Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1255374-20151107202654/@comment-27062516-20160110173654

Here's a rough draft of my thoughts. Hopefully they'll be more concrete in my blog review:

The opening reminded me of a lot of prime time TV episodes these days when the opening scene would break away from the present while also connecting both periods of time in a way. It was short but it does come back later (with a nice throwback to "The Invasion II") so I liked it. At first the background on the Aeons' planet was offputting because it looked like a bunch of copy-and-paste wilderness and the "slime" some of the wilderness was covered in seemed formulaic (in terms of art direction at least). The creature designs though made up for it. Meanwhile, the group losing their minds to the "hate" on this planet was fine but it's been done better in other media and some of the more interesting arguments such as Mikey belittling Raph for all the things Raph used to do to him when they were younger did not get the development they deserved. I'd also like to get into the question of what "evil" and "hate" (maybe even "anger") are and why or why not they deserve to be that closely related b/c obviously the turtles did not turn "evil" here, just angry at each other; but maybe I'll do that in my blog review later.

I thought the best part was the Triceratons, how they fit on the planet, and the poetic differences established b/w them and the turtles here. Obviously, the Triceratons were right at home on this planet! So much so that Mozar's comrade's thoughts about the evil affecting them ring hollow only if because of their familiarity with it. Revenge is a common theme in this series and the results always portrayed are that anyone who has it in their hearts, from the Triceratons to Shredder and Newtralizer, even a pre-Mutanimals Slash, etc., etc., etc. are inhuman monsters whose paths often lead to the destruction of themselves and/or others. The Triceratons have shown from the moment they were introduced (especially with their remorseless destruction of Earth) that they fit the bill completely! I've always said that "Annihilation Earth" had a good way of contrasting the turtles with their villains, including the Triceratons in the fact that the turtles actually worked with one of their enemies, a sect of the Kraang called Utroms, and showed such trust in him that they reconciled themselves to their enemies in a way. Here, the turtles reconcile the Aeons to their former selves while the Triceratons, as always, are only interested in themselves.

The one thing I'll conclude with is that I for one am glad that Brandon Auman & Co. allowed the Triceratons to be the ones to take off with the piece of the generator. They may not have made the popular decision but it was the right one. It was right not only in showing the difference b/w the turtles and the Triceratons but it buoys my belief that the creators may not cheat their way out of resolving the conclusion of "Annihilation Earth" afterall by breaking the time travel rules established in "Tale of the Yokai". Obviously, "AE"s conclusion was so beguiling (especially for the shows demographics and the fact we have a fifth season lined up) that you know, or should know, that things can't end that way...again. But how do they do that if they can't break the rule that history can't be cheated? It gives me hope that they have another ambitious conclusion lined up when the space arc comes to a close that the only ways they can disappoint is (1) by breaking the aforementioned rules OR (2) by following them and pulling off something so deus ex that it does dissapoint. "Annihilation Earth" HAS to be revisited; the precise conclusion may be different but the actions that led up to it in the first place both have to remain AND reverberate, making the consequences hardfelt going forward.