My hopes were at an all-time high after the last two episodes. I thought that with the return to the familiar surroundings of New York that things might be okay. I was psyched to see Bebop and Rocksteady in the intro (I paused the video so much to get a better look but couldn't). I spent a couple hours falling down the wikipedia (and numerous Turtle wikias) rabbit hole to refresh my very sketchy memories of the classic cartoon, it's amazing what you forget after more than twenty years (side note: my five year old self would be very disappointed in me). I remember being plugged into the TV when I was young, with the Turtles on a constant stream. However it has become clear to me that I did not watch all the 193 episodes (has anyone here watched all of them?). I can't believe I forgot Michealangelo's best friend Mondo Gecko (you'd think with a name like that I wouldn't have). So that's who the skating gecko kid I asked about last time is (and he will make an appearance in episode 17).

This week we got to see how the TMNT 2012 versions of Bebop and Rocksteady get made/mutated. They were both introduced previously in their human forms. Ivan Steranko, who mutates into Rocksteady, is a Russian arms dealer. He hired Anton Zeck, who mutates into Bebop, to steal Shredders helmet. At the conclusion of that episode Ivan said he would pop Anton's head 'like blueberry!'

I dig the redesign of Rocksteady except the Russian accent, I still have fond memories of Rocksteady sounding dumb (now if they make him dumb it'll seem like they're poking fun at Russians). The design of Bebop is way different than the classic version. Instead of being similar in size/shape as Rocksteady, Bebop is still as slim as he was in human form, only his head is massive. Still one out of two ain't bad.

There was a lot of action in this episode, most of it fun and well-choreographed. A lot of dancing from Anton in his Tron-like, light-cable beam shooting suit (really what the heck is that thing). The Turtles don't seem to be as terrified of Shredder as they used to be.

I really liked when the Turtles track Ivan and Anton to the docks and appear on some shipping containers in a flash of lightning.

All-in-all it was an okay episode, though for the reveal of two of the most memorable Turtles bad guys, I was expecting more. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great either.

Score: 2/5