The Turtles are baited by Karai into deadly traps and it's up to Splinter to save them and try to break Karai's brainwashing.
- Appropriated Appellation: Oddly averted. For some reason, Steranko takes offense when Zeck/Bebop calls him "Rocksteady", despite the fact that he is one of the few antagonistic mutants named by Mikey who has fully embraced his new mutant name until this point.
- Attack Its Weak Point: April quickly puts an end to Bebop's taunting with a quick punch to his snout.Bebop: Owww, my piggy nose! She hit me in my piggy nose!
- Badass Crew: The Shredder's inner circle really gets to show why they're his inner circle with how powerful they are together against the Turtles and April.
- The Bus Came Back: This is Murakami's first appearance since "The Wrath of Tiger Claw". Well, it's a hologram, but still.
- Continuity Nod:
- Splinter uses the Healing Hands technique from "The Deadly Venom" to free Karai from the worm's control.
- Tiger Claw and Rahzar are both eager to take vengeance on Splinter after getting defeated by him in "The Manhattan Project" and "Showdown", respectively.
- April calls Splinter via the cheese phone, last seen in "The Manhattan Project".
- When Mikey receives a call from Donnie, his T-Phone displays a photo of Donnie being kissed by Bigfoot.
- Curbstomp Battle: Quite a few in this episode.
- Donnie was quickly taken down by the Foot when he was first lured into the trap.
- Leo, Raph, and April are gradually worn down by Karai, Tiger Claw, Rahzar, Xever, Bebop and Rocksteady.
- Splinter delivers a brutal beatdown to Bebop and Rocksteady when leaving the sewers.
- Then Splinter easily takes down Rahzar, Xever and Tiger Claw in that order.
- Death Trap: As suggested by the title, there are four of them - one for each turtle.
- Electric Torture: Donnie's trap is a puzzle that zaps him every time he gets it wrong.
- Emerging from the Shadows: Rahzar uses his lean, dark form to hide in the shadows to try to ambush Splinter.
- Foreshadowing: Twice in the episode, the Kraang are said to have returned. The following episode will reveal that this is indeed the case.
- How We Got Here: The episode starts with Raph waking up with a concussion in his trap, wondering what happened. The first part of the episode is in flashback up until Raph is thrown into his trap, which, at that point, jogs his memory.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: Mikey claims he can rescue Donnie from his deadly Falling Blocks puzzle prison due to this.Mikey: Chillax, I've got this! I've got like fifty puzzle apps on my T-Phone.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Yet another example in the series. However, being a fight between Splinter and Karai, this one is especially heartwrenching.Splinter: Miwa, listen to me! I am your father, Hamato Yoshi! Your mother was the love of my life!Karai/Miwa: Don't you dare desecrate her memory!
- Lured into a Trap: Karai uses holograms and a voice changing microphone to imitate the turtles and April, luring the real ones into her traps.
- Mook Chivalry: The Foot Clan members only attack Splinter one or two at a time, despite having him severely outnumbered. This results in them being on the receiving end of a number of the Curb Stomp Battles mentioned above.
- Mythology Gag:
- Mikey's trap involves the threat of mutagen pouring on him from above. A similar thing occurred in "Michaelangelo's Birthday".
- Fem!Mikey's pose looks similar to another female turtle.
- This isn't the first time Don's been electrocuted by one of the villains. Funny considering that the Triceratons are due for their debut soon…
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Splinter's takedown of Xever involved him ripping off his breathing apparatus.
- One-Man Army: Splinter pretty effortlessly mows through Shredder's men in this episode until he gets to Karai.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Tiger Claw even notes how even though Splinter freed Karai from the worm's influence, it still came at a cost.
- Shout-Out: Karai's traps for the turtles are very Saw-like.
- The card game Mikey and Ice Cream Kitty play resembles Pokémon. One of the characters on Mikey's card looks like one of the minions from Despicable Me.
- Status Quo Is God: Despite being freed from Shredder's control, Karai is still far away from being reunited with Splinter.
- Take That!: The episode evidently makes one to Venus De Milo with the image of Fem!Mikey and him yelling in terror.
- Toilet Humor: After Mikey is freed from his death trap, the mutagen that falls forms the shape of a piece of poop.
- Wham Episode: Splinter successfully removes the brain worm from Karai's brain, but she falls down a drain, with the Hamato clan unsure if they'll ever see her again. Thankfully, she's revealed to be alive at the end of the episode.
