Rise of the Snakes ( episode ) Rise of the Snakes is the first episode in the first season of " " . Along with " Home , " it debuted in the U . S . on December 2nd , 2011 . Introduction . " Long before time had a name , the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago using four elemental weapons . But when he passed a dark presence sought out to collect them all ; Lord Garmadon . So I , Sensei Wu ; his brother , sought out to find four ninja to collect them first . . . " Plot . Immediately continuing the story from where the first season left off , Sensei Wu implores the Ninja to start training again to prepare for his brother ' s return to Ninjago , but ever since Lord Garmadon has escaped they have done nothing but play video games and waste time . Sensei lectures the four on " not putting off onto tomorrow what can be done today " , saying that the four have not yet reached their full potential . The Ninja laugh , saying that they ' ll be ready when Lord Garmadon returns . Their meeting is interrupted by Nya , bringing word that Garmadon was spotted in Jamonicai village , sending the Monastery to a state of panic . The out - of - shape Ninja then travel to Jamonicai village to stop Lord Garmadon , only to find the sighting to be false and the fake Garmadon to be just his son who has escaped his boarding school for bad boys , Lloyd Garmadon . Lloyd tries to terrorize the village to rob them of their candy , and threatens to release the " Serpentine " on the villagers , but instead is run out of town by the ninja . Before returning to the Monastery , Kai discovers he has accidentally taken Sensei ' s bag in the rush , and finds a scroll that tells of the prophecy of Ninjago ; one ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja destinated . None of them are able to contain excitement , boasting to the others that himself will become the green ninja . eanwhile , Lloyd wanders the frozen wastelands of Ninjago , upset his plans have gone awry . Mistakenly , he uncovers an ancient tomb containing a tribe of the real serpentine known as Hypnobrai . The Hypnobrai general attempts to hypnotize Lloyd , but his short size causes the general to seeing himself in a reflection , and letting Lloyd take control of him . The tribe is now under Lloyd ' s control , who sends them to steal all the candy in Jamonicai . The Hypnobrai use their power to hypnotize the villagers , bringing more power to Lloyd . All consumed by selfishness , they try to hold a tournament to find who is the best of them all , and thus become the green ninja . Unfortunately , the idea backfires when Kai ' s sword starts an elemental fire which cannot be put out . Wu arrives and uses the Shurikens of Ice to stop the fire , before explaining the ninja must agree to continue their path to unlocking their potential before any of them will become the green ninja . Sensei senses the presence of the Serpentine and quickly alerts the ninja , who rush to the village and are able defeat the Hypnobrai , forcing them to retreat . However , Skales , the second - in - command for the tribe , hypnotizes Cole before leaving town , forming a scheme to destroy the ninja for revenge . After stealing the Snake Staff , Nya uses the anti - venom inside it to cure the villagers , but Cole remains under Skale ' s influence .