Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: "Into Dimension X!" Review - IGN (2024)

As the penultimate episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' second season (and the 50th episode to date!), "Into Dimension X!" was easily one of the show's most epic adventures yet. Right off the bat, we knew this was going to be a major storyline, as the episode opened with a POV chase scene of Leatherhead fleeing the Kraang to deliver a message to the Turtles: the Kraang had finally perfected their mutagen formula. Naturally, this marked the beginning of the end for Season 2 and spurred our heroes into action mode.

We could also tell the end was nigh by the fact that the Turtles had reached the last episode of Super Robo Mecha Force Five! Much like Space Heroes, it's kinda sad knowing that TMNT's latest show-within-a-show is leaving us, although I have a hunch we'll be getting a third awesome meta series soon. Plus, Mikey bringing in the broken tape to Donnie led straight into the main storyline -- namely, the portal opening up to Dimension X.

Of course, the most interesting aspect of "Into Dimension X" was that it was so Mikey-centric. Framing the story around the idea that Mikey was essentially a genius in Dimension X -- or "opposite land," for all intents and purposes -- was a brilliant way for the brothers to explore the enemy turf. For the first time, Leo, Raph and Donnie were the ones out of their element, while Mikey reigned supreme. Indeed, the three brothers' arrival in Dimension X yielded some fun-filled scrapes with the alien fauna. (Admittedly, while I do enjoy the recurring "cute animal turns into a giant monster" bit, I will add that it was a bit silly to have Leo break his own "Don't touch anything!" rule mere minutes after he made it.)

But Mikey wasn't the only one kicking butt in Dimension X, as Leatherhead joined the Turtles' attack on the Kraang. Given the time difference, it was a nice touch having Leatherhead completely redesigned to look older -- decades older -- with a thinner frame, grayer skin and scars all over his body. That didn't stop him from being any less badass though. I especially loved how, in the final fight against the Kraang, Leatherhead was sort of the group's de facto Hulk, with Mikey ordering him to -- "Crush Kraang?" -- "A lot!"

The episode's climax also came with some great moments for the guys: Leo slicing a Kraang in half and catching its arm to close the blast doors; Raphael boxing one of the Kraang soldiers and ripping out its "heart"; and Mikey pushing Donnie aside to open the correct portal. They all even managed to escape with a power source for Donnie's Turtle Mech, thanks again to Mikey's quick thinking! Overall, Season 2's second-to-last episode was a great, action-packed introduction to Dimension X and successfully laid the groundwork for next week's hour-long finale!