More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2
Title card via TFWiki, fan-archive fair use
The Decepticons convert Earth's resources into energon cubes while the newly-roused Autobots, aided by Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky, scramble to stop the theft.
The fire at the off-shore oil rig continues to grow. Poor Huffer is caught in some girders, but is freed by Brawn. Not so easy to extricate are the humans Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky. As Optimus Prime grapples with the debris trapping the workers, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack put out the fire. Rescued by Prime, Spike and Sparkplug introduce themselves to the Autobots, offering their terrestrial knowledge to help them.
Their newfound human friends return with the Autobots to their headquarters. As Spike explores the Ark, he finds a small cassette player and brings it in with him, setting it aside. Little does he realize he has brought Soundwave into Autobot Headquarters. Soundwave and his minion Ravage begin using Teletraan I to locate Earth's most plentiful energy resources. Meanwhile, Spike enjoys a tour of the headquarters and some sunset joyriding with Hound. Returning to the base, Spike spots Soundwave's intrusion and sounds the alarm. Soundwave escapes, but the Autobots catch Ravage, thanks to Gears' infrared light.
Soundwave briefs Megatron on his findings. Megatron decides to attack Sherman Dam, causing a tidal wave to increase the dam's output. The next day, the Decepticons arrive at the dam. Rumble dives into the river and activates his piledrivers to whip the river into dangerous rapids. The energy output is detected by Teletraan I, and the Autobots rush there to stop the Decepticons.
With the river at its peak, the Decepticons begin producing energon cubes. The Autobots arrive, and a battle ensues. Hound dives into the river to stop Rumble's quaking, and the two scuffle in the depths, with the Autobot coming off worse. Ironhide and Bumblebee help divert the course of the river to save a nearby neighborhood from being flooded. Megatron and Optimus Prime duel with energy melee weapons atop Sherman Dam while exchanging insults. Megatron knocks Prime into the rapids (the latter was distracted by Spike's shouts for help) and he and his Decepticons escape with their spoils.
Jazz helps pull Prime from the river. The Autobots regroup and vow to stop the Decepticons as they continue their activities across the land... but apparently don't do a very good job of it at all. The space cruiser they are developing is almost complete, and they are one more energy raid away from having enough fuel to return to Cybertron. Unfortunately, the impudent Starscream feels the need to test some of the energon cubes. His wasteful experimenting forces the Decepticons to now make two trips. Their first destination, the ruby crystal mines of Burma. These plans are overheard by Trailbreaker, Spike and Sparkplug, who are eavesdropping on the Decepticons.
As Trailbreaker returns to Autobot headquarters to relay the news, the trio are attacked by a pair of generic Seekers. Sparkplug radios for help, which comes in the form of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Sunstreaker uses a vehicle mode cannon to give one of the Seekers a small scratch on its wing, prompting the two jets to retreat.
The Decepticons are soon in Burma, pulling energetic rubies from the Earth's crust. The Autobots wait for them outside the mine. Wheeljack has developed a powerful and compact explosive. Bumblebee and Sparkplug volunteer to plant the charge in the mine. They do so, but are caught by Thundercracker and Skywarp as they make their escape.
Concerned that Sparkplug and Bumblebee haven't returned, Optimus Prime drives up the mine's entrance and dispatches Roller into the mine. The explosive detonates, and the blast knocks Prime off his wheels, sending him tumbling down the mountainside.
—Cliffjumper complimenting Mirage after he helped fight off Skywarp and Thundercracker
—Optimus Prime and Megatron banter while fighting on top of Sherman Dam
—Optimus Prime insults Megatron during their battle
—Starscream and Megatron, foreshadowing several repetitive scenes in the future
—Skywarp and Thundercracker on capturing Bumblebee. Not seen: Bumblebee's humiliated weeping.
- Deleted scenes from the original script to this episode include Spike and Jazz tapping Teletraan I into "the Emergency Alert System" (thirteen years before the real world system of that name would exist), leading to it detecting the trouble at Sherman Dam; Trailbreaker covering Ironhide as the older 'bot uses his adhesives to seal the cracks in the dam; the two nameless Decepticon jets appearing in robot mode, standing guard at the Decepticon base, where they spot Trailbreaker and the Witwickys driving by and decide to pursue them; and Bumblebee and Sparkplug facing two Decepticon guards at the mine entrance, who Bumblebee paralyzes with a stun ray from his headlights. Other differences include Bumblebee teaming up with Wheeljack, rather than Ironhide, to carve the trenches that break up the raging river; in accordance, Wheeljack's alternate mode is described as a "van", which, coupled with several other awkward or incorrect alternate mode descriptions in the "More than Meets the Eye" scripts, suggests that complete finalized details on the Transformers' alternate modes hadn't been provided to the writer yet.
- The dam sequence was adapted for the UK comic story "Decepticon Dam-Busters!" in issues #29-30, and also released as a set of View-Master reels. The weapons used by Prime and Megatron would be immortalized in toy form several times, and even get a bit of an homage in the live-action movies, where Prime thrice wields orange-glowing bladed energy weapons in all three films, including an axe, while Megatron uses a flail in the first film.
- Much of the character animation in this episode is pleasingly fluid, with some rather dynamic transformations. Decepticons in particular do lots of flips as they transform.
- Bumblebee's mission is hilarious. He transforms to car mode, drives about twenty feet, returns to robot mode, stands outside the mine and says "Come on, let's go inside." Well, what else were you planning there, 'Bee?
- Gadgets and powers: Brawn uses a retractable welding tip to cut Huffer free. This same hooked welding tip seems to be fairly standard Autobot equipment, showing up in many future episodes, attached to many different 'bots.
- Trailbreaker's "force shield" is fired from a three-pronged wrist-gun.
Screencaps via TFWiki (Teletraan I), used under fan-archive fair use.