Prime Target

Out at the Arctic a new Russian jet fighter is out on a test run when suddenly something crashes out of the ice and latches on to it. The pilot ejects as the plane is pulled down and crashes into the water. The next thing we know we see a large castle.
 

Inside the castle there are a number of "trophies", including the jet, which have been claimed by the big game hunter Lord Chumley. Chumley tells his servant Dinsmoore that his collection is almost complete, and that he just has one more game to catch before he can stop. And his final target is Autobot leader Optimus Prime.
 

Tracks and Bumblebee are out and about when they see a news report on the TV about how Russia is blaming the USA for stealing their fighter jet. Bumblebee then sees Blitzwing and Astrotrain behind them and wonders if the Decepticons had something to do with this so the two Autobots give chase and get their enemies cornered, but when Tracks tries to grab Blitzwing, he vanishes into thin air. Turns out they were chasing holograms!
 

They then see a truck which starts to move and Tracks get himself knocked out when something latches onto him and starts to zap his power. Bumblebee is also captured and the ones behind the whole thing are Chumley and Dinsmoore who have started their plan to get Optimus Prime.
 

At Autobot HQ, several Autobots are watching their favourite soap, As the Kitchen Sinks, when a special news bulletin appears with an update about the tensions between the USA and Russia over the missing jet. The Autobots wonder if the Decepticons could be behind it but Prime doesn't think it could be their work and instead tells everyone to transform and roll out as they need to find Tracks and Bumblebee, who haven't reported in for a while. However it seems someone is after the Autobots as many start to get captured in wacky ways.


 

This is still the work of Chumley and Dinsmoore, and after learning that several Autobots are now missing Optimus Prime tells everyone to return to base. There he explains to the others that he doesn't have a clue about what is going on but Warpath suggests they just go out and beat up some Decepticons. Cosmos then reports in saying that he has found where the missing Autobots are, and they have been wired to traps. However...
 

...Lord Chumley interrupts and after introducing himself, he issues a challenge to Prime for him to rescue his friends. Prime accepts and heads out by himself to the destination Chumley has given, telling the other Autobots that he must go by himself. Meanwhile Megatron has somehow gotten a hold about what Chumley is doing and after saying that for a flesh creature, this guy is brilliant, he tells the triple changers to go and help him destroy Prime.
 

Meanwhile Prime arrives outside Chumley's castle, and wants to know where the Lord himself is. But Chumley has set up a number of obstacles in his arena, the first being some dragon creature which immediately attacks Prime whilst the two humans watch. Chumley is amazed by Prime's combat skills as despite being bitten twice the Autobot manages to knock the dragon off a bridge and get it to go on a long drop into the water below.
 

Astrotrain and Blitzwing arrive but stay hidden as Chumley and Dinsmoore continue to watch Prime. The Autobot leader comes across a girl chained to some kind of trap but after assessing the situation Prime simply ignores her and walks off. The two Decepticons then approach the girl wondering why Prime didn't save her but Blitzwing gets irritated with her crying and so kicks her, but she disappears and the trap is sprung.
 

The trap spays some kind of green goo-net all over him which makes him fall down. Astrotrain tries to shoot it off but it has no effect, so he tells him to stay there whilst he goes to the castle to try and find something to free him with. Chumley sees this, recognises the two new robots as Decepticons and is angry because he thinks that they'll ruin his hunt.
 

The next contraption Chumley uses to take on Prime is a robot scorpion which wastes no time in pinning him down and trying to tear him apart. As Prime is busy trying to fend off the monster, Astrotrain appears and shoots him in the back. Chumley is annoyed about this as he didn't want any help but Astrotrain explains that the Decepticons want to assist in the destruction of Prime.
 

However Chumley is having none of that and knocks out Astrotrain, saying that he wanted to defeat Optimus Prime by himself. The two Decepticons are locked up and then Chumley goes to check on the captured Autobots - Grapple demands to be released along with everyone else but of course this request is denied. However, Bumblebee manages to send out a message to Optimus, and gives him a homing signal.
 

Optimus, who had been left out in the open for some reason, gets up and receives the signal and moves on inside the castle. Chumley sees that his prey is still alive and so activates more obstacles, including a giant robot spider and a room that spins around in a circle, but Optimus manages to overcome both of these through methods of destruction.
 

Prime then smashes through a wall and Dinsmoore sees that the game is up so he runs off to hide in a tank. Chumley releases the Decepticons and tells them to go and attack Prime but they'd much rather beat him up instead and attempt to do so until they see that Prime has freed all of his fellow Autobots and they run in guns blazing.
 

Seeing that they are outnumbered, the Decepticons transform and retreat but Prime says not to bother going after them as he has what he really wants here. Soon, Chumley is tied up and sent to Russia on top of the missing jet fighter as the world sees who it was that really stole the aircraft, meaning that a war between Russia and America will not happen. The news reporters thank Optimus Prime and the Autobots for their work as the team heads back to base.

The squad of Autobots seen running in with Prime at the end of the episode consists of Prowl, Bluestreak, Wheeljack, Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz and Bumblebee. The thing is, the first five of these weren't even captured in the first place!

Dinsmoore seemed to get away with his evil doings as he isn't seen again after hiding in the tank.