Metamorphosis–the change of form–has enjoyed a long and ubiquitous existence, originating in ancient mythological and folkloric traditions, including premodern traditions of present-day Eastern and Central Europe. In such traditions, metamorphosis warns its audience of irresistible forces, nominally supernatural, whose arbitrary imposition could have irreversible repercussions. In recent centuries, metamorphosis has since been relegated to the genres of science fiction and fantasy; accordingly, critical thinking engaging with metamorphosis has been speculative and limited to the domains of idealist-materialist debate. “Transformative Encounters” contends that metamorphosis is owed a more complex understanding. To this end, “Transformative Encounters” takes up the motif of metamorphosis in Eastern and Central European media of the 20th and 21st century. It argues that the metamorphoses represented therein have philosophical, ecocritical, and political implications. As such, metamorphosis reprises its didactic function by indicating a shift from supernatural force to human imposition, particularly at the level of the state–a timely consideration, in light of an increasingly dehumanizing geopolitical landscape, and, under the global climate crisis, an increasingly fragile Earth.