Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Episode 1.15 'The Alien Agenda' Review

Warning! Spoilers! 
 
Another Friday, another solid episode of Nick's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This episode was filled to the brim with everything I love about the show: big laughs, fast-paced action, solid interaction between the brothers and, of course, more adorably funny one-liners from Michelangelo.  
 
This episode juggled a focus between Karai and the Kraang. With Karai, Leonardo continues to tell himself there's good in her (insert Luke/Vader quote here), but naturally, we see nothing to actually support his belief (aside from not killing him, but that could be because she legitimately enjoys their fights). That's okay, though... he's blinded by love and, as Mikey hilariously and bluntly pointed out, it's not like he's the first Turtle this has happened to (here's lookin' at you, Donny). The conflicted Leo/Karai relationship definitely seems like it'll continue to be a key focus for the rest of the season and I'm all for that. He knows she bad news (or at least we're meant to believe such for now) and we have Raph and Splinter there to drive this message home to him. Even the other two brothers are now calling him out on it ("I don't know who she is, but I know I hate her!"). Despite this, you can't shake feelings like that so easily -- the mutated heart wants what the mutated heart wants, you know?   

Meanwhile, April's  school project has a connection to the Kraang. The aliens are clearly behind the human genome project and send "Mrs. Campbell" (Cassandra Peterson) to pick up April. Why her? I legitimately have no idea. Perhaps they need her as leverage to make her father work harder? It's never clarified and left me wondering why they'd suddenly want to snag her. Regardless of the reasoning behind the move, it stemmed a slew of awesome moments (holy elbow rockets!). Her battle with the turtles was thrilling and energetic. It wasn't that long, but it was a blast seeing the purple explosions and their teamwork as they sliced her apart. Topping that off with Mikey scaring Raph by wearing her face was hysterical, too. This show really deserves praise for nailing each personality and having them play off one another so well.    

The Kraang plot really didn't add anything new to their story. We know they've been experimenting with the ooze and this just reveals they're now interested in more than humans (does this mean there's hope for Bebop and Rocksteady?). That said, seeing the Turtles slice apart the Kraang is something I'll never get tired of, especially if they're forced to team up with Karai and she drops three with a single slash. Plus, Raph vs. Karai was explosive. I thought that was far more entertaining than her prior encounter with Leo. Raph's aggression clashing against her grace and skill made it way more interesting to me. Ultimately, the Kraang plot boiled down to the next mutated creature we'd see... and it's by far the most unique one yet. Comically dubbed "Justin" by Mikey, this latest creature is a combination of various species. Truthfully, this fight will probably be too silly or childish for some viewers, but I thought that's what made it such a nice way to top off the episode. Simply put, it just good, lighthearted fun. And you'll never find me complaining when the show gives an excuse to provide another hilarious Kraang line.  
 
I love how all of the plot points are starting to connect, too. Having Baxter Stockman work for Shredder was a smart move on their part and now giving him Kraang technology is sure to produce some really amusing results. It looks like Xever --- now Fishface -- will soon get a chance to prove he's still useful and that's surely something I'm excited to see. Seeing him toss around knives as a human rocked, so hopefully he'll be every bit as fun in his new form.

Shredder looks intimidating and sounds formidable, but he's quickly losing credibility to me. He keeps spewing idle threats and even quickly realized how stupid he was being over Karai's agenda. The dude needs to do something fearsome again (other than point a claw at someone) or else the memories of that spectacular rooftop battle will be overshadowed by his hollow threats. Step up your game, Oroku Saki!   
 
Packed with some top-notch character interactions, sharp humor and lively combat, 'The Alien Agenda' is yet another great episode from the animated show. 
 
Oh, and the highlight of this episode is easily Michelangelo whispering "booyakasha."
 
Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. Be friendly like Mikey and him on Twitter.