Down with the Sickness

**"Down with the Sickness"** is the seventh episode (Episode 4B) of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It first aired on September 18th, 2018.

## Characters

* Donatello (Josh Brener)
* Leonardo (Ben Schwartz)
* Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)
* Raphael (Omar Benson Miller)
* Splinter (Eric Bauza)

## Plot

Raph is attempting to get the high score on a video game, but Splinter interrupts, having caught Rat Flu. The Turtles are excited because they get to ask anything they want from Splinter, if they get to the 7th stage of rat flu. But the thing is, they wondered what they should ask him for. Donnnie suggested nuclear uranium should be the question but Mikey insisted on a brick oven while Leo said that they need onesie unicorn pjs.

Raph orders them to stop and tells them that he should ask Splinter. Then, Mikey noticed that he saw his breath to reveal that the lair is getting colder.

Stage one begins as Splinter lowered the temperature low and shaved all of his fur off. The turtles tried their best to stay warm under the heating lamp but Leo, wearing a coat, said that they should plan ahead.

Stage two begins and Splinter becomes savage and chases the turtles. Donnie managed to lure Splinter with a pizza and trapped him in a giant hamster ball. But as he caught him, the rat started running around in the ball and he escaped.

Mikey and Raph started to look for Splinter in his bedroom until Mikey saw that Splinter was on RAph’s back. He screams as he throws Splinter off of him. After a few seconds, Splinter now has hearts in his eyes, now entering stage three.

Leo and Donnie are outside the lair while Leo complains that the hazard suits are sweaty. Mikey and Raph burst in and tell them to put them back on. Splinter somehow got into Leo’s suit and the red eared slider became infected with the blue.

The three quarantine Leo into his bedroom with a plastic sheet separating them. Raph asked how Splinter was doing since they distracted him with dummies. Mikey said that he lost him. Stage four begins as Splinter, dressed in a ninja outfit, sliced the turtle’s hazard suits into pieces. The lights went out and they are having a difficult time trying to find Splinter. Using his night goggles, Donnie saw that Splinter had retreated to his lab. He looks for him, only for Splinter to lunge at him.

Back in his robe, Splinter started singing Karaoke love songs, going into stage 5. Raph and Mikey cover their ears as Donnie complains that everything is getting hot. With Donnie infected, he is placed in his room with a plastic sheet around him just like Leo.

With two turtles left, stage six came. Splinter is telling his sons a fanfiction crossover of Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim. Mikey complains that he likes this stage and Raph said that they are getting close. But then, Mikey sneezed, catching the flu.

With his brothers quarantined, Raph faces Splinter to get his change for the must say yes stage. But then Leo blurted out, “Raph-a-doodle a hug!” He sliced out of his room and complained to Splinter that everyone loves hugs. Splinter jumps onto Raph and the red masked turtle becomes infected with the flu. The episode ends with Splinter saying that he wants a new bike.

## Trivia

* The episode shares its title with a song by Disturbed.
	+ There is actually a reference to the song at the end of the episode; The narrator says "OH WAHAHAH-CHOO!" referencing the most recognizable lyric in the song, besides the song title itself.
* There are seven stages of Rat Flu, as shown:
	+ Stage 1: Fever - Splinter freezes the whole lair trying to cure himself, and he eventually shaves himself.
	+ Stage 2: Wild Rat Man - Splinter becomes a wild animal to attack the Turtles.
	+ Stage 3: Captain Cuddle Cakes - Splinter becomes very lovey-dovey and wants to hug and kiss his sons.
	+ Stage 4: Ninja Supreme - Splinter becomes a skillful ninja and hunts down the Turtles.
	+ Stage 5: Karaoke Love Songs - Splinter sings karaoke horribly.
	+ Stage 6: Fanfiction - Splinter acts out his fantasy for his favorite hero.
	+ Stage 7: Must Say Yes - Splinter "must say yes" to one thing the Turtles want.
	+ One of the stacked cardboard boxes in Splinter's bedroom is labeled with the katakana text ファンレター, "fan letters".