Tick Tock

 It is time ... Time for what may well be the single most popular episode in the history of Ninjago. When it was first released, it blew everyone away. 

Does it hold up? You bet it does! But first, let's get through the summary.

 The episode opens with a montage of the ninja all having reached their physical limits, but Wu explains that their True Potential is something they can only reach by facing themselves, Persona-style. He also tells them that Garmadon was turned evil by the Great Devourer when it bit him as a child, and then leaves to search for someone to help the ninja fight Pythor.

Encountering the falcon, the ninja follow him and find an abandoned laboratory in a snow-covered forest. It turns out that the falcon is a mechanical being, created in that very laboratory - and that the same also goes for Zane!

He, understandably, has a bit of a breakdown at the prospect of being a robot, telling the ninja to go ahead while he deals with what he is feeling. Flipping a switch inside his own chest, Zane recovers his lost memories, and learns that Docor Julien, the man who built him "to protect those who cannot protect themselves" raised him like a son, and erased his memory immediately before his own death, so as to spare Zane the grief.

With renewed resolve, Zane heads outside, only to find the ninja being attacked by Treehorns, giant tree-like bugs. Together they fight the Treehorns off, and when their queen appears, Zane, now knowing who he truly is, unlocks his True Potential, freezing her solid.

 In the meanwhile, Pythor finds the map to the Fangblades needed to awaken the Great Devourer, and Wu uses the Traveller's Tea to head to another realm, meeting Garmadon, who now has four arms.

Various Observations:

-Fun Fact: The German version of this episode translates to "The Nindroid". That's kind of a major spoiler to just put in the title, no? 

-New Weekend Whip remix, neat.

-I love Wu's speech about what it means to reach one's True Potential! Why does the first season (of fifteen!) do the best job at making Wu appear wise and experienced?

-Why, exactly, are Wu and Garmadon playing with real weapons? We've seen the ninja use wooden weapons for training before, so why are these two literal children using metal blades?

-Hmm ... Had Wu not refused to retrieve his katana for whatever reason, he would have been the one to be bitten by the Great Devourer. That'd be an interesting concept to explore in a filler episode during the Ice Chapter. Certainly better than the filler we did get. Actually, come to think of it, Lloyd would still be the son of the evil brother, since Misako wouldn't have ended up with Garmadon, had he not put his name on Wu's letter.

-Interestingly, the young form Great Devourer can actually be represented by one of those small snake pieces that were used as weapons during the sets released for season 1. Sure it would be missing the crown, but aside from that it's a perfect match.

-You know, young Garmadon seems more evil in the scene after he was bitten than he does years later, during the battle against the Time Twins. I guess maybe he just got better at hiding it.

-It's implied that Wu himself never unlocked his True Potential, because of the guilt he felt over his role in Garmadon's descent to evil. Perhaps he resolved it after their final meeting in season 4, and that's why he can summon his Elemental Dragon in the season after that?

-This is the first time we see the staff of the Anacondrai. Shouldn't Pythor have held it during the Slither Pit last episode? Claiming the staff is how one wins, after all, so it's presence is kind of important.

-Alright, I love the flyers the ninja put up. That's one way to find the Fangblades, I suppose.

-Wait, the ninja never picked up the flyers after Zane dropped them! Eh, I guess the storeowner was pretty rude, he can pick them up himself.

-Gotta say, I love how the ninja immediately trust Zane's intuition and the falcon. It's a nice contrast to "Home".

-The journey to follow the falcon looks beautiful and has some gorgeous music ... but could they not have followed it in their vehicles?

-Since I mentioned the German version, the Treehorns are called "Baumhörnchen" a cutesy name, reminiscent of "Eichhörnchen", meaning squirrel. The twist of them actually being really dangerous beasts works much better like that, I believe.

-Sooo ... why does the robot Zane defeated never show up again? It doesn't even appear during Day of the Departed, when Zane fights Cryptor in the very same forest that this episode takes place in.

-Hold on ... is there a mechanical cat in Dr Julien's workshop? I wonder if that's another companion, like the falcon, that he was working on before he died.

-The sudden cut to Wu feels kind of odd here. Maybe this scene should have been placed after Zane finds the door to Dr. Julien's bunker, but before he goes inside.

-Alright, why is Harry Potter working in Mystake's shop? And why is the tea behind her labelled as "OK"? Does that mean the other teas are expired or something?

-Man, Mystake has a weird way of running her store. She just gives out a teapot with her tea leaves. Why? How would you ever turn a profit like this?

-I love Wu's retort when she tries to talk him out of using the Traveller's Tea. 

-You know, Zane's internal mechanics change appearance pretty much every season, but I do like the classic look they have here. It's consistent with Dr Julien's other creations. Interestingly, his power source is absent here, despite being the one feature that stays consistent from season 3 on.

-By the way, why does the "humor" switch just make him burst out in song? And why does Jay actually find that funny? Kai and Cole look more confused, which is about how I'm feeling.

-I love how supportive the ninja are. There is zero hesitation from them, they immediately reassure Zane that he is still their brother, just with "more gears" as Cole puts it. And when Zane needs some time to be alone, they back off and respect his privacy. God, I love their family.

-Hey, young!Zane is cooking the same soup Cole made two episodes ago. That's a neat little callback.

-Wow, Doctor Julien's death was executed perfectly. The immediate switch in colors, from the warm tones of before to cold, sterile colors really makes the loss of Zane's father hit harder.

-Oh dear, the queen of the Treehorns looks just a bit too much like a spider for comfort.

-So we're all in agreement that the queen of the Treehorns is dead, right? Her entire body was frozen solid, she probably froze to death. The ninja really went for blood back then, huh?

-So the antidote in the staffs create a map to the Fangblades. Why? Why would you ever want them to be found? Also, what does the Anacondrai antivenom even do? The Anacondrai just turn invisible, they don't affect anyone else with their powers.

-As a bit of a personal note, this episode has a special place in my heart, for pretty similar reasons as "Home". Zane is different from the other ninja, not even just on a behavioural level, but also on a biological level. And yet that doesn't matter. He is still their brother, he's just a touch more unique. As an autistic kid myself, even if I did not know that at the time, seeing someone who was "odd" or "weird", like me, be accepted like this meant so much to me. For this reason, Zane is one of my comfort characters, alongside Haley Anne Thomas and Ema Skye.

The Snake King

 Time for the most iconic suits in all of Ninjago!

But before that, Pythor and Skales uncover the lost city of Ouroboros in a desert, while Pythor explains his plan to unleash the Great Devourer.

Back on the Bounty, the ninja learn that Serpentine have been sighted at the Mega Monster Amusement Park, so they change into their new outfits and head out.

Samurai X got there first, however, and already captured the Serpentine. Annoyed, the ninja decide that the first to figure out the samurai's true identity should also be the Green Ninja.

Shortly afterwards, Lloyd stumbles across a group of Serpentine heading towards Ouroboros and follows them in disguise, but is discovered and captured after Pythor wins in a rigged fight against the other generals and becomes leader of all the tribes.

On their way to save him, the ninja are also captured, and forced to fight Samurai X in an arena in the center of Ouroboros, but they manage to escape, with Kai learning that Nya was the samurai all along. He promises to keep her secret, however, abandoning his chance at winning their previous bet.

Various Observations:

-Alright, so why does Pythor know where the lost city of Ouroboros is located? It was clearly lost for long enough to be covered by a whole desert, so I don't think Pythor was even alive back when it was still around.

-Also, why is Skales Pythor's sidekick? That goes against his already established character! It already bothered me last episode, but it's especially obvious here. By the way, we also learn that he doesn't even believe in the Great Devourer's existence. So why does Pythor? Is he just a religious guy, like the Constrictai?

-Why does the postman have a flying bike? Couldn't he have used it when he had to climb up a mountain in "Home" and "Can of Worms"? 

-Huh, the ninja and Lloyd debate "the best way to stun a Serpentine if you don't know what kind they are". Couldn't you tell by their colors? The Fangpyre are red and white, Constrictai black and orange, Anacondrai purple and black, and so on? So far, we've seen no exceptions to this. 

-Why is Wu the funniest character in this show? Him scrambling to find a present for Lloyd was pretty amusing.

-Wait a second, the armor on Jay's ZX suit already has claw marks on it? Sensei Wu should try to get a refund on that.

-Why is Nya just handing out ice cream to random women? Does she work at the amusement park or something?

-By the way, she was once again a more effective hero than the ninja, given that she actually caught the Serpentine, rather than just scaring them off.

-Alright, Wu's excitement over a ferris wheel got me, as did Kai accidentally scaring a passerby by waving the Sword of Fire around.

-Ooh, we even get a montage of Nya being awesome, with her handling three Serpentine attacks and what she believes to be a dangerous accident, while the ninja have to split up and are still late.

-You know, this episode could be resolved so much easier if Lloyd had a phone he could use to alert the ninja.

-How in the world did Skales get fooled by this ... I hesitate to call it a disguise ... costume?

-Alright, they're doing a really good job of making Ouroboros look ancient and imposing. It almost feels like something H.P. Lovecraft would think up.

-Ah, the Venomari antidote is green now. Neat. Also, Acidicus mentions having fought hard for his staff. I'd like to know some of the background here.

-We learn that Skales helps Pythor in order to be second in command. Doesn't he have about the same chances of becoming leader as Pythor does, assuming he doesn't agree to work together? From what we know about Skales, I think he'd be more likely to make himself king.

-Pretty neat foreshadowing , with the fight for who controls the tribes taking place right above the Great Devourer's resting place.

-Wait, hold on, why is someone just letting the ninja access public surveilance cameras? What's up with that?

-Hold on, how in the world did the Serpentine capture Nya? She's in a freaking mech!

-I'm sure you have quite enough of me gushing abou how awesome Nya is by now, but she handled the escape basically by herself, and easily recovered the Golden Weapons after the Serpentine took them.

-Aw, the scene between Kai and Nya is really sweet. It also foreshadows Kai's True Potential, as he puts Nya over his desire to be the Green Ninja, but also serves as fake foreshadowing of him being the Green Ninja, as he was the first to uncover the samurai's true identity.

-Why does Kai carry the Scythe of Quakes seperately, instead of keeping it in the bag witht he other Golden Weapons? That's just kind of odd. Why not the Sword of Fire, his own weapon?

-Fun fact: In the German version of this episode, Wu specifically refers to "brother sharpening sister" instead of the using the gender-neutral "sibling". Just thought you might be interested.

Can of Worms

 Alright, it's Samurai X time!

We open this episode with Lloyd playing pranks on the ninja and causing them to blame each other as part of Wu's lesson on the destructive power of rumors. Soon, however, Nya alerts the ninja that the Serpentine are moving again, and points them towards the remaining tombs, those of the Constrictai and Venomari.

Both tribes have already been freed, however, and while they learn that the united tribes will look for the Fangblades to free the Great Devourer, they are also left on a sinking log in a sea of acid. Suddenly, a mysterious samurai appears and scares off the Serpentine while saving the ninja.

That night, the ninja learn that the Serpentine are gathering underneath Ninjago City, and find Pythor trying to unite the tribes. By using the power of rumors, however, they prevent the tribes from coming together, but have to flee in the face of their overwhelming numbers.

Various Observations:

-Huh, the flying banana returns. And it still looks just as silly as it did in the last episode.

-Continuing the trend of Wu being surprisingly funny, the gag of him misplacing his lesson book really got me. Well, he didn't misplace it, Lloyd took it, but he didn't know that.

-Kai is suddenly really upset that Nya is with them. Strange, given that this was never built up in the previous episodes.

-Woah, Nya's got great aim! She hit the precise location of the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tombs from across the room. Why didn't she get the bow and arrow is season 8?

-We learn that the tombs are aligned to fit on a symbol meaning "serpent". Now, why in the world would whoever built the tombs do this? What's the point? At first, I also wanted to mention that it'd be pretty much impossible to actually find the tombs, even with this clue, as the symbol covers a large part of the map. Upon closer inspection, however, it seems like the tombs are located where the serpent's tail touches itself, and there are two more places like that below the blue dart. I presume that's where the remaining tombs would be located.

-Alright, the Constrictai are located somewhere people wouldn't just stumble into, that's more than you could say about the Fangpyre tomb, at least. Sadly, this is immediately made irrelevant by the fact that the tomb doesn't even have a door! Pythor just had to place a rope to climb up and down, and that was it. Wow. I keep thinking the guy who designed the tombs couldn't possibly come up with worse security measures, and yet I keep being surprised.

-Ladies and Gentlemen ... Behold, the Pink Ninja! I love that there's an actual minifigure of this outfit.

-Why is the postman heading for the Constrictai tomb? Maybe they aren't even as secluded as I thought.

-Apparently, the Constrictai are the religious snakes, as they have murals depicting the tribes being united and collecting the Fangblades, which will free the Great Devourer. Interestingly, the Great Devourer is described as "an ancient evil". I guess it makes sense, the Serpentine aren't actually evil, they were manipulated first by Chen, and then by Pythor, but by themselves they wouldn't want Ninjago to be destroyed, so the Devourer would be seen as evil. Of course, maybe Zane got things wrong, and this "ancient evil" that turns "day into night" is actually meant to be the Overlord? The Serpentine are aware of his existence, after all. I really want to know more about this!

-So Zane can play the flute, even while he's being choked. You know, this is actually nice foreshadowing for him being a Nindroid, as he doesn't need to breathe.

-Alright, the door to the Venomari tomb can be opened by simply tapping it, but it is located on an island in a swamp filled with acid, so fair enough. I don't think anyone could even get the Venomari out of there unless they had, like, a Rattlercopter or something.

-I don't know what on earth this creature is, but it terrifies me.

-Aaand the Venomari are immune to the acid. Well then, maybe this place isn't so well suited aftter all. Why put the one tribe immunte to acid there? Well, actually, Pythor was also fairly resistant to the Great Devourer's stomach acid, considering that he's not an oni-dragon-human hybrid like Wu, so maybe it's just a Serpentine thing? In which case, yeah, putting any of the tombs here is just dumb.

-Kai is having a panic attack at the idea of fighting elves and gingerbread people! Do I ... want to know his history with them?

-Alright, Nya is awesome as Samurai X! No banter, no elemental powers, no Spinjitzu, just pure focus and determination. She goes in, saves all four ninja, scares off the Serpentine and hits Pythor in the butt with a dart!

-Wu mentions that Samurai used to protect the nobility. This ties well into the royal family in season 8, but also implies that there are other noble families.

-Kai is still high on Venomari venom. Nothing more to add, just wanted to mention that.

-Ninjago City appears for the first time, and it's also the ninjas' first visit. None of them visited the capital before? Not even Cole?

-Why is the Venomari antivenom blue? All the other antivenoms correspond witht he tribe's color, so why not this one?

-Is there a reason why Skales and Acidicus automatically defer to Pythor? Skales has already been established to be power hungry, so shouldn't he try to be the leader?

-Why is Pythor telling potentially offensive jokes about the Constrictai? That ... doesn't seem like a good way to unite the tribes, you know?

-And why does Fang-Suei sound like Count Dracula? He's a snake, not a bat! The bat people are in another realm!

-And the way the ninja try to stop the tribes from uniting is by ... encouraging them to be racist towards each other? Boy, this episode has some interesting subtext.

-Zane freezes the entire subway system to escape. I get that it's a life or death situation, but I think the people using it might have a couple of complaints come morning.