Nicktoons TMNT Episode 8- Never say Xever

 By Mark Rodriguez

Originally written on November 16, 2012. Keep in mind, these were our thoughts as they were back in 2012 when the show was new and was written shortly after seeing the episodes after their initial broadcast. At the time we had zero way of knowing what to expect.

This episode opens with Shredder being angry at Bradford and Xever's failed attempt to find and kill the Turtles and Splinter.... which is a little weird since 'New friend, Old enemy' was 3 episodes ago. Shredder gives Xever a shot, and he says he already put the word out on the street to look for the Turtles. Bradford doesn't want to follow Xever's orders, but he's going to have to under Shredder's threatening insistence.

Elsewhere, April is taking the Turtles to a noodle place she likes where the owner, Mr. Murakami won't mind what they look like because he's blind. However when they go there, they find the poor old man being attacked by the Purple Dragons gang. The Turtles rush in to attack, and the Purple Dragons recognize them as the turtles Xever told them about. The Turtles fight it out and easily take the gang members down, leaving only one for Leonardo to finish off. However, Leo decides to had enough and let him get away. Raph is angry and confused thinking giving mercy will make them look look wimps.

Murakami is happy to have been rescued and makes the Turtles some Pizza Gyosa. The Turtles love it. Leo asks Murakami about the Purple Dragons and he tells him they demand protection money and will most likely return.

Later on, Raph teases Leo about being soft on the punk he let get away. Splinter comes in and tells him that showing mercy is not a sign of weakness. Raph says the Purple Dragons are sure to return and Leo says they will have to track them down and stop them. Later on, April poses as an undercover cop and asks around for the Purple Dragons. After getting some info, the Turtles stake out a tattoo parlor and Mike says he wishes he had a tattoo of his face, on his face. The funniest and most unpredictable thing about this scene is that Mike shows an 80's TMNT version of Michealangelo's face on his face as a sight-gag. I'm sure that one caught a lot of TMNT fans off guard.

One of the Purple Dragons heads out of the tattoo parlor and the Turtles follow him. However, once they track him to his hideout, they are surprised to find both Chris Bradford and Xever there. The Turtles have a tough time fighting them, and to make things more complicated, Foot Ninjas also show up. Leo calls for a retreat and the Turtles get away.

At the lair, Raph is embarrassed that they had to get away, but Leo mentions they were barely able to defeat Bradford and Xever last time. Splinter tells Raph that Xever is willing to cross lines they won't, but it doesn't make them strong. Raph insists that at least Xever wins fights and doesn't run away from them.

Elsewhere, Xever is angry that the Purple Dragon member led the Turtles to their hideout. The guy tells Xever that they found the Turtles at Murakami's noodle shop. Later on, April tells the Turtles that Murakami was kidnapped and held at the top of a Fortune Cookie Factory. Raph wants to rush in, but Leo says that it's an obvious trap. Leo says Xever crossed a line when he kidnapped Murakami, so it's time to show that they can cross lines too.

The Turtles find and capture Bradford, kidnapping someone for a change. The Turtles later show up and find Murakami tied up and dangling off the roof, with Xever ready to cut him down. The Turtles want him to let him go, but Xever reveals the Foot Ninja, waiting to battle. Leo also announces that they have a surprise, Bradford, and offer to let him go if he lets Murakami go. Xever could care less and starts to cut the rope. The Turtles are surprised and then insist that they're not kidding and really will push Bradford off the roof. Xever tells them go ahead, but Raph isn't able to go through with it. Xever calls their bluff and sends the Foot Ninja after them. 

As the Turtles fight Xever and the Foot Ninja, Bradford manages to get free. He then asks Xever how he was so sure the Turtles were bluffing, and he says he wasn't. Bradford and Xever soon take down the Turtles and are ready to finish them off. The Purple Dragon that Leo let go earlier sees this and secretly tosses Leo's sword into the scene, giving the Turtles a fighting chance. Leo slices down a water tower that washes the bad guys away, and Mikey rescues Murakami before he falls off the roof. Leo catches sight of the Purple Dragon that helped them, and he runs away.

Later on, the Turtles celebrate with another round of Murakami's Pizza Gyosa. He tells them he figured out they were Turtles due to his other senses and is thankful that they saved his life. At the lair, Don has April try some of the Pizza Gyosa and she loves it as well. Splinter is proud of them and mentions how Leo's mercy was what made the Purple Dragon help them. Elsewhere, Shredder is angry that Bradford and Xever have failed again and goes off to deal with Yoshi and the Turtles himself.

My thoughts-

I had to catch this episode online after the fact. I was at a con with Johnny and Paige, and it was a 3-day event, so I missed the premiere airing.

This was an awesome episode and the fighting was great. One thing that I liked the most is that Xever and Bradford were still tough opponents and credible threats. Many other cartoons build up certain villains to be bad-asses in their first episode... only to have them be taken down with a punch or two in their second appearance. Once again Xever and Bradford proved to be more than worthy opponents, and the Turtles barely made it out of that fight alive. I'm also diggin Xever's accent that makes him sound extra evil when the dialogue calls for it.

The Foot Ninja continue to be a cakewalk for the Turtles, however, easily being taken down left and right. However, they were still good at 'getting in the way' to make their fights against Xever and Bradford even more difficult. I also liked how Leo's plan to kidnap Bradford backfired since these two honestly don't give a damn what happens to the other.

As for the Purple Dragons, they were pretty ordinary and plain-looking. Not exactly as flashy and memorable like the 2003 version.

They just looked like basic thugs. It seems in this version they follow orders from Xever, rather than Hun. As for the one Purple Dragon that helped out Leo, I do wonder what will happen to him. He did an excellent job of helping the Turtles without any of the other bad guys see that he did it. I'm curious what will happen to him if he appears in another episode. The series did a good job making Mike react to seeing Bradford again, so I'm sure this will come up since there are more Purple Dragon episodes coming up. The show must be doing good if I actually care about a random nameless Purple Dragon member.

The only weird thing I have to say about this episode is how it started out almost as if it happened right after 'New friend, Old enemy'. With things going on involving the Foot, Shredder, Xever, Bradford and the mission to rescue April's father from The Kraang, it seems plotpoints randomly get forgotten and picked up from episode to episode. We have eps that completely forget about April's problem, and then eps that suddenly jump right back into it. The same seems to be happening to Shredder's storyline. We'll have to see how this all pads out.

And again... 80's Mike face on Nicktoons Mikey's face.... wow. Completely out of left field. If I haven't seen it in the actual episode and only saw it on a screencap, I would have thought it was a random fan's photoshop.