"Attack Megatron!"
— Soundwave
Optimus and Megatron clash over the treatment the Decepticons receive from G.H.O.S.T., while struggling to catch a group of rogue Casseticons. Things get even more messy when the mini-cons' leader, Soundwave, enters the fray. Meanwhile the Terrans and the Malto-kids are introduced to Arcee, an Autobot soldier Bumblebee called in as a substitute.
Tropes:
- Attack Hello: Arcee greets Bumblebee by beating him up and throwing him to the ground after.Thrash: Wait, she's a good guy?
- Call-Back:
- During decoy-training Thrash uses Fluffy Ears for cover.
- When the group discusses which Autobot would be best-suited for being Optimus' backup, Twitch mentions Wheeljack.
- Captured on Purpose: Soundwave's plan all along. He let the Autobots capture him so he could smuggle in Ravage (the other one set free being a decoy), and secretly set her loose in G.H.O.S.T. for recon.
- Ear Worm: Bumbleebee's decoy rhyme (Draw the enemy's eye away. Then boom bang! Ruin their day!), is very catchy to everyone. Even Megatron catches himself humming it!Megatron: Curse that annoyingly catchy tune!
- Fangirl: Twitch and Mo are fans of Arcee, having read about her in Transformers comics.
- It's Personal: Soundwave really didn't take Megatron's defection to the Autobots well.Megatron: Don't make this personal, Soundwave!
Soundwave: It already is. - Meaningful Echo: After seeing Bumblebee and Optimus use restraining bolts on the Cassetticons, Megatron sorrowfully remarks that "This is not freedom." Later on in the fight against Soundwave, Megatron attempts to make his former lieutenant stand down, promising him he'll be treated fairly if he does. Soundwave merely plays back Megatron's earlier assessment as a response.Soundwave, using Megatron's voice: "This is not freedom."
- Remember the New Guy?: Arcee wasn't mentioned or even alluded to at all in previous episodes, but when she appears everyone immediately knows who she is and she acts like her and Bumblebee are very close friends.
- Revenge Before Reason: Soundwave continues to focus his attacks on Megatron, even as him and the Cassetticons are steadily outnumbered and it becomes obvious retreating would be the best option. Might be subverted, as the ending of the episode implies he wanted to get arrested in order to spy on G.H.O.S.T. from the inside.
- Secret Test of Character: Arcee does this twice in the episode.
- The first time is when she intentionally makes her lessons boring and unfun for the Terrans and the kids. This is both to teach them a lesson about speaking up against being taken advantage of and being treated unfairly and so they'll admit they like having Bumblebee as a teacher, despite him being really strict most of the time.
- The second time is at the end of the episode, when she pretends she liked teaching the Maltos so much, she'd like to take over permanently. This gets Bumblebee to admit that teaching is his responsibility and that he doesn't want to give it up.
- Sonic Scream: Both the Cassetticons and Soundwave have the ability to manipulate sound. The former channel it into sonic screams strong enough to paralyze both Megatron and Optimus, the latter uses it to shake up the terrain and physically push back his opponents.
- Unstoppable Rage: Robbie mentions that Arcee has an "awesome berserker battle rage", which he's eager to learn.
- What Are Records?: When loading the defeated Casseticons on the van, Robbie asks "What even is a cassette anyway?".
- Wham Shot: Soundwave is captured, but turns out he smuggled in Ravage and set her free to spy on G.H.O.S.T.. Ravage passes the prison cell of none other than...Starscream! Who is seen cackling at Ravage's departure.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Megatron is appalled by Bumblebee's and Optimus' willingness to use restraining bolts on Frenzy, Ravage and Laserbeak and flat-out refuses to even touch them.
