someone might have said this already, but i think the way rise!leo is potrayed is exactly on point for how leonardo hamato should be protrayed/how he should act.
because what was the one thing that fuelled the other variations of leo? the one thing that made them want to be a leader? the one thing that shaped their idea of someone who was worthwhile?
splinter's idea of someone worth praising, of course.
and look at this splinter, in this time. a man in the 2000s raising gen z kids would absolutley act like rise!splinter. sitting on the couch all day, not eating healthy etc etc. he misses his old self. it was what splinter's idea of a leader, a superstar, someone worth celebrating is. becuase splinter watches and re-watches all the lou jitsu because he misses the man he used ot be. he doesn't think the man he is is someone worth celebrating.
and so the little turtles grow up watching their dad praise this action star, and leo wants to be him. he wants his father to br proud of him, he wants his father to praise him, just like all the other iterations.
lou jitsu is brave. loud. flamboyant. charismatic. remind you of anyone?
leo shaped himself after someone who he knew his dad loved, just like any iterations. and i think that's what people don't understand, that rise!leo is on point, just like always. leo didn't change, splinter did.
and splinter didn't even change that much. he is different, maybe even babygirl, but he is still a wise man who loves his sons more than anything in the world. even more than glory. he loves them, he's depressed just like any other iteration. but a depressed man nowadays is different than a depressed man in the 80s or 90s.
leo's core trait is making himself someone who he think's splinter would be proud of. that hasn't changed.