“No one has seen him for almost thirty years. However, it is a private island and there is only one house: his.” “He owns the whole island?” “That explains why it's called Dyer Island.”
Dyer Island is the second episode of the twelfth season, and 130th overall of LEGO Ninjago. It aired on March 21, 2020, in Asia, paired up with "Would You Like to Enter Prime Empire?". It aired in the US on July 19, 2020, but was released on the Cartoon Network app on July 10.
Extended: When the ninja discover that Jay has disappeared into the arcade game, they interrogate the Mechanic, hoping to learn who the mysterious Unagami is and how they can get Jay back. But the Mechanic refuses to speak. While they are at the police station, they learn from the Commissioner that something strange has affected all the arcade games in Ninjago City, turning them into Prime Empire ones. Fearing that whoever plays them will disappear like Jay, the ninja urge the Commissioner to pull the cabinets out of the arcade games. As the police rush to comply, the ninja head off to Dyer Island, an island outside Ninjago City, where they hope to find Milton Dyer, the creator of Prime Empire. On Dyer Island, the ninja make their way through a creepy hedge-maze, triggering several security measures - statues with laser eyes, vines that shoot out and grab them, and dangerous robot dogs.[1]
Plot
After realizing that Jay mysteriously left, the Ninja wonder where he might be. Nya then turns on the game Jay was trying to turn on, and after opening up the Arcade Cabinet, Kai questions the fact that there's a secret chamber stored in the game. Cole then points to a security camera and asks Zane to pull up the footage.
With the footage, the Ninja realize there was an unknown energy blast when Jay placed the motherboard into the Arcade Pod. Sometime later, Jay enters Prime Empire after completing level thirteen.
The Mechanic in custody.
The Ninja decide to interrogate The Mechanic, but he refuses to give any answers. While this is going on, the Police Commissioner enters and informs the Ninja about all the video games in Ninjago City changing to Prime Empire. Kai speculates that the energy pulse from earlier could have caused the switch. Meanwhile, The Mechanic chuckles and hints something mysterious.
The Mechanic refused to cooperate, so Lloyd urges for The Commissioner to send him to Kryptarium Prison, and he was taken shortly after. Zane then briefs the Ninja about Milton Dyer saying that he has all the answers about the game.
The Ninja use the Destiny's Bounty to travel to Milton Dyer, who lives on his own island. Zane remarks at the fact that he has been in hiding for almost thirty years and his island would be the most logical place for him to conceal.
When the Ninja arrive, they point out how abandoned the island looks and pass through the hedge maze. Soon, they reach the front door of the Dyer Mansion with Nya criticizing the security system of the place. However, when Kai knocked on the door, a boobytrap sprawled and the Ninja were sent flying in the air before landing back where they started.
the Ninja dodging the traps.
The Ninja try again and barely avoid another trap when an ivy nearly hit them. Lloyd advises that they should be careful and move slowly, but that all changes when the statues with glowing, red eyes attempt to shoot the Ninja with lasers. The Ninja dodge the lasers, but the gate to the Dyer Mansion closes and three Robot Dogs appear out of nowhere. While all of this is going on, the ivy begins to pull on the walls, causing the fear of the Ninja being squished. Lloyd fights a Robo Dog, and a laser from the statue hits the dog. Zane and Kai do the same thing causing all of the dogs to be defeated. Nya then uses water from the fountain with Zane's ice to freeze the statues.
Suddenly, the walls stop moving and an unknown man steps out to greet the Ninja. Cole asks if he's Milton Dyer, but he replies that he's an intern named Bob. They both enter the Dyer Mansion, and Bob talks about working with Milton Dyer for thirty-one years although Milton Dyer hasn't been at the house for quite a while. Kai asks about Prime Empire and Bob pulls up a VCR showing Milton Dyer complimenting his own game before flashing light shows with Milton Dyer walking towards it.
When asked why Prime Empire was not released, Bob mentioned changes Milton Dyer made changes to the game which made his bosses angry which caused him to be fired from Vast Industries. In addition, Milton Dyer also promised revenge for being fired. After the Ninja heard about Milton Dyer's promise and Unagami, they assumed that Milton Dyer is Unagami.
Kai mentions some of the other games besides Prime Empire that were scrapped game concepts, like Fist to Face 4, Ukulele Legend, and Unfinished Adventure Game I.
