sure! A chance to info dump something I learned recently and gush about my favorite screamy bird??? I’d love to!

an expansion to this post: “Starscream is… a great role model??? “

Ok, I think the best way to do that would be to list the recommended things to do if you get kidnapped and compare them to what Starscream does in season 1 episode 20 – “partners” and see how many boxes he checks out. 

((you might say he wasn’t really kidnapped but – he was held captive against his will so as far as I’m concerned, he was!
Also, I’m skipping some steps – they are stuff like “identify your captors” or “realize why you were kidnapped” or what to do if you’re in a group of captives and they don’t really apply here))

this turned kinda long so it’s under the cut:

1. “cooperate. your greatest priority during the early stages of a kidnapping is to simply survive. your chance of surviving a kidnapping tends to increase as time passes, so in the first few minutes and hours, don’t do anything to aggravate your kidnappers. comply with their requests and, within reason, try to make their lives easier. ”

check! Starscream immediately offers to give them information and lead them to where Arachnid is. 

2. “ Keep your dignity. It is generally psychologically harder for a person to kill or otherwise harm a captive if the captive remains “human” in the captor’s eyes. Do not grovel, beg or become hysterical. Try even not to cry. Do not challenge your abductor but show them that you are worthy of respect.“ 

check! when Starscream talks with the Autobots he remains calm and does not grovel or beg to join them – he reasonably lays what the Autobot have to gain from letting them join them (an ally and intel on the Decepticons) and gives logical reasons why he would want to defect.

3. “It will be harder for your abductor to harm you if you make yourself more “human” and establish some kind of bond with them. to this end, ask for small favors: a glass of water, something to eat or a blanket”

check! the first thing Starscream does after being left behind with Arcee is asking her to release the clamp from his wings – he wouldn’t be able to fly as long as he has the handcuffs on (as far as I’m aware) so it’s a relatively small and reasonable request (although it is denied…)

4. “attempt to establish a rapport with your abductor. if you can build some sort of bond with your captor they will generally be more hesitant to harm you.”

check! I checked and less than a minute(!) after they start talking Arcee says “so we can agree on one thing” in response to Starscream’s ire against Arachnid. they start gossiping like old friends in a minute! (that also goes to show how charismatic Starscream can be – I mean he’d have to be, he is a second in command who isn’t all that physically strong in a world that seems to work on “might makes right” logic) 

5.“Avoid insulting your abductor or talking about potentially sensitive subjects. You may think your abductor is a pathetic, disgusting individual. While captives in movies sometimes get away with saying such things, you should keep these thoughts to yourself. In addition, as in most conversations with people you don’t know, politics is a good topic to stay away from, especially if you are being held by terrorists or hostage-takers that are politically motivated.”

that’s where Starscream failed, or rather – the show writers made him fail. because I refuse to believe someone who survived millennia serving under Megatron of all people would let out such a stupid slip.
Arcee was obviously angry at Arachnid for terminating her partner, it would make no sense for Starscream to try and claim responsibility to it. He is grounded, handcuffed and in a very dangerous situation. there is NO WAY he is not carefully calculating every word that comes out his mouth.
that was such an out-of-character moment for him that I refuse to consider it his doing (as much as that makes sense).

 this moment was there because the writers weren’t talented enough to write, or maybe just didn’t want to write, a “Starscream joins the Autobots” arc and wanted an “Arcee learns that revenge isn’t the answer” moment. it was a doomed endeavor from the start, and I’m frankly offended on Starscream’s behalf that they made him make such a stupid, rookie mistake. he deserved better.

6. “Try to escape only if the time is right. When is the right time to escape? Sometimes it’s safest to just wait to be freed or rescued. However, if the perfect situation presents itself – if you have a solid plan and are almost certain that you can successfully escape – you should take advantage of the opportunity. You should also attempt to escape, even if your chances are not good, if you are reasonably certain that your captors are going to kill you.”

check! despite everything, Starscream suddenly seems to know what he’s doing again! hooray! he only tries to escape when it is absolutely clear that Arcee is going to kill him no matter what he does. and his plan of pretending to drop the key was the best survival tactic he could use at the moment and I’m proud of him for coming up with it so quickly! (he does seem to work best under pressure)

p.s. I looked for a source in English for that since our class was in Hebrew and I wasn’t sure if my translation would be 100% clear, I found most of the advice we were given on wikihow so I copied from there!