Y'know, I'd always thought the chunk missing from Leo's shell in season 4 was from Karai stabbing him with his own sword.
But on my latest rewatch, I noticed something.
During the iconic battle in Exodus Part 2, Karai weilds his katana in her left hand. The way it's angled in the shot, it could go through his left or right shoulder.
I always thought it pierced his left, gouging out a chunk of scute on the back of his shell as it went through.
But when she stabs him, his sash and sheaths come off on the blade. If it had gone through his left shoulder, why would it have caught on the strap at all?
We don't see any immediate damage to his shell in the following shots. OK, maybe that's because the producers hadn't yet decided to give him any noticeable damage at that point.
Leo clutches his right shoulder when he gets back up.
And later, it's his right that is heavily bandaged. (yes, there's a thinner bandage going over his left shoulder, where the damage to his shell is later revealed to be).
Sidebar: All the others have bandages that line up with the wounds we saw them recieve - Don's right arm, Mikey's legs, Raph's ribs.
And in the start of S4, Leo continues to clutch his right shoulder when it hurts him.
But when the bandages finally come off, the damage to his shell is on his left.
Did the blade go through at such an angle that it entered his right shoulder and exited out the top left of his shell?
Or was the damage to his shell caused by something else? Shrapnel from exploding the ship's core, perhaps?
Or (and this is entirely possible 😅) am I just missing something obvious?
