The Rise of the Great Devourer

"My destiny is to face Pythor alone, your destiny is to look after Lloyd!" - Sensei Wu to the Ninja.

The Rise of The Great Devourer is the twelfth episode in the first season of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

Plot
As Destiny's Bounty flies through stormy skies, Sensei Wu is meditating, seeing a vision of Pythor awakening the Great Devourer and coming to a horrible realization.

Meanwhile, Kai, Nya, and Jay are in the dining room, with the four Fangblades on the table. Nya wonders why they have to go all the way to Torchfire Mountain to destroy the Fangblades, and Kai explains that the blades are made from the Great Devourer's teeth - only the hottest place in all of Ninjago will be able to destroy them. At this point, Cole bursts in, looking rather ill from the ship's swaying - after Jay has a laugh at his expense, talk turns to Lloyd and how no one expected him to be the Green Ninja.

Lloyd himself is hard at work in the training room, attempting to hone his skills with little success. His efforts are mocked by Pythor, who appears before him and reveals his intent to reclaim the Fangblades. Lloyd is defiant, but Pythor simply ties him to a punching bag and duct tapes his mouth shut. With a sneer of "Out of sight, out of mind", Pythor cloaks himself once again and moves deeper into the ship.

The storm passes as the Destiny's Bounty arrives over Torchfire Mountain, with Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane meeting Sensei Wu on the deck with the Fangblades. Zane notes that Sensei Wu is rather melancholy, prompting him to tell the ninja about his destiny, saying that he "will not be able to see tomorrow". The ninja do not understand, but proceed to set up a plank from where they can throw the Fangblades into the volcano. Unfortunately, Pythor chooses that moment to sabotage the engines, jerking the ship to one side and throwing Sensei Wu over the edge.

The ninja form a human chain to catch their teacher, with Kai barely hanging onto the plank with his feet. Nya reports the damage to the engine; in the training room, Lloyd manages to get the tape off and warn the ninja that Pythor is aboard. Sure enough, the Anacondrai General is on the deck, all four Fangblades back in his possession. Lloyd arrives while Pythor gloats and attempts to fight the Serpentine leader, but reveals that he's only stalling until Nya's Samurai Mech can join the battle (although he does manage to kick Pythor in the face).

However, Pythor dodges the mech's attacks and jumps off the Destiny's Bounty, being caught by a Fangpyre Rattlecopter as he makes his escape. Kai's hold on the plank finally fails, but Nya catches her friends and takes them back to the ship. Pythor realizes that the Rattlecopter won't make it to Ouroboros before the Ninja catch up, but Skales assures his leader that arrangements have been made; specifically, the Serpentine have commandeered a tour bus and forced the driver to take them to Ouroboros.

As the Destiny's Bounty follows the snakes, Kai tells Lloyd to stay behind and man the ship while the others retrieve the Fangblades. With that, the ninja summon their vehicles and pursue the bus, prompting Pythor to alert his minions to prepare for a fight. The Fangpyres use their venom to transform the bus into a train-like mobile fortress, which attacks the Ninja with its tail, side-mounted turrets, and a group of Bite Cycles. As Cole and Kai fend off the Serpentine vehicles, Nya and Jay draw the train's fire, allowing Zane to leap aboard the back car and detach it from the rest of the vehicle.

With the train's main weapons disabled, Pythor decides to accelerate. The driver protests that any more effort will cause the engine to explode, getting himself thrown out the door for his troubles as Pythor pushes the train to its limit. Despite the speed boost, the ninja still manage to board, and start battling their way towards the front. Skales personally confronts Cole in the second car, but the ninja simply summons his Tread Assault Vehicle and blasts the Hypnobrai General with its cannon. As the others gather with their ally, Sensei Wu leaps onto the front car and seperates it from the rest of the train, declaring that battling Pythor is his destiny, while his students' destiny is to protect Lloyd. As Sensei Wu fights Pythor for the Fangblades, Lloyd uses the Bounty's anchor to carry the rest of the vehicle to Ouroboros.

Meanwhile, the overworked front car crashes in front of the city, and Pythor takes the Fangblades over to the arena, where he plans to awaken the Devourer. The reptilian villain climbs into the mouth of the Great Devourer's statue at the head of the arena and places the Fangblades into the holes in the statue's teeth. With the Fangblades in place, the statue begins leaking venom, lighting up the Slither Pit. The newly-arrived Sensei Wu is angered by what Pythor has done, claiming that the Anacondrai is unleashing forces he cannot control. Pythor retorts that the Great Devourer will punish the surface-dwellers for forcing the Serpentine underground, but Sensei Wu reveals that the Devourer will consume the Serpentine along with everything else.

Unconvinced, Pythor continues to observe the ritual, declaring that he controls the Devourer because he awakened it. Suddenly, the statue crumbles, and Pythor is shocked to find nothing inside. As the Ninja, Lloyd, and Nya arrive, the Slither Pit itself begins to crumble, revealing the Great Devourer underneath. Realizing that the beast is far larger than he expected Pythor attempts to escape - only to be stopped by Sensei Wu, who says that he must witness what he has created. Holding down the panicking Snake King, Sensei Wu tells the ninja that this is his destiny, and that they must do anything they can to stop the Great Devourer. On cue, the Slither Pit finally breaks down, and the Great Devourer bursts free, its massive body towering over the city as it roars and lunges at the screen.

To be continued...

Trivia

 * This episode was originally going to be called "The Final Hour Part 1."
 * When Pythor says to Lloyd "Out of sight, out of mind" this is the tittle of a book by Ally Carter.
 * The Serpentine Train was seen only in this episode.

Cast

 * Kai/Tour Guide - Vincent Tong
 * Jay/Mailman - Michael Adamthwaite
 * Cole - Kirby Morrow
 * Zane - Brent Miller
 * Sensei Wu- Paul Dobson
 * Lloyd Garmadon- Jillian Michaels
 * Nya/Mother - Kelly Metzger
 * Pythor P. Chumsworth - Michael Dobson
 * Skales/Mezmo - Ian James Corlett
 * Chokun - Michael Dobson