Official Ep Discussion: S3 Finale: "Annihilation: Earth"

[IronBoomer]

Okay, I think I can finally process this.

Lemme say this first
CIRO NEILI, YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD, I WATCHED YOUR SHOW!

Now that's out of the way, this episode was... unexpected, in the best of ways. The last two season finales have always been game changers for the series, but I didn't know how much they could outdo repeating Leonardo #1 in S2's finale.

And then we see why this is one of the most sociopathic Shredders in existence and that is saying something. Sure, the Fred Wolf Shredder in Generation 1 was more of a goofball, and C'hrell in 4Kids' Generation 2 was a major villain, but even then he knew how to make team up deal for mutual survival. This Shredder is ...almost beyond the pale. The world can burn, even his daughter, if it means he can kill a man who was once as close as his brother.

Given the last time Splinter was killed off suddenly without warning - (i.e. Mirage), fan reaction was less than stellar, I am surprised at they'd go that far, even if we all know Time Travel's already been introduced and this will likely be undone.

Just ...still, hearing Mikey cry like that.
MY FEEELS.
*ded*



Also, Casey? You're a dip. Season 4 better begin with April or one of the boys losing their temper and beating the crap out of Casey for saying "This is awesome"

[MsMarvelDuckie]

^ This, so much.

Originally Posted by SophieDem

Yeah, I was. Thanks, Duckie. Shipping doesn't have a place here as I know some people do not really like it. But most of us love interactions I'm sure of that.

NP. Actually, there are more of us who like it than you might think from the general atmosphere of the boards. Most just don't trumpet it to the general fan-base.

Originally Posted by aliena

Between you and me, I like shipping the characters. I do realize they have to walk a fine line between giving everyone something they all want and keeping it action orientated. That can't be an easy task, but it sure is fun to play up the interactions sometimes.

If I recall, Raph snatched up April's arm and pulled her away before she could get hurt during that firefight. It was a nice moment of Raph looking after her. I like it when he does that. I think they would make a better couple than April and Donnie do(don't?)

And Mikey and LH, they have so many canon moments that it could easily be perceived as shipping. I would be curious if anyone did a side by side comparison with the way he was with Renet and has been with LH. But Mikey loves openly to anyone he connects with, he has a big heart, so it's hard to tell.

Couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by SophieDem

I like shipping as well, don't get me wrong, but it is a topic people are sensitive about and I didn't want to start an argument. Frankly, I've always loved those little situations that bring two characters closer from any kind of point of view. Brothers, friends, lovers, whatever.

Raphael saving April meant only that he cares about her as much as he cares about his brothers or Casey. In my opinion, he didn't really warm up to her at first like the others did - he needed time. It is just good to see how their relationship developed.

I think Mikey is just like that- Mikey. I think Leatherhead is always going to be important to him. At least, he was one of the first creatures he had encountered outside of the sewers and who he saved. I never thought of Crocodile-man and Party Dude as a dating material. There are differences between the action towards Renet and Leatherhead. BUT it's another topic.

You know, I'd almost like to see a Mikey/LH ship now, just for the absurdity of it, LOL! Maybe I'll go write one.... Or not. I dunno, I've been playing around with some things I don't usually do lately, so- meh, it could happen.

[Skinrash]

Originally Posted by IronBoomer

Just ...still, hearing Mikey cry like that.
MY FEEELS.
*ded*

Indeed. First time a TMNT episode has almost made me cry, very powerful stuff.

[Teddy]

Wow, epic finale!! Although, knowing that they will clearly go back in time at some point to save the world kind of takes away from the shock of Splinter being killed and the earth being destroyed. *shrugs* Still, a really awesome episode! So excited to see the Fugitoid at the end there.

Now, when does Season 4 start??

[Vicky82]

IGN review up

9.7

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/09/2...n-earth-review

[Coola Yagami]

And do.... Splinter died. Kinda epic, but if they didn't blow up the rest of the world and kill off the whole cast, it wouldn't have been so obvious that he's coming back.

So.... Bishop was reduced to being a lowly Kraang huh?

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

So.... Bishop was reduced to being a lowly Kraang huh?

No he wasn't .

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Ninturtle

No he wasn't .

That's what I saw. What else did he do? Offhand he seemed like a 'good guy Kraang' and he was the exact same model as the other human disguise Kraangs but with shades.

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

That's what I saw. What else did he do? Offhand he seemed like a 'good guy Kraang' and he was the exact same model as the other human disguise Kraangs but with shades.

He's an Utrom which are a group that broke away from the Kraang hive mind. The Kraang copied his humanoid robot design.

[IndigoErth]

Now that I finally got to see this thing...

WTF Shredder. Seriously, when everything, I assume, inevitably somehow returns eventually and people are ok and they see Shredder again, take his ass and sell him to aliens for torturous experimentation. Just when you think it's cool to actually see that team up... nope, never mind, he's the same egomaniacal psychopath he always was. (But maybe down the road this will make some of his minions abandon him...)

Anyhow... pretty good for another season finale! Esp when the invasion finale plot started looking a bit redundant.

Interesting take on Bishop being an Utrom. Not sure how into I am with the execution, but had me grinning though because I'd wondered probably a year ago if maybe the Kraang we knew were a rogue group of bad ones and if MAYBE there were other good ones out there. Ok... I was close, Nick, so the good ones are the small group that broke away from the rest. (And maybe like 2003 they'll be involved in saving Splinter.)

I kinda hope Sub-Prime really is Bishop's actual brother... lol

[snake]

Anyone know when season 4 starts?

[Ninturtle]

Originally Posted by snake

Anyone know when season 4 starts?

It starts October 25th.

[Tazi]

This was epic!
While the show will likely never be my overall favourite version of TMNT, this two episodes were definitely among the best outputs of the whole frenchise.

[ranger_scout]

That really was quite a season finale. I don't think I've ever seen episode of a cartoon like that one since the Dragon Ball Z episode, 'End of Earth'. As I pointed out in another thread, it all makes sense why Hoon Lee, the voice of Splinter, is doing The King and I on Broadway starting this Tuesday. When he learned that Splinter would die, he figured he could go to New York and play the lead in a Broadway musical while the fourth season happens.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...ng-and-i/?_r=0

[OrangeNinja1987]

9.0
I don't know what to say.
Well, I'll start off saying that I didn't enjoy the first episode of this finale too much, but the second part was pretty incredible. Very fast-paced. I loved the action scenes and the fighting. I'm 50/50 on Bishop, maybe because I just reached the part in 2k3 where Bishop is introduced (I'm watching 2k3 for the first time) and I really did like him in that. It's pretty soon for me to see his character completely shifted, if this can even be called Bishop.
This season finale doesn't really beat the one of S2 for me but it's close. For most of it I felt like "Well, that moment was cool" followed by "Now why did that dumb thing have to happen?" until the awesome count-down scene where Splinter got stabbed. The imagery was amazing, the music was intense, everything was perfect. The reactions seemed genuine, until they kind of ebbed in believability once in Honeycutt's ship. Because of this I love Shredder even more as a villain. There's nothing he won't do, the mad man. Please, don't kill him off for a long time, but eventually he will meet his consequences!
Seriously, this version of Shredder is my favorite TMNT villain ever.
Mikey was annoying but helpful. I wanted to punch Casey at the end. I know he said "This is awesome" to make a happy ending for the little, little kids (who shouldn't be watching this version of TMNT if they can't handle sad moments yet) but why couldn't Fugitoid be the one to lift the mood? He could have said a joke or something or try to make the turtles smile, but instead Casey forgot everything that had just happened.
I don't really have much else to say. The little details on this episode were great, the ending was intense and by far the best part, some things were unnecessary (i.e. Raph's throwing up joke, Mikey's grating constant screaming) and some necessary things weren't shown (more genuine reactions to the aftermath).

[BubblyShell22]

So I've finally seen the finale. My heart is in pieces! Splinter's dead, and it was as sad as I thought it would be. I cried when it happened and when I told my mom about it, she said, "He'll be back. Don't worry." But despite that, most of the finale was good and I loved the backstory on the Kraang and Triceraton feud. Bishop was awesome, and I love this new take on him as well as most of the other stuff that was featured.

My biggest issues were Casey acting like the ship adventure was awesome when his family is gone. That just grated on my nerves a bit, but I can see why they did that as they didn't want to leave it at a total downer like last season's finale.'

My other issue was April hurling that psychic blast at Shredder. Here's a man who the Turtles, Splinter, and even the Mutanimals can't beat, and yet they have April using a psychic blast to knock him away? No, just no. If that's not proof that she's a Mary Sue, then I don't know what is because Shredder isn't even associated with the Kraang and is a human, so she shouldn't be able to do that no matter how much in distress she is. So, that's definitely one of my biggest issues with this finale.

Other than that, the rest of it was fine, and I can't wait to see how this is resolved. Also loved David Tennant as The Fugitoid and can't wait to see more of him in the coming season. Bring on season 4!

[Shark_Blade]

Aside from Casey's stupidass "THIS IS AWESOME!!" comment, I have no qualms with the finale.

[JTH]

Originally Posted by Shark_Blade

Aside from Casey's stupidass "THIS IS AWESOME!!" comment, I have no qualms with the finale.

Hogwash!

THE EARTH IS GONE!

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My biggest issues were Casey acting like the ship adventure was awesome when his family is gone. That just grated on my nerves a bit, but I can see why they did that as they didn't want to leave it at a total downer like last season's finale.'

Casey tends to live in the moment and uses other things going on around him to distract him from heavier stuff going on.

Such as in Deadly Venom where April was saying some concerns she had and Casey was too busy gushing about the movie to pay her any mind. And then when he's leaving he reveals he was listening to April the entire time.

So when he's saying "This is so COOL!" He's using the notion that they are going on an adventure in outer space to distract himself from the heavy notion that his father and sister are dead. In other words he is in denial the first of the five stages of grief.

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

My other issue was April hurling that psychic blast at Shredder. Here's a man who the Turtles, Splinter, and even the Mutanimals can't beat, and yet they have April using a psychic blast to knock him away? No, just no. If that's not proof that she's a Mary Sue, then I don't know what is because Shredder isn't even associated with the Kraang and is a human, so she shouldn't be able to do that no matter how much in distress she is. So, that's definitely one of my biggest issues with this finale.

It would be Mary Sueish if she intentionally sent a psychic blast as the Shredder which in turn shorts out the 'Heart of Darkness' and miraculously resurrected Splinter.

A Mary Sue isn't just someone who is perfect, a Mary Sue is someone who is perfect to the point where they are not challenged by the narrative.

Majority of the time, April can't control her powers aside from her psychic sense. Other then that, her powers only manifest themselves when she is under physical and or emotional duress. When April uses her psychic powers in this instance, it is an emotional reaction to the fact Splinter has just been murdered.

[AT-Man]

Splinter should stay dead, even if they time travel everything else back to normal.