#tmnt fourfold trap
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You know the Fourfold Trap where Karai has a voice modulator and uses Donnie’s voice to gloat? Yeah that scene sure is something. If Nickelodeon won’t give any of the Donnie’s the villain arc they deserve, then I will go through each and every iteration and do it myself if I must.
And…
#tmnt#tmnt 2012#tmnt fanart#tmnt donatello#tmnt raphael#tmnt leonardo#tmnt michelangelo#teenage mutant ninja turtles#donatello hamato#leonardo hamato#raphael hamato#michelangelo hamato#tmnt fourfold trap
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Try Harder
“‘Try harder?!’ I always have to find the solution! You’re leader, Leo. You find the answer!”
Two Quick PSAs:
Because I feel people will think I’m taking Leo’s side, or justifying his actions. I’m not. I don’t think he was in the right for saying that.
This will be very Leo focused— not because he’s my favorite or anything— but because Donnie’s side has already been understood by a majority of people.
Whenever I come across this conversation— whether tiktoks, fanfiction, or fanart— Leo’s personality that’s presented always rubs me the wrong way. He usually gets written or drawn as some haughty asshole that doesn’t give a shit about Donnie’s feelings… ever. That is simply not true. Or that Donnie is the only one to get them out of problems. That isn’t true either. There are plenty of times that Donnie turns to Leo to have the answer or plan when his go awry. He also depends on his older brother’s outward bravery and confidence.
Leo and Donnie’s argument in “The Fourfold Trap” can be built on two things Donnie and Leo are at constant odds with:
Pressure
Limitations
Both Donnie and Leo have the same kind of pressure where they are multitasking and are having to switch tactics in battle almost always.
Donnie is a genius. He’s knowledgeable in mechanics, technology, math, science, biology, history, etc etc. and has also mastered learning some technology of the Kraang as well as creating a way to translate their language. He often lacks the resources to accomplish projects or time to calmly dismantle weaponry and machines and get him and his brothers to safety during battles.
Leo is intuitive and strategically intelligent as well as very disciplined and focused. However, his pressure lies within his leading abilities. Not only must he plan battle strategies with his brothers, he also has to keep an eye on them in battle, be ready to change tactics should something go awry, figure out an exit strategy and this is usually done all while fighting with the enemy. Leo also has to keep a level head and keep his emotions in check. While in the beginning, he often wasn’t respected, his collectedness kept the team together and functional (Raph leading the team in “New Girl in Town” and struggling as well as Leo panicking in “Panic in the Sewers” are good examples of when the leader isn’t collected)
The burden placed on both of their shoulders is very heavy, draining, and a lot to take on as a teenager and they do their best to keep it together, but the built up pressure will sometimes put them at odds when planning during larger battle (i.e. “The Invasion”).
Now, as with anything and everything, there are always limits. Leo and Donnie both struggle with accepting that they have their limits, though, Donnie tends to accept his more than Leo.
Growing up and being the way they are unfortunately puts limits on what they can have or use. Donnie uses a lot of scrap metal and junk to piece things together for the brothers and himself to use and has to be careful with what he does have, since he doesn’t have the access to go into a store and get what he needs.
All of this frustrates Donnie as it limits his abilities, but it has helped him accept it and understand that he can’t push himself to do everything he would like to for himself and to help his brothers. It has also taught him to be resourceful and he has put together amazing mechanical machines. And despite being outcasts in society, he and his brothers do get accepted by some humans. He grows into it becoming enough for him, becoming at least physically confident in who he is.
I don’t think I have to explain just how much Leo ignores his limits. Just woke up out of a coma and his leg is fucked? This idiot goes off in the woods to fight a mutant made of vomit, tree bark, and nightmares. He doesn’t rest it as much as he should be— both because a conflict is happening and when nothing is going on, he’s training on it. Because of some of the lessons Splinter taught him—
“We choose what holds us back and what moves us forward”
“It doesn’t matter that the burden is heavy. It matters that you carry it!”
“With the world at stake, the only thing of importance is that you complete your mission, no matter what you have to sacrifice. Or whom.”
— Leo develops a complex to keep the world and his family safe no matter what happens to him, as well as to suck it up and keep going. Him complaining or ranting about his frustrations doesn’t get him sympathy.
“I just think you guys should be a little better at following my orders.” (Leo)
“Aww, it’s too bad I can’t play my violin while I drive.” (Raph)
“They have no idea what kind of pressure I’m under, and all they do is complain! Is it too much to ask for a simple ‘thank you’?” (Leo)
“Of course it is! Leadership is not about being appreciated, it’s about responsibility.” (Splinter)
Unfortunately, either out of resentment or something else, he holds this same principle for Donnie and pressures him until Donnie snaps at him.
“Donnie! You said you could do this! … They’re aliens from another dimension, what did you expect: a big round ball with a lit fuse that said ‘bomb’?!”
“You gotta fix the Shellraiser fast. Like, yesterday fast!”
“Donnie, you’re gonna have to speed this up.”
There is one other factor that drives Leo to pressure Donnie, and that is his guilt for Karai’s mutation and his lack of skill and knowledge to get her back to herself. Even though there was nothing he could have really done— after trying to stop her or even go with her as back up in “Vengeance is Mine” and coming very close to freeing her before Shredder attacked— he more than likely plays scenarios over in his head where he saved his sister or even took the fall into the mutagen instead of her.
“You should be celebrating your victory. You did a brave thing tonight, Leonardo. You saved everyone.” (Splinter)
“Not everyone. I tried to get Karai out of Shredder’s control. …I failed, Sensei.”
He becomes rebellious and risks his safety—his brothers’ safety also is toyed with if they choose to go along with him— to rescue her and reunite Master Splinter with his daughter and have her be with her family.
The building of his guilt towards Karai’s mutation, the pressure he’s feeling to rescue her from Shredder’s control, and the fact that he is at a limit that he cannot go past altogether drives him to snap at Donnie the way he does.
Was it right and justifiable? Absolutely not. But do I understand that it was a build up things from within and that he didn’t say it just to be an asshole? Abso-fucking-lutely.
#tmnt#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2012 leo#tmnt 2012 donnie#the try harder scene#Fourfold Trap#tmnt 2012 analysis#CW - swearing#their dynamic is much more complex#tmnt 2012 character analysis#Beyond general sibling assholery Leo rarely does things to an asshole#It stems from different things and it’s very frustrating when people don’t understand that#And then just make Leo’s character to be an absolute dickhead in their stories
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muder toilet was not an element I expected to see more than once
#tmnt#teenage mutant ninja turtles#tmnt 2012#tmnt 1987#s3 michelangelo's birthday#s3 ep 22 the fourfold trap#tmnt mikey#turtlepost
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If I had a nickel for every fanfiction where I had Donnie violently whack Leo with a willing intent to harm, I would have two nickels.
It’s not a lot, but should I be concerned that it’s happened twice?
#feral raphie au#fourfold trap fix#tmnt fic#tmnt fanfiction#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2k12#teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012#tmnt fandom#tmnt donnie 2012#2012 tmnt#tmnt leo 2012#2012 donnie#donnie 2012#tmnt 2012 leonardo#tmnt 2012 leo#2012 leo#leo 2012#donnie tmnt 2012#tmnt donatello 2012
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Sometimes I question why people make 2012 Mikey transfem/fem-leaning when ya boi has, CANONICALLY, screamed in terror of the idea of being a girl. If anything he's transmasc because he hates the idea of being a girl so much lol
The episode in question is 'The Fourfold Trap', here's the scene lol
This was the only video I could find that included it, and the video is spliced up into a whole bunch of mismatched clips from within the episode, so excuse the few seconds of Donnie getting zapped 😅
#the cat speaks#fun fact! it's only considered electrocution if you die from it :)#pretty cool huh?#tmnt 2012#tmnt mikey 2012#tmnt donnie 2012#tmnt the fourfold trap#tmnt mikey#tmnt donnie
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I love the little details in this show! Raph holding onto Leo for support, and Leo keeping a hand on his arm the whole time, is just so cute. Such a good episode for protective big brother Leo!
#also shout out to that hilarious Mikey face 😂#I tried to get a picture where he didn’t look completely ridiculous but. that’s just his face. for the entire scene#anyway I love this episode and I love my boys#oh and this scene comes from the fourfold trap#which just has so much great angsty potential all around#And all the turtles helping each other out is just so sweet#tmnt 2012#tmnt leo#tmnt raph#teenage mutant ninja turtles#the fourfold trap
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(☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞ gay
#tmnt 2k12#kunoichi squared#it's so hard to get good screenshots of this show. but anyway. dyke behavior.#op#ep: the fourfold trap
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Fluffvember 2023 Day 1
Day 1 - Self-care
im very excited about this month ive already planned out all my fics already :)))))
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Fuck it I'm gonna blab about another crossover fic i'm working on once i'm done with two souls
I dont care if it takes me years or if this fandom dies out (which it won't, tmnt is timeless)
But anyway.
It's called Pink Puppets, a crossover AU with a similar concept to Dagger From the Mirror (although i havent read it yet cuz i am scared)
It's going to ve reversed this time, with the Rise brothers being older because it's set after the movie and the 2012 boys remaining 15 years old (so kinda the same age as Mikey in the movie)
I was gonna use Draxum but i fell in love with the idiot so now I'm gonna use an antagonist that i had in plan for Two Souls season 3, that's why I was gonna write it after I finish Two Souls.
Basically that antagonist wants to replicate Draxum's warriors themselves, but don't want to go through the lengths to actually start doing it. They idolize Draxu and his beliefs and was angry that Draxum threw it all away to play family.
Kraang Subprime of 2012 gets involved and they discover there's countless of universes out there he can pull tirtles from.
He chose 2012.
It's season 3, a few days or a week from the fourfold trap (Karai escapes and is never seen again) episode and the bous are still about 15. This antagonist sees the brainworm in action and takes some for themselves, takong it home and modifying it before they snatch the brothers right in front of 12 April and 12 Casey.
They get dragged into Rise.
The brothers were imprisoned and one by one, a brainworm is forced into their brains. This is where the AU gets its name, the worms are pink and made the brothers' eyes pink.
The new modified brainworms aren't like Shredder's. It slowly influences the victim, making them the worse versions of themselves and think the antagonist is liek their parent or something, using their emotions against them.
12 Mikey is toxicly positive and brutal. He acts as if everything was just a game, he uses his kusagirama a lot, enjoying maling people bleed. He's dangerous and doesn't realize what he's doing is wrong. He's the new leader of the brainwashed gang, bossing his brothers around and they can't say no because of his little brother charm. He knows to emotionally manipulate people with his looks, which gives him a big advantage.
12 Donnie is a complete wreck. He's a ticking timebomb, he doesn't stop talking, doesn't mind his volume, doesn't care about his own wellbeing. He's destroying himself, he literally ignores his injuries if he gets one. 12 Mikey goes for a playful kill, toying with his victims while 12 Donnie always keeps them alive so he could experiment with them. He also uses his hidden blade a lot. He's twitchy and explodes very easily, making him a hard unpredictable opponent.
Then there's 12 Leo.
In this AU, you would expect his "bossiness" is gonna be the trait that gets amplified to be the worse, no, its his obedience. He's more like a puppet than his brothers. He's silent, completely silent, he never talks under the influence of the modified brainworm and follows every single order his brothers tell him to do. Unlike his brothers that would prolong death as much as possible, he strikes for the neck, immediately. He's basically the trump card, only used when things don't go as planned. He's hollow, emotionless, just a shell of his former self. Dead to the world and control by invisible strings.
What's funny is that despite the fact that their worse traits are amplified, they still love and care for each other. They're fiercely overprotective, they will stop the battle if one of them gets gravely injured, they'll take care of each others injuries.
That overprotectiveness is one of the reasons they still haven't got out of the worm's control, it was used against them.
And don't worry, i didn't forget about 12 Raph.
He escapes.
Remember that Raph centric AU i posted about? Yeah, this is it.
It was supposed to be 12 Mikey in thus position, but he's already got experience with dealing with his brothers turning evil, same goes for 12 Donnie, and maybe 12 Leo but he's the one that's evil, but not 12 Raph as far as I know.
12 Raph hasn't fought his brothers alone before.
Plus he already got a taste of the brainworm, why not fight back against his own fear of it?
So he runs away, stumbles upon the Rise turtles and pushes away his pride, beghing for them to help him save his brothers, and of course they do.
While the 2012 brothers cause chaos for the humans in New York with a subplot of trying to get 12 Raph to their side, the Rise brothers and their friends now have to deal with teens Mikey's age wanting murder and their brother who just wants them back.
This time, the Rise brothers have to be the responsibile older guys and the 12 boys the chaotic little shits.
(Don't worry, everyone is looking for them back in 2012)
Tell me ya'lls thoughts about it. Is it good??
#tmnt 2012#rottmnt#teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#tmnt crossover#raph angst my beloved
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TMNT and Responsibility
I've posted a couple of TMNT thoughts on here recently that have been surprisingly well received, but I think this might be my most divisive so far 😅 I want to take a look at responsibility in relation to Leo and Donnie. This crosses most iterations, though I have made notes where there are exceptions.
A lot of people (both within the shows and within the fandom) tend to put quite a bit of emphasis on the weight that Leonardo is under as leader of the team (this is a little trickier in Rise due to Raph initially being the leader as well as being the oldest, but even in the Rise fandom there is a lot of focus on the pressure that is unexpectedly put onto Leo).
Now, I want to make a distinction here between the responsibilities of being the eldest brother, and the responsibilities of being the team leader, because they are not the same thing. Every Leo (barring Rise) is the oldest son for their entire lives (obviously😅). As the oldest, they are held to certain standards and expects to watch over their younger brothers. However, their brothers aren't that much younger than them even in Rise (and even though the fandom loves to baby all of the Mikeys, though that's a rant for another day), and so the responsibility is more along the lines of setting an example and helping Splinter out a bit more.
He is also usually more dedicated in his training than the others, though he enjoys training so this is also seen as a hobby until things get serious.
They only really become team leader when they are in their teens (I'm pretty sure every show has a moment where we see the teenage Leo accepting or asking for the responsibility of being in charge, though I'm not too sure about 03). This is an immense burden, putting the lives of their friends and family directly into their hands and forcing them to make tough choices. However, as mentioned, this burden is placed on them when they are teenagers. I am not dimishing that it is awful to expect a teenager to make plans that may include sacrificing themselves, their family, and/or their friends for the greater good, but up until their mid teens, when they start going to the surface and fighting enemies, their responsibilities are primarily more geared towards being older siblings (providing comfort, discipline, etc)
Now, this is the part where I am expecting some people to get angry with me. Unlike with the Leos who get the majority of their burdens acknowledged by the shows and the fandoms, Donatellos', for the most part, seem to be ignored, and even when the pressure they are under is acknowledged, it tends to be brushed off later on or is given a one episode focus that doesn't end up alleviating any of his duties (in 12, Leo never apologised for what he said in Fourfold Trap and I am still furious)
As the second youngest, Donatellos are still seen as needing to protect the youngest sibling, and also receives far less protection/leeway than Mikey does (that isn't to say that his brothers never protect him or show him any younger brother privileges, but Mikey tends to get away with far more than Donnie ever would, as I mentioned in a previous post, Mikey generally gets far fewer consequences for his actions within the narrative of multiple iterations).
Don also has the most responsibilities out of the entire team (this is again a little bit harder to say for certain in Rise as no team medic is confirmed, though I personally believe that Rise Donnie is the medic seeing as he is the one who brings up Raph's allergy, and having Leo be the medic when he was also going to be made into the leader doesn’t make sense to me).
He keeps everything up and running, the electricity, probably their clean water, their vehicles, their phones, their recreational tech, their security, etc. He's usually an emotional sounding board for the team (especially Mikey). As stated before, he also tends to be the team medic, and usually serves as a second in command to Leo, helping him brainstorm/finalise plans, and also often taking over as leader in Leo's stead when Leo is unable to lead, or when the mission relates to one of his specialities. Poor 07 even has a job on top of his usual responsibilities whilst trying to be leader.
And the Donnies have probably been handling most of this since they were pretty young (though, like Leo, their responsibilities do ramp up when they are teens) When their responsibilities increase, their brothers' lives are constantly placed into their hands. If their vehicles don't work, they can't make an escape. If their security fails, they might not be prepared for an attack. If they can't figure out a solution to a number of issues on the fly in the middle of some seriously stressful situation, the mission fails and the people that they care about could suffer for it. If they can't figure out how to patch them up, they die.
It just annoys me a little when people go on and on about how Leo has been martyred his entire life, sacrificing his entire childhood when, for the most part, his childhood was the same as his brothers up until they were teens, and Donnie probably had more responsibility as an actual child.
Although they would have had some responsibilities as the oldest, it was probably nowhere near as much stress as the fandom likes to portray. Rise Raph is a bit of an exception to this as their Splinter seemed to be a lot more neglectful due to his depression, and so Raph probably had more responsibility in raising his siblings.
So, as a sort of conclusion to this long rambling post, I just wanted to acknowledge that, although most of the time Leo is viewed as the brother under the most pressure, I fully believe that Donnie is a strong contendor for the title of brother with the most responsibility. An awful lot of their day to day life and their missions depend on Donnie being able to fix things or whip up a miracle. Also, like Leo, Donnie is often put on the spot, forced to make split second decisions that could tip the balance either for or against them.
#rottmnt#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2k12#tmnt donatello#tmnt donnie#tmnt michelangelo#tmnt mikey#tmnt raphael#Tmnt raph#tmnt leo#tmnt leonardo#tmnt 2003#tmnt 2k18#tmnt 2007#tmnt 2k14#tmnt 2k7#tmnt 2k16#Tmnt 2k18
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Here’s my last batch of turtle angst doodles based on prompts/requests that I got, this time involving only TMNT: Once Human turtles.
The prompts were a bit more specific this time, and I also took a few liberties on the prompts myself:
bruised and resting against each other, head-on-shoulder, after a battle (a reminder that OH! Donatello has robotic prosthetic legs)
poison in the veins
separated and trying to reach each other while someone is hurt (basically just me re-creating the TMNT 2012 episode “The Fourfold Trap”, but with OH! Leo and Raph)
shielding someone from a hit; arms wrapped around them protectively
taking a hit meant for someone else (I included the context for a doodle from day 1 for this)
hiding an injury (a reminder that OH! Mikey is a softshelled turtle) (with bonus medic-Leo!)
More angst: Day 1, Day 2
#tmnt#tmntoh#tmnt once human#once human#teenage mutant ninja turtles#donatello#raphael#michelangelo#leonardo#angst#injury#blood#hurt/comfort#poison#veins#bruises#comic#my art#my comic#jadethest0ne
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TMNT (2012) characters as dysfunctional family roles
here I go again analyzing a kids show that ended four years ago. anyway, I saw a tiktok by user doinbigthink where they gave a quick overview of the six kinds of dysfunctional family roles, and I immediately thought of tmnt bc it’s my current hyperfixation. so I spent almost an hour doing research and writing up this analysis, as one does.
as a preface: dysfunction in a family can be caused by anything from someone struggling with addiction to a parent being abusive or unavailable/neglectful to someone having narcissistic personality disorder (npd) etc. etc. Usually there is one person who is the root cause of this (very deep seated) dysfunction and the others in the family (often the kids) fall into these roles in order to cope.
Leo: The Hero
The Hero is often the oldest child. They cope with the dysfunction in the family by being high achievers or perfectionists, and they need a sense of control in order to feel safe within the family. They are seen as very well-adjusted, balanced, and high-functional and are often used as an example of how well the family as a whole is doing. They may allow this misconception to continue (whether consciously or unconsciously) in order to hide the family’s problems. They may be parentified as children (that is, forced to take on a parental role for their younger siblings) and usually feel a lot of pressure to solve the family’s issues. With Leo in particular, you see these two behaviors in the way he approaches leading his brothers as well as the way he obsessed over bringing Karai into the family for Splinter’s sake after discovering her true identity. As an adult, the Hero is often drawn toward romantic partners who are emotionally unavailable (again, see Leo’s crush on Karai) and tend to throw themselves into their work (Leo’s obsession with ninjutsu)
Leo: The Golden Child
The Golden Child is not a dysfunctional family role but instead describes a relationship that develops between a parent/guardian with npd and one of the children in the family. In these cases, the parent tends to favor the Golden Child because the Golden Child exhibits all the traits the parent loves in themselves. In Splinter and Leo’s case, these characteristics are their devotion to ninjutsu, their general temperaments, and their more spiritual/mystic natures. There are MANY examples of this favoritism in TMNT canon; for example, Splinter teaching Leo his reiki technique (the healing hands) in “the deadly venom” because everyone things Leo is the most capable of learning such an advanced technique (in the episode, Donnie says that he doesn’t think anyone else on the team could’ve done what Leo did, i.e. using the healing hands on himself and saving the others from karai). The parent has a volatile relationship with the Golden Child and often their love is conditional (that is, the parent will favor the Golden Child as long as the Golden Child continues to act like the parent). Because of this, the Golden Child often has trouble establishing an independent identity (see: Raph calling Leo “Splinter Jr.”, though I can’t remember if this happens in 2012 or just in the 2003 version). The Golden Child may also participate in the narcissistic parent’s abuse against the other children in order to protect themself (this is less explicit in canon, but I think that Leo’s leadership style fits this bill)
Raph: The Scapegoat
The Scapegoat is often the second child. As the name suggests, they are often blamed for things that go wrong in the family regardless of whether it was actually their fault or not. Scapegoats are often very aware of their position in the family and as a result they may feel rejected, isolated, and unlovable. I think a good example of Raph feeling like this is the fact that, early in the show, he only openly expresses his emotions to Spike. Scapegoats learn that negative attention is better than no attention (especially from a parent/guardian) and they often engage in high risk behaviors such as sex, drugs, etc. (in Raph’s case, his reckless fighting style and the way he seeks out fights, and this also explains his temper and overall angry demeanor). Because of this, they tend to get into a lot of trouble and are often singled out as the child who needs individual help (aka therapy) even though the root problems lie with the family as a unit. In cases where the parent has npd the Scapegoat is often pitted against the Golden Child. This is called splitting and it is another way to distract from the family’s deeper issues. I feel like I don’t need to explain the way that Leo and Raph are pitted against each other.
Donnie: The Lost Child
The Lost Child, as the name implies, often fades into the background. Usually this is on purpose in an effort to keep themself safe, as they might be scared to draw attention to themself or rock the boat, especially in an abusive household. They may often feel ignored or neglected and are often described as loners who have difficulty developing social skills or self-esteem. Like the Hero, the Lost Child is often used as an example of the family’s stability and success because they aren’t causing trouble. They tend to struggle when forming friendships/romantic relationships, and they are usually praised for not needing a lot of attention/being independent. Because of this, they feel safer when they’re by themselves. Although Donnie does cause trouble sometimes (see: all the times he’s blown some shit up in the lab, the Mutagen man thing, etc.), he’s not seen as the troublemaker. Raph (and Mikey, to a certain extent) definitely takes that title. Donnie is often alone in his lab---working, admittedly, but he still tends to isolate himself, and he is often seen as the most socially awkward of the brothers (see: his relationship with April). There’s also this very interesting exchange from the episode “Enemy of My Enemy” when they’re in the Shellraiser and Leo is about to take the stealth bike to help Karai:
Raph: Hey, the stealth bike’s my thing.
Leo: Now your thing is sucking it up.
Donnie: Hey! That’s my thing!
Mikey: The Mascot
The Mascot is often the youngest child. They use humor and goofiness to diffuse tension and distract the family from their issues, though when this works, they feel increased pressure to continue to step in when things become tense or volatile. The Mascot acts from a place of anxiety and trauma, and they may have bouts of depression. They also tend to feel as though they cannot express their negative emotions (because they often see themselves as responsible for their family’s happiness). They tend to bend over backwards for people with little regard for their own safety/comfort, and they are drawn to intense and dysfunctional relationships (whether romantic or platonic) where they will be called upon to diffuse tension. This can be seen in the way Mikey approached his friendships with both Bradford (pre-mutation) and Leatherhead. Mikey is also very rarely shown as being sad, angry, or depressed the way that the other three are, and it’s only in times of extreme emotional distress (like the season two finale) where he drops his humor. Even in the midst of tough battles or tough situations, Mikey tends to insert himself into the middle of the tension and is almost constantly cracking jokes or trying to keep things lighthearted. When he does show more negative emotions, it’s in (mostly) one of two ways. One, giving comfort or seeking comfort, usually from Raph (again see the season two finale, where he hugs Raph to calm him down after Splinter “dies” and seeks comfort from Raph in the Party Wagon as they’re driving away from the city). Two, acting combative with Donnie.
Note: Mikey and Donnie acting combative
This second one in particular is really interesting to me because both Donnie and Mikey exhibit a level of comfort/feeling safe with each other that they don’t display with the other two. Mikey only ever gets physical with Donnie (their little slap fight in “Turtle Temper” or attacking him at the end of “The Creeping Doom”), while Donnie only ever purposefully antagonizes Mikey to get a reaction (slapping him in “Turtle Temper”, which prompts the slap fight, or teasingly insulting him at the end of “The Creeping Doom”, which prompts Mikey to attack him). Mikey likes to get under Raph’s skin, but he never retaliates when Raph gets physical with him. Donnie does occasionally argue with Raph and Leo, but usually backs down after Raph threatens him with violence (see “New Girl in Town”), and with Leo it never escalates past a verbal fight (see the season two finale, “the fourfold trap”). Actually, it seems that in Mikey’s and Donnie’s relationship, they take on the roles that you usually see in Raph’s and Mikey’s relationship. Mikey antagonizes Raph and Raph retaliates; similarly, Donnie antagonizes Mikey and Mikey retaliates, but neither of them would act this way toward their other two brothers.
Splinter: The Root of the Dysfunction
I’ve made a lot of allusions by now to Splinter having npd, or at least some narcissistic tendencies. There are many times where he shows favoritism toward Leo or acts in a very stubborn or even self-absorbed manner. In the season one finale, for example, he refuses to help the turtles fight and only leaves the lair after april is kidnapped by the shredder. In “the pulverizer returns”, he makes the turtles switch weapons (for literally no good reason), they almost die in a fight and switch back, and as punishment, he takes their weapons away entirely; this isn’t addressed in the episode, but i do believe that if they’d had their weapons, they could’ve prevented timothy from being mutated in this episode. (Admittedly there are times when he apologizes, admits he’s wrong, and changes his mind, which is why I hesitate to say he exhibits fully narcissistic behaviors). There’s also the physical aspect of their relationship. He’s teaching the turtles ninjutsu, so you can expect a very physical relationship in the form of training, but there are times when he causes the turtles pain for the sake of pain as punishment (e.g. randori, which we see a few times, or when he goes for their pressure points, or when he trips mikey in the episode “monkey brains”, or when he stabs raph with his cane in the episode “turtle temper”, and these are just the examples i can think of off the top of my head). There has been discourse in the fandom about whether these characters (splinter and raph in particular) are abusive, and i don’t want to get into that. However, i think it’s undeniable that splinter raised his kids with the intent to turn them into child soldiers, and also i fully believe that this (plus his parenting style) is the root of the dysfunction in the hamato family.
#I cannot believe I spent 45 minutes researching dysfunctional family roles and writing this up#anyway#teenage mutant ninja turtles#tmnt 2012#leonardo#michelangelo#donatello#raphael#splinter#Leo 2012#donnie 2012#Raph 2012#Mikey 2012#splinter 2012#analysis
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TMNT 2012 Episode Ranking(By Season)
S1
S: Rise of the Turtles, It Came from the Depths, & TCRI
A: Karai’s Vendetta & New Girl in Town
B: Enemy of my Enemy, Operation: Breakout, The Alien Agenda, Showdown, & Metalhead
C: Parasitica, Turtle Temper, Mousers Attack, I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman, Baxter’s Gambit, Monkey Brains, & The Gauntlet
D: Panic in the Sewers, I Monster, New Friend Old Enemy, & Never Say Xever
E: Cockroach Terminator & The Pulversizer Returns
F: The Pulverizer
S2
S: The Invasion, Slash & Destroy & Vengeance is Mine
A: The Good The Bad and the Casey Jones, The Mutation Situation, Mutagen Man Unleashed & Into Dimension X
B: Follow the Leader, Newtralized, Of Rats & Men, Target: April O’Neil, Metalhead Rewired, The Wrath of Tigerclaw & The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman
C: Plan 10, Invasion of the Squirrelanoids, The Manhattan Project, The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto & The Kraang Conspiracy
D: Mazes and the Mutants, Fungous Humongous, A Chinatown Ghost Story
E: Mikey Gets Shellacne
F: Pizza Face
S3
S: Battle for New York & Casey Jones vs. The Underworld
A: Buried Secrets, Within the Woods, Race with the Demon, Tale of the Yokai, Return to New York, Annihilation Earth, & Dinosaurs Seen in the Sewers
B: Serpent Hunt, Clash of the Mutanimals, Turtles in Time, Eyes of the Chimera, & The Fourfold Trap
C: In Dreams, Vision Quest, The Noxious Avenger, The Pig & the Rhino, Attack of the Mega-Shredder, & Creeping Doom
D: Meet Mondo Gecko, & The Deadly Venom
E: The Croaking
F: A Foot Too Big
S4
S: Requiem, & Owari
A: The Moon of Thalos 3, Trans-Dimensional Turtles, Earth’s Last Stand, Tale of Tigerclaw, The Darkest Plight, The Evil of Dregg, & Beyond the Whole Universe
B: Tokka vs. The World, Revenge of the Triceratons, The Super Shredder, The War for Dimension X, & The Ever-Burning Fire
C: Mutant Gangland, The Outlaw Armaggon, Riddle of the Ancient Aeons, The Cosmic Ocean, The Power Inside Her, City at War, & Broken Foot
D: Journey to the Center of Mikey’s Mind, The Weird World of Wrym, & The Arena of Carnage
E: The Insecta Trifecta
F: Bat in Belfry
S5
S: Lone Rat & Cubs
A: Usagi Yojimbo Arc
B: When Worlds Collide
C: Monsters & Mutants Arc, Kavakas Arc
D: ‘87 & ‘12 Crossover Finale
E:
F: Mutant Wasteland Arc
#tmnt 2012#tmnt 2012 season 1#TMNT 2012 season 2#TMNT 2012 season 3#TMNT 2012 season 4#TMNT 2012 season 5#episode ranking#tier ranking
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My Top 10 TMNT 2012 Episodes
Disclaimer: This list is based on my opinion. I love all the episodes from this series. I will be choosing episodes from all five seasons. Let’s begin.
10 - End Times (Season 5; Episode 4)
The true canon ending to the TMNT series. This episode was great but wasn’t completely amazing. I didn’t like how they brought back Shredder but I did like how The Shredder chose to stay dead. Mark Hamill did a fantastic job as Kavaxas. My favorite moment from this episode was seeing Master Splinter saying goodbye to his family, one last time before he left and seeing Karai and Splinter hugging each other warmed my heart.
9 - The Forgotten Swordsman (Season 5; Episode 2)
This episode in my opinion was just awesome. We see Karai and Shinigami again, which I enjoyed the most, and a new character named Hattori Tatsu. This episode basically revealed the fact that Karai had years of intense training, not only with The Shredder, but with Tatsu. Karai trained in Ninjutsu with Shredder and learned her sword skills from a blind swordsman. This episode also showed how Karai has changed throughout the show.
8 - Broken Foot (Season 4; Episode 16)
I don’t even know where to begin with this episode. We see the return of Karai and Shinigami and watch them take down Shredder’s empire. We also see Dark Leo which a lot of us loved. Lots of great moments in this episode. The one I liked the most was when Karai basically risked her life in an explosion and obtained a scar over her face because of it. Luckily, she was able to shed the burned skin off but even without her mutation makes me wonder, would she still do it? Probably.
7 - Vision Quest (Season 3; Episode 8)
This episode was amazing. Seeing the turtles overcome themselves like this was awesome. The vision outfits are one of my favorite outfits the turtles wear throughout the series. I enjoyed this episode as it was also the end of the retreat arc or whatever it was called. I was really excited to see them go on their vision quest and soon go back to New York.
6 - Darkest Plight (Season 4; Episode 21)
In the previous episode, we see Splinter face of the Super Shredder and then fall into the obis of the abandoned city. When the team doesn’t know what to do after they lost Splinter, Karai stands up and says they take them all down for Splinter. An act of justice, not revenge in my opinion. The fight between Shredder against April and Karai was awesome. The best part about this episode was seeing Karai stand up to Shredder and literally punch him in his heart.
5 - The Fourfold Trap (Season 3; Episode 23)
I like this episode. Fight me. This episode was great in my opinion because it marks the last time we see Karai under control of the brainworm. I will say, I was ecstatic when I saw Karai in this episode and I did in fact cry when she literally slipped out of Splinters hand after he saved her. Luckily we get to see her again in season 4 and with a new character that’s an old friend of hers.
4 - Tale of the Yokai (Season 3; Episode 20)
Where do I even start? This episode had everything. We finally got to meet Tang Shen, see the rivalry between Shredder and Splinter, baby Miwa, Leo holding baby Miwa, and the first death to happen on screen in this show. I was super excited for this episode when I saw the leak from Comic Con. Seeing the turtles interact with Shen was sweet and when they desperately tried to save her was just sentimental. We also see Shredder taking Miwa and later renaming her Karai.
3 - Owari (Season 4; Episode 26)
The other canon ending to this series. This episode had the end of Super Shredder in the most badass way. I wish we could have seen the original scene where blood is shown from the cut Leo made through Shredder’s neck. I understand it’s too violet for kids but that would be cool to see at least once or in the DVD release. Seeing all the turtles in their Dark outfits or Shinobi outfits was really awesome. The ending was even better. Seeing the turtles, April, Casey, and Karai look out into the city was beautiful, especially when Splinter appeared in the end card.
2 - City at War (Season 4; Episode 15)
This episode aired on my boyfriends birthday who was my ex at the time. Having to be reminded of him made me upset but this episode cheered me up since it was the return of Karai and the first appearance of Shinigami. Also, I was happy to see April become a Kunoichi. For any of you who hated her becoming a Kunoichi so early, let me explain, yes the turtles and Karai had years of training till they became ninjas. But in the beginning of The Invasion, we see a young Karai who looked to be maybe 12 or 13 when she received her tanto and the turtles might have been around 8 or 10 when they received their weapons. It took her maybe two years... okay I see why now, but still. Also, this episode was the start of a three part episode where we see Karai. They really made up for those times where we didn’t see her at all or she was on the wrong side.
Honorable Mentions -
Rise of the Turtles 1 & 2 (Season 1; Episode 1 & 2)
New Girl in Town (Season 1; Episode 13)
Showdown 1 & 2 (Season 1; Episode 25 & 26)
Follow the Leader (Season 2; Episode 6)
All crossovers with the 80′s turtles (Season 4 & 5; Episode 10 & 18 - 20)
Lone Rats and Cubs (Season 5; Episode 10)
1 - Vengeance is Mine (Season 2; Episode 22)
When my friend asked me my favorite episode, I couldn’t think of one till I remembered this episode. I stopped watching TMNT for a while somewhere after the season 1 finale and beginning of season 2, I’d say after Follow the Leader. I decided to watch the show again and this was the first episode I watched when it was released. This episode was emotional in so many ways for me. When Karai hugs Splinter after being rescued made me tear up and when she falls into the mutagen made me bawl. Having to see Splinter lose his daughter again was just terrible. If it wasn’t for this episode, I don’t know if I would ever get back to TMNT. This episode was also the reason why my favorite character is Karai and where my love for her came.
I enjoyed watching this series and re-watching it is even better. I feel like the show ended too early with unanswered questions and unfinished arcs such as the mutagen search arc. I do hope Ciro Nieli makes a movie for the series soon. I hope you enjoyed my list. I will work on my least favorite episodes next time when I have the chance.
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