Ptah

My micro review and thoughts. Spoiler-ish free. Prologue: Smart move on their part to do a prologue of the previous year's story. Just a twinge of sadness the narrator of the web series wasn't a voice here. If you watched the web series, you've see the Prologue. Episode 1: Packs in the solo part of the quest: creatures, traps, that sort of thing. It's one of Bionicle's ongoing weakness in the storytelling, 1 story, 6 different versions. They try to liven it up by action cuts from one Toa to the next. The Hunter is a good villain, especially with his shadow-walking power. Inspired choice to keep the skull warriors and skull spiders around. Episode 2: This is where our team assembles for the Raid. Much like last year's web series everyone comes together to face the challenges. The United Toa have some fun moments like racing to their destination. The episode ends on a sour note, but promises to be exciting when they return (Later this summer!) Why the wait?

I'm indifferent leaning towards no. Many other posters have echoed my feelings. But there is one addition I would make. Parts of G1 were good, but it was wildly inconsistent and as an overall whole below average. I'd be more open for spiritual successors rather than a direct connection. I'd like to follow one characters growth into a hero like Vakama's journey but I don't need another Vakama set to be happy. I'd like treacherous villains like the Piraka or the Barraki than Makuta being the source of all evil. I'd like to see the tribes working together as in the Bara Magna storyline, but all that can be done without trying to connect the two generations. After all, how many themes have Lego recycled that didn't need any explanation. Like the way Nexo Knight references the Castle themes that have come before without being overt about it.

My impression. Nice to see dragons of any stripe, but feel a bit short changed here. Ninjago has had at least brick built dragons every year. We have about 2 dozen Lego dragons of varying designs and parts. I wouldn't mind a return of some of those designs. It looks like all the dragons are put together the same way with minor various (an extra set of wings, different accessories for the tail) I am glad they are bringing some conflict into the theme. Lego needs to break out of the habit that girls shouldn't touch conflict. That's G1 My Little Ponies bull there. Join the Friendship is Magic crowd where girls can have ambition and are willing to strive and fight for them. And villains aren't just a pack of mean girls, but actual beings who wish to do you ill. I'll probably pick up the Baby Wind Dragon for Emily Jones. The Fire Dragon Cave is a little steep for a theme I haven't gotten invested in. The Water Dragon Adventure is in my price range. I do admire though seldom buy the architecture sets. The Treehouse Hideaway looked great last year and the Starlight Inn, the Dragon School and the Dragon Sanctuary are all standouts. Just beyond the $20 I'm willing to spend. I definitely hope we will see a Friends/Elves crossover in the near future. And maybe I'll cobble together a few elemental dragons to satisfy the 'what could have been' itch.

20 years of Lego Star Wars is a sight to behold. It's gone from awkward Technic mash ups to so real you could make the jump to light speed accurate. Here are my impressions. Microfighters: Great way to pick up some minifigs. I feel sorry for the Lego artists who made such accurate ships on the micro scale and see them largely ignored. Better luck with Lego Dimensions. Movie sets: Ugh. I have never Lego's target demo for these sets. Unfortunately, the Force Awakens doesn't spend a whole lot of time in any local for me to want to see it in set form. Jakku is a cantina-less Tatooine. The original trilogy doesn't far much better. /sarcasm Oh boy, a Hoth playset! /sarcasm. Rebels/The Clone Wars is the best of the bunch because the TV shows spends time developing the worlds and the characters who in habit them. Star Wars Bionicle: Haven't bought one yet, but got one as a gift. I like the accuracy, but they need an action element. Right now, I'm not pay twice as much for a posable action figure as I can for a Toa with gear action and cooler weapons/tools. Tahu's Sword of Fire > Kylo Ren's snazzy lightsaber.

A fair response deserves a fair rebuttal. It's true, I don't know what the next seasonal will hold. The promo images are just as valid as the observations of past seasons at this point. We'll have to wait and see which version holds up. Point 2: Season 3 they just switched partners. Instead of Wu telling the Ninja not to rely on their powers, it was Garmadon telling Lloyd not to rely on his powers. Season 4: Mortal Kombat was one of the exceptions. But an exception doesn't disprove the rule. Point 3: You're splitting hairs here. The history of Ninjago is more twisted than a pretzel factory. In Season 0: Once upon a time, there were 4 golden weapons, etc. By Season 5: This history has to cram in an ancient fight between good and evil that's put on hold, the rise of the Serpentine led by Anacondarai fought by elemental masters who were sold out by Chen. Garmadon takes evil lessons from Chen before kipping out ahead Chen's downfall and exile. The elemental masters who may or may not include Kai and Nya's parents scatter. Garmadon romances Misako. They have Lloyd. Garmadon fights Wu and gets sent to the underworld. Lloyd gets sent to bad boy boarding school. And some where in all this time, the Professor builds Zane, thinks he's dying so he wipe Zane's memory, but is captured by the Skeletons and stuck on an island to build their vehicles. And lets not forget the most recent wrinkle, that somehow the dimensional gem landed in the hands of the First Spinjitzu master. He buries it and another Spinjitzu master becomes a ghost haunting his former digs. All this happens either within ages (long enough for battles and mystical objects to be shrouded by myth) or a couple of generations (Going by Garmadon's personal timeline for him to get bit, grow evil, fall in love with Misako and have a child) The thing is Bionicle and some of the other themes that go on more than 3 years run into the same problem. No one knows what gimmick or storyline Lego will pursue from year to year. Year 3 of Bionicle was a very mythical one with the Mask of Light. The next year was highly technological with the City of Metru Nui. The timeline and the events within get very tangled very quickly. Point 4: This is a bit of a faces or vases/how you look at it kinda thing. I see episodes like the true potential arc as a great example of SHOWING them grow as they learn about themselves and tap into a new power. But successive episodes do more TELLING. Like this last season were everyone takes turns leading. They don't learn to be capable leaders, they 'discover' that Lloyd is leader and without him they are rubbish. Point 5: Yes, Nya is now a waterbender, but why did she need to stay home to learn this power. The boys were constantly on missions whether they learned a power or not, whether they reached their true potential or not. Cole is a ghost this season and no one says he should hold down the fort until he gets that ectoplasm looked at. Nya is the 'hold down the fort' trope. She's there, but she isn't meant to hang with the boys so there is always something to keep her 'holding down the fort'. I predict her water powers aren't going to be needed next season and they'll find yet another reason to keep her out of the treehouse. She proves herself a capable fighter. No girls allowed. She kicks butt as Samurai X. No girls allowed. She's capable of infiltration. No girls allowed. She pilots the Bounty. No girls allowed. She builds half the ninjas' other mechs. No girls allowed. Now that she has water powers do you think that will change? Why? It's not like the ninja invited the other elemental masters to join their group? Why would powers be a key admission point now? I'll continue the rest later. Thanks for the chance to rebutt.

I support the formulaic charge. The worst part is, some parts of the formula were never done well and they keep plugging away at it tone-deaf to whether its actually funny or entertaining. I can tell you how the next season will flow without the aid of promo material. The season will begin with the Ninja working a day job that they suck at. Sensei Wu will warn them not to rely on their powers and being vigilant, which the Ninja take to mean blow off his wise words and fool around. (seriously, you've gotten caught off guard 4 out of the 6 times. Take an extra clue from the clue bag) Villain shows up catching the Ninja off guard and prompting Wu to retcon even more of Ninjago history. The Ninja hit the road: either on the run or questing for magic items. This would be the time in an adequate series for the Ninja to learn new skills, work better as a team, and discover what's important. In Ninjago, they SAY all that, but the don't DO any of it. Jay whines. Cole argues. Kai divas (yes that's word). And Zane Data-s it up. (that one may not be a word) Even though Wu, Misako, and Nya are all capable fighters and they have a flying warship at their disposal, the show will find reasons to sideline them. Nya keeps gaining powers and vehicles only to sit by phone and wait for the Ninja to call. As others noted, the Ninja get their butts handed to them on a regular basis when it comes to gathering the magic coupons and always a step behind the villains when it is a magic quest. At the last step before 'Evil Wins Forever!' the ninja manage to snag the crucial item only to lose it to the bad guys. Bad guys summon ultimate evil and it is defeated by someone making a sacrifice. Rarely one of the four jelly bean ninja. (I see you there Zane, you can put down your hand.)The sacrifice really irks me because the ninja do nothing to make the sacrifice worthy, except with Overlord 1.0. Essentially, the ninjas highest calling is to kite the trash mobs away long enough for someone else to make the big sacrifice. They aren't heroes, they are the cannon fodder like Shield Agents or cavalry. Make them heroes again, WilFilms!

I'll place my money on realms being themes Lego has already animated. Chima of course, but Hero Factory, Clutch Powers, Atlantis, Heartlake, Elvendale, Gen 2 Bionicle and of course Bricksburg. I hope this is meant to dovetail into the Lego Dimensions game coming out, but I suspect its a loose connection the way referencing Clutch Powers was a brief shout out. So far nothing from the other Themes has carried over to Ninjago or vice versa. Imagine how cool it would have been if the Ghost Hunters or Scooby Doo could have popped in on this season. Or if the Serpentine were another tribe of Chima or if the one of portals in Elvendale lead here. My List: Bricksburg Elvendale Heartlake City Okoto Atlantis Old West Knights Kingdom Hogwarts Star Wars Metropolis

I might go with a Voltron theme and make the Ice leg into a water leg. Everything else seems in the right position. Maybe a Blazing sword with fire element.

Please take this as constructive criticism, but the build will really pop if you put a red eye on the top hole to fill it in and give it an eye. It's part 58176 in Bricklink.

Big Congrats to the winners. I am esteemed to lose to such creative entries. I eagerly await the next building challenge. To paraphrase Dr. Claw: "Next Time, BZPower. Next Time!"

Episode 10: The Corridor of Elders Alternate Title: Line in the Sand Recap: The Anacondarai have scored their first victory. Nya is trying to call the E-warriors back, but her transmission is intercepted by Chen who calls to gloat and rat out Garamadon for stealing Misako from Wu. Looks like Neuro hit the jackpot with a truck full of snakes. Lloyd runs into him and he asks to send a telepathic message to the others to regroup. They regroup at the Samurai cave and the news isn't good. The snakes have struck swiftly taking several villages since the first one. They are making their was across Ninjago. (Now the maps have shown Chen's island and his forces coming from the left side of the map. But Nya says Chen's forces have captured the East Coast and are moving west. so either the maps got flipped in production, or Ninjago reads maps differently) Anyway, the snakes will have to go through a narrow canyon to get to the rest of Ninjago, the Corridor of Elders. That's where they will make their final stand. To prepare, the ninja go out and wrangle everyone who can fight for this last ditch effort; serpentine, skullkin, comic book guys, parents, the works. It all comes down to the Corridor of Elders. As epic battles go this is pretty decent. The cultists attack, the Ninja fight back. Things take to the air, where Nya and the Bounty 'drop it like it's hot'. But Chen's cultists are starting to break the line. The 'miracle' (all final battles need a miracle) comes riding on a swamp rat. Pythor, recent escapee from Chen, has the spellbook and a way to win the battle. The spell, which will bring in the True Anacondarai generals for some deus ex machina action, requires Garmadon to sacrifice himself. Lloyd is understandably upset with this wrinkle. He jumps into the fray to work out his frustration, but returns in time to say good bye to his father before he casts the spell. The ghost generals arrive, take care of Chen, lift the curse on Skylor and Garmadon and restore Pythor to full size. All that's left is the clean up, which the E-warriors begin with gusto. Skylor leaves to restore her family's good name by running the noodle houses. (Boy that season long romance went nowhere) And we get a g-g-g-g-ghost as our last visual to hint next season's direction. Recap: I'm lumping Episodes 9 and 10 together so if there is a bit of back and forth-ing between those episodes, that is why. The strongest criticism I have against Ninjago as a series is that it is too much of a boy's club. As a result, these final battles don't mean so much because the stakes are abstract. Think back to the Great Devourer or the Shadow Army, we knew people in Ninjago, we knew what was at stake. Now compare, that with this finale or Rebooted where everyone is absent for most of the series. It doesn't carry the same stakes and worry. A couple of missed opportunities: The E-warriors in the fight. I would have loved to see them fight with their dragons. I would have loved seeing them fight with each other instead of showing one power at a time. Like Zane playing the flute song for Sound Guy and using that against the snakes. Or have the Serpentine talks smack to these pretenders. This whole Wu, Garmadon, Misako love triangle needs to go. Hopefully we won't see it again. But they keeps bringing it up like they are going to do something with it and then drop it just as randomly. Wu hates his brother for it the betrayal, but then gets over it in the next scene. Misako is horrified by the turn, but it doesn't register before the battle. This is one story line that has never paid off because the show never allows its characters to change. Overall: this season introduced a lot of new characters that we will probably never see again. (Sadly there will be no spinoff where Skylor and Turner open and eatery/delivery service called Diner Dash.) That's par for the course, but I would like them to still be a part of the Ninjago universe. The E-warriors could call on them to handle an adventure or two and maybe the ninja can call on a warrior to help out in their next season. Please, leave Dareth home next time. As I said before Tournament arcs are the worst. While roller derby and Hunger Games were nice twists, they dropped that ruse too soon. I give this season a B-. Good effort but feels rushed and put together at the last minute.

Episode 9: The Greatest of All Fears Alternate Title: Is that a Snake in Your Pocket? Recap: The E-warriors fly to the rescue of Ninjago. Between gathering up Dareth and teaching the others to summon their own dragons, they are a day behind. They rush into... a peaceful and unaware Ninjago City. (Is it still New Ninjago City?) Chen hasn't made his move yet. The spell begins to fade on Garamadon and Skylor and the heroes realize the spell isn't stable so Chen won't attack until he's at full strength. To figure this out they go to the one snake in Ninjago who knows something about Anacondarai: Pythor. The ninja go to Arkham Sands prison where past season villains make a cameo. Pythor is still bite size (and not in a robot eagles gullet). Pythor won't help the ninja for free. He wants to be super-sized. While they haggle, Chen's snake-men attack the prison. They need the essence of a true Anacondarai to make the spell permanent. So weaponless and soon outnumbered (when the cultists open all the cells) the ninja fight a running battle to keep Pythor out of Chen's clutches and the prisoners from escaping. We also learn both snakes and humans were played by Chen into fighting the first war. Ultimately, Chen snags Pythor and uses his sweat to stabilize the spell. Chen rolls out and the E-warriors fly out to meet them. Chen's trucks then split up going all over Ninjago. The warriors split up after the trucks only to discover most of them are empty. This was Chen's plan. With the warriors divided and out of communications range (somehow?), they cultists score their first victory by capturing the quaint mountain village. Review: This is a set up episode for the finale so I'll save most of my criticism for the end. But I will give a shout out to the prison scene. First, it was good seeing some of the other villains they have fought. Plus it was a nice measure of how far the ninja have grown that they can take most of these guys on without weapons. (despite Jay's whining. Positive thinking didn't last long with that one!) One glaring nitpick: The Trojan trucks really meant one of the E-warriors would hit the jackpot. They should have shown one of the warriors overwhelmed by dozens of snakes while the rest open empty. (I believe Lloyd's truck isn't the same one that invaded Jamonicai.) And while this is a setback it's hardly the Sum of all Fears. As we will see in next episode.

Episode 8: The Day of the Dragon Alternate Title: ...And you get a dragon, and you get a dragon, and you get a dragon!" Recap: The Ninja and the E-warriors are mopping up Chen's henchmen (hench-chens?) Garamadon warns them not to be overconfident, but the heroes are doing their level best to find Chen and Clouse to put the final nail in this bad guy's coffin. Chen and Clouse bicker over how things have gone pear-shaped when Clouse hits on a clever way to still win. Skylor has copied everyon'es powers. (When did she touch Lloyd?) If they do the ritual in the crystal cave, it should work. Skylor doesn't want to be sacrificed so she books on out of there. The ninja are alerted to this and join the chase. Along the way they get separated. Kai catches up with Skylor. Zane drops into a cave and has a panic attack involving a dragon. Garamadon and Clouse have one last showdown. The Clouse/Garmadon fight disappoints. Garm doesn't even hit him with spinjitzu. Clouse opens a portal to the cursed realm, but gets sucked in by Garmadon. Zane has his panic attack, but Pixel talks him through the fear. Kai and Sky get captured by the goons... the third-ranked goons (sigh). Chen completes the ritual without Clouse and everyone who bares the anacondrai mark becomes a snake including Skylor and Garmadon. These snakes are a tougher, faster, stronger breed than the average Serpentine. The new Anacondrai bust free and take the aircraft back to Ninjago. Things are looking grim when Zane arrives on an ice dragon. He teaches the E-warriors how to master their fear and unlock their own elemental mounts and they fly off to catch up with Chen and his goons. Review: A big plus for this episode: "More dragons!" We got metal dragons, smoke dragons, speed dragons galore. ON the minus this is a wasted opportunity between Garmadon and Clouse. It seemed like this whole season arc was about building up this rivalry and it happens and it's....yawn. It would have been cool if Garmadon had to use spinjitzu and was get to see Spinjitzu that isn't Wu. If would have been too awesome for words if Garmadon had to choose between using the dark magic or losing to Clouse. A wizard's duel between two dark magicians would have been epic. I also was hoping Clouse would double cross Chen and take over ala Destro. Oh well, I lost the Tournament pool, a double cross that never domes I can live with. I genuinely feel sorry for the Ninja. They did everything right and still lost the round. They didn't just leave Chen on his island and call it a day. They went after him. They didn't let down their guard. I like that each E-warrior has a dragon. So many names to give them. Though I am curious what a dragon of Forms looks like or a Dragon of the Mind. Given the diminishing returns on dragons on Ninjago: from valued companions to flying mounts, I won't get too attached to them. But yeah more dragons.

Since Cartoon Network aired the last 5 episodes in a week (probably to air them before the second half with the ghost ninja) and since previous topics generated little or no response I thought I'd combine the recaps and review of the last 4 episodes. Spoilers Ahead You have been Warned. Episode 7: The Forgotten Element Alternate Title: 'Does this seem kind of familiar to you?' Recap: So Chen rounds up the remaining contestants except for Lloyd and promptly steals all their powers. (I'll get to this in the review.) Skylor (I'm dropping the Mortal Kombat monikers since they dropped the tournament pretense). Skylor asks that Kai be spared and Chen agrees even trying to recruit the red ninja to the dark side. When Lloyd, Nya and Garmadon sneak in, they are betrayed by an unconvincing dark Kai. Garmadon grabs Skylor to extort Chen, but Chen calls his bluff. This causes an Incredibles-type conversion in Skylor. Elsewhere, the losers have built their jet. It can't fly but still has weapons so they use it to bust out. They save Nya and Garmadon on their way to freedom. It's a grand melee as Chen is about to gain all the powers. But Skylor nicks the staff, after a mad scramble the staff breaks and everyone regains their powers. The defeat the cultist, but Chen, Clouse and Skylor escape. The ninja are reunited and the bad guy is defeated, so why are there 3 more episodes and why do I have this uneasy feeling that things are about to get worse. Review: First, lets settle this power stealing rubbish right here. So Chen could steal anyone's power at any time. Why set up this tournament? Why not seek out each master and steal their power while they are alone and vulnerable? How is this banishment enforced? These aren't critical questions, but still plot holes that make the ride very bumpy. Kai's betrayal and act felt low stakes. His fight for control against the staff was ok, but not much above that. You can see scenes lifted from James Bond, the Incredibles and X-men here. The fight between the Masters and the cultists could have lasted longer. Overall, it is ok, but you can tell this isn't the finale or even the end of this particular bad guy.

Ninjago Episode 40 - Spellbound Alternate Title - Ninjago Hunger Games Spoilers Ahead. You've been warned Recap: The Elite Eight are on a blimp and tensions are high. The smack talk is pretty heavy (for Lego Minifigs) Today's challenge is to find Nya who's on the run somewhere on the island. To speed them on their search, Chen drops his passengers over the island. Good news: There are eight parachutes to take the death out of the fall. Bad news: With Garmadon, there are 9 passengers. It's pretty intense as everyone scrambles for a chute. Kai firebends flight. And Lloyd dragons up to avoid death. And here we have to say good bye to the Tournament of the Elements and hello to the first annual Lego Hunger Games. While the Ninja and the fighters look for Nya, Chen decides to capture all the remain contestants. He does this by planting weapons (and mecha) around the island. All of it traceable. He has speakers all over so everyone can hear his edicts. The only thing missing is a cannon when each fighter falls. Now, this could be cool if we can see how an observant Chen has developed strategies to capture the remaining fighters. How will he neutralize Quicksilver's speed or Dr. Strange's psychic foresight? But that would be way too exciting. Instead we get a flashback of Garmadon's retconned personal history: Serpentine attack. Master benders fight back. Chen betrays them. Masters take up snake charming and entomb the other tribes, but banish the elite Anacondrai warriors to another dark dimension. Chen and Shang Tsung get banished. The eagle eye watcher will spot a couple of Avatar minifigs among the masters and notice Chen used earth bending. Speculate away, but I've given up on the continuity of the Ninjago universe. While Garmadon has spent 10 seasons explain 'How he met Lloyd's mother'. Chen's captured everyone except the ninja. Kai goes down when Kitana betrays him to Chen, her father. Jay goes down in a mecha fight. (Tech vs Magic: that would have been a great bracket line up) That leaves Nya, Lloyd and Garamadon. In the B plot: Cole and Zane settle on an escape plan. Build a roto-jet to bust out of the underground prison. Review: This episode was well paced in the beginning. If they had followed that through with the capture of the other fighters this would have been flawless. As for the Tournament, this is exactly the reason why I was snarky and dismissive of it from the start. Tournaments arcs fall apart. The writers either get bored or loose their pacing. Instead of a prelim - quarter - semi - final structure, it's jump right into the master plan once all the gimmicky fights are done. Poor Kai stunned that his crush was a spy. But to be honest, she could have told him a number of times and he would have ignored her being so caught up with himself. So now its up to Lloyd and Nya to save the day.

Hello out there Ptah here. Since the latest episode has been up for a while, I thought I'd get the topic thread rolling. I'll add my own snark-tastic spin down below, but I'll need to change it up. When I commented on earlier episodes, they had been out for a month or more. Long enough that spoilers didn't feel necessary. These more recent ones will get the spoiler treatment. Ninjago Season 5 Episode 39 "Spy for a Spy" Summary: The Ninja Alliance faces trust issues that could tear it apart before the next round in the Tournament of Elements. Nya reunites with Kai and the others and snoops out the spell on page 149. In the Labyrinth, Cole frees Zane and make plans to bust everyone out. Spoilers Ahead You've been warned Episode 39 - Spy for a Spy Alternate Title - "Crouching Kabuki, Hidden Snake" We interrupt your March Madness for a little game of 'I've got a secret'. The Ninja are feeling smug about their alliance. Of the remaining eight only Shadow is not on board. Tsang hears about this and shreds their alliance by adding his staff of powers to the purse. In the B-plot shelf, Cole manages to steal the cell keys and free Zane. Nya and Dareth make it to Chen's stronghold. They dress Nya up as a Kabuki dancer and she contacts the Ninja and manages to steal the spell on page 149. These two plots take the spotlight while the Ninja figure out who is the spy in their group. Shadow acts suspicious so the naturally accuse him. Kitana acts straight up helpful. If you are over 10 you know where this is going. Kitana's the spy; Shadow's the patsy. Oh and Jay injuries his leg. As if he wasn't useless enough before. Nya is found out and Clouse gives chase. This leads to a Crouching Tiger-esque running battle that's pretty cool. Nya escapes into the Jungle with the spell. Cole and Zane stay to free the other prisoners. And Chen and Kitana plan their endgame for the Ninja and the Tournament.

Nui Jaga wins my vote. Finally, a scorpion that looks like a scorpion. I have a sneaky suspicion we'll get a skull scorpion before the year is out and I hope we'll see a side by side comparison.

Episode 38 - Ninja Roll Alternate Title - Beyond Thunderblade Recap: The episode starts with the final prelim between Kitana and Sitar Hero. We learn Kitana is master of absorption. (That makes here and Bionicle where absorption is an element. That and the Brawny man) Kai is elated because it means she's dateable again. Way to keep focus Primadonna. Chen decides punishment is in order for the ninja's exploration. Everyone loses their hotel suites and sleeps in the common room. This along with the ninjas chummy team dynamic turn the other competitors against them. The next round comes in the middle of the night as Shang Tsung wakes them all up and puts them in skates. It's roller derby time. This is an homage to Thunder ball, but since the target demo is too young to have seen the original or the remake, I'll fill you in. Thunderball is a future sport that's mostly roller derby and part demolition derby. Lloyd and Mystique are the combatants. Everyone else can pick a team to either help or hurt their preferred combatant. The one with the most points wins. This fight is actually enjoyable. We have other masters use their powers. We also have the Ninja stumble and fall a bit as only Jay has skating skills. In the end, the ninja let the other masters in on the tournaments true goal. Enough of the masters join their side that allows Lloyd to close the gap. Kai and Kitana steal the buggy that load transforms into his toyline set. Lloyd wins but Chen wants to give it to Mystique. When the contestants back up Lloyd, Chen backs down. So they stay in the tournament another day. In B-plot ville, Cole is a prisoner bereft of his strength and earth powers. He discovers Zane and plans on breaking out with his ninja-bro. Nya picks up Gareth in the search for the B-plot. Somehow, Nya figured out Chen is connected to the ninja disappearance and has snuck aboard a boat to Kombat Island. Review: If Ninjago keeps up with level of show, I may have to drop my cynical barbs and respect it again. This episode kept a good pace, puns and jokes in the slow paces and a battle that wasn't one-sided from the get go. It seems like Avatar/Korra had an effect on the writers because many of the moves look like the ninja studied Bending-techniques like using fire for jet propulsion or using sound waves to see. All good stuff. I wonder if this means I'm going soft?

Episode 37 "Versus" Alternate Title "Super Smash Ninja" Recap: So we begin with a prophetic dream (Yes, Zane still has those. Seems like that'd be something to ask a question about.) It involves snow, ice and a Titanium Dragon set about to be released this year before Pixel wakes him up. She reminds him he's a nindroid so he go-go gadgets himself out of those chains. Elsewhere, the ninja are enjoying commissary privileges. Garmadon? Not so much. Jay takes it easy because his bracket challenger (Colossus) was eliminated so he gets a bye. (And he still lowers his guard after the power-stealing, the giant snake, and everything else) *shakes head*. This round features fights between Quicksilver and Prince of Persia, Dr. Strange and the Ecomancer formerly known as Tom Bombidil, and Jay against Nightcrawler. the fights take place at different times and different locations but cut like we are to believe they are happening at once. Hence we see Kai watching one battle while fighting another and Dr. Strange and Quicksilver chilling in the back. Prince of Persia and Tom Bombidill lose. Kai in a pretty decent move that uses his opponent's power against him wins his match. Chen decides to pull a switcheroo and pits Jay and Cole together. ^dramatic musical sting* The ninja go to Dr. Strange who is the master of the mind. As a mind reader, he sets Jay and Cole against each other with their secrets. Lloyd convinces him to read Chen's mind. He doesn't succeed but reads Shang Tsung's mind and gets a page number and spell out of it. Jay and Cole come out swinging, but soon the ninja-bros hug it out. There's a bros before hoes joke in there somewhere. Once the Blue and Black aren't trying to make each other black and blue, Chen sends in some enemy vehicle sets to put the death in death match. Instead, this makes the ninja work together and put Nya behind them. But someone must win and someone must lose so Cole sacrifices himself and Jay moves on. Garmadon blathers about friends and knowledge but I wasn't paying attention. Meanwhile, Nya is driving the wasteland looking for some plot to will have her. A little birdie tells her plots are abundant on an island off to coast, so that's where she's heading. Review: The under-card fights were a treat. Not only did we see knew powers, but how characters dealt with their opponent's powers. I really liked how Kai made it through Nightcrawler to grab the blade was clever. I am glad Jay and Cole are back to being buds but honestly this love triangle was so forced and so contrived I can't imagine what the producers thought the payoff would be. Nya's a lamp by now and all the boys push her off to the side no matter how much she contributes. She's an engineer and a warrior she's still left minding the castle. The only one worst off than Nya is Pixel. Poor Pixel scrapped for this year's toyline. She had a lot of unused potential. If more was made of Zane being a ninja-android she could have been a good counter point in a human vs machine dynamic. Now she's just a voice in Zane's head. If I were Skylor (nickname: Kitana) I'd look long and hard before dating one of the ninja.

Episode 36 "Only One Can Remain" Alternate Title - "There can be only one!" Our band of Ninja arrive on Kombat Island and receive the royal treatment. The usual legions of guards performing katas like that means something. Master Chen arrives and breaks down the tournament, it's March Madness. Four brackets with head to head competition. Winners move on, losers get dropped. But first the qualifiers. Garmadon warns them to stay focused which is like telling a kid not to spoil their dinner. Cole manages to do both. The ninjas rooms are full of custom-made distractions: Kai is next door to Kitana, Jay's room is an arcade, and Cole's room has a free minibar. They didn't even last the few minutes before Chen pulls his first stunt a qualifier round where everyone has to pick up a star chip, battle card, I mean, a jade blade. Last one without a blade will be eliminated. Its a free-for-all as everyone fights some using their powers like Prince of Persia running on the ceiling or Ecomancer growing vines. In the end, everyone gets a blade so its down to Kai and Colossus fighting for the last blade. Fire loses to metal, so Kai unscrews his hand (ok?) nicks the blade and wins... but without honor. The ninja aren't too concerned over Kai's 'win at any cost' move. So they move on to their search for Zane. The discover a secret passage and after spying on Kitana and seeing her use fire bending, follow some cultists to their off-Broadway performance of 'Temple of Doom'. Chen plays the role of Mala Ram, but instead of removing Colossus' heart, he steals his metal-bending. The ninja are discovered and barely escape Clouse's giant anaconda. (Yeah, I know how it sounds.) Review: So in my March Madness pick I have Jay in the West and Quicksilver for the East, with Quicksilver taking it in three rounds. I've got a feeling this will be the East's year. In this episode, the ninja probe themselves reliable rubes. So they can get caught off guard. It would have been worth it for Kai or Cole to fall just to put the remain ninja on notice. There is also the romance they are playing up betweeen Kai and Kitana. I'd be interested, but seeing the way they screwed Nya with that forced love triangle, I think Ninjago should stick with Lego-simulated fights and leave romance in more capable hands like a chimp with a word processor. The plot does thicken about the Tournament. It is good, serviceable even, but not really high stakes. The ninja have been without their powers, and I don't think they've used their true potential in 2 seasons. Nice try, but I had to stifle a yawn over the lost of powers. Now if this were Amon from Legend of Korra, I'd be at the edge of my seat.

I thought I'd give this the full review treatment. In case, folks come by later. Episode 35 - "The Invitation" Alternate Title "MORTAL KOMBAT!!!" Recap: We are teased with a holodeck battle between Lloyd and some Nindroids, but noticeably absent are the other Ninja. It's time for the season opening tradition: Wacky Ninja odd-jobs. Like before once the previous threat has been defeated, the Ninja take on jobs for the sole purpose of quitting them once the next season threat arrives. Jay is host to a American Ninja Warrior/Wipe Out game show. Cole is a lumberjack and he's ok. Kai can't tell you he's in the Slither Club because the first rule is you don't tell anyone about Slither Club. Lloyd lures them back with Mom-jitzsu: guilt plus the promise of a hot meal. At the noddle house, some 'not-so' random thugs shake down the place. The Ninja spring to action and the day is saved. Or is it. Turns out the thugs deliver a message to the Ninja that Zane is alive and if they want to learn more they should meet at the pier and join Master Chen's Tournament of the Elements. They comply. Garamadon sensing something is up follows them and joins the Ninja on their ferry ride to Kombat Island. It's time again for another Ninjago tradition: Retconn exposition. Garamadon is our Basil Exposition here, though soon we'll be calling him Raiden. In the ever changing past, there were several Elemental masters more than the four ninja. These masters passed their talents down through their bloodline like redhair. So the opponents have powers too. While they have names, I'm going to be calling them by the source Ninjago ripped them off from. We've got Quicksilver, Invisi-bill, Vibe, Ecomancer, Colossus and Kitana. Kai crushing on Kitana comes to her aid when Colossus acts like a jerk. This leads to a fight that is ended when Shang Tsung intervenes. Oh and Garamadon has a history with Master Chen and Shang but remains cryptic and vague. As the island comes into view, Master Chen gloats over a chained full metal Zane. Review: Here's a quick Mortal Kombat primer for those who've never seen the movie, but plan to as soon as they read this. Garamadon = Raiden [Knowledgable elder who is completely unhelpful] Kai = Lui Kang ['Chosen One' who can't focus on the task at hand while he chases Kitana for a date] Skylor = Kitana ['Mysterious' female fighter. Love interest that can fight and probably is the daughter of the main villain] Jay = Johnny Cage [The wannabe cool sidekick. Low self esteem and always the worrier] Clouse = Shang Tsung [sinister sorcerer who would vaporize them all but is on a short leash] Lloyd = Sonya Blade [Only here for the mission and can't be bothered to think strategically] and Zane = Sub-zero [That's too good to resist] So we have entered the Tournament arc. Ugh. The Tournament arc is the go-to storyline for most cartoons that pass the three season mark. It's full of fights. (yeah) But doesn't mean anything in the end (boo) We get new powersets (yeah) but we'll probably never see them again (boo). The other drawback is we get another BS retconning of Ninjago history. At this point I've ceased to care about the larger story. As the alt title says, this is clearly inspired/ripped from 'Mortal Kombat'. Mortal Kombat worked as a movie because the action kept the pace moving so we didn't think about the lore. I don't know if it will work as a tv show. The TNT series floundered I hope Ninjago does better. One part of the show that really stuck with me is the Odd-jobs. After 30+ episodes, I'm tired of the Ninjas' whining. Kai is such a primadonna. Even when your friend sacrifices himself to save the world its still about how he should have been the one. Jay is still a whiny baby. I want to be special. Dude, you shoot lightning out of your hands. Why isn't that special to you? And Cole... pick a character. Either your the walking stomach or the strong man but choose one. Trivia note: Anyone else notice that Kombat Island is the same as Holodeck Isle in the beginning.

I feel a tinge of pity for those going through Lego's wacky retconning. When Bionicle went through it , I cut TLG some slack since this was the first time doing something like this. 15 years on there really is not excuse for this. As others will tell you, the retconning comes from each year's toyline being developed while the lore-relevant episodes are being created and aired. (No mention of the Snakes during the Golden Weapons, No mention of the Overlord during the Serpentine, etc.) My beef with Lego is that instead of just rebooting the series (same names but new situation) , they tinker with the history and make the whole series weaker for it. My fan-continuity goes like this: Season 1 Ninja vs Boneheads for the Golden Weapons. Season 2 Ninja receive a distress call from a distant land. After debating whether to leave Ninjago unprotected, they travel to this new land to fight the Serpentine. Ninja vs Serpentine, in the process discover the Green Ninja meant to protect this land. Ninja defeat the Snakes and return home. Season 3 Ninja return and find that much of Ninjago is occupied by the Shadow Army Ninja suspect Garmadon, but he is enslaved to a darker force The Overlord. The Ninja lose ground as they are outnumbered and outgunned. Overlord is looking for some means to stay in this dimension. Ninja search for the same thing to send him back. Ninja find the magic object, but the Overlord has possessed Garmadon and stays. Ninja lose Ninjago Season 4 Ninja fallback to Snakelands. They recover and recruit warriors to take back their home. Ninja lead army to fight the Shadow Army rebuilt as nindroids Ninja vs Overlord the Overlord is defeated (and stays defeated) The end. Just my fan theory

This is so cute and clever. How did you get the ears done? Great build for the Year of the Sheep/Goat/Ram.

Impressive falls short. That is an awesome dragon. How many protector sets did it take? If ever try something like this I'll be sure to attribute your work.

This is certainly true in Southern California. Gali and Onua are both on clearance. It seems too early to be a shelfwarmer issue. At most they've been out for ten weeks. It doesn't seem like a store issue. Target discounts its toys and stuff on Thursday. My guess is Lego ok'ed the discount to trim some shelf space for its March releases. Friends, Elves and Princesses and at the same time drum up interest by more casual fans. B-fans probably snapped every set as soon as they hit the shelves but newer fans may be on the fence.