The Corridor of Elders

*“Because of your friends, you have done what we never could: united the Serpentine and your kind as one. Because of you, the balance is restored. And because of your father, our spirits can be free. You will have our eternal respect as the greatest warriors to ever battle for Ninjago.”*

— Arcturus to Lloyd

**The Corridor of Elders** is the tenth and final episode of the fourth season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* and the 44th episode overall. It aired on Cartoon Network on April 3, 2015, in the United States.

## Synopsis

*The ninja and fighters discover there's a strategic location called the Corridor of Elders where they can make their last stand against Chen's Anacondrai army ... but even with the new Destiny's Bounty, their forces still aren't strong enough. Fortunately, Pythor escapes Chen's clutches and discovers there is one spell in the Book of Magic that could stop the war, but at a serious cost.*

## Plot

Chen's Anacondrai army lands in Jamanakai Village as its citizens flee in terror. The army continues onward, as Chen declares they won't stop until every village is conquered. Meanwhile, the ninja and the other Elemental Masters are scattered all around Ninjago after chasing down the decoy trucks. Chen hacks the city's airwaves and speaks with Garmadon and his allies, unveiling that Garmadon stole Wu's letter to Misako. Wu is infuriated, though Skylor urges them not to fight. In Chen's abandoned camp, Pythor runs from the swamp rat but manages to escape and find the Book of Spells. Learning that Chen's army is conquering Ninjago, Pythor devises a way to defeat them.

Neuro uses his Element to regroup the Elemental Masters in the Samurai X Cave, where they make a plan to fight Chen's followers, who have conquered the east coast of Ninjago. Wu proposes they use the Corridor of Elders to make their final stand, and everyone agrees. The Elemental Masters journey across Ninjago to rally support from its citizens. Eventually, the ninja and their allies arrive at the Corridor and prepare for battle. Chen's army arrives and starts fighting, with the ninja and their allies holding them back. In the sky, Nya, Misako, Wu, and Garmadon fly *Destiny's Bounty*, using it to destroy the cultists' vehicles. However, Chen uses the Roto Jet to blast apart the Corridor's walls, allowing his army to start passing through.

Having escaped Chen's camp by riding the swamp rat, "Rodrigo," Pythor arrives at the battle with the Book of Spells. Lloyd takes Pythor aboard the *Bounty*, where he explains that Garmadon can defeat Chen's army. Since he was the one who cursed Arcturus and the Anacondrai generals, Garmadon can take their place and allow them to escape and curse Chen's army. Garmadon realizes the sacrifice is their only way to victory, though Lloyd is infuriated and angrily departs. He dives into the battle and takes his anger out on the fake Anacondrai, as he remembers his past with his father.

Aboard the *Bounty*, Wu begins reading the spell to open the Cursed Realm; by now, he and Misako have forgiven Garmadon for his wrongdoings. Garmadon tells them to pass on an apology to Lloyd who suddenly returns and opts to read the spell himself - deeming it fair that he sends him off. As the portal opens, Garmadon says he sought to make the world in his image but realizes he did so in Lloyd. Lloyd finishes reading the spell, and Garmadon ascends to the portal.

As a flash of light subsides, those on the battlefield noticed this and momentarily stop fighting. Everyone is then shocked to see the spirits of Arcturus and his generals arrive at the battle; they condemn Chen's followers to the Cursed Realm. Chen pleads to Arcturus since they are on the same side, but Arcturus personally denounces Chen as a liar, cheater, and an impostor before banishing him as well. As Chen is taken away, he pleads to his daughter who ignores his pleas and he goes through the portal too, with everyone cheering on the victory.

With the war over, Lloyd is distraught by the loss of his father, but Arcturus arrives and praises him and Pythor for their heroism. Arcturus also restores Pythor to his original size, before he and the generals depart for another realm.

The ninja and Elemental Masters agree to keep in contact, as they go their separate ways after the war's end. As their allies clean up the Corridor of Elders, the ninja, Nya, Wu, and Misako commemorate the life of Garmadon, as a statue of him is built in the Corridor. While the group honors Garmadon, Lloyd burns the Book of Spells.

Not far from the scene, a ghostly figure appears, having escaped from the Cursed Realm. It angrily growls the name "Morro."

## Appearances

### Characters

* General Arcturus
* Chen
* Chope
* Cole
* Cyrus Borg
* Dareth
* Garmadon
* Gravis
* Griffin Turner
* Jay
* Kai
* Karlof
* Kapau
* Lloyd Garmadon
* Misako
* Morro
* Neuro
* Nya
* Pythor P. Chumsworth
* Rufus McCallister
* Shade
* Skales
* Skylor
* Wu
* Zane
* Zugu

### Events

* Second Serpentine War
* Serpentine War (mentioned)

### Items

* Anacondrai Blades
* Book of Spells
* Driftwood bo staff
* Helmet of Shadows (flashback)
* Karlof's metal fists
* Underworld helmet (flashback)

### Vehicles

* *Destiny's Bounty*
* Noodle trucks
* Roto Jet

### Locations

* Endless Sea
* Ninjago
	+ Birchwood Forest
	+ Chen's camp
	+ Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk
	+ Mega Monster Amusement Park
	+ Ninjago City
		- Ninjago City Bank
		- Ninjago Park
	+ Sea of Sand
		- Anacondrai Tomb
		- Corridor of Elders
		- Kryptarium Prison
	+ Jamanakai Village
	+ Samurai X Cave
	+ Ninjago City
	+ Fire Temple (flashback)
* Cursed Realm (portal)
* Departed Realm (mentioned)
* Dark Island (flashback)

### Species

* Ghosts
* Humans
* Nindroids
* Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids
* Serpentine
	+ Anacondrai
	+ Constrictai
	+ Fangpyre
	+ Hypnobrai
	+ Venomari

## Trivia

* After the original Anacondrai generals are freed from the Cursed Realm and they begin cursing Chen's followers, a group of six fake Anacondrai are seen being lifted towards the Cursed Realm portal. In the next shot, we see the seven original Anacondrai generals rise before the ninja and their allies. The fake Anacondrai symbolize the original generals, as it is inferred that now they're taking their place in the Cursed Realm.
* Pythor is wearing a brown "vest" in this episode, having worn a prison shirt in "The Greatest Fear of All" and the beginning of this episode. The Anacondrai warriors wore similar vests throughout this season, with most of them being torn apart following their transformations into "Anacondrai". The origins of these vests are unknown, as they are not seen on the original Anacondrai during the Serpentine War flashback in "Spellbound".
	+ Pythor somehow has this vest in minuscule size as well. How he obtained it (or possibly created it) is unknown.
	+ Pythor also wears this vest in the Ninja DB X set, which features his white variant. This is the only episode where he wears the vest, as he appeared without the vest throughout the previous season.
* In "Spellbound," six Anacondrai generals, including Arcturus, were banished to the Cursed Realm. However, when Garmadon is banished to free the generals, there are seven of them that emerge from the portal. It is possible that one general was banished earlier or later than the others or it could be just an error.

## Cultural references

* The part where the ninja, Elemental Masters, the citizens of Ninjago, and the other factions fight the Anacondrai warriors is similar to *300*.*[ How so? ]*

## Continuity

* This is the first season finale episode of the series to not take place in Ninjago City, as the final fights with the Great Devourer, The Overlord, and the Golden Master all took place there, while the final fight with the Anacondrai Cultists takes place at the Corridor of Elders.
	+ This is also the first season finale episode where there is not a single main antagonist that the ninja battle.
* The New Ninjago City music from the beginning of "The Surge" is used in this episode when the ninja give their speeches to the citizens of Ninjago.
* Pythor continues his habit of naming his "allies" Rodrigo. In the previous episode, he named a miniature soccer ball Rodrigo, which was a reference to the film *Cast Away*, where a soccer ball was called Wilson. Here, Pythor gives the same name to the Swamp Rat that tried to eat him in the previous episode.
* This is the last episode in three years where Sensei Wu wears his traditional white kimono, which he has worn for every episode of the series except when he was turned into a cyborg. In the next season, he wears a new outfit.
	+ The next time he wears his original outfit in the present day, besides in a brief animation error in "Ghost Story" and "Grave Danger," is in "Green Destiny," the season finale of Season 9. However, the outfit he wears in "Day of the Departed" and Season 7 is nearly identical to his original one, and he wears the original outfit in his flashback appearances in "The Jade Princess", "Snake Jaguar", and "How to Build a Dragon".
* Cyrus Borg has a minor speaking role near the beginning of the episode, as he warns the people of Ninjago about the Anacondrai threat over the radio. This marks his first appearance since the first episode of the season, "The Invitation," where he also made a brief appearance near the beginning. However, he doesn't physically appear.
* Chen comments during the episode that "Ships aren't supposed to fly! Sink it!" This is the first time an antagonist comments on the abnormal fact that *Destiny's Bounty* is a flying pirate ship.
* Pythor's normal size is restored in this episode, having previously been in his minuscule state since "The Titanium Ninja."
* This is the first episode where all of the Serpentine side with the ninja. In "The Curse of the Golden Master," all of the Serpentine helped the ninja, except Pythor, who was in the midst of a grand scheme. In this episode, all of the Serpentine return, this time participating in a battle with the ninja, and in the latter half of the episode Pythor joins them as well.
* This is the second season finale where Garmadon is responsible for the defeat of the antagonist. In the first season finale, "Day of the Great Devourer," he defeated the Great Devourer using the Golden Weapons. In this episode, he defeats the Anacondrai warriors by banishing them to the Cursed Realm. When defeating the Great Devourer, he had help from the ninja, who gave him their weapons and trapped the Devourer. Here, he has help from his son Lloyd, who banishes him.
* This is the first season to end with a teaser for the next one, as it features the upcoming major antagonist, Morro, at the end of the episode.
	+ It is also the second season to end with a character making a sacrifice and "dying," with Zane having sacrificed himself ten episodes earlier to defeat the Golden Master. In this episode, Garmadon sacrifices himself to banish the Anacondrai warriors to the Cursed Realm. However, he, along with his former master, are seen again 10 episodes later.
* Jacob appears with the other Elemental Masters in the Samurai X Cave in this episode despite being left on Chen's Island, as indicated by his voice-over during the credits of the previous episode. Tommy Andreasen stated "They picked him up", indicating Jacob did not unlock his own Elemental Dragon like the rest of the Elemental Masters.
* As his fake Anacondrai carry him towards the Corridor of Elders, Chen remarks that he wants them to carve his face into the Corridor of Elders when they take a break. While this never comes to be, in honor of his sacrifice, Chen's former pupil, Garmadon, has his face carved into it instead.
* This marks the first time where the Serpentine have been involved in a battle since their imprisonment by the Stone Army in "The Day Ninjago Stood Still."
* This marks Rufus McCallister's first speaking appearance since "The Last Voyage" and Gravis' only speaking role overall apart from his one word ("Gravity!") in "The Day of the Dragon".
* The *Destiny's Bounty* makes its official return, sporting a new design after having been absent throughout the previous season.
* Scenes from "The Green Ninja," "Return of the Overlord," and "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master" can be seen during Lloyd's flashbacks.
* This is the first episode to feature ghosts.
* When being banished by Lloyd, Garmadon references his former goal of wanting to make the world into his image. By the end of the episode, part of the world is literally made into his image, with a commemorative statue of him being constructed in the Corridor of Elders.
* In this episode, Garmadon sacrifices himself to defeat an evil cult, and this ultimately led to his death. In Season 8, specifically "Dread on Arrival," he is resurrected by an evil cult who worshiped him.
* Jay says, "Anytime you need your help, just holler," and Neuro responds, "Same goes for you." This was later fulfilled in Season 9 when the Elemental Masters returned to aid the Resistance.
* A young Venomari with an appearance similar to that of Lasha can be seen at Ninjago Doomsday Comix. This is the only time this character model is used in the series.
	+ This is the second child Serpentine to be shown, the first being Skales Jr.

## Errors

* When Zane says, "twenty trucks could hold two-hundred Anacondrai" from the previous episode during the *Previously on Ninjago* recap, he does not have his robotic filter when he says it.
* After Lloyd tells everyone that they fight as one and for each other shortly before the battle at the Corridor, the ninja and several of the Elemental Masters cheer and jump around, yet Shade, Griffin Turner, Chamille, Dareth, and Skales stand completely still.
* As Garmadon violently ascends towards the portal to the Cursed Realm, there are four separate shots of him rising towards it. However, each shot features him rising from around a quarter of the way up to three-quarters of the way up, with most of the shots technically being the same except different angles.
* When Garmadon says, "Lloyd, wait!" he says it to Lloyd after he has already jumped off the *Bounty*, though this might have been because Lloyd left too quickly.
* Technically, if the ninja and their allies wanted to avoid a battle with the Anacondrai, they could have simply had Cole or someone else blocks off the corridor by collapsing a section of it inwards. They would then potentially be able to box in the Anacondrai and defeat them from there.
* When the statue is falling on the ninja and their allies, two Lous can be seen.
* The Anacondrai Blade was said in "The Forgotten Element" to be able to cut through anything, but Rufus McCallister's Illuma-Sword, a toy, was able to withstand it.
* In the recap of "The Greatest Fear of All" Zane says "twenty trucks could hold two hundred Anacondrai" in his human voice (in other words, his voice without the robotic filter) instead of his robotic voice.
* When Chen commands that his army push through the line while flying the Roto jet following the *Bounty'*s arrival, Zugu is seen in the passenger seat saying they can't because of the canyon's narrowness despite the fact that he was previously seen on the battle grounds.
* After Pythor escapes the hamster wheel, every word he says for the rest of the scene has a mechanical ring to it.
* When Chen is entering the portal to the Cursed Realm, he can be seen as an Anacondrai, although he was turned back into a human as he was being cursed right before.
* The Anacondrai Generals tails are shown to be white instead of purple.
* When everyone laughs after Karlof states it better to be fighting with the ninja instead of against them, Shade appears to be angry for some reason.
* Skales is not credited.