Ninjago S8 E9

## Plot

Harumi is being questioned by police at the station. Over three hundred SoG members are behind bars at Kryptarium prison. Two garbage truck workers run into the recently resurrected Lord Garmadon. He breaks into the police station and frees Harumi. The ninja, Pixal, Misako, and toddler Wu are celebrating their supposed victory at Dareth's karaoke club. They even sing the old theme song! Pixal tells Misako that it must be strange to see Wu look so young. She says that he always had a young soul, and is just glad that he's happy. They see that Lloyd isn't celebrating. Misako talks to him. He cared about Harumi, and their relationship mattered to him. Bruises go away, bones break and heal, but it's different when your heart is broken. His mom advises him to mourn the loss, but not let it destroy him. If he buries what's good about him beneath a hard shell, he'll turn out no different than Harumi. I guess she'd know a bit about that, since she fell in love with Garmadon, and had to watch him slowly turn evil and then abandon them altogether. They learn from a breaking news report that Harumi was freed, and Garmadon has been resurrected. Dareth offers his apartment to keep Misako and toddler Wu safe. The others go to the station and talk to the commissioner. He confirms that it was Garmadon, but it wasn't the man he remembered. It was like he was someone else; like only the worst parts of him were brought back. The commissioner tried to reason with him, but it was like there was nothing left to reason with. He apologizes for not being more of a help. Lloyd says that he did what he could, and feels like this is his fight to bear. They learn from another breaking news report that Harumi and Garmadon have broken into Kryptarium prison and taken it over. Harumi frees the SoG. The ninja and Pixal head to the prison on the Bounty. Lloyd has a picture of himself and his dad, back when he was good. They wonder what they're going to do, since they barely beat the SoG last time. Lloyd thinks he can turn his dad again, but the others tell him that's a bad idea. He says he has to try, and they tell him that the past is clouding his judgment. Garmadon is sparring with various SoG members. His strength is returning. Harumi tells him that since he has the blood of the oni and dragons, he can both create and destroy. Just like the ninja unlocked their true potentials, he can too, by conquering the one thing that's always stood in his way: Lloyd. Nya notices that the navigation is locked. She tries to fix it, but Lloyd tells her that Pixal came up with a plan. Everyone gathers together in a room. It's pretty obvious what Lloyd intends to do. He locks them in, and heads for the prison in his car. He feels like he has to confront his father alone. Cole uses his earth punch to break down the door. I just now realized that it seems like nobody uses their elemental powers anymore. The navigation is still locked, and Zane works on overriding it. When the others try to talk Lloyd out of it, he punches the console in anger. He blasts his way into the prison, and demands to face his father. Harumi has her generals broadcast the camera footage all over Ninjago. The others watch on the Bounty. Lloyd comes face to face with his dad, and we finally see what he looks like now. Lloyd is forced to fight him and tries to save him, but he doesn't listen. He has powers too. The fight is absolutely *brutal*. It might be one of the best in the whole series, and that's saying something. Finally, someone is using their elemental powers in a fight again. Garmadon says that there's nothing left to save. Also, Sam Vincent, please stop making me want to cry, because I don't think Jillian Michaels ever made me feel like crying, at least not this much. He's certainly making up for Mark Oliver's lack of emotion at least. I'm not saying that's Mark's fault, it's just what he has to work with, and what direction he was given when saying his lines. Garmadon has played many roles: Father, husband, brother, teacher, but only one was brought back: Destroyer. He starts glowing purple, and Harumi says that he's finding his true potential. This fight is amazing. The others head to the prison. Garmadon throws Lloyd through a wall, which gives him breathing problems. There's an epic fifteen second long tracking shot, and it feels way longer than just fifteen seconds. Garmadon just keeps hammering poor Lloyd, who still thinks he wouldn't hurt his son. He says he has no son, and throws Lloyd through multiple rooms and out of the prison. He doesn't even have the strength to crawl away. Oh my god, *the music*. It's not as bad as when Zane died, but it's a close second. Harumi stupidly decides to let Lloyd live to see his father's reign. They'll ride to the city at dawn so Lord Garmadon can be declared the new emperor of Ninjago. And then they don't actually do that until the next night. They also don't recapture Lloyd, so the others are able to get him back again, but it's offscreen this time. At least they're actually using stealth. I didn't like Garmadon's voice, but he gets better in season 9. Here it just sounds like they got a bad impersonator, but it really is the original and only voice actor. Maybe he was just directed badly.

## Review

This episode was *dark*. Garmadon's new design is based on the movie one, because of course it is. I feel like Mark Oliver's talents were wasted here. Even in the earlier seasons, he voiced Lord Garmadon with a sense of regret and sadness over being forced to fight his own son. Here, it's just standard generic villain voice, super deep and gravelly. It doesn't even sound like him anymore. At least he got to voice Julien this season too, and he sounds much better in later seasons.