NEW GIRL IN TOWN

01PLOT

The episode starts off with the Turtles chasing down Snakeweed, who is currently running amok in the city. He soon grabs an unsuspecting pizza delivery man and then runs into an alleyway with him. Leonardo tells his brothers that they should attack him from above and tie him up with some nearby clotheslines, but Raphael suggests that attacking him head-on will prove to be more successful and paramount. This results in him instigating an argument between the two and Snakeweed being able to escape. Then, Leo, very tired of Raph's constant, impudent attitude, reluctantly decides to let his brother try his own hand at leadership for a bit. While moaning, groaning and sulking on another rooftop, a greatly disappointed Leonardo is pursued by several Foot Soldiers for a very short distance and then he encounters them. Leo manages to defeat every single one of them in only a matter of seconds, but then a female warrior wearing a mask concealing the bottom half of her face (a Foot Ninja, seemingly) leaps downward, sarcastically complimenting Leo's skills. She then takes out a sword, which is totally coated in blinding powder and she flashes it directly into his face, which allows her to gain the upper hand with one simple kick. She then easily pins him to the ground, holding a sword to his head. She then reveals her name to be Karai and spares Leonardo's life. Karai then runs away without revealing any other source of information.

Back in the lair, Donnie is trying as hard as he possibly can to pinpoint the location of Snakeweed's hideout (through the lengthy process of elimination), when Leo walks in. He asks Donnie what they're doing, but Raph refuses to keep his brother informed one bit. While the others are out and about investigating, Leo is watching an episode of _Space Heroes_. Splinter walks in on him and Leo explains to Splinter that he handed his leadership position to Raph since he thinks he could be a better leader than him. When Splinter expresses disappointment in Leo for neglecting his duties, Leo tells him that he's tired of his brothers not seeing how much pressure he's under and for always complaining. He asks if it is too much to get a "thank you" once in a while. Splinter says that it is, and proceeds to tell Leo what leadership is _really_ about: It's not about appreciation, it's about responsibility. After this piece of advice, Splinter instructs Leo go find his brothers.

While back in the city again, Leo encounters Karai in a back alley and the two then begin fighting, both worthy opponents for each other. They engage in a seemingly playful conversation about Shredder needing to find a good hobby and the appeal of New York City until Karai ends up holding a sword to Leo's throat on an escape ladder. She tells him that she thinks that he's quite tired of being the good guy so frequently. He then breaks free from her grasp and holds one of his own swords on her. However, Karai is then quick to turn the tide of battle yet again, and afterward, she tells him that she wants him to meet her on top of a high-rise (the Byerly Building, which is located nearby) at midnight sharp so that 'she can show him something' apparently.

Not sure what to do, Leo goes to April's apartment for some advice on the situation. At first, April is all for his interest in her, but then slaps him when she's told that Karai is in the Foot Clan. She tries to convince him not to see her, but Leo decides to stubbornly go anyway to check her out.

While all of that's going on, Karai quickly returns to the Foot headquarters and meets up with Shredder in his exclusive throne room. He tells her that he is more than aware of the fact that she purposely let Leonardo live for some bizarre reason. Karai tries to lie about it, but he then quickly steps down and holds a blade on her. Shredder warns Karai to dispatch Leonardo the next time that she comes across him, or else. Karai claims that she understands all too well, subsequently addressing Shredder as her 'father'.

Meanwhile, Raph and the others follow the path in the sewers to where Snakeweed's lair supposedly is. They discover that he has set up an illimitable number of plant-like tubes throughout the entire area. And it turns out that he's been using the people that he's been kidnapping as a form of fertilizer by preserving them within some type of fluid. They manage to set a few of the people free by cutting them loose, but then Snakeweed attacks them from out of nowhere. However, Raph begins to show several signs of ineptitude when the one and only thing that he can say is "Go for the head" and he then begins panicking a lot when Mikey is soon knocked unconscious by the pugnacious mutant. Donnie is then forced to act as the intellect for a moment and tells him that the best option at this point is to make a hasty retreat. Thus, they grab Mikey and quickly leave. However, a tangled-up Snakeweed, without the three Turtles even noticing, attaches some type of 'pods' onto their backs before they are able to do so. After bringing a wounded Mikey back to the lair, Raph admits to Master Splinter that he hates the burden of leadership, and he now realizes and perceives what Leo has to deal with all the time. Splinter then advises Raph to go find him, but Raph hasn't the slightest clue of where Leo is. Donnie then tells him that Leo is heading over to the Byerly Building, having found this out with a text that he had just received from April.

Back in the city, Leo meets up with Karai on the top of the building and finds out exactly why she asked him to come there. She wants him to steal an extremely valuable katana belonging to one of the most opulent and finest swordsmen in the history of Japan. It is in a building down below. Karai tells Leo that he should stop being so responsible all the time and that he, being a skilled adversary and all, might indeed deserve the priceless weapon. However, he bluntly refuses and so Karai tells him that whether or not he'll go, she is taking it. Leo says that he won't let her, which upsets her quite a bit. Leo then tells her that he truly believes she has somewhat of a good side to her. Karai, after successfully fooling with Leonardo's mind, then grabs him in a blink of an eye and flips him over completely. Just when Raph arrives there, finds the two, and demands an explanation of some sort, but before Leo can actually explain, Snakeweed appears there as well (having managed to follow Raph with the pod that he attached to him earlier). The two Turtle brothers are instantaneously attacked and pinned down, and Leo then asks Karai for help as an act of desperation. Karai then leaves abruptly, but not before throwing a Tantō right near Leo's head, which Leo promptly uses to fight Snakeweed off with. Raph and Leo then finally defeat Snakeweed by finding several bottles of antifreeze on one of the streets and getting him utterly trapped in it. Snakeweed is then frozen solid and smashed to countless pieces, but after Leo and Raph make amends and leave, the mutant's heart, which is still completely intact, begins to beat once again.

Back in the lair, the brothers are able to wake up Mikey with the unmistakable scent of pizza. Raph and Leo soon step away from the others so that Raph can inquire who 'the girl that tried to kill him' is, while Mikey is left with the difficult mystery of if sewage is actually in the sewers or not. Leo thinks that Karai had really helped him, however, and it is soon revealed that he kept the Tantō that she mysteriously threw at his head, presumably as a memento of her.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

4 frames. Auto-matched screencaps via Fancaps.net.

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Raphael: And the award for the worst leader goes to- Leonardo: How am I the worst leader? Raphael: If we did this my way, Snakeweed would be toast by now. Michelangelo: Man, that sounds like nasty toast. Leonardo: This way would have worked if you haven't wasted time second guessing my orders! Raphael: Well, don't make bad orders and I won't second guess them!

Raphael: Then work faster!! Donatello: Do you really think yelling is going to help? Raphael: No. I think _hitting_ is going to help! Donatello: I'll work faster. Raphael: That's the spirit!

Raphael: Sorry. Leonardo: What did you say? I couldn't hear. Raphael: I said I'm... SORRY!!!

Raphael: So what's with the girl who tried to kill you? Leonardo: She didn't try to kill me, she saved me. Raphael: She threw a knife at your head. Leonardo: She threw a knife near my head. Raphael: She's in the Foot Clan. Leonardo: Nobody's perfect.

06TRIVIA

• According to Kenny Byerly, the original episode production order was "New Girl in Town", "I, Monster", "The Alien Agenda"; US Nick chose to air them out of order and had placed "I, Monster" before "New Girl in Town".
• The two episodes are also switched on Netflix.
• Captain Ryan reveals the space ship's name as being the "Dauntless" which is a nod to the World War II era Carrier-borne dive bomber the Douglas SBD Dauntless, which were operated mainly from the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise, making the circle round again.
• This episode was originally going to air on Saturday morning on February 2 but was moved up a day earlier to Friday night on February 1.
• The high-rise where Karai arranges to meet with Leo is called the Byerly Building, named after show writer Kenny Byerly.
• The sword Karai wants to steal is said to have belonged to Miyamoto Musashi, a real Japanese swordsman and rōnin. He became a legendary figure for his excellent swordsmanship and remains very popular to this day. He is the founder of the Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship, which Leonardo specializes in, as well as the inspiration for the character Miyamoto Usagi.
• 2012 TV series Season 1 episodes
• Leonardo-focused episodes
• Raphael-focused episodes
• Karai-focused episodes
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07FAN REVIEW

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