Season 7 Discussion

[Wiriamu]

...didn't there used to be more topics in this section of the forum?

 

Anyway, Season 7: Hands of Time just started airing on Cartoon Network in the U.S., and if you have Comcast the first five episodes have been available in On Demand a bit early.

 

So far the season has been quite enjoyable in my estimation, and with a surprising level of intensity. The action has been quite consistent and hasn't felt at all slow, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit more than Skybound.

 

My biggest question-which I suppose they might address-is how Ray and Maya, Kai and Nya's parents, have apparently not aged as much as Wu, Gamadon and Krux, even though all five have spent the same time period aging so far as we know. I also wonder why it is that Wu-who's supposed to be a few hundred years old or so if I remember correctly-went from looking like he's in his 20s to his much older appearance in forty years; it seems like it would be more drawn out, though I suppose he might just look older due to the beard.

[The 1st Shadow]

Wu's age and the general timeline has never been really consistent where Ninjago is concerned ever since Rebooted, I've learned to ignore it.

 

Otherwise, I totally agree. I've only seen the first two episodes, but it definitely feels like I'm gonna get more out of it than previous seasons. The action is good, it doesn't feel too corny... Besides Wu's description of the timeline, I feel like the series is really maturing. 

 

EDIT: Just watched the next two episodes. At the beginning of the fourth, did Cole and Jay just confirm City (Alien Conquest) and Elves as existing Realms? I know it was just Jay's ridiculous theories, but "alien abductions" and "Elven magic portals" is dangerously close to significant story elements from Alien Conquest and Elves.

Edited May 17, 2017 by The 1st Shadow

[Wiriamu]

Wu's age and the general timeline has never been really consistent where Ninjago is concerned ever since Rebooted, I've learned to ignore it.

 

Otherwise, I totally agree. I've only seen the first two episodes, but it definitely feels like I'm gonna get more out of it than previous seasons. The action is good, it doesn't feel too corny... Besides Wu's description of the timeline, I feel like the series is really maturing. 

 

EDIT: Just watched the next two episodes. At the beginning of the fourth, did Cole and Jay just confirm City (Alien Conquest) and Elves as existing Realms? I know it was just Jay's ridiculous theories, but "alien abductions" and "Elven magic portals" is dangerously close to significant story elements from Alien Conquest and Elves.

I had those thoughts as well. Face value it's definitely a nod to those themes or something similar, but the idea of them being separate realms is certainly possible. In fact we did have a thread here where we discussed that very subject...don't know what happened to it though.

[The 1st Shadow]

I had those thoughts as well. Face value it's definitely a nod to those themes or something similar, but the idea of them being separate realms is certainly possible. In fact we did have a thread here where we discussed that very subject...don't know what happened to it though.

 

I remember it. I was there. I was one of the few that advocated for Elves being a Realm.

[Wiriamu]

 

I had those thoughts as well. Face value it's definitely a nod to those themes or something similar, but the idea of them being separate realms is certainly possible. In fact we did have a thread here where we discussed that very subject...don't know what happened to it though.

 

I remember it. I was there. I was one of the few that advocated for Elves being a Realm.

 

Makes sense to me-I mean, they made Chima a realm after giving it the axe, so I don't know why they'd have trouble giving an active theme a shot.

 

So thanks to Comcast I've now seen the entire season; I won't spoil anything for those who haven't, but I will say it was quite the conclusion.

 

I find myself disappointed by the underutilization of Skylor in the series, especially when they've made so much of that dirtbag Ronin. I mean, she's an Elemental Master and technically the show's first female ninja, given that she was in the role before Nya embraced her role as the master of water. Hopefully next season she'll come back in a big way to help out. Speaking of the future, Skales Jr.'s attitude in the recent season is interesting: makes you wonder if he's going through snake puberty or just tired of the Serpentine getting pushed around. Assuming that Ninjago isn't ending anytime soon, it makes me think he might be involved the next time a snake-based threat rolls around...and we all know it's going to happen.

 

The season also has me wondering: anyone else wondering if they're ever going to touch on previous Master of Earth's relationship to Cole? I mean, the whole Ray and Maya thing makes it seem most likely that Lou held the role and passed the powers on to his son, but so far there's been no indication one way or another.

[Lyichir]

I would give a little more credence to Elvendale being a realm now that it's not only been mentioned in Ninjago, but also has a new art style that is more true to the actual Lego figures. Previously, it would've been weird to see Elvendale appear in either Ninjago's CGI animation or for the minifigure-based characters to interact with the more realistic human-like Elves. Now I'd love to see a cameo of that realm, if only to see the Ninja minifigures converted to the fluid hand-drawn animation of the new Elves episodes!

 

Of course, Elvendale being a realm would also necessarily open up the "human world" Emily hails from to being a realm. I personally like to imagine that Emily is natively from the same universe as Lego Friends, so presumably that might be a realm as well. And for the time being, that might be a little harder to reconcile considering most (but not all) media for Lego Friends still uses a more realistic art style with (shudder) fingers.

 

That said, I'm still much more skeptical of Alien Conquest representing a realm. Firstly, because Alien Conquest as a theme doesn't even represent a distinct setting—it takes place in a fairly generic unnamed city. Secondly, because alien invasions are one of the oldest tropes in the book—Alien Conquest isn't even the first Lego theme about the subject! If alien invasions had been mentioned outside of the much more specific theme reference to Elves, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Heck, we'd probably be discussing whether it was foreshadowing aliens as the enemies for Ninjago season 8.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Lyichir

[Wiriamu]

Well, now that the season has fully aired, I think it's safe to discuss all the details.

 

The revelation that the previous Master of Lightning was Jay's mother has me wondering more and more if Lou wasn't the Master of Earth. I also can't help but wonder if she might have passed away-likely while giving birth to Jay-and whether her passing was what prompted Cliff to leave Jay with Ed and Edna. The season also left me wondering if the Elemental Masters lose their powers when they're passed on to their children, given that Ray and Maya showed no indication of still possessing them: especially since they didn't worry about the Time Twins forcing THEM to retrieve the Reversal Blade. I also wonder how Ray and Maya are going to play into the dynamic of the show going forward-are they going to fill Wu's shoes to some degree while he's absent, or  are they more likely to just be part of the ever growing support group for the ninja?

 

Also, it could not be more obvious in my mind that P.I.X.A.L. is the new Samurai X, what with the elimination of various other candidates and Samurai X's role in the final episodes.