Should you watch this, Wiki this, or wait for the recap? Watch this!
The Turtles finally manage to rescue Karai, against Splinter’s wishes. But a peaceful co-existence with the Turtles isn’t enough for Karai, who wants vengeance upon Shredder. Shredder makes use of Karai to lure Splinter and the Turtles into a trap – with terrible consequences for all of them, most of all Karai.
“Vengeance is Mine” is the 22nd episode of Season 2 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It finally ties up the longrunning Karai plot arc, but in a very unfortunate and heartbreaking manner. Despite her being a supporting character, the episode focuses firmly on Karai, and shows her allegiance shift to the Turtles.
Now, it’s not like the big twist wasn’t know from the start – we’ve seen images of the new Karai toy, which clearly shows her fate in this episode. It’s really only been a matter of when she turns into a mutant, rather than if she turns into a mutant. Fortunately, she seems to cope with it much better than other mutants, which is the only saving grace for Karai’s mutation.
Highlights
Unexpected twist of Serpent Karai
If you were lucky enough to not have the episode spoilt for you, then Karai’s bath in the ooze is truly an unexpected plot twist. Nobody has any intention of hurting Karai, yet the sequence of events that leads to her snake mutation is truly tragic. What drives the emotion home even more are the expressions of Shredder and Splinter when she drops into the vat of ooze.
Shredder and Splinter’s similar concern for Karai
Karai effectively has two fathers – her birth father, Splinter, and her surrogate father, Shredder. And as with all good drama, both fathers want to kill each other. You also know that despite the fact that they will go to any lengths to defeat each other, they would rather sacrifice themselves first than let Karai get hurt. Unfortunately, the net result of their conflict is that the one person they care about in common, Karai, has to bear the consequences of mutation.
Splinter-Shredder fight
Fights between Shredder and Splinter are always fun. They fight with such speed and savagery that it always provides very strong visual impact. And they are the two most highly skilled ninjas on the show! Watching them fight is a treat indeed.
Letdowns
Karai’s ending not explained
Karai’s ambiguous ending leaves much to be desired. Is she human, mutant, or both? It’s a a sort of cliffhanger, but with so few episodes left in the season, her eventual fate better be confirmed, or we’ll be left with her mutated toy and just a memory of the old Karai.
“Vengeance is Mine” works on so many levels – exactly who’s vengeance is it? But the true message is the cost of vengeance. Because of their ceaseless fighting, the young daughter that two men love is now cursed to become a rage-filled mutant. It grips you emotionally, but also provides solid action and a well-paced plot. Definitely one of the better episodes thus far.
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