Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: While taking a beating from Rahzar, Mikey wonders what he contributes to the team. It is then that he realizes that he has had a lot of notable moments that have helped his family and friends, his Genius Ditz and The Heart role in the team having done a lot of good (discovering the Kraang, befriending Leatherhead, taking down the Technodrome, gave Jason a home, etc).
Elemental Motifs: Like in the original episode, each one of the Hamatos are assigned a quest by Yoshi for purposes of their individual vision quest themes connected to the issue they need to overcome. While Leo is the wind, Raph the fire, Donnie the mountain and Mikey the forest, Miwa is told that due to her fears making her too rigid and unyielding, she must learn to be "as fluid and as versatile as the river".
Evil Counterpart: While Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey face off against Shredder, Fishface, Tiger Claw and Rahzar, Miwa's opponent is Karai. Or more specifically, a post-mutated canon!Karai.
Oh, No... Not Again!: Donatello has this reaction when he finds that he turned into a turtle for his spirit quest.
Seen It All: When Miwa finds a river on her spirit quest, she remarks that a river that wasn't there before isn't the strangest thing she's ever experienced.
Shout-Out: When the Spirit Deer appears in humanoid form, Mikey, Raph and Donnie are about to attack it, only for Miwa to stop them dead in their tracks and ask them if they remember Princess Mononoke when they were kids, and if they remember what happened to the 'deer-thing in the movie', which makes them think twice about attacking it.
