essentially says, pointing to the downed Tigatron with his dino-hand. Inferno announces that Tigatron's going to "buuuuurn" and, after Megs gets in a few shots of his own at Tigatron, Inferno blasts him with his big-ass gun. The blast sends Tigatron flying (With his signature yell, of course). When he lands, his eyes are dark. (Ooooooh, this doesn't look good, folks. Look out! Nightwind's getting maaaaaad! :) ) Inferno lands by Tigatron, pins him to the ground, and shoves the barrel of his gun into Tigatron's face. "I will destroy you and all your kind," Inferno promises...and then he's interrupted by an incoming missile--A missile which reduces Inferno to a pile of parts. It's Optimus and Airrazor, there to save the day--or at least to save Tigatron's hiney. (Praise be! :) It's such a fine hiney, after all. :) ) An Optimus missile takes out Megs, as well...

Optimus lands, grabs Tigatron, telling him that Airrazor suggested that he might need a lift. "That's another of my nine lives I owe her," Tigatron weakly notes. And then a Megs laser blast interrupts the reunion and the Maximals, in Airrazor's words, "hit the wind." Megs is pissed that they're getting away and shoots after them, yelling, "No! No! NOOOOO!" Scorponok, meanwhile, is reviving after the boulder treatment he got earlier. He sees Megs firing shot after useless shot after the retreating Maximals and humbly points out to him that the Maximals are out of range. His reward for this well-meaning, tactfully-stated advice? He get's Inferno's head upside the head, and Megs orders him to gather up the Inferno parts and then find the spiders (Lucky Scorponok!). Inferno's head, meanwhile, repeats "Defend the colony!" over and over again until Scorponok whacks it with a claw to shut it up.

Back at the snow-covered Axalon, Optimus, Airrazor, and Rhinox are gathered around the CR Chamber as it spits out a hale and hearty Tigatron. After giving himself the once-over, he announces that he'll return to his post. Optimus assures him that there's no hurry, that Rattrap, Cheetor, and Dinobot are out there. But Tigatron, of course, prefers the "wild land." Airrazor points out that it wouldn't kill him to visit every now and then...And Tigatron agrees...but leaves anyway. Airrazor sighs after him wistfully. (Is Nightwind jealous of Airrazor?? Oh, you bet yer sweet little bippy, she is! :) )

Back at Ranty's Place, Tarantulas is noodling with his computer while Blackarachnia laments her decision to hook up with Tarantulas, now that Megs no doubt wants to scrap them both. Tarantulas testily replies that Megatron "doesn't see the webs within the webs" nor does Blackarachnia. BA coos at him not to be so testy and amends her words, saying that she and Ranty need to stick together, given that they're two of a kind (Yup! Both tech-heads. Both treacherous. Both spiders. Both--So remind me; Why did BA end up with Silverbolt again??? :) ) and that they should stick together. To which Tarantulas replies that it doesn't matter, given that the planet's "doomed" and all. (Huh? What?) Which, as BA finally figures out, is why Ranty wanted the stasis pod in the first place, to make an escape ship out of it. And then she contends that she can help. Ranty seems a bit surprised that BA's figured him out...but then he orders her to leave his lair. She sulks, tells him to consider the idea of her help, and points out that they could make a great team...and then she saunters away, but not before muttering "Lunatic!" under her breath. Ranty chuckles, turns back to his computer, and mutters "Witch!" under his breath. (Except that I bet he meant the word that rhymes with "witch" :) ) And then he Evil Laughs™ long and hard...

Everything, apparently, is not right with the universe...Dum dum dum duuuuuuuuum...

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Nightwind's Unsolicited Opinions

My main complaint with this episode is not so much with the episode itself, but with its placement in the episode line-up. Am I the only one who thinks that "Spider's Game" should have aired directly before "Before the Storm?"

Why do I think this? I should think the reason would be obvious! It would perfectly set up what is essentially a six-parter made up of "Before the Storm," "Other Voices I and II", "Aftermath," and "Coming of the Fuzors I and II." All six of those episodes deal with the "arrival" of the aliens "introduced" way back in "Chain of Command" and referenced in "The Trigger," their attempted destruction of the planet, and the "fall-out," so to speak of that event--The Transmetal thing, the death and resurrection of Optimus Primal, and the mass crashing of the stasis pods onto an unstable Earth, hence the Fuzors. Now, "Spider's Game" is an episode that deals with Tarantulas wanting to get off of the planet because of the events that will happen in "Other Voices." Much of what happens in this episode alludes to and foreshadows what will happen in "Other Voices." Tarantulas is desperate to get off the planet in this episode. He even pronounces the planet doomed at the end of the episode...and then the series proceeds to offer up five stand-alone episodes ("Call of the Wild," "Dark Voyage," "Possession," "The Low Road," and "Law of the Jungle") in which this urgency of Tarantulas'--not to mention the fact that the planet's days are numbered!--is not ever shown or even mentioned in any way in the dialogue. It's as if "Spider's Game" never was...until "Other Voices I," that is. Problem is, "Other Voices I" is a whole seven episodes (Meaning seven weeks, in the series' original run!) down the road!

Now, I'm all for a bit of foreshadowing. I'm all for stretching a story arc out over several episodes, as they stretched out the impending alien threat over the entire first season. But this is pushing it. This is asking the viewers--many of whom, granted, are grown-ups, but many more of whom are kids--to remember this stuff when "Before the Storm" comes around. That's risky. Perhaps the creators felt the risk was justified...but if I were them, I would've hedged my bets and scheduled this episode right before "Before the Storm" or--at the furthest--right before "Law of the Jungle" (Just so that Inferno can be in "Law of the Jungle," don'tchaknow. His role isn't large in that episode, but it is nice that he gets to confront Tigatron, the "destroyer of his colony," and be obliquely responsible for putting a big hurt on Tigatron...) Anyway, suffice it to say that I just don't get the logic of putting five stand-alone episodes between this episode and the later arc that it so obviously sets up...

None of this ranting, though, has anything to do with the episode itself...And in fact, I don't have much to rant about in this episode, to tell you the truth. For one thing, it has a large Tigatron part, which of course earns it major points from yours truly. :) For another, as character-intro shows go, it's one of the better ones. Inferno makes his appearance early enough in the episode that we learn much about him by the episode's end. That's something that Beast Wars should have done more often in its character-intro episodes, as I've ranted about before. But here, Inferno is "drawn" well. We learn that he's more ant than Predacon. (Much moreso than Tigatron is "more tiger than Maximal.") As a result of this, his mannerisms are driven by the fact that he thinks he's an ant--He's dedicated to his colony and his "Royalty," setting up the relationship that will develop between Megatron and Inferno later on. We also learn, of course, that he's a loon, with a penchant for laughing and slavering while shooting and/or flaming people. This loony tendency has endeared him to many BW fans...

...But not to me, for some odd reason. I really don't understand why. Perhaps it's because when you get right down to it, he's a very one-dimensional character, as, perhaps, a drone ant should be. He's mindlessly loyal to Megatron. In fact, he's pretty much "mindless," period and, while he has his cuter moments every once in a while, he's not a character that I find attractive in the sense of wondering what makes him tick. I tend to like loony characters, but I also have to have some sort of "hook" that interests me or else the character becomes...Well, just another loony character. Tarantulas is loony, sure...but he's also devious, treacherous, and scheming, with a completely separate and at times mysterious agenda. Inferno, on the other hand...Well, he just doesn't compare.

It's funny because I used to be equally indifferent to both Tarantulas and Inferno, but lately something's hooked me with Tarantulas, and I just can't explain it. Inferno, on the other hand, is probably my least favorite Predacon, supplanting "early Blackarachnia"--Meaning Blackarachnia before... Well, before this episode, actually. Which leads me to...

The best thing about this episode, without a doubt, is the "chemistry" that exists between Blackarachnia and Tarantulas. There's some serious sexual tension going on there, and it's both interesting to watch and entirely believable. Why? Well...Much as I like the later relationship that develops between Blackarachnia and Silverbolt, I honestly and truly believe that Tarantulas and Blackarachnia were meant for each other. In addition to the similarities I noted up in the summary, they're both schemers, and both tend to follow agendas entirely separate from Megatron's. They're both intelligent--probably too intelligent for their own good considering that Megs would appear to be threatened by people who are as smart as he is. They're both witty. And where they aren't similar, they counterbalance each other well. For instance, Ranty's pretty loony where BA is probably the sanest Predacon of them all. Sure, they generally don't trust each other. Sure, they bicker...but then, you always pick on the one you love, eh? Tarantulas obviously created Blackarachnia to be sort of his ideal dream woman, physically and mentally. And there's obviously something that draws Blackarachnia to Tarantulas or else she wouldn't constantly be following him around, keeping tabs on what he's doing. Some would say it was self-interest, sure, and maybe it is...but as Tarantulas himself might say, "I think not." At least, I don't think that's all it is...Then again, this could just be the incipient matchmaker in me speaking... ;)

In short, it's fun to watch these two snipe at one another and wonder what's really going on in their heads. And this is really the first episode in which it happens, after a long run of episodes in which Blackarachnia gets to do nothing except be a bad-ass femme fatale. The Blackarachnia/Tarantulas thing continues to be fun...until Blackarachnia gets an eyeful of Silverbolt, of course. And then it's all over. Which is not to say that I don't like the BA/Silverbolt thing, because I do. Being the sucker for goopy, romantic mush that I am, the whole "Romeo and Juliet" angle of that relationship appeals to me, although that angle doesn't last long (I think it should have laster much longer, personally, but...) But in my opinion, the Blackarachia/Tarantulas thing was potentially far more interesting... *sigh* Ah well...All good things must come to an end, as they say...

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Great Moments

My vote for favorite line in this episode is a toss-up, actually, between two contenders. They are:

As Megatron watches Inferno snarling madly as he takes off after the unfortunate Tigatron, he croons: "Oooooh. I like him! Yeeeessss..."

OR

At the very end of the episode, there's this exchange:
Blackarachnia: "Lunatic!"
Tarantulas: "Witch."

Otherwise...Well, I like every scene in which Blackarachnia and Tarantulas appear together. Those two are almost electric together...

And I would be remiss not to mention Tigatron's near death. I don't think we ever see a Beast Warrior quite so banged up who lives to tell the tale. Well, other than Waspy, of course, but his instances of being banged-up are far more cartoonish. Tigatron here, though...It's deadly serious, with nice visual touches...I still swear that's blood oozing out of him...

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Closed Captioning Weirdness
(Or, Sometimes What you Think They Say Is Not Really What They Say...)

This episode contains what, in my opinion, may be the funniest bit of closed-captioning weirdness in the entire series:

Just before Inferno tries to blow Airrazor out of the sky, she says to him "I'm Hair Raiser. Who're you?" instead of "I'm Airrazor. Who're you?" (BWAHAHAHAHAH!) And then for the rest of the episode, "Airrazor" is, instead, "Air Raiser."

Also...

In the beginning of the episods, Tarantulas' computer reports "Maximize stasis pod beginning planetfog" instead of "Maximal stasis pod beginning planetfall."

As Waspinator watches Tigatron running toward the stasis pod's landing site, he proclaims, "Waspinator will destroy it!" instead of just, "Waspinator will destroy!"

Shortly before blasting Airrazor out of the sky, Blackarachnia decides that her activation code should be, "Lacharachnia, terrorize!" instead of "Blackarachnia, terrorize!"

After Airrazor insists that Tigatron might need back-up, Tigatron insists in turn that, "I work better alone," instead of "I hunt better alone."

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Totally Arbitrary Overall Rating, Just For the Heck of It

Hmmmmmm...A large part for Tigatron...some nifty chemistry between Blackarachnia and Tarantulas that gives BA something to do besides be a screechy femme fatale...a new character who is actually properly introduced in his introductory episode (What a novel concept! :) )...and to top it all off the episode also sets up Tigatron and Airrazor as a pair. Lots of character development, an interesting story (albeit one that that should have been scheduled to air closer to the story arc that it actually introduces) with no obvious plot pitfalls/inanities/conveniences... Add it all up and...I like this one! I really do!

Let's call it a 9.2.