#it thinks!

Leo really doesn't like to think about death.

I mean, we all saw how much impact Karai's death had on all of Mad Dogs but Leo was the only one that had to be dragged from her, yelling after her, he really, really didn't want to lose her.

And I think when he lost her it left a deep scar.

I saw posts talking how Leo wants for things to get back to normal and pretend nothing happened, which I completely agree with. I think it's in big part because of his fear of repeating losing a close one.

He REALLY doesn't want to even acknowledge death.

Here Raph seemed to be getting through to Leo-

-but the moment he mentions possibility of his family dying?

Nope, time to deflect, joke and feign ignorance.

Leo's aware that death is a big part of being a responsible hero and that's why he'd rather goof off with his brothers and not train.

Because obviously when you ignore something it just dissapears, right? So if they ignore severity of certain situations and possibility of dying it won't happen, right?

If they don't treat it seriously they'll be fine! Totally!

Then Raph shields Leo from the Krang and sends him away.

And it's as if Karai's death stared right in his eyes.

So Leo picks up the slack of leadership in order to save Raph. He behaves carelessly during this time but can you really blame him, he desperately wants to save his brother, to stop yet another family member from death that he is so scared of.

He still tries to be positive and nonchalant, that "pfff obvioulsy everything will turn out alright!" but at the end of the day, it's not that simple.

Casey's speech had hard time to really hit Leo, he's still avoiding confronting resposibility, literally and metaphorically turning away from it. But the moment Casey says Leo's whole family died?

Now that made an impact.

And every time his family is in terrible danger he looks absolutely terrified and basically every time Leo has to be dragged away to not just return and try to save them again.

And when there's nobody to drag him away?

First thing he does is sacrifice himself. Because I don't think Leo is scared of his own death, or at least he is not as scared of him dying as his family. He'd rather give away his life than live through another grief.

Obviously I'm not sayin that the rest of the fam isn't terrified of close ones dying. But while they seem less aware (Mikey) and/or more ready for the possibility (Raph)...

Leo's wholly aware but he'd rather not be and ignore his fears until he can't anymore.

not to mention, in the scene after Splinter got caught stealing Donnie's car, Donnie straight up yells at Splinter, he reprimands him and even grounds him... and the way this scene is worded it seems like a recurring thing, with Donnie punishing splinter with educational programs and whatnot (and i know its mainly for comedic effect but like- there's a clear angst potential here, he literally acts like a parent to his own dad!) and Donnie's parenting is directly compared to Splinter's later in the show.

This is the first and only time I will EVER say this, but Leo is right!

two episodes later:

Yeah, yeah, whatever Leo said is probably right.

(this reads dismissive but with the previous context it's a little interesting!)

Leo, help me! You're the super-fan!

(what's that? Donnie actually asking for help and admitting someone is better informed than him, not even hesitating, just straight up going up to Leo? wild!)

Yes, I believe in you! You got this. Your confidence is giving ME confidence!

(look at him, totally trusting his brother, eyes full of hope, not getting manipulated at all)

I know, I know, Leo' always right.

Donnie likes to flaunt his intelligence often and I believe it's because he thinks that is what makes him useful and what gives him the right to belong. He might believe that without his exceptional brain he'd be useless and then there would be no longer a place for him not only in the Mad Dogs team but in his family as a whole.

So I've been wondering, why is that?

Now, this could be a simple inconsistency but I have a headcanon that might explain it a little!

I think Leo can cook but only a more advanced recipes, they keep his brain engaged and demand more of his attention which leads into him naturally putting more effort!

in the movie Donnie and Mikey have free will and they could've opposed Leo at any moment, call him out, make a remark how much of an irresponsible leader and a jerk he's being, but they... don't? they still went with Leo to goof off instead of going training, nobody called him on his dismissive behavior, not even Donnie.

like, they all clearly go along with Leo's jerk/dismissive behavior:

(also, on a side note, i find it sad that here, for a moment, Raph almost joins his brothers in their fun but he physically stops himself):

they even join Leo in his overconfident shtick:

they willingly take part in a game that specifically makes fun of Raph:

and yeah they listen to Raph when he gives them orders, which is the least they could do, but it's not the case of "they'd rather listen to Raph than Leo" because Leo doesn't even give them any orders, he just goes on his own... and when he does give them orders later in the movie they listen to him without much hesitation.

in my opinion they all add ire to the fire and tension, it's not only Leo but he gets most of the heat because of his newly acquired Leader role. honestly, if Donnie and Mikey didn't want to, they wouldn't listen to Leo at all and stayed by Raph, or at least stayed neutral, but they don't. Leo does the most of the talking, but they don't do anything to stop it, they even seem content with the state of things which doesn't encourage Leo to change his attitude at all.

and I don't think Raph'd be as frustrated and angry as he was at the begging if at least he had support from the rest of the team, but as it stands, it just feels like nobody takes him seriously anymore (especially outside of missions).

to be clear, i'm not trying to shift the blame on anyone in particular, it's still mainly on Leo, i just think this conflict isn't just purely Leo vs Raph (and don't even get me started on Splinter's role in this whole mess)