Let's take a look at how the ghosts of #tmnt2012 splinter and #rottmnt karai functions and why I prefer Karai's ghost over 2012 Splinter's

Important note: I am only considering and analyzing Splinter's spirit form in the 2012 season 4 finale, not his spirit form in season three, seeing as he was still alive during that time but I will refer to S3 for a moment. With that out of the way, lets get to talking.

2012 Splinter's spirit shortly appears not too long after his funeral, when Leo ventures off by himself to process and think about what has happened. Leo asks him if he's dreaming, and Splinter says no he's not and explain how he attained a higher spiritual form.

This is how this scene is shown, with Splinter circling Leonardo. There's distance between the two, but Splinter NEVER embraces him, doesn't say 'it's not your fault,' etc. Leo's the only one that sees him, why doesn't he see his other three sons? It's happened before,

in season three when they were all surrounding the campfire they had made during Vision Quest when and tells them that they need to let go fears and weaknesses. So, again, why doesn't he see his other three sons in Owari?

that may seem like a slight nitpick, but I think it's important to note.

Then the scene goes on, Leo tells Splinter he can't go on without him and Splinter tells him he MUST. That he's the sensei now, his brothers need him, Karai needs him and then he dropped the ultimate bombshell: Shredder is still alive and that Leo must end this.

Leo is worried of course, says he's not even sure if they are strong enough to do that and then Splinter is gone. I won't lie to you, this scene upset me for many reasons and was the reason I wrote this thread.

Leo had just left Splinter's funeral, they are still processing his death, and then here comes Splinter as a ghost, heaping two big responsibilities on Leo: being their Sensei and having to defeat Shredder. Leo doesn't even get an embrace, he doesn't get an "I love you"

from his dead dad. None of them do. None of them have time to process Splinter's death before they're tasked with defeating Shredder. The whole scene feels cold, in a sense. Leo doesn't get catharsis and neither does the audience.

Alright, let's move on to Karai in the Rise Finale. The boys and April are trying to learn how to access their ninpo and they're all having trouble with it until Raph breaks down and cries, stating that everyone is depending on him

to save their dad, to stop the Shredder, to save the world. Raph doesn't say it out loud but the implication is clear: Raph thinks he has to do this alone and that he's failing everyone by not being able to do his part. April comforts him a bit and then Karai's spirit shows up

This is how Karai appears to Raph. Like 2012 and how it's just Splinter and Leo, it's just Karai and Raph here in this moment. Look at how she interacts with him. Karai is close, personable, and embracing Raph compared to how 2012 Splinter doesn't embrace leo in any manner.

Karai's presence is warming. She doesn't tell him that Raph has to defeat Shredder, she doesn't tell him that his family needs him and that they're depending on him. Instead, they hug and Raph gets a moment to process everything that's happened to them.

Karai tells Raph that he's not alone, that his power does not come from him alone, that it comes from his family before him and his family now, and that he needs to trust his family. Raph does come to that realization and does trust his family.

I think the reason why I love Karai's ghost more than 2012 Splinter's is because Karai doesn't come to heap more responsibility on to Raph and the others. She came in and distributed it in a sense, so that no one carried that burden alone. They were a team.

Which is a stark contrast from 2012 where Splinter places the responsibility SOLELY on Leo. It's up to Leo that he's their sensei, it's up to Leo that they defeat the Shredder because everyone is depending on him.

you can even see this difference in the way they fight and defeat the Shredder. Rise has them all together dealing the finally blow together, because it's a group effort vs Leo in 2012, who's comes up by himself with Shredder's head after dealing the final blow himself.

Karai's ghost, both when she hugs Raph and at the end of the finale, gave the team and the audience catharsis. It gave us the notion that the turtles and the audience can move on, that we can get a happy ending after defeating the shredder even after everything they went through

Splinter's ghost on the other hand, posits that defeating Shredder IS the kids happy ending, in a sense. that after after going through so much, that shredder being gone is their happy ending. that they'll just keep fighting what's left, and we don't get to see them TRULY happy.

that last point might not make a lot of sense to everyone, I tried to word it differently but nothing came to mind. anyways, these are just a few of my thoughts on how rise and 2012 differ, thanks for listening!