Into the Dark is the second episode of the thirteenth season of Ninjago and the 146th episode overall. It aired first in English on July 6, 2020, in Australia. It aired in the US on September 13, 2020, paired up with "Shintaro."[1]
Princess Vania reveals a secret entrance that leads to an underground mine beneath Shintaro where the city's dark secrets are held.[2]
Extended:The ninja are welcomed to Shintaro by King Vangelis and Princess Vania. Cole is accosted by a Geckle named Gleck who is wearing a necklace that belonged to his mother. Princess Vania leads Cole to a mountain tunnel and they stumble upon an underground mining operation where creatures are being forced to dig by an army of Skeleton Warriors, controlled by the vicious Skull Sorcerer.[3]
That night, Cole goes to his room within the palace for the night as with all of the other ninja and Wu. Lloyd stealthily follows Cole into his room and tells Cole of his suspicion of Vania, which Cole brushes off, teasing that Lloyd only feels this way because of Harumi. Lloyd denies this and leaves and Cole prepares to sleep, as Cole does this, a Geckle named Gleck enters the room. This awakes Cole just before the Geckle leaps onto Cole's bed, mistaking him for someone named Gilly. The Geckle attempts to leave upon realizing their mistake, but not before Cole tackles him, revealing a necklace that holds photos of Cole's parents. Cole is confused by the pendant, however, the Geckle snatches it back and leaves the room through the window. The Winged Guards of Shintaro hear the struggle between the Geckle and Cole, asking if Cole is fine. He is bewildered by the creature's sudden disappearance. Cole afterward goes to round up Wu and the ninja to discuss what happened.
As Cole describes the events that briefly transpired, none of the ninja nor Wu believe him. Wu decides to talk about it the next morning, leaving Cole slightly agitated, however, wary of the Geckle still.
As Cole walks back to his room, Vania follows, Cole believing it is the Geckle, confronts her, and realizes his mistake. Cole apologizes and explains his situation to Vania who believes him. Vania considers the possibility of what happened and shows Cole to a mine's entrance. Vania herself does not know what the Geckles are. The two enter and explore in search of the Geckle. After exploring they find an active part of the mine within the Dungeons of Shintaro. Here, the two watch the Munce and Geckles mining unhappily while the Re-Awakened watch. A Geckle accidentally rides a Mino within the mine into three passing Munce, toppling some of the minerals within the cart towed by the creature. This creates a large noise, disturbing the Skull Sorcerer enters the main mining area from the Skull Keep, who reminds them of his warning about stopping before punishing the enslaved Munce and Geckles. Cole comments that he thinks the Skull Sorcerer is a "bad guy" for chaining the people up and tells Vania to tell the others. When Vania asks what Cole will do meanwhile, Cole resolves to confront the Skull Sorcerer.
Almost immediately after Cole introduces himself to the Skull Sorcerer and calls him a jerk, the Skull Sorcerer orders the Re-Awakened to capture Cole. Cole finds that his powers do not work in the mine. At first, Cole is able to defeat several of them, but using the Skull of Hazza D'ur, the Skull Sorcerer revives the fallen warriors. Cole is overwhelmed and captured.
The ninja's lineup when bowing to Vangelis pays homage to "The Mask of Deception", with the ninja positioned in the exact same spots when bowing to the Emperor and Empress (with the addition of Wu added to the far left of the lineup).
This is the second time Cole is shown to be taking off his shoulder armor, which seems not to be attached to anything. The first time was in "The Traveler's Tree."
Lloyd is revealed to still have a hard time trusting princesses due to his experiences with Harumi.
Despite the fact that Wu slept and rested without a hat in Season 7, this episode shows that Wu has a hat-covered face. This may be because in Season 7 he slept and rested during the day.
Cole's first interaction with the Skull Sorcerer is somewhat similar to his first face to face interaction with Clouse in Tommy Andreasen's novel, Way of the Departed. In both cases, Cole starts off confident, sarcastic and makes jokes, not taking the threat quite seriously, much to the annoyance of the villain, with him soon after discovering he had underestimated them. In both cases, he ends up captured in the end.
Additionally, both of these take place within similar locations, those being the Dungeons of Shintaro and the Underworld.
When Vania asks if they've been to Hiroshi's Labyrinth, Zane says they have, when actually it was just Lloyd and Garmadon who traveled there, in "The Curse of the Golden Master."
However, it is likely that they visited this place, as in "Infamous," Infovision stated that the Realm Crystal is under the protection of Master Wu and the ninja and it was hidden in the labyrinth.
For a few shots, the Skull Sorcerer was missing the mouth holes on his mask.
Videos[]
Ninjago - Where is The Creature? - Cartoon Network
Ninjago - Underneath The Mountain - Cartoon Network Africa
