The Turtles are doubting themselves in the face of the upcoming battle, so Master Splinter and the Ancient One tell them a story from their past, when they were merely toddlers yet overcame seemingly impossible odds.
This episode provides examples of
- An Arm and a Leg: Splinter and the Ancient One both to this to the bone demon before finishing him.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Once the Turtles weaken the bone demon enough, Splinter and the Ancient One properly finish him off fighting side-by-side.
- Berserk Button: The Ancient One is displeased to learn the Ninja Tribunal already know Yoshi is dead and don't appear to care, though he is soon cowed into silence.
- Big Brother Bully: At the start of the flashback, Raph steals Mikey's crayon and snaps it in two in front of him.
- Big "WHAT?!": The bone demon after Donatello shatters his amulet.
- Bittersweet Ending: After the flashback is over, the protagonists feel renewed hope over facing the Tengu Shredder, but ominous lightning highlight how difficult the struggle will be.
- Breather Episode: Aw, an episode with the Turtles at the youngest we've ever seen them! Wedged right in the middle of the darkest arc of the series.
- By the Eyes of the Blind: The bone demon can only be seen by the innocent, thanks to an amulet it wears.
- Call-Forward: "Not all children could resist its magic. These four are unique. We will have to watch them for the future."
- Children Are Innocent: The bone demon wore an amulet that made it invisible to "the world weary." The Turtles could see it because they're children.
- Continuity Nod:
- The Ancient One recalls Splinter's past as a pet of Yoshi and Shen.
- The Tribunal are aware of Yoshi's death at Ch'Rell's hands. This episode also confirms that Splinter knew that the Shredder was an Utrom, presumably having picked it up at some point while being owned by Yoshi, and it also confirms his subdued reaction to Ch'Rell's reveal in "Secret Origins" was because he already knew.
- Continuity Snarl: Apparently Splinter was aware that the Shredder that killed Master Yoshi was an alien Utrom, even though there was no indication of this in the earlier seasons.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Once the bone demon is visible, it doesn't stand a chance against Splinter and the Ancient One.
- Despair Event Horizon: Fresh off facing the Tengu Shredder, the Turtles are skeptical of their chances, with Leo in particular voicing his concerns. Splinter and the Ancient One tell them the flashback story in order to shake them of this, which it does.
- Due to the Dead: Splinter and the Turtle Tots only traveled to the Ancient One's home in order to deliver the urn with Hamato Yoshi's ashes. The urn is taken to Tang Shen's grave, where Splinter and the Ancient One pay proper respects.
- Foreshadowing:
- When the Ancient One expresses surprise over the Ninja Tribunal already knowing about Yoshi's death, Juto tells him, "It is as it must be." This hints at the long game they're been playing and how Yoshi's death was necessary for the Turtles and Splinter to become who they are.
- Unlike prior flashback episodes, the Turtle Tots noticeably aren't wearing masks. Before going home, they're given them by the Ancient One.
- Forgotten First Meeting: The Turtles met the Ancient One and the Ninja Tribunal when they were toddlers. The fact they've forgotten them is justified since the Ninja Tribunal wiped their memories of the events. This is also how the Ancient One and Splinter met for the first time after the latter's mutation (and after the Ancient One learned Splinter had become a sentient ally and by extension family member), which led Splinter to have Leo be sent to train under the Ancient One.
- Friend to All Children: The Ancient One finally softens towards Splinter after seeing the Turtles scared of a supposed ghost.
- Genre Blindness: The bone demon is concerned about the Turtles seeing him, but the Foot Mystics say that is unimportant because they're just children.
- "Hell, Yes!" Moment: The Turtles after Splinter and the Ancient One finish the bone demon.
- Hollywood Healing: Averted. The start of the episode shows Karai is still badly wounded and unconscious from her beating by the Tengu Shredder in the last episode.
- It's a Long Story: Splinter's response to the Ancient One asking how he went from a pet rat to a bipedal creature capable of speech.
- Little "No": The Ancient One after learning Yoshi is dead, then it turns into a Big "NO!".
- The Man Behind the Man: At the monastery, the bone demon is revealed to be working on behalf of the Foot Mystics.
- Mood Whiplash: The bone demon menaces the Turtles at night, vowing to eat their souls if they scream. Scary, but it's Played for Laughs when they look at each other nervously and run away screaming.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The Ancient One over unknowingly leading the bone demon to the monastery and the Tengu Shredder artifacts.
- Oh, Crap!: The Ancient One over learning the giant rat he's talking to used to be Tang Shen's pet.
- Outliving One's Offspring: The Ancient One learns that his adopted son Yoshi has been killed, with now all of his adopted children dead.
- Properly Paranoid: Despite the Turtles' pleas, Splinter can't see the bone demon following the Ancient One, but he thinks something is going on because he's picking up a dark scent in the air.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Splinter, of course. While he initially thinks the Turtles' claims of seeing a ghost is due to being tired after the long journey or not being used to sleeping alone, when they claim to have seen it a third time as it's following the Ancient One, he takes them seriously.
- So Proud of You: Chikara commends the Ancient One for taking out the bone demon.
- Spanner in the Works: The Foot Mystics' plan to send in the bone demon might have worked had Splinter and the Turtles not traveled to Japan to give Yoshi's ashes to the Ancient One.
- The Leader: Demonstrated when Leo is the first to throw a rock at the bone demon.
- The Smart One: Demonstrated when Donny throws a particularly large rock at the bone demon.
- Together in Death: The Ancient One places Yoshi's ashes next to Tang Shen's grave.
- Too Dumb to Live: The bone demon threatens to eat the Turtle-tot's souls if they make any noise. Predictably, the scared kids run away, screaming.
- Underestimating Badassery: The Foot Mystics did not consider the Turtles seeing the Bone Demon as a threat as because they are children at the time. They were proven wrong, as the Turtles were the ones who ended up ruining their plans.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Ancient One is surprised to see a post-mutation Splinter for the first time, but he quickly dismisses him as a rat monster and tells him to go away.
- Victory-Guided Amnesia: This episode revealed that the Turtles helped defeat a servant of the Foot Mystics when they were very young, but the Ninja Tribunal insisted on erasing all their memories of it.
- Wham Line: "Ancient One, do you remember when I brought them all to your home in Japan years and years ago?"
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Ancient One is shocked that the Tribunal already knows of his beloved son's death, though he doesn't question them.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Most of the episode depicts flashbacks to the first time the Turtles met the Ancient One and the trial they went through.
- Would Hurt a Child: As toddlers, the Turtles met a Bone Demon and when he was in the middle of squeezing the life out of Splinter and The Ancient One, he threatened the Turtle Tots with a worse fate.
