Once and for All is the twenty-ninth episode of the eleventh season of Ninjago and the 127th episode overall. It aired on October 28, 2019, in Australia and on November 15, 2019, in Canada, paired with "Awakenings." It aired in the US on January 25, 2020, paired up with "A Fragile Hope."
Extended: As Nya, Cole, Kai, Jay and the creature, Krag, make their way towards the Ice Castle in the Land Bounty, Lloyd and his newfound allies (Grimfax and Kataru) sneak through the castle headed for Vex's chambers, where they must first destroy the corrupted shard of ice which Vex uses to spy on them. At the same time, Akita makes her way into the Ice Castle to confront the Ice Emperor. As all three parties converge towards an inevitable confrontation, things take a drastic turn for the worse: Lloyd, Grimfax and Kataru run into an ambush while Nya and the other ninja accidentally awaken the dragon, Boreal. A pitched battle erupts on all fronts. Boreal destroys the Land Bounty but is destroyed by the ninja in the process. Inside the Ice Castle, Grimfax and Kataru hold off Vex's Blizzard Samurai while Lloyd races on to confront the Ice Emperor. He arrives just in time to see the Emperor about to freeze Akita...[2]
Plot
Akita makes her way to the Castle of Ice, shivering from the cold. When she sees the castle, she goes inside looking for the Ice Emperor. On the other side of the wall of ice where Akita entered, Grimfax leads The Resistance to destroy Vex's Crystal.
The Land Bounty on top of Boreal.
Meanwhile, the ninja and Krag are heading to the castle themselves in the Land Bounty. On the way, they are attacked by Boreal who rips up the Bounty piece by piece. After many twists and turns, Nya eventually saw an opportunity to drive the Bounty up a ledge and stop Boreal. After all the action, they left Boreal unconscious, crushed under their Bounty.
Back at the castle, Lloyd questions about their risk on Vex knowing their presence, which Grimfax replies that they would've been caught already if he knew. Unfortunately, when they round a corner, they see Vex and the Blizzard Samurai waiting for them. Outnumbered, Grimfax realizes this is the only chance they have and forces Lloyd to go awaken Zane while he and Kataru hold the Samurai back.
On the next floor, Akita is close to the entrance of Throne Room, but four Blizzard Warriors are blocking the entrance. So instead, she sees a nearby window and leaps out of it. Outside the castle, she has access to all the windows and sees the Ice Emperor inside the Throne Room. She leaps inside and quietly makes her way up the stairs to finish her revenge. However, Lloyd reaches the Throne Room and starts a brawl with the Samurai, causing the Ice Emperor to wake up.
Akita attempts to attack the Ice Emperor.
Seeing her moment ruined, Akita seizes a chance for the kill, but he easily knocks her down the steps. He questions her identity and Akita bravely defines her intentions. When Akita hears of the lies Vex told him, she is enraged and seizes a final chance for her Formlings. The Ice Emperor dispatches her dagger and prepares to freeze her when Lloyd crashes in, telling Zane that it is time for them to finish this once and for all, which Akita was surprised that Lloyd called him "Zane."
This is the second episode to start with the word "once," the first episode being "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."
Errors
When the ninja were screaming after they made a u-turn when they were being chased by Boreal, Nya was screaming as well, despite having her mouth closed at the time.
