Once Bitten, Twice Shy

*“Jay, if anything horrible were to happen, I want you to know that you don't have to wear cologne or pretend to be anything that you're not. Because I like you best when you're you.”*

— Nya to Jay

**Once Bitten, Twice Shy** is the eighth episode of the first season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu*. It aired on Cartoon Network on March 7, 2012 in the United States.

## Synopsis

*Jay and Nya have to cut their first date in Mega-Monster Amusement Park short as the Serpentine are on their way to retrieve the first or four fang blades to be used to awaken the Great Devourer.*

## Plot

The villagers have unearthed a Fangpyre skeleton and Nya is experimenting on it to try and reverse the effects of a Fangpyre bite without the anti-venom in the staff. She observes that it is possible to reverse the effects by raising the victim's heart rate. Jay nervously asks Nya out on a date, which she accepts. After she leaves, Jay dances around the room in celebration but accidentally pricks his finger on the Fangpyre skeleton's fang.

In the Realm of Madness, Sensei Wu tries to tell Lord Garmadon about Lloyd having been captured, but Garmadon does not listen. They engage in a fight that culminates in Garmadon summoning his mud monsters to defeat Wu. As the mud monsters envelop him, Wu tells Garmadon that Lloyd is in danger. Shocked at this news, Garmadon saves him and Wu explains what Lloyd has done. Garmadon agrees to go back to Ninjago to help Lloyd. Wu tells him that he is out of Traveler's Tea, so Garmadon informs him that the only way to get back to Ninjago is to climb the Mountain of Madness.

Elsewhere, Pythor and the Serpentine head off to Mega Monster Amusement Park to dig up the first Silver Fangblade. The ninja find out that the Serpentine are at the amusement park, so Jay arranges for him and Nya to have their date there so he can fight the Serpentine if necessary. As their enjoy their dinner in the park's restaurant, Jay finds out he is slowly transforming into a snake due to the bite and rushes to the restroom to check himself over. Meanwhile, the ninja investigate a ghost-themed ride and find that the Serpentine have already dug up the first Fangblade. Zane accidentally freezes the three of them while in NRG mode, allowing the Serpentine to escape.

When Jay comes out of the restroom, he is surprised to find that Nya is gone, having assumed her secret identity as Samurai X. The restaurant patrons see Jay and attack him, believing him to be a snake. Jay runs back into the restroom and comes out with a scarf concealing his face so he can escape.

Meanwhile, the Serpentine battle Samurai X and eventually find out that she is really Nya. They trap her in a roller coaster car and send her careening down the track, which has a large gap in the middle. Jay tries to rescue her, but his scarf blows off, revealing his reptilian appearance. Nya tells him that he does not have to pretend to be anything he's not to impress her, as she likes him how he is. She then kisses Jay, raising his heart rate and turning back into a human. He unlocks his True Potential and saves them with his increased strength.

Afterwards, the ninja and Nya regroup and Cole announces that the Serpentine have the first Fangblade. They wonder where Sensei Wu is and what he is doing. Meanwhile, Lord Garmadon and Sensei Wu have reached the Mountain of Madness and prepare for their journey back to Ninjago.

## Appearances

### Characters

* Cole
* Father
* Garmadon
* Jay
* Kai
* Mother
* Nya
* Passing Parkgoer
* Pythor P. Chumsworth
* Skales
* Waitress
* Wu
* Young Boy
* Zane

### Items

* Golden Weapons
	+ Nunchucks of Lightning
	+ Scythe of Quakes
	+ Shurikens of Ice
	+ Sword of Fire
* Hypnobrai Fangblade
* Fangpyre Staff (mentioned)
* Traveler's Tea (mentioned)
* Underworld helmet
* Fangpyre skeleton

### Locations

* Ninjago
	+ Mega Monster Amusement Park
		- Beastyburger
		- Ghost Train
* Realm of Madness
	+ Mountain of Madness

### Species

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

## Trivia

* Tommy Andreasen is unsure of who provided Cole's drawing in real life, though it may have been Bjarne Hansen or Peter Hausner.
* The Fangpyre skeleton appears to belong to a general.
* Garmadon says, "Hello, brother. What took you so long?" He said this at the end of the previous episode, but it's unknown whether he's saying it twice in-universe or if this episode was showing another version of the same interaction. In the latter case, this would be an error, because Garmadon says it differently, faces in the opposite direction, and is closer to Wu.
* The four weapons Lord Garmadon wields in his battle against Master Wu include a bo staff and normal-colored versions of the Golden Star Hammer, the Staff of Light, and the Double-Bladed Dagger.
* Gilderoy Lockhart's original hair piece from *LEGO Harry Potter* is used as Jay's hairstyle in this episode. It is seen again in "The Invitation."
* In his formal outfit, Jay uses the torso design of the Magician, but with the red recolored to blue.
* Though Jay's scarf in this episode did not exist in physical form, Jay from *The LEGO Ninjago Movie* would be released years later with a similar-looking scarf piece.
* "Little Scouts" is a reference to Cub Scouts.

## Continuity

* This episode marks the beginning of Jay and Nya's relationship. It also marks the last time Nya uses her "Samurai X" secret identity—although she will still use her technology, it will be under her own name.
* It's unknown why Kai would risk Nya's life for a joke, as he has been shown to be very protective of her (especially in the pilot episodes, where saving her is his main motivator), so it would not make sense for him to cause her to have a severe allergic reaction simply to embarrass Jay.
	+ As of this episode, the only known Walker/Gordon family members that haven't been bitten by the Fangpyre are Jay's biological mother and father. Ed and Edna have been bitten in "Snakebit."
	+ Jay's Fangpyre infection appears to progress slightly differently from his parents'; his hand begins showing a green tint and scale textures before he begins developing fangs or a hissing voice. This may be due to his infection starting with a pricked finger, as it is never shown or mentioned where Ed and Edna were bitten in "Snakebit."
		- Jay unlocks his True Potential in this episode.
		- When Kai reminds the ninja of their bet from "The Snake King" that whoever figured out the samurai's identity first would be the Green Ninja, the other ninja deny agreeing to this. This is very similar to the end of "Flight of the Dragon Ninja", in which Cole wins the dragon race and the other ninja deny agreeing that the winner would be Dragon Master for a month.
		- This is the last episode not to feature Lloyd until "The Last Resort," five seasons later.

## Errors

* When Skales takes the picture of Pythor and the family at the amusement park, the family is missing its eyebrows.
* When Jay runs to the restroom, the tail he grows is already sticking out of his suit.
* Kai, and Cole are much closer to Zane when he freezes themselves, they are missing their eyebrows, and Zane appears to be missing an eye.
* The one women who pushes the Spitta off the roller coaster is missing her eyebrows.
* It's unknown how the other ninja were able to free themselves from the Zane's ice.
* When Nya is tied up in a roller coaster, she is wearing her casual clothes, although she should still wear a formal dress under her Samurai X suit.
* Jay's Fangpyre infection appears to progress slightly differently from his parents'; his hand begins showing a green tint and scale textures before he begins developing fangs or a hissing voice. However, all three were bitten in a similar place, Jay in the hand and Ed and Edna in the wrist, so that probably shouldn't be the reason for this change, and this is most likely an error.

## Translations

 Dutch
 German
 Italian
 Russian
 Spanish
 Ukrainian