Prodigal Son

"Prodigal Son" is the ninety-fourth episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), which originally aired on February 11, 2006.

Major Characters

 * Donatello (Sam Regal)
 * Leonardo (Michael Sinterniklaas)
 * Michelangelo (Wayne Grayson)
 * Raphael (John Campbell)
 * Splinter (Darren Dunstan)
 * Karai

Secondary Characters

 * April O'Neil (Veronica Taylor)
 * Angel (Tara Jayne)
 * Foot Ninjas
 * Foot Mech (Shrednaught)

Voice-over introduction
Karai: Honorable father, though you are imprisoned among the stars, I bring you news that will set free your soul. I, your humble daughter, Karai, discovered the lair of your most hated enemies and led a full Foot attack force against them. Utterly defeated, all they could was flee. Donatello and the rat we left destroyed at the bottom of the river. Michaelangelo tried to burrow his way into safety, but he could not dig deep enough to escape my wrath. And Raphael was blown to smithereens in the turtles' own battle shell. All that remains is Leonardo father and once I find him, then you will truly and forever be avenged.



Plot Synopsis
Leo returns to New York from his quest in Japan. Upon arriving at the Turtles' lair, the ninja finds his home destroyed and his family missing. As the Turtle looks for clues, a lone Shrednaught emerges from the shadows and attacks. Leo quickly defeats it, but is unable to get answers from the Foot soldier piloting the Mech before he detonates a self-destruct mechanism.

On the surface, we see Angel delivering a pizza to April's antique shop as the Foot spy on them. Angel winks at April and pretends to deliver a pizza - but inside the cardboard box is a note from Leo asking O'Neil if she's heard from his family. April loudly proclaims that the pizza order is wrong and then writes a note to the "manager" to complain. Angel takes the note and leaves - the Foot are completely fooled and suspect nothing. Angel drops the box into a phone booth and Leonardo recovers it from a rooftop by dropping his katana onto it and reeling it in on an attached rope. Leonardo reads April's note, which explains that Karai said she destroyed the others. Leo refuses to believe that his brothers and Sensei are dead. Confident that Karai is lying, the ninja sets off to find his family.

Cut to the rooftop of the Foot skyscraper where we see a helicopter land. Karai exits the chopper and is informed of the Shrednaught's destruction in the Turtles' lair. Karai orders a full hunt for Leonardo.

Meanwhile, Leo is swimming in the Hudson River searching for clues to the whereabouts of Donatello and Master Splinter. Leo finds the wreck of the Shell Sub and a scuba tank. The ninja retrieves the tank and swims to the beach. Leonardo sits and calms his mind, trying to envision what became of his Master and brother. We see a flashback of the Shell Sub being destroyed, but this time we see how Don and Splinter were able to bail out of the craft before it was sunk and how they used the oxygen tank to safely swim to the surface once the coast was clear. Leonardo spots tracks in the sand and follows them to the docks, where he finds Don and Splinter seeking shelter in an old warehouse. After a happy reunion, Leonardo leads his brother and Sensei to an abandoned New York Reservoir pump station to use as a base camp.

Once Don and Splinter are safe, Leo heads out to find Mike. The ninja soon finds what's left of the Turtle Tunneler and once again focuses his mind on how Mikey may have escaped. We see a flashback of the Foot Mech destroying the vehicle, but this time we discover that Mike and Klunk bailed out the side door and hid in a tunnel as the Shrednaught zoomed past and fired its missiles. Leo continues down the tunnel and spots a comic book and cat food. Soon enough the team leader finds Klunk and Mikey huddled in a corner of the subway. Leonardo helps his brother to his feet and leads him and his cat to the reservoir.

With Mikey and Klunk safe and sound, Leonardo begins his search for Raphael. Leo soon finds the debris of the Battle Shell, but he also spots Raph's motorcycle helmet. Again Leonardo concentrates on what may have happened, and we see through this flashback that Raph managed to escape on the Shell Cycle seconds before the Battle Shell was destroyed by the Foot helicopter. Leo notes that the bridge above leads to Coney Island, so he goes there. At the park, we see Raph dejectedly sipping a soda - Leonardo emerges from the shadows and the brothers have a joyous greeting. Raph is stymied by recent events, but Leo assures him that everything will be alright and the brothers head to their new headquarters.

With the entire family in one place and safe, Leonardo heads out to get food and supplies... making a side trip to Foot HQ.

Inside the skyscraper, we see Karai preparing to meditate in front of her fallen master’s statue. Suddenly, the “Sewer Sweet Sewer” sign crashes into her altar and Leo states, "I got your message". Leonardo emerges from the shadows and the two prepare to face off. Leo and Karai fight while Leonardo explains that he once tried to help her because he thought she understood the meaning of honor - but he was wrong - she is just like her master, and understands nothing.

As the battle progresses, Leonardo gains the upper hand and retorts that Karai's anger has gotten the best of her and has clouded her abilities. With that, the Turtle slices apart her Shredder helmet and holds a katana to her neck. Karai falls to her knees and sneers at Leo, ordering him to finish her. Leo removes his blade from her neck and tells her that she has one last chance to reform. Karai takes a communicator from her belt and quickly calls for backup. The Turtle slices her communicator in half in mid-sentence and then leaps into the air, decapitating the Shredder statue. As Leonardo makes his exit, he informs Karai that she will not be spared next time.

In the morning, back at the pump station, Leonardo returns with Chinese food for his family. The courageous ninja then presents Master Splinter with a gift from the land of the Ancient One - a mystical walking stick. The Sensei is very pleased with the present, but he is even more happy to have his son home, and at peace

Trivia

 * Leonardo returns to New York.
 * The Turtles move into a new lair below Central Park.
 * Leonardo defeats Karai in battle, but rather than kill her, leaves her in dishonor and warns her to never bother his family again by decapitating the statue of her "father," Oroku Saki.
 * This episode marks the start of the new TMNT opening, with Karai saying "Watch out for Shredder" this time.