The Decepticons sneak into the Ark and rig up a personality destablizer device inside the Autobots' recharging chambers. The device brainwashes the Autobots as they recharge and puts them under Megatron's control. It's now up to Bumblebee, Jazz, Spike, and Sparkplug to find a way to stop Megatron and restore the Autobots back to normal.
Tropes
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Megatron places a device inside the Autobots' recharging chambers that turns them all evil. With the Autobots under his control, Megatron orders them to attack an Air Force base and steal Dr. Harding's plans for a solar satellite.
- Card-Carrying Villain: The reprogrammed Autobots run on “evil” electrons.
- Chekhov's Gun: Jazz is shown testing out his new loudspeakers that Spike and Sparkplug built for him, which is loud enough to cause a rockslide. During the climax, Jazz whips out his speakers to rupture the fuel tanks of the Decepticons' rocket.
- Fighting from the Inside: Optimus is shown struggling to fight off Megatron's mind control as he fights Bumblebee. He manages to hold himself back just long enough for Bumblebee to attach an attitude exchanger to his leg and return him back to normal.
- Hero Insurance: The End-of-Episode Silliness is the Autobots being tasked with rebuilding all the military vehicles they destroyed.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Bumblebee pleads with Optimus to fight off Megatron's brainwashing, as he knows he's still a good bot deep inside. Bumblebee's words to manage to reach Prime, giving him the opportunity to restore him back to his old self.
- Invisibility Ink: The Decepticons create an invisibility spray that allows them to sneak into the Ark without the Autobots detecting them.
- Not So Stoic: Teletraan-1 shows a rare moment of emotion when it detects that the Decepticons have brainwashed the Autobots. It tells Megatron that his plan to control the Autobots will never succeed and pleads for Optimus to stop when he's ordered to destroy it.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Autobots' eyes turn bright red after they're brainwashed by the Decepticons. Since the Decepticons usually have red eyes to contrast with the blue eyes of the Autobots, it serves as a quick visual shorthand to see who's still evil or not.
- Steel Ear Drums: Jazz's speakers are loud enough to cause a rock slide, but Spike and Sparkplug don't seem to suffer any major hearing damage despite standing right in front of them.
- Visible Invisibility : Megatron and Starscream spray themselves with invisibility spray to sneak inside the Ark, which makes them transparent with visible outlines.
