"Lap of the Gods" episode discussion

[CyberCubed]

So Season 5 finally airs in the U.S. yet there's no discussion thread yet? Anyway even though most of you have already watched this season a while ago, what did you think of the first episode as it aired?

I thought it was a decent introduction episode. Not a whole lot actually happened, but it left me interested for next week.

[ToTheNines]

I hate this episode, it's really boring.

[Drtooth]

Definately showing that bigger things are coming, and a huge pay off is going to take place in the last episode (or second to last). Anyway, I'm going to guess that this is what they were foreshadowing in that episode which name I can't remember. You know the one I'm talking about. Where the lair gets destroyed, and everything escallates to very violent, unresolvable climax, and it turns out it was just a vision or something like that.

I will say I get the "Naruto" complaints now.

[gobo]

After seeing this for only the third time, it's kinda boring. But, it's nice to know it's finally been broadcast.
You know the one I'm talking about. Where the lair gets destroyed, and everything escallates to very violent, unresolvable climax, and it turns out it was just a vision or something like that.
"Bad Day"

[Sage Ninja]

hurray, a new episode discussion after all this time :D It's been so long since I participated in one of these. I just saw Lap of the Gods (I taped since i had to work early on saturday) and I have to say that enjoyed it. Although I think half of my elation was the fact that I was seeing my turtles again restored to the orginal way they where with the same tone and animation style, that I haven't seen before.

Splinter was back to be being commanding and even a bit insolent as well, which I thought was pretty awsome considering how self important the tribunal members seemed. And speaking of the tribunal this was really the first time I was able to get to see them. They where...interesting. I liked their character designs and their powers, and how they each represented a skill/disipline of ninjitsu. You get to see the tribunal a bit more and learn more of their nuances, but over-all they seem pretty cool. I did however get a little annoyed with their constant insults of how pathatic the turtles and the other acolytes where and how they "don't have any clue about how great the evil is they are facing--you're worthless". So I was rather happy that Splinter came in unanounced and was like "that is because you haven't told them anything, you assholes". And ooh, you could tell Splinter wasn't happy with the tribunal taking his sons, and he didn't care if they knew it. The fact that Splinter was like "screw you! Handle it your self--I'm taking my kids home", when the ancient one (Yoshi's father) was all scared and sheepish about being there, said alot about how intimidating the tribunal are. And Splinter didn't care! Go Splinter! :D

You don't get to know more about the acolytes yet in this episode or their personalites, which I was a little dissapointed at, I really hope we get to see more of them, as it is they just seemed like they where making up the numbers. :( I enjoyed the Libary scene, since it was like Donatello acted like a kid in a candy store, and it was nice to see that Donatello figured out the chi summoning thing first.

[Masked Ninja]

I agree that this one was kinda bleh - hinted at better things to come, but still bleh. And I definitely did have a "?!!?Naruto??" moment - surely there was a better way to have the Tribunal summon whatever powers they have?

And the reuse of the "you lose but wait it was just a dream" device was worth an eyeroll. I know why they did it, but changing it up a bit would have been nice, and very possible. Like maybe this time the Turtles could have caught on to what was happening before the Tribunal had to tell them. Leo had trained with the Ancient One recently enough - perhaps he would notice? Or Don as he focused his chi - maybe he could have picked up on the fact that it wasn't real? They can even get to the "oh no defeated" part and then have someone sit up suddenly and say "Hey wait a minute..." and then they can be ticked at the Tribunal for messing with their minds. They already should be peeved at their less-than-encouraging pep talks of "y'all suck."

I do agree 100% on the awesomeness of Splinter, though. Defiant and strong-willed - that's the Sensei I remember and love. You don't mess with his kids and expect to get away with it, even if you are the ninja masters of the universe.

[BubblyShell22]

I really liked the episode a lot. We get to fully meet the Tribunal and see who they truly are. I totally hated how they berated the Turtles and the other Acolytes. I absolutely loved Splinter's entrance and how he basically said, "I don't care what evil is coming, you aren't involving my sons in this." Splinter rocks! You definitely do not want to mess with that rat. Yeah, the "It was just a dream thing" was a little bit cliche, but I still liked it anyway. I wanted to give Leo a hug when he apologized to Raph, thinking it was his fault.

Overall, a pretty good episode. I can't wait for number 3.

[Fugitoid Jones]

Yeah, it was nice to see the Turtles back (I skipped half of Fast Forward, I couldn't get into it), so it had been a while since I had any new Turtles. The episode was ok, I think I'm going to get sick of the anime-knock off elements of the show, and the "it was just a dream" plot device is getting a little tiresome, as it's been done in several episodes already. But overall, I find it much more enjoyable than FF and it is nice to see the NINJA Turtles actually involved in stories that focus more on their NINJA skills.

[Keno]

I enjoyed this episode just because it's nice to see "new" turtles again. does the rest get any better than this, or is this what the rest of the season is like? ~loved~ the splinter entrance, btw

[Sage Ninja]

the fire demon cat was pretty good and it did give a feel of holy crap how are we goinjg to fight this thing, sort of feel even if it was just a dream sequence. And I know that many fans frowned on the "every one is dead and we lost, and then, BAM it only a psychic dream" is a cliche for this series since it has been done before and at this point is probably seen as a cop out, but I actually didn't think it was lame, and I think it added some dramatic emphasis on what the turtles might be up against. You just got at that point the turtles and the acolytes finnaly grasped on what exactly they may be up against, that if just a subdorant of this demon Shredder is so powerful and frightening, than the threat this tengue Shredder is very real.

[BubblyShell22]

I agree with that, SN. I didn't think the dream sequence was lame at all, and it did signify what the Turtles and the Acolytes are facing. Leo said it himself when he said, "We weren't ready." Then he says, "This was a lesson and there will be more to come." It gives a foreshadowing of what the Turtles are gonna have to learn to beat this true evil.

[TerranigmaFreak]

It's not very good. The Ninja Tribunal themselves are hideous. I really can't get over how ugly these guys are.

[Lady Venus]

It was a good but I'm glad I record on a my tape player.

[AquaParade]

Nice to see an episode discussion again :D
Can't even seperate the lost season episodes in my head since I've seen about half of them...and random ones at that. Can't wait for this dvd set now that the episodes are being discussed again.

[Masked Ninja]

tAnd I know that many fans frowned on the "every one is dead and we lost, and then, BAM it only a psychic dream" is a cliche for this series since it has been done before and at this point is probably seen as a cop out, but I actually didn't think it was lame, and I think it added some dramatic emphasis on what the turtles might be up against.I did think it was cliche, but as with most cliches, it wasn't the general idea/plotline that annoyed me, but the execution. There's nothing inherently wrong with cliches, but they need to be handled right to keep 'em fresh. Showing the Turtles/acolytes what they were up against had a legitimate place. The little Leo/Raph moment right before they came back was nice, too. But then they all wake up, sitting in a circle, and say variations of "What the shell just happened?" ...which is pretty much exactly the same way Bad Day ended. Just tweak that ending a little bit and I would have been more satisfied with it.

The Ninja Tribunal themselves are hideous. I really can't get over how ugly these guys are.Unfortunately this is nothing new - the character design on this show has never been that strong. The turtles/some secondary characters have been OK (Splinter took some getting used to), but nothing has been truly impressive. The monsters are usually the worst, and the Tribunal really isn't too great either. My least favorite is the weapons dude, with the trying-to-be-cool-like-anime flowy ribbon things everywhere. Guh.

[Sage Ninja]

I did think it was cliche, but as with most cliches, it wasn't the general idea/plotline that annoyed me, but the execution. There's nothing inherently wrong with cliches, but they need to be handled right to keep 'em fresh. Showing the Turtles/acolytes what they were up against had a legitimate place. The little Leo/Raph moment right before they came back was nice, too. But then they all wake up, sitting in a circle, and say variations of "What the shell just happened?" ...which is pretty much exactly the same way Bad Day ended. Just tweak that ending a little bit and I would have been more satisfied with it.

I guess you have a legitimate point about the whole "waking up in a circle" thing. That has been done a few times and I think some one mentioned that it would have been nice if one of them had, upon finding it it was just the tribunal messing with their heads, would have gotten angry and flipped out on the tribunal. But how would that had been less cliche? In situations where one of the turtles is going to get mad about something and tear some one a new one, it is ushually Raph who gets ticked and starts hurling threats and starts trying to jumm at them just to be held back by the other turtles. To me that would just be a predictable (and typical) reaction to something like this. Unless they used a diffrent turtles to get steamed and angry, like say Donatello for instance. That would have been a shocker to have Donatello get super offended by the mental manipulation and cuss the tribunal out for it.

Unfortunately this is nothing new - the character design on this show has never been that strong. The turtles/some secondary characters have been OK (Splinter took some getting used to), but nothing has been truly impressive. The monsters are usually the worst, and the Tribunal really isn't too great either. My least favorite is the weapons dude, with the trying-to-be-cool-like-anime flowy ribbon things everywhere. Guh.

I didn't think the tribunal looked any more anime-ish than the characters from the battle nexus looked. I mean really they as out landish as the ultimate ninja did in his full get up. Although I agree on the ribbon weapond guy, he looked more like a reject from mardi Gras than a weapons master.:lol:. As far as whether they arte ugly or not...they but I've seen uglier characters in this show. Especially the females. Ugh, almost all the females look a bit on the butch side in 2k3. :|

[Coola Yagami]

Even... April...?

[gobo]

Just by the frame of April's character design, she wasn't undeniably feminine. Some would consider that butch. Not that I agree with that, but there's some reasoning for ya'.

[Sage Ninja]

April isn't butch in the way she looks, dresses or behaves. Actually I've always found April from 2k3 very feminine in her personality and mannerisms. And she is one of the few female characters in the show that don't look like a scrawny guy with boobs. Even though I dislike the prudish librarian bun she keeps her hair in, her hair looks better down. And also I don't find April clothes to be unfeminine eighther. April is the athletic type, and her wearing pants and shirt insead of frilly blouses and skirts or dresses doesn't make her unfeminine, or even a tomboy for that matter. A girl can be a physical person who is athletic with out being a tomboy.

[Masked Ninja]

I think April is pretty good. It pleases me especially that she has the build of an actual woman instead of a superthin preteen wonder. Her bright red hair bugs me, but that's about it.

Sidney was pretty butch though. Or rather, androgynous. She was a woman, but not terribly feminine in appearance. Not particularly ugly, not really standing out, just kinda blah designwise.

And Dr. Abigail Finch from "Monster Hunter" gives me nightmares. :dead:

[Scandia]

Abigail Finn was as butch as can be. Yet they gave her a very feminine name that has no male equivalent.

April has a great balance between masculine and feminine traits. I think all Aprils have. Very good contrast to the prissy Irma, who sometimes bordered on helpless.

Anyhow, this episode is a good bridge episode. The one I really like will be coming up in two weeks hopefully.

[gobo]

And Dr. Abigail Finch from "Monster Hunter" gives me nightmares. :dead:
She was obviously supposed to be like that. Chyna turned down the role. :P

[Revan]

I don't know I thought she was surprisingly hot.

She was a quite capable though. If I remember correctly, she put up a nice fight.

Oh yeah, and Lap of the Gods was an ok ep. I loved how Don tapped into his chi but couldn't quite harness it yet. But the best is still yet to come.