Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish

	Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1; August 9, 2024 - August 9, 2024; List of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes
	Episodes: Leo Nardo Stands Alone; Mikey Does the Right Thing; Raph Thinks It Through; Donnie Hangs Tough; Bishop Makes Her Move; Night of the Mechazoids; Raph vs. Water; Mikey Takes Charge; Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish; Donnie Goes Deep; Leonardo Saddles Up; The Pearl; Season 1 – Season 2

“Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish”
Tale of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode
Season Code:	001
Episode:	9
Original airdate	August 9, 2024 (Paramount+)
Written by	Haley Mancini
Producers:	Louis J. Cuck
	Seth Rogen; Evan Goldberg; James Weaver; Josh Fagen
	Alan Wan; Christopher Yost
Supervising Director	Colin Heck
Storyboard Artist:	Sebrina Gao; Jerry Gaylord; Laura Gille
Episode chronology
"Mikey Takes Charge"	"Donnie Goes Deep"

"Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish" is the ninth episode of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It aired on August 9th, 2024.

Synopsis[]

When the Lair floods, April goes to save Splinter... but he won't leave the sewer! To make matters worse, the mutant called GOLDFIN comes with a warning... stay out of his way, or else!

Appearing in Splinter and April Fight a Goldfish[]

Major characters[]

April O'Neil (Ayo Edebiri)
Goldfin (Timothy Olyphant) (mutates in flashback)
Splinter (Fred Tatasciore)

Minor characters[]

Donatello (Micah Abbey)
Lee the Eel (mutates in flashback)
Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu)
Michelangelo (Shamon Brown, Jr.)
Mustang Sally (flashback only) (mutates)
Old lady (Kate Higgins) (debut)
Raphael (Brady Noon)
Anenemies
- Celina Barnacle (Kate Higgins) (mutates in flashback)
- Elixiar (Robbie Daymond) (mutates in flashback)
- Fast Freddie (Max Mittelman) (mutates in flashback)
- Roamin (Fred Tatasciore) (mutates in flashback)
Superfly/Superduperfly (flashback only)

Species[]

Eel (flashback only)
Conglomerate mutant (flashback only)
Goldfish (flashback only)
Human
Mutant eel
Mutant goldfish
Mutant housefly (flashback only)
Mutant rat
Mutant sea anemone
Mutant seahorse (flashback only)
Mutant turtle
Rat
Sea anemone (flashback only)
Seahorse (flashback only)

Objects and vehicles[]

Assimilator (flashback only)
Jersey Bight (debut) (flashback only)
Scale boomerang (debut)
Skateboard
Umbrella

Locations[]

New York City
- Sewers of New York City
- Turtle Lair

Episode[]

Voice-over introduction[]

Michelangelo: Previously on the "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"... Raph’s version of this story is nuts. You’d think me and Genghis Frog on a snack run during a storm would be exciting enough. Just you wait. The store is being robbed by the Purple Dragons, and a mutant eel named Lee shows up to eat us. Insane, right? Lee thought I was messing with some plan of hers, which I totally wasn’t. I had to use my improv skills to save everyone and keep Genghis from eating a cat. Improv for the win! But now Dad’s in trouble- - and not just because Raph dubbed his voice to make him sound like Batman.

Plot[]

In the lair, Splinter turns on the lamp next to his chair and tells his audience to listen carefully. This, he says, is the most important part. Raphael, lifting weights, asks if that's because it's got him in it. Splinter says that's just a coincidence, but yes. Leonardo looks at April and says this is where she saved him from Goldfin. April replies that people remember things differently. Splinter raises his voice to stop their discussion and says this is where they finally learned who they were up against and why.

It was dark and stormy outside, and rain was dripping from above into the lair. Splinter, alone now that he sent his sons and the Mutanimals out, is listening to a radio newscaster report on the storm. The newscaster also talks about unconfirmed reports of sinkholes and cracks in the streets in Midtown. Splinter sets out some more buckets to catch the water, though the lowest parts of the lair floor are already flooded. He glances around with contentment and repeats the line "be it ever so humble, there's no place like home". He does not notice when large eyes appear in the shadows above the nearby door and watch him walk away.

In the sewer tunnels, a rat stops to sniff the air and then runs to grab a half-eaten hot dog. At the same moment, another rat grabs the piece of food as well. They both fight over it, squeaking at each other, but then the ground shakes. There's a crash at the end of the tunnel and Lee the Eel slides quickly past them. Water begins flooding in behind her and washes the rats away.

Above, the wind is blowing hard enough to sweep a pigeon off an electrical line. April is standing beneath the awning of a building and recording a report on the weather. A car drives by, hits the puddle in front of her, and splashes April with water. Frustrated, April says she's done reporting the weather. A little old lady walks out of the building, reaches out to feel the water coming down on her hand, and says that it's raining. April snaps that she knows and tells the woman to go home because it's not safe. The street in front of them begins to crack, and then continues cracking as far as the eye can see. April walks out to the crack and lifts her phone to record just as a couple of rats climb out. April jumps back and the old lady asks if she's never seen a rat before. Suddenly, a huge swarm of rats come up from the sewers and the old lady screams, too. Rats come out of the storm drains as well, leading April to guess that the sewers must be flooding. She gasps in alarm, remembering the Turtles and Splinter.

Back in the lair, Splinter catches some water in a pot, sets it on a hot plate cook top, and stirs. He is holding an umbrella to keep the rain off. Splinter is suddenly startled when a pair of rats drop into bowls right next to him. He fusses at them for nearly giving him a heart attack. The rats squeak at him and then hold up a food offering. Splinter reminds them that he told them not to do this, they can't come to the lair because his boys don't know about this. His attention is then drawn to the ringing tone coming from the laptop sitting on the table and tells the rats they have to go. Splinter picks up the laptop and after a couple of seconds, figures out how to open it. He starts pounding on buttons until April appears onscreen. He's very proud to have figured out how to work Donatello's laptop. There is static on April's end and she tells him the signal is terrible because of the storm. April asks if he's okay and where the Turtles are. Splinter tells her he sent the boys out with their cousins. April is astonished he sent them out into the storm, but he says he sent some deeper into the sewers. She says that's worse, but Splinter argues it's good for them and that's he's no longer a helicopter dad. April tells him the sewers are flooding and it isn't safe there. Splinter says he didn't think he'd live to see the day when a human was concerned for him. He tells it's fine, that the sewers have flooded many times. This is his home and he will never leave, causing April to sigh and inform him that the storm's only getting worse. She says she's coming to get him, but Splinter tells her not to worry about him. The call cuts out and April tries to text the Turtles to get him out of the lair, but the message won't go through due to the storm. April decides someone needs to go down to get him, and looks over at a nearby manhole cover.

Splinter is going about his business in the lair when a loud splash nearby startles him. He looks back but sees nothing, so calls out for his boys, wondering if they're already back. He sees the surface of the water ripple and asks if it's Ray Fillet. Splinter decides it's his imagination and is then suddenly hit in the face by Goldfin, who states he's not the old rat's imagination. Goldfin continues to attack, proving both strong and flexible, until Splinter finally kicks him against the wall and holds him there. Splinter demands to know who he is, but Goldfin slashes him with his fins and punches him backwards. Splinter comes up from underwater, but no longer sees Goldfin anywhere. He climbs atop the table and calls for the 'angry goldfish', and then breathes a sigh of relief thinking he's gone. When April calls his name, Splinter shouts, and tells her she scared him half to death.

As April walks towards him, she tells Splinter that she came to get him out. He tries to signal her to keep away, telling her there’s a goldfish in there. April mistakenly thinks he’s talking about a pet and tells him to bring it with them, but they have to go. Splinter says it’s not safe for her, but she argues the lair is flooding and won’t leave without him. He in turn states emphatically that he won’t leave his home. Everything good that has ever happened to him has happened in the sewers. April asks if this is about his goldfish, but Splinter says he thinks it left.

Just then, Goldfin jumps out of the water and knocks Splinter down. They begin rolling around on the table until Splinter grabs Goldfin’s shirt and throws him. Goldfin dives under water, targets April, and flies at her. April jumps aside and Goldfin hits the breaker box. Sparks fly, the lights go out, and Splinter tells April to stay out of the water. She manages to stay ahead of him, so Goldfin goes after Splinter again. After he hits Splinter a few times, the next time he charges, the rat kicks him into the breaker box again. Goldfin slides down, momentarily stunned, and April uses a metal trash can to trap him.

The pair put their captive in an aquarium that belonged to the Turtles when they were little, and set a cinderblock on top to keep him inside. Splinter flashes a flashlight on the goldfish and April asks what his deal is and if he’s one of Superfly’s mutants. Goldfin tells them his name, leading April to ask if he watches a lot of James Bond movies. He admits it and Splinter agrees they are good movies, and then demands answers from Goldfin.

Goldfin says he’ll talk, that he has all the time in the world. Flashback to beneath the East River, which Goldfin says was a magical place. It was beautiful, a place of wonder and all of them were safe around the pearl. For Goldfish and his partners, this was their home – until the sky fell. A loud boom and bright light attracts the curiosity of the pre-mutated Goldfin, who swims towards the surface to investigate, followed by Lee the Eel and Mustang Sally.

At just that moment, Superfly, tangled in the wires of his assimilator, falls into the water. Goldfin becomes caught in a vent of the assimilator, and both Lee and Sally try to pull him loose. When the assimilator hits the bottom of the river, the jolt helps free Goldfin, but it also sets off the assimilator. Superfly doubly mutated, but the rays from the assimilator also mutated the three partners and some sea anemones. The three partners became the East River Three.

April finds the story fascinating and asks Goldfin to repeat it so she can record the story. He just stares at her, so she puts her phone away and recaps that the machine that turned Superfly into SuperDuperFly also transformed Goldin’s group. Goldfin tells her they’ve been like this for a few months, trying to make it, but now they’ve come to take back what’s theirs. Splinter tries to explain that they are like second cousins, which makes them family. Goldfin argues the difference is they have a home and he and his friends need a place to call home. He’s come to deliver a warning. April reminds him that he’s the one that’s captured. Goldfin says his friends will come for him and they’ve already dealt with one of their hero Turtles. He threatens that if not left alone, they’ll come for the rest of them. There is a loud thud nearby and the lights flicker back on. April says it could be the guys and heads for the tunnels. Splinter runs after her, asking if she’s never seen a horror movie. After they are gone, Goldfin uses his sharp fin to begin cutting the glass of the aquarium.

Standing with Splinter in the tunnels, April asks about the noise they are hearing. Splinter says he’s heard it before, the last time the tunnels flooded. Water comes rushing towards them and Splinter shoves April into a side tunnel before being swept away by the flood. The water then hits April and washes her back into the lair. Calling for Splinter, she jumps up to head back out, but finds her path blocked by a member of the Anenemies, Celina. Then one by one, the other three Anenemies rise from the water around her.

They stark speaking “commercial” and April wants to know what they’re talking about. Stepping through the hole he’s made in the aquarium, Goldfin explains they’re saying she’s in deep doo doo. The Anenemies tie April to a chair, while Goldfin wanders around. He takes down a picture of Splinter and the Turtles and the Anenemies speak commercial to April, which Goldfin translates to say that yes, they’ve seen her on TV. He explains that they learned to speak from TV and they all did, but that Lee, Sally and him aren’t dumb like the Anenemies. Then Goldfin comments on how the Turtles have been mutants for fifteen years and this dump is the best they could do.

April tells him he’s delivered his warning, so he can leave. He doesn’t agree, saying that she’ll tell everyone his plan, which he begins to spill. April tries to get him to stop, but he goes on about the Natural History Museum and the meeting with Bad Bernie tonight on Pier 21. April thinks he’s messing with her and says she’s not telling anybody anything and neither will Splinter. Goldfin says he’s not worried about the rat because he’s sleeping with the fishes by now.

Splinter wakes up in another section of the tunnels, in a dry spot off to the side of the channel containing water. He sits up and discovers there is a cardboard crown on his head, which he removes. At the sound of rats squeaking, he stands up and says that he told them to stop doing this. He’s not their king. They turn to indicate more rats, who slide some scrap food towards Splinter. He tells them he has to get back home, but then they roll forward another gift, a life-sized statue of him made of junk, mud and scraps. Then all of the rats bow to Splinter. He tries to explain he’s not their king and they needn’t worship him. He then tells them his friend April is in trouble. One of the rats speaks to him, and Splinter says that it’s not from an alligator. The rat then tells him April was taken by pink blobs. Splinter places the crown back on his head and squeaks to the rats that their king needs their help.

Back in the lair, Goldfin nods to the Anenemies and they lift April’s chair. He says they didn’t want to hurt anyone, but can’t have her telling anyone about them. He snaps his fin and the Anenemies turn April upside down. They bring her closer to Goldfin, who prepares to slash her with his fin. She starts talking about his raincoat, until he realizes she’s playing for time so her mutant friends can rescue her. April notices the rats flooding in from above, but Goldfin doesn’t until Celina asks “troubled by pests?”.

Goldfin looks up just as the rats leap, hitting him and the Anenemies, who drop April. A tidal wave of rats sweep the Anenemies out of the lair. Goldfin calls for them, but there is no answer. Hearing a squeak, he looks over to see a rat jump into April’s hands. She thanks the rat, but then Goldfin smacks her in the face. He starts to strike again, but the rat leaps and knocks him down. April runs towards the lair entrance and then stops, turning around. Behind her, dozens of little red eyes light up the darkness and a familiar voice calls Goldfin out for threatening his family. Splinter steps out, holding an umbrella, and tells the rats that he’ll handle the fish. They leave and Splinter and Goldfin face off.

The pair begin their battle, which rages all throughout the lair. April looks around, surprised that this being the lair of ninjas, there aren’t more weapons to be found. Goldfin enters the kitchen and throws dishes at Splinter, but he blocks them by opening the umbrella. The goldfish manages to get past him and knock the umbrella out of the Splinter’s hands. Goldfin rushes around the room and then leaps at Splinter’s face.

Splinter suddenly has a memory flashback, to when the Turtles were just tots and he was with them as they played. He comes back to himself in time to deliver a hard kick to Goldfin’s face. Splinter quickly retrieves his umbrella and the flashes back to helping tot Leo practice with a bokken. Splinter then strikes at Goldfin with the umbrella and says that home is not just a place, it is not things – a home is made of memories. He continues having memories of his children, including the time they gave him a cup that said “#1 Dad”. It is a place, he says, with the people that matter most to you. Goldfin hits him in the face with that very same cup, knocking him down and breaking the cup.

As Goldfin jumps at the still prone Splinter, April steps in and smacks the goldfish with a skateboard. Splinter stands saying that the things he mentioned can never be taken away. April starts to point out she said that earlier, but then Goldfin grabs her shoulders and drags her into the water. Splinter dives in after her and for a moment, the water is still. Then Goldfin flies out and lands on the back of the armchair, unconscious. Splinter brings April out of the water and she thanks him. He tells her that he’d do anything for his family, which she is a part of. April thinks that’s really nice, and then notices that Goldfin has vanished. Splinter says they have to find him because his boys are still in danger. April announces that they know where he’s going to be because he wouldn’t shut up about the Natural History Museum and the pier. Splinter announces that’s where they need to go and April asks about the lair and all the water. He tells her it’ll be fine because there are drains, they just get clogged up – he has lots of hair.