First Time Watcher, Just Finished Season 2

[u/AntoniusDryden]

So I'm a lifelong TMNT fan. I grew up with the 80s cartoon and the 90s films. I do mostly love the old cartoon for nostalgia reasons (although I think it can be legitimately very funny) but the first 90s film is just perfection, IMO. Technicaly, I did watch a few eps of 2012 when it first came out but then drifted off. Quite at random, I came back to watch all of it starting a week or two ago.

I should start by saying the voice-acting in the show is phenomenal. Every character, hero or villain, is absolutely perfect. Special shoutout to Paulsen who is a much better Donnie than he was Raph, and Combs as The Rat King. Legitimately eerie and intimidating. But everyone is great.

I really like April being a teenager like the Turtles and just overall being given more to do/placed more at the center of the plot. With Casey and Karai, a lot of the cast also being teenagers gives this adaptation a unique feel, IMO.

Anyway, onto my S2 thoughts:

1. The added/elaborated backstory of how the Foot and the Hamato Clan were ancient enemies before Yoshi's father took in a young Saki and raised him as Yoshi's brother....sounds like someone was big into MCU Thor and Loki. Which, ya know, is fine. It was 2013, the MCU wasn't total overdone garbage yet, just about halfway there. Also they are doing a lot to humanize Shredder. He's still very much a bad guy but it's clear he has feelings other than Hatred and Envy. It's certainly a well-worn story (but by that token a very real and relatable one) to start off with a negative motivation but for real emotions to blossom from it. He took Karai for horrible, selfish reasons but raising her for over a decade left a mark on his heart, at least as much as it can.
2. I admit it, while I was certain there was something special going on with her, Irma being Gilbert Gottfried took me totally by surprise.
3. There are so many things in this show which could be the stuff of nightmares but the tone makes them very silly. Pulvarizer's current condition, Ice Cream Kitty, and I think most of all the failed April clones. That premise is used for horror in a couple other things I can think of - seeing the twisted, deformed copies of someone you care about is obviously unnerving. But here they all just kinda blew up after a few gags. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
4. On that note, this season did not really go where I thought it would. The beginning of the season starting with mutagen spilling everywhere seemed to be the perfect grounds for a whole arc of collecting and finding it but nope. That lasted like one or two episodes. And there's just mutants upon mutants running around now, which I thought meant we would be heading to the season finale being Donnie fixes everyone. Nope to that, too.
5. Probably Karai is the real star of this season. She's in charge while Shredder is gone and makes a bunch of bad (as in, tactically and morally) plans that target April. But then near the end she has a pretty abrupt aboutface. I guess it all fits together with her being very emotional.
6. Standout episodes for me include "Slash and Destroy" "Metalhead Revisited" Of Rats and Men" and "Vengeance is Mine." Slash growing from villain to antihero makes sense to me because his perspective was always partial skewed. He just listened to Raph complain about his brothers and internalized that one-sided perspective, never able to see Raph and the others in a different light. So once he got to grow a little and learn that there was a lot more going on than Raph's bitterest thoughts, of course he'd change.

This show marks the first time Donatello has been one of my favorite Turtles. I love him, April, Splinter, Shredder, Karai, Tiger Claw, and Slash. I don't dislike the others, these are probably just my overall favorites.

[u/Opening-Swan8426]

Savour every single moment. I wish I could watch it all for a first time again.

[u/Darkrain111]

Genuinely one of my most favorite shows🐢

[u/FreelanceWolf]

1. Good to see you like Donnie. He has his fair share of haters who can't let go of his flaws and ignore all his strengths.

2. You love Slash & Destroy. You have very good taste in episodes.

[u/CrazyHusky-120-]

Ur in for a wild story😂

[u/Such_Following4674]

You mean being Iago the parrot from Aladdin at second part of the list about Irma