East Meets West

"East Meets West" is the first episode of the Paramount+ animated series TMNT: Family Issues. The episode, directed by Sage Cotugno and written by Cio Nieli, Luz Batiste, and Dana Terrace, was released on May 3, 2032.
== Synopsis ==
After the passing of her father, Mei Pieh Chi is guided by a vision towards her new family: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
== Plot ==
In China, a young hooded girl Mei Pieh Chi walks througth the streets with medicines for her ailing adoptive father. Upon arriving home, Mei, who takes off her hood and is revealed to be a humanoid turtle, aids her father with the medicines she brought, as they talk about their life before he fell ill. Mei is convinced by her father to sleep a little. While dreaming, she receives a vision of four turtles like her, the day her father found her, and the time she became a mutant, causing her to wake up in excitment the next day, realizing she has more family. Much to her grief, however, her father is in his last moments. The two share one last moment together before he passes away. The next day, she covertly goes to his funeral.
In NYC, a group of thieves named the Purple Dragons are running from a robbery when they are suddenly attacked by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, who effortesly defeat them and recover what they stole. The four then return to the rooftops before anyone could see them, and run back to their home in the sewers, where they have fun between each other, alongside their friend April O'Neil and their adoptive father, Splinter, while Leonardo briefly freaks out over their overrall lack of coordination during the fight, but Splinter tries to comfort him. Meanwhile, Mei travels to NYC in a boat and uses social media sightings to locate the TMNT. Upon finding the sewers, Mei awkwardly introduces herself as their sister. The turtles intially refuse to believe her, until Splinter reveals something about their past: The day they were mutated, there were actually five baby turtles. The fifth baby, Mei, one day got lost within the sewers while wondering off, and Splinter was unable to find her after days of searching. He assumed her death, and reclutantly had to continue with the other four. While Michaelangelo and Splinter are open to Mei's presence, Raphael is less trusting off her, while Donatello is distant, and Leo tries to adjust to her presence.
Michaelangelo tries to help Mei feel welcome, even giving her a room all of her own, while Mei watches with some longing at a photo of her father, saying that she misses him but at least found a new family. Meanwhile, the Shredder and Krang confront the Purple Dragons, and choose to take matters into their hands. Back at the lair, Mei tries to talk to the Turtles during dinner, but they end up too overwhelmed by her energetic actitude and kindnly turn her attempts at talking away, causing Mei to think they would be more open to her if they get to know her and vice versa.
== Voice cast ==
=== Main cast ===
* Chloe Bennet as Mei Pieh Chi / Diana
* Zeno Robinson as Leonardo
* Phil LaMarr as Donatello
* Nolan North as Rapahel
* Greg Cipes as Michaelangelo
* Hun Lee as Shredder
* Brian Tochi as Splinter
* Jim Pirri as Krang
* Ally Maki as April O'Neil
=== Guest cast ===
* Benedict Wong as Chung I
* Kevin Eastman as John McDonald
* Scott Menville as Purple Dragons Leader
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Purple Dragons Member
* Jamie Chung as Baozhai
* Haley Tju as Dandan
== Production ==
=== Writing ===
The writers were inspired by the New Girl pilot episode and the DuckTales episode "Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" while writimg the pilot, wantimg to emphasize on Mei struggling to fit in after moving while dealing with her grief. They also decided to establish Mei's village as beimg aware of her true nature as a mutant as a way to showcase how Mei grew up in a different enviroment than the Turtles'.
== Trivia ==
* The episode is titled after the five-part pilot for Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, where Mei made her first appearance. The episide itself briefly quotes the show's first theme song in its opening narration. Mei's disguise is also an homage to the series.
* When Mikey asks Mei how she learned English if she grew up in China and was home-schooled, Mei responds that she learnt it mainly by watching subtitled American TV shows. This is a nod to the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, where the Turtles learned of the surface world and then-current slang by watching TV.
* As she meets the turtles for the first time, Mei says "Honestly, I think I'm gonna faint". This was written as a reference to April O'Neil's first meeting with the Turtles in most TMNT media.