Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this if you have time! Otherwise, you don’t really have to Wiki this.
A run-in with the Purple Dragons releases an ancient evil spirit from a mystical dagger, Ho Chan! Can the Turtles defeat this supernatural villain, or will they fall prey to his magical abilities as well?
“A Chinatown Ghost Story” is the 23rd episode of Season 2 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It features an entirely new villain, the nefarious sorcerer Ho Chan, and makes use of entirely human antagonists for the episode. Surprisingly, it works out pretty well – despite the fact that the Turtles are the only mutants, it still retains the feel of contemporary fantasy and action.
There’s no advancement of the plot, but given that there’s only three episodes left, I bet the last three will finally see the Kraang invasion and hopefully the return of Karai. There’s a nod to Karai’s transformation in the previous episode, as the Turtles are looking for her – nice bits of continuity like this are always appreciated since it acknowledges that the world continues around the Turtles, even outside of the episode.
Highlights
Ho Chan’s campiness
Ho Chan is an incredibly over-the-top villain who’s constantly mocking everyone around him and trying to irritate people instead of killing him. He felt like a stereotypical ancient spirit at first, but as the episode progressed, many of the jokes centred around his sadly deflated expectations. There’s none of the “adapting to the modern world” nonsense, thankfully. And he has amazing lines! Every other line is a jibe at someone or something’s expense.
Purple Dragons are useful for once
I don’t like the Purple Dragons (see Letdowns) but here, given mystical powers of lightning, thunder, and wind, they actually constitute a threat to Casey Jones! The Turtles take them down fairly quickly though, but at least there’s some sort of an interesting fight .
Repeated digs at Irma
Irma’s a little bit more annoying in this series than in the 80s one, and Casey takes every opportunity to let her be captured or rescued last. Casey’s annoyance with Irma is another source of humour in this episode, because he clearly can’t stand her, but can’t do anything about it since she’s April’s friend (April has friends?).
Letdowns
Purple Dragons are irritating
I don’t like the Purple Dragons. They are ineffective, boring, and don’t add anything to the show other than being the resident thugs/criminals when grunts or mooks are needed for the Turtles to defeat. They are powered up for this episode, but as the fight clearly shows, they are still henchmen. It’s like making Foot Soldiers actual characters of their own. I think it’s a waste of the animation budget, and I’d much rather see it go to Kraang Prime’s husband or some such. How do the Kraang reproduce, anyway?
Possessed Turtles don’t get to strut their stuff
When Ho Chan empowers the Turtles (by taking the elemental abilities away from the Purple Dragons), you don’t really get to see the Turtles fighting with their wind/thunder/lighting abilities. Partly because there’s nobody else to fight (besides Donnie), and also to imply that they are nigh invincible at this point. It’s a pity though – some elemental martial arts would have been fun!
“A Chinatown Ghost Story” is an interesting side trek away from the Turtles’ usual adventures, and the larger-than-life Ho Chan makes for an interesting distraction. It may be a filler episode, but it’s funny filler! And the next few episodes are probably going to get serious too.
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