When Splinter longs to be human once more, the turtles manage to turn him back into one thanks to some leftover mutagen that turned them all into mutants themselves! However, Splinter's fantasy is met with some harsh realities... Meanwhile, the Shredder is looking for "the key to other realms," a spell that will open gateways to other dimensions.
Tropes
- Become a Real Boy: The premise of the episode. Splinter, after spending an untold amount of years as a rat, finally gets the chance to experience being human once more. However, the effects don't last and Splinter comes to terms with his mutation permanently.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Shredder uses a "Neuro Scrambler" on the turtles, which hypnotizes them into turning against and fighting one another. They come back to their senses when April asks what Splinter would say if he saw them fighting, and they destroy the device that's controlling them.
- Call-Back: Remnants of the mutagen that turned Hamato Yoshi into a rat, and the turtles into mutants, is used to temporarily turn Splinter back into a human.
- Didn't Think This Through: Splinter hopes to live a normal and peaceful life as Hamato Yoshi once more, but clearly did not think about what would happen if he did. Being that he had lived most of his life in Japan before being exiled from the Foot Clan, lived the remainder of his human life in the sewers of New York City, and has been a mutant rat for an untold amount of years while living with the turtles has made him forget that he is a broke homeless bum, everyone in New York City is obnoxious and rude, and crime is at an all-time high. The chances of having that life again disappeared long ago. Once his mutation begins to wear off and the humans try to hunt him down and kill him, it is then that Splinter realizes how foolish he was to fall for his own fantasy.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: One of the many from this series.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Krang warns the Shredder that Dimension X isn't the worst dimension Shredder could interact with should he start fooling around with interdimensional travel. Wouldn't you know it, Shredder tries opening a portal and summons an Eldritch Abomination instead.
- Humans Are Bastards: Once Hamato Yoshi begins turning back into Splinter, a mob of people try to hunt him down, which gets through to him that he had made a mistake becoming human again. Even before that, Splinter is rudely turned down by a Taxi for being broke, and was nearly robbed by some muggers.Master Splinter: Why must humans hate everything that's different from themselves?
- Sealed Evil in Another World: After botching the spell to open a portal to Dimension X, what winds up being summoned is a cyclopian monster with regenerating tentacles who attacks everyone in attendance (the turtles, April, Splinter, and Shredder and his mutants).
