Legacy of the Green Ninja

 

 Retrospective:

After the beloved first season, this season of Ninjago is oftentimes seen as the weaker of the original two, mostly owing to the Mega Weapon arc of the first six episodes, which follows a very episodic structure, rather than being part of a progressing narrative.

Now, much like the last season, this one can be easily split into two parts. The first half is the aforementioned Meg Weapon arc, beginning with its creation in "Darkness Shall Rise", and ending with its destruction in "Wrong Place, Wrong Time", while the latter half of the season, the Final Battle arc, is the story of the ninja attempting to avert the Final Battle, while Garmadon and the Overlord want to bring it about.

Unlike the last season, there are no episodes focusing on specific ninja, with the exception of "The Last Voyage", which is clearly a Zane-centric episode. This is because this season is the first to focus on a specific ninja, rather than the entire team. In this case, it is Lloyd who is the main character, and the entire season is something of a coming of age story as he has to accept his role as the green ninja and fight his father. Lloyd's larger arc of growing into the team's leader also begins here, but first he has to make peace with his mother, accept that he can never be a normal child again, and find the resolve to fight his father. Ultimately, Lloyd's arc is about growing into adulthood, and becoming a true hero.

The season also has two overarching themes that run through many of the episodes, those being destiny and family. Lloyd has to face his destiny and fight his father, no matter how much he wishes to avoid it. In the end, Lloyd fights his father and the Overlord not because it is destiny, but because he has found the resolve to fight for what is good and right. This is mirrored in Garmadon, who spends half of the season trying to make the prophecy impossible to fulfill by keeping Lloyd from becoming the destined hero. Once the Overlord steps onto the scene, however, he manipulates Garmadon into seeing destiny as something he cannot avoid, leading him to fight Lloyd and the other ninja for the sake of destiny, rather than his own convictions.

In other words, the first half of the season is about Lloyd following his destined role and Garmadon trying to prevent it, while in the second half it is Garmadon who follows destiny blindly, and Lloyd who seeks to change it. Of course, it would be nice if we as the viewers had any idea about how much destiny can be changed, but at the same time the ambiguity allows either position to seem reasonable.

The second overarching theme is family, as both Lloyd and Garmadon seek to have a family again. Even though he was abandoned by both his parents, Lloyd had already found a new family in Wu and the ninja by the time this season begins, and Misako and Dr. Julien join this family as well, come their introductory episodes.Whenever things seem darkest in the Final Battle arc, the ninja reassure each other as brothers, a culmination of their bonding in the past two seasons. Garmadon, on the other hand, has no family anymore, as he had been turned evil by the Great Devourer's venom long ago. The reason he listens to the Overlord when the latter deminds he fires dark matter missiles at Ninjago is because he believes that only those who have been corrupted like him could ever understand him, completely missing how much his son still loves him.

Now, I know some people may not like the Mega Weapon arc, and I do agree that it's silly how much Garmadon seems to suck at using it, but I think the more lighthearted first half of the season is a neccessary counter balance for the second half, which continously punches the ninja down and goes to darker places than just about any other kids' show I ever watched. Could that have been done without giving Garmadon a semi-omnipotent artifact? Of course! The Mega Weapon is far too overpowered, no doubt about it.

Like in the last season, the Serpentine characters seem to get sidelined in the first half of the season, which is rather odd, given that they are the Garmadon's main army by this point. Skales only regains his original personality in "Darkness Shall Rise" and the first two episodes of the Final Battle arc, and is otherwise reduced to just being Garmadon's general. Skalidor is also treated rather weirdly, as he turns into the archetype of the dumb muscle, which seems like an odd trait for the leader of the most religious Serpentine tribe.

Cole, the other earth-related character, also gets weirdly out-of-character in this season, as he seems obsessed with fighting during the Final Battle arc, at times feeling more like Kai than Kai himself, who has since matured.

As for other characters, Misako keeps way too much information to herself, even when it makes no sense for her to do so. Why didn't she tell Jay that he could control the Stone Army when he had the Helmet of Shadows? And why didn't she mention the Overlord earlier? She could have told Garmadon how he was manipulating him!

Nya, while staying in-character, got way less badass this season. She only contributed in "Pirates vs. Ninja" and "The Last Hope", all her fighting prowess seemingly forgotten. This is particularly disappointing if, like me, you have Nya as one of your favorite ninja.

Speaking of the Overlord, I'm sorry to say this, but he doesn't work as a villain. I get that he can't have depth as he's literally evil personified, but there's no reason for him to also be bloody annoying! Whenever he shows up, it is to demand something from Garmadon, without any real attempts at manipulation. It's like the Overlord is constantly throwing a tantrum, and that doesn't make for an intimidating villain! It doesn't get any better when he takes over Garmadon, because he just repeats "You can't defeat me!" about twice every minute. The one time I found him to be interesting was when he sassed Garmadon about his tendency to monologue, and that's one sentence in seven episodes! 

Luckily, Dr. Julien and the ninja aside from Cole were written delightfully. You can really tell how much they changed since the days of the pilots.

As for the toy sets associated with this season, it's a rather odd selection. It may be because there was only one wave of sets, rather than two like in the last season, but it seems strange to not have the Mega Weapon or most of the Stone Army's vehicles. Instead, we get Zane's weird ice spider ...

I think Legacy should have expanded on the selection of sets for this season. The fact that the ninja are missing their shoulder pads in the sets is also rather strange to me. It's not like with the mech suits in Dragons Rising, where the shoulder pads get in the way of the mechs, so what's going on here?

All in all, it think the second season of Ninjago has honestly earned a rating of 8/10, making it the highest.ranked season so far. Really, if the Overlord, Misako and Nya were written better, I'd be willing to ignore the sillyiness of the Meda Weapon and give it a perfect score, but as things stand, that's just not the case.

Suits:

This time, we havle only one set of suits to analyze. Namely, the elemental robes/kimonos.

Now, in my opinion these are some of the best outfits the ninja ever wore, and certainly the best pre-Skybound outfits. Instant 10/10! Sure, Cole looks quite honestly awful in his grey and black robes, but the other ninja look so good that this is instantly balanced out. Still, I think if orange had been decided on as his secondary color already, it should have been used here.

 

Adding everything together, we get a score of 8,5/10 for the season as a whole. A more than respectable score, to be sure.

Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

The Final Battle ... What was, at one point, supposed to be the last episode of Ninjago. The clock has reached zero, and I am ready to review it!

While the ninja are stranded on the Dark Island, the Overlord has reached Ninjago City and taken it over.

Luckily, the falcon has discovered something in the Temple of Light; a mechanism that unveils a mech used by the First Spinjitzu Master, which Lloyd can use. As for the rest of the ninja, the Ultra Dragon just so happens to arrive in that very moment, offering them a way back to Ninjago. 

Once there, they discover that Garmatron has become a fortress which they have to climb. Luckily, Dareth of all people manages to use the Helmet of Shadows to neutralize the Stone Army, allowing the ninja to climb up to the Overlord. Their numbers get continually whittled down, however, until only Lloyd is left.

Now that he has found his resolve, he becomes the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master, able to wield the power of Creation, and defeats the Overlord, restoring the light to Ninjago, and turning his father good again. 

Various Observations:

-The Previously on Ninjago section is kind of weird this time. Why Kai's scream just put between two scenes from Lloyd's fight against the Overlord, rather than at the end of the recap, when the Overlord escpaes?

-Is there a reason why the Overlord is leaching electrical energy from the city? What, did the Garmatron run out of charge? 

-How on earth did Dareth defeat Kozu? Actually, nevermind, it's funnier if we don't know.

-Why are some of the refugees also living with Dareth, Ed and Edna? And what is Brad even doing there? Was the boarding school also attacked by Stone Warriors? 

-You've gotta admit, Dareth's pretty brave for staring down the Overlord himself and not only not blinking, but even threatening him!

-Huh? The guns on the Garmatron now fire dark matter, instead of the laser blasts from last episode? What's up with that?

-The scene with the ninja once again hammers in how bad things are, but whereas Wu has given up, Lloyd refuses to do so. It is Lloyd who, in their hour of need, inspires the ninja, and coins the phrase "Ninja never quit". In a way, this is the start of a character arc that will continue until Hands of Time, with Lloyd taking on more responsibility and eventuelly becoming the team's leader. By the time of Dragons Rising, he has fully taken on Wu's role.

-Lloyd talks as though the First Spinjitzu Master chose the current generation of elemental masters himself. I suppose it's not impossible he could have done so, given that the spirit smoke has clairvoyant properties, so he'd just have to seek out their ancestors. 

-Now that Kai's mech shows up again, I do have to wonder why he didn't use it in the last episode. Surely it would have been of great help?

-Soooo why exactly did Garmatron turn into a skyscraper? Oh, I'm sorry, a "fortress" that just happens to look like one?

-Why do the people that have been turned act like zombies? Nya and Garmadon never acted like that!

-Wow, things are really getting serious when Jay tells Zane off for making a joke.

-Hmm, according to Misako, the Overlord's original form is the dragon we see in this episode ... I do wonder ... He's a dragon connected to a core aspect of reality. Evil, in this case ... Could he have been Thunderfang's predecessor? A potential Source Dragon of Evil? 

-Wait, Lloyd was about to use Spinjitzu with his mech before Nya blasted its arm off. I don't think the ninja can do that in later seasons. Well, I suppose Arin probably could, but his Spinjitzu is a special case.

-Ah, I see Nya is back to growling. 

-"If this is how we go down, I am proud to go down fighting alongisde my brothers." I don't even have anything else to say, I will instead hug all my Zane minifigures.

-Wait, now Misako tells them that whoever wears the Helmet of Shadows controls the Stone Army? That would have been helpful two episodes ago, when Jay literally put the helmet on! What is it with these people and not sharing very important information? Garmadon is the only member of the love-triangle I'd actually trust to tell me something important!

-A Wilhelm Scream? Seriously? The scene is so serious and dramatic, don't ruin it! 

-Er, guys? Maybe don't put the elments of creation together? 

-Nya took out the entire Stone Army? Wow, I knew she was good, but that's a bit much, no? 

-The Ultra Dragon was hit by a dark matter blast from Nya. Shouldn't they turn evil now?

-Wait, Kai already took out Nya's turret, why can't he go with Lloyd?

-Lloyd finally unlocking his True Potential and becoming the Ultimate Spinjitz Master is awesome!

-Alright, this always bothered me. Why is Zane shown as being corrupted? The Overlord never got him!

-I like Jay rattling of his lis tof hobbies from the pilots. That's a fun callback.

-Wu seems ... sad. Maybe he's jealous of Garmadon because it means that Misako will get back together him, seeing as how their relationship was the only focus Wu got in the Dark Island. Or maybe he's sad he won't be needed anymore, like in season 13. Anyway, kind of odd to put that in what was supposed to be the final scene of the show, no?

Return of the Overlord

Ah, another episode that absolutely terrified me. The penultimate episode of the first two seasons just tend to do that, I suppose. Although, to be fair, partially transformed Garmadon is legitimately terrifying.

The ninja move to fight Garmadon and his ultimate weapon, only for a dark matter corrupted Nya to fight them, forcing the original four ninja to stay behind and fight her.

At the beach, Garmadon fights Lloyd off for long enough to launch a dark matter missile at Ninjago, turning it to evil. He himself, however, gets possessed by the Overlord, who had merely been using him to regain a body.

As the other ninja arrive, an all-out battle between them and the Stone Army ensues, but the Overlord wins, leading the Bounty to be destroyed once again, and Lloyd to be too injured to fight as the Stone Army uses a portal to head back to Ninjago. 

Various Observations:

-Oh, this episode opens right where the last one left off. We even get a recreation of the clock striking zero and sending out a beam of light to finish Garmatron! 

-Garamdon's line about red "not being [Nya's] color" and trying on a darker shade is hilarious now that grey has become Nya's main color. Alongside light blue, to be fair, but from Hands of Time until Crystallized there was very little blue or red in her outfits. 

-You can see how Kai has matured since the pilots, as he now puts his faith in Nya, rather than blindly racing off and abandoning his own fight.

-The ninja team swearing to support Lloyd and readying themselves for the Final Battle is hype.

-Wait, what is Misako saying? The balance being shifted allows the Overlord to "cross over into our world"? Well that would have been nice to know earlier. It's not like Misako didn't know the Overlord is connected to what's going on, she knows he created the Stone Warriors! Also, what world is the Overlord in right now? It's not another realm, that terminology has already been decided on in the pilots, so what other "world" is he in? Imaginary number space?

-The ninja fondly reminiscing on their time together while believing they may be heading to their deaths gets me emotional. Part of me wants to ask how any of this got into a Lego show, but the best parts of this season tend to be when it gets darker, so I'm not complaining.

-Ah, Zane's psychic abilities are back! He now senses an evil presence. I do wonder when the writers decided to abandon this trait.

-Whoa, hold on! Evil!Nya has red Spinjitzu with evil particle effects after the dark matter erased her goodness. Is ... this Shatterspin? 

-Why does Nya only communicate through growling noises now? Is that the ultimate evil? If so, is the Overlord a kitten?

-Kai immediately getting knocked down while he's still talking is funny. 

-What is Nya doing now? She has some kind of time-freezing power that's animated like a sonic blast? Do all magically evil characters get superpowers as the plot demands, instead of that being Garmadon's thing?

-Ouch! You can hear something snapping when Nya twists Cole's wrists!

-Oh. Oh. Once again, I am surprised by how deep and meaningful the writing can be when the Hageman brothers actually try. Garmadon ranting about how destiny took his family away and how the only way he can have family is if they are evil is some good stuff. It's a reasonable conclusion for a character who is cursed to be evil, but also dearly loves his family. Plus, it makes for a much better motivation than just being magically evil and having no deeper thoughts behind it. The voice acting is great, too!

-The Overlord sassing Garmadon about his monologues is fun. If the Overlord was sassier, rather than just constantly demanding Garmadon mindlessly follow his lead, I might have actually enjoyed him as a villain. 

-Misako's bag can deflect lasers? That seems ... unlikely.

-We're only about halfway through the episode, but Garmadon already won. He corrupted Kai and Nya's home village with a dark matter missile, despite Lloyd's efforts to stop him. The ninja are just continously beaten down in this arc.

-Garmadon opening a trapdoor under Lloyd while he charges his power is funny. Did he learn that trick from Chen? 

-What is Wu saying? "Our worst fears." Isn't he missing something like "...have come true" or "...are here"? 

-Wait, the corrupted Nya can speak! But then why is she just growling all the time? Is her dark secret that she's into petplay?

-Mystake gets corrupted by the dark matter? But I feel like Oni should have some level of resistance, no?

-I love that Garmadon complains about the Overlord stealing his plan from the pilots. But, that aside, it is also confirmed that the Overlord was imprisoned somewhere. I thought he just lost his body, so where was he imprisoned?

-I also love that Zane takes the time to explain what the term metamorphosis means. 

-Now that the Final Battle is at hand, the ninja fight the Stone Warriors with all they have, and it's awesome! No more running away!

-After being kind of annoying in the last episode, it's great to see Kozu getting launched away by the Garmatron's cannon.

-That ... looks wrong. Very wrong.

-Why are Ed and Edna apparently living with Dareth? What's up with that?

 

-And when did the people return to living in Ninjago City? It hasn't been that long since the city was destroyed!

-The Final Battle is just as epic as it was built up to be, with all the ninja, but espescially Lloyd, getting some awesome scenes!

-Wait, why does the Overlord hit Lloyd with the classic "Your friends can't help you now"? They're literally right there. In fact, why aren't they helping? Zane could just freeze the Overlord, and Lloyd blasts him with green power. Or Cole and Jay could destroy Garmatron!

-Whoo! Dr Julien coming in clutch! The Bounty's wrecked again, but he blocked a dark matter missile and outran its corruption!

-The ninja lost the episode, and this was their biggest loss yet, as they're stranded on the Dark Island, with Lloyd badly injured, while the Overlord is out corrupting Ninjago. Even Lloyd's motivational speech at the end sounds defeated. This is the darkest hour for Ninjago, and I'm hyped for the next episode!

-That aside, I think Lloyd got the idiom wrong. He says they lost the fight but didn't lose the battle? I suppose he may be referring to the Final Battle, but usually the word is "war". Or is that a step too far for Ninjago? The ninja discussing their fond memories to distract themselves from their impending deaths is fine, but the word war is where Lego draws the line?

The Last Hope

After my most rewatched episode, it is rather ironic that the next episode would be the only pre-movie episode I only ever watched once, and even that was years after it originally aired, due to me missing it at the time.

While the ninja are now powered up and ready for the Final Battle, Misako reveals that there is another way things could end; by returning the Helmet of Shadows to the clock, the countdown can be stopped, avoiding the Final Battle altogether.

Misako does actually manage to steal the helmet, but she and the ninja are soon pursued by the Stone Warriors, leading to a showdown at the clock after Lloyd refuses to end things by killing his father, where Misako puts the helmet back just a second too late, causing a beam of light to herald the Final Battle and finish the Overlord's ultimate weapon. To make things worse, the Stone Warriors also abduct Nya.

Various Observations: 

-Aw, the intro didn't change. I would have liked to see the ninja's new robes.

-The Overlord states that only a scant few hours are left on the clock, before the Final Battle will begin, which seems odd to me. I always just assumed that the countdown progressed whenever either side took steps to bring about the Final Battle, but it's just time based? But what if, say, Garmadon fell off a cliff and died in the interim? The Overlord wouldn't be able to fight, as he doesn't have a body, so how could there be a Final Battle?

-Alright, we got an excellent performance from  Mark Oliver again. Does the guy just flip a coin to decide the quality of his performance?

-The central dilemma of this episode, Garmadon and Lloyd not wanting to fight and "defeat", or rather kill, each other is established well and is once again something surprisingly mature for a cartoon designed to sell toys. 

-That aside, wow the Overlord sucks at manipulating people. He's always so pushy, and when Garmadon expresses doubts about fighting Lloyd, the Overlord just doubles down, saying that fighting won't be enough, and that Garmadon also has to defeat Lloyd. It's like magically turning people evil is the only way he has to manipulate their actions. I'm getting Danganronpa 3 flashbacks, and not in a fun way.

-The ninja are goofing off, and it's an excellent way to show that they are back to full strength, even if it is rather tonally inconsistent after the beginning of the episode.

-Wu says only Lloyd has the power to defeat Garmadon ... but why? Yeah, I know, the prophecy said so, and only the power of Creation was able to revert the influence of the Great Devourer's venom, but what if Garmadon fell off a cliff, like I just suggested. Or was stabbed with one of the Elemental Blades? Surely he'd still die?

-The running gag of Jay not knowing what "bequeathed" means amuses me. Even if it is a pity that he is once again relegated to the role of comic relief.

-I like Misako deciding to subvert what the prophecy says. The clock starts counting down once the Helmet of Shadows is removed - so she decides to put it back to stop the clock. Gerson would approve. Although I do have to wonder what would stop Garmadon from just taking the helmet and restarting the clock.

 -Wait, we're still going with the assumption that the Final Battle will start early if Lloyd and Garmadon meet? But then what's the point of the clock? And if the timer doesn't matter, why do the ninja even need to retrieve the Helmet of Shadows? Besides, the Garmatron will finish construction no matter what the clock says, right? It's a bad sign when the prophecy the entire plot is built upon being true contradicts everything that happens.

-And now the Stone Warriors are running away in a panic. How sentient are these guys supposed to be, exactly?

-Kozu is suprisingly accomodating. His clearly terrified "prisoner" is demanding to see Garmadon, who ordered them to leave him alone ... and he complies? Maybe he just figures that it's not worth putting up with another demanding presence when he's already got the Overlord flying around.

-The ninja are now rebels? Rebels against what, exactly? Garmadon's no ruler and he won't be for many more seasons!

-And now Kozu just walks off after untying Misako and leaving her alone with Garmadon? It's like he wants the guy to be assassinated! Speaking off, what if Misako actually had a weapon on her? She was never searched! Now I want to read a story where she kills Garmadon here to spare her son from having to do so.

-And we're back to the bad kind of Mark Oliver performance with Garmadon's "If you don't mind, I'd rather not." If you put any less emotions into your lines, I'd think you were a Cyberman! One that's mumbling a lot, because he doesn't care about his own evil plots.

-Zane's trying to think up puns? That's an amusing cutaway gag. 

-Wait, did ... Cole just reference that one Batman movie with the terrible ice puns? The one everyone hates?

-The "bequeath" gag is still funny to me.

-Oh, that's the theme! Garmadon only prepares to fight Lloyd and follows along with the Overlord's ridiculous demands because it has been foretold! He blindly follows the prophecy even though he dislikes it, because he believes it to be inevitable, whilst the ninja are trying to "read between the lines" so to speak, and subvert the prophecy. 

-Misako can just ... walk out of the Stone Warrior camp? I think Kozu is actually trying to sabotage the Overlord.

-At least Jay gets some good sass in. He deserves to bite back.

-The ninja blow their cover rather than sabotage their enemy's ultimate weapon, but it's so funny that I can't be mad.

-The ninja never used to make puns while fighting, but I think they're still riding the high from getting their powers back.

-Stone Warriors have bones? I thought they were magically animated statues! Well, I guess, it was never explicitly stated, but I was so sure ... 

-Finally someone other than Jay gets to be the butt of the joke. And Cole completely missing the Stone Warriors after dropping a oneliner is funny.

-Why - Why did Garmadon turn into a gag character? He feels that evil is underappreciated? What about the main-fucking-conflict?! Hageman brothers, Joel Thomas, whoever is behind this, why? You had something seriously meaningful and compelling, why throw it away? The tonal inconsistency in this is off the charts!

-There are sirens in the Stone Warrior camp? I would have thought their tech level was more so medieval, aside from the vehicles.

-That mech is cool! Why was it never released as a set? 

-Continuing the trend of Nya being far more effective than the others, she was actually able to fight back against Garmadon's mech and saved the rest of the team.

-It's funny how Jay could have instantly won the fight against the Stone Warriors if Nya wasn't sensible enough to be wary of evil magical artefacts. 

-What's up with the lightswitch scene? It's not a gag, and it serves no narrative purpose. Why is it so important that Jay tried to turn on the light? 

-Holy crap, Lloyd's gotten way stronger since the last episode! A single blast of his power destroys Garmadon's hyper-powerful mech!

-Garmadon ... accepts his death at Lloyd's hands, huh? It's sad, but I can see it. He believes that only one of them can survive and so desperately wants to protect his son, despite being literally cursed to be evil. That Lloyd chooses not to kill him and defy what was foretold means that every season until Hands of Time can be atributed to this, but at the same time, it also means that Garmadon gets freed of the Devourer's venom, and therefore still has good in him when he comes back in season 8, and helps the ninja during seasons 10 and 15. Had Lloyd followed the prophecy as Garmadon does, the Oni would have won and conquered all the realms. 

-You know, I do have to wonder why Wu and Nya know where the clock is, but I suppose the falcon could have found it off-screen.

-Nice touch having Nya be interested in the mechanics behind the clock. She and Jay are both inventors, after all.

-Why would Misako think the Helmet of Shadows needs to be put on a random gear? That's clearly not the pedestal!

-Are you serious, Wu? This is the third time you lost the central MacGuffin to a villain! I dearly hope his track record improves in the coming seasons ... 

-Wow, Kozu is suddenly much more verbose. 

-While I appreciate Wu knocking the Stone Warrior out of the way, couldn't Misako have done the same? She knows Spinjitzu, after all!

-While it's a nice climactic fight and all, wouldn't it have made more sense for the ninja to destroy the clock? Surely Cole and Lloyd alone could do it, nevermind all five of them together.

-Ooh, I like that the clock uses reflected light, it mirrors the Temple of Light nicely.

-Oh, wow. I completely forgot just how bad things stood at the end of the episode. Not only does the Final Battle approach, with Garmadon obtaining Garmatron and Nya kidnapped, but the ninja team is fracturing, with Jay assaulting Cole, Kai wanting to run off, and Lloyd blaming himself for everything.

-Wait, Garmatron needed the clock's light to be finished? I completely forgot that part. But why does the ultimate weapon of darkness need light? I mean, that seems kind of strange. 

-This episode is ... odd. It can't decide on it's tone, but it goes to some delightfully dark places and has things to say about prophecy and predestination, a theme that is depicted through Garmadon and his family. But whereas Garmadon believes in the inevitability of fate, Lloyd, Wu and Misako try to change it, only to fail. Lloyd, however, is of particular interest, as he had the option of fulfilling his destiny and killing Garmadon, but refused to do so, a decision that will lead to four seasons worth of trouble, but will in the end come to be what saves all sixteen realms. 

Island of Darkness

You know, this episode is probably my most watched episode, alongside "The Day of the Dragon". I really loved it when I was a little kid, and even have it on DVD. I do hope it still holds up.

Having landed on the Dark Island, the ninja look for the Temple of Light, only to instead find the damaged falcon. As Zane retrieves it, Jay manages to discover the temple's location, just as the Stone Warriors spot Zane. While the ninja manage to escape, they are still pursued by the Stone Army. Luckily, Doctor Julien has created two new vehicles to help them reach the Temple of Light, allowing them to get there before the Stone Warriors catch up to them.

At the Temple of Light, the ninja see murals depicting their adventures, and discover a large bell. Ringing it gives them new robes and Elemental Blades, allowing them to use their powers again, while Lloyd is given the ability to use the power of Creation, allowing them to finally defeat the Stone Warriors coming after them. 

Various Observations: 

-I think Misako mistranslated her scroll. The Temple of Light "gives the ninja pure elemental powers"? A; what does that even mean? What are "pure" powers? And B; don't the ninja already have elemental powers? We saw it in this very season! Plus, Misako was around during the time of the Elemental Alliance, she should already know that elemental powers are inherited.

 

-Why is Cole so intent on beating up the Stone Army? We're not even two minutes into the episode, and it sounds like he's been possessed by Kai.

-The Power of the Golden Dragon is supposed to be a fighting style? I think Misako really did get some things mixed up! The Golden Dragon is more of a construct, like the Elemental Dragons we see later on. It's certainly not a fighting style!

-Misako and Wu worry about the Final Battle getting started too early if Lloyd and Garmadon meet, but is that even possible? I mean, the clock is still counting down, and the countdown surely means something, right? If the Final Battle can start at any point, the clock would be rather superfluous, no?

-I like Jay turning Lloyd's teasing around on him. It's fun.

-I love the blank stare Lloyd, Wu and Misako give the ninja when they ask if they've ever veered from a plan. It's just golden.

-As is the ninja whispering the final part of their motto after Wu reminds them to stay unnoticed.

-So why exactly is General Kozu the only Stone Warrior that speaks the human language? In fact, why do the Stone Warriors even have a language? Their basically robots made from stone, built only for fighting, they don't need to speak. 

-Woah, the Mouth of Eternal Shadows? That's one hell of a name to just drop in the middle of a conversation. Apparently it's where the Stone Warriors dig for Dark Matter, so it seems like it's just the pit from the last episode. Well that's disappointing.

-Why, exactly, does Garmadon suddenly act like Lloyd from early Rise of the Snakes? He's asking the Overlord for advice about how to be more evil! 

-The take-out restaurant joke is pretty fun, too. Lots of good laughs today. 

-Zane disregarding the most sensible course of action to instead save the falcon, his dear friend, is a great moment. It follows up nicely on the last episode, but more importantly it gives us a nice insight into his mind. He doesn't even see this as a choice, and instead immediately goes to save his friend, meaning that, unlike what you might expect, Zane's empathy, his "humanity", if you will, always comes before cold logic.

-Alright, what is up with Cole today? Kai of all people had to be the one to reign him in and stop him from starting a fight. Did their roles get mixed up, or something?

-The scene between Lloyd and Misako is both sweet and tragic, I like it. 

-Ouch! That Stone Warrior just kicked Wu right in the crotch. I don't even want to imagine what that must feel like!

-Lloyd soloing three Stone Warriors was not only really badass, it actually set up the main weakness of the entire Stone Army; elemental powers. This'll be important in the climax of the episode.

-The jump cut from Wu expressing his faith in the ninja to their failing to live up to his expectations is fun, if a bit clichéd.

-It's cool that Jay found the Temple of Light. He's been the butt of the joke for all of last episode, so giving him a win is a good decision.

-Wait, the Stone Warriors can speak our language now? And know that Zane's a robot? They call him "Tick-Tock Ninja", presumably referring to his mechanical nature. Nope, I don't have even the slightest explanation for either of those.

-What is Garmadon yelling? It sounds like ... German? I think he's saying "Lauf!", meaning "Run!", but that doesn't make any bloody sense.

-I like that a Stone Warrior just brings Garmadon popcorn. I don't even know if he asked for it, or if the Stone Warrior thought it was appropriate, and I don't know which would be funnier.

-Cole is still determined to fight. What's up with him today?

-There's a ... weirdly large pause between Kai asking Zane a question, and the camera actually pivoting to Zane and his answer. Wonder what's up with that?

-Alright, this is just blatantly Airjitzu. Why can the ninja suddenly fly by using Spinjitzu?

-I do wonder why this bouncy thing was never released as a set. And why it bounces, even though it has treads it could use to move around.

-Ah, the bouncy vehicle has started driving instead. Nice.

-Why, exactly, does Cole just know how to make the Earth Driller go underground? This is the first time he ever saw it at all, so how is he sudddenly an expert driver?

-Alright, the Fire Mech has an awesome first showing! Kai can just demolish those Stone Warriors and their bikes without the slightest bit of effort! A pity the Earth Driller didn't get to look this badass.

-It may be a bit juvenile, but I do find it funny how the weird hopper extinguishes the burning bike by lifting a "leg" and blasting it with water. Seeing that odd machine act like a dog all of a sudden is just so random that it's hilarious.

-The Stone Warriors can drive up a straight wall? That seems ... unlikely.

-Cole still wants to fight? Dude, chill. Just take a deep breath and try to actually regain your normal personality.

-And now the Fire Mech unleashes a rock slide on the Stone Warriors! This really makes me want to rebuild my Fire Mech set. I wonder which box I put the parts in ...

-What's that gasp? Lloyd sounds like, well, like Jillian Michaels I suppose. Did she just forget to put on a voice?  

-Look at the mural on the left! The symbal Nya wears is in the same color as the sun, and the Golden Weapons. But why? That feels like there's a point behind it, but I can't think of what that would be.

-Huh, Zane has suddenly aquired Cole's voice. There's just something a little off about everyone today, isn't there?

-The ninja finally being able to fight back against the Stone Warriors is a really triumphant moment. The Elemental Blades are also really awesome, they're weapons made from crystallized elemental energy!

-Kai is now fireproof, like when he reached his True Potential. Neat way to show him getting a power-up.

-Seeing the ninja finally regain their elemental powers afetr spending almost ten episodes powerless is such a great feeling. They were on the backfoot for so long, but now, they're back!

-For the first time ever, we see the golden power of Creation being used. The Stone Warriors even flee from it, showing fear for the first time ever. Yes, the Final Battle is coming ever closer, but the ninja have now regained their powers, and Lloyd has obtained his grandfather's power.

  

The Last Voyage

 With Ninjago City devastated by the Stone Warriors and Garmadon having started the countdown to the final battle, it's clear that the stakes are rapidly rising.

Having discovered the Dark Island on the horizon, the ninja plan to head there in order to find the legendary Temple of Light, where the Golden Weapons were forged, in order to unlock their elemental powers, while Garmadon and the Overlord are having the Stone Warriors dig up concentrated evil.

On their voyage, the ninja are stranded on a lighthouse island where they encounter Zane's father, Dr. Julien, who had been revived and abducted by Samukai, and was forced to build vehicles for the skeletons while guarded by a Leviathan.

After Dr. Julien and the ninja fix up the Bounty, the Leviathan spots them and attacks, but Zane frees the Leviathan, which had been held captive just like Dr. Julien, causing it to leave the ninja alone. 

Various Observations: 

-Ooh, another reference point for the timeline. This episode opens the day after the last.

-So, how exactly did the Stone Warriors get to the Dark Island in just a single day? I mean, it's possible the Overlord created a portal for them, but that would, in turn, beg the question of why he doesn't use this ability more often, if he can use it even when he's not possessing Garmadon.

-It's interesting that Misako knows so much more about the green ninja than Wu ever did. After all, if Wu had known that the green ninja had "four protectors", each colored like one of the ninja, he would have already known that none of them would be the green ninja. 

-Wait, why do the ninja think their powers are gone without the Golden Weapons? "Darkness Shall Rise" pretty clearly demonstrated that they still have their powers, they just can't access them properly.

-You know, with the Temple of Light being on the Dark Island, I always wondered what it's counterpart in Ninjago was. After all, for the yin-yang symbolism to work, there needs to be an equal darkness in the light half of the world.

-Aww, I like that Jay's parents and Cole's dad get to see their kids off ... although I do have to wonder why Kai and Nya have a talk with Dareth.

-Hey, look, Gene made it out of Ninjago City safely!

-Speaking of Gene, the frequent reuse of models for background characters actually made me somewhat attached to them, strange as it may sound. I recognize most of the refugees in this episode, and that gives this whole situation some additional weight. These people we know have had their home destroyed by the Stone Warriors.

-I like that Lloyd leaves the Ultra Dragon with the refugees of Ninjago City to protect them. It's good to see some thought was put into protecting the people of Ninjago while the ninja are away.

-Why does Zane in particular have a fan club? I mean, he is my favorite of the ninja, so I can understand it, but you'd think Jay would be the popular one.

-And now the falcon's gone, too. The tension is still rising.

-I like Jay's sugegstion of what could be at the Dark Island. But does that imply vegetables that taste like dessert would be evil?

-Man, Lloyd is already contemplating whether they'll die, and the other ninja have already accepted that possibility. Sure, it's phrased as "the end of our destiny", but it's very clear what they're talking about. They really turned up the darkness in these episodes, huh?

-Wait, the flight mode button still has the Fangpyre emblem on it! Why? Was it intentional? Wait, did they just reuse the asset they used for the antivenom vial on the Fangpyre staff and forget to remove the emblem? Is that what's going on with that?

-Oh man, afte a brief hope spot of the falcon transmitting images to the ninja, we see him being killed by a Stone Warrior! Sheesh, no punches pulled, huh?

-You know, a storm is quite a bit less intimidating when you remember that the Bounty has flown through storms enough that one was even used for a quick gag in "The Green Ninja".

-Garmadon is oddly patient with the Overlord. I mean, he threw Chokun overboard multiple times, but despite his frustrations just keeps making the Stone Warriors dig up concentrated evil for the Overlord, even though he'd rather go and conquer Ninjago. Like, dude, just go ahead and leave the incredibly untrustworthy spirit where you found him. It's not that hard. Actually, maybe it is? The only way Garmadon has to leave the Dark Island is with one of the Overlord's portals, but if the Overlord isn't willing to create one ... Yeah, that actually explains it!

-By the way, is the pit where they're digging for concentrated evil the Dark Island's counterpart of the Golden Peaks? One is a mountain, the other a pit, one holds the power of creation, the other the power of ... evil. Well, okay, it's not a perfect match, but still. 

-The celestial clock ticks backwards? I know the Overlord probably just means that a countdown has begun, but this has interesting implications. Was the original fight between the Overlord and the First Spinjitzu Master also the destined Final Battle, with the Overlord now wanting to retry it? 

-Why is everyone having trouble with the winds? The Bounty already sailed through multiple storms!

-I do like the payoff to the underwear gag.

-So the starteeth devour ships, but what else do they eat? I mean, ships don't exactly travel to previously non-existent islands every day, you know? Maybe driftwood is a viable alternative?

-I like Kai's quip about being "starstruck".

-You know, there would have been a really simple solution to the whole starteeth situation. I mean the deck is soaking wet, right? Just get everyone else inside and have Lloyd use lightning. Boom, no more starteeth. Well, zap, not boom, but you get the gist.

-It's been a long time, but Zane's premonitions are finally back, as he senses the lighthouse, and realizes it's a prison. We haven't seen hide nor hair of his possible psychic abilities since "Never Trust a Snake", if I remember correctly.

-Alright, the underwear bit is growing stale. The potty humour isn't funny.

-Meeting Dr. Julien feels ... warm. I can't explain it, but the music, Zane's reaction, everything, it really makes you feel like a loved one just came back from the dead. 

-Alright, I do like Jay grabbing a pair of Dr. Julien's underpants.

-Jay toying with the little tea robot is funny too, as is him getting splashed with hot tea as a result. Plus, it's in character for him as an inventor to want to test out the little bot's capabilities.

-Wait a second, we see Zane's blueprints here, but is that really what they are? Or do they belong to Echo Zane, who was built in this very lighthouse?

 

-Oh, I really like Zane referring to Dr. Julien as father. It may not be biologically accurate, but for all intents and purposes, he's his father.

-"The past is the past and the future is the future", huh? I much prefer the version from the German dub: "The past is in the past/has passed, but there is always a future". 

-Samukai just randomly had an elixir that can revive people? How in the world did he get that? ...Could it be the elixir from the Well of the Lost? But if so, how did it get to Ninjago, when the well itself is still in the Departed Realm?

-Dr. Julien is a surprisingly complex character, you can really feel his regret and pain when he talks about how he developed the skeletons' vehicles so that he could see Zane again, only to be left alone in the lighthouse for what may well have been years, fearing that his beloved Zane would hate him. Boy, do I feel sorry for the guy.

-The Leviathan is pretty scary, and the build-up to it's appearance is also done well. The menacing roar and Dr. Julien's dread clearly sell the image of a fearsome creature. The fact that it's a sea monster that can get you even on land, is also terrifying. 

-Actually, take a closer look at the tentacle. It looks like there are circuits underneath the rubbery skin, doesn't it? Could the Leviathan be a machine itself? But if so, who built it? It has clearly existed for a very long time, possibly even predating the fight between the First Spinjitzu Master and the Overlord. But the only three people in all of Ninjago to have ever created sentient machines were Dr. Julien, Cyrus Borg and Milton Dyer. So who could have constructed the Leviathan?

-Look, there's a Lego piece behind Lloyd and Nya. It's not something that actually exists, though, so I have to wonder why a model was even created for it.

-I like that Cole's whistling the main theme. Although it does bring up some questions, since he calls it catchy. Does that mean the characters can hear it whenever it plays in the background?

-This episode also gives us full confirmation that Zane, despite his origins, can still grow and evolve on his own, meaning that his choices are similarly his own, rather than the result of his programming, as he picked up cooking by himself.

-Zane wanting to get rid of his memory switch is also great, as he never wants to forget those dear to him, even if they may pass one day. This resolve also makes his arc in season 15 a bit weird, as he has to learn to accept grief again, when that's already part of this episode. Ah, but I'll talk about that when we get to it.

-Look at the main body of the Leviathan. It looks ... off. Like something not from Ninjago. Maybe it was originally from another realm altogether?

 

-You know, I do have to wonder how the skeletons ever even captured the Leviathan. I mean, they weren't really much of a threat, even in the pilot, so how did they ever get their hands on a being straight out of Lovecraft's writings?

-I really love the way Zane ends this episode's conflict. It's not elemental powers like Lloyd's or intelligance like Dr. Julien's that allows the ninja to escape. It's Zane's empathy. One of his most overlooked traits, in my opinion, is that, despite being made from steel and wires, Zane is oftentimes a more empathetic person than any of the others. When faced with a literal eldritch horror chained to the seafloor, Zane, rather than acting on his fear, takes the time to understand the Leviathan's pain and frees it. This also ties into the episode itself surprisingly well. Samukai abducted Doctor Julien and forced him to work for him and the Overlord strives for a substance that makes people automatically aligned to him, while Zane got the Leviathan to help him by extending a kind hand.

-All that aside, this was a surprisingly dark episode, wasn't it? I mean, the refugees in Ninjago, the ninja coming to terms with the possibility of their own death, the falcon dying as far as everyone knows, Doctor Julien spending years in solitude and under the belief his son would hate him, it all sounds like something that'd be more at home in one of the darker Fire Emblem games.

The Day Ninjago Stood Still

 Alright, time to get properly started on the second half of this season and introduce the Stone Warriors!

 The Serpentine, now lead by Skales, burrow underneath Ninjago City to destroy the city with Earthquakes, only to stumble upon the locked tomb of a Stone Warrior army. At that moment, the Stone Warriors are revived by the Great Devourer's venom, leading them to fight the Serpentine and lock them in the chamber, before moving on to attack Ninajgo city.

As the ninja try and fail to stop the Stone Warriors, the Overlord leads Garmadon to the Helmet of Shadows, which will grant him control over the Stone Army, and giant clock that soon begins to count down to the final battle.

Out of other options, the ninja use the Bounty to evacuate Ninjago City, just barely managing to get ahead and save Wu and Misako, who stayed behind to retrieve the scrolls containing the prophecy of the green ninja.

Various Observations: 

-Ah, the Serpentine's racism subtext is brought back. Skales basically gives a speech about how the Serpentine are superior to humans, which he calls duplicitious, and states that the Serpentine should unify to claim their righteous place. Sound familiar?

-On a related note, Skales refers to Garmadon as "that human". I suppose his heritage isn't widely known, but even so, would a guy with four arms, red eyes, visible ribcage and coal black skin really bring to mind humans?  

-Oh, and now Skales wants to commit  Genocide by (literally) undermining Ninjago City to burrow the humans beneath the earth. Again, I'd be amazed if the subtext wasn't intentional.

-So the ninja are still training with lethal weapons. Good to know. Although I do have to wonder why they aren't training on the Bounty, since they only used Dareth's place while the Bounty was stolen.

-I love Dareth closing the window after Jay is launched outside.

-Green flames? That's not how Lloyd's powers are usually depicted. Did he mix Fire and Energy?

-Wait, what's going on now? Lloyd has flames in his hands, but all of a sudden the floor is on fire? What's going on with that? 

-Jay demanding to be let in again is also funny.

-Ooh, look, a reference to the Mega Monster Amusement Park.

-Oh, we finally get to see the young versions of Wu and Garmadon ... and Misako. Why did she change the least between when the picture was took and the present, when she actually has a normal lifespan?

-Continuing the trend of Wu being really funny, his squawk when he's surprised by Misako amuses me.

-Alright, did the Hageman brothers and Joel Thomas have Wu and Misako's background already planned out? Because it really sounds like Wu has feelings for her.

-Aöright, it was planned. Misako even tells Wu she should have chosen him! I always thought it was a retcon in season 4, but it has already been established this early on! Wow, how did I manage to miss this as a kid?

-Why does Wu immediately suspect the earthquake to be unnatural? He's right, but how'd he know?

-Hey, it's Gayle Gossip! Nice to see her finally make an appearance. They could, in theory, already have introduced her during last season's climax, but I guess they hadn't thought her up by that point.

-Garmadon can't be behind the earthquakes, because he wouldn't do something that could result in his son getting harmed. That's fine, it fits his characterization. Now that it's been spelled out, however, that really makes the Grundle, which was made"hungry for ninja", seem like a really stupid thing to summmon. 

-Huh, Skales is unaffected by the Great Devourer's magical evil venom. Maybe the Serpentine are immune? They do have displayed a certain level of supernatural resistance to similar things in the past. 

-The Overlord's plan has been in the works since the beginning of time? That ... actually gives us a concrete timeframe, strange as it may sound. The First Spinjitzu Master's fight against the Overlord was still "before time had a name", after all. 

-Ooh, nice foreshadowing, with the Overlord stating that "each piece moves in perfect harmony, like the gears of a clock". 

-Nice transition between the Dark Island and Ninjago City.

-Why does Snickers the poodle get his own model? If it was up to me, I'd invest the budget into more models for background characters, given there are a lot of repeated faces.

-According to the prophecy of the green ninja, the earthquakes are a warning for something far worse to come. I do wonder what those black tentacles are meant to signify, as they are entirely absent from the episode. It looks like there's something terrible imprisoned underneath the ground, like the Devourer.

 

-Why, exactly, are the light in the Stone Warriors' chamber shaped like scorpions? The Overlord is never associated with scorpions, as far as I can remember.

 

-Also, the rows upon rows of Stone Warriors are obviously inspired by the Terracotta Army from China. Funnily enough, I already realized that when I first watched this episode at the young age of ... six, I think? Yeah, it was released in 2012.

-Spitta and Mezmo make joke about being "stiff". Is this an innuendo? Because if so, it went completely over my head back then. 

-So, why do the normal.sized Stone Warriors get more colorful when they come to live, but the little ones don't? That's never explained, is it?

-Wait, the Stone Warriors' shields also depict scorpions? What's going on with that? 

-Why is one Stone Warrior just vandalizing a water hydrant? I thought they were basically mindless weapons, given that that's how they acted in the previous scene, when they fought the Serpentine.

-The episode does a greta job making things seem dire by showing characters we have come to know be hunted and terrified up by the Stone Warriors. Gayle Gossip, the bank manager, Mother Doomsday, the postman, Dareth and Vinny are just civillians, but the Stone Warriors don't care.

-I like that Dareth keeps filming in the background while the ninja are talking. He's dedicated, I'll give him that.

-Huh, the citizens are supposed to evacuate from the NGTV rooftop, where the Bounty will pick them up. This'll come up eight seasons later, but I never realized it was a callback.

-Once again, I have to wonder why Nya is just steering the bounty, rather than participating in the fight. She's really getting sidelined this season.

-The Helmet of Shadows allows people to travel between Ninjago and the Dark Island at will? Too bad we never wind up seeing this power used, as far as I can remember. The portal later on is created by the Overlord's power, right?

-I like Zane advising Dareth not to use the elevator in case of an emergency. And, of course, the gag of a Stone Warrior hiding inside.

-Sheesh, the Stone Warrior jumpscare got me.

-So the ninja are surpised when the Stone Warriors survive being thrown off a skyscraper. Shouldn't they have experience with enemies that survive falls they really shouldn't? 

-In all honesty, though, the Stone Warriors are clearly more powerful than the Serpentine, as they seem entirely invulnerable. The only time they didn't immediately get back up was when the Ultra Dragon froze them, but anything else? No chance. 

-I love that Wu finally gets a chance to prove how badass he is, by fighting the Stone Warriors to save Misako. It's particularly effective, as even the ninja didn't manage to get a meaningful victory.

-Also, it's a shame this is the only time we see Misako use Spinjitzu. Usually she is only responsible for exposition, but I would have expected her to at least get some fight scenes in season 9.

-Look how surprised Wu and Misako are to land on the Bounty. Wu even lets out a surprised "What?". They both expected to die when they jumped from the window, but still chose to die on their own terms, rather than being killed by the Stone Warriors. That's surprisingly dark, even for a show that will have one of the main characters die only one season later. 

-Speaking of dark, the episode ends on shots of the Stone Warriors destroying the city, showing us how places we knew, like the park, are now in ruins. We even get a shot from the Boutny where we see the city burning, before it cuts to Garmadon proclaiming that he's back. This episode clearly doesn't have a happy ending, particularly once you realize that the couple people we saw boarding the Bounty to escape surely aren't the entire population of a city this large.