Ninjago S15 E2

## Plot

The first twelve episodes of this season were originally released on May 20, 2022 via LEGO's YouTube channel in English, but after three days they were made private, at least in my country, including the season long compilation videos. Luckily, I was able to download all of the individual 11 minute long episodes before that happened. They were made public again on June 1st, when Netflix also released the first twelve episodes of the season… before Netflix took them down just one day later, only to release them again for good on July 15th. Like season 8, there has been a one year time skip between the previous season and this one. Like season 4, the ninja have mostly split up and unofficially disbanded the team after losing one of their members. We actually get to see how Zane takes it… and I honestly hate it, but it only lasts a third of the season, and I loved how the arc concluded. Like season 11, we have thirty episodes, but this time, they are split up into five arcs comprised of six episodes each that are all supposed to tie into the larger narrative of the season. I personally love this, since it slows down the pacing immensely. Once again though, we're twelve episodes in and we still haven't seen or even heard the main antagonist, but they make up for it with all of the other antagonists. Tommy Andreasen compared this season to what Marvel does with their movies, like *Avengers Endgame*, where it's a big epic battle and the end of a major arc, but you also know that other things are waiting on the other side, like several streaming shows, two more Spider-Man movies, a second Doctor Strange movie, another Thor movie, etc. The poster even copies the one for Endgame. Season 8 is also basically *Avengers Infinity War*. However, Andreasen also had no idea that the first twelve episodes of the season would be released on YouTube on May 20, and he didn't think it was optimal. Maybe it's not, but I'd rather have it immediately instead of waiting who knows how long to see it on Netflix, because even though I have cable again, I'm not watching it on Cartoon Network, because they suck at distributing the show. Just like how LEGO sucks at advertising it! At least I finally got to watch *Monkie Kid* season 3 in English, and the special for it came out on June 1st and 2nd. Miss Demeanor and her thugs meet with a Metalonian supplier, who has two tons of vengestone, but they're suddenly stopped… by five new ninja. One is pink, one is fuchsia, one is yellow, one is orange, and one is teal, who appears to be the leader. They have high tech weapons, like a staff that can transform into two tasers, explosive shurikens, daggers, a warhammer, and some good old fashioned swords. They're also rather… showboaty, but they certainly have skills. They beat up some thugs, but Miss Demeanor gets away with the vengestone. It's implied that they don't even know each other's real names and identities. Sure, they could still be a team like that, a la the Justice League before the Thanagarian invasion, but they're definitely not a family, unlike our ninja. Speaking of which, the commissioner shows up and wonders what happened to them, unaware that he's being watched by a camera with facial recognition. Cole, Zane, and Pixal are in the HQ underneath the monastery when they hear about the new ninja stopping the vengestone smuggling on the news. Cole is voiced by Andrew Francis now. He sounds fine. I was worried that I would hear too much of Morro in his voice, but I got used to it surprisingly quickly. I'll always miss and love Kirby Morrow though. It's revealed that the nameless, faceless female mayor mentioned by the police commissioner in season 10 was recently replaced by a man named Ulysses Norville Trustable, and his cat interrupts his virtual interview by walking in between him and the screen. I'm so glad to be done with school so I don't have to Zoom anymore. Of course, now I might have to get a remote job, so… yeah. Flashbacks of Zoom/screen fatigue. Anyway, he points out that whenever the ninja do show up, they cause millions in property damage. No, that was actually caused by all of the villains showing up and invading/destroying the same city over and over again, which would have happened anyways or turned out even worse than it had if the ninja *hadn't* interfered. Forget property damage, most people would either be living in fear, enslaved, or just plain dead. The mayor thinks the new ninja will be less destructive. That definitely gave me *Civil War* and the Department of Damage Control vibes. Speaking of Vision and bullshit, Zane reveals that he turned off his emotions after his productivity slowed down after Nya's disappearance, due to an unwanted emotional reaction: Grief. He's become more robotic than he's ever been. I honestly can't believe that Pixal is seemingly okay with this. That's the thing about romance on this show. It's all about developing Jay and Nya's relationship, and there's basically no significant romantic development for any other couple whatsoever. However, I do love that this and the next episode reveal that what Zane and Nya saw in that mirror from season 11 has actually sort of come true. It might have even been foreshadowing this whole time, since they revealed at LEGO's San Diego Comic-Con 2022 panel that they plan the story about two years in advance. Anyway, it's interesting that the outcomes of who they became were their own choices. Nya realizes that her greatest fear isn't actually losing her powers and becoming ordinary after experiencing something worse: Losing her family and her memories of them. Yes, Lloyd's fear also comes true later on, but he's manipulated and forced into it, instead of him choosing it willingly. I still think the foreshadowing could've been implemented in a smoother way, but whatever. Anyways, Cole storms off in anger after throwing the TV remote and telling Zane that turning himself into an emotionless drone isn't the solution. Cole finds Wu in the library, fruitlessly looking through his scrolls to find a way to bring Nya back. Misako is at the library of Domu, possibly looking for the same thing, and he laments not going with her. Cole tells him about the vengestone smuggling. The only thing vengestone is good for is negating elemental powers, and not many people have those. Anyone who is collecting it has to be up to no good. Cole decides to get the team back together. Kai has opened his own dojo for kids, but he clearly still feels angry and upset about what happened to his little sister, since he's teaching the kids to "obliterate their opponents" in order to prepare them for the real world, where the bad guys don't fight fair. They tear up a cardboard cutout of Kalmaar. It's revealed that Benthomaar has also given up on finding Nya, and has returned to rule Merlopia as king. I knew it! Kai is all too happy to leave if it means he doesn't have to deal with kindergartners. Lloyd is washing windows, which reminded me of a scene from season 1. He feels responsible for what happened to Nya, and doesn't want to be responsible for anyone ever again. He even tells Cole not to say "Ninja never quit", which really hurt, and instantly reminded me of a similar moment in *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse*, when Miles Morales starts to quote the famous "With great power, there must also come great responsibility" line from the comics, movies, shows, etc., to Peter B. Parker, who tells him not to finish that sentence, which shows you just how burnt out, jaded, and cynical this version of Spider-Man/Peter Parker is. Anyway, the guys decide to give him some time. They might have better luck with Jay. They do not. Lloyd watches a news report that reveals a candlelight vigil is being held to honor Nya's sacrifice, since it's been exactly one year today. People have written messages on lanterns and are putting them in the river, kind of like *Tangled*. It's also revealed that Jay has been staying in Dr. Julien's old lighthouse for some time, and has lost it again, believing that he can talk to Nya through water, since she became water, even though she technically merged with the sea, which is saltwater, not tap water. He thinks that no one remembers Nya and everyone just moved on with their lives. Zane says that his grief is impairing his judgment. Cole tells Jay that they'll always remember. Kai says that he'd do anything for his sister, but she's not here. Jay still refuses to go with them. Before they can leave though, they see all of the lanterns from the vigil, proving that the people of Ninjago haven't forgotten Nya or what she did for them. Lloyd is also there, having decided to rejoin the team as well, because he knows that if Nya were still here, she'd kick their butts for not helping people. Just like what Nya herself basically told him about the guys and Wu in the beginning of season 9. But how did he get there without the Bounty? Unseen rowboat? Airjitzu? Elemental dragon? Please! The next episode starts with the Mary Louise in another storm. A man named Kwon falls overboard, and Nya appears as a water dragon and saves him from drowning. They hear her voice and recognize it as Nya's, thanking her as she swims away. However, she's lost her memory. She meets Nyad, who is voiced by Andrea Libman, Pinkie Pie's voice actress. Dang it, now I want her and Racer Seven to meet somehow. She asks Nya why she saved the man. Nya says she did it because it was the right thing to do. However, Nyad says that many are lost and do not return. It is neither right nor wrong. It is simply the way of the sea. Nya says she did it because it's who she is, but she doesn't remember who that is. She thinks she's forgotten. Nyad tells her that most things turn up eventually. She tells Nya to try looking up on the surface. There, Nya finds the lanterns and reads some of the messages, like "Dear Nya, thank you for saving my mummy. We miss you." "Dear Nya, thank you for teaching me that ninja never quit." and "Dear Nya, we miss you. Jay must be very sad without you. Come home." We see flashbacks of season 6 and the previous season. Nya remembers Kai, her mother, Jay, and who she is, and she returns to how she looked after merging with the sea. She goes to the lighthouse, but Jay isn't there anymore, and she can't maintain her shape for very long. How did she even know he was there? Or was she still experiencing a season 6 flashback? She returns to Nyad, who has also lost her memories of who she was before, but she seems happy. Nya asks her if there's a way to undo the merge. She says there isn't. The sea is connected to her, to her very essence, to her elemental powers. Nyad asks her why she's sad, and why she'd want to return to her frail body, when she's an endless, eternal sea full of life. It's because Jay, Kai, Master Wu, and all her friends are there. She can never be happy here. She's terrified that if she stays any longer, she'll forget again. Forget who she is, or rather, was. If she got rid of her powers, she could, theoretically, sever herself from the sea and go home. Her biggest fear used to be losing her powers and becoming ordinary, but it's not anymore. It's losing her friends, and if she has to give up her powers to be with them again, then she'll find a way to do that. She hugs Nyad, thanks her, and starts heading home. This all feels harsher in hindsight, thanks to Zane temporarily forgetting his life in the beginning of season 4, as well as the ninja being separated for a very long time in the sequel/soft reboot show that takes place after this. Spoilers, but Jay is the one who has amnesia in season 1 of that show, and he doesn't get his memories back or reunite with his friends right away.