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Here’s three. I’m just going to number it like the intro sequence does. Episode 14: Darkness Shall Rise The “ninja get jobs” montage is one of the funniest in the series – on the first watch. On the second it loses its charm. Still, the integrated plot to kidnap Lloyd flows this episode together smoothly enough – until it gets solved by Nya and Wu just happening to show up. It feels patchy. Also, kidnapping Lloyd is so last season. Pythor tried that, and he managed to get the third Fang blade out of it, but come on. Also, by now we know that only Pythor can kidnap Lloyd, and that he’s very good at it, but the other snakes fail. 13 and 14 have more nods to Zane as a robot, which I like (and consequently would like to see more of, but not quite how the reboot did, but that’s another story). Episode 15: Pirates vs. Ninja There is quite no reason for this episode to be here other than this: it’s fun, and the story producers threw it in because WHY NOT? Answer: Can’t we move on to the next important and interesting event of this story already? Although there is a nod to the Dark Island, and this story establishes Dareth’s studio, it is otherwise very very lame. It would be more excusable if it was the only filler episode in here, but…there’s…three. At least three. Surely they could have condensed all of the non-filler plot points into one episode, like they did in season 2 so many times. I am feeling the Bionicle vibe, Got to fill out this story, keep this toyline alive, I am feeling, the Bionicle vibe, It’s 2007, and we haven’t arrived. Episode 16: Double Trouble JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Insert another notoriously filler episode. This one has zero continuity relevant plot points whatsoever. It doesn’t suffer from bad storytelling necessarily, so that’s a plus (The evil Ninja have some unique characterization ). But between exploding light bulbs and video games is just a bunch of cake. Personally I prefer pie. Even Ninjago’s filler is better than Hero Factory , but it is filler. Episode 17: Ninjaball Run Not only is this episode filler, it’s also a Phantom Menace rip-off. It’s also one of the funnest, and funniest, episodes of the entire series. On the first round. Mostly because of all the recurring characters and cars that are inherently silly. Once the shock value of that wears off, there’s little left in redeeming qualities: It’s just a race. And we all know who wins. This one does have one important point: the Ninja get the Bounty back. So it’s not entirely filler: but they didn’t need a whole episode about something completely unrelated to get us there. Episode 18: Child’s Play This episode, unlike episodes previous, has a lot of focus like the episodes of season 2. Everything is focused on the joys of being a child and the pressures of having to grow up too fast. This one goes in deep: the cost of Garmadon’s evil is not just the ninja’s golden weapons, but Lloyd’s childhood. Years of fun and joy and innocence stripped away, and this episode makes us feel the cost. It’s very much one of the better Ninjago episodes, one that strips away the frosting of the previous three and makes us think. Also, meta product placement again. In context, it merits a glare because comics aren’t fully kid things anymore. Some of the “mixed-message” ness of this episode leaves a sour taste in the mouth, but the alternative to the age-up was a ton more of filler episodes, and I’m glad that we didn’t get that. More importantly, I’m glad that they used the age-up to place in a theme about childhood loss rather than lightly brushing it off as no big deal. Pro move, I think, even if it did make for a sad episode. Episode 19: Wrong Place, Wrong Time So apparently this episode launched the Mega-Weapon into space…in the past. And then we can go all time-travel paradox on the whole thing. Since the Mega-Weapon wasn’t actually destroyed, wouldn’t the ninja have gone back into the past? And then, if they had gone back in the past, wouldn’t the Mega-Weapon be in space and not in the hands of Garmadon? But the Golden Weapons used to create it would not be, which Garmadon uses to create the Mega-Weapon and send the ninja back in time. It actually makes sense. If the weapon was actually destroyed, that would be a paradox, but sending it into space does not. It’s a self-sustaining time system, as opposed to an unstable one. But you know what I mean. This means that the ninja managed to correct all of the wrong past events in the alternate timeline – that timeline has the same resolution as the main one. Of course, what I said was too confusing anyway, but that’s why everyone hearts time travel. Episode 20: The Stone Army Now, there are three things that I notice as problems with season 3 in general that season 2 lacked. One is too many filler episodes. Two is a bunch of dark and grim episodes in a series known for being lighthearted and funny. Three is not enough character development and too much emphasis on Lloyd, without even giving him character development. This episode, for the most part, is all three. It’s not too much of a filler episode, but it’s not really funny. Everything about this one is D and G. “Paper beats rock” is more of an epic one-liner than an actual joke. And Lloyd solves this one…except it doesn’t do much for him. He also meets his mom, which doesn’t do too much for him either. Misako’s excuse for abandoning Lloyd doesn’t seem to add up in my mind, but I guess she was trying to protect herself and Lloyd from problems. It’s like the Land of Elyon – “you are instrumental to the fate of the universe, so I had to hide myself from you so you would look insignificant and the bad guys won’t target you” excuse. In LoE, it’s a questionable argument because the person wasn’t arguably that important to the fate of the universe, really – and here, it’s funky because having Misako around Lloyd wouldn’t have really made him a target. Not anymore than saying “I’m the son of Lord Garmadon” which Lloyd said practically every chance he got in season 2. In fact having his mom around might have been better because she could have convinced him to keep his mouth shut, thereby making him LESS of a target for evil. Whatever. PLOT. Episode 21: The Day That Ninjago Stood Still We can’t discuss this, but FTR: biblical reference. The sun standing still and all of that. *moves on*There’s a big subversion of it though – there’s no big time stop. This story is another big fight, but that’s what’s needed. And that’s what the title refers to: only in this case, the good guys lose. Still, this episode has a lot of dramatic changes: the Serpentine are resealed, the Stone Army is on the loose, and Ninjago city is evacuated. I think that might be what the title is really referring to – the evacuated city is now still. That’s a big contrast to the earthquakes at the beginning of the episode though. And Garmadon starts the doomsday countdown that was frozen all those years ago, the opposite of standing still. IMO this title just doesn’t fit the episode. And why didn’t the stone army come alive long before Serpentine entered? Wouldn’t they just storm out as soon as the door was opened? PLOT. FLAWS. Anyway, I like the Sensei Wu/Misako character dynamic, even if the shippers will take it too seriously. Episode 22: The Last Voyage Zane appears at the beginning of this one – cue him being important. This one’s a really nice one –even if Zane’s father’s “undeath” qualifies as a Deus ex Machina. We already know that Ninjago has strange tea, but this is a bit over the top. The falcon being attacked and the resolution to this one are slightly patchy, but it can be overlooked based on the heart-warming ending. Also, every one of these Garmadon cameos makes him seem more brainless by the minute. I thought he was the guy who tricked the ninja into getting him out of jail, but you know. Super-weapon? Most generic villain ploy ever. Episode 23: Island of Darkness Popcorn? Seriously? Mood whiplash. This story is grand and epic at this point. We left the comedy behind like 4 episodes ago. Getting the storyboards out of the back attic? Also, what does “remake Ninjago in my image” even mean? Nobody seems to be clear on that, not even Garmadon. He just takes whatever suggestions the Overlord gives him. Also, why do the ninja NOT retain these elemental powers after defeating the Overlord? Epic episode is epic. Episode 24: The Last Hope Epic episode is epic. Misako is a cool character, and I like the scene between her and Garmadon. Holy kanoli? Okay, so how would the NRG True Potential forms help here? Serious question. It’s easy to forget – the ninja had a vehicle to get them to the clock, so I’m not sure how they would help, but I keep hearing this as a criticism of this episode. I like the book ends of Nya being kidnapped at the beginning and the end of this series, but cheering someone’s kidnapping feels bad. Episode 25: Return of the Overlord Ugh. I like Lloyd’s attitude at the end of it though. Episode 26: Rise of the Spinjitzu Master Ok, wait a minute. Ninjago city is evacuated, as per The Day Ninjago Stood Still, so why did the Dareth scene from last episode and the scenes from the beginning of this episode happen? I guess everyone went back to Ninjago city once the dust settled. And what happened to the ninja’s swords? Also, the Seventh Toa beat off and killed the ultimate evil, only for him to reappear…oh wait, wrong franchise. Kai gets to make the big motivational speech again. Note this: it’s more important later when I get to the rebooted series. Final Thoughts: This season begins with a lot of filler, and then eschews the comedic angle for sweeping epic and tense drama. The filler is light and sugary, with a lot of concepts thrown in there just for kicks, and the drama is dark and brooding, and tense with a lot of suspense. However, the suspense and tension is so long it can lead to drama fatigue if you watch straight through. After the Last Voyage, the story is hard to put down, and I almost wish that the countdown to the FINAL BATTLE was shorter. Also, trying to throw comedy into the dark, tense, and sinister atmosphere, which they did, comes off as forced and stumbling. Fortunately, they didn’t do a good deal of this, and allowed epic Ninjago to be epic.