Ninjago Episode Plots

Rise of the Spinjitzu Master

Synopsis
Garmadon's super-weapon turns Ninjago evil.[1]

A great darkness has fallen upon Ninjago as Garmadon's Super-Weapon has turned it evil but Lloyd and the Ninjas discover that light is more powerful than dark - and the final and ultimate battle is on.[2]

Extended: As the Overlord transfers to Ninjago, the Ninja, together with an injured Lloyd, are guided by the robotic Falcon to the Temple of Light. Once there, they find an ancient mech that the First Spinjitzu Master used to fight the Overlord. With the arrival of the Ultra-Dragon, the group flies back to Ninjago City and find the city possessed and the Overlord atop a dark tower, morphed into his true Dragon-like form. The Ninja fight the Stone Army, but the ancient mech is destroyed by Nya and they are forced to fight on the ground. But they are saved by Dareth, who uses the Helmet of Shadows and gains control of the Army, sending them against the Overlord. Lloyd and the Ninja climb the tower, with Cole and Jay being infected by the Overlord with Darkness. Lloyd is forced to go on alone as Zane fights the two infected Ninja and Kai fights his still-enslaved sister. Facing the Overlord, Lloyd summons the Golden Dragon and his armor becomes golden, denoting that he has become the next true Spinjitzu Master. Lloyd and Dragon Overlord fight, with the Overlord saying that he can never be defeated, as Light is always balanced with Darkness. Lloyd finally allows himself to be consumed by the Overlord and unleashes a strong burst of inner light, dispersing the Overlord and purging his wicked Shadow from Ninjago and all its inhabitants (including Nya, Cole, Jay, and Zane). As the group gathers together again, Lloyd mourns the loss of his father, only to see him emerging from the rubble, purged of both the Overlord's Darkness and the Great Devourer's venom. As Lloyd, Garmadon and Misako have a private family reunion, the four Ninja vow that even with the Overlord defeated, at last, they will continue to protect Ninjago. The Ninjas and Nya come together, along with Garmadon's family. The episode ends with Sensei Wu and Kai looking at the sun rising above the liberated city.

Plot
Dark clouds gather over Ninjago City, forming a huge vortex in the sky. Dareth, Lou, and the others assume that the ninja have returned, but the Garmatron appears instead. Determined to protect the city, Dareth challenges the advancing tank, but the Overlord drives him off with a few shots from the tank's side-mounted turrets. As a corrupted Nya looks on and Dareth wonders where the ninja are, the Garmatron continues to fire shots into the city, spreading Dark Matter everywhere—atop the tank, massive wings emerge from the Overlord's back.

Back on the Island of Darkness, the heroes are in a depressed slump over their recent defeat. Dr. Julien bandages Lloyd's injured leg, Jay wonders if they'll see Nya again, and Sensei Wu admits to Kai that for once, he has no words of wisdom to give. Zane tells Jay that it's best to remember Nya in his heart, and not how she was. Lloyd then states that he couldn't remember he father any way, but Misako tells him that Garmadon loved him and it was just the evil that possessed him. Lloyd then rallies his friends, reminding them how they brought him from the path of evil to become the Green Ninja. He believes that there must have been a reason why they were chosen to carry on the legacy of the First Spinjitzu Master: they're ninja, and ninja never quit.

The ninja are heartened by the speech but realize that they still have no means of reaching Ninjago. Kai is preparing to swim across the Endless Sea himself when Zane sees the Falcon gliding down to meet him once more. Deciding that the mechanical bird wants to show them something, the heroes follow the Falcon in Kai's Fire Mech, back to the Temple of Light. Cole wonders why they have returned, but Misako finds an area of the temple resembling a picture in one of her scrolls.

When the ninja insert their Elemental Blades into the four slots around the room, the center of the floor opens up to reveal a large golden mech. Misako identifies it as the fighting suit used by the First Spinjitzu Master to battle the Overlord, but Dr. Julien notes that the eons have reduced it to a non-functional relic. Master Wu believes that Lloyd can remedy that—sure enough, the Green Ninja's presence in the cockpit restores the mech to its original state. Learning that the mech can fly, Misako quips that at least one of them can now reach Ninjago. On cue, the Ultra Dragon arrives, and the other heroes use it to accompany Lloyd back to Ninjago City.