After becoming upset about how many rules there are to follow in the Malto-household, Thrash convinces Mo to go for a ride in the city. While there, they meet a friendly Decepticon named Swindle, who offers them to be part of his crew. But Swindle isn't nearly as nice as he makes himself out to be.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Two-fold.
- Rules are there for a reason and as fun as breaking them can be sometimes, at the end of the day you'll have to take responsibility for your actions.
- A friend who repeatedly encourages you to do illegal things isn't really your friend.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: At the beginning of the episode, both Thrash and Mo claim they'd rather be Decepticons than Autobots, since Decepticons seem to have more fun. When they team up with an actual Decepticon, said 'Con turns out to only be "fun" as long as he can use them for stuff.
- Blatant Lies: Swindle claims his brother Hardtop disappeared during the war while saving orphans. It's a good thing the ones he was trying to deceive were Mo, an eight year old, and Thrash, a Terran who was born only a few days ago.
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Broken Aesop: Apart from the more obvious lessons listed above, the episode also seems to try and go for a side-aesop about how 'Cons aren't necessarily bad just because they're 'Cons. Problem is, the only Decepticon appearing in the episode is Swindle, a slimy con-man (no pun intended) who almost kills Mo and Thrash when they decide to give him the benefit of the doubt and defend him from their family's suspicions. This makes Dot's concession at the end that a Decepticon badge doesn't make a bad guy ring a bit hollow, as she just got done saving her kids from someone wearing just such a badge. - Call-Back: Swindle reappears and is still looking for Hardtop, who was arrested in the pilot episode.
- Car Fu:
- Swindle rams a G.H.O.S.T. truck off the road at the start of the episode, in the hopes that its contents might give him a lead on Hardtop's whereabouts.
- Dot drives her ranger car into Swindle to push him away from Mo.
- Dirty Coward: Swindle is completely nonchalant about trying to kill Mo and Thrash but immediately runs away once Bumblebee and Dot appear on the scene. Bumblebee even calls him a coward when he sees him drive off.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Swindle targets G.H.O.S.T. trucks in an attempt to find a lead on his brother Hardtop's whereabouts.
- Exact Words: Played for Laughs. Both Thrash and Swindle use this as an excuse to break rules and do what they want. Thrash claims that even though him and Mo are grounded, Dot never said where exactly they're grounded, which means they can follow her to the city. When Mo draws his attention to a "No Trespassing" sign, Swindle counters that the sign says nothing about skate sledding. In both cases, Mo points out that one kind of requires/implies the other.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While he was exaggerating quite a bit, Swindle isn't exactly wrong when he tells Mo and Thrash that Optimus won't hesitate to turn any Decepticon he sees in to G.H.O.S.T.
- Meaningful Name: The Decepticon named Swindle spends the entire episode lying or telling half-truths to Thrash and Mo.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Bumblebee and Dot arrive at the junkyard, Swindle decides to cut his losses and flee.
- Secret Test of Character: Swindle pretends he was doing one when he tries to get Thrash to abandon Mo and Thrash refuses.
- Traitor Shot: Whenever Mo and Thrash are out of earshot, Swindle breaks his Lovable Rogue facade to give a sinister grin and/or say something ominous.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Spurned on by Swindle, Mo and Thrash break several rules, trespass on private property and vandalize a cornfield. Mo actually realizes this early on and is far less enthusiastic about keeping up their friendship with Swindle than Thrash.
- Would Hurt a Child: When Mo refuses to get Swindle the Energon Scanner, Swindle loses his patience and aims a gun at Mo and Thrash. When they still refuse, he beats Thrash up and attempts to kill Mo.
