Blackout

 After the ninja split up in the last episode, we'll now see how the writers handle balancing their screen time in a full episode. I think I recall both groups getting about equal attention, but we'll have to see if I'm not misremembering things.

Lloyd and Garmadon are travelling across the mountains in this episode, hoping to reach the dense jungle called Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Garmadon attempts to teach Lloyd the value of balance, and that Creation alone is only part of a greater whole, culminating in Lloyd using the power of earth to move a mountain and save his father from falling to his death.

At the same time, the other ninja are at Ed and Edna's junkyard, when Jay learns that Cole is Nya's perfect match from PIXAL, who had been revived with half of Zane's power source. This causes a fight between the two ninja, which impacts their teamwork when a mysterious stranger working for the Overlord attacks, having used electric eels to power nindroids and a cybernetically modified Wu.

While the ninja prevail, Zane is unable to use Spinjitzu by himself, as he now needs PIXAL's assistance, and the mysterious stranger managed to track down Lloyd and Garmadon. 

Various Observations: 

-Huh, the last episode seems way more epic in the recap. Why does it make me want to look up an episode I already watched two days ago?

-Sensei Garmadon's speech on balance is interesting. So far, he does a better job at being a wise mentor than Wu ever did.

-According to Sensei Garmadon, Lloyd still only scratched the surface of his potential. I am actually inclined to agree. So far, he has only used his golden power for energy blasts, and to conjure up a dragon, yet the power of Creation itself is so much more. And that's not even touching on the fact that Lloyd could also use the power of Destruction, he just doesn't learn that part until season 15. Actually, that also fits with Garmadon's views on balance. Creation without Destruction is endless growth. A cancer. The universe requires both in order to remain stable. Lloyd holds both these powers, yet he, and the writers of season 15, only see value in the power of Creation. I wonder how Crystalized would have changed if Garmadon were still free from the Devourer's evil.

-Apparently the cybernetic parts on Borg's face can just be taken off, but the rest are implants that can't just be removed so easily. I guess they wanted the viewers to be able to tell the difference just by looking at Borg's face, but it just makes me wonder what the point of his visor even was.  Why did the Overlord just give him a helmet?

-Oh, the worker that found Borg gives us a timeframe. Apparently they "have been without power for a few days". Yeah, that makes sense to me. 

-So Wu and the hard drive containing the Overlord are both gone, yet Borg doesn't think there might be a connection? Like, we know that Wu hasn't taken it, but as far as Cyrus Borg is aware, he might have taken it to destroy it. 

-Pythor established his evil lair in the basement of Borg Tower? That seems highly unwise. Surely the tower would be searched, now that Cyrus Borg is back, since he wants to find the hard drive?

-I like that we get to see the junkyard again, if I'm still unsure whether to be happy that Ed and Edna are also back. 

-I love that the piece the ninja are searching for doesn't have either of the names Kai remembers it having. 

-Wait, what even is the ninja's plan here? They want Zane's hovercopter to be solar powered so they can get back to New Ninjago City ... But the hovercopter was destroyed in the last episode alongside their other hacked vehicles, wasn't it? Wouldn't it make more sense to just use Ed and Edna's car? You know, the one that was the last to get eliminated during the Ninjaball Run? It even runs on fuel, so a lack of electricity isn't a problem.

-Aww, Zane giving half his heart to save PIXAL is sweet. I agree with Edna here! Just ... don't ask her for her opinion on Serpentine.

-And it seems PIXAL's software also deems Cole to be the perfect match for Nya, much to Edna and Zane's confusion. You know, I bet her less robotic self that occasionally pops up would pick up on the fact that Nya and Jay clearly love each other. 

-Ooookay, boundaries, Jay, boundaries. You don't get to assault your brother just because a robot whose personality is in flux claims him to be a better match for the girl you love. I'm not even sure you're dating at this point, and even if you are, this would still be a red flag.

-Oh, Garmadon also wants Lloyd to keep using the other elemental powers he has, rather than solely relying on Creation. Yeah, that makes sense for his character. Plus, it's always cool to see Lloyd use other elements.

-Oh, I do believe this is the first we've ever seen Lloyd truly use Creation, as he just created a bridge from nothing, yet he acts like he already did so before. I suppose he must have refined his powers between the seasons. At the same time, his control over elemental powers, such as earth, has suffered. I suppose he has neglected using them, and therefore lost his balance, just like Garmadon warned him.

-Garmadon's exasparation is amusing.

-Oh my god, I love that Jay isn't offended by Cole calling him a clown, but rather by the fact Cole even considers being a clown an insult. 

-Oh, Cole still has super strength. "Consistency? Consistency isn't a word where I come from!" 

-Hold up, why are Cryptor and Min-droid at the junkyard? They were at the power station when they were shut down! How'd their deactivatied bodies get here?

-Go on Nya, tell 'em off. Although, honestly, Cole probably doesn't even know what they're fighting over, he was just suddenly attacked by Jay, so I don't think it's macho stuff so much as it is self-defense in his case. 

-Now the Nindroid's lasers can blast apart steel? It feels like they get stronger with every appearance!

-I love that Ed and Edna just have jetpacks lying around in case they need them. It fits their kooky inventor parents vibe. I'm just not sure how I feel about them abandoning their son with killer robots.

-The bubble damaging Cryptor's laser eye is also kind of funny. 

-So Zane is actually impaired by losing half of his heart, as he is not strong enough anymore to use Spinjtzu. I guess that does make sense.

-Eh? Where'd Kai go? Why are only Jay and Cole rushing over to help Zane?

-Hey, um, Kai? Jay? Cole? If literally any of you hits the trash compactor with one of the Technoblades you are holding right this very moment, nobody'll get crushed. 

-I love Jay's quip about getting close with Cole.

-Nya. You have two wires. Cutting one will stop the machine. No clue how you know that, but sure. If you were still your season 1 self, you'd just cut both!

-Thanks, Jay! Don't think about this symbolically, Nya, you don't have to date the guy whose wire you cut, just cut one! Do you want Jay and Cole to die?

-There are even more Nindroids at the junkyard? Seriously? I'm starting the question the common sense of Jay's parents. Don't gather killer robots!

-Man, Cyborg!Wu absolutely curbstomps Kai! And this is the same guy that lost to Pythor? Well, I suppose the ninja may well be out of practice, and the cyborg parts might strengthen Wu.

-And PIXAL is back to switching between being emotional and not. She screamed "No!" and rushed in to save Zane, and then coldly analyzes the situation like she herself is confused what happened. She blames it on Zane's heart, but it seems more likely that this is her true personality, which has grown beyond her analytic pre-programmed one. 

-Cryptor's sexist now? Why would he even consider PIXAL to be "a little girl" when she is older than Cryptor himself?

-Er, Zane? It's not because of your "shared reflexes" that you and PIXAL can use Spinjitzu together, but because together you have enough energy. How would sharing reflexes help? 

-Nya Honey Darling Sweetie Gravy just cut. Both. Wires! It ain't that hard! You already have both on the blade, just move it up, and boom, nobody's gonna get crushed!

-Nya doesn't say which wire she cut, so I'll choose to believe that she made the sensible choice and cut both.

-Wha - Shut up, Jay! How does Cole deserve to get beaten up, when you're the one who started whaling on him for no reason? I want to like you, stop being a jealous bastard!

-And now Kai's the one to make a quip about Zane and PIXAL's relationship, when that line should go to Jay in any other episode.

-Huh, I didn't know Pythor had archery skills. That's cool, I myself have some modest skills in the field.

 -The Overlord will be pleased? Pythor, what are you talking about? You failed, why would the Overlord like to hear that?

-Jay, stop antagonizing your brother, or you'll lose your spot as my third-favorite ninja.

-Garmadon and Lloyd's back and forth is probably the best part of this episode, to be entirely honest with you.

-Lloyd getting himself and his father in trouble because he interfered with a baby bird's attempt at flying is very believable. He's not mature enough to know that his help was not only unneeded, but may actively make things worse for the little bird. 

-Garmadon deciding that extra arms would come in handy, after all, is funny to me. 

-Lloyd managing to move a mountain is a very triumphant moment. The music just makes it really epic.

-Why is Jay yelling Wu that had a black beard? Yeah, I guess he did, but why would anyone care about that part? Actually, come to think of it, why did his beard turn black? He's a cyborg, why would that bring color back to his hair?

-Yeah, see? The Overlord clearly isn't pleased with Pythor! No clue what he was on about earlier.

-Pythor put a tracker on the falcon? When? It left alongside Lloyd and Garmadon in the last episode, and that was way before Pythor found the Overlord and took the hard drive, given that we literally se him plug it in at the beginning of this episode, so when would he have been able to get his hands on the falcon?

The Art of the Silent Fist

 Today, we get two major character introductions, as we meet PIXAL's true self, and encounter a purified Garmadon. That's not even all, as the main plot also progresses. Will the episode will cluttered and rushed with all of this, or will each aspect be given time to breathe? I can't actually recall, so let's start the review!

So, the ninja are at Garmadon's monastary, where he teaches a pacifistic way of combat by fighting without fighting, when they are attacked by Nindroids and PIXAL, who extracted the location from a captured Wu's mind. Zane hacks PIXAL and the ninja plus their new ally escape, with Lloyd and Garmadon going on the run, while the PIXAL, Nya, and ninja head to the sole power station in all of Ninjago to cut the Nindroid's power.

Despite the success of their mission, it's not a full victory, as PIXAL is also shut down due to running out of power.

Various Observations: 

-Huh, with most of the neon lights destroyed or just turned off, New Ninjago City actually looks a lot like Ninjago City did.

-Speaking of the city, this is already the second time the Overlord devastated it! This is becoming a trend with the guy.

-Why is there Creation power in the bots Lloyd attacked last episode? Given that they turned off after the attack, I thought all he did was purge them of the Overlord's influence, so logically there shouldn't be any power in there, right? 

-The power of Creation manifests as evil purple lightning while the Overlords brief manifestation is accompanied by glowing golden particle effects? That feels odd. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

-And then the Overlord turns into a ball of purple flames! I really think someone messed up which effects they were supposed right now.

-Oh, by the way, about the Overlord's state of existence right now, I wanted to clarify that I think he's a ghost right now? Because he was originally a dragon, which was then imprisoned in an unknown place and communicated through a spirit-like avatar, until that avatar possessed Garmadon and transformed his body into the Overlord's. After Lloyd killed the Overlord at the end of the previous season, his original body should still have remain intact wherever it's imprisoned, and he's back to how he was before Garmadon broke the balance, only now he figured out how to possess electronics, like a certain girl from the Kagerou Project. Now, he wants to use the power of Creation to form a body, as it can presumably create anything from nothing.

-It's unsettling how Cyrus Borg's body just limply flops around while the Overlord is possessing his mechanical parts. That's actually freaky.

-I love that PIXAL, despite literally being programmed to serve the Overlord, disagrees more with him in this one scene than Garmadon really did for most of the last season.

-I'm not sure whether it was supposed to be funny, but the ninja disguising their vehicles by each putting two twigs on them is way too funny.

-Ah, Cole still has his strength, and it seems to have increased, with how he's now hauling huge trees around. It's like for every scene the Hageman brothers flip a coin to see whether the ninja have their powers.

-And speaking of powers, couldn't the ninja have made a quick stop wherever they left the Elemental Blades to retrieve them? I'm sure they'd be useful, given that they gave the ninja powers equal to their True Potentials.

-Wait, Nya replicated Borg's anti-surveillance robes this quickly? The ninja literally just arrived, so this is almost directly after the last episode! Impressive work, I have to say.

-Wow, Misako has no reaction to the Overlord's return or to all of New Ninjago City being held captive by him, she just focuses on Wu. I get you love the guy, but sheesh.

-The ninja don't know anything about what Garmadon did since last season's finale, including him swearing an oath of pacifism and abandoning the title of Lord Garmadon? I would think that Lloyd, at least, would visit his father!

-I do appreciate the running gag of children finding Cole boring. He's way less eccentric than the rest of the family, so it makes sense. Plus, it's basically a spiritual continuation of last season's running where nobody recognized the ninja's part in defeating the Great Devourer.

-And Nya has fallen for Cole? Why? Her only explanation is "Cole's not Jay"? Well, by that logic General Kozu would be attractive to her as well, no? He's certainly not Jay, after all.

-Also, please don't reduce Nya's role in the story to the love interest two team members fight over. Especially not after I praised her more progressive writing in season 1.

-I like the fake-out with Garmadon's shadow seemingly having four arms. That's fun.

-Jay getting bonked by Garmadon was funny. Nothing else to say.

-Fun fact, the titular "art of the silent fist" is called "die Kunst, nicht zu kämpfen" in German, a name which translates to "the art of not fighting". It sounds less martial-artsy but feels more like something Garmadon would call it than the English version does.

-I like the subtle way Garmadon balanced his staff while talking about balance. Neat detail.

-Garmadon already established himself as a badass, given that he knocked Lloyd out without ever fighting, and his sarcastic commentary is fun too. I like him already.

-Speaking of things I like, neat visual gag with the golden dragons circling Lloyd's head.

-Lloyd being about to unleash his power because he's angry he lost is a good reminder that, body aside, he very much is still a child.

-Wait, Kai hit Jay, why is Garmadon calling that "perfect"? It doesn't fit his pacifistic style of battle. Unless he's commenting on another student's skill, I guess, in which case this was just a very weird cut.

-Wait, what? How did PIXAL get the Technoblades? Zane had his eyes open, and they were spread out before him. All of a sudden he just ... realizes they're missing? What, did he bluescreen for a while?

-PIXAL still gets a fun one-liner in! I love that being dramatic is a legit part of her personality. Slay, girl! I support women's rights, and women's wrongs!

-Garmadon protested Zane's use of the Technoblade, but I wonder if it really is because it resembles a weapon. Would it not be more likely that he is wary around "hacking into" sentient beings, given his own experience with having his personality altered.

-Wait, PIXAL is established to have amnesia and needs Zane to explain to her that she was under the Overlord's control, but in the very next sentence she talks about how the Overlord "mined" Wu's memory, something she cannot possibly know if she forgot her time under his control. Again, is a little consistency too much to ask for?

-By the way, odd word choice. He "mined" Wu's memory? What, did he look for Redstone to build more Nindroids?

-You know, I must question the ethics of using the Technoblade to hack into PIXAL. Unlike the elevator or Borg's machine parts, she is not directly possessed by the Overlord, and unlike the vehicles the ninja previously hacked, she is clearly sentient. What's more, she  has displayed a degree of free will and personality not seen in the Stone Warriors or Nindroids, even more so than Kozu, Cryptor and Min-Droid, as she openly questions the logic of the Overlord's plans, and clearly has a penchant for dramatic one-liners, both of which I very much doubt were programmed into her. Additionally, we do not know if PIXAL was ever not aligned with the Overlord, as she was built after Borg Tower was erected, meaning that red-eyed PIXAL may have been her original self, rather than a result of her being hacked by the Overlord. If this is true, a sentient being was essentially brainwashed in this scene, which ... yeah, that feels icky, even if it was done to turn her good. If I recall correctly, her one-liners actually disappear after this, which only further fuels my theory that the Technoblade replaced her personality. Of course, this also raises some unpleasant implications about her feelings towards Zane, and whether they were genuine, or a result of her being reprogrammed to have a personality that would feel affection towards him. Ew.

-The Nindroids are really cool. I like that they can turn invisible. It helps with the whole ninja-feel. Also, them blinking into view one by one is a really cool visual.

-Sheesh, PIXAL's a bit of a pessimist, isn't she? She thinks the ninja's chances of survival are "too low to quantify" just because they're outnumbered five to eighteen? First of all, it's seven to eighteen, given that Garmadon and Nya are capable combatants, something she should know from Wu's memories. And second, the ninja have faced much worsed odds in the past and prevailed, and they didn't even have weapons that can instantly turn their enemies into allies back then!

-Speaking of which, it really bothers me that none of the ninja think to hack the Nindroids with their Technoblades. I can't recall them ever trying to do so, even though it would seem like the obvious thing to do.

-Kai and Zane both get beaten by a single Nindroid, and Jay gets taken out by two blindly charging in. The Nindroids don't seem capable, the ninja just seem inept, given that Cole takes out two Nindroids like they're Serpentine. 

-Ah, the Nindroid let out a Wilhelm scream. It's been a while since the last one, hasn't it?

-Hm, Nya claims that Lloyd's green power strengthens the Nindroids, but that's factually incorrect. It's golden power the Overlord wants, and it still shuts the Nindroids down, it's just that the power can then be extracted from them. Well, I guess she wouldn't know any of that, it's not like she's still under the Overlord's sway, all she has to go off is the guy's claim that he wants Lloyd's power.

-Lloyd's Spinjitzu tornado is golden, despite his robes being green. We saw in "Can of Worms" that the color of a person's attire can affect the color of their Spinjitzu, but I suppose elemental energy is even more important. The tornado is clearly made from Lloyd's power, similar to the other ninja's Spinjitzu during the Oni Trilogy. This does, of course, raise the question why the Nindroids aren't happy to receive Lloyd's power in this way.

-Wha- A paper fan can deflect the Nindroid's lasers? Seriously? Are those just laser pointers, rather than actual weapons? Doeth these worms haveth a laser pointere like mine own?

-Wait, now the lasers can instantly destroy Nindroids in a ... very cheap looking explosion. When they couldn't get through a paper fan just seconds earlier?

-Aaand the ninja's new vehicles are already destroyed. Sheesh, are we sure this is a commercial for them? Because those vehicles folded easier than Nya's paper fan!

-Haha, what? Misako just dips! Garmadon talks about how he'll protect his son, and Misako just decides to "look after the monastary". I guess she ain't interested if Wu's not around, huh? This is the second time she abandoned her son! Also, won't the Nindroids return to search the monastary? That's the last place Misako should want to go!

-Since when, exactly, does Nya have a Samurai X cave? It's just mentioned out of the blue. Did she build it during the time skip? Or maybe during season 1, when the Bounty was still stranded in the desert?

-By the way, why doesn't Nya accompany Lloyd, Garmadon and the falcon to the cave? She could use the equipment there to become Samurai X again! I want more Nya action! Well, to her credit, it is her idea to shut off the power, but she is barely involved in that plot.

-Why does the Overlord refer to the Nindroids as being Cryptor's? He's the one who built them, including Cryptor! Maybe he's just looking for someone to blame.

-I see the Overlord has apparently conquered all of Ninjago and installed military checkpoints since the last episode. A surprising development, to be sure.

-Wait, I get why cutting the power would shut off the servers, disabling the Nindroids, but everyone acts like the Nindroids would lose power if the power station is taken down. Given that they're not constantly plugged in, I assume they would have their own power source. That was surely the whole point of PIXAL scanning Zane, no? And the Overlord would also be booted out if the servers he's possessing stop working, right? No reboot neccessary.

-Hey, Zane's inner parts looked way different in season 1! They were some kind of bronze clockwork mechanism, rather than a blue power source connected to a couple of wires with no mechanics in sight! Consistency sure isn't this season's strength.

-Maybe it's just me, but PIXAL seems way more robotic and less alive now that she has been reprogrammed. Where'd her one liners, opinions on others, and organic way of gesturing go? I'm getting Eva flashbacks. Actually, she might be a pretty decent comparison, come to think of it.

-Wait, the Samurai X base is underneah a dragon fossil, rather than just any old skeleton? I know it's probably artificial, given that there are mechanisms integrated into the skeleton, but it's still cool.

-I love Lloyd and Garmadon's back and forth here, particularly Garmadon conceding that he can't complain about too many weapons, when he literally grew extra arms so he could hold more weapons. Garmadon being excited to drive Nya's car is also neat, though I do have to wonder why it's in his color scheme, rather than the red black and gold of Samurai X.  Or why he and Lloyd don't take mechs, given that there are two at the cave, and that these models have a very good track record.

-Since when does Cole read Starfarer comics? That's always been Jay's and Lloyd's interest!

-Alright, Nya's flailing is just embarassing, even if Cole phrased things very oddly by referring to their students as "our kids". Then again, Dareth did the same during "Ninjaball Run" ...

-Seriously? Nya and Cole have both fallen for each other with no build-up or shared interests or anything! 

-Jay and Kai both being around during the pseudo-intimate moment between Cole and Nya is funny.

-So Ninjago farms energy from a perpetual thunderstorm. Whimsical. I like it.

-I love Min-Droid. It's nice to have a recurring face in the faceless army. Err, that sounded odd. Eh, screw it, you know what I mean!

-The ninja have weapons that can instantly hack into any electric devices ... yet they need to find the right switch to turn off the power station. Anyone see the problem?

-I love that Jay accidently starts the radio, which plays The Weekend Whip. It's a neat meta joke.

-Kai has the right idea, but he just smacks the protective glass with his Technoblade. Dude, the computers are literally all around the room! Hit anything else! And stop whining about technology already!

-Oh, maybe there's still some of the original PIXAL in there. In the middle of calculating the probability, she suddenly interrupts herself in a different, far less robotic, tone of voice and declares "Who cares about probability?" It feels like her two personalities are fighting right now. 

-Since when does PIXAL have a grappling hook installed in her arm?

-Min-droid getting hit with slapstick violence at every opportunity is funny to me. Plus, he's working for the embodiment of evil, it's never undeserved! 

-PIXAL lands on the one laser in the entire building. Talk about bad luck.

-Hey, Cryptor's laser blast explosion uses the same effect Kai did in the original opening!

-Zane's getting angry at Jay. It's ... kind of strange that a girl he has known for maybe a couple of hours would elicit such strong emotions in him, however. 

-Jay dissing Min-droid is also fun.

-Wait, how can the Nindroid MechDragon recognize Lloyd? I thought the entire point of the techno robes was to prevent this exact thing! Nya even repeated it at the beginning of the episode!

-Garmadon accidently firing a laser blast at the MechDragon, rather than making the car go faster, and cursing the weapons is funny.

-Finally someone decided to try and hack a Nindroid, only for the attack to be deflected both times. I wonder why Kai didn't try it himself.

-The MechDragon almost beheaded Lloyd! I can't imagine the Overlord would be very happy with that, you know.

-Min-droid's little "Uh-Oh!" as he's about to explode got me.

-There is ... only one power source in all of Ninjago? Seriously? Wow, that's some seriously bad infrastructure! You need redundancies, folks!

-Is ... there a reason why Lloyd and Garmadon just decide to abandon their car? Because I'm not seeing it. 

-You know, now that I've watched this episode again, it seems to me that that Garmadon has something distinctly Doctor-like. Even aside from his pacifism, he really feels like an incarnation we just haven't met yet.

The Surge

The third season is upon us. While the show was originally planned to only have two seasons, the overwhelmingly positive response to it caused it to keep going. As the name implies, this season is a soft reboot, as the ninja have retired and lost their powers, meaning that they'll start from zero again.  

In the time since the last episode, Ninjago City has been rebuilt into the futuristic New Ninjago City under the guidance of the genius inventor Cyrus Borg. The ninja, who have become teachers in the intervening time, are invited on a tour of Borg Tower, where Zane falls in love with Borg's android assistant, PIXAL. 

Soon enough, the ninja discover that the Overlord is still around, having taken the form of a computer virus. To help them, Cyrus Borg gave the ninja new robes and mysterious Technoblades, capable of hacking any technology. As the ninja attempt to leave New Ninjago City as per his advice, they learn that the Overlord wants Lloyd for some mysterious reason. In the end, the ninja smuggle both Lloyd and the Technoblades out of the city, but Wu is captured.

Various Observations:

-We get a new Weekend Whip remix! Not sure how I feel about it, though. I think I prefer the original version.

-You know, this is the only time the elemental kimonos are ever used in the opening. Kind of strange that we still see the techno robes earlier in the intro, though. Bit of a spoiler, innit?

 

 

-I like Kai's recap of last season's finale, and everything that happened since. I imagine a couple of years must have passed between the two seasons, right? Ninjago City's transformation into the futuristic New Ninjago City must have taken a while, particularly given that it was completely devastated by the Stone Army.

-I can't really see the ninja as school teachers. They clearly don't even like their job, so I'm not sure why the writers thought it would be in character. It is nice to see Lloyd's former school again, though.

-Zane can be remote controlled? Are we seeing the start of him being written more as a robot that's also a ninja rather than a ninja that happens to be mechanic rather than organic in nature.

-What in the world was Zane teaching the kids? Something about catapults? 

 -So Wu is the headmaster. But ... why? Since when was it his aspiration to run a school? A tea shop like in season 5 I could see, yes, but a school?

-Zane presses some buttons on his ... arm, not in the panel he has on that very arm, and suddenly is able to control ice? I thought the ninja can't use their powers without the Elemental Blades!

-What? Immediately after Zane cools Jay's pudding, Jay complains they don't have powers! I would expect the show to remain consistent for at least ten seconds!

-The gag about boundaries is fun. Good on you, Nya!

-You know, the scene with the ninja anticipating danger, a menace, or something similar, has been consistently used in the show's advertising on German TV.

-I like that Jay and Nya are both hyped about getting to visit Borg Tower. Makes sense that they'd be the most interested in a reclusive tech genius.

-Why does Zane kick Jay in the behind to shut him up? That feels highly out of character for any of the ninja, but especially the patient and polite Zane!

-Kai has suddenly turned into a boomer, ranting about how people should learn from the past, rather than get excited over "disposable fads" like flying cars. He sure didn't complain when it was a flying ship or a mech suit that can beat down Stone Warriors.

-The students talk like the Ultra Dragon or Ultrasonic Raider are still around, making me wonder why the dragon didn't show up to help later on, given that they are a sentient being. 

-So the ninja haven't been to the city since Lloyd fought the Overlord? I guess I can buy it, but it seems a touch strange that they never visited Dareth, went to buy a comic, or helped with the clean up, like after the fight against the Devourer. 

-Wu continues to get the most laughs out of me, as his wise words are actually just him being excited about the offer to visit Borg Tower.

-The first look we get of New Ninjago City is really cool. It has a clear cyberpunk theme, and the blues everywhere give it a distinct look.

-The postman has upgraded from his bike. Good for him, I say.

-Cole also still has his earth-based super strength! The consistency here is worse than pudding!

 -Borg Tower is such an iconic place, isn't it? I can understand why, it's shape certainly sticks out.

-I like Zane stating he stands for peace and freedom, completely misunderstanding PIXAL's question. That's far more in character than his kick from earlier.

-Aww, Zane is adorable when he's in love.

-Wait, how does the Perfect Match Machine work? Where'd it get the data about Nya's "boy's club" line? Only Kai was around when she said that! Is this evidence of the Overlord tampering with it to create a rift in the team?

-I like that Cyrus Borg acknowledges the irony of someone with his name working in the tech industry.

-You know, I'm sad that Dr. Julien passed away in the time since last season. He felt like a part of the ninja's family.

-Cole still hopes that every surprise wil lturn out to be cake, I see. 

-I must say, props to Lee Tockar. He really sells Cyrus Borg as a genius trapped in his own tower, terrified of what he brought about but masking it with motivational lines.

-Jay assuming Kai is being rude about Borg's claw-wheelchair is fun. It did kind of sound like it, didn't it?

-Why did Borg only make four Technoblades? Shouldn't he have made one for Lloyd, as well?

-Once PIXAL reveals her true self, her green eyes change to red and she drops a one-liner. Dramatic, isn't she? 

-Zane complaining that the Technoblades shouldn't be called blades if they're not sharp is also good. I guess it just took a bit for everyone's characterization to properly settle.

-Why are the ninja pulled out once the window shatters? What's the air pressure outside?

-I love that even the window cleaning bot tries to fight the ninja. 

-Man, Borg's desperate sobs as the Overlord operates on him are ... certainly something. I keep being surprised by what Lego allows to be shown here.

-Wait, why do Kai and Zane suspect the Overlord to be behind what's going on? Cyrus Borg only said "he". For all the ninja know, this could be a new villain. Oh, wait, nevermind, Borg did mention that he shouldn't have built on the site of the Overlord's death, so that works as an explanation.

-Now that Zane somehow figured out how to activate his Technoblade, I feel like I should talk about something I've noticed. The Technoblades utilize the wielder's elemental power, right? There are particle effects, and the blade glows in an appropriate color. Therefore, the color of the blade does not work as an indicator of their intended wielder. Instead, I believe the wielders got mixed up, since Borg never gave them to the ninja directly. Just look at the Technoblades for a second.

The green Technoblade looks like the kind of weapon Jay would use, no? And the blue Technoblade bears some resemblance to the two-handed weapons Cole prefers. Zane would then use the red blade, as it is the shortest, and he is usually shown using shuriken and sai, both of which are rather short. Lastly, Kai, who wields a katana, could use the yellow Technoblade, the only one with a traditional edge.

-Nya just ... kicks PIXAL in the face. Nope, not going to get held hostage again. That's fun.

-Now Kai surprised that the Overlord is back? Wasn't it Jay who doubted it?

-The fact that the techno robes block the facial recognition programms of the Overlord is never brought back, even though it should, logically, render the ninja invisible to the Nindroids.

-I love that Dareth apparently just made his way into Lloyd's room at Wu's school. It's never explained how or why, but it's funny.

-You know, the ninja are causing a lot of explosions in a densely populated city. Like I said back season, this feels a lot less triumphant now that we know Harumi's backstory.

-Wow, Lloyd instantly purges the Overlord from the systems of the attacking bots. I guess it makes sense, even if the Overlord retakes control soon enough.

-Huh, Jay is the one to quell Zane's doubts? Usually he's the pessimist.

-The fake-out of Wu not actually running off to do things by himself, leading to him failing utterly works, because that's what he did in the pilots and season 1, so we, just like the Overlord, believe it's what he did here, as well.

-Another episode in which the ninja have to admit defeat, huh? Sure, they got away with the Technoblades, but Wu was captured, and the Overlord got scans of Zane he now uses to build a nindroid army.