A Fragile Hope

A Fragile Hope is the twenty-eighth episode of the eleventh season, and 126th overall of LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. It will air on October 21, 2019 in Australia and will be paired with "Corruption." The US release date is currently unknown.

Synopsis
Having discovered the terrible truth of Zane's fate, Lloyd finds himself imprisoned and alone in the clutches of the Ice Emperor.

Plot
Lloyd looks up to Zane in disbelief, seeing that he is the Ice Emperor. Zane was confused as to who Lloyd was and why he is here. He tries to get Zane to remember who he is by telling him moments from their shared past like how Lloyd made his ninja gi pink.

He looks towards Zane's Scepter and recognizes it as the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu. Remembering that Zane held the scroll when he was banished by Aspheera, Lloyd reaches to the conclusion that it corrupted him and asks Zane how long he has been the Ice Emperor. Zane answers that he has held the scroll for decades. Initially shocked, Lloyd realizes that time works differently in Never-Realm than it does in Ninjago. He tries to get Zane to drop his staff but Vex says that Lloyd has come for the Scroll and take it for himself. He fights against the Blizzard Samurai, jumping over Vex to get to Zane only for him to knock him back with his elemental power. Vex announces his desire to kill Lloyd but intrigued by Lloyd's words, Zane orders that he'd be thrown into the dungeon. Vex reluctantly complies.

Meanwhile, Cole, Kai, Jay, Nya, and Krag search for the Land Bounty and finds themselves surrounded by wolves. Jay comes up with a plan which, much to everyone's chagrin, is to flee. The wolves follow them. Cole finds the Land Bounty and he and the others hide inside. Nya throws a fire hydrant for Jay to zap and the wolves flee.

Lloyd finds himself in a cell in shackles made of ice. He then here's a voice from a nearby cell and introduces himself. The prisoner says his name is Kataru. Hearing that to be the name of Akita's brother, Lloyd tells him that he knows his sister whom he believes to be dead. Kataru explains that he wasn't killed by Boreal but was taken prisoner. Kataru doesn't know how long he has been in the dungeons and he has given up hope of escaping. Lloyd believes there to be a way and tries to break free from his shackles. Vex tauntingly claps for Lloyd telling him that his shackles block out powers. Lloyd warns Vex that Zane will see through his lies. Vex believes otherwise and tauntingly touches the bars of Kataru's cell. He believes that things are hopeless but Lloyd tells Kataru that Akita and his friends are coming and they will never give up.

Unfortunately, Cole contemplates giving up seeing how Nya could not get the Land Bounty working. She removes parts of the Land Bounty much to Jay and her brother's dislike. Krag smells the wolves returning and he, Jay, and Cole fight them though badly outnumbered. Nya angrily slams at the console with her wrench and the Land Bounty reactivates, allowing the team to escape.

Grimfax reveals that unlike the rest of the Blizzard Warriors, he still has his free will and releases Lloyd and Kataru. He asks him if Zane truly was a good person which Lloyd confirms. He tells Grimfax that if he can get his scepter away from Zane, he will return to normal. The three join forces and Lloyd starts up a resistance against the Ice Emperor and Vex.

Cast

 * Cole - Kirby Morrow
 * Grimfax - Brian Drummond
 * Ice Emperor - Graeme Palisade
 * Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
 * Kai - Vincent Tong
 * Kataru - Cole Howard
 * Krag - Brian Drummond
 * Lloyd - Sam Vincent
 * Nya - Kelly Metzger
 * Vex - Michael Kopsa

Transcript
For the transcript of the episode, click here.

Locations Visited

 * Never-Realm
 * Castle of Ice
 * Dungeon
 * Throne Room

Errors

 * In the credits, the Ice Emperor is credited as Brent Miller, the voice actor of Zane, instead of Graeme Palisade.

Trivia

 * Narrator: Nya
 * Lloyd refers to the time he once put Kai's clothes in with Zane's, referring to "Can of Worms."
 * This marks the second time Nya reads the title of an episode.
 * It is confirmed that time passes faster in the Never-Realm as Zane stated he has been holding the staff for decades.
 * This episode's title is based on a actual book titled A Fragile Hope.
 * This is the third time Lloyd tries to reform someone, the first was Garmadon and the second was Harumi.
 * The prisoner is revealed to be Kataru, who was taken as a prize by Boreal after the freezing of his village and didn’t know Akita is alive.
 * Grimfax frees Lloyd and Kataru, while allying with them.
 * The Ninja manage to repair the Land Bounty.
 * Nya slamming the console to get the Land Bounty started was similar to when Kai slammed the controls of the Destiny's Bounty to get it to start in "Secrets Discovered," and again by Lloyd in "The Jade Princess."
 * This episode marks the second time that Lloyd creates a resistance to stop the Ice Emperor, the first time is in the ninth season.
 * The Resistance music is played in the credits.