Last week on TMNT, the writers did a great job developing Donatello. The episode was called “Monkey Brains”, and it looked like a typical episode.
The Turtles were introduced to a new villain who appeared to be an escaped mutant monkey, but not all appeared as it seemed. The monkey was actually a missing scientist named Dr. Tyler Rockwell. On top of having monkey abilities, he also had mutant powers.
He was able to react based on others emotions, but he was not evil. Donatello had the hardest time dealing with a foe who could read minds. He had always fought with his mind. Earlier in the episode, he created a chart that improved his chances to date April O’Neal. Â The weird part was it worked.
He had a plan for every possible outcome. He was able to investigate the disappearance of Dr. Rockwell alone with her. His alone time with her improved his relationship with her. He not only got to show off his technology, but scored some sympathy points for losing to the monkey.
April was just as important as Donatello. She was smart and felt that something was wrong. She figured out that the monkey was Dr. Rockwell.
While the other Turtles were not featured as much in the episode, Michelangelo provided an important lesson for Donatello. He was able to fight without thinking.
The Turtles eventually caught the monkey and returned him to the lab. All seemed well, but a major plot twist happened. There never was a monkey at the lab. Dr. Falco, was the scientist that worked with Dr. Rockwell. He told the Turtles that Dr. Rockwell was working with a monkey before he was kidnapped. Dr. Falco lied to the Turtles.
The Turtles were back at the lab to expose Dr. Falco, but it would not be that easy. Dr. Falco injected himself with the chemical he experimented on with Dr. Rockwell. He was able to gain mind reading powers. The Turtles tried to fight him but failed.
He easily dodged both Raphael’s and Leonardo’s attacks. It seemed that Michelangelo would of been the best to fight Dr. Falco, but he over thought about it and Dr. Falco just knocked him out.
The writers showcased the thought process of Donatello very well. Viewers were able to see the attacks He thought about using. Donatello was able to defeat him by not thinking.
The complexity of the episode was deep. The Turtles decided to release Dr. Rockwell, but he will be stuck as a monkey forever. This may be a bad decision for the Turtles. letting a monkey roam free in New York is bad enough, but he put up a fight against the Turtles.
O’Neal was the only reason that the Turtles were able to capture him.
The writers also added another twist, O’Neal will be trained under Splinter to fight. Splinter was very impressed by her intuition skills, and offered to train her. Over an 9/10.