Recap / Transformers: Animated, S2E2: The Return of the Headmaster

With Sari evicted from Sumdac Tower, Porter C. Powell rehires Henry Masterson (a.k.a. "the Headmaster") to help run Sumdac Systems. Henry then decides to test his Headmaster unit on one of the new Elite Guard bots. Setting his eye on Sentinel Prime, he fakes a Decepticon sighting and takes over Sentinel's body, forcing Optimus and Sentinel to team up to get Sentinel's body back without Ultra Magnus finding out. Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Bulkhead try to be supportive to Sari, who is now forced to live with the Autobots.

Tropes:

• An Aesop: Sometimes, listening to what a friend needs can be helpful enough in a crisis, more-so than jumping to conclusions.
• Big Brother Instinct: The B-plot of the episode involves Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Prowl taking care of Sari after Porter C. Powell evicts her from Sumdac Tower.
• Bittersweet Ending: Headmaster is defeated, but not arrested, thanks to Powell's intervention and lawyer-level Loophole Abuse. The only consolation was that Optimus and Sentinel came out of the experience better friends. Meanwhile, although poor Sari has been kicked out of her home and has to endure watching Powell ruin everything good about her father's company, she at least has the Autobots, they let her know that as long as she stays with them, they'll support her from here on.
• Break the Cutie: Sari loses her home and the family business to Powell, she has no idea where her father is, and she doesn't know why there's no record of her existence. No wonder she ends up crying in the end.
• Break the Haughty: One of many for old Sentinel, as the entire experience of losing his body causes him to become completely panicked and practically beg Optimus for help. He even thanks Prime for covering for him. Too bad the experience didn't stick for him.
• Butt-Monkey:
  • This is a Broke Episode for Sari as she becomes technically homeless and Bulkhead and Bumblebee are unable to adequately provide for her.
  • Sentinel Prime, of course.
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: Bulkhead and Bumblebee attempt to cook food for Sari and fail miserably. Such a delicious feast includes a rotted fish carcass, acorns, and a live rabbit.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Powell firmly establishes himself as this when he not only kicks out Sari, but also rehires Henry Masterson (a man who held the city of Detroit hostage) so he can make military robots, going against Sumdac System's policies. He mentions how he had to exploit every legal loophole he could find just to get Masterson off the hook, and he does it again when his insane employee is about to get arrested by Fanzone.
• Despair Speech: Poor Sari.
  Sari: Okay? If I'm okay? My dad is missing, I lost control of his company, that Powell guy is going to destroy everything good he worked for, I've been kicked out of the only home I've ever known, and I don't even know if I exist, and you think I'm okay? [starts crying].
• Fantastic Diet Requirement: The Autobots have no human food...or knowledge of what humans eat. So Bumblebee and Bulkhead try to make dinner for Sari by guessing what a human would want to eat. While they gave it an honest try, the results were...not good (see above).
• Fantastic Racism: Sentinel is constantly talking down to humans, refuses to learn about their culture or laws, and sprays his hand with a cleaning agent after shaking the mayor's hand. This is especially obvious when he's with Optimus Prime, who treats the humans with respect and repeatedly rolls his eyes at Sentinel's actions.
• Foreshadowing: Three of the guesses Bulkhead and Bumblebee make on Sari's origins are unknowingly true; she is actually a robot from another planet and she was a Doorstop Baby. Sumdac didn't find her in a cabbage page, but he may as well have.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Optimus rips off Sentinel's arm, which is connected to his Headmaster-controlled body, and uses it to pummel the control unit. When Masterson tries to escape after losing badly, Optimus proceeds to kick Sentinel's decapitated head into the back of the fleeing control module. Sentinel is not pleased.
  Sentinel: You kicked me! On purpose!
• Humiliation Conga: Sentinel undergoes another one of these. Optimus and the viewers enjoy it grandly.
• In-Universe Catharsis: Sentinel accuses Prime of enjoying beating up his hijacked body. Prime's smirk as he watches Sentinel suffer all but confirms it.
• Innocently Insensitive: Bumblebee and Bulkhead mean well trying to make Sari feel at home at their base, like providing her food and home-schooling her. Unfortunately, they don't know what humans eat and how to school Sari. And it doesn't help that during their "teaching session", Sari wondering why she doesn't exist in the system leads to the two thinking up wild ideas to her origin. This in turn just serves to remind Sari of her situation and make her more upset. It takes advice from Prowl for Bumblebee and Bulkhead to overcome this trope.
• Karma Houdini: Once again, the Headmaster gets off scot-free, due in no small part to Powell pointing out the circumstances that make his would-be arrest void. The episode also ends without Powell getting any proper retribution for taking everything from Sari, despite she's only a child.
• Kick the Dog: When Powell evicts Sari from the only home she's known for years, he takes the time to rub it in her face how she has no records to prove she's Professor Sumdac's daughter and he forces her to leave Sparkplug and Tutorbot behind on the grounds they're Sumdac Systems' property, despite the fact they were made for her.
• Lame Comeback: Optimus to the Headmaster. though to be fair, with the way the Headmaster talks, it'd be hard for anyone to make a good comeback at him.
  Headmaster: "YES! I am so leet!"
  Optimus: "Yeah? Well I have no idea what that means!"
• Loophole Abuse: Powell is able to get Masterson off all criminal charges against him. Twice. While it's not clear how he did it the first time, the second time, he does so the following ways:
  • Destruction of Property: The ship that was damaged in the battle belongs to Sumdac Systems.
  • Assault: Aliens don't have rights on Earth.
  • The entirety of the incident occurred in international waters, between the United States and Canada.
    • However, Masterson practically admitted he made up falsifying the Decepticon attack, and that is considered a felony, so it's hard to say why Captain Fanzone didn't arrest him on that charge alone.
• Losing Your Head: Sentinel, courtesy of the Headmaster.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Optimus vs. the Headmaster... equals pain for Sentinel and his body.
• Noodle Incident: When the bodiless Sentinel tries to get Prime to cover for him, Prime says, "Like you covered for me all those years ago?" Sentinel tries to dodge the question. Said incident would be Prime's expulsion from the Academy, as punishment for the incident on Archa Seven, when Sentinel let him take the fall for the whole affair.
• Not So Above It All: Despite promising not to, Optimus openly laughs when he sees what happened to Sentinel.
• Stating the Simple Solution: After Bumblebee and Bulkhead's attempts to cheer Sari up just make things worse, Prowl tells them to just be quiet.
  Prowl: She will tell you what she needs if you simply listen.
• Wild Mass Guessing: In-universe, when Bumblebee and Prowl try to posture why there's no record of Sari's existence.
  Bumblebee: Just because you don't have a tutor bot anymore doesn't mean you have to stop learning.
  Bulkhead: Right. We can teach you.
  Bumblebee: So, class, today's lesson is regarding...um...well, stuff, and how it works. Any questions?
  Sari: Yeah. Why is there no record of my existence?
  Bumblebee: Okay...a little bit outside the lesson plan. Professor Bulkhead, your thoughts?
  Bulkhead: Maybe she came here from another planet in some kinda egg and crashed on Sumdac's doorstep.
  Bumblebee: Or a portal could have opened and she fell through from another dimension.
  Bulkhead: Or maybe she's really a robot.
  Bumblebee: Or maybe Sumdac found her in a cabbage patch.
  Bulkhead: Or that stork thing.