Official Episode Discussion S2 Finale: The Invasion

[Powder]

Somebody on the show wanted to know my thoughts so I figured I'd share my more articulate review with y'all as well.

Well, as far as it being an epic, game-changing series of events is concerned, it definitely delivers. It had my full attention. But to be perfectly honest, I guess you could say I'm a bit biased against it, for selfish reasons, maybe. It kinda felt like season 1's finale, except that everything went wrong for the good guys, & the turtles lost. Kinda felt like retreading old ground, in that respect, you know? Shredder/Splinter brawl, Kraang invasion, mass terror, etc. Don't get me wrong, I completely enjoyed it on an objective level, like, as a two part special, set to lay new ground or bring tensions to a head, yo, it's amazing. But, like, there were soooo many things from earlier episodes that weren't resolved or addressed, I felt, or at the very least, there are a ton of characters without closure. Rather than seal off certain character arcs or whatever, it only seeded more plot threads & things to be concerned about. I guess I'm just used to season cap ends addressing the major points of the stories prior, & this one really serves more as prelude to season 3 than it does the end of season 2, you know what I mean? I understand why things were done that way, given the new stuff is a few mere weeks away. It's just that I wanted season 3 to feel more fresh & new, & I guess I'm worried now that there's too much baggage being carried over into it, & that it won't feel as unique. Timmy is still frozen, Slash & Newtralizer are off somewhere raising hell, Karai's transformation & subsequent disappearance, Xever desperate for his lost humanity, there's a whole assortment of different mutants unaccounted for doing God knows what. I figured since the season was about the outbreak of mutagen, the finale would kinda fix the damage done. I dunno. I think I envisioned it being a team up of all the victims of the ooze rallying together to stop the Kraang, though in hindsight that may have been the predictable way to go... Also I'm very surprised you guys opted to keep Bebop & Rocksteady's mutation for the next season, considering we've seen them in their human forms already. Shredder could use all the help he can get, it seemed only natural that during this time he would want more muscle. I guess I just didn't expect the unhappy ending, not that it's a bad thing (I love the Mirage comics for the fact they're so grim & depressing). Usually with cartoons, turtles especially, things always work out. Caught me off guard that we were left in utter dismay, but I suppose that speaks to the quality of the series, in that it takes risks & often surprises you. & that's a good thing. Irma's twist was so outta left field, never saw that coming. Totally awesome. The nods to Leo's micro-issue of the original comics was great. Absolutely adored seeing the Bode (or was it Bode inspired?) graffiti, & use of Gilbert Gottfried. The pacing was stellar, flowed perfectly. The tension was high, as were emotions, & yet it still had that free flowing humor seamlessly thrown into the madness without feeling forced. So to remove my pre-conceived notions of what it should or could have been, it's most definitely solid work. It does what it's supposed to, ultimately, & that's have you chomping at the bit for season 3. My only real disappointment with what's to come is that we will now likely have even less of Splinter, who I find to be underused as it is (perhaps criminally so, given how wonderful his voice actor's performances are). Super into the whole vision quest concept, though. Dunno if you're into the old school comics, but for those of us who are, there's no better time with the turtles than when they're introspective in Northhampton, so I'm very eager for that.