"How're you healing?"
"Arm's as good as new, thanks to you."
"That wasn't what I meant."
"Let's just say I have a much better appreciation for what you went through back in the day and why you don't wanna remember it."
"It's not that I don't want to remember. I have to remember… for those who can't."
— Ratchet and Optimus Prime
While the Autobots encounter a mysterious muscle car creating havoc in Detroit, Ratchet keeps flashing back to his tour of duty in the Great War.
Tropes:
- And This Is for...: "This one's for Arcee."
- Answer Cut: Ratchet is disgusted by a spare parts car shop, asking who would be crass enough to go for such a deal. Cue Bumblebee showing off his new horn.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Albeit unintentionally after the EMP is overloaded, but it still hits Ratchet where it hurts.Ratchet: You... you all right, Arcee?
Arcee: Who's Arcee? Where are we? What's going on? Do I know you? - Badass in Distress: Optimus Prime is a skilled fighter and warrior, no question. But Lockdown has made a career out of fighting, capturing, and dismembering dangerous warriors. He Curb Stomps Prime with Ratchet's EMP generator and kidnaps him. Optimus spends a good chunk of the episode Strapped to an Operating Table with his axe stolen and his grapplers removed.
- Berserk Button: In addition to what happened to Arcee, Ratchet is outraged over Lockdown using a medical tool as a means to incapacitate his targets and harvest body parts.
- Big "NO!":
- Ratchet when Lockdown gets away with Optimus.
- While walking through the corridor, Ratchet recalls screaming this after what happened to Arcee.
- Lockdown, after Ratchet uses the EMP on his ship's computer system, leaving Lockdown stranded on Earth.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the past, though Ratchet defeated Lockdown and was able to keep Arcee's codes safe, it comes at the cost of losing his EMP generator to Lockdown and wiping Arcee's memories. In the present, Ratchet defeats Lockdown, gets his EMP generator back, and saves Optimus, and though the past can't be changed, Ratchet accepts his past and confides in it to Optimus.
- Bounty Hunter: Lockdown is a bounty hunter who is neither Autobot nor Decepticon but likes to work for the latter faction in capturing Autobots as a hired job.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Averted. Though he doesn't know Ratchet by name, Lockdown immediately recognizes him as the original owner of the EMP generator. He says that's the same for all his other trophies.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Ratchet hesitates joining the others in confronting Lockdown, due to his trauma. He shows up, anyway, after Prowl has been incapacitated.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Lockdown is an experienced bounty hunter going up against a bunch of 'bots who, until very recently, spent most of their time fixing space bridges. The only one who stands a chance against him (after he captures Optimus) is Prowl, and even then it's barely a fair fight.
- Dark Reprise: As Ratchet begins telling Optimus of his experiences, a somber version of the show's theme song is heard.
- Darker and Edgier: A bittersweet tale that deals with trauma suffered in war.
- A Day in the Limelight: This is the first episode to focus on Ratchet, and reveals both how he got his dented visor and why he doesn't like to talk about his days in the war.
- Did You Actually Believe...?: Ratchet mocks Lockdown for never once considering that the EMP wouldn't work on its original owner.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Bumblebee's new horn honks a portion of the theme tune (specifically the "Ro-bots in dis-guise!" part).
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ratchet's behavior during this episode (having flashbacks, freezing up when coming in contact with triggers, etc) is similar to symptoms seen in those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Upon meeting in vehicle mode, Optimus tries to coerce Lockdown to pull over using this phrase. It doesn't work.
- Expy: Due to his love of hunting down targets and taking their most impressive modifications for himself, Lockdown could be considered an expy of the Predator from the franchise of the same name.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: According to Lockdown, Optimus has developed a reputation among Decepticons as the one who killed Megatron and thus makes for quite a hefty bounty. Optimus attempts to clarify that it was Starscream who planted the bomb, but Lockdown doesn't care to hear the details, only wanting to turn over Optimus to the Decepticons to claim the bounty.
- A Fate Worse Than Death: Being a show aimed more towards children, the creators couldn't show a character dying on screen (not to mention one as well-known to fans as Arcee), so they instead had her lose her memory, which is treated as a Deathof Personality and haunts Ratchet for eons.
- Friendship Moment: Optimus offers to be the one Ratchet can tell his experiences to. Ratchet isn't willing, until the final scene.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Ratchet pins Lockdown to the floor with his own display of trophies.
- I Am the Noun: "I am the vehicle."
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: "I'm a medi-bot, not a field commander!"
- Innocuously Important Episode:
- Because Lockdown was in communication with Blitzwing and confirmed that Optimus is there, Blitzwing and Lugnut will eventually be heading to Earth to settle things themselves.
- The access codes that Arcee is carrying will retroactively be revealed to be part of Project: Omega and a major component of the Autobots' victory over the Decepticons in the war.
- It's Personal: Ratchet is disgusted at Lockdown both for what happened to Arcee and for using a medical tool as a weapon to hurt others.
- The Man Behind the Man: Blitzwing put out a bounty on Optimus and has promised Lockdown major upgrades for handing him over.
- My God, What Have I Done?: As Arcee asks him who she is and what's going on, Ratchet has this look on his face.
- My Greatest Failure: Arcee's memories being wiped is one for Ratchet.
- No-Sell: The EMP is useless against Ratchet because it was originally designed for him. Ratchet exploits this to get the better of Lockdown.
- No Sympathy: When Lockdown says he wants relief for his pain, Ratchet's tone makes it clear he doesn't feel the least bit sorry for him.
- Oh, Crap!: This is Ratchet's reaction to seeing the muscle car use his EMP generator to cause the blackouts, leading Ratchet to realize that the car is Lockdown.
- Only in It for the Money: Lockdown couldn't care less if Optimus actually killed Megatron or not; he just knows bringing him in means a very sizable payment.
- Papa Wolf: Lockdown defeats all of the younger members of the team in combat, which only pisses off Ratchet even more.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: After incapacitating Lockdown, Ratchet recovers the stolen grappling hook upgrade by ripping it out of his wrist, all the while noting he lacks the means to do so painlessly. When Lockdown later tries a final sneak attack, Ratchet causes him even more pain and disables his ship's computer, causing a crash.
- Psycho for Hire: Although Lockdown is not a Decepticon, the fact that he still captures Autobots for the Decepticons as a hired job and even harvests the body parts of Cybertronians to use for himself or keep as hunting trophies still makes him a vile enemy to face.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Whilst taking back his EMP from Lockdown after all these years, Ratchet calls out Lockdown on how he abused and weaponized what was supposed to be a medical tool.
- The Reveal: Ratchet's war wound on his wrist is where his EMP used to come out. We soon learn why that changed.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Blitzwing's Icy and Hothead personalities want to even the score against Optimus for Megatron's supposed death. Random just wants to see the fire truck mode.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Optimus begins to understand why Ratchet doesn't like talking about his war experiences. Reconstructed, as Ratchet explains to Optimus that as unpleasant as his memories of war are, they allow him to understand the horrors of war for "those who can't".
- Ship Tease: In the low-key form of bonding between Ratchet and Arcee while they're on the run.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: None of the goofy human characters are present, making the mood a lot more somber.
- Strapped to an Operating Table: All of Lockdown's victims end up like this; before he hands them over to the Decepticons, he strips them of their personal modifications (which is the Cybertronian equivalent of Organ Theft) to keep as tools and trophies (like what he did with Ratchet's EMP generator and what he tried to do to Optimus' grappling hooks).
- Subtext: Ratchet saying he has to remember for those who can't. Now, what was the fate of Arcee?
- This Cannot Be!: Lockdown's reaction to Ratchet not being shut down.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: The sight of Lockdown triggers these in Ratchet, where he remembers his time during the Great War where he and Arcee were kidnapped by Lockdown.
- Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: Other than Megatron and (arguably) Blackarachnia, Lockdown is one of the darker villains in the series. He kidnaps Cybertronians (Autobot and Decepticon) to hand over for ransom, and cuts off some of their features to keep as tools or trophies (like he did to Ratchet's EMP generator and (temporarily) Optimus' grappler). The episode doesn't shy away from the fact that this would be a traumatizing experience for anyone, even though Ratchet and Optimus got away in time.
- Villainous Face Hold: Lockdown does this to Optimus Prime when he wakes up on board his ship.
- Villain Respect: Lockdown towards Prowl.Lockdown: Almost forgot about you. I'm impressed. It's been eons since the last time anyone got the drop on me.
Prowl: Next time will be much sooner. - Villains Want Mercy: When Ratchet has Lockdown pinned and has just violently taken Optimus' stolen grapplers back from the bounty-hunter, Lockdown has the audacity to beg Ratchet to use his stolen EMP generator to ease Lockdown's pain, despite all the suffering that Lockdown has remorselessly caused Ratchet. The way the scene cuts from Lockdown's weak pleas to a flashback of him smugly taunting Arcee on his operating table further drives home how unworthy this particular Cybertronian is of a hero's mercy. However, it should be noted, Lockdown's actions the moment Ratchet gets close and his personality generally imply that these pleas might have entirely been a Wounded Gazelle Gambit.
- War Is Hell: Ratchet is clearly suffering the equivalent of PTSD and blames himself for what happened to Arcee. Also, some of the flashback scenes show the scale of the destruction caused by the war.
- We Meet Again: Lockdown, upon recognizing Ratchet and recalling their last encounter.
- Worthy Opponent: Prowl is the only one that can fight Lockdown on even terms and is acknowledged as such. Lockdown even has to resort to the EMP to stop him.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit:
- Ratchet resorts to "playing possum" to get the drop on Lockdown: seemingly knocked out by the EMP and attacking once Lockdown's back is turned. As Ratchet says, the EMP has no effect on the 'bot it was actually designed for.
- Pinned down, Lockdown begs for relief for the pain he's feeling, only to try to hit Ratchet with a whip. However, Ratchet wasn't taken off guard and proceeded to inflict even more pain on Lockdown in response.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: The other Autobots initially think they're just dealing with an out of control, human driver in a muscle car.Optimus: Now, please, step out of the vehicle, sir.
Lockdown: Just one problem. [transforms] I am the vehicle. - Your Worst Memory: His failure to get Arcee out with her memories intact is this for Ratchet.
