Official Ep Discussion S4 Ep 12: Evil of Lord Dregg

[aliena]

So, so bad. I cringed when Mona showed up. Not only is she not what I imagined for Raph, the constant kissing and lovey dovey stuff is getting ridiculous. Are they allowed to kiss and talk romantically with each other because she is an alien and Karai and April are not, fully anyway.

It is weird to see how Leo takes Raph's relationship with Mona. He seems against it somehow even though Raph has been there for Leo the whole time he's been dealing with losing Karai. Now the tables have turned and Leo doesn't seem as there for Raph. I understand Leo expecting Raph to fight in that situation, but it takes Mikey to remind him that Raph has been hurt? Why has Leo forgotten the pain of what happened to him with Karai?

And how many times is Don going to react with stupid hearts in his eyes when April kisses him? I don't know how many times she's kissed him, but it's enough by now that he should be used to it. Why can't they just talk about how they feel? Donnie had that one shot a few seasons ago until she blocked him and look how far he's come since then, nowhere.

Anyway, not to get off on a shipper tangent. Casey has got to be killed off or kidnapped and brainwashed to be a different person. That is not Casey and I can't even look at him anymore. What a wasted character.

I sure miss the good ol' days when the show was amazing. Sad to see it go so downhill. All filler episodes anymore really. Don't get me wrong, I still love the turtles. Mikey has improved a lot lately, and April has been great in space, but I'm ready for them to get home now.

[The Happy One]

Originally Posted by aliena

So, so bad. I cringed when Mona showed up. Not only is she not what I imagined for Raph, the constant kissing and lovey dovey stuff is getting ridiculous. Are they allowed to kiss and talk romantically with each other because she is an alien and Karai and April are not, fully anyway.

It is weird to see how Leo takes Raph's relationship with Mona. He seems against it somehow even though Raph has been there for Leo the whole time he's been dealing with losing Karai. Now the tables have turned and Leo doesn't seem as there for Raph. I understand Leo expecting Raph to fight in that situation, but it takes Mikey to remind him that Raph has been hurt? Why has Leo forgotten the pain of what happened to him with Karai?

And how many times is Don going to react with stupid hearts in his eyes when April kisses him? I don't know how many times she's kissed him, but it's enough by now that he should be used to it. Why can't they just talk about how they feel? Donnie had that one shot a few seasons ago until she blocked him and look how far he's come since then, nowhere.

Anyway, not to get off on a shipper tangent. Casey has got to be killed off or kidnapped and brainwashed to be a different person. That is not Casey and I can't even look at him anymore. What a wasted character.

I sure miss the good ol' days when the show was amazing. Sad to see it go so downhill. All filler episodes anymore really. Don't get me wrong, I still love the turtles. Mikey has improved a lot lately, and April has been great in space, but I'm ready for them to get home now.

Maybe it's the homesickness gettin' to them

While I was a little confused as to why Don still gets all heart eyes when April kisses him- it didn't last...I mean, I see couples, even from my own experience...that when you love someone, like that- when it's young and even older,- some things still make a person's heart flutter. So I was cool with that. It wasn't heavy or too much. That's just me.

As for Casey...like I said. If the writer is terrific at characterization then he's fine (ie: Casey Jones vs The Underworld). You look at an episode like that and go, 'hey, Casey's pretty cool!'

But, others like this one seem to harbor this twisted belief that Casey is supposed to be this overly obnoxious kid who has no other emotions and is the living, breathing paradigm of the Lego Movie's 'Everything is Awesome' song.

And it shouldn't bother me that much by now, really. But when you get episodes like last week's that was pretty much one point concerning characterization (specifically with Jones) and then you hop on over to another the next week that just...tears him down to a superficial carbon-copy of your average, cliche, male, teenage character-? It frustrates me.

And, again, to all you Ramona (that's what they call it, right?) fans out there- no disrespect. It floats your boat? That's a-okay!

But as for me? I don't think I'll be boarding this ship.


Anyway, now that off my chest- again- I'm going to go enjoy my dinner and immerse myself in IDW comics where Casey is not a complete dolt and Raph has a pretty, nicely paced relationship with Alopex.

[victory_angel]

I like Vicky and Red Worlds views about the moment where Mikey looking back could be seen as subtle foreshadowing of Dark April. And it made perfect sense.
I know Mikey's ninja senses aren't always used, but when they are they are a big deal.

When Don is stung and has to go back to the ship. Leo says "Hang on, Don. The rest of us will go save Sal Commander" before everyone continues on their way to Dregg's fortress while Don is being carried back to the ship by April and the Fugatoid. Only Mikey hangs back a few extra moments and watches their brother go as though he senses something is wrong, but he isn't certain as to what as of yet.

With Mom-Thing, Mikey sensed something was up and he even tried to warn his brothers that April's mother was not what she said she was. But the Turtles didn't know her as a person and they didn't want to believe Mikey's concerns because this was a big deal to April. It's rather hard to say "So glad you were able to see your mom again, but we believe she may actually be an alien Kraang monster." Without sounding insulting.

But as April is their friend, and someone they respect as one of their own. So this is something Mikey would have to be absolutely certain of before he takes his concerns to his bros. And even then he's more likely to take it to Leo and Raph first rather then to Donnie.


However later in the episode when Dregg notices he has only three of the Turtles, not four he demands to know where the other Turtle is. Leo then bluffs and says "He's across the galaxy, Donatello will be bringing an army of 100 salamandrian Warriors with him. Nothing stops, Donatello." I know Leo was mostly bluffing to protect his remaining brothers where abouts. But does anyone get any foreshadowing from Leo's "Nothing stops, Donatello." statement.

[NoName999]

Look on the bright side, guys:

One more episode of the space arc. Thank God.

[CyberCubed]

The majority of the space arc has been quite good. In fact despite it being 13 episodes it literally flew by.

[Darth Knuckles]

I thought this episode was quite good. I understand Raph feeling the way he did after Mona Lisa's betrayal. It would have been better had they known each other for a longer period of time, but Raph and Mona Lisa fell for each other pretty quickly so I can get past that. I loved all of the Star Wars and Alien references in this episode too.

It was great to see Raph go crazy at the end and fight really mad and tough. It was great to see Raph get over his fear of bugs, twice now, and defeat the mutated Spy-Roach and Lord Dregg. Lord Dregg being a robot though? I agree with others here that if that were the case, it's hard to also accept him half eating Donnie earlier in the episode. Unless he did swap himself out with a robot version of himself later, that's a hard sell. Looking forward to any kind of future explanation on that though.

[Redworld96]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

I like Vicky and Red Worlds views about the moment where Mikey looking back could be seen as subtle foreshadowing of Dark April. And it made perfect sense.
I know Mikey's ninja senses aren't always used, but when they are they are a big deal.

When Don is stung and has to go back to the ship. Leo says "Hang on, Don. The rest of us will go save Sal Commander" before everyone continues on their way to Dregg's fortress while Don is being carried back to the ship by April and the Fugatoid. Only Mikey hangs back a few extra moments and watches their brother go as though he senses something is wrong, but he isn't certain as to what as of yet.

With Mom-Thing, Mikey sensed something was up and he even tried to warn his brothers that April's mother was not what she said she was. But the Turtles didn't know her as a person and they didn't want to believe Mikey's concerns because this was a big deal to April. It's rather hard to say "So glad you were able to see your mom again, but we believe she may actually be an alien Kraang monster." Without sounding insulting.

But as April is their friend, and someone they respect as one of their own. So this is something Mikey would have to be absolutely certain of before he takes his concerns to his bros. And even then he's more likely to take it to Leo and Raph first rather then to Donnie.


However later in the episode when Dregg notices he has only three of the Turtles, not four he demands to know where the other Turtle is. Leo then bluffs and says "He's across the galaxy, Donatello will be bringing an army of 100 salamandrian Warriors with him. Nothing stops, Donatello." I know Leo was mostly bluffing to protect his remaining brothers where abouts. But does anyone get any foreshadowing from Leo's "Nothing stops, Donatello." statement.

So did you read my theory on tumblr?
Some people say that it was only Mikey being worried about Donnie, and I agree with that, but I also think there is something more. I am expecting a Dark April episode at least, and when I remembered the Buried Secrets episode, I thought Mikey was acting in the same way in the last episode.
It's just my point of view anyway ....
If someone wants to read the theory: http://redworld96.tumblr.com/post/14...ention-in-this

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I thought this episode was pretty good with some bad parts.

I like the angle that Mona had to betray Raphael to save her planet. Though I wish they would have talked about the fact the Dregg was a robot all along.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by Redworld96

So did you read my theory on tumblr?
Some people say that it was only Mikey being worried about Donnie, and I agree with that, but I also think there is something more. I am expecting a Dark April episode at least, and when I remembered the Buried Secrets episode, I thought Mikey was acting in the same way in the last episode.
Just my point of view anyway ....
If someone wants to read the theory: http://redworld96.tumblr.com/post/14...ention-in-this

I also thought the way April was smiling at Donnie when she said "I thought I lost you for a moment there!" She seemed somwhat sinister.

In the fungus humongous episode we know the fears were

April-bats
Casey-rats
Raph- roaches and bugs in general
Mikey- squirrels
Donnie- fear of April rejecting him and losing her to Casey
Leo-effectiveness as a leader.

We know Casey and Mikey have more or less gotten over their fears. April it's unknown if she has gotten over her fear. Raph is still freaked out by bugs but is able to confront his fears...particularly for those he loves.

Leo is still struggling with his fear and may always will, after all he is young and has five lives in addition to his own to protect. And yes in the pursuit of doing the right thing you sometimes make decisions that you feel are right at the time without the opportunity to second guess yourself. And deal with the consequences that arise because of it.

Donnie is the only one who hasn't gotten over his fear. He still loves April, he has seemingly accepted he may have lost her to casey, but prefers to be part of her life then lose her completely.

One of the things April does in hisnightmare vision is that she sticks out her tongue and breaks his heart. So it will make sense for the dark April plot to begin with April leading Donnie on...before crushing him emotionally, mentally, and maybe physically.

Kinda like how beastboy was crushed when terra betrayed the teen titans

[Chabrendeki]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

However later in the episode when Dregg notices he has only three of the Turtles, not four he demands to know where the other Turtle is. Leo then bluffs and says "He's across the galaxy, Donatello will be bringing an army of 100 salamandrian Warriors with him. Nothing stops, Donatello." I know Leo was mostly bluffing to protect his remaining brothers where abouts. But does anyone get any foreshadowing from Leo's "Nothing stops, Donatello." statement.

That was an Indiana Jones reference, wasn't it?

[myconius]

Originally Posted by OrangeNinja1987

It was an okay episode. I don't have much to say. The shipping stuff was mostly bearable but I got tired of it fast.
Raph and Mona have known each other how long? And they're already in love?
I can chock that up to dramatic teen relationships.
A couple funny jokes, but not one that I remembered.
Easily the best part was when Raph went berserk. From all the downplayed ninja action this season, it feels like I haven't seen something like that for a looooooong time.
I still hate how April only shoots a gun. What was the point of that multi-season story of her becoming a kunoichi if she never uses her skills?! In one of the last episodes of her training, she was even sparring with Leo!
7/10

yeah Raph has become a pretty weak character.

[THGhost]

Watched this and Ep 11 together. Pretty fun episode. Love what The Fugitoid can do now.

[TMNTInsighter]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

I like Vicky and Red Worlds views about the moment where Mikey looking back could be seen as subtle foreshadowing of Dark April. And it made perfect sense.
...

I think you guys have been misinterpreting that scene from "Riddle of the Ancient Aeons", I really do. It's most likely that the shard will play a part--if not a large one--in the last stand for Earth.
It would also be a nice story touch if it happened that way since it was April who convinced everyone to rescue the Aeons rather than go after the Triceratons. The shard they gave her would, in turn, rescue her planet and its inhabitants from their fate.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by TMNTInsighter

I think you guys have been misinterpreting that scene from "Riddle of the Ancient Aeons", I really do. It's most likely that the shard will play a part--if not a large one--in the last stand for Earth.
It would also be a nice story touch if it happened that way since it was April who convinced everyone to rescue the Aeons rather than go after the Triceratons. The shard they gave her would, in turn, rescue her planet and its inhabitants from their fate.

Auman had been rather surprised when I had asked about the likelyhood of a Dark April plot last year.

While I don't doubt the shard will be used in Earth's last stand. I don't think it will be the thing that ultimately stops the BHG.

There is also the plot point that Fugatoid is essentially a walking talking bomb.

The secret Honeycutt logically would have is that he is the creator of the Heart of Darkness. As Tarris Vaal has pointed out, for a pacifist Honeycutt is surprisingly lethal.

While pacifists do fight from time to time, they typically look for ways in which conflict can be avoided.

And in the 2k3 version of the TMNT franchise the Fugatoid has chosen to sacrifice himself to save Earth from those who would use abuse his knowledge.

He tells the Turtles he became a robot after the Triceraton's approached him about building a weapon, which he refused. And then later in Arena of Carnage, Zanraman threatens Honeycutt that the Turtles would die a horrible death if he doesn't create the Heart of Darkness for him.

[TMNTInsighter]

I'm still holding out hope that the secret will involve the events of "Annihilation Earth" being the result of time being tampered with and that this has all been to set things back on course. Honeycutt being the inventor of the BHG (unless it revolves around what was just mentioned) would be too obvious but also rather unfitting, mainly when you look back at "The Arena of Carnage."

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

Donnie is the only one who hasn't gotten over his fear. He still loves April, he has seemingly accepted he may have lost her to casey, but prefers to be part of her life then lose her completely.

One of the things April does in hisnightmare vision is that she sticks out her tongue and breaks his heart. So it will make sense for the dark April plot to begin with April leading Donnie on...before crushing him emotionally, mentally, and maybe physically.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see the Nick toon reference the IDW "Death of Donatello" story line but have April be the one who forces him into a temporary body?

[DVD]

Another great episode in this amazing season.
I'll be sad to see them leave outer space. Visually this has been outstanding.
This week, the highlight for me was the giant scorpion attacking the gang. Brilliant concept and executed beautifully.

All in all, another 25 minutes of fun .

[The Happy One]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

Wouldn't it be interesting to see the Nick toon reference the IDW "Death of Donatello" story line but have April be the one who forces him into a temporary body?

Duuude! I always thought of that! Well, since we found out about this Dark April plot to come. It would be pretty cool And kinda sad...

[DarkLightDragon]

Can't really see Nick doing it nearly as brutally graphic as IDW did, but it's admittedly a pleasant thought for the series to actually try again in being dramatic and sticking to it despite there might little-ton-no consequences for doing something so dark.

[Mona_Lisa]

The Raph / Mona Lisa thing wasn't as bad in this episode if you ask me...
Although I still prefer the original Mona Lisa to this new one.

Originally Posted by TigerClaw

Yeah, Raph is an emotional guy.

I get that Raph is the emotional one, but normally if Raph gets emotional he gets violent and in this case he seriously failed to show any concern for his family.
At least he sort of gets over it and is angry for a little bit until Mona says the three magic words! I love you, lol!
I really liked Raph going crazy at the end and knocking Dregg's head off! Super cool, but Dregg's a Robot? No way!

Originally Posted by Vicky82

I've noticed that Mikey has been awesome this season. He seems more focus, he hasn't made any mistakes.

He's been amazing these last few episode. Last week he saved April, killed some of those gremlins, he supported and cheered Donnie up. This week, he saved April again, killed some bugs, he was concerned for Donie and he was being protective over Raph when Leo was annoyed at him.

I hope his amazing moments continues.

I have noticed this too, I'm really enjoying Mikey's character a whole lot more now days.
I really liked how he defended Raph and his squishy heart,*Squish* But I still felt it appropriate for Leo to be telling Raph to get it together. ( Seriously, get angry).

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The Dregg reveal was weird. We see a whole planet of insect people, we see him eat, and his whole body looked like flesh.

I don't know what to make of it. Maybe it'll be more clear the next time Dregg appears.

I can't get over Dregg being a robot, he nearly ate Donny!

Originally Posted by lonewarrior20

i liked it. i really expected the robot head to open up and we find out dregg was a little cockroach.

Lol, it would be a typical Nickelodeon plot, Like Plankton popping out of one of his oversized robots. What would Raph do though?

Originally Posted by cryan

I am just not digging the new Mona Lisa being from an alien lizard race. Not the cute salamander we knew back in 1990. I really was not a huge fan of her redesign. glad she's in there but I would have done it a lot differently.

This is pretty much how I feel too.

Originally Posted by The Happy One

Duuude! I always thought of that! Well, since we found out about this Dark April plot to come. It would be pretty cool And kinda sad...

I totally missed Something, what is all this dark April stuff I have been seeing???

Anyway, while space turtles isn't my favorite arc, it is so much better than when they were at the farm house, I don't want to complain to much.