Ep Discussion: S4 Ep 2: "The Moons of Thalos 3"

[aliena]

Originally Posted by LeotheLateBloomer

I can sort of understand Matt's frustration with how they handle his favorite turtle in this series. This shows' version has his bada** moments but Raph has been handled better in other versions.

I agree. It was disappointing not to get to see Raph grapple with his feelings over Mona for more than ten minutes. It's just like when he went dark for like five minutes. I want him to have longer arcs. He deserves so much more than two minute sections here and there.

[TLP]

So far my favorite character this season is the Fugitoid. The dude is freakin' hysterical.

[Penst0ck]

Originally Posted by TLP

So far my favorite character this season is the Fugitoid. The dude is freakin' hysterical.

He's so great!

"Excuse me, would you like a cup of….Pacifism?"



^I am tempted to make this my new sig 0.0^

[senpai]

I enjoyed the episode. Raph's love for Mona was really abrupt and out of left field but we were all anticipating it so... I thought it was cute when Raph named her Mona Lisa, but he said the original Mona Lisa was supposed to be the most beautiful girl in the world or something--that's a sweet sentiment there but totally inaccurate.

[JH24]

A good episode, although a bit underwhelming for me personally in comparison with the first and third. It was an entertaining episode, and I like seeing the turtles visit new environments.

It was nice to see the interactions between Raph and Mona Lisa, and I loved that little scene between Donnie and Casey near the end.


Good episode. Nothing really stood out, but still enjoyable.

[victory_angel]

This episode is a bit of comedy of errors with the Turtles assuming the Salamandrian are the enemy, and the Salamandrian's assuming the same thing about the Turtles. But it was intriguing to see both groups working together to help each other against a common threat once it was made clear everything was just one big misunderstanding.

First and foremost I feel I need to address the elephant in the room which is the introduction of the "USS RaphMona".

Yes, folks all four Turtles have love interests now. Like a lot of people I agree that this shipping pair did happen rather quickly. It would have been better to maybe have Raph and Mona have a mutual appreciation for one another as fighters that would blossom into love in a later episode. But unlike the other pairings, this is the first pair that is reciprocated on both sides.

With April and Donnie, April clearly likes Donnie but she also likes Casey as well. And because of this she is unsure about which boy is better for her. She knows what each can offer her and what she can gain from being with each of them. But she also knows that when she comes to a decision, she will hurt one of them which is something she doesn't want to do.

Karai and Leo is a dicey subject. Leo obviously loves Karai and Karai has shown interest in him as well. But Karai is a Kunoichi, which means one of the weapons she has at her disposal is seduction. Because of this it's questionable if she really likes Leo in the same way or she just wants Leo to believe she does. Another questionable concept in this pairing is that since Karai is actually Splinter's daughter, that technically makes her and Leo brother and sister since Leo the other Turtles were adopted and raised as Splinter's sons.

Renet and Mikey...This was an interesting pairing. However Renet's behavior suggested that she liked him and she thought he was cute, but she wasn't really attracted towards him. She was flattered that he liked her...but really didn't see him beyond a friend. Possibly because the distance of time separating them.

Raph is the only one so far who has met a woman who he likes and who returns his feelings in kind. And it will be interesting to see how this relationship grows and develops with every meeting.

Moving on to the rest of the story.

This episode does make fair use of the fact the Turtles are cold blooded and would be severely effected by the temperatures of the ice planet they landed on. Particularly since it's frequently stated that they have a limited supply of air and heat to sustain them making the task to retrieve the Urilium Metal, to fix the ship all the more imperative.

However their damaged ship also damaged a Salamandrian ship, causing the two people on board to want to capture the metal for themselves so they can repair their own ship. Which becomes the major conflict between the two groups when they encounter one another.

Now to be fair on Leonardo's case, being an outworlder social gaffes are par for the course. Such as customs of offering friendship on earth could mean something else in an entirely different culture. This is not much different then hand gestures that have a positive meaning on one culture, being viewed as insulting to another.

All the same it was intriguing to see Raph and Leo switching roles, with Raph suggesting that perhaps that any issues between the two groups can be talked out. And Leo insisting that that the Salamandrian's are the ones who attacked them without probable cause. But later when it turns out Raph's course of action turned out to be the correct one, Leo is graciously able to accept the help of the Salamandrian's and earn their trust as friends.

Commander G'Throkka and Lieutenant Y’Gythgba AKA Sal Commander and Mona Lisa were interesting characters. Through out the episode, Sal Commander does comment on the honor and respect the Turtles have for one another and deems them worthy of respect. While Mona Lisa has her doubts about the honor the Turtles truly have. But after Raphael helps save her from a group of Ice Dragons and explains that they didn't intentionally damage their ship she does gain a better respect for him. And I look forward to see more of her in the future.

Another point of interest is Fugitoid stating he is a pacifist. This isn't all together new since Professor Honeycutt is typically a known pacifist in any incarnation. Despite his affiliation to the Federation or Dimention X if you follow the IDW route he really is just a peaceful man really wants his inventions to be used for the common good. However I have mentioned in earlier posts that Donnie has tendencies that are pacifistic in nature. But he isn't really comfortable or struggles with accepting that aspect of his personality, possibly out of fear that his family would think less of him as a warrior if that becomes known. Or that he would be less of a ninja if he did accept this fact about himself.

It is plausible that when associated with someone who also has a pacifistic mentality and is comfortable with it, Donnie would be able to begin accepting that side of himself more. Perhaps this aspect could come to light if there are any nods to a certain scene in Wrath of Khan later on this season.

For this episode in general, it was a fairly generic story where a group of people is in a situation where they have to struggle for survival in a dangerous situation. But after a lack luster third season, this season still holds potential to carry a strong story over all.

[Klunk1234]

Great episode! I want to see more Mona Lisa and Raph moments. They are cute.

[cryan]

It would be interesting to see how they will continue with the Raph/Mona angle.

[TheMuz]

We posted our opinions of this episode if you guys wanna watch.

Really liked seeing Mona Lisa and hopefully we'll see her more often in this series than the original!

[Powder]

Will you ever post anything other than Youtube promo? I'm doubtful.