Ninjago S15 E6

## Plot

The warden calls the mayor and tells him that some ninja wearing all black broke into Kryptarium and freed Aspheera. I know most characters can't put two and two together, but you'd think the mayor would at least *suspect* our ninja, since they just asked him about that, and he refused, plus he ordered her staff and all of the other dangerous artifacts kept in Borg Tower to be moved to a different location for that same reason. Zane gets back just in time to take over for Skylor. Kai and Lloyd are showing Aspheera around the monastery when they come face to face with Wu. He warned them that she couldn't be trusted, but if she can help Nya, then he won't stand in the way of her freedom. Jay and Cole return and tell them about the empty vault. They have to go back out soon for Aspheera's staff. Pixal called Cyrus Borg, explained why they needed it, and he told them that it was being moved in eight hours in one of four armored cars and would be guarded by a police escort through the city. I don't like that Pixal calls him Cyrus though, instead of father, dad, or something similar. Also, she says that the team's new modifications for their vehicles will require 653 hours of work, but she will have them ready shortly. Aspheera's staff is in the first car. Lloyd reminds them that they can't use their powers or names so they won't give themselves away. Zane uses a magnet to pick up the truck while the others get on top of it. Once again, I feel like Pixal or Skylor could've done this while Zane stayed behind to keep Nya frozen. Unfortunately, the new ninja were inside. The teal one throws an explosive shuriken into one of the engines of the plane. That plus the added weight with the new ninja almost makes Zane crash a few times. Kai accidentally calls him by his name, and the teal ninja removes Lloyd's mask. The guys take the staff and Zane drops the truck, but now they're wanted criminals by order of the mayor. Their ETA is 45 minutes, but Nya's temperature is rising, and Aspheera wants to leave. While wandering around, she finds the four Golden Weapons hidden inside the HQ. She questions why they're being kept so close together, and Wu explains that their power has been drained. She still believes that he's a deceiver, and the only thing that will keep her here would be defeating him in a variety of contests for some levity, which she cheats at. For example, she uses her tail in addition to her arms to lift weights. However, she does appear to win the arm wrestling one fairly. She nudges the table to win at pool, startles Wu with her tongue during the staring contest, and scares him when he tries to flip pancakes, so they end up all over the kitchen. Skylor loses Zane's power, and the cooling units burn out and explode from running for too long and at too high a level. This is, quite literally, the exact same cliffhanger that they used in the previous episode. Luckily, the ninja get back just in time. However, the second that Aspheera gets her staff back, she tries to blast everyone because she's still obsessed with revenge. Kind of weird that she doesn't go for the currently defenseless, vulnerable, and frozen Nya, but whatever. I guess if she did, then Nya would just revert back into water and either kick her butt or go back to the ocean. When the new ninja show up at the monastery, Aspheera thinks that Wu betrayed her again, but Kai explains that they're after them, not her. Zane tells everyone what went wrong during the mission. Aspheera thinks they'll all go to prison now. Lloyd agrees to show her a secret tunnel out of the HQ that only they know about, but only after she saves Nya. The new ninja quickly arrive because someone, most likely Kai, forgot to close the secret entrance. The ninja fight them while Aspheera drains Nya's powers, which is difficult, because she's never drained this much energy before. It works though, and Nya is back in her normal body. Jay and Kai run over to her, ecstatic. Lloyd keeps his word and shows Aspheera the secret exit, which surprises her, then he surrenders himself to the new ninja. They have no reason to arrest Wu, Pixal, or Skylor, but warn them not to follow their friends' example. Jay tells them to take care of Nya, and tell her that he loves her. Aw! The guys are arrested, but they're just glad that Nya is finally back home. Meanwhile, Aspheera is in her pyramid when a purple crystal spider comes up to her, gives her a new staff, and shows her a message from someone in a kabuki mask. They offer her the chance to join them as a member of the Council of the Crystal King and get revenge on everyone, which she naturally accepts. I didn't go into a ton of detail on it, but some moments in this episode made me think that Aspheera was actually going to reform, but that clearly didn't happen, and it never does. Only one villain reforms in this season, and I hated it. Also, repeating previous cliffhangers. That's not as big of a problem for me because ever since the format change, I like to look at two episodes at a time, but I know that not everyone else does this. It's a problem with Nya in danger of basically melting like Frosty the Snowman twice in rapid succession. It's repeated again later in the season with when one of the ninja is captured, knocked out, and re-imprisoned multiple times while the same villain keeps trying to get them to switch sides. It also happened during the long hiatus in between parts 1 and 2 of the season during *Meta Runner* season 3. It's just annoying. Not every episode needs to end on a cliffhanger, especially if it's resolved immediately. Case in point, Winx Club season 5. Also, being knocked out while trying to escape? Not a cliffhanger. Also squared, literally anyone else could've flown the plane while Zane stayed behind to keep Nya frozen. Like Pixal, especially since she literally just built it! I could even see Cyrus piloting it remotely. Seriously though, was autopilot or controlling it like it was a drone just not an option for whatever reason? Not to mention that in order for it to even be a cliffhanger, they had to retcon how Skylor's powers worked from season 4. Maybe after she lost them and regained them offscreen, they worked differently? Like how the others having elemental powers come from different sources in the earlier seasons, or changing how their powers worked in parts of season 8 in order to nerf them, like in *The Last Airbender* movie.