“So how did Garmadon gain control over the Underworld?” “I don't know. I expect they just sat down and agreed over a nice cup of tea.” |
— Cole and Sensei Wu |
"An Underwordly Takeover" | |
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Season Mini-movies, Episode 4 | |
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Air date | Fall 2011 |
Written by | Tommy Andreasen |
Directed by | Michael Helmuth Hansen (credited as Michael Helmuth) |
Episode guide | |
Previous "The New Masters of Spinjitzu" |
Next "Return to the Fire Temple" |
An Underworldy Takeover is the fourth of six mini-movies, taking place directly after the pilot episodes of LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. It aired on Cartoon Network in the Fall of 2011. It details some of Lord Garmadon's past, explaining how he gained command of the Skulkin army after his first defeat by his brother that cast him into the Underworld.
Contents
Plot

Cole asks Wu a question.
Sensei Wu is preparing some tea when Cole enters with a question: How did Lord Garmadon take control of the Underworld? In response, Wu has a flashback to the night Garmadon tried to steal the Golden Weapons, which ended with a battle between brothers and Garmadon's fall to the Underworld.
As Garmadon shouts promises of vengeance at the darkness overhead, he is confronted by Samukai and the Skulkin army. Samukai declares that he had known that Garmadon would return to the realm of the dead at some point and that he was looking forward to paying him back for the last time Garmadon and Wu had clashed with the Skulkin. As Samukai draws his daggers, Garmadon declares that the prospect of revenge would be a good start.

Garmadon and Samukai battle.
The two fight as the Skulkin army looked on, but Garmadon quickly gains the upper hand, knocking Samukai's helmet off of his head. As the four-armed skeleton attempts to recover, Garmadon uses his Spinjitzu to create a tornado of Destruction, sucking Samukai's daggers out of his hands and throwing them back at their owner.
Luckily for Samukai, Garmadon intentionally missed his body, instead of pinning him to the wall with his own knives. As the skeleton admits defeat, Garmadon places Samukai's helmet on his own head, declaring that there were going to be some changes in the management of the Underworld.
Sensei Wu seems to be shaken from his flashback by Cole, who notes that his mentor still hasn't answered his question. Wu simply informs Cole he assumes that Lord Garmadon and Samukai came to a mutual agreement over the matter.
Cast
Transcript
For the transcript of the episode, click here.
Trivia
- Samukai appears to have a history with Garmadon and Wu, alluding to a previous encounter between them. To back this up, the Official Guide book states that Wu and Garmadon once defeated Samukai.
- When Garmadon performs Spinjitzu, he doesn't spin inside. Though this could be an error, it's worth noting that Jay did also not spin much inside his tornado in "The Golden Weapon", so it's possible this was simply the way Spinjitzu was animated at this time.
- When Garmadon beats Samukai and dons the Underworld helmet, it has it's Rise of the Snakes design instead of the design from the pilots.
Gallery
For the gallery of the episode, click here.