“If some dinosaur alien is living in my sewers, beating up my friends, I’m going to return the favor.” – Raphael
Rockwell and Slash are following up on recent sightings of a dinosaur in sewer, but they’re not sure the rumors can be believed. Just as they’re about to give up the search, a triceratops-looking creature comes crashing down on them and easily dispatches both mutants. Elsewhere, Raphael is out on patrol when Rockwell summons him for help. The mutants relay to the turtle what happened, and Raph goes off searching for the alien monster on his own.
Meanwhile, Rockwell gets Slash to the turtles’ lair and informs the others of what happened. However, Raph already came face-to-face with the dinosaur and did not stand a chance. Zogg comes within inches of flattening the turtle, when he convinces the alien to listen to his orders and seek out the Kraang. Zogg takes off, with Raph right behind.
The boys all meet up and Raph explains the situation. Skeptical of the alien, Leonardo’s mind is changed when Zogg discovers a secret Kraang facility, proving that the aliens have returned to Earth. Amidst the destruction of the facility, a portal opens up that leads right to the Statue of Liberty, which the Kraang have unwittingly been using as a base. Raph and Zogg make their way to the top, while Donatello shuts down a portal in the sky. Unfortunately for Raphael, Zogg gets his equipment back, can breathe again, and turns on him.
When Raph comes to and the boys confront the alien, Zogg reveals that he will signal the Triceraton armada to wipe out Earth and all the Kraang. The boys try to stop him, but to no avail; Zogg activates the signal beacon, and though Raph destroys it, a burst manages to make it free. As Raphael stops Zogg and the Triceraton falls from the Statue of Liberty, the Triceraton army begins its move on Earth.
The Triceratons have arrived, and it was … strange. With no set up, no warning, and no context, the Triceratons were in the picture and the Kraang were back on Earth. After all this time of finally moving on from the same plot as seasons one and two, the Kraang are doing the same old thing, but with a new enemy trying to bring them down. While it was good to see that season four’s space theme will have some context (or at the very least some sort of introduction now), it would have so much better if this whole “dinosaur in the sewer” thing had been something mentioned before or dealt with in some way to set up this particular encounter. Instead it was just thrown in at a time when there are a number of other issues that need resolving.
The approach of the Triceraton armada also doesn’t make it seem likely that the big Karai issue will be resolved this season, either. After all, what problem was there in just doing that for now, and dealing with the space stuff next season? With the finale entitled “Annihilation – Earth,” it doesn’t seem promising for Karai’s problems to get resolved. Which means that either the turtles leave the planet before that is taken care of, or season five involves going right back to this same plot yet again.
While it’s impossible to predict which direction the season finale will take, or who will be involved, things are looking very promising for yet another epic battle. Hopefully the approach of the Triceratons and a second coming invasion will change dynamics, cause new battle lines to be drawn, and forever reshape the turtles’ world. If not, then at the very least it will provide a great jumping off platform for the adventures ahead. Everyone tune in very soon to see what happens!