TMNT returned this week after a short break with a less than spectacular episode. As always there were some great moments but as a whole this weeks offering just didn't stand up. The Krang and Shredder dynamic continues to be interesting however, and were able to move their plot along, including a pretty big step forward during the final scene.
This weeks story started out like any good Turtles episode should, with the 4 brothers taking down the foot clan quickly and efficiently (“This is not a video game!” “Hey a coin”). Infact we quickly learn that the turtles have been doing so well against the Foot that they are running out of new recruits. This leads us into the unfavorable part of this weeks episode, and its namesake, the return of the Pulverizer, who has joined the Foot in an effort to become a better ninja (thanks for the tip Donnie). As an aside, I enjoyed learning how the Foot recruited. Which is apparently through Chris Bradford dojos. Now, I love the shows humour and lighthearted take on the turtles, and I don't begrudge the show runners from putting in a few goofy characters from time to time. However, the Pulverizer (or Timothy as we learned this week) is easily the most annoying character on the show and the whole time I was watching this I just wished for nothing but bad things to happen to him (I know, I know! but hes just that annoying!) Which in the case of this episode, something bad actually did happen to him. But i'll touch more on that later.
"so even a comic book can be a weapon?"
As the story continued and we learned of Shredders plan to steal the Krang’s mutagen to create a better army of ninjas, we also got the "Master Splinter lesson of the week": Don't become complacent and learn to adapt (although Splinter did seem awfully angry for no apparent reason). Which lead to the boys having to trade weapons. Watching Donnie try to put the two Sais together like a staff was great and Mikey’s impression of Leo when he was holding his katanas was easily one of the funniest moments of the episode (ya that's why were laughing, cuz you don't sound like that). However when they head back out to take on the Foot, this time without their usual weapons, the slapstick starts and in my opinion just wasn't as entertaining as I expected it to be. Fortunately the turtles quickly switch back to their usual weapons and dispatch the Foot with ease. Unfortunately for them however Splinter wasn't too pleased with this and revoked their weapons altogether. In my opinion, this to me seemed like less of a big deal as they made it seem, for one simple reason: the turtles don't really use their weapons very often anyway (for understandable reasons, its a kids show. They aren't going to show people getting cut in half). So when the final showdown happens and Donnie is using a broom as a bo staff while Mikey uses a chain a la his nunchucks, Master Splinters lesson seemed to have been lost on them. Although I have to say watching Leo take down the Foot with a lead pipe was very funny.
"do you think he enjoys his new state of being?"
But the moment that stood out to me the most in this episode was when the Pulverizer/ Timothy was getting mutated. As I said earlier I was hoping for bad things to come to him, but when he started yelling “It burns!” I couldn't help but feel bad for him (also that was pretty dark for a kids show).
The big shakeup during the final scene when the Krang and Shredder team up to destroy the turtles should lead to some exciting new adventures for the boys. Hopefully ones a bit more entertaining than this weeks.
A few side notes:
- Those bikes the Foot were using were BA
- Loved seeing Raph’s head disappear into his shell and Mikey's reaction to it.
