TMNT – “The Mutation Situation” Review

“We’ve got canisters spread out all over the city.”

The turtles are out celebrating their victories over Shredder and the Kraang, reminiscing about how they saved the whole world.  Unfortunately, Mr. O’Neil is hesitant to let April join them, fearing that the enemies are still lurking.  Little do the boys know that everyone is indeed alive and kicking – and plotting yet again.  Back at the lair, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo play while Donatello experiments with Timothy.  Splinter worries about their complacency, and angrily orders them to return to training.

Just then, the Kraang communication orb lights up,sending the boys into action.  Using the new T-Rocket, the turtles blast off to stop whatever the aliens are delivering.  They intercept the Kraang ship and climb aboard, but are immediately met by a Kraang-ape bio-droid weapon.  The boys prove no match for the machine, but they do learn that the shipment is a lot of mutagen.  Unfortunately, Michelangelo makes another mistake, and the mutagen canisters rain down on NYC.  Much to April’s dismay, one lands on her father, turning him into a man-bat creature.

The turtles manage to defeat the bio-droid and evacuate the Kraang ship, only to find April face-to-face with her mutant dad.  She stops them from hurting him, but the bat takes off with April in tow, and the boys are left to develop a plan to catch him.  Dressing Mikey up as a large fly and using him as bait, Wingnut soon arrives, and Leonardo wrestles the mutant into a nearby cage trap.

Donatello rescues April, and while she laments her father’s condition, Michelangelo lets slip that the boys are responsible for his plight.  April is enraged by the news, telling the boys she never wants to see them again, and during the confusion Wingnut escapes.  Meanwhile, Shredder grows more impatient with his new partners, and decides to increase his army alone.  Informing Splinter of the situation, the rat master tells his sons that it is imperative they find every last can of mutagen – before something even worse happens.

Previewing the second season, it was imperative that the creators avoid letting the show go stale.  With only Kraang and Shredder as main villains, the writers were going to have to get extra creative.  It looks like they succeeded.  The main problem for this season is perfect.  The sheer volume of fun, new mutants, and adventures is going to keep the show entertaining.  Add to that some serious issues, and everything is in place for another perfect recipe over the next year.

The implications of this season’s larger story were felt immediately by Kirby’s transformation into Wingnut.  That was a twist nearly impossible to predict, even with the concept art of the mutant that was released.  There is a question though: Why him?  The obvious answer is to up the stakes for the heroes.  But what are the plans for Kirby O’Neil?  What larger purpose is he going to serve in this series?  The writers have never wasted a character, and yet Kirby is now likely to be absent most of both seasons.  So will there be more to him in the future?  Perhaps something about him is the answer to April’s mysterious immunity to the mutagen.

It also seems that it’s about time for fans shipping Donatello and April to call it quits.  While a romantic relationship isn’t impossible at this point, it certainly seems like this falling out is setting up a tenuous reunion that will almost undoubtedly end any thought of romance.  Throw in the coming introduction of Casey Jones, and it looks like April’s dating card will be filled up in the near future.  So to all those holding out hope for a turtle-human romance, the time may be here to let it go and accept what else the show has to offer.

As a season premiere, this episode was excellent.  It laid out the problem, brought the enemies back to action, and upped the stakes for everyone in ways that were completely unpredictable.  Hopefully the action remains high well through the end of next summer, and season two gives everyone more of what season one delivered.

Rating: 9/10