In the comments of last weeks episode, one of our readers stated their concern that the show might be getting too dark and wondered if the show might lose some of its core audience – children. I posited that the show was just finding it’s line and probably wouldn’t go much further than what it had during “The Super Shredder” and “Darkest Plight.” “The Power Inside Her” just proved me wrong.
That’s not to say that “The Power Inside Her” wasn’t a strong episode. It really was. Circling back to April’s addiction to the Aeon Crystal, we got a powerful episode that focused on the apex of that addiction. Let’s think back to when April received the crystal. The Turtles, Casey, and April landed on their home planet that had been consumed in darkness. After being attacked by giant bat-like creatures, the crew found themselves at an ancient pyramid. After scaling the pyramid, they saved the day by replacing the Soul Star artifact at the top of the pyramid, cleansing the planet of the darkness. The bat-like creatures were actually the Aeons, and ancient and powerful race, who gifted April the crystal for saving them.
Well it turns out the crystal held the spirit of one of the original Aeons, who had been slowing taking over April’s mind as she used the crystal to augment her abilities. April wasn’t just dependent on the crystal, she was losing herself to it. And that’s when things got really crazy. April completely succumbed to the Aeon, named Zal-Naron, who made it her mission to cleanse the Earth, starting with New York. The Turtles, Splinter, and Casey kept trying to help April, but she proved too powerful.
Watching Splinter and Raphael get twisted into torturous positions was difficult enough, but the scariest part of the episode happened when Zal-Naron obliterated Donatello. Donatello, trying to save April and ultimately his own life, pleaded with April to overcome the Aeon, but in the moment April wasn’t strong enough. With a flash of his skin, skeleton, and organs, Donatello exploded. Just writing that feels gruesome. It’s hard to believe that this was, of all things, in a Nickelodeon cartoon. The description feels more like the non-canon Image Comics run.
Now Donatello was revived at the end of the episode. April used the last of the Aeon Crystal (she broke it trying to escape its hold on her) to reform Donatello from the “quantum smear” she reduced him to. But it was still hard to believe the whole episode. April/Zal-Naron was on a tear, force choking people, throwing them around like rag dolls, and twisting them into awful shapes. Hadn’t Splinter gone through enough in the last couple episodes? Blowing up Donatello was just the icing on the horrifying cake.
A couple side notes:
-Rahzar is apparently still alive! No idea how he survived getting crushed by a train, but the episode wisely glossed over that. Besides, April just crushed him with a dumpster anyway, so hopefully Bradford has a couple more lives saved up.
-One of our readers asked about the crews’ space weapons and where they were. Casey pulled out one of his space hockey pucks, and Donatello brought back his space staff again. I guess the writer’s were on the same wave length!
-Shredder’s henchmen are collecting all the mutagen they can get their hands on, in order to maintain Shredder’s super form. I wonder what happens when they run out of mutagen? I’m still trying to figure out why Tiger Claw would seek out Kavaxas in the upcoming episode. Maybe it’s to save Shredder from his mutation?
“The Power Inside Her” took yet another turn down a more mature path for Nick’s TMNT, touching on the topic of addiction and its fallout. More than that though, it felt like a crazy “What If?” episode, where a possessed and super-charged April tore through the ranks of friend and foe alike. You have to wonder how April will deal with this moving forward, and how this will impact her relationships with the Turtles, Splinter, and Casey. The episode ended on a positive note, with April breaking the control of the Aeon Crystal and forming better control over her powers, but after what happened, things can’t be the same moving forward.
10 comments
I have to agree with you about the whole dark side of this series. I mean, parents won’t let their kids watch anything relating to drugs (like April’s addiction) and stuff. And with Splinter AND DONNIE! *tears*
Don’t get me wrong, this dark stuff is pretty good. But a child can’t stand to see a turtle blow up into millions of molecules. (I cried for a whole day.) For me, TMNT is about humor and fun and comedy and action. This dark stuff is good, but I like the whole fun aspect of it. Sure, there’s been a few funny moments but…..I want the series to go from depressing to happy! This series is like Dreamworks’ Trolls’ Branch! It used to be Poppy, but now it’s a sad, gray troll.
How in the world did Rahzar return? That’s pretty strange. Maybe he just broke a rib or something?
I felt so bad for Raph and Splinter. I mean, I kept wincing and I wasn’t even the one being twisted into strange places.
wow, 100 episodes, I watch this since the very beginning
all I can say is, TMNT really got into right hands, these people are true fans, you can see that in all the references they put up in this show – from comic books, other TV shows, movies, even to toys and video games
they put all this effort into this show despite how nickelodeon always screws with them changing the air time and having those neverending hiatuses
just bravo
Yeah. I think the hiatus stuff is turning the fans away. I mean, we have to wait like 2-3 weeks, sometimes even a few months! THAT really angers me.
I like the direction it’s taking. I’ve always loved the 2003 series and while I like the 2012 series as well, I thought it was a bit too goofy. Loving the new direction.
The dark stuff is good, but I often watch this series to cheer myself up because I’m really stressed with school and this dark stuff isn’t helping with that.
i’ve been watching since the first episode, and this has to be one of my favorite episodes so far. INCREDIBLE. Episodes like this are part of why i love the turtles.
Yeah. But this depressing doesn’t help me ’cause I’m very stressed and I like a laugh from Mikey.
aw. that’s a good reason to watch tmnt too! i need a laugh from mikey, as well. I just really love story-telling, emotion, character development, etc. It’s been a while, but i really didn’t like season 3. Episode’s like vision quest were amazing, but most were shallow, and un-inspiring. Season 4 has really brought the whole spectrum of this show together. that’s why i want to keep seeing episodes like this. I also want episodes where we get to see the turtles laughing and being brothers. But to me, you can’t have one without the other.
I think a show that could help you with stress is “We Bare Bears”. It has helped me find a way to cheer up and relax when i am going through something hard. there’s never a dark moment (unless it’s meant to be humorous) and the whole show is filled with happiness. but not in shallow way. emotion and heart are what makes this show so good. Try it out. it’s helped me, i think it can help you.
another show i could recommend is “Steven Universe”. I have absolutely fallen in love with this show. I can’t get enough of it! it’s just so good! It definitely has intense moments, but the way it has helped me, is seeing the characters go through extremely hard circumstances, and watching how they deal with them. they help each other, they learn from each other, but most of all, they love each other. Just like the TMNT! Abusive relationships, self-doubt, and tragedy are all issues that this show has tackled head-on, and it has really helped me out. I hope it can help you!
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