Never Say Xever

"Never Say Xever" is the 8th episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series). It aired on November 10, 2012.

Major Characters
Leonardo, Xever, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Master Splinter and April O'Neil

Secondary Characters
Foot Clan, The Shredder, Chris Bradford, Foot Soldiers, Purple Dragons, Fong, Sid, Tsoi, Mr. Murakami

Plot Synopsis
The episode begins with The Shredder expressing his disappointment with Chris Bradford and Xever (primarily Bradford) due to their failure of their mission to locate Splinter and eliminate the Turtles once and for all. Bradford then laments that his foes are unusual, man-sized terrapins that have been taught far more than just mere basics. Chris believes that there is more than enough room for some redemption and begs The Shredder to give him one last chance and says that he will NOT fail him once more, as he desperately does not want to disgrace his own master at all --- or to be disgraced by him either.....Xever then reveals that he has already put the word out on the streets to keep a very sharp look out for the Turtles, hinting towards his connection with The Purple Dragons. Thus, The Shredder is prompted to put Xever in charge this time around -- and Bradford is reluctantly forced to accept this...Xever then ensures that, when he finds the creatures, he will peel them out of their shells and drop them at Shredder's feet.

Meanwhile, April and the Turtles are out of the sewer on their way to a noodle resturant that April recently found. When she asks them to speed it up a little, Mikey is personally offended by the comment that April makes - and when Donnie says "Are you saying turtles are slow??", Mikey then takes April's sentence as an utterly hurtful stereotype. April then says that the brothers will be fine in the shop because the chef that works there, Mr. Murakami, won't care or know what they even look like because he is blind. But when they soon arrive at Murakami's shop, they discover that The Purple Dragons, a group of random street thugs temporarily allied with/recently employed by Xever, are wrecking the restaurant and hurting the defenseless chef. The Turtles are forced to engage the Dragons in a fight so that April can get Murakami momentarily out of harm's way. Leo is about to deliver a final blow on Fong, but he chooses no to do so, as an act of mercy. Raph is then outraged at Leo for showing mercy to a nefarious criminal who was responsible for beating up a blind man. Murakami shows his debt of gratitude to the Turtles by making a dish called "Pizza Gyoza" that is a dumpling with pizza ingredients in it. He then reveals that the reason the Dragons rough him up is because that they demand protection money from him, but he always refuses to pay.

Later, at the lair, Raph proceeds to tease Leo for his act of mercy. Splinter enters the room and corrects that, to show mercy is a sign of true strength - and not being "soft", and he uses Raph as an example....The group then vows to send The Purple Dragons a message, because the chances are that they will persist in their violent ways. However, this prompts Donnie to briefly wonder how they're gonna' track some one down without revealing themselves and being able to communicate with anyone that they don't truly know....

So, April asks a local in Chinatown where the Dragons are. At first, the man hesitantly responds with a "No", to which April replies, stating that she is an "undercover cop" and that she can protect him if the situation calls. She is then asked to show a badge, but she denies, stating that that would blow her "cover". So, the man shows her where the Dragons hang out sometimes - The Tattoo Company building, where, as expected, a Purple Dragon (Fong) exits out of. The Turtles manage to follow Fong to a place called the Fortune Cookie Factory, where the hoodlum tells Xever and Bradford where they saw the Turtles previously, just as, coincidentally, our heroes burst in through a window and engage in a brief fight, which they soon are forced to back out of, due to the unforeseeable arrival of dozens and dozens of Foot ninjas...

Afterward, Xever is seen punishing Fong for leading the Turtles straight to their hideout, and then asks where he and his gang saw them much earlier. Fong replies that it was a noodle shop owned by a man named Murukami. Xever then devises a plan. Bradford is then prompted to ask how they make sure that the Turtles don't manage to make a quick escape once again. Xever replies that the task ahead of them is very simple - He will give them a good reason to stay.

Later, April goes to the noodle shop yet again and notices that Murakami was taken and that a note was left behind, stating that Murakami is currently being held hostage at the very top of the Fortune Cookie Factory. Leo then decides that it's "No more Mr. Nice Turtle" time. Thus, they then find, trap, and lock Bradford inside of a handy garbage can and take him to the apparent location where both Xever and the Purple Dragons are holding Murakami hostage by hanging him on a rope. The Turtles then tell Xever to let the poor man go - or else Bradford will get tossed off of the building. However, Xever unexpectedly says that he does not care about his friend's well-being!!! Xever then slowly begins cutting the rope holding Murukami up. Raph then seems like he's about to toss Bradford --- but he cannot bring himself to do so. Then, after Xever successfully exploits the circumstances, a TON of Foot Ninjas show up out of nowhere (on command) and are ordered to attack. Our heroes are engaged in yet another - this time, quite a lengthy fight - and at the end, when the Turtles seem to be practically defeated by sheer numbers (just like last time), Fong mercifully throws down one of Leonardo's Katana blades (as Leo was the one who spared him earlier) and Leo seizes the opportunity to slice a water front, washing all of the bad guys off the building, just in time to rescue Murakami, and they soon return with him to the resturant. The thankful chef then gives to them a huge supply of Pizza Gyoza...He then reveals that he knows who saved him (turtles), due to his sense of smell because it is implied that Mikey's armpits smelled pretty bad...Back in the sewer, April appears to take a liking to the Pizza gyoza, while, Raph finally comes to and admits that Leo was right about the whole 'mercy thing' after all...

Meabwhile, in The Shredder's lair, Shredder finds the two's failure completely unacceptable, and he now makes a personal vow to deal with the four Turtles by himself....

Quotes
More to be added...

Gallery
See:Never Say Xever / Gallery 

Trivia

 * When Mikey says he wants a tattoo of himself so he can wear it as a mask, his face from the 1987 series appears.
 * The episode's title is a pun on the phrase, "Never say Never".
 * The three Purple Dragons are named Fong, Tsoi and Sid..
 * The sign above the door of Murakami's restaurant contains Japanese kanji, 村上, which translates to Murakami's name.
 * Amongst the weapons that appear in this episode is the Jitte, a Japanese martial arts truncheon, as seen imbedded in the punching bag Leo's seen using after sparing Fong.