Signal Boost: On April TMNT (2012)

So remember when I talked about my problems with the way April was utilized–or rather, wasn’t–in the pilot for the current cartoon?  Well, while some things have gotten better since then, other, equally problematic patterns have emerged and Acara of Random Rambling Tidbids  has something to say about them.

[…]I thought about the one time April is featured in an episode after an event affects her.  In The Gauntlet, April comes close to achieving the goal that made up the cornerstone of her character motivation: getting her father back.  Instead she has to watch her father get captured again and by the way she is at the end of the episode, it is apparent that she is broken up over it. So how is this addressed when she shows up in the next episode Panic in the Sewers? The answer is that it isn’t.  And what makes it worse is that reactions of Splinter and the turtles about their confrontation with the Shredder are showcased.  We know more about how they feel after a defeat than we know about how April felt about her own father being captured in front of her own eyes.  It just reeks of unfortunate implications that the emotions and reactions of the main male characters are fully explored while the only main female character’s emotions and reactions are constantly sidelined.

If you like the show and want it to be better, it’s totally worth a read.  The whole thing can be found by clicking here .