Ninjago S13 E16

## Plot

The Geckles and Munce are forced to mine vengestone while the ninja are stuck in a vengestone cage. Nya and Kai are disappointed in themselves for trusting the Skull Sorcerer to let the tribes go, but Zane and Jay tell them that they had no choice. Side note, but I do wish that the others had actual arcs this season, although I understand that would've taken much needed screen time away from Cole. Jay, I like you, but after episodes that used words like dead, passed away, and killed, the synonym destroy sounds extra ridiculous and childish. The Skull Sorcerer has decided to kill them in front of everyone to show the tribes that he has complete control over the mountain. He will have Grief-Bringer kill them. Jay makes a joke about looking at the skull because it's not as ugly, and I'd like to think that doubles as a meta joke as well because they share the same voice actor, and of course Jay wouldn't think of himself as ugly. Lloyd reminds the Skull Sorcerer that Cole is still out there, and has probably found King Vangelis and told him everything by now. The Skull Sorcerer reveals his true identity to them, and what he did to Cole and Wu. Speaking of which, Cole and the Upply are spying on them. Vangelis reveals the Blades of Deliverance. He *was* the one who stole them, in order to turn the Geckles and Munce against each other to make them easier to conquer. Cole tells Korgran and Fungus to free the Geckles and Munce, and then wait for his signal. He, Plundar, and Adam are going after the blades. He'll confront the Skull Sorcerer while Plundar and Adam free his friends. Cole destroys the skeleton that's supposed to release Grief-Bringer and reveals himself to everyone as he fights Vangelis. That's the signal. The Upply, Geckles, and Munce all fight the Awakened Warriors. Holy shit, the cinematography and fight choreography might just be the best it's ever been. It goes from Gulch throwing his pick ax to Murt, who catches it and throws his ball and chain towards Korgran, to Fungus blowing apart skeletons with his magic. It's awesome! Plundar and Adam work to free the ninja as Cole and the Skull Sorcerer continue to fight, and once they are free, they help others kick some skeleton butt. Good, because Cole has *earned* this fight with Vangelis. It should be his fight and his alone, because ***this is his season***. Yes, I did italicize and bold the text, because this moment is the epitome of epicness, and because this was totally worth waiting almost a decade for. Hard cuts, POV shots. Seriously, whoever had the idea for the cinematography and fight choreography in this episode (Writers? Storyboard artists? Animators?) deserves a huge raise, because oh my god, they earned every single cent of it right here. Grief-Bringer finally melts the bars to its cage and breaks out. The Skull Sorcerer tells it to attack the others while he takes care of Cole personally. Kai tries to use spinjitzu on it, but it just tail whips him into a rock. Ouch. Zane throws pick axes at it, but that obviously doesn't work. He briefly rides a Mino to get away and grabs Kai. I think that's a reference to one of the sets. Vangelis tells Cole that the Blades of Deliverance aren't special and have no magic in them, and he's a fool to place his faith in them. Cole throws the throwing star at him, allowing him to get back up and get the blades back. Vangelis and the skull start tag teaming him. He tells Cole that his mother lied to the tribes. She told them that the blades were magical because she wanted to give them courage and hope, so she deceived them, and now that deceit has doomed her only son. Vangelis throws the skull at the blades, and they break, confirming that they're ordinary. Before he can kill Cole though, Wu comes in riding Chompy, along with Vania and the guards. Well, that came out of left field. Seriously, one quick scene of them listening and agreeing to help was too much? We have another badass tracking shot as Nya throws a spear to break a skeleton by Jay, who throws a disembodied skeleton head towards Korgran, as a nearby Murtessa and Murt show off their moves, which expertly transitions to a skeleton reforming by Gleck, who is saved by Vania. Chompy and Wu fight Grief-Bringer, and I believe that's a reference to another set where Chompy is referred to as Wu's dragon. Vangelis says they're too late as he blasts Cole with the skull, over and over and *over again*. Oh, that sounds so painful. Cole has a flashback to the promise he made to his mother. It wasn't the blades that helped her defeat Grief-Bringer. It was all her, and the power inside her. It was the Spinjitzu Burst. Vangelis tells Cole that he's not half the warrior she was. Maybe not, but he is her son, and he made her a promise to stand up to tyrants like him, **always**. He starts doing the Burst, which Wu sees. Vangelis throws the skull at him, but he creates a giant tornado to catch it and throws it to the ground, finally destroying Hazza D'ur and his necromancer magic once and for all, which causes Grief-Bringer and the skeletons to fall apart permanently, never to rise again. Vangelis yields and asks for forgiveness, but Cole tells him to ask the Geckles and Munce for mercy instead. He tries to appeal to Vania, but she orders the guards to take him away. Sometime later, the Geckles, Munce, and Minos are allowed above ground, and everyone witnesses Vania's coronation. She vows to protect and faithfully serve all those who dwell above and below the mountain. The Bounty is repaired, and the ninja are about to leave. Well, this has certainly been a crazy birthday for Vania. Lloyd admits that he was wrong about her and apologizes for not trusting her. I feel like this would have been a better resolution to his arc about getting over Harumi if he had actually spent an extended amount of time with Vania this season and slowly learned to trust her, but I get that she was Cole's potential love interest, not another one of his. I personally think that the romantic moments between Cole and Vania were very subtle and few and far between, which I'm actually weirdly happy about. Anything more often or explicit would've made it feel forced to me, but maybe that's just my weird old tween/teenage crush on fictional cartoon characters talking again. Anyways, Vania tells Lloyd that it's okay. She's learned the hard way that sometimes trust is abused. She's glad that she's earned his. Oh, they also could've bonded over the fact that both of their dads were evil and their moms weren't/aren't in their lives, like Zuko. I would like to point out that Vania is the queen of Shintaro now, so Lloyd shouldn't be addressing her by her former title, but whatever, other characters also make this mistake in later seasons, as well as the credits, because apparently the writers just forgot that they made her a queen. This one is the most egregious though because that scene literally just happened. Cole says goodbye to the Upply. He also bids farewell to Vania. He assures her that she doesn't need his help. She's one of the strongest and bravest people he's met. This part does give me Kion and Rani vibes from The Lion Guard. All Cole has to do is ask, and Vania will bring the entire army of Shintaro to his aid, while Plundar will bring the Upply. Why are there so many good side characters and side stories to explore? Seriously, I'm getting minor Zuko and Ozai vibes between Vania and any future chat she has with her father. Instead of going back to the monastery, Wu decides to go wherever the wind takes them, which will probably be on another crazy adventure, and everyone else agrees. Apparently there were two short scenes that ending up getting cut: Cole and Vania exchanging one final look as the Bounty left, and the Geckles and Munce making a statue of Cole next to the one of his mother in the Heart of the Mountain, and Lilly's statue seemed to look at her son's with motherly love and pride. Personal Update: So, I just found out that Cole's voice actor, Kirby Morrow, passed away yesterday, on November 18th, 2020, at the age of 47. In terms of how this will impact the show moving forward, I imagine they'll cast someone else like they did with Lloyd, and we'll all just have to get used to a new voice again. I found out 11 months later that Cole would be voiced by Andrew Francis, Morro's voice actor, from 2022 onward. Kirby had already recorded his dialogue for the 2021 episodes of the show, which consists of a special called The Island and season 14, Seabound. They're dedicated to him. My heart goes out to all of his family and friends. As for my own emotions… I'm sorry, but I just can't talk about it. Rest in peace Kirby Morrow. You did a phenomenal job, not just with Ninjago, but with everything in life, and I promise to never give up, and appreciate and respect you, your friends, your work, and your memory, **always**.