The Titanium Ninja

 The episode that shook little me to the core! Get ready, everyone, because at the end of this episode you will be crying!

The ninja manage to build a small rocketship from the remnants of the Arcturus Rocket, but by the time they get back, the Overlord has taken over New Ninjago City with the power of Creation.

Donning Stonne Warrior armor for protection, the ninja attempt to feed the Overlord a shrinking pill, but Pythor intercepts it, getting shrunk instead. As the Overlord captures the ninja, Zane evades him and grabs onto the armor forged from the Golden Weapons. Using his own body, he channels the power of Creation from the armor to boost his powers, killing the Overlord, but dying as a result.

Still, his conciousness survived somehow, and the episode closes on him rebuilding his body at Borg Tower. 

Various Observations:

-Why are there random Nindroids on the conveyor belts? Won't they get in the way of the production of his golden armor? Did the animators reuse the shot from the end of episode 1 of this season and forget to remove the Nindroids?

-I'm a touch confused as to why the Overlord just lets Borg go. The guy's a genius, why would the Overlord want him to be able to help the ninja?

-And now Cryptor is ableist as well as sexist. Wow. You know, I suddenly have to urge to take my Cryptor minifigure and leave it dangling upside-down from somewhere.

-Garmadon admits that his previous behavior was wrong, which is great. I guess there's only so long you can take him out of character before he'll become too unlikeable.

-Of course Wu only offers an empty plattitude, but apparently it's enough to motivate Lloyd.

-The "Build-your-own-rocket kit" joke has a classic setup, but it's still funny.

-I like that every ninja contributes to their escape plan, even if I feel like it goes over too quickly. We only get one brief shot for each of the four original ninja, and that's it.

-Hold on, Zane's power source was located where a human would have their heart, no? So why is it now apparently on the right side of his chest?

-Additionally, I struggle to believe that half of Zane's heart would suffice to power a small rocketship, when we have already seen that it's output is less than that of human heart, since he was unable to use Spinjitzu without the other half.

-So the ninja use "elemental shields" to survive, which they can apparently only use when they have air ... What? Since when is that a thing? It's mentioned so casually, too, like we're expected to be familiar with the concept! I suppose we did see Kai do somehting similar when he obtained his True Potential, and Lloyd does frequently use his powers to form a shield, but for elemental shields to be treated like an established concept ... Well, it feels very odd, to say the least.

-The Overlord being able to wield the power of Creation itself certainly makes him more threatening, I have to say. The shift to darker colors is also a good move, as the episode feels more serious now. Also, it makes the ninja's powers stand out more.

-Having the team assembled like this is hype, even if Dr. Julien or Cyrus Borg sadly can't be with them.

-So the Overlord's temple has a sacred seal? It was clearly added by the Overlord, as it makes the temple resistant to the First Spinjitzu Master's power of Creation, but why would it be sacred? The Overlord is literally the embodiment of evil! Unless ... Perhaps my theory about him being a Source Dragon does have some merit ...

-Good on Nya for saving a civilian! Of course, she immediately gets downed by a single hit. She just can't win this season, can she?

-Since when does Zane hesitate to safe his family because it diminishes the probability of success? Remember the falcon back in "Island of Darkness"? Zane did not hesitate for even a moment to save his dear friend!

-You know, it's never confirmed, but I'm fairly certain the Overlord uses the Tornado of Creation in this scene. It just makes sense to me. When else have we ever seen a Spinjitzu tornado that is powered by Creation and capable of absorbing things?

-Seriously, Cryptor? Will you be able to go for a single encounter with a woman without calling her a "little girl" and doubting her fighting ability? It doesn't even make sense, here! Nya's arguably a better fighter than the ninja, given that she tends to get better results even without her powers. So sexism really is the only explanation for this behavior!

-Stop it, Cryptor! Do we seriously only get a respite from your ancid eprsonality when we cut to the ninja? I hate this!

-Man, Borg's non-effective diet pill is locked away so tightly, you'd think the last Retsnom was sealed in there. 

-I love that Garmadon is actually excited over a diet pill. It's endearing.

-Borg confirming his insane plan with an enthusiastic "Precisely!" is golden.

-You know, if the shrinking plan worked ... What good would that do? The Overlord would still have the power of Creation, he'd just be tiny, too. This doesn't help in defeating the guy!

-So the plan ... is to give the Overlord a shrinking pill by making two old men play baseball. This feels really jarring and tonally out of place.

-Why is Nya getting curbstomped by Cryptor? She's taken out more Nindroids at once with nothing but a paper fan! Now that she actually has her armor, this should be child's play!

-Stop it with the sexist comment, Cryptor, I swear to god!

-Why is Min-droid just carrying a TV, a laptop, a keyboard and ... I think a game console? Is he a gamer? I thought if any Nindroid would be, it'd be the sexist arsehole.

-So the ninja want to use the armor of the Stone Army to protect themselves from the power of Creation ... when that power is the foremost weakness of the Stone Army. Did a guest writer take over for this episode and just not tell anyone?

-So the Stone Armor turns into a new sets of gi in a flash of golden light? I thought they belonged to the Overlord.

-The Serpentine helping to save the civilians is a hype moment, I have to say.

-You know, I just realized that it's implied the falcon kills Pythor off-screen. I guess by this point they hadn't planned to bring him back next season. Still, kind of dark, no

-Predictably, the Stone Armor fails to hold off the full power of Creation.

-Man, Zane's death ... I ... What can I say? The beautiful music, the flashbacks to Zane's life and his bonds with his family, the gentle smile as he accepts death, the pain in his voice as he struggles to speak - to exist for just a few more moments so his family can be saved ... It's probably the best thing I have ever seen on TV. Zane had always been my favorite ninja. He is the one I empathized with the most, and his death hit me hard. This quite honestly surpasses even many death scenes in more mature media, like Fate, Danganronpa, or Fire Emblem. Goodbye, Zane.

-Do you think, Zane's gentle acceptance of his demise, and happiness that he was able to save his friends, was meant to contradict the Overlord's thrashing and screaming? One faces death with dignity, knowing that his family will now be safe, thanks to his sacrifice, while the other struggles to hold onto life for the sake of endless conquest, reduced to helpless screams as he writhes in pain.

-Hallelujah, Cryptor is dead! He's frozen and shattered, so he's not coming back! Thank Sothis, I don't have to put up with the guy anymore. 

-Wow, Creation sure gave Zane's powers a boost. Understandable, really. Creation is almost  omnipotent, after all. The only thing it cannot do is destroy, but that's it.

 -It's unfair! Why do Borg and Kai have to give such good speeches! I'm tearing up again!

 -You can really feel everyone's grief and sense of loss. Jay can't think of anything to say, he doesn't even get possessive over Nya when she hugs Cole. Everyone mourns Zane. Just like the viewers.

-Whoa, the proportions of the guy behind Wu are ... really off, right? Just look at his head! It dosn't look like he's made of Lego!

-You know, I really feel Zane's survival shouldn't have been teased at the end of this episode. Having it jammed in like this just feels off. Like the writers were desperate not to end on a tragic note, but I think this just cheapens his sacrifice. Having him actually believed dead until the next season would have been a brave move, and I'm not sure Lego would have approved of it, but it would be much better from a storytelling perspective.

-Also, I would like to ask how Zane got into the systems at Borg Tower? Like, he's trapped in the systems and builds himself a new body at the end of the episode. Why? How does that work? It just feels like a deus ex machina. I could believe Chen having the remnants of his heart tracked down, and that being how his conciousness survives as he's given a new body, but this just came out of nowhere.