After retrieving a second golden disk, Megatron calls a truce with Optimus. Meanwhile, Tarantulas plots to leave the planet.
Tropes featured:
- Awesome Ego: Among Megatron's possessions is a framed picture of himself.
- Bait-and-Switch: At first it looks like Tarantulas played a traditional smoke bomb escape but he also planted a regular explosive.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall:
- Waspinator before the bomb goes off.
- Inferno after his jets are unplugged and right before he crashes.
- Call-Back: Rattrap isn't looking forward to trying to infiltrate the Predacon Base again. Dinobot is certain Megatron will see it coming this time, so Optimus opts to play to that by using Rattrap as a distraction for Tigatron to sneak in instead.
- Captain's Log: Optimus records an audio report while in flight.
- Continuity Nod:
- This is the second time that Dinobot has crushed Tarantulas under a boulder.
- The previous alien sites are briefly seen on a holographic screen. Tigatron also mentions the destruction of the flying island.
- Contrived Coincidence: Apparently both humans and Vok made a golden disk. The Maximals briefly discuss the implausibility before deciding that it's probably an amazing coincidence and move on.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Tarantulas vs Waspinator.
- Cyberspace: Tigatron travels through it to find the contents of the second golden disk.
- Determinator: Despite the large amount of Energon radiation playing havoc on his body, Inferno retrieves the disk and flies all the way back to base in his robot mode.
- Embarrassing Nickname: This episode marks the first time Inferno addresses Megatron as "my queen", much to the latter's chagrin.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Averted. Megatron knows Optimus will give the ceasefire a chance simply because it's in his nature.Optimus: Do you take me for a fool?
Megatron: No, I take you for a Maximal. - Eviler than Thou: Megatron establishes that as smart as Tarantulas is, Megatron is smarter.
- Evil Laugh Turned Coughing Fit: As Megatron monologues about the approaching aliens and the opportunity to steal alien technology, he starts his power-hungry laugh only to start coughing. note
- Exact Words: The Maximals and Predacons are under a ceasefire. There's nothing stopping them from physically beating the scrap out of each other.
- Insecurity System: The Vok Disk had really lousy firewalls.
- Manipulative Bastard: Watch carefully. At no point is Megatron so much as inconvenienced by anything that happened.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Maximals' reaction when Tigatron tells them what he found.
- Motive Rant: In his quarters, Megatron goes on at length to Inferno about the recent development and his intent to benefit from it.Megatron: There is a storm approaching; a storm of such magnitude, of such power, it is beyond imagination. And to think, I would once have been satisfied with mere energon. To think that my ambitions lofted no higher than the conquest of Cybertron. [laughs before coughing a little] Well, no longer. For I have been given a glimpse of power. Real power! And that power shall be mine!
- That cough, by the way, was David Kaye actually clearing his throat in the recording booth. He worked it into the dialogue so perfectly they decided to Throw It In!. Even better, watch Inferno's surprised reaction to it, just to enhance the effect.
- Mythology Gag:
- A replica of G1 Megatron's fusion cannon is among Megatron's possessions.
- There is also a terrified head of a Seeker. Clearly Starscream is still a sore point for Megatron.
- Megatron refers to the coming threat as "beyond imagination", a tagline from The Transformers: The Movie.
- Not So Above It All: Even the usually serious Dinobot engages in the Maximals’ slapstick antics against the Predacons at the end of the episode. When Blackarachnia and Tarantulas jump over an obvious hole in the ground covered by leaves, they land on the other side and trigger a giant boulder to fall on them. Dinobot even gets to chuckle at this to himself.
- Oh, Crap!: Tigatron when he gets into Megatron's files and learns what's going on.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The fact that Megatron calls a cease-fire and freely admits that something has come up that he considers more important than fighting the Maximals gets Optimus very worried. At the end of the episode, he finds out he's right to be.Optimus: When Predacons talk truce, it just means they need time to reload their weapons.
Megatron: Under normal circumstances, yes. But not now. Things have... arisen. Things which require my undivided attention. To be blunt, Optimus Primal, I have no time to waste on Maximals. - Pet the Dog: Megatron sincerely commends Inferno for retrieving the disc and orders him to go repair any injuries.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: After Terrorsaur gets the drop on him with a gun, Tigatron reminds him of the ceasefire.Terrorsaur: Oh, I remember, but you know my trigger finger. It just might forget.
Tigatron: Then permit me to jar its memory! [attacks him] - Properly Paranoid: Optimus and Rhinox don't doubt for a second that Megatron's talk of a ceasefire is in reaction to the recent alien anomaly.
- Right-Hand Cat: In robot mode, Megatron's Tyrannosaurus head appears to have a mind of its own. He even pets it like a cat and brushes its teeth. Given that this is Played for Laughs and never brought up again, he's most likely putting on a puppet show for himself simply because that's the kind of thing he loves to do.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Whatever's coming is enough that Tarantulas decides the planet has had it.
- Shout-Out:
- Tigatron enters the Predacon computer by solving a rubik's cube shaped like Megatron's head.
- The final fight scene would not be out of place in Looney Tunes.
- Spanner in the Works: Megatron's intent behind letting Blackarchnia in on Tarantulas' plan.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Played for laughs, as Rattrap grouses about the indignity of how he's being carried to the Predacon Base and the dangers of the overall mission, while Airazor grouses about Rattrap's weight and constant pessimism.
- Truce Trickery: Megatron calls a ceasefire with the Maximals halting all acts of aggression between the two side, something Optimus Primal is suspicious of but can't refuse due to Maximal codes. Optimus sends an obvious scouting mission into Predacon territory with the intent of distracting Megatron enough he doesn't notice Rattrap also sneaking in. Unfortunately after graciously getting his automatic defenses to stand down from plastering the Maximals, Megatron proves too canny when he asks the heroes to leave and "take their rat with them."
- Villains Out Shopping:
- Megatron's hot tub makes its debut in this episode. There's also a bowling trophy among his possessions.
- When Megatron contacts her, Blackarachnia is examining a frog seemingly for no other reason than science.
- Voice Changeling: Tarantulas mimics Megatron's voice (through a microphone) to access the Transwarp cells.
- We Need a Distraction:
- Optimus sends Rattrap and Airazor to deliberately get caught trying to infiltrate the Predacon Base so that Tigatron can sneak by the defenses unnoticed.
- Megatron gets Blackarachnia to confront Tarantulas in his lab so that he can perform some covert reprogramming of the transwarp cell.
- Wham Line:Tigatron: The aliens... the ones who seeded this planet with energon; the ones who created that flying island that almost destroyed us... They’re coming. They’re on their way here. And I don’t think they’re very happy.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Much as he hates to admit it, Optimus knows Megatron is right to expect him to give any talk of peace a chance.
