Changing Gears
Title card via TFWiki, fan-archive fair use
The perpetually grumpy Gears has his personality circuit stolen by the Decepticons, and the Autobots must get it back.
The Decepticons attack humans working in a gold mine and take them prisoner. Just as Starscream is about to blast a human calling for help on a radio, Megatron backhands him, saying that he wants the human to bring the Autobots.
At the Ark, Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to assemble at once, which they do with lots of hustle. The only exception is Gears, who complains the whole way. Prime orders his troops to head out to the mine to engage their enemies.
A battle ensues when they arrive, but Megatron lets the miners get in the way. Unwilling to endanger humans, Prime orders the Autobots to hold their fire. Megatron uses this chance to get the drop on the Autobots, then takes Gears captive for purposes unknown and retreats.
In Africa, Megatron has Starscream zap Gears with the null-ray, then takes out a special circuit from Gears' body. The Decepticon leader explains that this circuit is the final component he needs for his energy-absorbing Solar Needle, a solar collector which his Decepticons have constructed to harness energy from the heart of the Sun. With the circuit in place in the needle, the device activates and causes world-wide earthquakes. Unbeknownst to Megatron, the Solar Needle is flawed, causing a dangerous instability within the core of the Sun.
The effect on Gears is profound as well. The removal of this component from Gears corrupts his personality, turning him from a surly grump into a happy-go-lucky, ultra-polite guy who'll do absolutely anything for anyone. This allows Megatron to manipulate and control him. Mentally, Gears still knows the Decepticons are evil and doesn't want to help them, but he's been rendered so "nice" that he can't refuse any request.
The Autobots blast through the jungle and start firing at the Solar Needle, but it's protected by a force field. Prime concocts a dangerous plan to circumvent the field by jumping through the hole at the top where the Sun's energy enters. Ratchet and Ironhide say it's too dangerous, but Cliffjumper drives past them, makes the attempt and shatters the force field.
The 'Bots battle. Megatron gets the drop on Prime and orders the Autobots to surrender or he'll shoot their leader. Prime orders them to fight on, but the Autobots capitulate. Prime asks for one last request, which Megatron allows. The chief Autobot turns and asks Gears to do him a favor now. Gears obliges and shoots a component of the needle. Inspired by his change of heart, the Autobots fight back against the 'Cons, who retreat.
Prime orders Wheeljack and Ratchet to deactivate the device, but they argue over the correct solution. Out of time and with the Sun about to explode, Optimus just grabs at a wire inside the device and pulls. The needle shuts down and the Sun returns to normal.
—Cranky, gutsy Gears
—That's probably a safe bet, Optimus Prime
—Cheery, nice Gears
—Starscream refuses to be distracted by Gears warning of an impending charge from Bumblebee.
—Gears, piling on the flattery.
- This episode features a ton of recycled shots: Megatron slapping Starscream; the Autobots leaving HQ; Megatron aiming his cannon at Prime (complete with a pan over to the Autobots); the unstable sun; Megatron & co. gaping at the Solar Needle. Soundwave ejecting Laserbeak/Ravage is used at least four times, and the shot is copied almost line-for-line from "Transport to Oblivion". And of course, there's the ol' stock Optimus Prime transformation sequence.
- Cameo locations: Pisa, Italy; Paris, France; New York City (or rather, Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty).
- As the Autobots descend the cliffside to fight the Decepticons, Gears slides down on his butt, arms up in the air.
- When Megatron throws Optimus into the energy beam, Prime's ion blaster disintegrates (in a blink-and-you-miss-it bit of animation) and he remains weaponless for the rest of the episode. Wow, chalk one up for continuity.
- In another nice bit of continuity, the Solar Needle sphere that nearly crushes Wheeljack is still laying there broken when the Autobots prepare to blow up the Needle.
- Ratchet has the moves in this episode. First he Bruce-Lee-kicks Thundercracker. Then he kicks a boulder to knock a falling pylon in order to make it miss Wheeljack. While awesome, the latter move totally breaks the laws of physics.
Screencaps via TFWiki (Teletraan I), used under fan-archive fair use.