... it's been 10 years.
geekgirles reblogged
Like Mother, Like Daughter
One of my favourite lines from TMNT 2012 is from The Manhattan Project: Part 2, right after Karai stops Shredder from killing Splinter, he tells her, “You have your mother’s spirit; so fierce, and yet, so scared.”
Part of the reason why I loved it so much was because I’m a sucker for children resembling their parents, especially if said parent has long since passed (probably because I’m basically a carton copy of my own mother with some of my father’s quirks, LOL). But I’d be lying if I said back then I understood how it related to Karai, let alone Tang Shen who we’d never even met.
Now, years later, I have finally seen the light.
Splinter knew his wife so well and is such a good judge of character that with just a few minutes of interaction (in both cases not under the best circumstances) he could accurately pinpoint the similarities between his late wife and his long lost daughter.
Even if Shen only appeared in Tale of the Yokai, her portrayal there was enough to show just who she was at the moment: a strong, independent woman who was afraid of having to leave her husband if it meant ensuring her daughter’s safety and well-being.
Despite her kind nature, Shen never hesitated to let Yoshi know how she felt regarding his loyalty to the clan. She outright admitted the ways of Ninjitsu were dying, with only the Hamato Clan remaining. Had the turtles not intervened, there is a very high possibility she would’ve taken Saki up on his offer and leave for New York with him.
In the end, she even tried to stop the fight between her husband and Saki, giving up her own life in the process. Because she’d listened to her heart. Because she made a choice. And that choice was Yoshi. Even in death, she was a fierce, determined woman.
And all that she was willing to do because that’s what she thought was best for Miwa. She was a mother putting her daughter’s needs before her own; doing what she thought was right.
But at the same time she was so very afraid. Afraid for Miwa’s future, afraid for her own future with Yoshi, and afraid for Yoshi’s priorities. For Tang Shen, her family came first. But what about Yoshi? What was most important to him; his family or his clan?
Every time she argued with Yoshi, it was because she feared his stubborness and loyalty to the Hamato Clan would eventually tear their own family apart. She’d given him everything: she moved closer to him, she gave him her heart, a daughter…Could he not do the same?
And most importantly, what kind of future awaited Miwa if her father wasn’t willing to let go of his ways?
It is even more telling when we remember the only time Tang Shen has ever shown fear (at least in her “debut” episode) was when the turtles approached her and Miwa and they seemed like they were going to hurt them–to hurt her baby! But the moment Miwa showed a liking to them, Shen calmed down as well.
Tang Shen was a mother through and through. Just like any animal in the wild, if her child was in any sort of danger, she became more dangerous than anything threatening them.
Karai, on the other hand, spent most of the series as a victim of the circumstances who would lash out if cornered.
Even when she thought she was Shredder’s daughter, she was trying to fend for herself.
As I see it, Karai’s entire character is built upon that one sentence: “so fierce, and yet, so scared.” From the very first episode she appeared in, she would bare her teeth if it meant appearing more menacing than she already was and keep people away. Because she was afraid of what would happen otherwise. But at the same time, just like her mother before her, Karai only ever followed her own path and did what she thought was right. Even when she was wrong.
I think this duality of her character is best exemplified by using her interactions with both her father figures in the show: Shredder and Splinter.
To Shredder, she’s always shown her fierce side. To Splinter, she’d let her more vulnerable self slip out.
Even when under Shredder’s thumb, Karai would mostly do her own thing, even if it went against her “father’s” wishes.
Back in New Girl in Town, she was already doing as she pleased. Seconds before we found out she was supposed to be Shredder’s daughter, when those two met up the atmosphere was completely different from that between Shredder, Xever, and Bradford, for instance. Whether those two would mostly show complete obedience with a few instances of rebellion (mostly directed at the person they were forced to work with), Karai was completely at ease at all times. It wasn’t until her snarky mouth went a little too far that she showed any sort of fear towards Shredder.
Let’s break that down for a minute, okay?
Before knowing she was supposed to be his daughter, what we the audience saw was Karai, a teenaged member of the Foot Clan, directly meeting up with her vengeful, ruthless clan leader, and going as far as sassing him.
Her debut episode and Karai was already proving she is one the ballsiest characters of the show. Iconic.
We’ll never know what Karai might’ve done in that rooftop hadn’t Raph and Snakeweed interrupted her and Leo. Maybe she was going to fulfill Shredder’s wishes and finish him off, but it is just as likely that she would’ve toyed with him and let him go completely unscathed. Just like she’d been doing the entire episode.
But what we do know is Karai was always true to no one but herself. In most of her appearances, aside from when she was brainwashed, of course, she went against everyone’s wishes to do what she thought was right. Sometimes her intentions were pure (The Enemy of My Enemy)…
…and sometimes they were misguided and had terrible consequences (Vengeance Is Mine).
But she always remained true to herself. Most importantly, except for those times when Shredder asserted his dominance over her when she still saw him as her father, Karai always showed her rebellious self to Shredder unless following his orders was somehow beneficial to her as well (Karai’s Vendetta), until that fierceness turned into a fire the moment she learned the truth.
From then onwards, it wasn’t just rebellion; it was full out war.
Her interactions with Splinter were completely different.
Despite her initial hatred towards him due to living a lie, her fury never reached the same level of intensity it did towards Shredder once she learned the truth. Unlike her unrelenting efforts to take Shredder down, Karai could feel something other than hatred towards Hamato Yoshi.
In spite of having been told her entire life he was her mother’s murderer, there was something about him that often made her hold back. Even when she was under Shredder’s complete control, she still heared him out. Sometimes with fruitless results, like in The Manhattan Project, and sometimes his words really got through to her, like in The Wrath of Tiger Claw.
That hesitance so uncharacteristic of Karai’s character only appears when her true self is about to shine through; the side of herself that has a conscience and a sense of honour and that got Leo in so much trouble trying to seek it out. Remember, before this episode, the only time Karai has actually held back from hurting an enemy was when April revealed she lost her mother.
And the moment she learned Splinter was her true father…
That’s when her fears truly shone through.
Karai loves her father. That is a fact. Her love for him is the sole reason why she could momentarily come to her senses after being mutated and refrain herself from hurting him. Her love for him runs so deeply she was even able to save him from drowning weeks after her mutation, when her grasp on her humanity was already weaker than before.
Moreover, Splinter is one of the very few characters she has ever shown physical affection for. Something we never saw from her relationship with Shredder. The closest thing I can remember at the moment is that flashback from when she just got her sword when she was younger, and still.
I mean, compare:
(On a side note, it’s been fucking years and I’m still not over that hug)
But just because she loves him, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any reason to be afraid.
For all matters and purposes, her father is a complete stranger. Most of what he knows about him was based on lies and other people’s interactions with him, and they were never given the time to rebuild their relationship.
Moreover, Karai was haunted by the things she did under Shredder’s control. You can just feel her desperation in City at War to make it all up to Splinter and make him proud! She’d never belonged to a loving home; she didn’t know how to act around him now that she knew everything she believed in was false. Hence, her hesitance to remain in the lair and reconnect instead of bringing honour to herself back the only way she knew: revenge.
And finally, there is nothing that proves Karai shares her mother’s spirit more than her time as a “mindless” mutant.
She was a snake. The embodiment of danger and hostility as we often perceive them. But she was also a human girl that knew she was slowly losing her identity and could pose a threat to her loved ones.
Her interactions with the turtles before trouble arose in Serpent Hunt and The Pig and the Rhino are perfect examples of this:
First, she attacks and effortlessly incapacites the Kraang and Mikey…
…but the moment Leo makes her regain conscious of her wereabouts, she immediately steps back and curls on herself, begging for help; terrified of what she might do in that state.
Summing up, Karai was her mother’s daughter through and through.
Like Mother, Like Daughter
One of my favourite lines from TMNT 2012 is from The Manhattan Project: Part 2, right after Karai stops Shredder from killing Splinter, he tells her, “You have your mother’s spirit; so fierce, and yet, so scared.”
Part of the reason why I loved it so much was because I’m a sucker for children resembling their parents, especially if said parent has long since passed (probably because I’m basically a carton copy of my own mother with some of my father’s quirks, LOL). But I’d be lying if I said back then I understood how it related to Karai, let alone Tang Shen who we’d never even met.
Now, years later, I have finally seen the light.
Splinter knew his wife so well and is such a good judge of character that with just a few minutes of interaction (in both cases not under the best circumstances) he could accurately pinpoint the similarities between his late wife and his long lost daughter.
Even if Shen only appeared in Tale of the Yokai, her portrayal there was enough to show just who she was at the moment: a strong, independent woman who was afraid of having to leave her husband if it meant ensuring her daughter’s safety and well-being.
Despite her kind nature, Shen never hesitated to let Yoshi know how she felt regarding his loyalty to the clan. She outright admitted the ways of Ninjitsu were dying, with only the Hamato Clan remaining. Had the turtles not intervened, there is a very high possibility she would’ve taken Saki up on his offer and leave for New York with him.
In the end, she even tried to stop the fight between her husband and Saki, giving up her own life in the process. Because she’d listened to her heart. Because she made a choice. And that choice was Yoshi. Even in death, she was a fierce, determined woman.
And all that she was willing to do because that’s what she thought was best for Miwa. She was a mother putting her daughter’s needs before her own; doing what she thought was right.
But at the same time she was so very afraid. Afraid for Miwa’s future, afraid for her own future with Yoshi, and afraid for Yoshi’s priorities. For Tang Shen, her family came first. But what about Yoshi? What was most important to him; his family or his clan?
Every time she argued with Yoshi, it was because she feared his stubborness and loyalty to the Hamato Clan would eventually tear their own family apart. She’d given him everything: she moved closer to him, she gave him her heart, a daughter...Could he not do the same?
And most importantly, what kind of future awaited Miwa if her father wasn’t willing to let go of his ways?
It is even more telling when we remember the only time Tang Shen has ever shown fear (at least in her “debut” episode) was when the turtles approached her and Miwa and they seemed like they were going to hurt them--to hurt her baby! But the moment Miwa showed a liking to them, Shen calmed down as well.
Tang Shen was a mother through and through. Just like any animal in the wild, if her child was in any sort of danger, she became more dangerous than anything threatening them.
Karai, on the other hand, spent most of the series as a victim of the circumstances who would lash out if cornered.
Even when she thought she was Shredder’s daughter, she was trying to fend for herself.
As I see it, Karai’s entire character is built upon that one sentence: “so fierce, and yet, so scared.” From the very first episode she appeared in, she would bare her teeth if it meant appearing more menacing than she already was and keep people away. Because she was afraid of what would happen otherwise. But at the same time, just like her mother before her, Karai only ever followed her own path and did what she thought was right. Even when she was wrong.
I think this duality of her character is best exemplified by using her interactions with both her father figures in the show: Shredder and Splinter.
To Shredder, she’s always shown her fierce side. To Splinter, she’d let her more vulnerable self slip out.
Even when under Shredder’s thumb, Karai would mostly do her own thing, even if it went against her “father’s” wishes.
Back in New Girl in Town, she was already doing as she pleased. Seconds before we found out she was supposed to be Shredder’s daughter, when those two met up the atmosphere was completely different from that between Shredder, Xever, and Bradford, for instance. Whether those two would mostly show complete obedience with a few instances of rebellion (mostly directed at the person they were forced to work with), Karai was completely at ease at all times. It wasn’t until her snarky mouth went a little too far that she showed any sort of fear towards Shredder.
Let’s break that down for a minute, okay?
Before knowing she was supposed to be his daughter, what we the audience saw was Karai, a teenaged member of the Foot Clan, directly meeting up with her vengeful, ruthless clan leader, and going as far as sassing him.
Her debut episode and Karai was already proving she is one the ballsiest characters of the show. Iconic.
We’ll never know what Karai might’ve done in that rooftop hadn’t Raph and Snakeweed interrupted her and Leo. Maybe she was going to fulfill Shredder’s wishes and finish him off, but it is just as likely that she would’ve toyed with him and let him go completely unscathed. Just like she’d been doing the entire episode.
But what we do know is Karai was always true to no one but herself. In most of her appearances, aside from when she was brainwashed, of course, she went against everyone’s wishes to do what she thought was right. Sometimes her intentions were pure (The Enemy of My Enemy)...
...and sometimes they were misguided and had terrible consequences (Vengeance Is Mine).
But she always remained true to herself. Most importantly, except for those times when Shredder asserted his dominance over her when she still saw him as her father, Karai always showed her rebellious self to Shredder unless following his orders was somehow beneficial to her as well (Karai’s Vendetta), until that fierceness turned into a fire the moment she learned the truth.
From then onwards, it wasn’t just rebellion; it was full out war.
Her interactions with Splinter were completely different.
Despite her initial hatred towards him due to living a lie, her fury never reached the same level of intensity it did towards Shredder once she learned the truth. Unlike her unrelenting efforts to take Shredder down, Karai could feel something other than hatred towards Hamato Yoshi.
In spite of having been told her entire life he was her mother’s murderer, there was something about him that often made her hold back. Even when she was under Shredder’s complete control, she still heared him out. Sometimes with fruitless results, like in The Manhattan Project, and sometimes his words really got through to her, like in The Wrath of Tiger Claw.
That hesitance so uncharacteristic of Karai’s character only appears when her true self is about to shine through; the side of herself that has a conscience and a sense of honour and that got Leo in so much trouble trying to seek it out. Remember, before this episode, the only time Karai has actually held back from hurting an enemy was when April revealed she lost her mother.
And the moment she learned Splinter was her true father...
That’s when her fears truly shone through.
Karai loves her father. That is a fact. Her love for him is the sole reason why she could momentarily come to her senses after being mutated and refrain herself from hurting him. Her love for him runs so deeply she was even able to save him from drowning weeks after her mutation, when her grasp on her humanity was already weaker than before.
Moreover, Splinter is one of the very few characters she has ever shown physical affection for. Something we never saw from her relationship with Shredder. The closest thing I can remember at the moment is that flashback from when she just got her sword when she was younger, and still.
I mean, compare:
(On a side note, it’s been fucking years and I’m still not over that hug)
But just because she loves him, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any reason to be afraid.
For all matters and purposes, her father is a complete stranger. Most of what he knows about him was based on lies and other people’s interactions with him, and they were never given the time to rebuild their relationship.
Moreover, Karai was haunted by the things she did under Shredder’s control. You can just feel her desperation in City at War to make it all up to Splinter and make him proud! She’d never belonged to a loving home; she didn’t know how to act around him now that she knew everything she believed in was false. Hence, her hesitance to remain in the lair and reconnect instead of bringing honour to herself back the only way she knew: revenge.
And finally, there is nothing that proves Karai shares her mother’s spirit more than her time as a “mindless” mutant.
She was a snake. The embodiment of danger and hostility as we often perceive them. But she was also a human girl that knew she was slowly losing her identity and could pose a threat to her loved ones.
Her interactions with the turtles before trouble arose in Serpent Hunt and The Pig and the Rhino are perfect examples of this:
First, she attacks and effortlessly incapacites the Kraang and Mikey...
...but the moment Leo makes her regain conscious of her wereabouts, she immediately steps back and curls on herself, begging for help; terrified of what she might do in that state.
Summing up, Karai was her mother’s daughter through and through.
geekgirles reblogged
KARAI WEEK: Day 5 ⤷ Photographs
geekgirles reblogged
Another TMNT 2012 Analysis
I just realized the symbolism in this shot with Karai looking at the photo of her mother Tang Shen in the episode The Wrath of Tiger Claw.
She only has half of the photo of her mother with the other half missing, but you see someone’s arm is around her (Karai most likely assuming it’s Saki). With this we can assume that this photo was given to her by Shredder, the man she thinks his her biological father. It’s a metaphor of Shredder giving her his side to the story (the lies) of what happened between him, Tang Shen, and Splinter, saying Hamato Yoshi (Splinter) killed Tang Shen and ruined their lives. Karai doesn’t know the full (true) story yet.
Then later in the episode Karai lies to Leo, Donnie, and April, saying she now knows the truth and believes that she is Splinter’s daughter.
Reminder: she still thinks they’re lying to her at this point and is only acting like she believes them to be taken to their lair so Tiger Claw can track her to their lair and destroy Splinter.
Once Karai is taken to the lair she goes to talk to Splinter where he gives her a picture and it’s revealed to be the same exact picture Karai had in the beginning of the episode, but this time it’s the full picture showing that Splinter is the one by Tang Shen’s side.
This leads to Karai realizing the truth that Splinter is her biological father and Shredder has been lying to her. Her whole life was nothing but a lie and she didn’t realize this until she was given the full picture of her mother and her true father.
I guess you could say she finally got the picture.
As much as I loved the way they handled the revelation, it's pretty darned convenient the only picture Shredder has of Shen— more importantly, the only picture of her he gives to her daughter—happens to be a picture from back when she was already with Splinter.
Even more so if you remember (unless my memory fails me) Saki and Shen dated before she and Yoshi did, so it'd only be "natural" that he kept pictures of their time together after they split . Which, if you think about it, would also be a clear indicator of Shredder's obsessive personality; by keeping photos of his past relationship with Shen he would've once again proven he's incapable of letting go of the past.
This becomes all the more poignant by the time Super Shredder takes place, where Shredder is shown to have possessed pictures of just Shen. Granted, by then she already had her own CGI model, but still...
I don't know...as much as I love the revelation moment, it really is too convenient. I mean, since Splinter has his own mementos of his family (the aforementioned picture, his family portrait, his pictures from back when he and Saki were still friends...), they could've given Karai a different picture to remember her mother by and she still would've learned the truth from looking at the dojo's pictures.
geekgirles reblogged
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES EXCLUSIVE CLIP - SPLINTER NAMES THE TURTLES http://www.ign.com/videos/2017/08/09/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-exclusive-clip-splinter-names-the-turtles
The Sneak Peek of the next episode guys!!
Source: ign.com