Leonardo, tired of Raphael's constant criticism, lets his brother try his hand at leadership for a while; Leonardo meets Karai, a beautiful and dangerous female ninja who tries to lure him to the dark side.
This episode provides examples of:
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: Raph yells Mikey's "Booyakasha!" when he delivers the final blow to Snakeweed.
- Brutal Honesty: While scolding Leonardo for shirking his duties, Splinter tells him that yes, it is too much to ask for gratitude every time one fulfills their responsibilities, but that's not the point of what leadership is about.Splinter: Leadership is not about being appreciated, it is about responsibility. It doesn't matter that the burden is heavy — it matters that you carry it.
- Call-Back: Snakeweed is back from "Rise of the Turtles".
- The Chains of Commanding: Leo is sick of the pressure, constantly being second-guessed, and never getting any appreciation. Splinter reminds him that being The Leader is about responsibility, not appreciation. Meanwhile, Raph fills in as leader, but the pressure gets too much while the group fights Snakeweed, and he freezes up after Mikey is injured. Raph acknowledges that he's not comfortable having to make decisions that could put his brothers in potential danger.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: Raph. Who else?
- Dark Action Girl: Karai. She is a "beautiful and dangerous female ninja", of course.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Shredder angrily all but threatens Karai with severe bodily harm if she doesn't kill Leo the next time she sees him again, all because Karai made a snide little comment about how the Turtles got away from him in "The Gauntlet".
- Distinction Without a Difference: Karai didn't throw a knife at Leo's head, she threw a knife near his head.
- Enemy Rising Behind: Snakeweed behind Raphael as Leonardo tries to explain why he's with Karai.
- Foreshadowing: Once again, Space Heroes. Particularly in the case for "Enemy of My Enemy", where Leonardo and his brothers betray Karai first.
- Gossipy Hens: While at first half-asleep when Leo meets her at her window, April immediately perks up when he says he met a girl, excited to hear about it... until he tells her that she's in the Foot Clan.
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Captain Ryan gets a Blue-Skinned Space Babe in this episode. It doesn't last.
- Hammerspace: The comic book April hits Leo with comes out of nowhere.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Splinter deliver a message to Leonardo that leadership is a hard, thankless task, and he should not think otherwise just because of someone's criticism.
- Heroic BSoD: When Michelangelo gets hurt during Raphael's stint as leader, he can't figure out what to do and Donatello has to tell him that they need to retreat.
- It's All My Fault: After Mikey gets knocked out during battle and being forced to retreat to the lair, Raph says this word for word and finally realizes that he doesn't have what it takes to be the leader of a team.
- It Amused Me: Karai says she spared Leo during their first encounter because he's the first thing in the city that doesn't bore her.
- Leader Wannabe: Raph fits here, constantly second-guessing Leo and being firmly convinced that he'd be a better leader, to the extent that Leo gets sick of it and hands the position over to him. It doesn't take long for Raph to crack under the pressure, unable to think of any better strategy to deal with Snakeweed than "go for the head" and freezing up completely when Mikey is injured. When they escape, Raph has a better understanding of what Leo has to go through every day and admits to Splinter that he can't handle the leadership position.
- Let's See YOU Do Better!: After being criticized and second-guessed by Raph one time too many, Leo finally gets sick of it and passes over the leadership to him. At first, he's firmly convinced that he'll be a much better leader than Leo, but he soon finds out just how tough being leader really is during a fight with Snakeweed, where he can't come up with any real plan of attack and goes into a Heroic BSoD when Mikey gets hurt. When they escape, Raph acknowledges that he can't handle being leader, now knows what Leo has to deal with every day, and that he need him back.
- Literally Shattered Lives: Snakeweed gets frozen and then shattered to pieces. It doesn't last.
- Never Trust a Trailer:
- The official promo of this episode only shows the conflict between Leo and Raph. Karai and Snakeweed aren't even mentioned.
- Same goes for the summary. Karai doesn't "lure [Leo] to the dark side", she just tries to push his buttons a little.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After Raph talks about the pressure of command, Splinter notes that he now understands Leo's burden.
- Sibling Rivalry: Leo vs Raph. In response, Leo gives his position to Raph so he can know the burdens of being the leader of a team. Later on, Raph learns this the hard way after Mikey gets knocked out during the fight.
- Vetinari Job Security: Sick of constantly being second-guessed and not receiving any appreciation for his efforts, Leo hands his leadership over to Raph, who is firmly convinced he can do the job better. Raph soon cracks under the pressure, and while fighting Snakeweed, he can't think of any better plan but "go for the head" and freezes up completely when Mikey is injured. After they escape, Raph confesses to Splinter that he can't handle being leader and now realizes what Leo has to deal with every day.
- We Can Rule Together: Karai trying to convince Leo that he's not as good as he pretends to be. Also inverted with Leo trying to convince Karai that she's not as bad as she pretends to be.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Splinter calls out Leo for handling his leadership over to Raph. Later, he calls out Raph on the consequences of being leader thanks to Mikey's injuries.
- April also didn't approve of Leo being interested in his enemy, which leads to her telling the others.
