New Ep Discussion: "Prodigal Son"

[Aska_Badoura]

Nice badass move Leonardo did to the Shredder statue, but I thought it was a little insencitive and I actaully felt a pang of sympathy for Karai when she looked at his head. If some one had beheaded a statue of my deceased father I think I would have been undone .

Yeah, that made me wince. "Way to undermine everything you just said, Leo!" But she didn't take it that way, apparently.

And, technically... that statue is very very large... the head should not have been that small when Karai picked it up..

And this is coming from some one who hates Karai

Maybe they'll play up her pitiful side now, to win you over.. *shrug*

How long did it take to sail from Japan into New York's harbor? Just a few days? I got the empression that the turtles where sepreted for just a few days. It should have taken months to get back to the states. How long did that boat trip last? What was it magic? That was a serious passage of time dysfuntion on the writters part!

Well, I think that comes from the average American having no idea how long a trans-Pacific voyage is (Oh! That reminds me... why would a ship be going from New York to Japan? Wouldn't it be easier to truck everything to California and then send it by boat..? What? That's not convenient? Oh, that's right... ), and not taking the time to research it. (Eh.. I may have to do that now :p) I don't have any idea, myself.

BTW am I the only one loving all these tmnt shorts that they're playing I hope they end up on the dvd's!

*blinks* I always miss them, I don't watch anything but Turtles, and I tape them and watch them later, anyway. Why don't they play them during Turtles when Turtles fans are watching? *scratches head* I guess 'cause they're supposed to attract the attention of people who don't normally watch it, so they'll tune in.

Watching some clips of my digital copy now... Yes, Masked Ninja, Oroku is spelled right. Heh, Leo steals Karai's katana scabbard at one point... makes up for her stealing his sword in "Exodus", maybe?

BTW, Fledermaus, when I first saw Karai in this ep, I thought her eyes were blue, like you said about April's before... but I think they're just using a different 'mix' on their color green now. I rewound it and watched the shot again, and they looked green to me that time, strangely enough. I think it's one of those ambiguous maybe-blue, maybe-green colors.

Speaking of colors, random observation: through the whole ep, Karai's lips are red, and they're usually a much lighter pink. Dunno if that means anything, but it is a little unusual for them to change a color like that.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Zarius

And coincidently, the episode WAS in every way a two parter, it just had different episode titles, plenty of shows do that

I think those who say 2-parter mean making Prodigal a 2 parter on it's own, making this in essence a 3 parter.

[J Legault]

Those 2 months of training did pay off well for Leo. Atleast he's no long boad like in the previous episodes.

I knew they'd show how the others survived. And turns out they now going to live at an abandon Water pump place.

Leo sure showed Karai a thing or 2 for being a naughty girl.

I'll give this episode a 5/5 for Leo being his calm self again.

[Sakirules]

Nice episode. I knew Leo would easily defeat Karai. No question at all. And if Leo was in rage mode he surely would have slew Karai.

[Jo Dawn]

Okay, I'm typing as I watch, so bear with me.

Alright, I appreciate the effort to change the intro to go with the changing times in the cartoon... But I loved it before that whole 'one, Leonardo's always in control' crap. But whatever. Karai's 'Watch out for Shredder' addition, I thought was rather neat.

Okay, so... I was entirely disappointed with the guys' reactions to seeing each other again. Not a hug? Nothing? Come on... at the LEAST, this is just enforcing the 'men can't hug each other' manly thing. You'd think, being that they knew no one but themselves for, oh, 15 years... You'd be a bit more excited.

Heh, and hmm... Leo went out and found them all, huh? I love Leo and all... but come ON. And does anyone else think Leo finding them all is one more reason to make Raph a bit more jealous? Hmmm....

My only gripe was that in the previous eppisode all 3 turtles and Splinter couldnt even take down one of those foot Battlemechs. And lo and behold Leo swipes one a few times and makes scrap out of it. Yes I know the mechs had backup foot soldiers and all that but the epp seemed a bit rushed to make it to the final confrontation between Leo and Karai.

Riiiiiight.


And, ok... I liked Leo's "Hello Karai. I got your message." Hehe. I just liked the way he said that!!

But yeah... more emotion needed. That handshake between Leo and Don totally threw me out of the show. I just couldn't get past it. My first warning sign was April's reaction... she shoulda been a little more... upset? *sighs*

Oh, and Angel, huh? Yuck.

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by Jo Dawn

Oh, and Angel, huh? Yuck.

I take it by reading allot of the things you say on the board that you don't like women to much...lol
-Putrescent

[Jo Dawn]

Want me to be honest?

I don't. Not at all. And I AM one. There are a few exceptions, of course. (Like a lot of the gals here.) But for the most part... no. Heh.

That may be why I don't like her character... or... well, it could just be because I just don't LIKE her character. I like April in the New Toon... so there we go. My not liking Angel is just because I don't like her.

*shrugs*

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Hmm...not the best episode but at the same time far from the worst. I liked the fact that EMO Leo is gone and he's back to normal(and has mystical powers, he's Leo 3.0). Leo was great in this episode, especially during his confrontation with Karai. Though, I really wish we could have seen Leatherhead(were the hell is he), and I wish the last fight was a little longer, but, I could kinda see the fight going the way it did since Leo's mind was clear and Karai's was clouded.

The animation was smooth, and I love Leo's little warning to Karai. I'd give this episode a 7 out of 10.

Next weeks episode looks intresting. Looks like that bug up Karai's ass comes back for revenge, and he's brought friends.

[syk_skillz]

The thing that was buging me is how the hell did Angel grow so tall so fast. I heard of growth sperts but I was like DAMN! someone has been eating there wheaties. lol.

[Mars-Chan]

*headdesk*

WHY....did I wait until the last minute to work on my BUSINESS PAPER!????!?!

*headdesk* Needless to say I MISSED THE EPISODE!!!

*smacks hand* BAD fangirl! BAD!!!!

[Masked Ninja]

Originally Posted by Putrescent

Man could you guys just stop it already with all of that comparing of episodes to past episodes you need to just let go and enjoy them for what they are we would not enjoy other people as much if they were all the same so why would we enjoy episodes that would all be the same.

I do enjoy them for what they are, which is why I was a little disappointed. I just think it didn't reach its full potential as those others did. Just after the episode finished I realized how much better it would have been if Don, Mikey, Raph, and Splinter had been a bit more excited to see Leo... and live up to its title. In the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son, the father threw his returning son a huge party. Not that I'm saying there should have been a party, just a little more warmness on his family's part. Here, it almost seemed like "Let's hurry up and have 'em meet so we can get on with the Leo vs. Karai thing."

So yeah. I'm not comparing this to other episodes so much as I'm comparing the way it handled its material with the way the other episodes did. Nitpicky? Yes. But don't mistake it for me wanting a new SAINW or SSB every week.

[zkarlette]

The Ep wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be....

Im really dissapointed that they lost their home and of Aprils reaction to the hole thing...

and Leo once again leaves karai unharmed ..... honestly what the hell??....

[J Legault]

i'm sure Karai will be good to her word sometime later.

I'm not sure what she will do after that little incident.

Specially when the Intro now has her say "Watch out for Shredder"

[longing for leo]

Okay, so... I was entirely disappointed with the guys' reactions to seeing each other again. Not a hug? Nothing? Come on... at the LEAST, this is just enforcing the 'men can't hug each other' manly thing. You'd think, being that they knew no one but themselves for, oh, 15 years... You'd be a bit more excited.

I think we all were. It saddens me that brothers who didn't know whether their siblings were alive/dead wouldn't hug upon reuniting. I mean, they did look really relieved/happy (especially Don & Raph), but I'm w/ you guys... no hug? No fair! ...Oh, & I was disappointed that (once again) we didn't get to see Leo cry. Arg! If he doesn't cry at this, we won't ever get to see him shed tears. It appears that Fearless really can't...only the emotionally unstable hothead is allowed to break down and actually shed tears for the ones he loves. Grrr, Leo totally would have cried and hugged his bros & father...
...if I was a writer.

Heh, and hmm... Leo went out and found them all, huh? I love Leo and all... but come ON.

I know. I love him too, obviously, but Splinter got pwned by Karai, while Leo had her completely helpless in about 30 seconds! I did think the fast paced fight was shweet...it just went way too quickly. I'm with you guys, this totally should have been a 2 parter: this ep Leo finds out that they're "dead," breaks down, realizes that they can't be dead, finds them, & we get our emotional/hug filled reunions. Then the second ep having him go to get food, but really go to fight Karai, his bros cottoning on (come on, did they really not realize that Leo was going to face Karai and (potentially) the whole Foot organization on his own?! Yeah, like they would buy the food story, especially after Splinter's comment. Splinter had to know, but Leo's own bros...they sure didn't let on that they did Duh. Maybe they were so used to EMO Leo's attitude of "don't get in my way" that they just didn't want to get in his way *shrug*). Then Leo could be struggling in the fight (as would have been understandable, considering how much Karai was beating up Splinter) and his bros come to save the day/give him much needed support/back up to hold off the Foot while Leo does his thing w/ Karai. That, imo, would have been a nice 2 parter. But, ah well, one ep w/ a fair amount of emotion and a short but sweet fight is better than a pre-AO ep re-run.

And does anyone else think Leo finding them all is one more reason to make Raph a bit more jealous? Hmmm....

No, not really. Actually, I was really impressed with Raph's reaction. First he was glad to see Leo, then his thoughts immediately went to his other bros (unlike Don or Mikey's thought processes). Raph was really upset/worried. I think that he actually had taken Leo's leadership role. Raph makes a good beta turtle. I've been proud of him lately. It was interesting to see him be the hothead again, if only for a moment (when he pounded the guardrail/post thing in the water plant/mansion/new lair). It would still be nice for Raph and Leo to have an older/responsible brothers chat about how they've both been acting since Exodus. They could joke, and seriously talk about each of their hotheaded tendencies...now that Leo's "healed" enough to listen. And now that Raph understands more the worry/pressure/stress involved in being the leader of your own family, responsible for their lives. I hope they understand each other more/are closer after this...but I would.

Ok, did anyone else think "Daddy Leo" after he found them all? I mean, "Oh, we need to get you guys somewhere safe...you need to rest...here, I'll go and get food...don't worry about Raph, I'll find him...Karai? What, she's a threat? Don't worry about it, I'll get her. You just stay here and chill. No, don't worry about me, I can handle her. Oh, you want Chinese, and soda Raph? Sure, sure...as soon as I'm done infiltrating Foot HQ, I'll get right on that."

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Originally Posted by zkarlette

The Ep wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be....

Im really dissapointed that they lost their home and of Aprils reaction to the hole thing...

and Leo once again leaves karai unharmed ..... honestly what the hell??....

Leos above that. Besides, I think he got his point across without bloodshed.

[Aska_Badoura]

I think they had Leo take charge of everything to show us how much he's changed, and how much more he's thinking about taking care of his family now, rather than obsessing over how he failed to do so then.

Okay, so... I was entirely disappointed with the guys' reactions to seeing each other again. Not a hug? Nothing? Come on... at the LEAST, this is just enforcing the 'men can't hug each other' manly thing. You'd think, being that they knew no one but themselves for, oh, 15 years... You'd be a bit more excited.

No kidding... if you need an in-character explanation, it's like the reality didn't really hit them cuz they didn't see what the others went through to escape. In the real world... avoidance of mush, I guess.

And I dunno... the guys kind of stood around awkwardly when they found each other, like "I really want to jump up and hug the stuffing out of you, but y'know, I'm supposed to be tough in the face of adversity and all that". Of course I'm thinking "Just hug him already! It's allowed! It's good for you!" Sheesh. :p

And, ok... I liked Leo's "Hello Karai. I got your message." Hehe. I just liked the way he said that!!

Hee, I liked the attitude. "Oh yeah, you just tried to... oh, you know, completely ruin my life... but I thought I'd drop by and say hello. How've you been doing lately?"

My first warning sign was April's reaction... she shoulda been a little more... upset? *sighs*

Denial? Fishing for an explanation beyond that they don't want to be overly mushy for some reason? :p

Anyway, the reaction was understated, but she had all these photos (family pictures, really) of the guys surrounding her on the desk: I thought that was pretty touching. I didn't realize she'd taken so many pictures of them all, doing silly things, being serious, just the kind of stuff you put in your family album. (she also had a little newspaper like a tabloid, with the headline "WHO ARE THEY", and a figure jumping roofs. That's a little alarming, that they've been seen like that. But I guess it brought some kind of comfort to her, since it was about them.) And she sounded so tired, like she'd been mourning them for awhile (it's probably been several days at the least, if not weeks, as someone said), and just kind of exhausted herself with it.

Angel's cleaned up her act in the last two eps she's been in, but she re-adopted her punk look to impersonate a pizza-delivery gal. I thought that was kind of an interesting touch. Although you'd think the holes for those piercings would have closed up by now... *shrug* You can cheat in animation.

The thing that was buging me is how the hell did Angel grow so tall so fast. I heard of growth sperts but I was like DAMN! someone has been eating there wheaties. lol.

LOL, it's been three years, and she was almost a teenager, anyway. But I think it was more of an "it would be more convenient if Angel was this tall" animation cheat, or just failure to look at the height chart. :p

[Jester]

Hey, I've seen some kids hit growth spurts...I bairly recognize one kid from church, he was gone about a month or 2, and now he's much taller....it's odd...it happens.

I felt it was a great episode. I agree with alot of you that it was too condenced. Damn time restriction.

I was surprised that Leo could see into the recent events of those that he focuses on. But no biggie. The series has alot of way out stuff go on in it, so why not allow Leo to be able to master some advanced mental disciplines? It's not much when you compare to a super-human who can fly *cough*Silver Sentery*cough*

I know that some people here are complaining that this episode made Leo shine like a beacon. Is that really so blasphemous? I mean really... For a long time, many people were slamming Leo for his cold attitude. Now the guy comes back all serene, he's helping his battered family, and being such a nice guy in the process yet some of you had to nitpick on something else. Nice. Some just don't seem to be happy with Leo in general.

I do relize that Leo does get alot of attention, and I really do want to see the others get more attention than they've been getting, but you all have to understand that Leo being the lead character (as it's been established since the first comic in 1984) is going to be inclined to get the most attention.
Really, I don't ever recall people complaining that Goliath from Gargoyles got too much attention, so I can't understand why people scorn Leo so much just because he plays his part.


Sorry for the rant but I felt it was justified to bring the Leo topic into a usually overlooked light.
Please don't feel insulted or threatened by my post.

[J Legault]

You have some good points there Ryona.

[Buslady]

Yep Like I've alllllways said, "Adventures of Leo"....

Best piece: Leo cutting the head of the statue and "STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!"

I knew it was going to be a Leo peice. And Of course they all are alive. Predictable.

I'd have figured Raph would have ran to Casey's to hideout, unless he's on vacation? Or he didnt wanna bring the threat to him. Casey would have defended his best pal no matter.

My problem with the ep is this: Okay, Leo thinks his bros are dead...but good that he doesnt believe it and goes looking...he finds one, what...they dont even HUG? COME ON! They are family-four of a kind, Leo could have been the LAST of his species...what, brothers can't HUG on a )(@#*$ cartoon?!?!! Leo thought they were DEAD!? It's like 'jee hi* handshake* glad youre ok...lets go find the others.Raph hugged Donnie in SAINW..why not now?? Why do they start a cartoon really great, lots of emotion, artfully done,etc 4 seasons later is turning into droll emotionless dribble? They're losing it, I dont wanna see such a good cartoon go downhill. They should let US suggest some stories, we could put emotions back INTO the toon.

Reading others posts, im glad im not alone on this.

Jee Klunk's turned into a guard DOG...I never seen a cat protect his human..err in this case, turtle. Klunk's drawn funny, he looks like a Munchkin breed.

Why is Angel wearing the SAMN crap she wore when we first saw her? She's older, what her clothing grew with her??

April's reaction to learning of the turtles 'death' was ... like nothing. -.-




I think they're losing the drama and the family feeling...I dunno...I still like my show..I'm just afraid they're going down the wrong path for it.

Oh yeah..in all reality, Raph would wanna BEER...not a freaking soda....

not after all that they just went thru!