Pause and Effect

*“You see? Easiest one to obtain yet! Now will you admit that not all modern technology is bad?”*

— Acronix to Krux after obtaining the Pause Time Blade

## Chronology

### Next

Out of the Fire and Into the Boiling Sea

**Pause and Effect** is the eighth episode of the seventh season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* and the 72nd episode overall. It aired on Cartoon Network on May 24, 2017, in the United States.

## Synopsis

*Kai confronts his dad for aiding the Hands of Time, only to discover that his parents are actually Acronix and Krux's captives. Meanwhile, as the Ninja work to free Wu, Cyrus Borg and the rest of the Hands of Time's captives, a third Time Blade arrives - one with the power to temporarily STOP time!*

## Plot

Nya and Kai joined the others and Lloyd explained Zane will find Cyrus. Jay and Cole will rescue the workers, and he will get Wu. Kai and Nya are tasked with finding the Time Twins.

Meanwhile, Wu fought some snakes and claimed his strength returned and the effects of the Time Punch have reversed. However, Misako, Garmadon, and Morro emerge from Vermillion eggs wearing Vermillion armor to tell him he failed them and Acronix and Krux appear and Acronix reminds Wu that he was the latest failure and then the ninja told him he shouldn't have faced Acronix alone. However, this is a hallucination; Wu is tied up in a cell.

Zane treks through the swamp and tells P.I.X.A.L. to scan for Borg. He forgot she's still offline and scans it himself. Meanwhile, Jay and Cole hid behind a rock and went pass the Vermillion. They entered through the skylight and was greeted by Karlof and The Royal Blacksmiths. Karlof explained they took the builders and metal so they could make armor, weapons, and vehicles.

Cyrus told Krux that he completed the apparatus but it won't work without all four Time Blades. Acronix informs his brother the third Blade will be arriving. When Cyrus tries to sabotage it, Machia took him with them.

Lloyd found Wu's cell, but it was empty. He saw Blunck and Raggmunk with Wu and fought them. However, Raggmunk tried to get Wu away from him while Blunck was defeated.

Since Karlof is too heavy to hold, Cole thought of using the metal to build a ladder instead. The workers started to construct one and Cole asks Lou where the armor design came from. He responded that it came from a blacksmith.

Nya asks for the map, and realized Kai isn't trying to find the twins—he's trying to find their parents. When they reached the blacksmith shop, Kai fought Ray, but Nya tries to stop him.

Lloyd tripped Raggmunk and tries to save Wu before he could fall down a cliff. When Jay checked on the ladder, it collapses, and the Vermillion went toward the sound.

The twins, Machia, and Cyrus wait for the Pause Time Blade atop a mountain. When it landed, it froze them and the ninja briefly. Acronix tries to get Krux to admit technology is great, but the latter claimed they won't need the BorgWatch to get the Reversal Time Blade.

Cole and Jay defeated the Vermillion, but they saw more coming and ordered the prisoners to escape through the doors. Meanwhile, Raggmunk and Blunck were able to take Wu back.

Maya stopped the fight and Ray explained why they've been helping the twins. They forged four Time Blades from Chronosteel to absorb the twins' power. When the twins were defeated, they both went after the Blades to the vortex. Wu also saw a sign in the future telling him Acronix would return forty years later. When Krux wasn't sent in with Acronix, he took the identity as Dr. Sander Saunders and kidnapped Maya and Ray, threatening to hurt Kai and Nya if they refused.

After the twins returned, Machia scolded Blunck and Raggmunk for losing Wu. At the same time, Lloyd and Zane met up and saw Jay and Cole being outnumbered.

When Ray and Maya told them they hid the Reversal Time Blade in a location only a combined Element of Fire and Water could reach, they tried to get their children to leave before Krux and Acronix could force them to retrieve it, but it was too late. Krux says the only way to undo Wu's Time Punch is with the Reversal Blade.

## Appearances

### Characters

* Acronix
* Blunck
* Cole
* Cyrus Borg
* Garmadon
* Jay
* Kai
* Karlof
* Krux
* Lloyd Garmadon
* Lou
* Machia
* Maya
* Misako
* Morro
* Nya
* Raggmunk
* Ray
* Zane

### Non-speaking

***This section is a stub. You can help expand this section by adding some information.***
### Miscellaneous

* Cole's grandfather (flashback)
* Elemental Master of Ice (flashback)
* Elemental Master of Gravity (flashback)
* Elemental Master of Shadow (flashback)
* Elemental Master of Sound (flashback)
* Unknown Elemental Master (flashback)

### Items

* BorgWatch
* Chronosteel
	+ Time Blades
		- Forward Time Blade (flashback)
		- Pause Time Blade
		- Reversal Time Blade (flashback)
		- Slow-Mo Time Blade
* Dragon Blade
* Time apparatus
* Katanas
* Vermillion eggs
* Karlof's metal fists

### Locations

* Ninjago
	+ Sewers
		- Vermillion Swamps
		- Dragon's Forge
			* Vermillion Dome of Doom

* Monastery of Spinjitzu (flashback)

### Species

* Humans
* Nindroids
* Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids
* Vermillion

## Trivia

* The title is a pun on the term "cause and effect," with the word "pause" being added because the episode focuses on the Pause Time Blade—which can freeze time.
* Lloyd asks Blunck, "Didn't your mother teach you not to fight with your mouth full?" This is ironic when one considers the reveal from the previous episode that all Vermillion are the children of the Great Devourer.
* This is the only episode in which Krux's face is shown (albeit in a flashback) with neither his fake glasses and mustache or his eye detailing.

## Continuity

* Karlof appears for the first time since "The Corridor of Elders," twenty-eight episodes prior. It's also revealed that he retired as an Elemental Master.
* Kai and Nya are reunited with their parents and it is revealed Krux forced them into servitude. This fulfills the setup in "Day of the Departed" when Kai and Nya wondered if they would ever find out what happened to their parents.
* It is revealed that the apparatus being built by Cyrus Borg is a means of allowing the Iron Doom to function.
* Garmadon and Morro make brief appearances in Wu's vision, where those closest to him blame him for the mistakes he's made.
	+ Wu's vision shows that he feels guilty for losing those around him, rather than those around him feeling animosity towards him. This is made more evident by the fact even though Wu made amends with Morro at the end of "Day of the Departed," and Garmadon in "The Corridor of Elders," Wu feels guilty for their fates.
* The Royal Blacksmiths sing their song, "Revenge Will Be Mine," which they first sang in "Day of the Departed" after Kozu said the same line.

## Errors

* Acronix speaks with Krux's voice.
* In the scene showing Karlof jumping and hugging Jay is in slow motion, in the bottom right corner a civilian's hat flashes from brown to grey twice.

## Gallery

For the gallery for this episode, click here.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYHE9CyV7is