Is Lloyd A Bland Character?

[Awesome Guy]

Compared to the other ninja, he doesn't really stick out much. Like, all of their schtics are pretty easy to narrow down. Kai is hot headed and cocky, Jay is funny and inventive, Zane is stoic and intelligent, and Cole is tough and likes food (okay, I had trouble figuring out his thing tbh). Of course, that's not all there is to them though. But Lloyd is... the destined Green Ninja? I can't really describe his personality. The most I could say is he's a nice guy. Most of the focus is on his cool powers and not Lloyd himself. I like him, and I feel like he has some potential to him (a true potential you could say, heh), but I can't help but feel he's a bit of a Gary Stu.

 

What do you guys think about Lloyd?

[Bonkle]

I watched through the Stone Warrior saga, and what I got from him really was that he was.... kinda angsty. He was always pressured because he had to be the best, he had to be the destined one. I feel he was more plot device than developed character.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Bonkle

[The 1st Shadow]

I agree with Bonkle. There really isn't much to him other than being Ninjago's Takua. And then LEGO did the exact same character in Chima's Flinx. The "hero kid" is nothing special these days, I think. 

 

That's the short answer. If I weren't tired, I could give a much better response. But for right now, I'll just say he's a "stand-in cardboard cutout."

[Petewa]

Lloyd's the guy who tries to be as serious as possible, he doesn't want to let anyone down, he's a nice guy and all, but he don't get no love.

[Dane-gerous]

yes, he is a bland character, and was a blatant Mary Sue for a while.

[Smitty]

To be honest non of them are very good. Like Awsome Guy said they are all really one note. Granted they play that one note well and they aren't too flat for me to turn the show off and every so often they get a bit of depth but it's soon forgotten and they back to how they were before.

[Aanchir]

No, not in my opinion. He's a fairly interesting character all things considered. He has an interesting backstory (having grown up at a boarding school for aspiring evil masterminds), a complicated relationship with his family, and an intense loyalty to his friends. And like most of the ninja, he's developed a LOT over the course of the series.

 

When we meet Lloyd, he's a spiteful kid who wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and get revenge on those who he thinks have wronged or humiliated him (first the ninja, then the Hypnobrai, then the Fangpyre). But after Pythor betrays him and steals the Map of Dens, he begins to realize that his aspirations of being an evil mastermind only ended up turning him into a pawn. And when Sensei Wu and the ninja show him their compassion and loyalty, he gradually starts to realize what makes their friendship different than the fragile and self-serving alliances he had with the Serpentine.

 

In Season 2, he begins his ninja training and makes amends with both the kids who had bullied him at his boarding school (showing them what being one of the "good guys" had taught him) and with his mother, who he blamed for sending him away to that school in the first place. He unlocks his true potential when he learns to be brave even when all hope seems lost and he feels more helpless and alone than ever before.

 

In season 3, his father tries to teach him discipline and restraint, but Lloyd finds it hard to resist the temptation to rely heavily on his new golden ninja powers, and that comes back to bite him when the Overlord captures him and attempts to steal that golden power. It's clear that he's learned from his mistake and grown as a character when after his rescue he volunteers to give up what's left of his golden power to restore his teammates' elemental powers.

By Season 4 he's effectively "the heart" of the ninja team, helping to keep them united, motivated, and on the right track even when Zane's disappearance, Cole and Jay's romantic feud, and Chen's tournament challenge their resolve. Lloyd's friendship with the other ninja is intensely valuable to him because unlike the rest of them, who were generally good people even before they became a team of heroes, he owes it to them for helping him to turn his life around and reunite him with his family.

 

Part of the reason it's tough to define Lloyd's personality in short snippets like the other ninja is that he's grown and changed so much over the course of the series. But I think his chief character traits are being loyal and determined. He's very committed to doing what he believes is right and strengthening his relationships with his friends and family.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Aanchir

[fishers64]

He has an interesting backstory (having grown up at a boarding school for aspiring evil masterminds)

I kind of felt that this was never really gotten into, however. I've read a couple of books that got into this idea (the villain school idea) in more detail, but for Lloyd it feels that influence died off with the Serpentine. 

 

It's not Ninjago's main focus, so for Lloyd that backstory kind of feels tacked on. 

[Aanchir]

 

He has an interesting backstory (having grown up at a boarding school for aspiring evil masterminds)

I kind of felt that this was never really gotten into, however. I've read a couple of books that got into this idea (the villain school idea) in more detail, but for Lloyd it feels that influence died off with the Serpentine. 

 

It's not Ninjago's main focus, so for Lloyd that backstory kind of feels tacked on. 

As I mentioned, it was a critical plot point in the season two episode Double Trouble, in which Lloyd and the Ninja visited Darkley's Boarding School and Lloyd was able to make amends with Brad, one of the kids who bullied him. It also came up in The Stone Army as the reason Lloyd harbored a grudge towards his mother. And his expulsion was also a major plot point in the season one episode Never Trust a Snake.

 

Obviously, Lloyd's time at the boarding school does not define him, but it's still there as a part of his characterization which helped shape him before the other ninja were able to step in as healthier role models.

 

As for some of the arguments that Lloyd is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, I think that sort of falls apart under close inspection. One of the defining characters of a Mary Sue/Gary Stu is that other characters are defined by their relationships to them. But with Lloyd, it's more often the case that he is defined by his relationship with the other major characters. In fact, Lloyd's parents are perhaps the most fleshed out as characters of any of the Ninja's parents. If you took Lloyd out of the story, Garmadon and Misako would still be important players with their own motivations and relationships to the other characters. The same could not be said for the parents of Zane, Cole, or Jay if you took any of those three ninja out of the story.

 

Also, a Mary Sue/Gary Stu is generally portrayed as flawless. Characters who criticize or distrust them are usually presented as bad people, and when bad things happen to them it is presented as somebody else's fault. However, in LEGO Ninjago, Sensei Garmadon calls Lloyd out on relying too heavily on his golden power... and is proven right when it gets Lloyd captured and some of that power stolen from him. The grudge he holds against his mother Misako is also presented as a fault that he has to overcome. When he pranks the ninja in the first season he is forced to fix everything by himself. And the many other times he gets captured, it is generally a result of his own recklessness.

[aldero]

I guess Lloyd's character is more built around his interactions with the Ninjago world rather than how he acts. 

 

The four main characters of Kai, Jay, Zane and Cole are personalities that we can grow attached to and people who take quarters of the credit for defeating the Skulkin. They essentially all carry out and accomplish the exact same objective as collective protagonists with distinct personalities implemented to spice things up. This is where Lloyd comes in. From the very beginning of the Green Ninja story arc, the Green Ninja was introduced as a legendary warrior who possesses the power of all four (*sneer*) elements. Lloyd's character is essentially the combination of all four of the original Ninja. 

 

Lloyd's possession of the four elements would entail that he both controls them and becomes them. We've got two instances of yin-and-yang - fire and ice, earth and lightning - slipped into Lloyd's character. When you really review his character, you can clearly see traits of the four original Ninja in him. Lloyd had come across instances of overconfidence and hotheadness, a trait carried over from Kai, moments of energetic behaviour from Jay, touches of wisdom and counsel from Zane and splashes of... errr... Cole-ness from Cole. Lloyd is possibly being portrayed as flawless because he flawlessly incorporates distinctive elements (behavioural and power-related) from each of the four Ninja, forming an inherently gracious and ideal Ninja-Nui.

 

Even with Lloyd's personality taken into account, there's still a strong case against potential blandness with his role in the story. He's featured been featured in a fair few prophecies, he wields the mystical Golden Power, he's the antithesis to the Overlord, he represents light, he's the son of Lord Garmadon and he's the Green Ninja. I personally believe that that's enough street cred to grant him a free pass for being a bland character. After all, Kai would certainly never be the ideal Green Ninja or at least the one we would want to see defeat shadow.

 

Lloyd Garmadon: The Ninja-Nui. I'm just gonna let that sit for a while.

[user-402520536]

I hate Lloyd.

 

He first appears as an instantly-dislikable, annoying brat of a child. I really hoped he'd be a one-time joke character. His becoming the Green Ninja at first outraged me - this pathetic little pipsqueak comes out of the blue and snatches the spotlight away from the four likable characters we've grown to love (even if they've only existed for a year at that point). The only good thing that came out of Lloyd being green ninja is that none of the original quartet rises above the rest.

 

That's just my opinion.