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.