Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this.
When a Kraang spy uncovers the location of Turtle’s lair, it activates the entire Kraang invasion, catching the Turtles by surprise! Meanwhile, Shredder begins his plan to destroy Splinter once and for all, and Leonardo falls into his sinister trap.
“The Invasion, Part 1” is the 25th episode of Season 2 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As the set up for the season finale, it rips up the status quo and leaves the Turtles in the worst possible position. It also sees the culmination of the long running Kraang invasion plotline, as the attack begins in full scale in this episode. We also get to see the destruction of a (ostensibly) fan favourite character, but this is one of my highlights.
I can’t say I was pleased by this episode – it had a sense of melancholy and despair to it, rather a sense of tension and danger. To me, it wasn’t a matter of whether the Turtles would win, but how much it would cost them. The sense of foreboding throughout the episode is uneasy, and being a two-parter, the climax is, of course, how large of a fix the Turtles will find themselves in.
Beyond this, you will find spoilers, since there’s a fairly major plot point in this episode that I’m rather happy about. Onwards!
Highlights
Raph & Casey
I honestly thought this relationship had been played out, but with the looming threat of the Kraang, it brings a new dynamic to their interactions, especially when the topic of April-Donnie comes up. There’s this undercurrent of doom in all their conversations, as if they know that their death is coming soon. As with all good drama, the ones who expect it the least are the ones have it coming…
Alliance between Shredder and Kraang Prime
The opening scene where Shredder allies himself with the Kraang Prime (aren’t they already in an alliance as of the Season 1 finale?) is full of feels. The two major antagonists of the series, coming together, plotting the downfall of our heroes (and the domination of the world) – the stakes don’t get any higher for this! Not for a Ninja Turtles series, at least.
Irma is really the Kraang Subprime
It’s no surprise that I find Irma an obnoxious use of CGI, graphics that can easily be used to give the Turtles new weapons, create a new villain, or even revive the Technodrome. So when it turns out that Irma is actually a season long spy for the Kraang (her/his name is the Kraang Subprime, no less), I let out a whoop! My disdain for Irma is legitimate, and they’re finally killing her off (or replacing her with an even better villain, either way I’m cool).
Now the Kraang have another discrete character within their ranks (the first was the Kraang Prime).
Letdowns
The Kraang invasion has no Biotroids or Traag/Granitor or Technodrome
Where are these elements? At least give us the Biotroids and Rock Soldiers. They’ve had eons to plan for this invasion, wouldn’t they have rescued them by now? What happened? I like the Kraang Walkers and Scout Ships, but I was really looking forward to a battle royale with Traag, Biotroids, and the Technodrome firing on them overhead.
Then again, it might have taken the attention away from Kraang Prime, who wasn’t that threatening herself.
The plots feel disjointed
There’s Raph & Casey doing their own thing, Leo being lured off, and the Turtles regrouping. You also have Splinter going off by himself later, some Foot Clan action, and that gives you five plot threads to follow. Unlike the excellent “The Manhattan Project” episodes, the threads don’t seem to weave well into each other – it feels like individual stories that aren’t connected. It gives me this sneaking suspicion that the script was much, much longer (three episode maybe?), and in the process of being trimmed, alot of elements that would have tied everything together were dropped.
“The Invasion, Part 1” is a must watch simply because it provides the impetus for the next episode, and also because it sees the pay off for many of the hints we’ve seen in the season. Be prepared to be underwhelmed though. Let’s hope the finale picks up the pace!
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