Ninjago S14 E6

## Plot

Nya and Maya wake up, and discover that they're chained together with a pillar in between them. They're still in the Temple of Wojira. Maya thinks that she's a myth, but Nya tells her about The Island. However, she notices that Kalmaar is listening to them. He introduces himself as Prince Kalmaar, son of Trimaar, heir to the throne of Merlopia, rightful ruler of the Endless Sea, and not someone to be trifled with. Maya is nice to him and thinks that him blasting them in the back was just a misunderstanding, since they're trespassing in his temple. Nya points out that he's clearly evil. He needs the Storm Amulet to awaken Wojira, and says he'll spare their lives if they tell him where the island of the Keepers is. Nya plays dumb, and before he can threaten them with another blast from his trident, his merservant Gripe interrupts him, which throws off his aim and destroys the top of the pillar. His father King Trimaar is requesting his presence in the palace. He leaves, but tells his captives that he looks forward to continuing their conversation when he gets back. Meanwhile, the others can't contact them, and when Jay learns that their mechs only have an air supply of one hour at this depth, he decides to zap the battery. However, Zane tells him that the engine room is partially flooded. Even if he could survive it, a charge of that magnitude would be fatal. Jay wants to risk it anyways and says they don't have a choice, but Pixal says there's a small chance that she can reroute power from auxiliary and life support, but it might not be enough to jump start the battery. Lloyd says they don't have anything to lose. Kalmaar speaks with his father and adoptive brother Benthomaar in the throne room. There are rumors that he sunk another surface vessel to placate his senseless hatred of surface dwellers. He denies this, and Bentho told their father the same thing. Sometimes their ships just sink on their own. It's very sad. Trimaar asks how their ships sink when the seas are calm and there's no storm. Kalmaar says their vessels are just that poorly built, and they're not a very intelligent species. Trimaar warns his son that if he finds out that he's lying, he'll be greatly displeased. Kalmaar tells Gripe that if his father had any pride or dignity at all, he'd thank him for sinking their ships. He won't find out about the lie, because they won't leave any evidence behind. Kalmaar orders Gripe to get the location of the island out of the prisoners, and then get rid of them. Maya tells Nya that when she was the master of water, she and Ray were once handcuffed to a pole, and they were able to get loose by climbing over the top. They're able to escape from the pillar, but they're still handcuffed together. When Gripe and two other guards see them escaping and try to blast them, it hits one of their handcuffs and knocks it off. Maya swings Nya around to kick four Merlopian guards. Nya grabs a trident, and after some initial difficulty, scares away the two guards shooting at them, but not before they blast her other handcuff off, and then she blasts her mother's end off too. As they run away, they use the trident to trip up two more guards. They get in their APS suits and jump back into the water. Gripe orders Glutinous to release the Ripper Sharks. If the prince finds out they escaped without revealing the location of the second amulet, he'll do something terrible to them. On the sub, Zane and Pixal try to reroute the power again, but it doesn't work. They've used up the last of their power, and now the sub is flooding. Jay leaves to go get the oxygen tanks on the lower level, but after he leaves, Zane says they're located up here. Lloyd realizes that he's going to try and recharge the battery. He swims to the engine room in his scuba suit, locks the door with a pipe, and charges the battery with his powers, all while music plays… The same music from when Zane died. It's kind of weird to hear it associated with Jay, but it does fit in terms of an attempted heroic sacrifice. The others bang on the door, but can't get in. The power turns back on, and the sub gets rid of the water. Jay did it. He leaves the room. Also, since they're robots, Zane and Pixal obviously don't need oxygen, whether they're underwater or in space. Also, that water animation is amazing. Back on the bridge, Zane gives the helm and the captain's chair to Jay, who tells Nya that they're coming for her. That's fitting, considering the character that his biological father played and what a big fan Jay was of him. It's like *Star Wars* or *Star Trek*, but underwater. Some character interactions in episode 6 remind me of Thor and Loki's initial relationship in the MCU, both with each other and with their father Odin. In this case though, it's the adoptive sibling that has the better relationship with their father, and is ultimately a good person. The episode is also like a version of *Hamlet* or *The Lion King*. It's even called Long Live the King. Nya saves her mom while they're swimming away from the Ripper Sharks through the green hydrothermal vents. They're too fast to outswim. This is their element. Maya tells her daughter that water is her element too. This far under the sea, her powers are stronger than ever. She's able to blast them away, even if she forgets about the third one until her mom points it out and it rams into her. And then her suit shuts down. Luckily, Lloyd and Jay arrive and shoot at the shark with their guns until it swims away. Gripe tells Kalmaar that they escaped after he finds the broken chains, but he gets angry when he learns that the Ripper Sharks were unleashed on them, since he needs them alive to learn the location of the island. Glutinous tells him that they were rescued by their friends, and the vessel he attempted to sink managed to survive. They repaired it somehow. Kalmaar isn't mad when he hears this, and simply remarks that these surface dwellers aren't as frail as he thought, and this will be fun. Back on the sub, Maya thanks the others for coming for them. She thought they were done for. Nya is annoyed because she said that she knew she could save them both. The proximity alarm goes off. Merlopians surround them and tell them that they've illegally entered the domain of King Trimaar, ruler of the Endless Sea and monarch of Merlopia. They can come peacefully, or they'll be fired upon. They have no choice but to do as they say, since the Hydro Bounty can't sustain further damage, and it can't outrun the creatures. Has anyone else noticed that this season so far seems to be about choices, and whether or not they even have any? Also, like with rescue missions, the ninja seem to have terrible luck when it comes to meeting royalty, especially Nya. She didn't bow to the royal family of Ninjago until Lloyd nudged her in season 8, and then the emperor and empress were killed, and Harumi, who she spent a bit of time with, turned out to be evil. In season 13, everyone bowed to King Vangelis, and then he turned out to be evil too, captured them twice, and then tried to kill them. And now in season 14, Prince Kalmaar tried to kill them just because they were from the surface, and then captured Nya and her mom. They enter the throne room and meet King Trimaar. They tell him that they had no idea there was an undersea kingdom, and they wouldn't have trespassed if they hadn't been shot down by his son. He also took Nya and Maya captive, and is trying to awaken Wojira. Trimaar orders two guards to bring Kalmaar and his merservant Gripe here at once. He apologizes to our heroes and assures them that if these accusations are true, his son will be disciplined. He's looked the other way for too long. Kalmaar denies it and says they're lying. He admits to sinking many surface dweller ships. He thinks it's something his father would be doing if he took his duties as king more seriously. Trimaar tells him that they live in peace with the surface. They don't bother each other. This whole world was once theirs, but then humans came and despoiled the Endless Sea with their land and foul presence. With the power of Wojira though, they can correct this mistake. Kalmaar will do what his father should've done, and return the Merlopians to their proper glory. When Trimaar reminds him that he's his father and his king, Kalmaar mortally wounds him with a blast from his trident. He also presumably kills the two guards when they try to attack him. He throws his trident on the floor and calls for help, claiming that the surface dwellers attacked the king. Our heroes run away as guards chase after them. Maya can't believe he did that. Someone needs to teach him a lesson. Nya points out that someone who just directly committed patricide and regicide needs more than a scolding. Jay zaps two guards with lightning, and Nya and Zane use their powers together to block the hallway. Bentho gets to the throne room and learns about the attack. He wants to help his father and tells some guards to call the physicians, but Kalmaar says there's no time for that and he's too gravely injured. Bentho can make him comfortable in his final moments, while Kalmaar honors his last wishes and kills the surface dwellers that did this to him, by flooding the palace and releasing the Ripper Sharks. Whatever happened to needing them alive to learn the location of the Storm Amulet? Bentho says it's too dangerous to leave their father here, but Kalmaar tells him that people who can breathe only air won't get far down here. After he leaves, Bentho says there's still time and decides to carry Trimaar by himself to get help. Our heroes can't find their way out of the palace. When they see that it's flooding, they put their masks on. When Pixal asks Zane why he's wearing one, he says he may not need one, but he likes that it matches his outfit. He creates another ice wall when the Ripper Sharks charge at them, but they start cracking it. Trimaar tells Bentho that it's too late for him, but he has to know the truth. We even see him shed a tear. He tells Bentho that Kalmaar did this to him, and has his true son promise him that he'll help the surface dwellers escape and stop his brother before he unleashes calamity upon them all. He may not have been born to him, but he is his son, and he loves him. Bentho sheds a tear and tells his father that he loves him too, and Trimaar dies. Meanwhile, Kalmaar puts his crown on as the Merlopian guards say "Long live the king." Even the lighting and weapons change colors to red.