The Turtles go up against the Kraang as they're delivering a shipment of Mutagen. In the process, disaster strikes and the two parties gain another enemy neither of them wanted to have.
This episode includes examples of:
- Aesop Amnesia: For the third time, the Turtles forget not to be cocky or arrogant. To their credit, they stop their behavior fairly quickly.
- This is Justified Trope as they're teenagers and it usually takes a teen a few times to really understand life lessons. The fact that they stopped the behavior rather quickly probably means the lesson is finally starting to sink in.
- Animal Jingoism: Leo tries to ask Splinter how to catch mutant Kirby without giving too much away by presenting him with a vague hypothetical question about catching an animal such as a cat and the mention of this animal gets a horrified reaction from the anthropomorphic rat.
- Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: The following exchange between Donnie and Mikey when the Kraang communication orb begins going off:Donatello: We must’ve received an incoming signal. Which can mean only one thing…Michelangelo: Cupcakes can talk!
- As You Know: The episode begins with the Turtles recapping the events of the Season 1 finale as they gloat about how awesome they were.
- The Bait: Mikey gets to play this role by dressing as a fly in order to catch Mr. O’Neil who’s turned into a giant bat.
- Bat People: Kirby gets turned into one when a canister of mutagen falls on him from the Kraang’s ship. Mikey later names him Wingnut.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Donnie gives one to Mikey to stop him from insensitively gloating about catching Kirby in front of April.
- Big "NO!": April’s reaction when she sees that her dad has been mutated.
- Brutal Honesty: Mikey straight-up told April that it was their fault for her father's mutation.
- Butt Cannon: The Biotroid has two of them, much to Donnie's shock.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the camera zooming in on a squirrel who’s just gotten into some spilled mutagen, complete with a Sting.
- Continuity Nod: Aside from a new rocket, the turtle gliders, Kraang orb and April's war fan all make reappearances.
- Cross-Popping Veins: Donnie gets these when he’s freaking out over April being kidnapped by her mutant father.Donatello: Think calm thoughts. Think calm thoughts.
- Description Cut: Mikey reassures Mr. O’Neil that “Shredder and those little squishy brain freaks are long gone”. Cut to a scene of Shredder putting his helmet back on before talking to a Kraang via a giant screen.
- Don't Celebrate Just Yet: The Turtles are in full party mode at the beginning of this episode, thinking they defeated Shredder and the Kraang for good. Splinter warns them against celebrating without knowing for sure if their enemies are truly gone, and they soon come to understand why they should be more cautious.
- Downer Ending: Mutagen canisters are all over New York, April's father has become a monster because of it, and since the spilled mutagen was because of the Turtles' blunder, April no longer wants anything to do with them.
- Dramatic Drop: Mr. O’Neil drops Donnie’s tracker that he’s holding out of fear and shock when he sees that the Kraang’s stealth ship is what he was helping to track.
- Easily Condemned: Right after Mikey confesses the Turtles' part in mutating Kirby, April is quick to sever ties with them, leaving Donnie heartbroken.
- Evolving Credits: First episode to feature the opening being reworked, which was updated to include the most up-to-date Rogues (Rat King, Snakeweed, Mrs. Campbell, Kraang Prime, among others), as well as some other characters.
- Facepalm: Raphael does one when Donnie knocks on April’s window saying, “Handsome-gram for April O’Neil!”
- Fartillery: Literally. The Biotroid has butt cannons that make farting noises when firing.
- Flapping Cheeks: The Turtles get these when driving the T-Rocket for the first time, especially Michelangelo.
- Got Volunteered: When the Turtles decide to use a giant bug to lure mutant Kirby, Mikey asks “So where are we gonna find a huge bug? Dress up some sorry sucker in a giant fly costume?” His brothers just look at him and smile while Raphael does an Eyebrow Waggle. No points for guessing who the sorry sucker ends up being.
- Innocently Insensitive: It’s clear that Mikey was just trying to make April feel better when he tells her it was the Turtles’ fault that her dad was mutated, but the way he went about it was much too casual and very insensitive.
- It's All My Fault: April blames herself for her father's mutation until Mikey lets slip that it was actually the Turtles' fault.
- Layman's Terms: When Donnie is explaining how they’ll track the Kraang’s stealth ship, Raph tells him to put it in simpler terms.Raphael: English, Professor Brainioff!Donatello: It. Will. Detect. The. Kraang. Space. Ship.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Not many trailers put emphasis on the conflict in the later half of the episode (Kirby's mutation), instead focusing on the first half and the monster the Kraang use.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The Turtles accidentally mutate Kirby O' Neil after they cause the Kraang’s shipment of mutagen to fall out of the ship.
- Mikey basically ruins the Turtles' friendship with April when he reveals it was their fault.
- Non Sequitur:Splinter: My sons, I know you are still joyously reveling in the defeat of our enemies, but a great question remains…Michelangelo: What if cupcakes could talk?
- Oh, Crap!: "Butt cannons? IT HAS BUTT CANNONS!?!?"
- Organic Technology: The Biotroid.
- Portmanteau: Mikey’s new “superhero name” for when he’s dressed up as a fly to catch Kirby: “Turflytle. Tur-fly-tle!”
- Rhyming Title
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: Mikey, as Turflytle, says “buzz buzz” after every sentence, much to Raphael’s annoyance.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Kirby could have gotten both April and himself out of the way instead of just shielding April with his own body, but he may have panicked and wasn't thinking straight.
- It turns out later on that April is immune to mutagen, like she is to Kraang water, another reason why his sacrifice was pointless. note
- Shout-Out: To "Dramatic Chipmunk" in the Sequel Hook.
- Skewed Priorities: While it’s understandable because April is their friend, the Turtles probably shouldn’t have prioritized finding her and her dad over retrieving the canisters of mutagen that fell out of the Kraang’s ship that could be turning people into mutants all over the city.
- Speak in Unison: When Leo tells them to stick to the plan, Mikey and Raph both say “There’s a plan?!”
- Split-Screen Reaction: One of all the Turtles yelling a Big "NO!" when the Kraang’s mutagen shipment falls out of the ship.
- Taking the Bullet: When a vial of mutagen is about to fall on April, her dad shields her with his body, taking the full brunt of the hit which turns him into a mutant bat.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: A rare nondeadly accidental example but still pretty bad since it was due to this airlock that dozens of canisters of mutagen fell out (with one landing on poor Kirby).
- Villain No Longer Idle: After the Kraang fail to bring him the mutagen he asked for, Shredder decides it’s time to take growing his army into his own hands.
- Visible Invisibility: The Kraang’s stealth ship can be seen by the audience as a rippling distortion in the animation.
- We Used to Be Friends: April cuts off all ties with the Turtles when she finds out about her father's mutation, breaking poor Donnie's heart in the process.
- Wham Episode: Kirby is now a mutant and April hates the Turtles because it's their fault, making it clear that she doesn't want to see them again.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In-Universe. April has this episode when she found out it was the boys' fault for her father's mutation (but it was an accident).
- A meta example would be the fans' reaction when it seemed Leo, Raph, and Donnie weren't going to tell April it was their fault that her father mutated.
- Though to be fair, they might not have done it so bluntly like Mikey unintentionally did (he did say it in a sense that kinda made it seem like they did it on purpose). note
- A meta example would be the fans' reaction when it seemed Leo, Raph, and Donnie weren't going to tell April it was their fault that her father mutated.
- Wingding Eyes: Donnie gets swirls in his eyes when he crash lands his Turtle Glider.
