Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1255374-20150613052057/@comment-995426-20150804072411

You know, I've given this some more thought, and talked to other people I know who have since watched this episode, and...it puts a lot of things into perspective.

We may all have the wrong idea about how this series handles stuff. It's not "oh, Mikey loves Leatherhead" or "oh, Mikey's not gay". It's more that the characters aren't given quite enough lasting substance to build three-dimensional personalities and relationships. All the characters are basically putty for whatever the rotating writer wants to do with them, so nothing about them is really all that permanent. This is okay if you want kitschy entertainment, but it's terrible if you crave greater continuity and immersion.

But one thing's increasingly for certain&mdash;each of my friends in succession (as they have finally gotten around to seeing this episode) have told me they loathed what the show did with Renet individually, and with Renet and Mikey as a love interest here. This may be our "Krystal ruined Star Fox and fractured the fan base" moment. (Even though at least one guy I know loved the new Savanti Romero, and drew some hunky fanart of him.) Also, interestingly, most my friends, while still watching the 2K12 series, have largely already given up expecting it to improve, especially since the start of season 3. One of them saw this episode as just a symptom of greater problems that have been plaguing the series, and he recommended I ditch this series to go back to reading IDW or MNT Gaiden comics.

He may be right. But I really did like this series up to this point. I liked the characters I thought I understood. I liked their dynamic, their recurring personality quirks, and was even willing to forgive a bunch of weak episodes. This episode was just a bridge too far though. IDW Renet may have the power to create new dimensions, but 2K12 Renet has the power to reach into the audience's mind and change the show from three-dimensional to one-dimensional&mdash;that's really quite an impressive feat of continuity derailment for someone with a D-cup.

The same friend suggested that the new IDW TMNT Amazing Adventures comic may improve on the weaknesses of the 2K12 series, and create something more mature and more deep, the way Archie did when it branched off the 1987 continuity. He suggested I not abandon my fanfiction WIPs yet, because they may still be salvageable in an alternate universe. I agree they would only be salvageable in an alternate universe, because yesterday I just lost all faith in Nickelodeon's version. Somehow I think even Triceratons won't be able to save it now.