Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-11469381-20150831022901/@comment-27062516-20151010150154

Gilgameshkun wrote: DPfanboy: I compared this Shredder to Kefka as a character who is plain incapable of love. Saki is exceptionally selfish with no concerns for anyone else's needs but his own. He didn't love Tang Shen or Karai&mdash;it's more likely he saw them as trophies, not only for him to possess, but to ensure Yoshi couldn't possess them. No, I think he really did love Tang Shen. "Tale of the Yokai" did a good job of portraying neither him nor Yoshii as black or white in terms of who was best for her or even a better man at the time. I've said that this series could've used an episode dedicated just to him and what he does all day in that penthouse of his. His relationship and daily treatment towards his allies, his hobbies, what he does when he's not thinking about the Turtles and Yoshii, if he has a secret shrine of Tang Shen hidden in his room somewhere, all that stuff.

Karai on the other hand is a different matter. At his best, Shredder was like a mix of Batman TAS's Mad Hatter (more so this season) and the Gargoyles' Demona (his undying desire for vengenace and reluctance to let anyone get too close to him and what not). I think through Karai, it shows he really did long for a family and a life away from the Hamato Clan until he felt it was stolen from him. Feeling he was robbed of all that, and ultimately having in his hands the technology of mind control; he, like Jervis Tetch, feels he can only gain family and "friends" (if you'd call Raph and the Mutanimals that I mean) by making slaves. At his worst, the bladed suit being a strong symbol and all, he's a sufferer of SPD (schizoid personality disorder) with sociopathic elements.

Still, the trial of King Solomon that involved the two mothers come to mind. Like King Solomon, whoever the real parent is, we're compelled to go with Yoshii because he let Karai walk her own way instead of forcing some truth on her like Saki did with the brain worms. I think "AE" took these interesting aspects away though (hopefully just for a time) because, after April mentions Karai to him--even if he doesn't believe she's alive--a true father wouldn't give up hope on his daughter that she's alive somewhere, somehow. He both gave up hope and disregarded her for his own personal desire at the end, and we're now where we are.