User blog:JayZX535/Skylor: Suspicious from the start?

Well hi there! It's me, Jay, and I'm here to talk about a rather intriguing (at least I hope it's as intriguing to you as it is to me!) topic- whether Skylor began to question Chen after the Ninja arrived, or whether she was already doubting him before their arrival.

Whoa there, hold on a minute! Questioning Chen before the Ninja arrived?

Well, yes. I believe Skylor was already starting to doubt her father before the Ninja arrived- perhaps even long before they arrived. Firstly, it's highly doubtful that Sky would ever have been allowed to leave the island prior to the Tournament- after all, Chen couldn't risk having her inadvertantly blow his cover. It's likely- almost certain- that the first time Skylor ever left the island was when she crossed to Ninjago City so she could board the ferry at the same time as the other passengers in order to avoid suspicion. To a growing teenage girl, being trapped on a solitary island away from others her age likely seemed like cruel and unusual punishment- and would likely have led her to question her father. It seems likely that Skylor didn't bond strongly with anyone on the island- we know she certainly didn't bond with her father- as she is clearly quite fit physically, indicating that she spent a fair amount of time training. Unless she trained with the cultists (and really, even if she did train with them, can you see her bonding with any of them?), she would have had no other sparring partners, meaning that Sky likely spend much of her years growing up to herself. Her relationship with her father was already shaky at best- and with him keeping her cooped up away from civilization, it would only be natural for her to question whether or not this was right.

Secondly, there's the fact that Skylor showed a fair amount of openness toward the Ninja- probably the first peers in her age group that she'd met and really spent time with. Now, to be fair, Chen also wanted her to spy- and what better way to do so than to infiltrate the Ninja? However, her relationships with them (especially with Kai), didn't seem to be merely a matter of her being forced to interact with them. Although she did have an agenda (turning the team against each other), she also engaged in simple friendly conversations with them- particularly with Kai. One could argue that this was to win the team's trust, and while this likely played into it, I do not think it was all of it. When Kai, after being captured, asked her whose idea it had been to make him fall for her- hers or her father's- and then said, "Because it worked." Skylor gasped, indicating that she did, in fact, have feelings back. As her relationship with Kai was certainly one her father would never have approved of had he known it was genuine, she was already keeping this secret from him- other secrets would certainly not be out of the question. Furthermore, when Kai, pretending to have joined Chen, confronted Skylor about what she was doing in helping her father, Skylor did not in any way indicate that she agreed with Chen. Rather, she said, "He always gets what he wants." This seems to indicate that she did not blindly follow Chen, but rather that she had been too afraid to stand up to him and cross him. When the Ninja stood with her, she had the courage to resist her father because she was no longer alone.

Lastly, and perhaps the strongest evidence of all, it seems that even as Skylor was spying on the Ninja, Chen was spying on Skylor. Why else would there be small peeky-holes into her room from the cultists' tunnels? Chen wanted to keep an eye on her, it would appear, but why? Perhaps he had reason to think that Skylor might be questioning him and wanted to watch her for signs of dissention...

All this is merely speculation, of course- we're never really told what Skylor experienced, as we see the show primarily from the viewpoint of the Ninja. However, it's certainly some interesting food for thought.

So what do you think? Was Skylor already questioning her father before the Ninja arrived, or did they open her eyes to the wrong Chen was doing for the first time? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time, this is Jay- signing out.