The Quintessons have found that their journal has landed on Junkion. They send in a group of Sharkticons to try and retrieve it, but they are thwarted by the Junkions. The Quintessons instead start using subliminal messaging through the Junkion's TV set, telling them that being neat is good. Later, Sky Lynx and Astrotrain fight near Junkion, but are then both shot at by the Junkions. Sky Lynx returns to Cybertron to report on what happened, so Rodimus decide to have the Aerialbots sent out to Junkion. Astrotrain returns to Chaar to tell Galvatron, but Galvatron has no interest in the Junkions. However, Cyclonus does, believing they could be turned against the Autobots. Galvatron still doesn't care.

The Quintessons see that the Junkions have found the journal whilst making their world neater. But they then see the Aerialbots approaching, and attack them. The Aerialbots form Superion and cause an explosion that badly damages the ship, but Superion is sent flying back. The Quintessons have to withdraw, but are seen by Cyclonus, who has gone to Junkion with Scourge and the Sweeps. The Decepticons attack the Junkions, then leave. Sky Lynx flies the injured Superion back to Cybertron, who tells Rodimus about the Quintesson ship. Rodimus and a group of Autobots head to Junkion.

The Quintessons realize that when their ship was damaged, it caused an issue with the subliminal messages. Wreck-Gar uses a satellite to broadcast the new messages across the galaxy, stating that all other life forms are enemies! This leads to various races of different worlds attacking each other. The Quintessons see this and believe their is profit to be made, such as supplying weapons to the various factions. But they then decide they must get their journal back first. Cyclonus returns to Chaar and tells Galvatron about the Junkions, but he still doesn't care about them. Cyclonus and the Sweeps head back out to Junkion.

They encounter the Autobots and shoot Omega Supreme down, but Ultra Magnus repairs him. Unable to contend with Omega's size and firepower, the Decepticons retreat. They encounter Galvatron, who strangely goes on about how he's going to the signal to be a winner. Realizing that was something Wreck-Gar said earlier, the Decepticons follow Galvatron to Junkion. The Autobots also arrive there and start fighting the Decepticons. Galvatron throws Rodimus to the ground and then shoots at him, but Rodimus reflects his shot by using a piece of junk.

The reflected shot hits a Quintesson ship, who were trying to retrieve the journal. The journal ends up being sent hurtling away from Junkion, whilst Blaster sends out radio waves to counter the Quintesson's subliminal messaging. Everything returns to normal, but Galvatron says this doesn't mean he still doesn't hate Rodimus -he does.

The Decepticons want to resume fighting, but the Junkions then help out the Autobots, causing the Decepticons to retreat. Rodimus asks Wreck-Gar what happened, but he has no idea. Magnus wonders if they'll ever know who broadcast those mysterious programs, but Rodimus says he doesn't care -so long as they're off the air for good. The Quintessons head back to their main ship, and reveal that the journal is lost in space. They are prepared to pay the penalty, which is death, but another one says whilst he'd be happy to oblige them, they must find the journal first -before the information in it sets everyone in the galaxy against them.

Notes

-The Secret Files segment for this episode is about the Autobots.

-This episode was adapted into an issue of the Transformers comic, and was published in 1988.

-Nancy is not named in the episode, or its comic adaption. According to the TF Wiki, her name comes from some Japanese guide books, suggesting she was named in the Japanese dub of the episode.

-Several lines of dialogue seemed to get cut as well. Astrotrain says he has something strange to report, but he never gets to say what, as Galvatron hits him.

-Omega Supreme makes his only third season appearance in this episode. It's surprising as from what I can tell, his toy wasn't on sale any more in the 1986 Transformers lineup, and usually toys that weren't on store shelves any more wouldn't be featured in the cartoon.

-Space-Age Jack is a parody of G.I. Joe, another Hasbro-owned franchise.

-This episode may or may not be a prequel to The Quintesson Journal, which had been broadcast before this episode. Whilst there is a journal featured in the episode, it looks different to the one featured in this episode, and a line of dialogue from one of the Quintessons hints that they've got more than one journal to find.

Errors

-When we first see Wreck-Gar and Nancy, Wreck-Gar is on the left, Nancy is on the right. But when when Wreck-Gar says the broadcast day is concluded, he's suddenly swapped chairs with Nancy. Nancy is also missing some details, like her left hand.
-It's believed that the opening scenes of this episode were edited incorrectly. The Quintessons say they need to attack via subtle methods, but then are seen sending the noisy Sharkticons out. It would make more sense for these scenes to be switched around.
-The background for this shot isn't quite right -there is a space background next to the monitor, but it's supposed to be inside a Quintesson ship.
-When Wreck-Gar says that's the name of that tune, there are three Wreck-Gars on screen.
-Astrotrain's face is colored the same gray as his body during this shot.
-Something clearly isn't right with this shot -the red flashing light appears to be hovering in midair, or there is a Quintesson placed behind it in error.
-The sign used for this restaurant states "LEE.S Restrant" instead of "LEE'S Restaurant".
-When the cat people's ships start firing, they use green lasers. But when the shot changes, blue lasers are shown blowing things up.
-Similarly, the insects are shown firing green lasers in one shot, but then when the shot changes, blue lasers are used.
-The scene showing the Earth embassy being attacked shows Marissa Faireborn being grabbed, but she has a Texan accent when she speaks her line. The dialogue script doesn't refer to her as Marissa, instead calling her "young woman", so this was most likely a case of AKOM using her character model when they shouldn't have done.
-This Quintesson's death face is miscolored, with bits colored orange.
-Scourge overlaps Cyclonus during this shot, making him look tiny.
-This Quintesson's smiling face is missing its mouth. The mouth is present when the shot is shown again a few seconds later.
-When Magnus is first seen working on Omega, Omega hasn't been fully drawn, leaving a very noticeable gap on the left.
-When Magnus closes the panel on Omega, it's drawn like it's already closed.
-When Cyclonus says "Another time, Autobot", the background seems to be a Junkion one, but Cyclonus is meant to be on an asteroid.
-The wrong background has been used for this shot -these Quintessons are meant to be on their ship, instead a Junkion background has been used.
-Rodimus is holding a gun when he confronts Galvatron, but his gun vanishes when Galvatron fires at him -he uses the blasters on his arm instead.
-Soundwave's chest is missing its Decepticon insignia during this shot. His chest compartment is also quite small.
-When the Decepticons leave Junkion, three Cyclonus-style jets can be seen.
-A space background is used for this shot, but a Junkion one should have been used.