Think Jurassic Park gone Metal
A little extra muscle in the Autobot ranks would certainly be welcome. Coincidentally, nearby dinosaur fossils provide the necessary means. Soon enough, Wheeljack unveils Grimlock, Slag and Sludge. Their poor intelligence and great strength make for an uncomfortable combination. Optimus sees all of this as a mistake shutting down the Dinobots before they can harm themselves or anyone else. However, a sudden and devastating Decepticon attack with Megatron using a new and powerful weapon, prompts reconsidering this policy.- Bot Bites Bot: Skywarp dives at Grimlock in jet mode, firing his heat seeking missles. Grimlock's response is to catch Skywarp's wing in his jaws as the Decepticon passes too closely, bringing him to a dead stop, then flings him away with a flick of his head, sending him crashing into Soundwave.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once the Dinobots arrives, it became more of a slaughter for the Decepticons.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Optimus orders the sentient Dinobots to what amounts to being Buried Alive for the cruel act of showcasing free will, despite the fact they were literally born yesterday and would have the minds and knowledge of newborns. This seems rather cruel for a character who nowadays is almost always portrayed as an All-Loving Hero whose motto is literally "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings".
- Foe-Tossing Charge: Grimlock sends Skywarp flying.
- Foreshadowing: Grimlock mentions to the Dinobots that they'll follow the Autobots' orders for now. This leads up to future episodes where they rebelled against the Autobots time to time.
- Gone Horribly Right:...once they are activated, the Dinobots went on a rampage inside the Ark because Wheeljack and Ratchet have yet to give them brains to function properly and control their beastial instincts.
- Out-of-Character Moment: As mentioned under Early-Installment Weirdness, Optimus's order to seal away the sentient Dinobots for the crime of having free will is strange to see. Even when they are accepted later, it's less because of "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" and more "They make my job easier, so they can stay".
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Two cases in this episode.
- Wheeljack secretly invents new brains for the Dinobots despite Optimus's orders to have them be abandoned.
- After Optimus orders Bumblebee to guard the Ark, the latter heads out to help them.
- Shot at Dawn: Megatron orders his Decepticons to execute the now captured Autobots.
- A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Rumble, whose uses his pile drivers to unleash earthquakes against his enemies gets to feel what's that like on the other end after Sludge stomps one at him. Rumble cries, "No faaaaaaaaaaaair!"
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The plot is kicked off when the Autobots investigate a series of mysterious tremors. Once the dinosaur bones are found, the tremors are completely forgotten about, and we never learn what caused them in the first place. Though it may have been caused by the volcano.
