Tick Tock

*“You will not hurt my friends. There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am.”*

— Zane when unlocking his True Potential

**Tick Tock** is the seventh episode of the first season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*. It aired on Cartoon Network on February 22, 2012 in the United States.

## Synopsis

*When the four ninja follow the mysterious falcon into the woods, they stumble on a hidden work shop where Zane learns the secret about his past and in the process, he is the first ninja to unlock his true potential.*

## Plot

After Zane breaks his previous record for holding his breath underwater, the ninja wonder if they have reached their full potential. They seek out Sensei Wu, who tells them that they have only reached their physical peak; their true potential requires mental enlightenment as well.

Sensei Wu recounts a story from his childhood. One day, while he and his brother were playing outside, Wu lost his katana and Garmadon sought to find it, knowing their father would not be pleased. Garmadon found the katana eventually, but upon reaching down to pick it up, he was bitten by a snake known as the Great Devourer, kickstarting his descent into darkness. After telling his story, Sensei Wu declares that he is going on a journey by himself, and the ninja drop him off at a mountain.

Later on, the ninja travel to Jamanakai Village with Nya to post signs about the missing Fangblades. As Zane is posting signs, he sees the Falcon. He and the ninja follow it, but soon the others are too tired to go on. Zane proceeds into a frosted forest when the Falcon suddenly drops to the snowy ground.

Zane picks it up and is shocked to see that the bird is actually mechanical. He is then ambushed by a large robot, but quickly destroys it and notices that the Falcon and the robot have the same mysterious symbol printed on them. Zane proceeds into a hollow tree and discovers a workshop inside. While searching through the building, he finds a blueprint and drops to his knees, crying out in horror.

Meanwhile, Sensei Wu enters Mystake's Tea Shop and requests Traveler's Tea. The owner claims not to have heard of it, but upon receiving payment, brings out a pot and warns Master Wu that those who drink the tea do not return. Back in the forest, the ninja find Zane inside the tree and ask why he is distressed. Zane suddenly opens up his torso, revealing that he is actually a robot. The ninja assure him that he is still their brother, but Zane, still quite shaken by the revelation, asks to be left alone. Kai, Jay, and Cole leave the workshop, but are soon attacked by Treehorns.

Inside the workshop, Zane takes another look at his blueprints and, upon realizing he has a memory switch, flips it on. This causes him to remember being built by his father, Dr. Julien, and all the different things he taught him over the years. He also recalls that his father, just before dying, turned off his memory switch to save him the pain of heartbreak. Zane sheds a tear for his father before rushing out to help his friends.

The ninja defeat the Treehorns, but things take a turn for the worse when their Queen arrives. Realizing who he is, Zane overcomes the obstacles of his heart and unlocks his True Potential. With his newfound powers, Zane freezes the Queen and the other Treehorns retreat. The other ninja commend Zane for unlocking his True Potential and Zane proclaims that they are going to find Pythor.

Meanwhile, Pythor is still desperately trying to unite the snake tribes by solving a riddle: "When the five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun." The other leaders begin to doubt Pythor, saying that snakes will begin to ask questions. Just then, Acidicus and Skalidor get into a tussle with one another, and their staffs are tossed aside. The venom from their staffs drips onto the floor, then Pythor realizes something. He gathers all five staffs and puts them in a leaning formation over the table, Pythor realizes it's been right in front of them the whole time. "When the five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun." The riddle wasn't talking about of the five tribes, it was the venom in the five Staffs. As Pythor slides a scrap of paper underneath. The venom drips onto the paper, revealing a map that shows the locations of the four Fangblades. Having solved the riddle, Pythor and the others rejoice.

On a tall mountain, Sensei Wu is shown to be meditating before pouring the Traveler's Tea in a circle around his campfire. A vortex then erupts, and he steps into it. He reappears in another dimension, where he is greeted by his brother, Lord Garmadon.

## Appearances

### Characters

* Acidicus
* Cole
* Dr. Julien
* Fangtom
* Garmadon
* Jay
* Kai
* Mystake
* Nya
* Pythor P. Chumsworth
* Skales
* Skalidor
* Wu
* Zane

### Non-speaking

* Bytar
* Chokun
* Fang-Suei
* Fangdam
* First Spinjitzu Master
* Snappa

### Creatures

* Great Devourer (flashback)
* Treehorn queen

### Items

* Fangblades (pictured)
* Golden Weapons
	+ Nunchucks of Lightning
	+ Scythe of Quakes
	+ Shurikens of Ice
	+ Sword of Fire
* Map of Fangs
* Serpentine Staffs
	+ Anacondrai Staff
	+ Constrictai Staff
	+ Hypnobrai Staff
	+ Fangpyre Staff
	+ Venomari Staff
* Violet Berry Soup

### Locations

* Endless Sea
* Ninjago
	+ Birchwood Forest
		- Hidden workshop
	+ Mountain of a Million Steps
		- Constrictai Tomb
	+ Jamanakai Village
	+ Fire Temple (pictured)
	+ Village
		- Mystake's Tea Shop
	+ Sea of Sand
		- Pyramid (pictured)
* Realm of Madness

### Species

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

## Trivia

* The episode's title refers to Zane (and, to a lesser extent, the Falcon), who is revealed to be a mechanical being. This twist is foreshadowed by the opening scene, showing a mass of clockwork before zooming out to show a pocket watch, as well as Kai's comment about Zane being "inhuman".
	+ The episode title may also refer to the Serpentine's search for the Four Silver Fangblades, which will become a race against time as the ninja try to stop them from unleashing the Great Devourer.
* The title sequence is updated in this episode, featuring the ninja in their ZX outfits.
* In the Japanese version of this episode, rather than Zane lasting 10 minutes in the water, he lasted 10 hours and 10 minutes.
* When young Wu and Garmadon are fighting, Kirby Morrow's voice can be heard making some of the grunting and laughing sounds.

## Continuity

* This episode features the first appearance of Dr. Julien (in a flashback), Mystake, and Lord Garmadon's new, four-armed form. It also marks the only canon or physical appearances of the Juggernaut and Treehorns in the series.
* In this episode, Zane becomes the first ninja to unlock his True Potential.
* This is the only episode where a ninja unlocks their True Potential not while trying to get a Fangblade.
* This is the first episode where a character (Zane) sings.
	+ This episode reveals that the ninja's phone number is 555-122091-1.
	+ This is the first episode not to feature Lloyd since his introduction.
	+ The episode opens with Zane meditating in the Endless Sea in a very similar manner to how he was shown meditating in a frozen pond in "The Golden Weapon," one of the pilot episodes.
	+ This episode is somewhat a reverse of "Never Trust a Snake". Early in "Never Trust a Snake", there is a warm-tinted dream sequence focusing on Zane, while the rest of the episode focuses on an aspect of Lloyd's family. Early in "Tick Tock", there is a warm-tinted flashback focusing an aspect of Lloyd's family, while the rest of the episode focuses on Zane.
		- An extended version of Dr. Julien's death scene is later shown in "The Last Voyage," where it's revealed that Samukai resurrected the inventor before imprisoning him in Lighthouse Island. However, there are various differences in the portrayals of Dr. Julien's death:
			* The color filter in the original episode is yellow, while the filter in the later episode is gray.
			* The shot where Dr. Julien turns off Zane's memory switch is slightly different.
			* In the original episode, Zane is smiling and then has a blank expression when his memory switch is turned off, while in the later episode, he is sad and then has a more serious expression.
				+ However, the shot composition and Zane's head movement remain the same, and this is the only shot to be present in both versions of the scene.
			* In the original episode, Dr. Julien's glasses fall to the floor after he dies, but in the later episode, his glasses remain on his face.
			* In the original episode, Zane turns around after his memory switch is turned off, but in the later episode, he remains facing forward without moving.
				+ Wu's story from this episode shares similarities with Garmadon's story from "Spellbound" about signing Wu's letter.
				+ This is the first episode in which Jay interrupts one of Wu's stories as a comic relief moment, the second being "Ghost Story."
				+ This is the first time a full-blooded Oni is introduced, in the form of Mystake. However, the concept of the Oni was not created at the time this episode was written.

## Errors

* When the ninja visit Jamanakai Village and Cole asked Kai if everything's all right, he speaks with Jay's voice.
* When Pythor collects the five staffs, Fangtom is holding the Anacondrai's staff, not the Fangpyre's.
* When Master Wu tells his story to the ninja, behind him is seen the Sacred Flute in the cabinet, even though it was stolen by Pythor two episodes prior.
* In Wu's flashback, the sound of children playing starts before Garmadon start sparring.
* When Wu says Garmadon told him never to put off what could be done today, Garmadon's mouth isn't moving long enough for this to be what he said.
* When Zane shows the ninja that he's a robot, his memory switch is on, but when he discovers the switch, it's off.
* When Zane puts his mask back on toward the end of the episode, his hair is missing for a frame.
* When Cole lifts the weights, Nya's left eye blinks, but strangely not her right.

## Translations

 Dutch
 German
 Italian
 Polish
 Russian
 Spanish
 Ukrainian