The Best Rise of the TMNT Episodes

The best episodes of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are its four-part finale, Battle Nexus: New York, and Many Unhappy Returns. Each uses a fight to tell you something about the people in it. If you want a standalone introduction, start with The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle or Mystic Library.

Jump to an episode

Finale: Rise and the Four-Part Arc
Battle Nexus: New York
Many Unhappy Returns
End Game
Bug Busters
The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle
The Evil League of Mutants
Mystic Library
Mystery Meat
Watch order before the movie

This editorial ranking draws on fan favorites, essential-episode lists, Episode Hive user votes, and published reviews. Episode numbers follow Paramount+, which pairs some segments that other guides list separately. Expect moderate spoilers about Splinter and Shredder.

1. Finale: Rise and the Four-Part Arc

The Ninja Turtles and their allies gather against an orange explosion — “Rise” gives the Turtles’ allies a role in the last fight.

Season 2 · episodes 12 and 13. “Rise” is the strongest episode, and the previous three parts are worth watching with it. The final fight against Shredder carries more weight once you know what Splinter lost, what the family owes to the Hamato Clan, and why Raphael struggles to share responsibility.

E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The Turtles enter Splinter’s memories. Seeing Hamato Yoshi as a child explains why family duty is such a difficult subject for him.
Shreddy or Not. Karai’s arrival connects Shredder to the Hamato family’s history.
Anatawa Hitorijanai. The title means “you are not alone.” Raph’s instinct to protect everyone leaves him carrying a fight his brothers can help him win.
Rise. The clan’s powers give the brothers a way to fight together. Watch how the animation links one teammate’s move to the next.

A blue figure against a field of green light — The first installment takes the Turtles inside Splinter’s memories.

Warriors face a throne in a candlelit cavern — Karai’s introduction opens a window into the Hamato Clan’s past.

The complete arc turns up in fan watchlists focused on the main story. Bubbleblabber’s David Kaldor appreciated the scale of the ending but gave it 6/10, pointing to how quickly several reveals come and go. The Beat gives that criticism some context with its reporting on the shortened second season and plans to spend more time with Karai.

2. Battle Nexus: New York

Two fighters face a glowing red figure amid rubble — Fans single out the fight with the red-lit figure as a highlight.

Season 2 · episode 11. Big Mama turns New York into her arena, and the brothers have to play by the rules of a spectacle that puts their loved ones in danger. Watch how the opponent’s red glow and the flashes of green keep the action readable even when the screen is crowded.

Figures surround a circular blue portal in Battle Nexus — A circle of blue light frames the characters in the dark arena.

In the community’s favorite-episode thread, the Shadow Fiend fight is one reason fans recommend it. The episode also leads straight into the finale. If you’re watching the final four segments, start here.

3. Many Unhappy Returns

Shredder towers over his opponents in a purple-lit arena — Shredder towers over his opponents in an arena lit in violet.

Season 2 · episode 2. Shredder is still loose after “End Game,” and the Turtles split up to stop him. Raph tries to contain the threat while Leo bets on a plan that depends on Big Mama. You can already see the different ways the two brothers respond when a fight gets away from them.

Fan watchlists pair it with the first-season finale. It shows what Leo brings to the team when his confidence is backed by observation, and how quickly Shredder can force the whole family to improvise.

4. End Game

Dark armor silhouetted against a towering pink figure — Dark Armor and a blast of pink light dominate the first-season finale.

Season 1 · episode 26. The hunt for pieces of the Dark Armor finally pays off. Draxum and the Foot Clan push Splinter to call on old allies, rewarding anyone who kept track of that plot between the shorter adventures of season one.

The episode’s best move is leaving the danger unresolved. Queue up “Many Unhappy Returns” next and watch how quickly the problem changes after the Turtles think they have it under control.

5. Bug Busters

The Ninja Turtles face Big Mama in her spider form — “Bug Busters” promotional art shows Big Mama in her spider form.

Season 1 · episode 8. The Turtles meet Big Mama while looking for a way to stop the mutant mosquitoes. Her charming manners and enormous spider form tell you two things about her. She can win people’s trust and enforce the rules of her business when she needs to.

“Bug Busters” ranks among Episode Hive’s highest-rated installments and makes fan watchlists for the main story. It’s a good starting point if the Hidden City interests you as much as the Shredder arc.

6. The Clothes Don’t Make the Turtle

Donnie, Raph, Mikey, and Leo pose in black suits — All four brothers suit up inside Hypno-Potamus’s ’80s-style montage.

Season 2 · episode 10, second segment. Hypno-Potamus traps the brothers in a magical ’80s movie montage. Every costume change makes it seem as though the sequence is about to end, until repetition becomes the joke. The suits, poses, and timing do most of the work.

It shows up in fan discussions about favorite episodes and makes a great introduction to the series’ comedy. You can watch it cold without spoiling the Shredder story.

7. The Evil League of Mutants

Baron Draxum raises a hand surrounded by purple energy — Draxum brings together several enemies the Turtles have already faced.

Season 1 · episode 11. Draxum recruits mutants who had previously appeared on their own, including Meat Sweats, Hypno-Potamus, and Repo Mantis. Each has a different way of fighting, so the team-up gives the Turtles several old problems to solve at once. It also brings Draxum’s connection to the brothers’ origin into focus.

It scores well on Episode Hive and appears on plot-focused fan lists. This is where several villains from the early episodes get to make trouble together.

8. Mystic Library

Mikey looks up in the library while Raph carries his brothers — Mikey in the mystic library, with Raph and his brothers in the background.

Season 1 · episode 20, first segment. Mayhem needs help, so the Turtles look for answers in a Hidden City library. The rule about keeping quiet makes every noise count. By the time Donnie breaks into a rap, it’s hard to imagine a worse moment to start freestyling.

The rap comes up in fan threads about favorite episodes. Start here if your favorite Donatello is the one who loves showing off almost as much as he loves solving problems.

9. Mystery Meat

Draxum stands beside a green mass of food in the school kitchen — April’s school lunch comes to life in “Mystery Meat.”

Season 2 · episode 7, second segment. Draxum’s cooking comes to life at April’s school. Watching a former villain deal with something as ordinary as serving lunch is already funny. Watching him turn it into a mutant-scale mess is even better.

At the time of writing, “Mystery Meat” topped Episode Hive’s list with 8.7/10 from 241 votes. The finale takes first place here for what it resolves, and “Mystery Meat” is one of the best examples of the show building a whole episode around an absurd premise.

What to watch before the Rise of the TMNT movie

Start with Mystic Mayhem to meet the team. This shorter route follows Splinter and Shredder from the beginning to the movie:

Season 1: “Mystic Mayhem,” “Bug Busters,” “The Evil League of Mutants,” “Shadow of Evil,” “How to Make Enemies and Bend People to Your Will,” “Insane in the Mama Train,” and “End Game.”
Season 2: “Many Unhappy Returns,” “Reparin’ the Baron,” and “Battle Nexus: New York.”
Season 2 finale: “E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Shreddy or Not,” “Anatawa Hitorijanai,” and “Rise,” in that order.
Then watch Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, the 2022 Netflix sequel.

Check the Paramount+ guides for season 1 and season 2 if your episode numbers differ. For more of the franchise, explore the history of TMNT video games.