Spellbound

Spellbound is the 6th episode of season 4 and the 40th overall in LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

Plot
In a blimp above Chen's Island, each of the contestants are acting hostile towards each other in some way: Griffin Turner announces to Jay that he'll be eliminated next due to his broken leg, Kai is still convinced that Shadow is the spy, and Skylor is annoyed with Paleman flirting with her. Lloyd is nervous about the height they're at, as is Neuro who enters the cockpit only to find no one driving the blimp.

On a screen, Chen announces the competitors won't be hunting for Jadeblades; they'll be hunting Nya, with the promise of moving the one who captures her to the final round. The Ninja realize she has the spell and that they'll need to find her before the others do. Chen then tells everyone that he'll open the bottom to start the challenge and releases parachutes for everyone except Garmadon, claiming he didn't know he was there. The bottom opens and everyone scrambles to grab a parachute while free-falling. Everyone except Lloyd and Garmadon get a parachute, so Lloyd lets his father take the last parachute and tries to summon his dragon. Just before he hits the trees, he overcomes his fear of falling and creates the Energy Dragon to safely land himself. After the Elemental Masters land, Chen says that there are "special gifts" hidden around the island to aid them in their search for Nya. Shade takes a bow and arrows while Jay reluctantly decides to take a mech so he doesn't have to walk. The Elemental Masters set off following footprints, while Lloyd and Garmadon spot the Samurai X symbol and follow that.

Misako is trying to make contact with Nya and Dareth, but to no avail. Sensei Wu comes and offers tea, surprising Misako that he's so calm. He then tells her that he has faith in Garmadon and he'll be able to aid the Ninja.

Meanwhile, in the Noodle Factory, Karlof is listening in on a conversation between some of the Anacondrai Cultists, who are discussing how Cole and Zane escaped. After they leave, Karlof calls the "all clear." Zane and a flour-covered Cole emerge from behind two barrels and begin to work on an escape plan. Zane says that he analyzed the sewer systems and that the Elemental Masters will be able to escape because the sewers will be able to hold their weight by a slim margin. At that moment, two Anacondrai Cultists shove a captured Dareth into the factory. Dareth walks over to the Ninja, greeting Cole and commenting that Zane "looks different." Noticing Dareth's bulging stomach, Karlof asks Cole by how slim of a margin the sewers will hold their weight if his weight was added. With a sigh, Cole says that the plan won't work and goes back to brainstorming ideas. Dareth, in the meantime, is only worried about making his favorite food again.

In the jungle, Lloyd questions his father about how he even came to be one of Chen's students in the first place. Garmadon decides to tell him the whole story: due to the Great Devourer's bite taking years to consume him, he began training under Chen with Clouse. During one of their training matches, Chen tells the two that they're holding back and promises the winner will become his righthand and be granted lordship. At that, Clouse uses his magic to bring the training dummies to life, only for Garmadon to use his Spinjitzu to destroy them and knock Clouse down to win. Clouse complains, but Chen stated Garmadon did what he needed to do, calling him "Lord Garmadon." During this point, the Serpentine Wars were underway and both sides wanted a truce. Chen, on the other hand, is against it and tells the Lord to never trust a snake. He then gives his second-in-command a letter from Wu written for Misako, saying it could sway how she felt about one of the brothers and all he had to do was sign it. Garmadon does, though is seen by Clouse doing so. Lloyd is surprised to hear about the letter, though Garmadon says to his son that he has no regrets as Lloyd wouldn't exist if he didn't.

Meanwhile, Chen, in the captured D.B. Express, is testing all the different buttons on the control console and complaining about its lack of trapdoors when Clouse walks in. Chen tells Clouse that his "special gifts" are implanted with tracking devices, saying, "Before this day is over, Clouse, there will be no more fighters and no more Tournament!" Clouse then leaves to capture the Elemental Masters on the island. Nya is seen running and narrowly avoids being spotted by Shadow, who stops upon hearing the loudspeaker go off. He is soon surrounded by Clouse and six Anacondrai Grunts, realizing the Ninja were telling the truth before being captured, much to Nya's shock.

In another part of the jungle, Kai calls out to his sister and realizes he's being followed. Before he can launch an attack, it's revealed to be Skylor, both os them noticing the other doesn't have one of Chen's treats. Still working for her father, she easily convinces Kai to work with her to find Nya. Accepting the proposal, Kai also adds how he can still trust her, which she agrees with. In the D.B. Express, Clouse and Eyezor return, having captured Paleman while he was invisible. The Master of Light tells Chen he won't succeed, though Chen calls him boring and orders Eyezor to lock him up. As Chen countinues to complain about no trapdoor features, Clouse informs him of his daughter being with Kai while Lloyd and Garmadon are nowhere to be found. Chen then orders his subordinate to find the latter two as well as capture the remaining Masters.

Still following the symbols, Lloyd is confused that his father trained with Chen, yet fought alongside Wu in the wars and questions the reason the truce was abandoned. Garmadon continues on: the Serpentine attacked first, and although the Elemental Masters fought back easily, they had never encountered anything like the Anacondrai, who were stronger, smarter and natural leaders in battle. After the Elemental Alliance was subdued, Jamanakai Village was captured in the name of General Arcturus, the leader of the Anacondrai and the Serpentine. Chen had thought he could get momentum by siding with the Serpentine and wanted Garmadon by his side. However, the Lord only wanted to fight for Misako and decided to leave Chen to battle by Wu's side. As the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master, they led the alliance into battle and began to win: however, Chen managed to unravel that, as he convinced the Elemental Master of Earth to fight for the snakes, resulting in the alliance being weakened. With inspiration from a snake charmer, Garmadon had the Masters use sacred flutes to hypnotize each Serpentine tribe, divide them and have them locked away in seperate tombs. Chen and Clouse were exiled for their treason, and Arcturus and the six remaining generals, under Mystake's suggestion, were banished to the Cursed Realm so they couldn't set foot in Ninjago again. Lloyd is amazed Wu and Misako are still in the dark about Garmadon's past with Chen, where he states that telling them would have caused him to lose them both. Using the advice he had been given earlier, Lloyd convinces his father to come clean: in response, Garmadon agrees to do so after they defeat Chen and goes back to finding Nya.

In the factory, Cole crosses off on the captives' plan to encase themselves in industrial size egg rolls and asks for another suggestion. Karlof states that since he was a aeronautic engineer in his hometown, Metalonia, they could build a roto jet to blow their way out: Cole, however, points out they don't have a roto jet and that it would be useless since they're underground. Dareth is still determined to make puffy potstickers and decides to make a machine capable of doing so. Zane then realizes that Dareth is right: the captives could use machine parts to build the jet. He and Karlof go to create blueprints for the schematic while the others find parts, leaving Cole to complain that they're still underground.

Back in the jungle, Jay continues to look for Nya and finds her symbol only to encounter Clouse, who states his search for his girlfriend and his time in the Tournament is over before launching an assault. Jay mocks his magic, angering him to create a mech out of rocks to even the odds. Not far from them, Nya is carving her symbol and rushes to the ensuing battle. She begins to explain the spell to Jay, though Clouse prevents her from doing so. She escapes, while Clouse accidentally activates the self-destruct feature in Jay's mech. As it explodes, Kai and Skylor notice the blast and begin crossing a marsh, thinking Nya was involved. Skylor decides to freeze the water so they can cross, though Kai is confused that she has powers of Ice until he realizes Skylor has been the spy and had absorbed Zane's powers. While trying to explain, she ultimately reveals she is Chen's daughter, while Chen himself appears and orders her to battle Kai. While fighting, Kai pieces everything together and out of rage, he uses his Spinjitzu to melt the ice, causing Chen to fall into the water and forcing Skylor to help him while the Master of Fire escapes. Chen has had enough and ensnares Kai in a multitude of vines.

By now, Nya has caught up to Lloyd and Garmadon and tells them of what happened before giving them the spell. Upon seeing it's a transformation spell, Garmadon realizes Chen plans to turn his followers into an army of Anacondrai and states that though the the Tournament is over, the next Serpentine War is on the verge of beginning. Back at the D.B. Express, Kai is thrown into its cell with the others, while Jay states Lloyd can still save them. Chen declares he's planning on it and while he laughs in triumph, Skylor looks at Kai knowing she had not only betrayed his trust: she had broken his heart.

Errors

 * When Skylor freezes the pond, Kai breaks the ice by using Spinjitzu, but when Chen captures him using Nature and he looks back, the ice seems as it wasn't disturbed.
 * Also perplexing is how Kai states in the next season he is aquaphobic. If that were the case, he likely wouldn't have risked using his Spinjitzu on the frozen river.
 * In the flashback narrated by Garmadon, all of the Serpentine tribes are seen working together as one, which creates a large plot hole in earlier seasons such as Rise of the Snakes. If all of the Serpentine tribes worked together, Pythor would have never had to unite them in the first season.
 * When Jay said to Kai that "don't worry Lloyd will come for us" he said it in a deep voice.

Trivia

 * During the Serpentine War flashback in Jamanakai Village, Skalidor and Slithraa are shown wielding Anacondrai battle staffs, but they're entirely tan instead of being colored purple around the edges.
 * The flashback in this episode, which features the original Anacondrai in Jamanakai Village, proves that the Anacondrai are the only Serpentine whose head molds are all the same, excluding the general, Pythor.
 * Oddly enough, however, there are five other generals, despite the fact that each Serpentine tribe normally has only one general.
 * It is possible that Pythor became a general at some point during Arcturus' absence, or vice versa.
 * Another possibility is that the tribe simply has more than one general, which is justified with the Anacondrai's superiority over the other snake tribes.
 * Also, the original Anacondrai generals, except Arcturus, all wear a very similar outfit to the one that Clouse wears. This is similar to how the rest of the cultists wear outfits slightly similar to the ones the original Anacondrai wore.
 * The concept of Clouse wearing the outfit of an Anacondrai general is fitting and ultimately ironic considering that Clouse is one of the leaders of the Anacondrai Cultists.
 * The factory breakout plotline is covered in greater detail in LEGO Ninjago: Breakout.
 * Lloyd's Energy Dragon makes its debut, due to facing his fear of falling.
 * Griffin and Neuro were never seen being captured, resulting in them being tied for the same place in the Tournament.
 * Ignacia, the Fire Temple, and the Caves of Despair can be seen under surveillance in the Samurai X Cave while Misako is talking to Wu.
 * This episode marks the debut of the Ninjas' Jungle uniforms.