Official Ep Discussion #13 "I, Monster"

[kzekedaurus]

I'm also glad they brought back Dr. Falco and merged his character with the Rat King. A very moody and suspenseful episode, especially with the Rat King trying to tempt Master Splinter. Good set up, where the training sequence reveals Splinter's fears of losing his sons.

I also liked the brief scene where Mikey is admiring the daytime; his optimism and appreciation for things like that is a side that's always nice to see.

[CyberCubed]

Great episode all around, but the part that struck me the most was Splinter going at April with the katana. That was...intense, for this show.

Shows that Nick is willing to put kids into mortal danger like that in this show, and that was awesome. I'm actually surprised they were willing to show a teenage girl almost being slashed up with a sword.

Rat King in general is awesome, he has a better origin here than he ever did before too. Especially his crappy Mirage origin.

[FoxZerro]

This episode was amazing, freaking perfect. Talk about an amazing opening sequence, and making the Rat King be a villian they had already fought instead of just another random bad guy stalking around the city was not only a brave move but a smart one. The worst thing about cartoons in the 80's was that lack of continuity. Having Falco come back is a great way to continue strengthening the world of the new Ninja Turtles.

The whole fighting within Splinters mind was very City at War, I loved the cerebral nature of the episode, and the question of lost humanity was fantastic. One of my big qualms with Splinter originally being Hamato Yoshi is that I felt it ruins that great drama that occurred when Splinter had to commit cannibalism to survive in City at War. Congratulations Nickelodeon for finding a way to prove me wrong.

Best little easter egg was Mikey saying he would have called him Verminator, as I am a huge fan of Verminator X and love even the smallest of shour outs to the character.

I also really love the continual growth of the Mikey and Raph brother relationship. Mikey calling exactly how Raph was going to insult him and then turning around and insulting him was very familial and I love when they have moments like that.

Overall I am happy with this as a return for the Turtles and am now even more amped for next week

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Does it need to be said for the millionth time that the show doesn't take place in Manhattan and areas like Brooklyn and the Bronx are actually quite empty at night?

Might as well if we keep telling people about it then eventually its going to sink in.

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

Does it need to be said for the millionth time that the show doesn't take place in Manhattan and areas like Brooklyn and the Bronx are actually quite empty at night?

Knew you'd reply. Can't help yourself can you? You act like brooklyn is a ghost town which it is not. I am also talking about DAYTIME scenes, pay attention.

I am going to shut you down once and for all on this argument. Type in brooklyn youtube, here's the first vid. Very little research needed. Looks pretty busy to me -- even at night. Imagine that. A place with lots of people where they are actually seen.

*corrected video :p*

[Jephael]

That was a great episode! I cracked up at the part where the blade at the end of Donatello's bo staff popped out inches from Splinter's face and they all freaked out. I also liked it when Michelangelo was trying to come up with nicknames for the Rat King and he mentioned Verminator from the Archie comics. That had to be a reference!

BTW, did anybody else get the urge to brush their teeth whenever we got an extreme close-up of Rat King's mouth?

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

Knew you'd reply. Can't help yourself can you? You act like brooklyn is a ghost town which it is not. I am also talking about DAYTIME scenes, pay attention.

I am going to shut you down once and for all on this argument. Type in brooklyn youtube, here's the first vid. Very little research needed. Looks pretty busy to me -- even at night. Imagine that. A place with lots of people where they are actually seen.

The Projects? Where people are always skeezing about anyway? One or two bums and/or crackheads doesn't really count as busy. It's fine during
the day and they showed a bunch of people in this episode in the beginning so what's the issue?

Brooklyn, The Bronx and other places are nearly completely empty in the deep night. I was referring to the fact that people here seem to think the show takes place in NYC and complain about the streets being empty in the night scenes.

Don't try to educate me using a youtube video when I lived there for 20 years.

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by The Stryker

The Projects? Where people are always skeezing about anyway?

Brooklyn, The Bronx and other places are nearly completely empty in the deep night. I was referring to the fact that people here seem to think the show takes place in NYC and complain about the streets being empty in the night scenes.

Don't try to educate me using a youtube video when I lived there for 20 years.

Maybe you should leave the house more. I live in SF, CA with a population density far less than brooklyn and yet when I go outside, any time of day, I see a lot of people. And yet even so, by some dark magic if the 2012 series took place in SF I would still notice how empty it looks. Get mad

The point still stands the show feels very 'empty' of any inhabitants and I think the show is making progress in that and I am happy about it. There were a lot of random citizens shown and It makes the world feel more real to me, something a lot of CGI shows sometimes are lacking -- they feel a lot like what they are, computer generated environments, a bit cold, etc., so anything they can do is a help.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

Maybe you should leave the house more. I live in SF, CA with a population density far less than brooklyn and yet when I go outside, any time of day, I see a lot of people. Get mad

The point still stands the show feels very 'empty' of any inhabitants and I think the show is making progress in that and I am happy about it.

They did show a couple of people in the opening and it was a daytime sequence. They obviously can't show a ton of people bustling about for obvious reasons but it was there this week.

It would still make no sense to have a ton of people running around in the dead of night in those areas. It's not about getting 'mad' (Which I don't get
) it's about how it really is. For a few years I was driving back from work at all hours of the night. Maybe 2 people outside for every 3 or 4 blocks max unless you're going through knickerbocker which is just loaded with puerto ricans that don't know when to go to bed apparently.

The Bronx is especially dead mostly because the only people out at night are drug dealers. Plus, you know...people like to sleep.

(Nothing against my PR brothers and sisters obviously. Even though I'll never understand late night domino tournaments.)

[ctt4lfecw]

Best episode of the series so far!!! Amazing!

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by ctt4lfecw

Best episode of the series so far!!! Amazing!

I'm not quite sure where to rank it just yet but it is up there. They are kicking off the 2nd block of season 1 really well.

[Coola Yagami]

http://markandpaigerodriguez.blogspo...i-monster.html finally got to review this the same day it aired. Airing twice gave me enough time to make sure I didn't miss details.

[Desslok]

Originally Posted by Zulithe

The point still stands the show feels very 'empty' of any inhabitants and I think the show is making progress in that and I am happy about it. There were a lot of random citizens shown and It makes the world feel more real to me, something a lot of CGI shows sometimes are lacking -- they feel a lot like what they are, computer generated environments, a bit cold, etc., so anything they can do is a help.

This same problem plagued the "Clone Wars" series when it first started, and I think it's the way it is with most CGI shows. However, as the show goes on and they build more character models they'll be able to do more. The environments and visuals on "Clone Wars" have improved drastically since it started and I would fully expect this show to do the same.

[Raph's Girl]

Awesome awesome ep!! Rat King is scary as all heck but those rats were adorable. Why did they all have ripped up ears tho? That was kinda odd.

It was way cool to see Splinter in action!

[Vivi]

Not bad, a little predictable. I liked the location of the final battle scene, but the fight did not seem to have the right level of tension, which when fighting your father should seem more (?). The rats were pretty cute, possibly too cute. I wish they hadn't shown the Rat King's eyes in the teasers though, 'cause that would have been a nice little reveal.

[NinjaMan]

Wow what a return episode! Splinter is so freaking awesome! I really want to see him and Shredder fight. And. Rat King was pretty creepy. I was surprised, my 3 year old wasn't scared by him at all. Cool to see Leo do pretty well against Splinter but they still aren't on his level or close to it. Love the whole father/son relationship.

[Turtle-X]

man, creepy new Rat King is creepy.

[demonsweat]

@chrisdude
When that white rat climbed up on the Rat King's shoulder? First thing I thought of too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnWe0iOXMcA

This episode was great! I love the new Rat King. But Splinter stole the show on this one. God, the fighting is just so satisfying in this show. Splinter is so badass... I really do think this is my favorite version of him to date.

On a side note - I swear I saw a fishbowl on Splinter's shelf with a palm tree sticking out of it. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Anyone else catch that?

[Bauer536]

Just got to say, another solid episode.

I don't think anyone has really pointed this out, but I saw this as a Splinter AND Leonardo centric episode. Think about it. Splinter is cursed by the Rat King, and we get to see him in action. Leonardo is the one who punches his father during training (even though he hesitated), AND is also the one who saves his father from being cursed. Both played a huge role in this episode, and I think we need to give them credit.

Two thumbs up for Leo and Splinter!

[Cure]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

But I guess this episode really wasn't a "Part 2" of the Leatherhead episode; which means that episode really did have a weird ending.

Originally Posted by Machias Banshee

The way it ended, I'm thinking the episodes were put out of order. It's too odd of an ending to stop like that, there Has to be more to it.

I don't get why you guys thought that was a cliffhanger. It didn't say "to be continued" (which the series used for the first episode) and everything got wrapped up. It's not hard to get.

Anyway, awesome episode.

[Zulithe]

Originally Posted by Bauer536

Just got to say, another solid episode.

I don't think anyone has really pointed this out, but I saw this as a Splinter AND Leonardo centric episode. Think about it. Splinter is cursed by the Rat King, and we get to see him in action. Leonardo is the one who punches his father during training (even though he hesitated), AND is also the one who saves his father from being cursed. Both played a huge role in this episode, and I think we need to give them credit.

Two thumbs up for Leo and Splinter!

I'm right there with you. I love seeing Leo shine. And I love his attitude:

Mikey: Leo!
Raph: Not bad!
Don: Dude I can't believe you actually tagged Sensei! That was epic!
Mikey: The hand that punched splinter! You know you can never wash this again?
Leo: I gotta say guys, it was all teamwork! We are definitely getting better.

Only a good leader would respond this way. Leo is great.