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Ninjago TV Series Review: Season 4 (Rebooted)


fishers64

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Here’s the last one.

Episode 27: The Surge

Did they rename Darkley’s School for Bad Boys again? And where are those elemental weapons, Kai? The Overlord didn’t steal those too, did he?

 

While I’m at it, I guess the light of Lloyd only blasted the Overlord’s form to bits, and he was standing on top of a tower, so I guess he could have been housed in a computer. We’ve already seen the Overlord in “spirit” form before, so I guess he could take that again and put himself into the computer system – what quicker way to gain power? But he was weakened after Lloyd clobbered him, so he couldn’t get himself out. Hence the messy plan.

 

Of course, the reboot switch for this computer is even messier. Most computers turn off with a switch, and in the rare event that doesn’t work, you can always pull the plug. Why the elaborate reboot sequence? Of course, I suppose this isn’t a reboot as much as a hard-drive format, which is harder to do, but still, why the use of the four-techno blades (dated term, dudes) instead of the standard disk unpartition? I blame sets. I suppose security could have something to do with it, but surely your wouldn’t want the reboot items to be gold, prominent, and unable to stop an invasion from within.

 

Alright. I do like that no matter what they do, the ninja never get any recognition or Life Upgrades. They’re ninja, you know.

 

Also, if you’ve watched season 2-3, you know that Jay and Nya are a thing, but Nya was never consulted on the matter – Jay just filibustered along in typical Jay style. Thus, Nya talking to him about boundaries makes sense.

 

The computer nominating Cole as Nya’s match does not. When computers know anything about love, I will have green pointed ears and be sitting on a boat dock on a planet of the Alpha Centuri star system. Still, given that the computer in this case is guided by PLOT, I’ll give some credence to the idea that the two have more chemistry than Jay and Nya. Cole is less of an overwhelming blabbermouth and would be more respectful of Nya. But I have to say that Nya is a lot better character by herself, and why does the girl always have to be a love interest, or forcefully painted so she isn’t?

 

Anyway, how this ends up pleases me, but what Nya does to Cole in the middle of this season doesn't.

 

There are way too many romance plots and romantic mess going on this season. Stick to the ninjas and samurai fighting evil, pleeeease. Ugh. [/rant]

 

I thought elevators were inside buildings. Also, training staffs are indestructible – they can deflect metal saws and claws. :P

 

Sensei used the self-sacrifice ploy again. The Overlord forgot to watch his copy of Ninjago seasons 1-3 on Cyrus Borg’s complimentary hard drive. :P And frankly, the Overlord should keep his mouth shut: the fact that the ninja knew about Lloyd being what he wanted literally sunk his ship.

 

Episode 28: The Art of the Silent Fist

 

The trees in Ninjago are really weird. I get the whole animation dealio, but they still look like turtles.

 

One thing I can’t fault this season for is the pacing. Unlike last season where we had filler and some other pacing issues, these episodes chug along at a breakneck pace. In just a few minutes, we’ve established a whole bunch of details, some of which will be important later, like draining the golden power out of the bots and Wu’s capture. I also think it important to note that PIXAL was evil for a while – what is it with the evil girls, Ninjago?

 

Also, what is it with the dinosaur bones? Last episode we had one just casually tossed aside like it was nothing, and this one had the X cave hidden under a skeleton. I think it’s supposed to be a joke about the contrast between old dinos and new technology, but I think I missed it.

 

And Cole’s dad’s “box” to hide the ninja is too small to fit them all. (Ninjaspace? :P)

 

The PIXAL/Zane romance plot has too many holes in it. They just met each other mere days ago, and Zane cuts out half of his heart for her. That’s insane. It’s also Zane – we’re talking about the guy who frees sea monsters out of sympathy and befriends mechanical birds. Still, it’s a bit early to be so affectionate – she did steal the stuff you were guarding earlier. Come on.

 

Episode 29: Blackout

 

Pythor’s invisibility also explains why he was able to sneak into the Borg place and steal the corrupted drive. I like this episode because it gives us a taste of mystery though. :)

 

I also like the scene with Lloyd and the raptor. 28, 29, and 30 all give us a taste of the affection that Lloyd and Garmedon feel for each other as father and son. Even the venom of the Great Devourer couldn’t overcome it.

 

Episode 30: The Curse of the Golden Master

 

According to the Serpentine, the curse of the golden master is getting too much power, that the power is the problem. Actually, I think the real curse of the golden master is that Lloyd loves his father. He relied too much on the golden power to save him, however – the golden power is slower to charge up than just using Spinjitsu to leap the gap.

 

The ninja running into Scales and thinking him as the enemy is actually legitimately funny. Wrong snake indeed. But where did the weirdly lighted underground space come from? The one where the snakes were sealed showed them in with the stone platform the army was on in a dingy space. They could have made improvements though.

 

Also, if Scales made an oath not to return to the surface, how did he get the groceries and the copy of the Ninjago Times?

 

“Where are my knights in shining armor?” Go Nya!

 

Episode 31: Enter the Digiverse

Kai is the guy who normally makes the motivational speeches and handles any situation with confidence, if not downright impatience. Seeing him disturbed is OOC. Digiverse is scary, kids. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

 

Go Nya! Do not insult the samurai of Ninjago! :)

 

Also, the title sequence for this season refers pretty strongly to this episode.

 

Episode 32: Codename: Arcturus

 

Okay, so why does Kai not use his NRG flaming-shield flying fireball here?  That would get him back in the car, and even if he was tired PIXAL could still drive. I guess flame on cars = bad period. He also could have used it to fly up to Pythor if he was so big on kicking his white tail.

 

He could have used it offscreen, I suppose, although that’s hardly stealthy. Still, in that situation Kai wasn’t aiming for stealthy anyway – he made it clear that he was going for broke, so why not actually go for broke? *sigh*

 

I think this plot of trying to get the golden weapons from space is a really cool idea that will lend itself to some comedy come next episode. Also: does Spinjitzu work in space? We will soon find out.  :) (Unless you live in Australia, in which case you already know.)

 

Not-so-final Thoughts

I hesitated to release this one because there are two more episodes left in the season, but I guess I’ll see what the future brings.

 

So far, this season has been well-paced, humorous, and tense with lots of dark drama. Unlike season three, the pace has increased to reflect the drama level. The romance plots feel like a distraction to the overall picture, but fortunately the story hasn’t focused too much on them. A few niggling logical quandaries are its thorns in its side as well. Hopefully those will be resolved as the story goes on.

 

So far, it’s a fine piece of work, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm sorry, what? The magician isn't Cole's dad. Go back and watch the prior episodes, the voices are nothing alike (and the characters look nothing alike either)

But episode 30... why... why... why did you think Lloyd was the Golden Master? Good grief. The Golden Master was never Lloyd to begin with, even the prophecy slides showed that. And not to mention that the Curse of the Golden Master wasn't a curse ON the Golden Master, it was a curse in the sense of the Great Devourer. The Great Devourer was a metaphoric (and simultaneously literal) curse on the land of Ninjago. It had nothing to do with an actual curse, it was a metaphorical curse that could be seen as literal but the Golden Master was exempt from this. Really confused as to why you though Lloyd was the Golden Master. That was a serpentine misconception because:

a) Serpentine are idiots

b) They're lying scumbags

c) They have bad (and hypocritical) memories

d) Hageman brothers are terrible with plot continuity

(just pick on of these, "all of the above" doesn't apply. I vote D)

About Episode 32... SIGH. The ninja required the Golden Weapons to use their NRG forms. This is why we never saw them use NRG with the Elemental Blades. Golden Weapons - poof. Golden Master - poof. Elemental Blades - poofed because of bad plot usage. Lloyd's powers were from the Elemental Blades, which were more stable than the Golden Weapons.

I really would advise you fact-check. It's getting annoying.

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