Rise

### Writer

Josh Riley Brown, Ian Busch, Russ Carney, Ron Corcillo, Tony Gama-Lobo & Dale Malinowski

### Director

Kevin Molina-Ortiz

"**Rise**" is the twenty-fourth episode (Episode 13B) of the second season of *Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,* the seventieth episode overall in the series, and is the series finale. It first aired on August 7th, 2020.

## Characters

* April O'Neil (Kat Graham)
* Baron Draxum (Roger Craig Smith)
* Cassandra Jones (Zelda Williams)
* Donatello (Josh Brener)
* Hamato Karai (Gwendoline Yeo)
* Leonardo (Ben Schwartz)
* Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith)
* Raphael (Omar Benson Miller)
* The Shredder (Hoon Lee)
* Splinter (Eric Bauza)
* Big Mama (Lena Headey)
* The Foot Clan
	+ Foot Brute (Maurice LaMarche)
	+ Foot Lieutenant (Rob Paulsen)
* Hamato Clan Ancestors
	+ Hamato Atsuko (Keiko Agena)
	+ Mystic Aura

## Plot

The fourth and the final part of the finale begins with Draxum being attacked by the Shredder for betraying him in the previous episode. Draxum then tells him he will take him to the location to get Empyrean. Foot Recruit is then forced to leave behind Foot Brute and Lieutenant behind by order of the Shredder.

Meanwhile with Big Mama, who is recovering from injuries sustained by the Shredder in the previous episode, the Turtles come and ask her for help. Hamato Karai explains that the Shredder tried to absorb Splinter's essence like he tried to absorb hers. Big Mama understands and told them that the only thing to find him is at a sacred place in Hidden City, the Crying Titan.

The Shredder then demands the Foot Recruit to start the ritual, Splinter then asks the recruit if she is having doubts about her choice. Splinter then tells the Foot Recruit "Is it never to late to change your path". the Shredder then breaks open a kraang ship revealing a kraang skeleton and absorbs some Empyrean. the Shredder then starts the ritual and tries to kill Draxum. Raph then throws his gardening tool at the Shredder to save Draxum. The Turtles then turn their gardening tools into their classic weapons, twin katana, nunchaku, sai, and a traditional bō. Donnie then takes his drill out of beta and the Turtles, April O'Neil, and the Shredder start their final battle.

The Shredder then knocks the Turtles and April of the giant hand and starts absorbing Splinter's Hamato essence. Foot Recruit, having a change of heart, stabs the Shredders arm and saves Splinter's life, in the process she bent her naginata into a hockey stick, she then reveals her name Cassandra "Casey" Jones. She then starts breaking the chains off of Splinter's Hamato essence, the Shredder tries to attack but Splinter defends her, the Turtles and April return to break the rest of the chains off of Splinter's Hamato essence.

The Turtles, April, Draxum, and Cassandra then attack the Shredder together and Splinter uses his Hamato Ninpō and his sons mystic powers against the Shredder. This forces the Shredder to activate his ultimate form, Splinter then thinks he failed everyone but Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey tell him that he is not alone. The spirits of Hamato Atsuko and the Hamato Clan appears to help Splinter and the Turtles finish the Shredder and win. The Kuroi Yōroi is burnt and crisp and is destroyed freeing Oroku Saki's spirit. Karai then leaves April's body and reunite with her father, she then tells them they will always be with them, before she, along with her father and ghosts disappeared.

With peace finally fulfilled, they return to New York and Draxum releases all of the people in New York City. Splinter tells his family that he is proud of them all and they have become true heroes. He also says that it wouldn't surprise him if someone made a movie about them, he then makes Leo the leader of the team. This shocks and freaks everyone out, except Raph, who looks confused, ending the episode and the second season.

## Trivia

Splinter foreshadows that he would be surprised if someone made a movie about them that leads to the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Movie.

* After a few episodes of clues (going by "Grandma CJ", having sporting equipment and memorabilia in her bedroom), it is confirmed that the "Foot Recruit" is named Cassandra Jones, this continuity's incarnation of Casey Jones.
* The second season of the series had a 26-episode order, but at least 13 episodes were cut short due to the series being placed on an indefinite hiatus. The series' indefinite hiatus was made official by Nickelodeon in September 2019. Due to non-disclosure agreements, the production crew was unable to notify the public of the hiatus until the series finale episodes aired.
	+ It was revealed in August 2020 by *Rise of the TMNT* staff writer Russ Carney in a Tweet that, "after we were told that the show was being 'paused', the writers were given six weeks to write FOUR FINALE EPISODES. That is an INCREDIBLY short amount of time, and it's insane that we were able to do it." Carney went on to state in a Tweet, "The finale we did was just us rushing through the last six weeks of work trying to do [Ant Ward] and [Andy Suriano] proud, and hoping that our amazing fans would be, well, not 'happy', but at least dazzled. There are many things that we would have done differently if we had proper time to do so."
		- In August 2020, *Rise of the TMNT* staff writer Ron Corcillo elaborated on the production of the series finale in a Tweet, stating, "[The] Normal time frame for one eleven-minute script is about 6 weeks from premise to outline to 1st, 2nd and record drafts. We would normally have different writers doing different scripts on a cycle, so it would take about 10 weeks to produce 4 scripts. But the longer episodes are much harder, and a four-part series finale is very hard to sort out, especially when you're trying to tell a story that you had planned to tell in about 10-12 episodes. The whole thing is a blur in retrospect." Carney also stated in a Tweet, "Well, on the one hand it was a RIDUCULOUS amount of work, especially for [Josh Riley Brown] who wrote an entire script draft in A SINGLE NIGHT, but on the other hand, we all got six more weeks of pay..."

* The storyboards for the cut scenes of this episode were created by *Rise of the TMNT* assistant directors Ashe Jacobson and Chris Luc respectively.
	+ The song featured in Jacobson's Hamato essence ritual scene storyboards is "Kakusei" (kanji: 覚醒, "Awakening") by Superfly and the song featured in the storyboards for the fight between Mikey, Donnie, and the Shredder is "Guren No Yumiya" (Japanese: 紅蓮の弓矢, "Crimson Bow and Arrow") by Linked Horizon.
* Donnie attempts to use his drill to fight the Shredder, possibly referencing how an alternative version of the 2003 Shredder was killed in the episode "Same As It Never Was".
* It was stated in July 2023 by *Rise of the TMNT* staff writer Corcillo concerning Splinter's line, "Oh, and Blue, you are the leader now," in a Tweet that, "That was more of a joke because of how abruptly the show ended. If there had been a third season, we would have stretched out that transition over many episodes." With Carney stating in August 2020 in a Tweet, "Well, I like to think that Leo becoming the leader was just a joke."
	+ It was also stated by *Rise of the TMNT* executive producer Ant Ward concerning Splinter's aforementioned line in the November 2022 *Rise of the TMNT: The Movie* TAAFI panel that, “We wrote in the last moment of the series, ‘By the way, Blue, you’re the leader now,’ because…” And *Rise of the TMNT* executive producer Andy Suriano stating, “We didn’t know…” And Ward stating, “We were wrapping that up, we didn’t have time to tell that story [Leonardo becoming team leader] and that wasn’t his [Leonardo’s] story actually in the movie at the time. It was still Raph’s story . . . So that’s when we put it in there and then we’re like, ‘Oh, hang on a minute, we—two months later—we gotta show that story now,’ and we were like, ‘We’ll move on!’” And Suriano stating, “We would have gotten there eventually in the series . . . .”

## Quotes

* Hot… ***SOUP!!!!*** - Splinter, his mother, Draxum, Cassandra, April, Karai, Mikey, Donnie, Leo and Raph finishing off Shredder