All of Nothing

All of Nothing is the eleventh episode in the second season of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

Plot


In the dark of night, a Venomari Soldier flees through the streets of Ninjago City to no avail, as the Ninja corner him in an alley, demanding information on Pythor's whereabouts. The Soldier reveals that Pythor is on the trail of the fourth and final Fangblade; worse yet, the Ninja are days behind him. The Venomari gloats that the Great Devourer will soon be revived, but his glee turns to panic when Zane points out that the Serpentine will be at risk along with the rest of the world.

Back aboard Destiny's Bounty, the Ninja worry about the Serpentine's progress in the race for the Fangblades. Lloyd suggests finding the Serpentine's inner sanctum to retrieve the other three Fangblades before Pythor can return with the fourth - however, Lord Garmadon reminds him that they have no leads on the location of the Serpentine's new base. However, Nya realizes that the Serpentine have been moving underground, and uses the ship's sonar to scan below the surface. Sure enough, the scan reveals that the Serpentine have dug a massive network of tunnels to connect their individual tombs, and the Constrictai Tomb is currently the most heavily-guarded of all. With a lead at last, the Ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu all move out, with Lloyd and Lord Garmadon remaining aboard the Bounty.

Breaking into the underground fortress, the Ninja engage the Serpentine forces, using their equipment and training to nullify the snakes' special abilities. Kai fights the Hypnobrai with his eyes closed, Jay's armor proves too tough for the bite of Fangpyre General Fangtom, Cole shimmies his way out of Constrictai General Skalidor's coils, and Zane uses Falcon Vision to get around the effects of the Venomari's venom. Unfortunately, their attempt to seize the Fangblades is thwarted by a cage trap that springs up around them, just in time to be mocked by a returning Pythor.

On Destiny's Bounty, Lloyd and Garmadon get into an argument when Lloyd finds his father downloading data from the Bounty's computers. Garmadon claims that he can't help being evil when it is literally in his blood, but Lloyd retorts that Garmadon shouldn't have come back at all if he can't prevent himself from doing bad things. When Nya calls the ship, asking for reinforcements, Lloyd tells Garmadon to go back to the Underworld before going on his first mission as the Green Ninja.

Back in the fortress, the Ninja, Nya, and Wu are imprisoned in a cage, high above the main chamber. Pythor reveals that he has found the final Fangblade, allowing the Serpentine to reawaken the Great Devourer. The Anacondrai orders everyone to return to The Lost City of Ouroboros immediately, but the others are reluctant; Chokun points out that they worked hard on the fortress, and Acidicus asks if they can celebrate first. At Skales' urging, Pythor relents, and the Serpentine proceed to have a massive Slither Pit tournament. Although Kai devises an escape plan - slipping out of the cage with Jay's hair oil and swinging to freedom on a chain - Pythor catches the Red Ninja moments after he makes the jump.

To prevent further interference, Pythor has the Ninja bound to the bars of the cage, only for Lloyd to arrive in a dramatic but clumsy fashion. He challenges Pythor, but he is inexperienced and hopelessly outnumbered; the Serpentine all laugh at Lloyd's wild posturing. However, Lord Garmadon arrives with reinforcements: the Skeleton Army, declaring that he may not be able to help being evil, but he can certainly choose to focus his wrath on the Serpentine to ensure that he is the only one to take over Ninjago.

Pythor is surprised by the intervention, reminding the Skulkin that Garmadon destroyed their old leader, but Kruncha retorts that "everyone hates snakes!" As the skeletons battle the Serpentine, Lloyd frees the Ninja from their cage - together, they steal the four Fangblades while Lord Garmadon forces Pythor into retreat. With the Fangblades in their hands, the Ninja and Garmadon fall back to Destiny's Bounty while the skeletons continue their battle with the Serpentine.

Aboard the ship, Lord Garmadon prepares to leave, telling his son that there is nothing more he can do for him. He also tells Lloyd that he is proud of him, even if their destinies have forced them onto opposite sides of the inevitable final battle. With his father gone, Lloyd goes to meet his friends, who are celebrating their retrieval of the Fangblades; upon hearing of Garmadon's departure, all present offer a toast to Lloyd's father as well.

Sensei Wu declares that tomorrow, they will be able to destroy the Fangblades at Torchfire Mountain, but someone thinks otherwise - Pythor himself is outside the bridge, watching the celebration. Having slipped aboard Destiny's Bounty during the battle, the Snake King is already plotting to recover the Fangblades and destroy the Ninja once and for all.

Cast

 * Kai - Vincent Tong
 * Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
 * Cole - Kirby Morrow
 * Zane - Brent Miller
 * Nya - Kelly Metzger
 * Sensei Wu - Paul Dobson
 * Lloyd Garmadon - Jillian Michaels
 * Lord Garmadon - Mark Oliver
 * Kruncha - Brian Drummond
 * Nuckal - Brian Drummond
 * Pythor - Michael Dobson
 * Skales - Ian James Corlett
 * Fangtom - Mackenzie Gray
 * Skalidor - Michael Dobson
 * Acidicus - John Novak

Trivia

 * The Skulkin army makes its first and only appearance in the 2012 series (excluding Kruncha and Nuckal, who have made cameos throughout the season).
 * After Pythor thwarts Kai's escape attempt, the Ninja are restrained by what appear to be black Mini Snakes coiling around the bars of the cage, holding the Ninja's wrists with their mouths.
 * This is the first time Lloyd dons the Green Ninja outfit. Visually, it appears similar to Lloyd's ZX suit, only missing the shoulder armor and having shorter pants to accommodate Lloyd's height.
 * When Lloyd tries to pull a weapon from the cupboard in the bridge (shortly after donning his Green Ninja outfit), all of the other heroes' signature weapon types are visible (a sword, a scythe, a shuriken, a pair of nunchucks, a bamboo staff, and one of Samurai X's boomerangs).
 * The title is similar to the phrase "all or nothing", which is usually meant to refer to a strategy or plan that risks all of the user's assets in an attempt to secure their objective. This fits with the plot of the episode; the Ninja commit all of their forces (save Lloyd, who they consider too valuable) to attack the Serpentine's headquarters, in an attempt to steal the Serpentine's collected Fangblades before Pythor can return with the fourth one.
 * The change from "or" to "of" in the title could foreshadow the Ninja's impending failure to stop the revival of the Great Devourer; although they retrieved the Fangblades, Pythor has infiltrated their ship and will reclaim the artifacts in the next episode.
 * Right before the Ninja enter the Serpentine's Underground Fortress, some of the drawings in the Constrictai Tomb show events that happen in the series. Such as the Four Fangblades being found, and the Great Devourer eating Sensei Wu.

Errors

 * When Jay is fighting Fangtom, the armor on his arm is briefly shown to be blue instead of silver.
 * It is unclear how the Serpentine disarmed the Ninja without the latter attacking or escaping, especially since Nya was still in her Samurai Mech when the cage was dropped.
 * The Samurai Mech disappeared after it was chained, then reappeared during the fight.