Ninjago City vs. Ninja is the seventh episode of the fifteenth season of Ninjago and the 187th episode overall. It aired on May 20, 2022 on LEGO's YouTube channel.
The Ninjas are imprisoned, and Lloyd receives a mysterious masked visitor with a cryptic warning from the Crystal King.[1]
Extended:The Ninja's trial ends quickly with Dareth as their lawyer, and the heroes are sentenced to Kryptarium Prison. The Ninja navigate prison and run into old foes, including Ronin, who plots revenge. Lloyd receives a mysterious visitor in a Kabuki mask who issues a cryptic warning from the Crystal King. King Vangelis is broken out of Shintaro's prison and invited to the Council of the Crystal King.[2]
LEGO's YouTube channel:After saving Nya, the Ninja are arrested and put on trial! Despite the help of their lawyer Dareth, the Ninja are sentenced to five years in Kryptarium Prison. While they are in prison, a mysterious masked messenger visits Llyod and reveals that the Crystal King is gathering all the enemies of the Ninja and plans to destroy NINJAGO City!
Can the Ninja save NINJAGO City from the Crystal King's evil plan?[3]
Plot[]
Following Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole's arrest by the New Ninja for freeing Aspheera from incarceration and stealing her staff, a trial at the Ninjago City Courthouse is taking place for the team. Dareth serves as the team's lawyer and tries to defend them by reminding the Judge, William Toughbutt, about the Ninja's heroism and protection to Ninjago. Toughbutt agrees with what they had done and mentions they won't be sentenced to life, and instead ends up sentencing them for five years in Kryptarium Prison. A sentence that leads to a protest by the many witnesses in the courtroom as the Ninja are taken away while Nya helplessly watches. Placed into their cell at Kryptarium, Zane notes that there are only bunk beds enough for four of them and calls on one. Annoyed at his lack of emotion, Jay tells him to turn it back on. He does so, which led to a loud screech before Cole turns it back off. As Kai intends to break out using his powers, Lloyd stops him and insists they leave everything to Dareth.
At the monastery, Dareth tries to think of a solution, alongside Nya and Skylor, but Wu does not take part as he believes the Ninja have no one to blame but themselves for disobeying him in breaking Aspheera out, but Nya takes the blame for herself, insisting that it was her own fault before leaving the room. Wu then tells Skylor that Nya was never powerless, even during her tenure as Samurai X.
While among other prisoners in the exercise yard at the prison, inducing glares from prisoners, including Ultra Violet and Mezmo, Jay approached Lloyd, Kai, Cole and Zane, telling them he joined the 'Needles' club before finding themselves in the presence of Ronin, a former ally who tried to rob the Keepers of their prized possessions, who then told Jay that the Needles club is just for those learning to knit, amusing the other prisoners. As Ronin prepares to intimidate them, a guard stops him before informing Lloyd that he has a visitor. As he escorted him down the hallway, the guard tells Lloyd he and several other guards appreciate what he and the Ninja had done for the city before the crimes he committed. Reaching the visitor's room, the guard directs him to the last booth, where his visitor was waiting, which Lloyd believed it was Master Wu, but instead, it was the Kabuki Mask. He revealed that he carried a message from the Crystal King, who desired the ninja to be aware of the formation of his council while Ninjago succumbs to his power. Lloyd questioned the Kabuki Mask's motive for sharing this information to him. In reply, the Kabuki Mask confesses that he wishes to witness the despair on Lloyd's face as he helplessly witnessed the destruction of Ninjago and all his loved ones. Afterward, Kabuki Mask left.
Lloyd then attempted to pursue him, but was stopped by the guards, who mistakenly believe he was attempting to escape. After being escorted back to the ninja's cell, Lloyd informed them that the visitor was not Wu. Curious, he inquired if any of them had any information about the Crystal King, but they confessed their ignorance. Lloyd then admitted his own lack of knowledge and a growing sense of unease, anticipating that they would soon uncover the truth. In the Kingdom of Shintaro, the former king Vangelis, who is confined in a room, plays a lyre before a hole is cut in the ceiling, surprising him, and a Crystal Spider arrives with a mask, similar to the one he had as the Skull Sorcerer before the spider plays a message from the Kabuki Mask, inviting him into the council. Vangelis accepts, putting on the mask, which glows pink.
As of this episode, all of the Ninja have a criminal record.
This episode marks the third time Lloyd's full name was spoken, the first two being "Never Trust a Snake" and "Endings."
The melody Vangelis plays on his lyre is part of his theme.
William Horace Toughbutt's name is a slight play to William Howard Taft who was the 27th President of the United States from 1909-1913. Interestingly, Taft had been a judge before and after his presidency.
Continuity[]
Ronin mentions the scam he pulled in "The Tooth of Wojira" and how the ninja busted him.
The reason why the Kabuki Mask told Lloyd about the Crystal King was similar to what Harumi did in "Game of Masks," of how she wanted Lloyd to feel the emptiness she felt and to see him suffer as she did.
This is also the first episode where Vangelis' cell is shown. This cell is shown to be a room in the palace which is relatively well furnished in comparison to other prisons.
In this episode, it is finally revealed what holiday exists in Ninjago instead of Christmas, which is Festival Day. This was first hinted by Tommy Andreasen in 2021.[4]
Errors[]
Lloyd's name is misspelled as "Llyod" in the description.
Lloyd claims that Ronin has never done anything for anyone besides himself. However, in Season 5, Ronin sacrificed all of his money to save the ninja, though it's possible in his frustration that he forgot.