Prime begins to doubt his leadership abilities as the Decepticons mobilize for an invasion of Earth.
Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Blitzwing freezes Ratchet and snaps off his arm to get the Key.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The episode ends with Lugnut and Blitzwing restoring Megatron's body with Sari's key.
- Bait-and-Switch: Blackarachnia shows up, but for reasons unrelated to Megatron. She just wants Sari's Key so she can use it on herself again.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: When told to hand over the key, Ratchet says the Decepticons will have to pry it from his cold, offline servo. Blitzwing proceeds to freeze him and rip off the lower part of his arm to claim the key.
- Berserk Button: Starscream really hates being interrupted.
- Best Served Cold: Megatron, having already discovered Starscream’s betrayal, sees through his false sympathy after Starscream discovers him in Sumdac Tower, but plays along and lets Starscream talk to lure him into a false sense of security before attacking him with Sumdac’s machines while Starscream is focused on Bumblebee. Justified, as Megatron can’t do anything in the state he’s in beyond controlling machines, so he needs to wait until his body is restored before he can take revenge on Starscream.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the restored Megatron bursting out of Sumdac Tower, with Optimus, Bulkhead, and Prowl shocked to see the Decepticon Supreme Leader alive and well.
- The Chosen One: Sari refuses to give the Key to Team Prime, saying that she can handle it and the Allspark chose her.
- Darkest Hour: This is Optimus' greatest challenge yet; the Decepticons are about to attack Earth, Sari runs off, the Key falls into Decepticon hands, Team Prime is outnumbered and outgunned, and the team is hopeless. And at the end, Megatron rises from Sumdac Tower...
- Dramatic Irony: Starscream, having assumed he successfully destroyed Megatron, is shocked to find the latter's still online head in Sumdac Tower. Finding Megatron's predicament amusing, Starscream feigns sympathy just to mock him... all the while completely unaware that Megatron has already discovered his betrayal and is just waiting for the right opportunity to get revenge on him.
- Exact Words: Megatron tells Professor Sumdac that he needs his body rebuilt because the Decepticons are preparing to launch their attack on Earth, leaving out the part that he’ll be the one leading them.
- Foregone Conclusion: Given the Foreshadowing from Lost And Found and the episode title alone, it's safe to say that Megatron's return was an inevitability.
- Face–Heel Turn: Sari considers helping Blackarachnia to spite the Autobots for not trusting her.
- From Bad to Worse: The 'Bots notice that the 'Cons have been doing more things recently, causing them to worry that there may be a large-scale attack soon.
- He's Back!: A villainous example, the last shot of the episode is a fully restored and reformatted Megatron hovering over Sumdac Tower.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Lugnut rants and raves in response to Megatron's voice:Starscream: Okay, what's his malfunction?
Blitzwing: [as Icy] Technical glitch. It happens. [as Random] A lot actually! [laughs] - Internal Reveal:
- Bulkhead and Prowl reveal to Optimus that the Dinobots are still alive and on an island in the middle of Lake Erie. He doesn't take it well. Optimus also witnesses the Dinobots transform when he accompanies Bulkhead and Prowl to Dinobot Island and becomes further incensed with the two Autobots.
Optimus: Something else you forgot to tell me?- Starscream and Blitzwing discover that Megatron is still alive. In Blitzwing's case, this leads him to realize that Lugnut wasn't hearing things after all. In Starscream's case however, he doesn't know that Megatron has already discovered his treachery and is just waiting for the right opportunity to take revenge on him.
- Professor Sumdac learns that Megatron is actually the Decepticon Supreme Leader the whole time. Cue My God, What Have I Done?.
- On a minor scale, Sari learns that Blackarachnia has a Dark and Troubled Past and was a former Autobot.
- In the End, You Are on Your Own: Team Prime can't get help from the Dinobots, meaning that they have to fight the Decepticons alone... & on top of that, at almost the EXACT same time, they lost the Key!Bulkhead: So Boss-Bot, what do we do now?
Optimus: I'm not sure I know anymore. So far, every single decision I made today turned out to be the wrong one!(sigh) Maybe Bumblebee was right... maybe I'm not cut out to lead this team. - Jerkass Ball: Optimus has been holding it for the rest of the episode, lashing out at others, and dismissing Ratchet's attempt to suggest something when he decides to confiscate Sari's key.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Optimus might not be in the best state to make decisions, but he does have a point in that the Key needs to be protected and Sari is helpless if the 'Cons catch her. And he has a right to be snappy with everyone as two of the bots on his team disobeyed him when he ordered the Dinobots to be destroyed (though with good reason, because Prowl realized they were sentient) and neglected to tell him what they did.
- Kindness Ball: While Optimus begins to hold the opposite of it, in this episode, Ratchet, begins to hold it, thus being kinder and more sympathetic than his usual self.
- Late to the Realization: It's only after some effusive praise that Lugnut realizes Megatron is missing the rest of his body.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Professor Sumdac when he realizes that he was helping the Big Bad this whole time.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Any chance Optimus might've had of making the Dinobots allies against the Decepticons at the time goes out the window when he points out to them that they're robots too. What follows is that Dinobots turning on one another, as they were previously taught that "cars and trucks bad" and "car robots worse".
- No-Sell: Bumblebee bursts in blasting Starscream with all the force he can. While being hit, Starscream simply stands up and calmly asks if he's finished yet.
- Not Helping Your Case: Sari refuses to give up the Key when Optimus asks for it, saying that the Allspark chose her, despite that she was just using it a few minutes ago to modify her toys. Afterwards, Bumblebee calls Optimus out, to which Optimus says that Bumblebee, being a screw-up, has no place providing character witness.
- Oh, Crap!: The entire episode is Team Prime panicking about how they're going to defend Earth from the Decepticons. Culminates in the sheer terror displayed on Optimus' face when Megatron bursts out of Sumdac Tower at the end of Part 1.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Optimus gets pissed when he learns that Bulkhead and Prowl didn't get rid of the Dinobots at the end of "Blast from the Past". He also spends the rest of the episode being snappy.Optimus: The fate of the Earth and Cybertron hang in the balance, and all I've got in my command are a bunch of undisciplined, insubordinate MALFUNCTIONS!
- Optimus spends so much time being snappy that Ratchet spends the rest of the Season 1 finale being kinder and more sympathetic than his usual self.
- Poorly Timed Confession: Bulkhead & Prowl literally kick off this episode's main conflict with theirs about the Dinobots!
- Shame If Something Happened: Starscream not-so-subtly mocks Megatron's vulnerable state when he discovers him inside Sumdac's lab;Starscream: Oh, what a pity, my liege, to see you in such a helpless and unprotected state. Why, practically anyone could just walk right in here and terminate you.
- Suddenly Shouting: "Finished? YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!"
- Super-Strength: In his Hothead personality, Blitzwing can effortlessly toss Lugnut around.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Bumblebee gives one to Optimus, shown below.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Sari, & then Bumblebee, denounce Optimus as one for wanting to take the Key away, after all of Sari's help throughout the season.Sari: Why won't you trust me? I trusted you!
- Wham Episode: Megatron returns.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Bumblebee calls out Optimus for yelling at Sari and confiscating her Key.Bumblebee: What's your damage, Prime? Sari has been helping us since the day we got here. She is a part of this team!
Optimus: Considering your own history of mistakes, Bumblebee, I wouldn't exactly call you a great character witness.
Bumblebee: Is that right?! Well let me tell you something, Boss-Bot: Considering the fact that we're stuck on this planet, outnumbered, with no idea on how we're gonna beat an army of Decepticons ready to fry our circuits at any second, I wouldn't exactly call you a great leader!I'm going to find Sari.
Optimus: Bumblebee, get back here!
