The Fall

*“Cole was our friend. He was more than a friend! He was family! But you don't understand that, do you? Oh, what's the point? You're never gonna get it. Because you don't care about anyone, but yourself!”*
— Lloyd to Garmadon

### Air Date

February 2, 2019 (New Zealand)
April 19, 2019 (US)
April 20, 2019 (Canada)
September 1, 2019 (UK)

## Chronological Order

### Next

Endings

**The Fall** is the third episode of the tenth season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* and the 97th episode overall. It aired in New Zealand on February 2, 2019, and on April 19, 2019, in the United States as a film. It also aired on April 20, 2019, in Canada.

## Synopsis

*The Oni in Ninjago City are stronger than anyone could have imagined, and the Ninja must risk a daring rescue of Lloyd and Garmadon. Though there is still a slight hope, one ninja will pay a terrible price.*

**Extended**: *Lord Garmadon and Lloyd fight a losing battle against the Omega Oni. Lloyd shatters the Realm Crystal, but he is too late - the Oni have already made it to the NINJAGO world. Meanwhile, the ninja save NINJAGO citizens threatened by the darkness, but due to an error by Nya, Cole is lost in the cloud of darkness. Back at Borg Tower, Lloyd discovers the Golden Armor and learns that its power can withstand the Oni. Nya tasks Kai with melting down the armor and recasting it. As the ninja head for a village with a forge, it's revealed that Cole is not dead, merely stuck on a ledge inside the cloud of darkness.*

## Plot

Picking up where the last episode left off, Lloyd and Garmadon continue fighting the Omega, who launches Lloyd into a vault in the next room containing the Sword of Sanctuary. However, Lloyd learns that the future reflections did not influence the battle in his favor, and instead aims for the Realm Crystal while Garmadon kept Omega busy. The Omega reveals to Lloyd and Garmadon that destroying the crystal did nothing, as it was only needed to open the Oni's gateway into Ninjago. Soon, more Oni are summoned into Ninjago, which prompts Lloyd and Garmadon to attempt an escape. They are soon surrounded when they run out of vaults to enter but noticed the Oni weren't attacking them. They turned around to find the Golden Master's armor and discovered that the Oni were afraid of its power. They managed to escape the Borg Tower vaults, but when they tried to contact the ninja, P.I.X.A.L. responds, telling them that the ninja had to tend to a distress call. P.I.X.A.L decides to enter the darkness alone, despite Lloyd's warnings, but on her way down she discovers that she was running low on fuel as a result of waiting in the sky for so long.

The ninja were able to locate the source of the distress call, pinpointing its location to be the NGTV building, which has almost been fully consumed by the darkness. While the employees were reaching the rooftop, Jay and Cole help them up onto the *Bounty*. However, the darkness soon began to creep up on the roof, prompting Cole and Jay to tell Nya to make a quick escape. Nya accidentally pushed the thrust lever the wrong way, causing Cole to lose his grip, and the ladder to snap partially. Once he regained his grip, he realized it was too late, as his ladder broke completely, sending him into the cloud as the others watch from above. Nya puts the *Bounty* onto full thrust, and as Kai tries to turn the *Bounty* around, Zane stops him, and they fly away as the darkness consumes the NGTV building.

P.I.X.A.L. contacts Lloyd and informs him that she only has one chance to pick them up, as her mech is nearly out of fuel. On the ground, Lloyd and Garmadon are cornered on a bridge by Oni when P.I.X.A.L. swoops in and picks them up. As they fly up towards the sky, P.I.X.A.L. contacts Nya, and she estimates that the others can get to them in two minutes. When P.I.X.A.L., Lloyd, and Garmadon reach the sky, they run out of fuel and begin to topple back down towards the cloud before crash landing onto the *Bounty*. After Lloyd gets up, he realizes that Cole is missing, and Zane and Kai tell him that Cole fell into the cloud. Nya blames herself, but Kai and Jay reassure her, telling her that it was an accident. Garmadon insists that they must keep going now that they have the Golden Armor, but Lloyd retaliates in anger and storms off, claiming that he will never understand what it is like to lose family because he cares about nothing but himself. Garmadon tries to persuade Zane to see the logic in the given circumstances, but he too storms off. The others follow, leaving Garmadon alone on the deck.

Back in the sleeping quarters, Garmadon once again views the photos of the ninja. He attempts a smile but wards it off. His eye is then drawn to the photo of Master Garmadon and Lloyd, which makes him think. Before he got too far into his thoughts, he was interrupted by Vinny, who was looking for the bathroom, Before sending Vinny off, Garmadon asks him what is more important than survival. Vinny replies, saying that stuff like friendship, love, harmony, trust, the truth, and courage are all more important than survival, and they make life worthwhile. Garmadon sends Vinny away and looks at the photo of Master Garmadon and Lloyd again.

At the rear of the *Bounty*, Nya is mourning Cole's supposed loss. Kai comes out and comforts her, saying that Cole would want them to keep fighting. He encourages Nya that she is the smart one of the team, as she and Zane are always thinking of plans, but notes that Zane isn't much help at the current moment. Reinvigorated with confidence, Nya suggests that they set a course for the Monastery of Spinjitzu, as it has a forge that can be used to reforge the Golden Armor into weapons. Kai mentions that they can't use any old blacksmith to forge the weapons, but Nya tells him that his Fire will be used to reforge the weapons. While he is hesitant at first, Nya encourages him, and they both look into the sunset as Kai accepts that the fate of Ninjago rests on his shoulders.

Back inside the cloud, Cole is lying on the floor, untouched by the Oni. The Oni tendrils tangle around him and begin to consume him.

## Appearances

### Characters

#### Cast

* Automated Voice - Jennifer Hayward
* Cole - Kirby Morrow
* Gayle Gossip - Kelly Sheridan
* Garmadon - Mark Oliver
* Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
* Kai - Vincent Tong
* Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
* Nya - Kelly Metzger
* The Omega - Zach LeBlanc
* P.I.X.A.L. - Jennifer Hayward
* Vinny - Gavin Langelo
* Zane - Brent Miller

#### Mentioned

* First Spinjitzu Master
* Golden Master

#### Miscellaneous

* Ed (pictured)
* Maya (pictured)
* Ray (painting)
* Ronin (pictured)
* Yang (painting)

### Creatures

* Flame (pictured)
* Rocky (pictured)
* Shard (pictured)
* Wisp (pictured)

### Items

* Anacondrai spears
* Golden Weapons/Golden Armor (Golden Weapons; pictured)
* Helmet of Shadows
* Fangpyre skeleton
* Oni weapons
	+ Omega's staff
* Serpentine Staffs
* Vermillion sword

### Vehicles

* *Destiny's Bounty*
* Samurai Mech

### Locations

* Ninjago
	+ Ninjago City
		- Borg Tower
			* Borg Tower vaults
		- Ninjago News Center
		- Laughy's (pictured)
	+ Ignacia (painting)
		- Four Weapons Blacksmith

### Species

* Dragons (pictured)
* Humans
* Nindroids
* Oni
* Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids

## Transcript

For the transcript of the episode, click here.

## Trivia

* Tommy Andreasen stated that episode 97 is "the most intense episode in the series yet." He also stated that episode 97 is his favorite.
* By counting the two pilot episodes, this is the 99th episode of *Ninjago* ever produced. "Day of the Departed" is not considered an episode by the writers, but if it were to be counted, this would be the 100th episode.
* Cole's fall into the mist is somewhat similar to Elsa Schneider's demise at the end of *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*.
	+ It's also similar to Gandalf's fall in *The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*.
* The name of the episode has the same name as the final episode of *Nexo Knights*.
* This episode was originally called "Black Ninja Down" as a reference to Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down."
* According to Bragi Schut, "The NGTV building is built in tiers. When Cole fell off the ladder he did not fall all the way to ground level. He hit one of the outcroppings and broke through a skylight." Tommy Andreasen also mentioned how Garmadon was able to jump into the darkness without a parachute in the prior episode, implying the fog is thick.

### Continuity

* This marks the second time the Realm Crystal is destroyed, the first being "Misfortune Rising" in what would ultimately become an alternate timeline.
* Cole falls from the *Destiny's Bounty*, and the ninja mourn him. He is seen moving his head slightly before the end of the episode, as he is engulfed in dark clouds, implying that he is still alive.
* Many things are revealed to be stored in the vaults below Borg Tower, such as the Sword of Sanctuary, the Golden Armor, the Helmet of Shadows, the Serpentine Staffs, the portrait of Yang from the Temple of Airjitzu, the big figure samurai armor from the Ninjago Museum of History in "A Time of Traitors," a pike from the Royal Guards, the Fangpyre skeleton from "Once Bitten, Twice Shy," a Vermillion sword, an Anacondrai spear.
* Lloyd is shown as being able to touch the Golden Armor without being destroyed, unlike many of the other victims (Samukai, a pirate, a Nindroid Warrior, and Zane) that have touched the Golden Weapons/Armor in prior episodes (though Cole was able to briefly hold it in "Wrong Place, Wrong Time" with no lasting effects). This is because after Zane absorbed the power of the Armor in Season 3 before he was obliterated, the Armor lost some of its power, making it weaker than before.
* The ninja obtained the Golden Armor, which they eventually melted and used by Kai to forge the four Golden Weapons once again, to stop the Oni.
* This is the fourth episode where a ninja is believed to be dead (in this case, Cole), the first being "The Titanium Ninja," the second being "The Way Back," the third being "Day of the Departed," and the fourth being "Big Trouble, Little Ninjago".
* Garmadon briefly feels the emotions of his good self, seen when he compliments Lloyd's actions, protects Lloyd from Oni, as well as looking at pictures of the ninja and attempting to smile. He later asks Vinny if there is more to life than survival. He contemplates Vinny's answer and looks at the picture of his redeemed self and Lloyd together.
* It is revealed that the Oni fear the Golden Armor, as it is made from Golden Weapons, which have the power of Creation/Golden Power.
* Lloyd tells Garmadon that "there's more to life than surviving," which is what Master Wu said to Iron Baron in "Lessons for a Master."
* Cole's fall would later be parodied in "The Cliffs of Hysteria" and "The Real Fall," the latter of which bases the entire episode on this concept.
	+ "The Real Fall" was somewhat of a reaction to the fans' critiques of Cole's fall.
* The photos Garmadon looks at are scenes from "True Potential" and "Home".
* Kai says to Nya, "I'm a terrible blacksmith, remember? You used to tell me that all the time." This ties back to "Way of the Ninja", the first episode of the series, in which Nya noted Kai made his sword too quickly and needed to be more patient.
* The Template:Soundtrack, which was used prominently throughout season seven, is subtly reprised during Kai and Nya's conversation at the end. It would again be used in the following episode when Kai reforged the Golden Weapons.

### Errors

* When noticing the Golden Armor, all of the Oni Warriors have armor pads on, in the shot where Lloyd picks up the armor, the armor pads on the Oni Scout are missing.
* After crashing onto the *Bounty*, P.I.X.A.L.'s eyes were blue instead of the normal green color.
* When Zane is helping P.I.X.A.L out of the Samurai X Mech, P.I.X.A.L's armor is missing. It returns in the next shot she is in.

## Video

Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu NinjaGo City in Trouble Cartoon Network
## Gallery

For the gallery of the episode, click here.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.cartoonnetworkasia.com/videos/ninjago-masters-of-spinjitzu-the-fall
2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210305051617/https://www.foxtel.com.au/tv-guide/Ninjago-Masters-of-Spinjitzu/120287253
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1029318896845762560
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1021170756447637504
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1266059770793996288
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/bragischutjr/status/1299170107327827968
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1165738937421312002
8. ↑ https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1104815394945224704
9. ↑ https://youtu.be/S3FqrPHYUmc?t=4068