During an early morning training run, Leonardo encounters a legion of Foot Ninja and Hun. A thunderstorm develops not long before Leo encounters a new foe, the Foot Elite. As he becomes overwhelmed, Leo witnesses the return of the Shredder. When his brothers begin to go out and find him, he's thrown through April's window and warns his brothers of the Shredder's return before passing out.
First appearance of Shredder's Elite Guard
This episode provides examples of:
- Animated Adaptation: To the Mirage comic issue Leonardo #1.
- Batman Gambit: Michelangelo is incredibly irresponsible with April's plates, so she orders Raphael and Donatello to keep him away when they are doing the dishes. Turns out it was intentional on Mike's part, so he won't have to do the dishes.
- Battle in the Rain
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Leo vs. the Foot Elite. Up until then, the former had put up a good fight.
- He's Back!: "Raph, wait. He's back... the Shredder..."
- Little "No": Leo, when he sees the Shredder still alive.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": When Leo tells his family and April of Shredder's return.
- Mood Whiplash: Frequently cuts back and forth between Leo's fight with the foot and the others relaxing at April's.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Inflicted on Leo by The Foot
- Rule of Symbolism: The episode ends with Leo beaten. To mark the occasion, the Shredder breaks Leo's swords.
- Sarcasm Failure: Raphael, when Michelangelo accidentally wakes up him and Donatello.Mikey: Oh, man. I slept on my hand and it got numb and hit my face, and I thought somebody slapped me. Don't you hate that?
Raph: ...Words fail me. - Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Don's reply to Raph when they're watching a football match on television.Raphael: Panthers, Rams, Bears, uh, they even got Dolphins. You’d think they’d have room for something a little more reptilian.
Donatello: The Turtles? My friend, unfortunately, the lowly turtle has been saddled by society with a stereotype of being velocity-challenged.
Raphael: Say what? - Wrecked Weapon: Shredder literally shatters Leonardo's katana at the end of the episode.
