Oroku Saki reveals himself as the Shredder and engages the Turtles in battle. The Turtles soon find themselves outmatched as they're divided, and make a retreat. Leonardo meets a man who promises the turtles help in the future from his organization, the Guardians. Concurrently, Master Splinter searches for his sons and they prepare a counteroffensive.
This episode provides examples of:
- Amusing Injuries: Mike suffers from an ankle injury, yet he is forced to use his injured foot to kick three Foot Ninja in rapid succession and his pain in those scenes is Played for Laughs.
- And This Is for...: Splinter's Master Yoshi.
- Backseat Driver: Master Splinter does this to Don when he is driving the Battle Shell. He later continues giving instructions when he is fighting Foot Ninjas in the climax.Master Splinter: Hold your staff higher! Sweep with the left foot from that position!
Don: Geez, now you're backseat ninjaing me, Master Splinter! - Badass Boast: The Shredder right before beginning the opening fight on the rooftop.Shredder: You see me as I am, and it will be the last thing you will ever see. [puts his helmet back on] Prepare to face your destiny and your doom!
- Big Damn Heroes: Leonardo is cornered in an alley, but one of the Guardians bails him out.
- Big "WHAT?!": The Shredder, as the rooftop starts to fall apart.
- Blatant Lies: Given what we learn about the Shredder in the future, him removing his helmet in front of the Turtles and saying "You see me as I am" is an example of this.
- Camera Abuse: During the climactic battle against the Foot, Don kicks one Foot Ninja right at the camera.
- Deadly Dodging: Master Splinter defeats the Shredder by dodging his attacks, making him slices through the support structure of the water tower and then by kicking it down on him.
- Dope Slap: Splinter gives the reunited Turtles this for trying to face the Shredder.
- Evil Laugh: The Shredder while walking Out of the Inferno to finish off Leonardo.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: Don and Mikey briefly hide out in an apartment's bathroom, only for a kid to walk in on them. The boy immediately tries to tell his mother about this, but they're gone by the time she gets there. He has this reaction.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: Mike sprains his ankle after falling off the building and he tells Don to go on without him. Don refuses and instead takes him to an apartments's bathroom where he says this again word-for-word. Don refuses again and uses a pantyhose draped over the bath curtain rod and proceeds to use them to wrap Mike's ankle.Mike: My ankle’s killing me! You better leave me here. I'll only slow you down.
Don: Can that noise, Mikey. It's just a sprained ankle. We need to wrap it properly. - Mythology Gag: Blink and you'll miss it, when Raph kicks the Shredder, he lands while making the same pose he did while introducing himself to the Turtles in the comics.
- Offhand Backhand: In the final fight, Don does this with his bo staff against a Foot Ninja that tries to attack him from behind.
- Oh, Crap!:
- The Shredder gets this when he realizes he shouldn't have let Splinter cut the posts holding up the water tower.
- And again when the tower's about to fall right on top of him.
- Don and Mikey when they see the Shredder emerge from the burning building.
- "Oh, Crap!" Smile: Don and Mike sport these when the little kid discovers them in his bathroom.
- Out of the Inferno: The Shredder literally walks through fire after the building they've been fighting on collapses.
- Party Scattering: When the building the Turtles and Shredder are fighting on falls apart.
- Pragmatic Villainy: With the authorities about to arrive at the burning building, Shredder orders his mooks to keep a low profile. Finishing off the Turtles is far more important than getting into it with any cops.
- Raised Hand of Survival: In the last scene, the Shredder's gauntlet rips through the tower wreckage.
- Shout-Out: While discussing the Shredder walking through fire, Mike puts on an Austrian accent and calls him "The Shreddinator".
- Spin to Deflect Stuff: Leo spins both his katana in his hands like helicopter rotor blades to deflect shurikens and other weapons thrown at him in the final showdown.
- Technologically Blind Elders: When Don gives Splinter the remote to summon the Battle Shell while he and Raph hold off the Foot Ninja, Splinter can't figure out what each button does and just presses them randomly, causing the Battle Shell to just activate and deactivate several functions. He eventually gives up and swaps places with Don, telling him to use the remote while he fights.
- This Cannot Be!: Mikey's reaction to Shredder walking through fire, as if it were nothing.
- Twisted Ankle: After the roof collapse, Mikey got hit with some rubble and is left with a sprained ankle. Don helps get him to safety and later patches him up with a woman's stockings.
- Water Tower Down: As Splinter and the Shredder fight under a water tower, Splinter tricks Shredder into cutting the supporting beams of the structure before he makes it crumble on the villain.
- Wham Episode
- Wham Shot: The Shredder's hand emerges from the wreckage of the destroyed water tower, to show he is still alive.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Splinter calls out the Turtles for being so foolish in battling against the Shredder.
- Worf Had the Flu: Mike ends up twisting his ankle, leaving him injured for most of the episode. Impressively, he takes down three Foot Ninjas with his injured foot in rapid succession.
