Ninjago S9 E1

## Plot

After a quick recap of season 8, we see Ninjago City after a week under Lord Garmadon's rule. The city is smoking, buildings are crumbling, people are running and panicking, etc. The SoG are riding throughout the city. Garmadon reads the title card again. Oh joy… A figure in green is sneaking through the city. It's Dareth. He was trying to smuggle food to Lloyd, Nya, and Misako, who are hiding in a freezer with Pixal. However, some SoG members took it all. Lloyd and Nya spar. They've started a resistance against Garmadon, but things aren't going well. Lloyd still doesn't have his power back. He doesn't think he can lead the resistance without what makes him powerful. He wasn't talking about his power, but about his friends. The others wonder if they should reach out to the other elemental masters, who promised to help them if they ever needed it at the end of season 4. They haven't seen Skylor in awhile, and wonder if they can trust her or the other elemental masters. Ultra Violet has a TV show about capturing members of the resistance, like Ronin or the commissioner. They offer prizes to people who give them tips. Nya tells Lloyd what she once told Cole in season 5: Ninja never quit. They keep sparring. Harumi tells Garmadon that the city wide sweeps have proven unsuccessful in finding Lloyd. He wants to squeeze the city until the traitors run out so they can crush them. Harumi says that the people are already fearful, and anymore could make them desperate. Desperate people take desperate actions. She suggests a different approach. They have Mr. E lead the search for Lloyd, because he doesn't need rest. In the realm of oni and dragons, the guys build a radio to try and contact Ninjago, but it doesn't work. Jay has given up hope and accepted their terrible fate. He's already lost it. Wu has aged up to a child. Are you seriously telling me that they had child sized clothes in their half of the Bounty? Maybe they made some out of random fabric. It would explain why their uniforms are messed up. Wu is hungry. They all are, but they have to ration their food. He and Cole head out to look for food while the others try to fix the radio. They come across a baby lightning dragon, and their parent. They take cover in a cave, which Cole collapses with his powers. They see that they're not the only ones in this realm. There are cave paintings of dragons inside. They have to warn the others. The radio is fixed, and the others pick up part of a transmission. It's not from Ninjago, but from this island. They realize that it's about ambushing a target: Them. They try to run for it, but are all captured. Lloyd is fighting Pixal in a mech suit. He actually does pretty well, but he still can't use his powers. He's tied up in chains. Nya tells him to fight, and be stronger than what holds him back. He just wants to be let out. He says he can't fight it. Or won't, according to Nya. She lets him out, and says he's not the only one who lost everything. She lost her friends, her boyfriend, and her brother. They'd want them to fight. Lloyd asks what will happen if his powers never come back. Kelly Metzger and Sam Vincent actually sound like they're about to cry here, and it makes me want to cry. Pixal and Nya tell him that they fight on with what they have, and build what they don't have. They get stronger every day, but Lloyd has to believe in himself. He says he watched the Bounty get crushed to pieces. The others used their powers to save his life, but he couldn't do anything except watch. Nya thinks about them every day, but as long as she has her power, and breath in her body, she's going to protect Lloyd, and he's going to defeat his father, because there's nothing else for them to do, except give up, and she doesn't give up. Lloyd tells her that maybe she should lead the resistance. I know it's been a week, he thinks the others are dead, he lost his powers, and he's depressed, but this feels like an odd juxtaposition to the Lloyd we saw at the end of season 8, the one who was determined to defy Harumi and his father despite everything he had lost. Also, like Nya, Pixal lost her friends and her boyfriend as well, and who knows where Cyrus Borg, who is basically her father, is during all of this, but she never talks about it or seems super broken up about it. We only see her trying to help and comfort Lloyd and Nya. I'm not a big fan of female characters like her and Misako getting sidelined for various reasons throughout the seasons just because they're not ninja with elemental powers. Luckily, Pixal has had a larger role in season 14 so far, actually going on an adventure with Nya, Jay, Lloyd, Zane, and Maya, and basically building all of the tech they use in her spare time. Anyway, Misako and Dareth return and tell them that they have to leave. Mr. E, Killow, and other SoG members are sweeping the entire block. Mr. E investigates the freezer, and sees the mech suit. He has everyone spread out and create a five block perimeter to box them in. They don't have enough time to reach the top of a building. They have to hide, and start to leave after the bad guys move on. They find what's left of the Bounty, including the old team photo. Lloyd finds a tea leaf on the back of it. Pixal identifies it as a tea leaf from Traveler's Tea. They realize that only half the Bounty is there, so the other half must be somewhere else. That means the others could still be alive. However, their celebration is short lived, because the SoG returns, and Mr. E has his mask. However, he's suddenly punched… by Karlof! Yes! Shade, master of shadow, also arrives, along with Griffin Turner. They escape on a truck driven by Skylor. Lloyd tells Pixal to retrieve the mech. They're not alone in this after all. They have friends. Wu and Cole return with food, but they don't see their half of the Bounty. They find tire tracks, and decide to follow them to find their friends. Aw! Child Wu is so cute! Kai, Jay, and Zane are brought before the Dragon Hunters, including their leader, the Iron Baron.