The Turtles tell April a story of their childhood, when they tried to help a defenseless kid stand up to some bullies.
This episode provides examples of
- Accidental Hero: The bullies corner Arnold in the alley, but the leader is called away by his mother for lunch.
- All Your Powers Combined: Arnold kept getting his ass whooped because each of the turtles taught him conflicting lessons. It's only when he uses them all does he finally find his groove.
- Battle Cry: In this episode it's revealed that the young turtles helped Casey develop his signature catchphrase, "Goongala," when they were teaching him all about martial arts and fighting (although they never found out) and each took turns to teach him what they knew. The cry comes from when Mikey was training him and told him to say "Gorogoro-sama!" (translation: Lord Thunder) as motivation. But since Casey couldn't pronounce it correctly, he instead screams out "Goongala" instead.
- Canon Character All Along: Downplayed. Arnold, the child that the Turtles tried to teach how to fight, is revealed in the ending to be Casey Jones, one of their allies in the present day.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': While one Turtle Tot serves as Arnold's sensei, the others cover for him back in the lair and try to keep Splinter from noticing anything. It doesn't take long for Splinter to notice unusual behavior. He quickly busts them for going to the surface and playing sensei.Leo: He must've made us practice for 78 hours straight.
Donnie: I think he wanted to make sure we were so tired, we wouldn't be able to go topside. - Death Glare: Arnold before attacking the bullies. He does it again to the lead bully after beating him.
- Didn't Think This Through: It's only at Arnold's third butt-whooping do the turtles realize that none of them taught him actual self-defense. Thankfully Arnold was able to use everything that they taught him to make his own fighting style.
- Dramatic Irony: The turtles tell a story about when they, as little turtle tots, tried to teach a kid how to fight. While they never know who it was, the audience finds out who it is: it was Arnold "Casey" Jones.
- The Ending Changes Everything: The final line of the episode reveals that the Turtles were teaching Arnold "Casey" Jones to be the fighter he would become today, and they had actually met much earlier than Episode 4.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Young Arnold using a hockey stick to defeat the lead bully.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Arnold "Casey: Jones and the turtles.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When fighting off the bullies, Arnold uses one of their own hockey sticks.
- In the Hood: All turtles wear hooded jackets to hide their identities.
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: That was how Mikey wanted to begin the telling of the story/flashback.
- Kids Are Cruel: Casey and his geeky friend Steve were shown to be harassed by the neighborhood bullies until Casey gave the leader a smackdown.
- Montage: Splinter repeatedly warning the Turtle Tots to not go to the surface. When it's over, they start forcing open a sewer lid.
- No Antagonist: Neither the Shredder nor the Foot Clan appear in this episode. The only things close to villains are the neighborhood bullies.
- Not So Above It All: On a dumpster, Raph happily proclaims himself king of the trash, and Leo just as happily de-thrones him.
- The Power of Friendship: None of the turtles' training helps Arnold and constantly gets him beaten up. Right as he is about to give up for good, he sees the bullies picking on his friend Steve, leading to him to finally beating them up to protect him by combining everything that he's learned.
- The Reveal: At the end, the kid who the Turtles were helping is revealed to be Casey. This episode also shows where he got his signature catchphrase from.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The other bullies after Arnold knocks their leader to the ground. The leader is soon scampering after them.
- Sincerity Mode: The Turtle Tots emerge from the sewer into a graffiti-painted, messy alley, but they openly call it beautiful. After all, they live in the sewer.
- Something We Forgot: After the Turtles are done telling the story, April asks what happened to Arnold. Leo admits they're not sure, but the viewers get one last flashback scene revealing the kid's true identity.
- This Is Gonna Suck: As Arnold is about to confront the bullies for the third time, the Turtles Tots have this reaction after realizing that none of them taught him basic self-defense moves.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: The Turtle Tots want to help Arnold out of pure sympathy. While they never realize what happened, their teachings end up helping him out in the long run.
- Took a Level in Badass: It is revealed that when he was young, Casey lacked the confidence he shows as an adult, until the Turtles trained him to be assertive.
- Wham Line: The final line of the episode.Arnold: "You bullies better watch it, 'cause Arnold Casey Jones ain't lettin' you push nobody around no more! Goongala!"
- Whole Episode Flashback: The entire episode is about how the Turtles tried to teach a kid revealed to be Casey how to be a fighter.
