BRIEF STORYLINE: The search for the Second Fragment of the Eye of Zarnov is on. Despite victoriously gaining the first Fragment Shredder has only himself to blame when he loses it. Krang finally gives Shredder access to his technology to locate and get it back. The fragment has found itself at a travelling carnival, but luckily the turtles have found out that information too with their Crystal Converger.
To make matters complicated for the search groups, 2 small boys find the Fragment. April tries to bribe them with 3 dollars, while the turtles are delayed when mistaken as fancy-dress entertainers. The turtles try to raise money to make a more desirable offer to the kid’s, but Shredder cruelly steals it from the boy’s.
At Shredder’s city haunt, he and Baxter Stockman make a lucky discovery of an extra power contained in the fragment. When in contact with Dimension X residue, a mutated spore is created. Shredder’s plan is, with this new power he can obliterate the turtles and scope out the missing 2 other fragments of the crystal.
The turtles mourn their failings previously with Splinter at the lair, but suddenly, an ungodly, unearth-like monster plant attacks them. They escape unscathed, but with the plant growing even bigger and causing chaos in the city and the eventual kidnapping of April by Shredder, will the turtles be able to unsow the seeds of destruction caused by Shredder, Baxter and their monster plant?
TMNT REVIEW HQ COMMENT’S: The monster plant idea is the best thing about this episode, with better than expected action scenes, and good humor when Michelangelo tries to pass off as a female plant putting on a funny voice to entice it. The plant is given more human features like a mouth but many eyes on its head. The episode is especially good at the beginning and end of the episode. It has an original start to it, with not sharp, but fading edits of the New York street which are peaceful unlike later on. It has a unique sighting of a plane in the sky, then you see it’s reflection in a puddle, which is splashed by the Turtle Van. Quite a brilliant connection of two different objects. The monster plant is the star of the show, outshining Baxter and Shredder, partly because they do have a more early exit than usual.
Some scenes that don’t mix in too well, is the goofy part where the turtles mistaken for entertainers, perform a circus clown-like act in front of a large crowd. Also the action spots with the Turtles, Baxter and Shredder are fairly slapstick and short.
Other stand-out moments include the dialogue between the little girl and the mother who tells her you go green like the turtles if you don’t eat you’re vegetables. Irma does an impression of Burne to April and also hints at her lack of success with men. Shredder snapping at Baxter for eating a sandwich too close to computers after it he gets an electric shock from it which is amusing. The “Eye of Zarnov” adventure is pacing forth well in this mini-series within the 88 Season.
"IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEWERS" GETS A 3/5 RATING.
